Selected quad for the lemma: head_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
head_n	church_n	member_n	mystical_a	3,558	5	10.4248	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11073	The mysticall marriage Experimentall discoveries of the heavenly marriage betweene a soule and her saviour. By F. Rous.	Rous, Francis, 1579-1659.	1631 (1631)	STC 21342.5; ESTC S106415	66,682	385

the heavenly Bridegroome IT is necessary to shew what these visitations are to convince that they are and so to undeceive those that thinke they are not It is also necessary to free those from errour who beleeving that they are yet doe mistake those that are not for those that are Such visitations there are for they are seene and felt by men seeing and waking and seeing and waking not onely with the bodily eyes but with two better eyes the one of humane reason and the other farre excelling that divine and heavenly light Spirituall light beholds these spirituall sights and shews them to the understanding which being convinced by that which it sees beleeves them it selfe and would also deliver over the sight and the beleefe of them to others But the thoughts of man are narrower than these joyes and words are narrower thā thoghts But which is worst of al the heart of an earthly man is narrower than the narrow words of a spirituall man for the carnall man perceiveth not spirituall things though they be held up before his fleshly eyes yet in the mouth of two or three eye-witnesses a word should stand and stand it doth though blinde men see it not standing before them and therfore stumble at it But who knowes whether an Ephatah may come downe from heaven that while a spirituall object is proposed a spirituall sight may be infused Howsoever the words of heavenly wisedome are not spoken in vaine to the children of wisedome and especially those who are yet but children and not perfect in tae art of discerning good and evill must not be left to the dangers of errour and mistaking The black Angel sometimes changeth himselfe into an Angel of light and then may he also make some shewes of lightsome visitations There is also a sanguine and naturall lightsomnesse and a bright beame of adustion that sometimes shine in the mind and these also may be mistaken to be divine But the spirit is not flesh much lesse is hee that evill spirit which is contrary to him And because the spirit is that which these are not the visitations are such as those imaginations are not which come from these And that this difference may the better be discerned let let us beholde the true characters of a spirituall visitation which the soule seeth when the husband of soules doth visit her A first marke and signe of his presence is light a light not fitted for the eye but the soule even a light spirituall and shining spirit and truth into the soule and spirit For the Lord is a spirit and when hee comes into the soule hee comes with abundance of that spirit which leadeth into all truth Hee is the light of the world even of the great world of mankinde and therefore when he comes into the little world of one man how great is his light And when this light shineth brightly then the soule by it doth see spirituall things as truly and assuredly as the corporall eye doth corporall things For there is an agreement betweene a spirituall eye and spirituall objects as there is betweene the bodily eye and bodily object By this light things formerly not knowne are seene and discovered and spirituall things knowne before onely by a carnall which is a false knowledge are spiritually and so truly discerned for the light is that which maketh manifest and this light being spirituall maketh spirituall things so manifest that it gives a full assurance of understanding and makes us know that wee know thē Even those things which before seemed fables and foolishnesse to the carnall eye to this spirituall sight and light appeare plainly to be deepe mysteries and most wise truthes Especially the great Bridegroom of soules who to the Iewes is a stumbling blocke and to the Grecians foolishnesse to this light appeares clearely to be the wisedome of God and the power of God For the light begotten acknowledgeth the light begetting and Christ is seene in the soule by his owne beames Hee is seene there as a Head and Husbād to the Church as a roote of life as an All-sufficient Saviour fit and able to restore a decayed and lost creation to disperse and treade downe a combined association of adversary and mighty spirits and to unite and recapitulate the scattered members of a mysticall body both in heaven and earth each to other and all to the Deity Hee is beheld as the fairest of men the soules well-beloved an infuser of that blessed sap of spirituall life by which the soule is purified here and made capable of the beatificall vision in an eternall life hereafter And as this derived light sheweth us the primitive light which begate it and being spirituall shewes us that Lord who is the spirit from whom it proceeded so doth it also discover to us divers other spirituall truthes and is a kinde of Oracle that gives divine answeres and resolutions Now that wee may certainely know this light to be a truth and not an imagination and withall to be truly spirituall and heavenly and not carnall earthly much lesse infused by a counterfeit Angel of light let us first observe that this light of the spirit doth agree with the light of the word The same spirit of God which shineth now in our soules in these heavenly visitations did first shine in the word so that the light of the word and the light in our soules are twinnes and resemble each other and agree like brethren If therefore there be this agreement then there is this brotherhood and if no agreement then there is no brotherhood Therefore to the law to the testimony if thy thoughts speake not according to this word it is because there is no light in them for indeed if our thoughts be truly enlightened wee shall finde some words in the word of God confirming them yea many times this light within will call up some place of the word without for a witnesse to it to confirm a truth which in that place was not formerly perceived Such is the harmony and power of harmony betweene the spirit and the word that when you hit a spirituall truth in your soule there will often come a sound answer and eccho from some place in the word agreeable to it And as the word doth approve this light so doth this light approve the word It loves to looke on it it seeth a heavenly wisdome in it yea it seeth secrets in it yea many times it will in some short sentence yea in some single word find out a Mine of heavenly doctrine and as at a little crany discover a world of divine truths And so the light of the spirit doth approve it selfe not onely by being approved of the word but by approving and improving it This is a sufficient tryall and touchstone of this heavenly light though if neede were I might adde the willing resignation of reason even of the naturall light of the soule to the soveraignty of this divine and heavenly

soule is resolved of her choise for she hath fixed her love on that Spirit which is the true object of the love of spirits But even that excellency which draweth her love awaketh her fear and beholding admirable purity and majesty together with her owne impurity and lownesse shee is moved at once both to runne to happinesse and to fly from it Shee stands distracted and in this distraction asketh Will God indeede dwell with men and will the highest Spirit who inhabiteth eternity and cannot abide iniquity dwell with low spirits that are defiled and be full of impurity Who shall dwell with the devouring fire and who shall dwell with everlasting burnings But the Lord himselfe speaketh to her and saith Feare not for thy maker is thine husband the Lord of Hosts is his Name and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel the God of the whole earth It is the glory of the greatest spirit to blesse the lesser spirits as it is the happinesse of the lesser to bee blessed by the greatest Fulnesse is glorified most by filling the greatest emptinesse and majesty by succouring greatest infirmity As for thy impurity true it is that thou art indeed too uncleane to touch God in an immediate unity but there is a pure counterpart of thy nature and that pure humanity is immediatly knit to the purest Deity And by that immediate union thou maist come to a mediate union For the Deity and that humanity being united make one Savior Head and Husband of soules and thou being married to him who is God in him art also one with God He one by a personall union thou one by a mysticall And being thus united and married to him his spirit flowes into thy spirit and the sappe of the Deity sheds it selfe into the soule For as man and wife in a corporall marriage are one flesh so in this spirituall and mysticall marriage Christ and his spouse are one spirit The spirit of Christ entring into our spirits layes in them an immortal seed and from thenceforth those whom he found impure he makes pure even pure in heart so that they may see God The Sonne of God so loved the soules of men that hee would make them a wife and marry them And that hee might make this wife fit to be brought into his Fathers house hee left his Father to come to his wife that he might cleanse her frō spots blemishes and present her pure glorious to his Father By his precious blood he purgeth her from her guilt by his spirit he purifieth her from her uncleannesse and both of these hee bestoweth on her in his marriage with her And then the soule thus washed hath boldnesse to approach unto God through her husband the Sonne of God who hath loued her and giuen himselfe for her and giuen himselfe unto her For God beholds her and she beholds God as one with his Sonne euen as his Sonnes wife Then draw neere O soule to this husband of soules the Lord is the spirit that marieth spirits and makes them one spirit with him in a knot of eternall blessednes Cleare vp thine eye and fixe it on him as upon the fairest of men the perfection of spirituall beauty the treasure of heauenly joy the true object of most feruent loue and inflamed affections and accordingly fasten on him not thine eye only but thy mightiest loue and hottest affections Looke on him so that thou maiest lust after him for here it is a sinne not to looke that thou maist lust and not to lust hauing looked For the spirit hath his lust also it lusteth against things contrary to it and it lusteth for things connaturall to it Accordingly it lusteth against the flesh but it lusteth after spirituall objects wherof Christ Iesus is the chiefest Let thy spirit then looke and long and lust for this Lord who is the spirit the chiefest spirit let it cleaue to him let it hang about him and neuer leaue him till hee bee brought into the chambers of the soule Yea tell him resolutely thou wilt not leaue him untill thou here a voyce in thy soule saying My wellbeloved is mine and I am my wellbeloveds To this end bee still gazing on him and still calling on him Kisse me with the kisses of thy mouth Yea kisse my soule with such a kisse of thy spirit that they may be no longer two but one spirit say to him whom haue I in heauen but thee and whom haue I desired on earth besides thee My soule thirsteth and panteth for thee the liuing God Tell him that thou art sicke of loue Vexe him with Importunity and put him out of hope of ease as the widdow did the Iudge but onely by satisfiing thy desires It is the right-voyce of the spirit I found him whom my soule loveth I held him and would not let him go If then thou hast found him with thine eye hold him with thine heart and winde thy affections round about him And if he see thee all on flame with loue and obstinate in Importunity by loue he who is loue cannot deny the importunity of loue The bowels of loue in him melt at the sound of loue in thee as one string danceth at the sound of another agreeing with it Hee was great with loue before thou louedst him and hee looked but for a loue to draw his loue from him Hee was great with spirit and did but looke for spirits that by loue would draw some spirit from him And now when his loue meeteth with thine his loue joyneth with thine when his spirit meeteth with thine his spirit powreth it selfe out into thine hee is joyned to thee and thou art one spirit with him his spirit and thine being united and mingled in a blessed communion II. The soule hath but one husband at once THere is a law in heaven that the heavenly Bride may at one time have but one Husband The first marriage on earth was a patterne of this Law for then God gave one woman to one man God that made this first marriage gave not two women to one man nor two men to one woman but he gave one to one that two not three or foure may be one flesh Accordingly the heavenly marriage-makers espouse the Church to one husband and that they may doe so they doe teach that the former husband must be dead before the soule can marry with another No soule can marry with Christ Iesus but a widow for she must be freed from the law of her old husband by his death before shee can come to be subject to the law of the new Her olde husband was concupiscence to who she was married in carnall generation and this husband must be slaine and put off by death if Christ Iesus the new and true husband of the soule shall be put on in regeneration And indeede if the soule will give her consent this new and true husband will kill the old not so much an husband