miss the equally present importance of the Holy Spirit throughout his writings.
Additionally, this Reformed principle of Word and Spirit nicely echoes Bernard of
Clairvaux’s teaching that contemplation is of both the intellect and the affect. This
thesis has emphasized that Ambrose’s method of meditation was built on this
principle, to begin by laying down the understanding of Scripture and then stirring up
the affections of the soul to deepen a person’s experience of that Scripture.
Third, while mystical experience is essentially ineffable, a tremendous amount
of words have been written and spoken attempting to describe it. The Puritans read
Song of Songs allegorically and turned to it not only for a biblical theology of
spiritual marriage and intimacy but also for an erotic vocabulary to express their
desire and delight in Jesus, the divine Bridegroom. Ambrose made full usage of this
language of delight and enjoyment. Ravishment in particular, was a favorite word
used to describe a person’s experience with God. Significantly, Ambrose used this
word autobiographically to express his own relationship of spiritual marriage with
Jesus. He also employed it in his writings to encourage others to delight and enjoy
God. While many scholars have commented on the frequency of the word ravish
throughout the history of Christian spirituality, I am not aware of anyone who has
made a detailed examination of the nature, dynamics, and benefits of ravishment
within Puritan piety as presented in chapter 5. Further, this research has confirmed
the assertion of other writers of the strong continuity between the language of Puritan
piety and that of Bernard and other medieval Christians. Additionally, this study
cautiously encourages the exploration of reclaiming the use of the term ravishment for
the contemporary Church. Perhaps, the awareness and proper usage of ravishment