CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM

OLD TESTAMENT

The Book of Ecclesiastes

3.Everything Has Its Time

1. To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:
2. a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted;
3. a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4. a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5. a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6. a time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
7. a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8. a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Psalm 139
God's Perfect Knowledge of Man
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall[a] on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;[b]
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

 

JOB 28
Job's Discourse on Wisdom
‘Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold to be refined.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
and searches every recess for ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.
4 He breaks open a shaft away from people; in places forgotten by feet they hang far away from men; they swing to and fro.
5 As for the earth, from it comes bread;
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the source of sapphires,*
and it contains gold dust.
7 ‘That path no bird knows,
nor has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8 The proud lions have not trodden it;
nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9 ‘He puts his hand on the flint;
he overturns the mountains at the roots.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up the streams from trickling;
what is hidden he brings forth to light.
12 ‘But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, “It is not in me”,
and the sea says, “It is not with me.”
15 It cannot be purchased for gold,
nor can silver be weighed for its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.
17Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or quartz,
for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 From Where then does wisdom come ?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
and concealed from the birds of the air.

  ISAIAH  

64:8 But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.
55:10 For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 

GENESIS
1:16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.

 PSALM 2
Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the LORD and against His
Anointed, saying,

 NEW TESTAMENT

THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS
Seeing the Invisible
4:16Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
4:18 While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 

STRIVING FOR A CROWN
9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
9:25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
9:26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.
9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
-James 4:10

PHILIPPIANS
4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things.
4:9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

 

The Gospel According to John
The Eternal Word
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

 

Matthew 

5:14 You are the light of the world.A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 

5:15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket,but on a lampstand,and it gives light to all who are in the house.
5:16 Let your light so shine before men,that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Live as You Called

THE LORD is my light and my salvation;whom shall I fear?
THE LORD is the strength of my life;of whom shall I be afraid?

by purity,by knowledge,by longsuffering,by kindness,by the Holy Spirit,by sincere love,by the word of truth,by the power of God,by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,by honor and dishonor,by evil report and good report;as deceivers,and yet true;
as unknown,and yet well known;as dying,and behold we live;as chastened,and yet not killed;
as sorrowful,yet always rejoicing;as poor,yet making many rich;as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
-CORINTHIANS 6:6 TO 10

MYSTIC PRAYERS

Though Christ a thousand times
In Bethlehem be born,
If He's not born in thee
Thy soul is still forlorn.
The Cross on Golgotha
Will never save thy soul,
The Cross in thine own heart
Alone can make thee whole.
-Angelus Silesius

Without knowing where, I enter into silence,
And I dwell in ignorance,
Above all knowledge...
A place without light, an effect without a cause.
-Strophes of St. Jean de la Croix on 'obscure contemplation'

 

I have faith such end shall be :
From the first, Power was — I knew.

Life has made clear to me

That, strive but for closer view,

Love were as plain to see.


When see ? When there dawns a day,

If not on the homely earth,
Then yonder, worlds away.

Where the strange and new have birth.
And Power comes full in play.

At the midnight in the silence of the sleep-time,

When you set your fancies free,
Will they pass to where — by death, fools think, im-
prisoned —
Low he lies who once so loved you, whom you loved so,
— Pity me ?

Oh to love so, be so loved, yet so mistaken !

What had I on earth to do
With the slothful, with the mawkish, the unmanly?
Like the aimless, helpless, hopeless, did I drivel
— Being — who ?



One who never turned his back but marched breast
forward,
Never doubted clouds would break,
Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would

triumph.
Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better.
Sleep to wake.

No, at noonday in the bustle of man's work-time

Greet the unseen with a cheer !
Bid him forward, breast and back as either should be,.
''Strive and thrive !" cry "Speed, — fight on, fare ever
There as here !"
-Robert Browning

GOOD, to forgive;
Best, to forget!
Living, we fret;
Dying, we live.
Fretless and free,
Soul, clap thy pinion!
Earth have dominion,
Body, o'er thee!

God help you, sailors, at your need!
Spare the curse!
For some ships, safe in port indeed,
Rot and rust,
Run to dust,
All through worms i' the wood, which crept.

EXCURSION
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

SUCH was the Boy—but for the growing Youth
What soul was his, when, from the naked top
Of some bold headland, he beheld the sun
Rise up, and bathe the world in light! He looked—
Ocean and earth, the solid frame of earth
And ocean’s liquid mass, in gladness lay
Beneath him:—Far and wide the clouds were touched,
And in their silent faces could he read
Unutterable love. Sound needed none,
Nor any voice of joy; his spirit drank
The spectacle: sensation, soul, and form,
All melted into him; they swallowed up
His animal being; in them did he live,
And by them did he live; they were his life.
In such access of mind, in such high hour
Of visitation from the living God,
Thought was not; in enjoyment it expired.
No thanks he breathed, he proffered no request;
Rapt into still communion that transcends
The imperfect offices of prayer and praise,
His mind was a thanksgiving to the power
That made him; it was blessedness and love!

 

The Lamb
From Songs of Innocence
William Blake

Little lamb, who made thee?
Does thou know who made thee,
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little lamb, who made thee?
Does thou know who made thee?

Little lamb, I'll tell thee;
Little lamb, I'll tell thee:
He is called by thy name,
For He calls Himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and He is mild,
He became a little child.
I a child, and thou a lamb,
We are called by His name.
Little lamb, God bless thee!
Little lamb, God bless thee!

O Light Invisible, we praise Thee!
Too bright for mortal vision.

O Greater Light, we praise Thee for the less;

We thank Thee for the light that we have kindled,
The light of altar and of sanctuary;
Small lights of those who meditate at midnight
And lights directed through the coloured panes of windows
And light reflected from the polished stone,
The gilded carven wood, the coloured fresco.
Our gaze is submarine, our eyes look upward
And see the light that fractures through unquiet water.
We see the light but see not whence it comes.
O Light Invisible, we glorify Thee!

In our rhythm of earthly life we tire of light. We are glad when the day ends, when the play ends; and ecstasy is too much pain.
We are children quickly tired: children who are up in the night and fall asleep as the rocket is fired; and the day is long for work or play.
We tire of distraction or concentration, we sleep and are glad to sleep,
Controlled by the rhythm of blood and the day and the night and the seasons.
And we must extinguish the candle, put out the light and relight it;
Forever must quench, forever relight the flame.
Therefore we thank Thee for our little light, that is dappled with shadow.
We thank Thee who hast moved us to building, to finding, to forming at the ends of our fingers and beams of our eyes.
And when we have built an altar to the Invisible Light, we may set thereon the little lights for which our bodily vision is made.
And we thank Thee that darkness reminds us of light.
O Light Invisible, we give Thee thanks for Thy great glory!
-T.S. Eliot

 

The Hound of Heaven

I fled Him down the nights and down the days
I fled Him down the arches of the years
I fled Him down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind, and in the midst of tears
I hid from him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped and shot precipitated
Adown titanic glooms of chasme d hears
From those strong feet that followed, followed after
But with unhurrying chase and unperturbe d pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat, and a Voice beat,
More instant than the feet:
All things betray thee who betrayest me.
-Francis Thompson

Go, songs, for ended is our brief, sweet play

Go, songs, for ended is our brief, sweet play;
Go, children of swift joy and tardy sorrow:
And some are sung, and that was yesterday,
And some are unsung, and that may be tomorrow.

Go forth; and if it be o'er stony way,
Old joy can lend what newer grief must borrow:
And it was sweet, and that was yesterday,
And sweet is sweet, though purchased with sorrow.

Go, songs, and come not back from your far way:
And if men ask you why ye smile and sorrow,
Tell them ye grieve, for your hearts know Today,
Tell them ye smile, for your eyes know Tomorrow.

-Francis Thompson

Grow old along with me!!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the
first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith 'A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust,
God; see all, nor be afraid!'

 Or like stout Cortez when
with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific
-and all his men
Looked at each other with
a wild surmise-
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.
-Keats

O world invisible, we view thee,
O world intangible, we touch thee,
O world unknowable, we know thee,
Inapprehensible, we clutch thee!
Does the fish soar to find the ocean,
The eagle plunge to find the air-
-Francis Thompson

The Father
By Joshua Sylvester (1563–1618)

ALPHA and Omega, God alone:
Eloi, My God, the Holy-One;
Whose Power is Omnipotence:
Whose Wisedome is Omni-science:
Whose Beeing is All Soveraigne Blisse: 5
Whose Worke Perfection’s Fulnesse is;
Under All things, not under-cast;
Over All things, not over-plac’t;
Within All things, not there included;
Without All things, not thence excluded: 10
Above All, over All things raigning;
Beneath All, All things aye sustayning:
Without All, All conteyning sole:
Within All, filling-full the Whole:
Within All, no where comprehended; 15
Without All, no where more extended;
Under, by nothing over-topped:
Over, by nothing under-propped:
Unmov’d, Thou mov’st the World about;
Unplac’t, Within it, or Without: 20
Unchanged, time-lesse, Time Thou changest:
Th’ unstable, Thou, still stable, rangest;
No outward Force, nor inward Fate,
Can Thy drad Essence alterate:

Deliver thou thyself by thyself!
Ah, do not let thyself sink!
For thou art thyself thy greatest friend.
And thou thyself thy greatest enemy.

 

I was here from the moment of the
Beginning, and here I am still.And
I shall remain here until the end

I roamed the infinite sky,and
Soared in the ideal world,and
Floated through the firmament.But
Here I am,prisoner of measurement.

Yet, I still possess some inner power
With which I struggle to greet each day.

Pray to grow old and reach the moment of
My return to God.Only then will my heart fill!
-Khalil Gibran

 

"Tintern Abbey"
William Wordsworth

FIVE years have past; five summers, with the length
Of five long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
With a soft inland murmur. -- Once again
Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,
That on a wild secluded scene impress
Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect
The landscape with the quiet of the sky.
The day is come when I again repose
Here, under this dark sycamore, and view
These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts,
Which at this season, with their unripe fruits,
Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves
'Mid groves and copses. Once again I see
These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines
Of sportive wood run wild: these pastoral farms,
Green to the very door; and wreaths of smoke
Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!
With some uncertain notice, as might seem
Of vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods,
Or of some Hermit's cave, where by his fire
The Hermit sits alone.