the soul, because the heart and mind have their
fill of it too, for they too have ached and thirsted and hungered and
longed, and now are satisfied.

If this measureless happiness could only be imagined by us before
we experience it, how many of us would be spurred to greater efforts
instead of falling back amongst the dust and cobwebs of Vanity!--but
it cannot be imagined, and the only way to come to it is by faith
and obedience; and it is easy to see why this arrangement is
necessary, for if we could imagine it thoroughly, then we should
probably try to get to God only on account of greed, and should find
ourselves drifting away instead of towards Him; it cannot be done
by greed, greed being one of those things which beguiled the soul
away from Him to begin with; and He does not send the soul His
favours till she is free of, and has risen above, the dangers of greed
and seeks Him for Himself and not for His favours. As soon as it is
safe for her He will give the soul continual favours, because Perfect
Love is ever desirous to give, and is only restrained on our account
to withhold favours. The soul which knows how to make all
necessary preparations to receive Him becomes a source of joy to
God, for now He can give and give and no harm be done to that soul;
but He does not acquaint the soul too suddenly with all the joy that
she is to Him, because she would not (at least certainly my soul
would not) be able to bear the knowledge of the privilege that she
enjoys, without some danger to herself,--and so, all unaware of the
singularity of the privilege that she enjoys without any analysis of
her happiness, she concerns herself with sweetly obeying Him, with
singing to Him, and with giving Him all that she has all the day long,
and so hovers before Him as delightful simplicity and love.

This Union with God varies so much in degree that it makes an
effect of endless variety. Yet it is all one same joy, it is the joy of
angels reduced to such degree as makes it bearable to flesh: the soul
knows that it is the joy of angels that she is receiving the first time
that she has it given to her: immediately on receipt of this joy she
comprehends the _mode_ of heavenly living; she knows it is but the
outer edge that she touches, but what means so much to her is that
she has _recaptured the knowledge of this mode of living:_
henceforth it is a question of progress, she bends all her attention to
progress so that she may get nearer