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1. RIuers doe restlesse rūne, and as the wiseman saieth, returne to their source. The Sea which is the place whence they spring, is also the place of their finall repose; all their motion tend's no further then to vnite themselues to their foun∣taine.
O God saieth S. AVGVSTINE, thou hast created my heart for thy selfe, and it can neuer re∣pose but in thee: But what haue I in heauen saue thee, ô my God, or what else in earth can I desire? yea Lord, for thou art the Lord of my heart, thou my part and portion for euer. Howbeit the vnion which our heart aspires to, neuer attaines to it's perfection in this mortall life; we may commence our Loues in this, but neuer consummat them till the next world.
2. The heauenly Spouse makes a delicate ex∣pression of it, I haue found him at length saieth she; him whom my heart loues, I hold him, nor will I let him goe, till I haue led him into my mo∣thers house, and into her chamber who brought me fourth. The well-beloued hath gotten him then: For he makes her feele his presence by a thousand consolations: she holdes him, these fee∣lings causing in her strong affections, by which she doth holde and embrace him, protesting neuer to release him. O no! for these affections turne into eternall resolutions, yet cannot she perswade her selfe, that she giues him the mariage kisse, till she meete with him in her mothers house THE HEA∣VENLY HIERVSALEM, as S. PAVLE saieth. But see, THEO: how this Spouse, thinks euen to keepe her beloued at her mercie, as slaue in Loue, and so leade him at her pleasure, bringing him to her mo∣thers happie abode, though indeede she her selfe must be conducted thither by him, as was REBEC∣CA into SARA'S chamber, by her deare ISAAC. The heart pressed with loue, doth still gaine ground towards the thing beloued. And the Spouse him∣selfe
confesseth, that the Beloued hath forced his heart, hauing tyed him with one onely heire of her head, acknowledging himselfe her prisoner by Loue.
3. This perfect coniunction then of the soule with God, shall onely be in heauen, where, as the Apocalypse saieth, the Lambs marriage-banquet shall be made. In this mottall life the soule is truely espoused, and betrothed to the immaculat Lambe, but not as yet married vnto him: They haue passed their words and promisses, but the execution of the marriage is differred: so that we haue alwayes time, though neuer reason, to disclame from it; our faithfull Spouse neuer abandoning vs, vnlesse prouoked by our disloyaltie and vnfaithfulnesse: But in heauen the marriage of this diuine vnion being celebrated, the tye of our hearts to their so∣ueraine PRINCIPLE, shall neuer be vndone.
4. It is true THEOTIME that while we ex∣pect the kisse of this indissoluble vnion, which we shall receiue of the Spouse aboue in glorie, he be∣giues vs some few kisses, by a thousand touches of his gratfull presence: for vnlesse the soule were kissed, she should not be drawen, nor would she runne in the odour of the Beloued's perfumes: whence according to the originall Hebrew Text, and the 70. Interpreters, she wisheth many kisses: Let hī kisse me saith she, with kisses of his mouth. But whereas these little kisses of this present life, haue reference to the ETERNALL KISSE of the life to come, the holy vulgar Edition, hath pious∣ly reduced the kisses of grace, to that of Glorie, expressing the spouse her desires in this wise: Let
him kisse me with a kisse of his mouth, as though she should saie, of all the kisses, of all the fauours, that the friend of my heart, or the heart of my soule hath prouided for me; ah! I doe not breath after, or aspire to any other thing then this great and solemne marriage-kisse which remaines for euer, and in comparison whereof, the other kisses merit not the name of kisses, being rather signes of the future vnion betwixt my beloued and me, then vnion it selfe.