practice sought to deepen a person’s experience of being in communion with Christ.
This provides the connection with this present chapter. Spiritual marriage, which
began on earth through betrothal, was only consummated in heaven. However, the
believer received a foretaste of the joy and delight of that experience while still on
earth.
Delight and enjoyment may appear to be unusual terms when speaking of the
Puritans. However, as previously discovered, many of the commonly held
perceptions regarding these seventeenth-century English reformers crumble when
their writings are carefully read. Puritans were strong proponents of experimental
piety. They were as interested in stirring their hearts as stretching their minds. In
their yearning to experience God they drew upon the language of previous
generations to express their desire and delight. Their vocabulary of enjoyment
overflowed through the language of sweetness, various expressions of love, being
swallowed up, and ravishment. Ravishment was a favorite term of Ambrose and
appeared ninety two times in his writings and will shape the structure and content of
this chapter. First, his definition and use of ravishment will be examined, that will
lead to an exploration of the biblical and historical sources that guided his usage of
this highly charged word. Next, his understanding of desire, the causes and recipients
of ravishment including his own personal experiences of being ravished and the
dynamics of its operation on the soul will be studied. The chapter will conclude with
a summary of Ambrose’s awareness of the benefits and effects of being ravished.