See that thou be not ensnared by these. It is no hard matter to keep from
dead idols; but take heed that thou worship not living ones, and
especially thyself. As soon as thou ascribest honor, skill, or power to
thyself, thou settest up thyself in the place of God. This idolatry is
properly struck at by God, when he says that he “will not give his glory
to another.” Isa. 42:8. For whatsoever is, or is called by the name of
honor and glory, is due to none but him, who is the Most High, and the
most Holy One, and the sovereign and everlasting Good. Whosoever,
therefore, thou art, that wouldest not make an idol of thyself, nor
pollute thy works with the foulest of abominations before God, learn
hence, not to ascribe to thyself honor, or glory, or praise; knowing that
it is true humility to shun honor, and to account one’s self unworthy of
all glory. When thou shalt do this, and shalt have mortified all ambition
and self-esteem, then thou shalt be known to be dead to the world indeed.
From this springs up the new man, in whom is found the most noble life of
Christ; which life, he himself has described as being meekness and
lowliness of heart. Matt. 11:29. He, on the contrary, is still carnal, and
lives after the flesh, according to the old birth, who would be honored
and greatly esteemed: because it is the nature of the carnal man to
endeavor to be, or to be accounted above all others. But if any man seek
to be accounted nothing of, he has a heart truly spiritual and Christian.
But alas! where shall we now find the true Christians, that is, such as
are willing to be slighted, and to be reputed as nothing? For, as hath
been said before, it is the property of the true followers of Christ, to
deny themselves, to hate themselves, to despise themselves, and to
renounce all that is theirs, for his sake. Matt. 10:38; Luke 9:23. Such
are indeed genuine Christians.
7. If any one should here ask of me, What then is a Christian to do, if it
please God so to honor him as to give him grace and glory before the world
(Ps. 84:11), as in the case of Daniel: and, since God has appointed
certain distinctions among men, several orders, states, and offices; and
has for that end variously distributed his gifts among them, What is the
duty of a Christian, if he be advanced to some post of dignity? I answer,
If this be thy lot, then render all the honor which is conferred upon thee
to God again; and ascribe nothing to thyself which is the right of
another, or take that to be thine which is God’s only.
8. As soon, therefore, as any honor is given thee, see that, being mindful
of thy low estate, thou transfer it all to God, and keep nothing thereof
to thyself. If thou neglectest to do this, and shouldest be induced to
attribute anything to thyself, it is certain that thou must thereby lose
divine grace, while, with a sacrilegious impiety, thou invadest that which
of right belongs to God. So if thou excel others in spiritual or natural
gifts, in wisdom or skill, wealth or dignity, be watchful not to take this
honor to thyself; yea, let it be thy joy and delight to offer all up to
God again, from a most deep and intimate devotion of thy heart. This thou
wilt not fail to do, and to give that glory to Him which is due, when thou
shalt glory in nothing but in Him only, according to the words of the
Prophet: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom; neither let the mighty
man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let
him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me,
that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and
righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the
Lord.” Jer. 9:23, 24.
Chapter XXIII.
A Man Who Does Not Perceive His Own Emptiness, And Does Not Give All The
Honor To God, Commits The Greatest Of Sins, And Falls Like Satan.
_Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity._—PS.
39:5.
To the end that man may acknowledge his own vanity, he is compared by the
Psalmist (Ps. 39; 144:4), to a shadow; and again in another place (Ps.
90:5), to a dream. Now what is a shadow? It is a lifeless resemblance of
that thing on which it depends; and has in itself neither substance nor
life, but is nothing. In like manner, man of himself has neither
substance, life, strength, nor indeed any ability whatsoever; but depends
on God, even as a shadow on the body, or as light on the sun.
2. Whosoever, therefore, so forgets himself as not to depend on God, who
alone is all in all, “thinking himself to be something when he is nothing,
he deceiveth himself.” Gal. 6:3. He falls from the true eternal and
Sovereign Being into his own nothingness; from the unchangeable Good into
vanity; from truth itself into a lie.
3. This is not only the greatest of sins, but of punishments also. For the
more man turns from God to himself, the more he approaches extreme misery
and calamity. And man by this means, even by turning himself away from
God, towards his own faculties and powers, in truth punishes thereby the
very sin which he commits. He is then accounted to turn himself away from
God, and to forsake “the rock of his salvation” (Deut. 32:15), whenever he
ascribes to himself any degree of power or strength, art or skill, wisdom,
or honor, or merit, so as to be willing to be thought somebody, and to be
much accounted of; when, in very deed, all these in no wise belong to man,
or to any creature, but to God only. Every creature is but a mere shadow,
and of itself merely nothing; even so as the life, substance, faculty,
wisdom, powers, and strength which it seems to have, are not properly its
own, but are God’s only.
4. Wherefore, as soon as a man ascribes all or any of these to himself, he
becomes guilty of apostasy from God. Nor indeed was the devil’s apostasy
aught else, but the not abiding within the bounds, duties, and properties
of a creature, which has all its life, substance, and ability in God, and
ought to hold the same from him, as the shadow does with respect to the
body and the motion thereof. For any one, therefore, to ascribe those
things to himself which are God’s; or to challenge to himself honor,
glory, wisdom, or esteem (forasmuch as none of these suit a creature, but
are all to be transferred to God alone, to whom they really appertain), is
properly to fall like Satan. Hence God permitted him to fall, not
sustaining him any longer with his grace, which was by him disowned. The
same thing must befall all men who, through pride and ambition, presume to
arrogate to themselves any of those things which are God’s. They are not
upheld by the grace of God, who arrogantly turn themselves away from God,
affecting to be as God. God alone being All in all, and moreover being the
only Good, or the _one Good_, and the _all-Good_ essentially; it would be
most unreasonable for any creature to claim to itself aught of that which
is good. Hence our blessed Lord saith, “There is none good but one, that
is God” (Matt. 19:17); meaning, that he is the essential Good, and he
alone is all that is good. This property of God, our Saviour was not
willing to take unto himself in his state of humiliation, forasmuch as he
was then held to be no more than a mere man; that thus, by his most bright
example, he might instruct us that man ought not to ascribe to himself the
things which are God’s.
5. When man does otherwise, he commits the greatest of all sins, and,
aiming at divinity, stains himself thereby with a most nefarious
sacrilege, being turned from God to himself. And as many as are in this
condition, seek help, counsel, and comfort, not from God only, as they
ought, but from creatures, and sometimes even from the devil himself. But
what greater madness, or what worse blindness is there, than to expect
good from evil, life from death, blessedness from the damned, help from
the helpless, blessedness from the accursed, and light from darkness?
Whereas, on the other hand, it is the highest wisdom to look for good from
the source of all good, to seek life from the fountain of life, to expect
blessedness from the spring of salvation, and to go for help to him who
can do all things, and “with whom nothing is impossible.” Luke 1:37.
Chapter XXIV.
Of The Noble Virtue Of Love, And Of Its Power, Soundness, And Purity.
_He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love._—1 JOHN
4:8.
Love, says St. Paul, is the greatest of all virtues, and without it all
gifts are unprofitable (1 Cor. 13:13); therefore he admonishes us, saying,
“Let all your things be done with charity.” 1 Cor. 16:14. Accordingly we
are to pray with charity, as our Lord says: “If thou bring thy gift to the
altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; go
thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother.” Matt. 5:23, 24. And in the
Lord’s Prayer, our forgiving our neighbor’s debts, or trespasses, is
strictly joined to God’s forgiving ours. Matt. 6:12, 14, 15.
2. Love is, however, so singular a virtue, that a man may mistake therein
as easily as in anything else. Therefore nothing ought to be looked upon
with a more suspicious eye than love; for there is nothing which can so
powerfully incline, force, or restrain, and so thoroughly penetrate the
mind, as love. Therefore, if love be not ruled by the true light, the Holy
Ghost, it precipitates the soul into a thousand calamities.
3. And this I do not say with respect to the love of evil; for this, as a
diabolical thing, is by all Christians to be avoided; but I speak of that
love which is betwixt God, and man, and his neighbor. Love, when not
regulated by divine wisdom, can easily be deceived, misled, and thrust out
of its due order, so as not to reach the true end. Many think they have
the love of God in their souls, and yet have the love of the world, or
their own love, nay, it may be the love of Satan.
4. Take an instance of this fact: any one that loves the Lord God only for
the sake of temporal things, that he may be preserved by him from temporal
misfortunes, loves himself more than God, and prefers his own welfare
before God. This is called inordinate love. He ought to love God more than
himself, nay, love him above all things; and all things, both good and
evil days, he ought to love for the sake of God.
5. But when man prefers himself to the love of God, he surely makes
himself God, by loving himself more than God; and whilst he loves not God
as God, for his sake, but merely for his own private interest, he has a
false and deceitful love. He that has such a love, loves all things for
his own sake, for the profit and honor which he reaps from them. He loves
also holy men, nay, the very word of God, for this reason only, that it
may afford him a show and name of holiness, but not for the sake of that
excellent Good which lies hid therein.
6. And because such a love is impure, it brings forth impure fruits, which
are self-interest, self-honor, self-lust; all which are carnal and
earthly, not heavenly and spiritual fruits. Thus many love great skill and
learning, that they may be preferred to others, and may rule over them;
not from a principle of love to God and their neighbor, but from a love to
themselves, thinking thereby to gain great honors and preferments.
7. There are others also who love God that he may spare them, and not
punish them for their sins in dreadful severity; nay, that he may be
bountiful to them in this present time; but this, alas! is a very weak
love. For these love God for their own profit, and not for his own sake,
or not by reason of his being the most excellent and highest Good.
8. Others love God that he may bestow upon them many gifts in
understanding and wisdom, whereby they might gain a great reputation.
9. Some also love virtue, not for the sake of virtue itself, but that they
may obtain a great name, and be looked upon as brave, virtuous men, and
men famous for their honesty and piety. All this is not true love, for it
tends not to the right end.
10. There is often also love betwixt some persons uniting themselves by a
love of their own, which increases in them so much that they are pleased
with everything done by him whom they love. For love always follows its
beloved, and cleaves wholly unto him. And thereby one is often involved
and drawn aside into evil; or even the lover himself allures his beloved
to it, because he knows that so it pleases him; and by this false and
deceitful love he is hindered from prayer and all other Christian virtues.
11. Therefore it is highly necessary that our love should be guided and
ruled by the Holy Spirit, and by our meditations on the whole life of
Christ and his holy sufferings, out of which nothing but _pure_ love
shines forth. He loved God purely, above all things, and not himself. He
loved man with a pure, undefiled love, and not himself. He did and spake
nothing for his own sake, but all for ours. Whatsoever he did and spoke
was for our benefit; he was not profited by it, but we were. All his pains
and labors, nay; his greatest torments and afflictions, were not too hard
or heavy for him, that we might be benefited and saved thereby; nay, his
very cross was joy unto him, that he might fulfil the will of God his
Father.
12. That is a pure, undefiled love for which nothing is too difficult,
which complains of nothing, nay, which spares not itself, but gives itself
for the beloved’s sake, even unto death. Whatsoever crosses and sufferings
God sends, this love regards as good. It sees that it is the holy will of
God, and therefore it would rather suffer much more for the same, and is
very well contented with everything that God willeth; for it knows that
God orders all things right and well.
13. And as love unites itself to the beloved, it learns also his manners,
follows him for his love’s sake, and does that which is well-pleasing unto
him: so he that loves Christ rightly learns of him his manner of life and
his virtues, for he knows it is well-pleasing unto him. He conforms
himself to his image, and remains all his life under the yoke and cross of
Christ, even as Christ, during his whole life, bore the cross of poverty,
contempt, and pains. And although no man in this frail state can attain
unto perfect love, yet every Christian is to labor, that his love be not
false, but as pure as possible, according to what St. Paul says, “Love out
of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” 1 Tim.
1:5.
14. This pure love, derived from Christ and the Holy Ghost, works in man
every good thing, and is never idle. It is its joy to do good, for it can
do nothing else; even as the Lord God says, “I will rejoice over them to
do them good.” Jer. 32:41. Why? Because God is love itself, which can do
nothing else but that which it is in its own being. And this is a sign of
pure and true love. For this love does not say, “I am not obliged to do
this or that;” but where it has no law, there it is a law unto itself,
only that it may do much good; for otherwise love would not continue to be
love.
15. Hence it is plain why God Almighty is never weary of doing good; and
why he is that infinite Good which never ceases to be. He is everlasting
love, which cannot desist from doing good, or else he would cease to be
love. Therefore, even when he punishes and chastises, he draws all good
out of evil, directing it to a good end, even to our salvation.
16. This pure love of God causes us to pray aright. For as a friend has
his friend at his disposal in all things, so also such a lover of God is a
friend of God, and obtains from him that for which he prays. Therefore,
because Lazarus’s sister knew the Lord Jesus to be not only a friend, but
also the Son of God, she said, “I know that even now whatsoever thou wilt
ask of God, God will give it thee” (John 11:22); and because Mary loved
Jesus, she was heard by the Lord, and he restored her brother unto her. Of
such a love as obtains from God all things, holy David saith, “Delight
thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine
heart.” Ps. 37:4.
17. But in order that thou mayest have a characteristic mark of this love,
observe these _four_ properties of true love. 1. Love submits itself to
the will of the beloved. 2. True love abandons all friendship which is
contrary to its beloved. 3. One friend reveals his heart unto the other.
4. A true lover endeavors to be made conformable to his beloved, in his
manners, and in all his life. Is the beloved poor, the lover will be poor
with him. Is the beloved despised, the lover also bears his contempt. Is
he sick, the lover is sick too. Thus love makes an equality between them,
so that they have the same prosperity and adversity. For there must be
such a communion between the lover and the beloved, as that each of them
shall be made partaker of the other’s good as well as ill. This, then, is
not only a communion, but a union or uniting of two minds like each other,
and of two hearts which are alike.
18. After such a manner our Lord Jesus Christ is become our Friend. For,
1. His love submitted itself to the will of man, and was obedient unto the
cross: nay, for the sake of man he submitted his will to every one, even
to his enemies. 2. He neglected all other friendship that he could have
had in the world; nay, he even forgot himself, and spared not his own body
and life for our sakes. 3. He revealed in his Gospel, his heart unto us;
therefore he says, “Henceforth I call you not servants; but I have called
you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father, I have made
known unto you.” John 15:15. 4. He was made alike unto us in all things,
sin only excepted. Phil. 2:7. He became poor as we are, and mortal even as
we.
19. If now we will be his true lovers, we must also do all these things.
And seeing he was made like unto us in all things, and in all our misery,
why would not we strive to be made like unto Him? If we thus love him, we
shall obtain from him all things by prayer, according to his saying, “Unto
him that loveth me, I will manifest myself.” John 14:21. O what a friendly
and delightful manifestation in the heart is there, when we experience
heavenly joy, wisdom, and understanding! Here is the only right way to
acquire understanding and wisdom, which are so highly praised by king
Solomon in the Proverbs.
20. We are, therefore, naturally led to the conclusion, that genuine
prayer cannot be offered without love.
Chapter XXV.
Sundry Signs By Which We May Ascertain Whether We Truly Love Christ.
_If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him._—1 JOHN 2:15.
The first mark that the love of Christ is in us, is the avoiding of the
love of the world. When thou considerest Christ in his holy poverty, how
he was so entirely empty of love to temporal things, his love will also
actuate thee to learn that thou art to put off the love of the world and
to despise it; so that thou wilt desire nothing here but thy Lord Jesus
Christ, and wilt not put thy confidence in any creature, or earthly
assistance.
2. Secondly, thou wilt willingly bear reproach and contempt from the
world, for the sake of Christ’s holy reproach; nay, with St. Paul, thou
wilt account it thy glory, and rejoice in it. Eph. 3:13. Nor wilt thou be
much troubled when the world makes no great account of thee; for such was
thy Lord’s and Redeemer’s life in this world. This shall be thy full
satisfaction, that Christ is thy honor, renown, glory, light, strength,
power, and victory, wisdom, and skill. For to follow Christ is the highest
wisdom.
3. Thirdly, seeing that Christ in his holy body and soul has suffered pain
and sorrow unto death, thou also, for his love’s sake, wilt not only with
patience, but even with joy, suffer sorrow, persecution, distress, and
affliction, nay, torment and pain unto death.
4. And, fourthly, as Christ had comfort and joy in no man nor in any
creature, but only in God, according to what is said in Psalm 22, so thou
also wilt bear it patiently when all worldly comfort leaves thee. For thou
knowest that at last God will make thee joyful with his everlasting
comfort, of which St. Paul gives us an admirable account (2 Cor. 6:4,
etc.): “Let us approve ourselves as the ministers of God, in much
patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in
imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; by
pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost,
by love unfeigned, 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 not
killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich;
as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”
5. Fifthly, thou shalt esteem the cross of Christ as the highest good,
beyond all the treasures of the world. If it were not so, Christ would not
have taught thee so, and put it before thine eyes with his own life and
example. Thou mayest easily believe that the Son of God would not mislead
thee by his example, but conduct thee to the highest wisdom, and to the
highest heavenly joys, although the way is strait and narrow. But thou
seest that he himself walked in this narrow path. And because there are
few that follow him, he says, “Few there be that find it.” Matt. 7:14. For
it is not an easy thing to conquer self, to deny self, to die unto self,
and to renounce the world and all that we have. This is the narrow way,
and few there be that find it.
6. The sixth mark of the love of Christ is, never to have the beloved
Jesus out of our thoughts; but to set him always before us by faith, and
to consider the works of his love.
7. As for instance: I. His _incarnation_, in which, as in a Book of Life,
we see chiefly a twofold benefit: 1. That he thereby fills us with his
love. And, 2. That he makes us sure of our eternal salvation and
happiness. O what inexpressible love is this, that God was made man and
like man, that he might make men like unto God! O the greatness of love!
He took upon him the form of a servant (Phil. 2:6-8) that he might make us
kings, and adorn us with royal crowns. O the greatness of love, that God,
incomprehensible and invisible, should be made palpable and visible! Who
is able to fathom the deep abyss of this love! O what great, unutterable
wisdom, that out of the great evil of sin, thou, O Lord, hast brought
forth such an infinite good, discovering thereby the deep abyss of thy
love! O the great comfort it is to me to know that thy human birth is my
divine birth, and a fountain of salvation against the deep well of sin!
8. II. His holy _doctrine_, wherein are found eternal wisdom, truth,
light, life and salvation; and his holy _life_, whereby he has shown us
the manner, and the way, how to live a truly Christian and godly life. For
the pattern of his holy life is the most wonderful light, which will not
let us walk in darkness.
9. III. The mystery of the innocent _death_ of Christ, in which there are
seven particulars to be considered. 1. The fulfilling of the justice of
God, and of the divine sentence. 2. The satisfaction for all our sins. 3.
Our reconciliation with God; for we were reconciled to God by the death of
his Son. Rom. 5:10. 4. The manifestation of the superabundant love of God
through the death of our Redeemer. 5. The eternal truth of God, that he
has given us his Son, and thereby testified himself to be truly our
Father. 6. The victory over all enemies. 7. The acquiring and purchase of
eternal salvation and life.
10. IV. His _resurrection_, which gives us a firm assurance of the
resurrection of our bodies, and also of that spiritual resurrection,
wherein, through the grace of God, and the power of the life of Christ,
we, having been spiritually dead, become spiritually alive in Christ. Rom.
6:4.
11. V. His _ascension_, which is a consummation of our eternal redemption,
righteousness, and salvation.
12. These five works of the love of Christ are the true Christian school
wherein we are to study, never letting them depart from our thoughts.
Chapter XXVI.
Five Kinds Of Works Of Love, In Which The Grace And Goodness Of God Are
Especially Revealed.
_The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of
Jacob._—PS. 87:2.
There are chiefly five arguments of the love of God. 1. Christ’s
incarnation. 2. His suffering. 3. God’s indwelling in us. 4. God’s love
shining forth out of the creatures. 5. His amiableness in his own Being,
therein surpassing all created things.
2. I. Where love is, there is union; for it is the nature of love that it
unites itself with the beloved. Now, as God loved man so mightily, it
could not be otherwise but that he must unite himself again unto man after
his fall, and out of pure love and mercy become a man. Ah! “What is man
that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitest him!”
Psalm 8:4. The soul of man is so beloved of God, that as Christ is God and
man, having united himself with human nature, with our body and soul: so
also God loves our soul so much that he desires to pour himself wholly
into the same, if it were perfectly purified, and man did not resist him.
For there is infinite love in God, which is unutterable. This is, then,
one of the greatest demonstrations of the love of God, that God is made
man, and has showed himself a true lover of men, having taken upon him
what is human that he might give us what is divine. He is become a Son of
man, that he may make us children of God. He came down to us upon earth,
that he might lift us up into heaven. O what a noble exchange! and all for
this end, that we in him might be loved of God. It is as if God did call
from heaven, saying: “O ye men, behold my beloved Son! Him I have suffered
to become man, that he might be a living example and witness of my deep
love to you; that he might bring you all with himself to me, and ye all
might be made my children and heirs!” Therefore the Lord always calls
himself in the Gospel the _Son of Man_, out of an intimate love to us. We
seldom read that he calls himself the Son of God, but always the Son of
Man, from an affectionate humility and love.
3. II. Although his holy incarnation is a very great argument of his love
to us, yet his holy _suffering_ and _dying_ for our sins are a still
greater one. For “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends.” John 15:13. “In this was manifested the love of
God towards us (saith St. John), that God sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:9, 10. This is the highest love. Our
God, according to his incomprehensible omnipotence, could have found out
other means by which to redeem us; as the Lord Jesus Christ himself prayed
for it in his agony, saying: “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto
thee; take away this cup from me.” Mark 14:36. But then it would not have
been the highest love shown to us. In order that God might bestow the
highest love upon us, and that we might not be able to say, “God has
something which he loves too dearly to give it to us;” he has given us his
dear Son, and not only given him, but given him also to be the
propitiation for our sins. Therefore he could not have showed us greater
love. Therein God commandeth his love towards us. Rom. 5:8. “He that
spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not
with him also freely give us all things?” Rom. 8:32. Hath he given us that
which is the greatest, he will surely give us that also which is less. In
the eternal life all that is God’s shall be ours. “He that overcometh
shall inherit all things.” Rev. 21:7.
4. III. Further, God shows his love to us, by his dwelling among us, and
in us. O what a great comfort is this, that God has sanctified our heart,
and dedicated it to be his dwelling-place. Formerly, in the Old Testament,
when the tabernacle and sanctuary were finished, Moses was commanded to
consecrate, to sanctify, and to sprinkle it with the blood of the
sacrifice; for “almost all things were by the law purged with blood.” Heb.
9:22. And thereupon the glory of God came from heaven, and filled the
tabernacle (Exod. 40:34); so also, after Christ died for our sins, and
after we are sanctified through his blood, God comes to us and makes his
abode with us.
5. Whom we love, with him we delight to be. God loves mankind tenderly;
therefore he delights to be with them, and to have his habitation among
them. “I the Lord dwell in the high and holy place; with him also that is
of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and
to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isa. 57:15. And again, with
whom we delight to be, him we tenderly love. God delights to be with men;
therefore he loves men tenderly, according to the Psalm: “In the saints on
earth, and in the excellent, is all my delight.” Ps. 16:3. This assurance
that God loves us and is with us, ought to comfort us in all our
calamities, in poverty, in sickness, in persecution, and in contempt. What
(sayest thou), doth he love them whom he suffers to come under so many
crosses? I answer, Yes, that he may through the cross make them glorious.
As their sufferings here abound, so also shall their consolations abound
there. 2 Cor. 1:5. The greater afflictions are on earth, the greater joy
and glory are in heaven. 2 Cor. 4:17.
6. And this is the reason why God makes many people sorrowful; namely,
that he may dwell in their hearts; for he delights to dwell nowhere more
than in a poor and contrite spirit. Ps. 34:19; Isa. 66:2. God fills us
here with his grace, that he may fill us hereafter with his glory, even as
he fills and illuminates the heavenly Jerusalem. Rev. 21:23.
7. IV. The love of God shines forth also out of the creatures. When St.
Paul would desire for his Ephesians the best, the highest, and the most
glorious thing, he wishes that they might know the love of God, and be
able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height of the same. Eph. 3:18. He means to say so much, that
the love of God is higher than heaven, deeper than the sea, broader than
the earth, longer than it is from east to west, according to Psalm 103:11.
12. In a word, heaven and earth are full of the love of God: for all that
God hath created, be it visible or invisible, he hath created for this
end, that his inexpressible goodness and love might therein be manifested.
And, therefore, he hath given to man both inward and outward senses, that
thereby he might perceive the goodness and love of God. For all that man
can apprehend by his understanding, thoughts, mind, and reason, as well as
what he apprehends with his outward senses, altogether bears witness to
the love of God. All that man hath, is a testimony of the love of God;
yea, all creatures, visible and invisible, are, as it were, so many
messengers of God, declaring unto us his love; and he speaks to us through
them, saying, “Behold the heaven and earth, and all creatures! I have
created all out of love to man.” And whenever we perceive the pleasantness
of the creatures, we perceive the goodness of God; so that both with our
inward and outward senses we can taste and see that the Lord is good,
according to the words of the 34th Psalm, ver. 8.
8. The sun speaks to us by its light and warmth, as if it said: “Look upon
me, the greatest and the brightest creature among all visible things: He
must be great that made me.” Ps. 19:1, etc. But not only through beautiful
creatures doth God speak to us, but also through the most despicable worm,
as if God did say: “Lo, thou art beholden to me thy Creator, that I, who
could have made thee a worm, have, out of mercy, made thee a man.” Here
remember him who said: “I am a worm, and no man.” Ps. 22:6. Thus God
speaks unto man through all the creatures, declares his love to him, and
invites, leads, and draws us unto himself. This is that wisdom of God
which in all places uttereth “her voice in the streets,” which “rejoiceth
in the habitable part of the earth, and whose delights are with the sons
of men.” Prov. 1:20; 8:31.
9. Indeed, if we consider the matter aright, we are encompassed by the
love of God, even as we are all inclosed under heaven, seeing that “in God
we live, and move, and have our being.” Acts 17:28. Man can go nowhere,
but the love and goodness of God follow after him, and call him through
all the creatures, nay, through his own heart and conscience, saying:
“Whither wilt thou go, beloved child? Whither shalt thou flee from my
presence? If thou ascendest up into heaven, I am there. If thou makest thy
bed in hell, behold I am there. If thou takest the wings of the morning,
and dwellest in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall my hand
lead thee, and my right hand shall hold thee.” Ps. 139:7, etc. Therefore,
come unto me, and acknowledge my love and grace, with which I meet thee in
every creature. Hast thou sinned, grace abounds with me; hast thou left
me, my love and mercy have not yet rejected thee, but are continually
hastening after thee, have been calling to thee, and, as a wandering
sheep, have sought after thee. And if thou believest not these many
testimonies of all the creatures, believe the testimony of my dear Son,
how I have loved the world in him. John 3:16. “Thou canst nowhere find
rest for thy soul except here; turn which way thou wilt, thou must and
canst only rest in my love and grace.” O how blessed is the heart which
understands that heaven and earth are full of the love of God, and that he
has as many witnesses of his love as there are creatures! But the greatest
and highest witness of all is the Son of God.
10. V. We know also the love of God, from the amiableness of his own
being. From the visions of the prophets, and the Revelation of St. John,
we can observe that God Almighty is so lovely and beautiful, as infinitely
to transcend all the beauty and loveliness of the world. He is the beauty
of all things beautiful, and the loveliness of all things lovely, the life
of all the living. He is ALL. An ancient father has said: “God is so
lovely and beautiful, that if a man were in a fiery furnace, and saw the
beauty and glory of Him but for a moment, the greatest torment would be
changed into the greatest joy;” as it happened to St. Stephen, when he saw
the glory of God, and said: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son
of man standing on the right hand of God.” Acts 7:56. God is so lovely and
beautiful, that if a man saw him for a thousand years together, it would
seem to him but one hour. For in beholding the loveliness and glory of
God, all time is swallowed up; so that the more any one sees God, the more
he desires to see him; the more he loves God, the more he will love; and
the more he praises God, the more will he praise him; according to the
words of Xystus, an ancient teacher: “Devout souls can never be satiated
with the love and praise of God.” Hence, although the holy angels have
seen God from the beginning of their creation, they have not yet seen him
enough; and although they have praised him from the beginning, they have
not yet praised him enough: for “God is more to be praised, than all
praise can express; and more lovely, than the love of all the creatures
can reach.” God is infinite in his beauty, loveliness, and glory;
therefore no creature can love him enough. God is so amiable, that the
more one loves him, the more one desires to love him. He is so to be
praised that the end of his praises cannot be attained; so lovely to be
looked upon, that looking upon him never makes us weary; so comfortable to
be heard, that he never can be heard enough. Tauler says, “If one might
taste but a drop of the perfect love of God, all the joys and pleasures of
this world would be changed to us into the greatest bitterness.” The
saints have endured the greatest torments for the sake of the love of God,
and have given up their lives; and if they had a thousand bodies, they
would hazard them all, that they might keep the love of God; as the
Psalmist says, “Thy loving kindness is better than life; therefore my lips
shall praise thee.” Ps. 63:3. God is so high, so noble, and so pure a
Good, that the more any one knows him, the more he loves him. He is so
tender and perfect a sweetness, that the more one tastes of him, the
sweeter he becomes; and the more one loves him, the more his loveliness
increases. Blessed is the soul which is filled with the love of God. He
will be conscious in his soul of such amiableness as cannot be found in
time among creatures.
11. Behold now, ye children of men, how deceived ye are by the love of the
world. What is it which any man can obtain by the love of temporal things,
but sorrow, trouble, loss of time, unprofitable words (of which an account
must be given), wranglings, fightings, and a burdened conscience? Surely
all the children of men shall one day sorely repent that they have so much
loved the world, and the things therein: according to the warning given us
by St. John, saying, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in
the world: if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth
the will of God abideth for ever.” 1 John 2:15, etc. Therefore every man
ought to mourn all the days of his life that he ever loved anything more
than God only. If God pours into thy heart his love, so that thou lovest
him above all things, then he has given thee the best thing he hath, even
_Himself_.
Chapter XXVII.
Showing How The Lord Jesus Manifests Himself To The Loving Soul As The
Highest Love And The Highest Good.
_To him that loveth me, I will manifest myself._—JOHN 14:21.
If thou duly considerest Christ crucified thou wilt see nothing in him but
pure, perfect, and unutterable love, and he will show thee his heart, and
say, “Behold, in this heart there is no deceit and no lie (Isaiah 53:9),
but the highest faithfulness and truth are there. Incline thy head unto
me, and rest upon my heart; open thy mouth, and drink out of my wounds the
sweetest love, which out of the heart of my Father springs up and flows
through me.”
2. When thou shalt have tasted this love, thou wilt forget and despise,
for its sake, all the world, and be desirous of nothing else but of this
love. Thou wilt say to thy Lord, “O Lord, give me nothing more than the
sweetness of thy love; nay, if thou wouldst give me the whole world, I
would desire nothing else but thee and thy love.”
3. O happy is the soul which feels this love! for in that soul Christ is
truly known, and manifested to be nothing else but pure love, and to be
the love of the souls of men. These words state a most happy experience;
for that Christ is the love of our soul he clearly shows by his spiritual
coming and delightful refreshing of the soul; and when the soul tastes but
a drop thereof it is filled with joys. For infinite love is so great that
our hearts cannot comprehend it. This the holy martyr Ignatius owned, who
always used to call the Lord Jesus, his Love, and said: My Love is
crucified.
4. In this love of Christ all our works ought to be done (1 Cor. 16:14);
and then they proceed from Christ out of true faith, and are well-pleasing
to God, whether we eat, or drink, or sleep, or perform the duties of our
calling. All that comes forth of a believing love is made pleasant to God
and men; for it is done and wrought in God. John 3:21.
5. Although this love of Christ is the highest good in heaven and upon
earth (for all good things are contained therein), yet is God so willing
and ready to bestow it upon us, that he hath sent, even his dear Son, into
this misery, to make us partakers in him of this inexpressible treasure,
through faith. And he is much more ready to give us this precious good
than we are to receive it.
6. This love, “shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 5:5),
when felt in us, affords us more joy than all the world can give. And if
all creatures were present, a believing and loving soul would part with
them, yea, not so much as look upon them, because of the superabundant
sweetness of the love of God. And if all creatures should begin to speak,
the voice of the love of God would be stronger and more delightful than
the voice of all the creatures. For this love binds and unites the mind
unto Christ, and replenishes it with all good. This precious good is
indeed known, seen, and tasted in the spirit, but no words can express it.
All words are much too weak to set forth even the shadow thereof; and no
man’s tongue can reach that precious and lovely good of which the spirit
of man is sensible. Therefore also St. Paul says, that he heard in
paradise words that were “unspeakable.” 2 Cor. 12:4.
7. And when this precious good withdraws from the soul, there is then
greater sorrow than if all the world had been lost. Then the soul calls
and cries, “O thou delightful love, I have scarcely tasted of thee; why
dost thou forsake me? My soul is as a child that is weaned of his mother
Ps. 131:2. Oh, thy loving-kindness is better than life! (Ps. 63:3); let me
taste thereof. My soul thirsteth for thee (Ps. 42:2) only, and nothing
else can satisfy me, or make me joyful.”
This holy love causes also, that without it the whole life is imbittered
to a believing and loving soul, and is accounted as death and misery. Yea,
for the sake of this love, man desires to die, to put off the earthly
tabernacle, and to be at home, and present with the Lord, according to the
words of St. Paul. 2 Cor. 5:8.
Chapter XXVIII.
Showing How The Highest Good Is Perceived And Tasted In The Soul.
_O taste and see that the Lord is good._—PS. 34:8.
God is an eternal, perfect, infinite, substantial, communicative Good,
full of love and joy; and therefore he desires to be known in living
faith, in spirit, and in truth. This cannot however be, except a man
really taste and feel in his heart the goodness, sweetness,
loving-kindness, and comfort of God.
2. If this were to be performed there must needs be in man something
conformable to God, and capable of knowing him, that so we might be made
partakers of the highest good. Now this is the soul of man: into the soul
God was willing to pour forth his goodness, yea, to dwell there, and to
manifest and make known himself more and more.
3. But since man has lost this sovereign good by sin, and the devil has
obtained a habitation in, and possession of, him; working in man all his
own works, as pride, covetousness, lust, anger, envy; man, therefore,
“through the faith of the operation of God” (Col. 2:12), must be turned
again from the world unto God, from Satan unto Jesus Christ (Acts 26:18),
and Satan with his works must be driven out and be utterly dispossessed.
As long as Satan works in man, God works not in him; His works are
hindered, so that the soul cannot taste that God is good. Indeed, the
reason why there are so few that know God aright is, that in the greatest
number of men the works of darkness and of Satan have the ascendency. The
most part adhere to the world, to the creatures, and to themselves.
4. But they who will rightly know and taste the Lord’s goodness, must be
joined unto him, and be one spirit with him. 1 Cor. 6:17. And the more
this is done the more does God manifest himself in the believing, loving
soul; the more the heart is turned from the world unto God, the more God
is united to the soul. All love to the world and to the creature must be
turned out, if the love of God ever enter in. “If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15. Where God finds a soul
empty of the world, he fills it with heaven, with himself, and with all
his goodness. The more the heart is emptied of love to the world, the more
God fills it with his light and comfort. “Therefore,” as an ancient father
says, “in an empty, still, and quiet soul, it can be better felt than
expressed what God is.”
5. If then a man would really know that God is good, even the highest
Good, he must taste his goodness in his heart. The Scripture testifies
thereof outwardly, but the heart must feel it inwardly, and must taste the
living word. It must “taste the good word of God and the powers of the
world to come.” Heb. 6:5. Thou canst never better understand that God is
kind and loving, than when thou feelest his comfort. None can better teach
thee that God is a Being full of joy than God himself, when he rejoices in
thee. And so it is also with all other things of God. If he do not
perform, and himself work all in thee, thou wilt never come to a living
knowledge of him. “To know God without God, is impossible,” says St.
Augustine. Therefore, that man will never be able to know rightly what God
is, unto whom God does not make known and manifest himself. But when a
heart feels the living word of God, then it knows and understands that God
is all, all-good, and the true, perfect, eternal Good, and better than all
for which any heart can wish or desire.
6. When this is known and tasted in the soul, according to the words of
Psalm 63:3, “Lord, thy loving-kindness is better than life;” then the soul
begins to scorn the world with its joys and pleasures. She has in God
satisfaction, even full satisfaction, and, in short, ALL. For the world,
with all that is in it, is made up only of individual things, which are
imperfect and inconstant; but God is the true, perfect, universal, and
eternal unchangeable Good.
7. For this reason David says, “Whom have I in heaven but thee, O Lord?
and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.” Ps. 73:25. This
is the language of a soul which has tasted the perfect good, from which
all love to the world and creatures is removed, and which has no pleasure
nor delight in the world and in earthly things, but in God alone, the
highest Good. And this is the true, sensible, and experimental knowledge
of God, nay, the true love of God above all things, which is felt and
tasted in the heart; for when God is rightly known, he is loved, praised,
and honored above all things.
8. Now, if we have the eternal, perfect good, wherein there is all good,
and which alone is ALL, why should we love that which is imperfect? For
where the true, perfect good is known, there it is also beloved above all
imperfect things, that is, above all creatures whatsoever.
9. Thus the living knowledge of God expels the love of the world; and thus
man begins to despise the world, with all the vanities thereof, saying,
with King Solomon, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity;” nay, all under the
sun “is vexation of spirit.” Eccles. 1:2, 14. Thus love to the world is
abolished in the heart, and there remains only love to God, and to the
eternal good which abideth for ever.
Chapter XXIX.
Showing How The Loving Soul Considers God In His Benefits As The Most
Liberal Bountifulness.
_In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that
God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live
through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he
loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins._—1
JOHN 4:9, 10.
All that God does with reference to man, be it benefits or punishments, he
does to this end, that man, who is turned away from him, may be turned to
him again.
2. But man is foolish and brutish, like the beasts (Ps. 32:9), and does
not understand the reason for which God bestows upon him so great
benefits, namely, that thereby he might be invited and encouraged to love
God: nor does he, on the other hand, consider why God punishes him,
namely, that he may turn himself unto God.
3. Let us consider, first, bodily and temporal benefits, and then those
that are spiritual and eternal.
4. I. God has created nothing, either visible or invisible, which may not
be serviceable to man. The invisible creatures which minister to us, are
the holy angels (Heb. 1:14), whose wisdom, strength, diligence, and
watchfulness over us, are declared and praised in many places of
Scripture; so that even many angels wait upon one man: witness the history
of the patriarch Jacob and the prophet Elisha. Gen. 32:1, 2; 2 Kings 6:17.
Because many evil spirits lie in wait for one man, seeking to destroy him;
therefore also many holy watchers are ordered by God for his defence. That
there is joy also in the presence of the angels, over our repentance and
prayers, the Lord teaches us. Luke 15:10. This benefit, because it is
bestowed upon us after an invisible manner, many people little consider;
but a wise man, who considers not only the visible world, but the
invisible also, understands well, that in the invisible world, wherein God
dwelleth, there is much greater glory, and there are much greater numbers
or hosts, and greater principalities and dominions (Col. 1:16) than in
this visible world. And as God makes his own ministers and princes defend
and watch over us, it is plain that this is an exceedingly great benefit;
even as that is to be accounted an honor and favor, when a prince appoints
his own ministers to conduct and defend one that is to travel through a
wilderness or through a hostile country.
5. Look upon the firmament, and consider how God has appointed it for thy
service. Behold the wondrous course of the sun and moon. Why do they run
so incessantly, day and night, and rest not so much as for one moment?
Gen. 1:16; Ps. 19:6. Are they not diligent and industrious servants of
man? For God hath no need of their service; he wants not their operations
nor their light; it is for man that they were created. The sun serves thee
as an unwearied servant, which every morning rises early, and carries
before thee the beautiful light, and puts thee in remembrance of the
eternal light, which is Christ, and his divine word; this shall be the
light of thy soul, that thou mayest walk as a child of the light. The moon
and the night cover thee with a shadow, bringing rest unto thee, and
teaching thee to abide and to dwell under the shadow of the Most High. Ps.
91:1. The moon, like an unwearied handmaid, conducts water to fertilize
the earth. Nay, there is not a star which does not shine, and has not
received some blessing for the benefit of man.
6. Behold the air and the winds, how clear they make the firmament,
dispelling the clouds; or they gather them together and cause them to pour
forth afterwards upon the earth. It is very wonderful that God “bindeth up
the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them.” Job
26:8. The air bears and sustains the clouds, those moist vapors which are
afterwards resolved into small drops of water. Job 36:27. Thunder,
lightnings, and hail (Job 37:3), must lead us to acknowledge the power of
God, to pray to him, and to thank him when he has preserved us in a
terrible tempest. Ps. 18:8, 13, 14.
7. Behold the various winds which govern navigation; so that where a wind
blows, there the ship is driven, and sails on her way as a bird flies
through the air. Thus all places of the world can be found out, and all
the secrets thereof discovered, that nothing may be kept hid of what God
hath created for the benefit of man.
8. Behold the various kinds of fish in the sea. Gen. 1:20, 21; Ps. 104:25.
They have their appointed times and seasons, in which they, as it were,
rise out of the depths and present themselves, crowded together as the
corn in the field, as if they would say, Now we are in season, now is the
time of harvest for the sea; gather therefore, O ye men! And so it is with
the birds also; when their time is come, they fly together in great
multitudes, and show themselves to mankind.
9. Behold the earth, that great storehouse of food and treasury of God. It
furnishes forth meat and drink, medicine and clothing, houses and abodes,
and all the various metals. Each month produces its flowers, which present
themselves to our notice, as if they would say, Here we are; we bring our
gifts, and present them to you, as good as we received them from our
Creator. Nay, even the forest, which is the habitation of roving beasts,
God hath put under man, and made him to have dominion over them. And were
we to attempt to enumerate all the temporal benefits of God, we should
find it impossible to number only them that are in one particular country.
There is no fruit, but it is a benefit of God; and let man enumerate them,
one by one, if he be able. Should not we learn from this to know our good
and bountiful God? Ps. 65:10, 11. If a great potentate were to subject to
thee his whole kingdom, and all his dominions, nobles, and powerful men,
nay, all his subjects, and were to command them to guard, defend,
preserve, clothe, cure, and feed thee, and to take care that thou want
nothing at all, wouldest thou not love him and account him a loving,
bountiful lord? How then oughtest thou to love the Lord thy God, who has
reserved nothing for himself, but appointed for thy service all that is in
heaven, or comes from heaven, and all that is upon earth. He needs no
creatures for himself, and has excepted nothing from thy service, neither
in all the hosts of holy angels, nor in any of his creatures under the
stars. If we but desire it, they are ready to serve us; nay, hell itself
must serve us by bringing upon us fear and terror, that we may not sin;
and by punishing and tormenting our enemies and all the wicked, more than
man can desire.
10. II. Let us, upon this ladder of the creatures, ascend unto God our
Creator, and consider his spiritual benefits. Has not the Holy Trinity,
each Person in particular, bestowed upon man great grace and beneficence?
The Father has given us his own Son, and “how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things?” Rom. 8:32. Has not God the Son given us
himself, and all he is, and all he has? “God commendeth his love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom. 5:8. Is
not the Holy Ghost within us, illuminating, purifying, teaching,
comforting, and adorning our souls with his gifts? He “beareth witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God.” Rom. 8:16.
11. In a word, God’s mercy pours forth itself entirely upon us, and omits
nothing whereby men could be moved to love God. The benefits God bestows
upon us, are so many messengers which he sends for inviting us to come and
to enjoy his love. If thou shouldest ask the Scriptures, the angels, all
the prophets and all the saints of God, nay, all creatures besides, “From
whence come you?” they would answer, “We are the messengers of the mercy
of God; we carry fire and flames, that the heart of man, which is cold and
incrusted, as it were, with ice, might be warmed again by the love of
God.” Yet all these numbers of flaming messengers of God are not able to
warm the dead, cold, and frozen heart. This, therefore, is the greatest
wonder the devil can effect, that he makes a human heart so cold, that
warmth cannot be raised therein, by so many flames of the love of God.
12. Therefore, hearken, thou human heart, and consider where thy Creator
has placed thee: namely, in the middle of so many fiery benefits, where
the glorious angels surround thee with their flaming love, and where there
are so many creatures and messengers of God, all proclaiming his love unto
thee. Wherein now has God Almighty transgressed against thee? Whereby has
he deserved, that thou shouldst not, or canst not, love and praise him? If
what he has done for thee be too little, behold, he offers to do still
more. He will create for thee a new heaven and a new earth, and will build
a new, glorious, heavenly city, which his glory will lighten; nay, he will
illuminate thee with his own light and glory. Rev. 21:10, etc. Could a
young woman be so cold, as not to love a fair and youthful bridegroom,
whose beauty and goodness were praised day and night, nay, who had
delivered her from death, and adorned her with the fairest ornaments?
Therefore know, thou human soul, how cold the devil has made thee, since
thou canst not be at all warmed by the love of God.
13. And since God has implanted love in all human hearts, tell me, if thy
love could be bought of thee, to whom wouldest thou sell it rather than to
the Lord thy God? But thinkest thou, that God has not bought of thee thy
love dear enough, and has not paid for it a price sufficient? Hath He not
given thee his dear Son for it, and Heaven and Earth besides? All that
thou expectest to gain for thy love from the world, is as nothing, in
comparison with what God has given thee, and what He further has prepared
for them that love him. 1 Cor. 2:9; Isa. 64:4. The world, perhaps, gives
thee a handful of honor and riches, accompanied with many troubles, and
yet thou lovest it! Why dost thou not rather love God, the everlasting
Good? But if thy love is not to be bought or sold, but rather will bestow
itself freely upon that which thou likest best, what can love find that is
to be esteemed more than the supreme, eternal, and most glorious Good?
Everything we love, is our beauty and ornament: and if thou lovest God,
thou shalt make him thereby thy beauty and thy ornament. And since that is
lovely which is beautiful, nothing can ever make thee more lovely and
comely, than the love of God in thy soul.
14. And lastly, it is but just and reasonable, that we should love him
“who first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. Take account of all the benefits of
God, and sum them up; so shalt thou find that all creatures are full of
the love of God. This love follows and surrounds thee everywhere, so that
thou canst not be rid of it, nor hide thyself from it. It is too powerful
and overcometh thee; thou must enjoy it whether thou wilt or not, unless
thou wouldest live no more.
15. Now we know that brutes love those by whom they are loved; wouldest
thou be worse than a brute, hating thy Benefactor, in whose love thou
livest and movest, standest and walkest, sleepest and wakest? But as a
thing that is to be kindled, must be held to the fire till it take the
flame: so also art thou to expose thy heart to the fire of the love of
God, till it be kindled and inflamed therein, which is effected by
continual contemplations of the benefits of God. As formerly the priests
were commanded to kindle the sacrifices by the holy fire (Lev. 6:12), so
must the eternal High Priest Jesus Christ, kindle the sacrifice of thine
heart, by the fire of his Holy Spirit. And this holy fire of his love was
burning toward us from eternity; for He loved us before the foundation of
the world. Since that, it has gloriously shown forth itself in the Lord’s
incarnation and birth; and chiefly in his sufferings and death, whereby He
has bestowed upon us the highest love; and this fire of his flaming love
to us will not be extinguished to all eternity. Near this fire continue
thou with thy cold heart, that thou mayest he kindled with, and united to,
the love of Christ.
Chapter XXX.
Showing How God Manifests Himself To The Loving Soul, As The Supreme
Beauty.
_O Lord my God, thou art very great: thou art clothed with honor
and majesty; who coverest thyself with light as with a
garment._—PS. 104:1, 2.
As nothing is more lovely to a loving soul than Christ, and no good higher
or more precious than God himself; so there is also nothing more
_beautiful_ in the sight of such a one than God. That soul looks upon God
as the highest beauty, with which nothing in heaven and earth is to be
compared; so that all the holy angels cannot sufficiently praise to all
eternity this beauty of God. If all the holy angels in their lustre, and
all the elect in their glory, were put together, it would nevertheless
appear, that all their beauty and splendor proceed from God, who is the
eternal glory and beauty; and that they are derived from the everlasting,
infinite light and brightness. For as God is all good, and the highest
good, so He is also all beauty, ornament, and glory.
2. And when a man beholds in spirit the glory of God, he forgets all the
creatures, nay, the beauty of all the angels also; and mourns over nothing
so much, as that he has offended this great Good with his wickedness, and
this infinite eternal beauty and brightness with his impurity.
3. But because the Son of God, the brightness of his glory (Heb. 1:3), is
become man, He hath made men partakers of his divine nature, and of his
comeliness (2 Pet. 1:4), so that all who are in Christ by faith, are
comely and glorious before God. Ps. 16:3. He remembers our defects and
filthiness no more; for although his eyes see, yet the brightness of his
glory, and the love of Christ cover them. Eph. 5:27.
4. The wise heathen Plato, considering the beauty of the creatures, of the
luminaries, of the firmament, of the flowers in the fields, of the metals
and animals, has by his reason drawn the conclusion, that God must of
necessity be an eternal Being, beautiful above all things, because the
beauty of all the creatures must be comprehended or concentrated in Him.
But we say from the word of God, and the holy Evangelist St. John: “It
doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know, that when He shall
appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2);
that we then, being perfectly renewed after the likeness of God, shall
really be an image, like unto God, through which his beauty, brightness,
and glory will shine; but out of Jesus Christ our Lord, in the highest
brightness and beauty of all. For in him is all fulness; and so it has
pleased the Father that “in him should all fulness dwell” (Col. 1:19); and
that “in him should be gathered together in one all things, both which are
in heaven, and which are on earth” (Eph. 1:10); which no finite creature
can comprehend.
5. Therefore angels and men shall admire the brightness and beauty of
Christ, especially the chosen children of God, “whose vile bodies shall be
fashioned like unto his glorious body.” Phil. 3:21. And this is what
Daniel says, “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever
and ever.” Dan. 12:3. And as the 104th Psalm, ver. 2, says of God, “Thou
coverest thyself with light,” so our covering or garment will also be
nothing else but light and brightness.
Chapter XXXI.
Showing How God Manifests Himself To The Loving Soul As The Infinite
Omnipotence.
_O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to
thy faithfulness round about thee?_—PS. 89:8.
The love of God wills, that a loving soul should do good to all men, and
be profitable both to foes and friends; not for the sake of its own profit
and honor, but only for the sake of the love of God, which, as it were,
moves his omnipotence to draw nigh unto us; which also, from its infinite
treasure, gives us all we have, to the end that we should give again from
love what the love of God has given us out of the treasury of his
omnipotence.
2. Therefore, O man, be careful that thou appropriate nothing to thyself,
but restore all to the omnipotence of God, who himself is all that thou
hast and art. No creature can either give to, or take away from, thee; it
is only the omnipotence of God which can do it. Nor can any creature
comfort thee; the love of God alone can do it.
3. In this love, the loving soul sees the fulness of God’s
incomprehensible omnipotence, which comprehends in itself heaven and
earth, the sea and the dry land, but cannot be comprehended by any thing.
For the whole world is to the omnipotence of God “as a drop of a bucket,
and as the small dust of the balance.” Isa. 40:15.
4. And out of this fulness of God’s omnipotence, all the powers of angels,
men, and all other creatures, proceed. It sustains the firmament of
Heaven. The motions of the sea and the powers of the earth proceed from
it; so that heaven and earth are full of God, full of the divine power and
operation, full of the Spirit of the Lord. The power of God, which is the
might of his love, comprehends, incloses, and replenishes all things, but
is comprehended by none. Ps. 139:2, etc.
5. As high as God is over all things, so deeply also is he in all things,
and all things are in him, according to St. Paul, who says, “Of him, and
through him, and to him, are all things” (Rom. 11:36); and again, “Who is
above all, and through all, and in you all.” Eph. 4:6.
6. Since God is so great and over all things, nothing surely can be equal
to him; and he that will be so, makes himself a god, commits the greatest
sin, and falls into the pit of perdition. And since God is all, all that
is without him must be as nothing. Therefore from God’s omnipotence, man
learns to know his own nothingness, and to fear God, who delights in them
only that “humble themselves under his mighty hand.” 1 Peter 5:6.
7. Now as great and high as God is in his omnipotence, even so low is he
made by his love. Behold our Lord Jesus Christ, the living Son, the
powerful arm of God, by whom were all things created, and by whom all
things consist (1 Col. 1:16, 17); how deeply has he descended by his love,
and how lowly and humble has he made himself among all creatures!
8. Therefore, even as we cannot fathom, much less express in words, the
omnipotence of God; so neither can we fathom with our thoughts the
humility and lowliness of Christ. Nevertheless, as deep as is his descent,
so high is also his ascent far above all heavens. Eph. 4:10. Unto him be
honor and praise to all eternity. Amen.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
O God! O Jesus! O blessed Spirit! Thou unchangeable mind! Thou
inextinguishable light! Thou Peace which cannot be disturbed! Thou
indivisible unity! Thou infallible truth! Thou ineffable bounty! Thou
immeasurable might! Thou infinite wisdom! Thou incomprehensible Goodness!
Thou omnipresent eternity! Thou Life of all the living! Do Thou enlighten
me, do Thou sanctify me, do Thou quicken me!
Chapter XXXII.
Showing How The Loving Soul Knows God As The Highest Righteousness And
Holiness.
_Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are
a great deep._—PS. 36:6.
All who love God acknowledge him to be the highest and most holy
righteousness, which pervades all, and is over all. This in God is his
most holy will; in angels holy obedience; in man, the testimony of his
conscience; in all creatures, it is the order of nature, whereby God has
ordered all things in number, weight, and measure. All that is done
against this order, is contrary to God and nature.
2. All sins, therefore, in the world, are committed against God’s
righteousness, and the sinner thereby offends all creatures, even all the
angels in heaven, and his own conscience, and sets them in hostility
against himself. For when God is offended and provoked to anger, all
creatures are also offended and made angry; so, too, when God is
reconciled, all creatures are reconciled also, and rejoice over such a
man. Hence St. Paul says, that all things are reconciled by Christ,
whether they be “things in earth or things in heaven” (Col. 1:20): and
this, because God is reconciled through him. Therefore the Lord says,
“There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that
repenteth.” Luke 15:10. The angels rejoice for man’s own sake.
3. But if God be not reconciled to man, all creatures, angels, and nature
itself, execute vengeance upon him. Hence come the dreadful judgments of
God: and it is impossible to avert such vengeance and judgments. “Thou art
to be feared, O God; and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art
angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth
feared, and was still.” Ps. 76:7, 8. Thus may we see in the plagues of
Egypt how all creatures executed vengeance upon the wicked.
4. From the most holy righteousness of God, when offended, proceeds also
the curse; as Moses, the man of God, witnesses, when he speaks of the
transgression of the divine law. Deut. 27:15, etc.
5. It is a curse when the justice of God executes such vengeance, that the
cursed cannot enjoy any good, either from God or the creature, but is made
an “abhorring unto all flesh.” Isa. 66:24. “A curse is a liableness and
condemnation unto eternal misery.” Therefore a curse is terrible and
dreadful unto all creatures, so that they cannot endure it. And this is
the highest vengeance of the justice of God.
6. From the most holy righteousness of God proceed also those wonderful,
unsearchable, secret, dreadful judgments, whereof David says, “Thy
judgments are a great deep” (Ps. 36:7); and St. Paul, “How unsearchable
are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Rom. 11:33.
7. When, therefore, we consider them, we see therein the righteousness of
God, of which the man of God, Moses, says, “To me belongeth vengeance, and
recompense,” saith the Lord. “If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand
take hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will
reward them that hate me. Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people! for he
will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his
adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land and to his people.” Deut.
32:35, 41, 43.
8. In these words, Moses declares the vengeance of God upon all the
wicked, who resist the righteousness of God. Against them God will whet
his glittering sword; that is, his dreadful sentence and judgment, at
which the earth feareth, and is still. Ps. 76:8. And him, upon whom God
executes his vengeance and judgment, all the world cannot save; according
to the words of the Psalm: “O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O
God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. Lift up thyself, thou
Judge of the earth; render a reward to the proud.” Ps. 94:1, 2. Here we
read that although the Lord God is a gracious, loving, kind, merciful,
long-suffering God, to all them that fear him, he is nevertheless a just
judge, according to his righteousness, of all the wicked that transgress
against his righteousness.
9. He, therefore, sets before us in his word, not only instances of his
grace and mercy, but also of his justice and vengeance; such as those of
the deluge, Sodom and Gomorrah, Pharaoh in Egypt, and in the Red Sea;
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; Saul, Ahithophel, Ahab, Jezebel,
Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Sennacherib; and in the New Testament, Herod,
and many more; in every one of whom, we may see the wonderful judgment and
vengeance of God. Therefore he is called, a _God of vengeance_, “unto whom
vengeance belongeth,” because he is the most holy, and the most righteous
God; nay, righteousness itself. Therefore, the saints (Rev. 6:10) appeal
to the justice of God with a loud voice, saying: “How long, O Lord, holy
and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on
the earth?”
10. Such judgments of God are executed daily, but are rightly understood
only by believing and holy souls, according to the words of the Psalm:
“With thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.” Ps.
91:8. This saying is not to be understood according to carnal passions and
affections, but it is to be considered spiritually; for it imports that we
are to give unto the Lord our God, the praise of his righteousness; and to
say, “Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgments” (Ps.
119:137); and “The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his
works.” Ps. 145:17. Thus holy and believing souls delight to see the
wonderful judgments of God; yet not according to the flesh, so as to
rejoice over the destruction and perdition of the wicked (which would
proceed from self-revenge); but, according to the spirit, they take
delight, that is, they acknowledge and praise the righteousness of God,
who fulfilleth his word, and is a righteous God. And at the same time,
they lament and weep over the perdition of the wicked, even as our Saviour
wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41); and as David wept over Absalom. 2 Sam.
18:33.
11. So, then, we are here to have a twofold respect, namely, to God and to
men. If we look upon the destruction of men, we are justly to be
sorrowful; but if we look upon God, we are to praise his justice, for he
doeth wrong unto none. Ps. 92:15.
Chapter XXXIII.
Showing How The Loving Soul Considers God As The Eternal Wisdom.
_Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the
world._—ACTS 15:18.
God ordains, governs, moves, and regulates all things according to his
unsearchable wisdom, as it is written (Isa. 45:4-12): “I have even called
thee by thy name; I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I
am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God besides me.—I form
the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I the Lord
do all these things.—Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the
potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him
that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? Woe
unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman,
What hast thou brought forth? Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel,
and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning
the work of my hands command ye me. I have made the earth, and created man
upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their
host have I commanded.”
2. This is a powerful testimony concerning the eternal wisdom, and the
wondrous, incomprehensible government of Almighty God, which may be first
observed in this, that he has called every one of us by his name, and has
surnamed us, though we did not know him, and were not yet in being. This
our name by which God calleth us, is our faith, our outward calling, and
our whole course of life. There we are inclosed in, or surrounded with,
God’s eternal wisdom and providence, as it respects our whole life, its
beginning, middle, and end (Ps. 139:16), or as to our going out and coming
in. Ps. 121:8. “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by
their names” (Ps. 147:4); that is, he gives them their courses, powers,
and operations. How much more doth he so in reference to men! God forms
the light and creates darkness. He makes peace, and creates evil; that is,
as to the evil of punishment, the just reward of sin; this he creates and
permits; nay, he calls the sword, and causes an alarm of war to be heard.
Jer. 49:2.
3. In a word, he ordains all things wisely. He sees and hears all things
before, according to the words of the Psalmist: “Understand, ye brutish
among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the
ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? He that
chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? He that teacheth man
knowledge, shall not he know?” Ps. 94:8-10.
4. Here king David teaches us that God has laid a mirror of his
omniscience and eternal wisdom into man, into the hearing ear, and seeing
eye, those two wonderful powers of the human body.
5. It is extremely offensive to a man, to hear and see anything unjust or
unreasonable; how much more to God, who has an all-seeing eye and an
all-hearing ear, must men’s ingratitude be offensive; he having ordained
all things by his wisdom, in order to be serviceable unto men. He has made
the sun by his wisdom to give light, not unto itself, but to us; the water
affords drink, not to itself, but unto us; the earth brings forth fruits,
not for itself but for us; the fire warms, not for itself, but for us; the
air gives breath, not to itself, but to us; the bread feeds, not itself,
but us; the herbs do not heal themselves, but us.
6. The eternal wisdom of God has planted so many powers in the creatures,
and has so wisely distributed them, that they are, as it were, so many
hands through which the wisdom and goodness of God divide these treasures
among us, according to the words of Job: “Who knoweth not in all these,
that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of
every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:9, 10. And “Ask
now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and
they shall tell thee” (Ver. 7); that “with God is wisdom and strength, he
hath counsel and understanding. Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be
built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.” Ver. 13,
14. “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the
earth upon nothing. He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds, and the
cloud is not rent under them.” Job 26:7, 8.
7. Since then the Lord our God ordaineth all things by his wisdom, he
ordaineth all our crosses; and therefore we are not to murmur, but to
praise his wisdom, and to learn patience; for things cannot proceed
otherwise than as they are ordained by God. But not only the things that
befall us in particular, are the most wise order of God; but also all
great national plagues, famine, pestilence, wars, and revolutions of
states. And although we may think that these are nothing but confusion,
perdition, and destruction, yet there reigns the wisest order of God. This
we may gather from the histories of Holy Writ, where famine, wars,
pestilence, desolations of the kingdoms of the world, the destruction of
the Jewish kingdom, and of empires, the Babylonian Captivity, and many
similar events, are described. “I know,” saith Solomon (Eccles. 3:14),
“that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it,
nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before
him.”
8. And again, “Consider the work of God; for who can make that straight,
which he hath made crooked?” Eccles. 7:13.
9. If we consider it aright, we must own that God could not have ordered
things more wisely. So we may say also, with reference to the persecutions
of the saints, both in the Old and New Testament; to our Lord Jesus
Christ; the holy Gospel; the holy martyrs; and all other things. In our
sight, these all seem to be absurd, and foolish, and yet they are the
highest wisdom of God.
10. As then we are to give unto God the praise of righteousness, in all
his wonderful judgments; so we are also to give unto him the praise of
wisdom, in all the wonderful changes of the world, and in all our crosses
and sufferings; knowing that he can direct all evils to a good end, and
out of evil derive good: so that in all things, how confused soever they
may appear unto us, there shineth forth his wisdom, even as his
righteousness doth in all his judgments.
11. But the loving soul sees the wisdom of God especially in the
restoration and redemption of the human race, and in the renovation of the
soul and the faculties thereof. For so it pleased the wisdom of God, that
the corrupt image of God in man, should be renewed by the divine
substantial image of God, that is, by Christ. After man had lost by sin
that blessed wisdom, that glorious light of his _intellect_, by which he
knew God aright, and so had fallen into the utmost blindness, nay, into
eternal darkness, wherein he must have dwelt forever; the Son of God, who
is the eternal wisdom of the Father, became man, and a light of life unto
men (John 1:4), that he might bring back those that had gone astray; that
he might teach the ignorant; call to himself the sinners; and rekindle in
them the light of the knowledge of God by faith and the Holy Ghost; nay,
that he might unite himself to the soul of man, and might shine forth
therein.
12. Secondly: after the _will_ of man was entirely turned away from God,
perverted, and wholly changed into disobedience, striving against God in
all things; the Son of God was made man, that he might be unto us a
pattern of perfect obedience; that he might heal our evil will; implant
his good will in our hearts; renew our will through the Holy Ghost; and
make us partakers of his holy obedience by faith; according to those words
of Scripture (Gal. 3:14), “That we might receive the promise of the Spirit
through faith;” nay, that he might unite himself to us, and live in us,
that so our will also might be made conformable unto God.
13. Thirdly: because the _affections_ of our hearts, and all our
faculties, were in contrariety to God, and “every imagination of the
thoughts of our hearts, was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5); the Son of
God, who is love itself, became man, that he might give us a heart wholly
new; that he might plant therein the love of God, and sincere humility and
meekness; that he might take from us the old carnal heart, and unite
himself with us, that so we might be made of one heart, mind, and spirit
with him; all which are the fruits of his most holy incarnation wrought in
us.
14. And this is the highest wisdom of God, that by his dear Son, He thus
reneweth man. For as God has created man by his wisdom, after his perfect
image; so He hath also, by his dear Son, who is eternal wisdom, and who
was made man, created man anew, and regenerated him to a new image of God,
wherein his wisdom, glory, and righteousness should shine forth forever.
It is in this chiefly that the image of God consists.
15. Thus the corrupt image of God in man, is renewed by the substantial
image of God, which is Christ.
Chapter XXXIV.
Showing How A Man Should Seek The Wisdom Of God By Prayer; Containing Also
A Useful Treatise On Prayer, Wherein The Reader Is Taught How The Heart Is
To Be Moved Unto Prayer, And Brought Into A Quiet Sabbath, So That Prayer
May Be Wrought In Us By The Lord; The Whole Being Set Forth In Twelve
Sections.
Section I.
All That We Have Lost In Adam We Recover Fully And Completely In Christ.
_In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge._—COL. 2:3.
In the beginning God formed man out of the dust of the earth, and breathed
into him the breath of life, and man became a living and immortal soul,
adorned with perfect wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and blessedness,
after the image of his Creator. For where there is divine wisdom, there is
blessedness; and where there is blessedness there is divine wisdom. Man,
therefore, wanted nothing in Paradise to make him completely happy. But
when, being seduced by the temptation of the serpent, he turned away from
God, and fell into sin, then was this divine image in man effaced, and he
became subject to the devil, to death, and to misery. For as soon as this
divine image was defaced in him by sin, he could discover nothing in
himself but misery, blindness, and the curse.
2. But in order that Adam, that is, all men in Adam, might not utterly
perish, God himself was made man; that is, he was pleased to send his Son
to take our nature upon him, and to be born of a virgin. The Son of God
has, by his holy life and doctrine, as by a pattern, shown us again the
way of wisdom and salvation in which we are to walk. For he has not only
delivered us from our sins by his most bitter death, but has moreover
given us a commandment, that “we should walk, even as he also walked.” 1
John 2:6.
3. We are, therefore, begotten again by him, through faith, to be the sons
of God; nay, we are made sons of God in and with his own Son. For “as he
is, so are we also in this world.” 1 John 4:17.
4. In this Son “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.” For
whatsoever was lost in Adam, is perfectly to be found in Christ. Rom.
5:18, 19.
5. If we would, in this life, have a foretaste of these great and glorious
treasures, it must be obtained by prayer, diligent searching, and
continual knocking. For no man can have admission into the kingdom of God,
unless he walk in the new birth, and seek it earnestly of God. No man can
be delivered from the power of sin and the devil, unless he repent, and
offer up his prayers in the name of Christ. For though Christ has
purchased for us all good things, yet without faith no man can be partaker
of them; in and by faith he must also pray, seek, and knock. In a word, it
is by prayer only that we can obtain those “good and perfect gifts which
come down from above, from the Father of lights.” James 1:17.
A PRAYER.
O Eternal God and Father, teach me, I beseech thee, by thy Holy Spirit,
that even as I have lost all by dying in Adam, so I may recover all by
being made alive again in Christ. Grant that I may daily die to myself, by
continual mortification and repentance, and devote and give myself up
entirely to thee; that so all the good things which I have lost may be
restored to me, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Section II.
The Evils That Follow The Neglect Of Prayer.
_Ye have not, because ye ask not._—JAMES 4:2.
1. The neglect of prayer is a violation of the _commandments_ of Christ,
who commands us to “pray without ceasing” (Matt. 7:7; Luke 18:1), not for
His sake, for he well knows what we stand in need of (Matt. 6:32); but for
our own, that we may have a portion of the treasures and inheritance of
God. He that lives in the neglect of prayer is a breaker of the first and
second commandments, even as to blaspheme God is to bring voluntary
destruction upon himself.
2. He that neglects the duty of prayer is a despiser of the _promises_
annexed to the performance of that duty. “Call upon me, and I will deliver
thee” (Ps. 50:15); “Ask, and ye shall receive” (John 16:24); for he
thereby represents God as unmindful of his promises, or as not able to
fulfil them.
3. By the neglect of prayer, our faith, which is the great treasure and
foundation of the inward man, by degrees decays and perishes. For not by
the arm or power of flesh, but by faith in Christ, can we conquer sin,
death, and the devil. 1 John 5:4. Prayer is the nourishment of faith; and
this is that wisdom and eternal life which we must seek for by diligent
prayer.
4. The Lord Jesus departs from them that despise prayer; so that they are
blinded and walk in darkness, knowing neither themselves nor God, but are
strangers to his will. They shut the kingdom of heaven against themselves;
and, being destitute of light to know the will of God, they fall into many
dangers and temptations, and sometimes into despair: whereas, on the
contrary, where there are the Holy Spirit and faith, there the world is
overcome.
5. He that neglects prayer enters into a state of carnal security, and
every kind of iniquity. Such a man is not sensible how deeply he is
engaged in sin; but rushes into all the avenues of destruction which lie
open to receive him. The good things of this world which God has given
him, such as health and riches, he regards as things that come by chance,
or are secured by his own labor; and upon that account he has no gratitude
to his Creator and Benefactor.
6. As man, since his fall, is exposed to continual dangers, both of body
and soul, so is he particularly in danger from the devil, evil spirits,
and wicked men, who, like the devil, are continually plotting the
destruction of the righteous. Whosoever, therefore, neglects prayer, will
be, in the midst of these temptations, like a ship tost in a storm,
without help or hopes of escape.
7. Such a one also leads a most unhappy life; he is in continual
difficulties and fears, being perplexed, doubtful, and uneasy about the
success of his affairs. His head and hands are full of business; yet he
sees but little fruit of his labors, and even that little is in the end
unblessed. Therefore, though the Scripture says that “the wicked may be
seen in great power,” yet it adds, “they pass away, and are not.” Ps.
37:35, 36. They are “like the chaff which the wind driveth away.” Ps. 1:4.
On the other hand, they that seek unto God by prayer “shall flourish like
a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” Ps. 92:12. And “though
many are the afflictions of the righteous” (Ps. 34:19), yet the wicked
undergo more pain and trouble to go to hell than the righteous do to
obtain heaven.
A PRAYER.
Most merciful and compassionate Father, thou knowest that man renders
himself miserable by his own negligence and sloth, whilst he transgresses
thy commands, and neglects the duty of prayer, contemning and slighting
thy most certain and faithful promises. But because thou lovest thy
creatures, and art not willing that any should perish, therefore it is
that thou dost so earnestly invite us to the exercise of prayer. Give me
grace to lay this continually to heart, that I may be able to offer up my
prayers aright, through thy Son Jesus Christ, and be delivered from the
punishments and miseries due to the despisers of that holy duty. Amen.
Section III.
The Benefits Of Continual Prayer.
_Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full._—JOHN
16:24.
1. Man, since his fall, is become slothful and inactive in everything that
is good. He, therefore, that would escape this unhappy state, and the
destruction that will certainly attend it, must stir himself up by prayer;
and by holy meditation conquer his aversion to divine things, and devoutly
consider with himself the advantages of prayer. Let him reflect, that he
thereby praises, honors, and adores the eternal, living, and true God;
that he does not worship any strange God; but offers up his most earnest
supplications to the only one and true God, whose commands, like an
obedient child, he ought to obey, and show forth the praises of his
Creator, Father, and Saviour.
2. He that prays does not despise the promises of God, but testifies by
his prayers that he sets a just value upon them, acknowledging that God is
true, and that he neither can nor will lie.
3. Prayer is the life of faith, causing it to flourish and prosper like a
tree by the river side, and faith is the root of all that is good in us.
Faith is our power, our spiritual consolation, our strength against all
our enemies and temptations, yea, faith is our “victory that overcometh
the world” (1 John 5:4); and consequently everything else that opposes and
hinders us in our spiritual warfare.
4. By prayer, we receive the Holy Spirit. Luke 11:13; Zech. 12:10. By
prayer, we make room for the Holy Spirit to work and exert his power in
us, and by this means to come and make his abode with us. John 14:23. By
prayer, we obtain the true light and knowledge of God, so as perfectly to
understand his will; and, by prayer, we abide in his kingdom, and are
partakers of the blessings of heaven.
5. By prayer, we shake off carnal security, resist sin, and, by
vanquishing flesh and blood, “fight the good fight, and hold faith and a
good conscience.” 1 Tim. 1:19; 6:12.
6. By prayer, we oppose temptations, dangers, afflictions, the devil, and
wicked men. For prayer is a strong tower of defence against our enemies,
and the holy fortress to which we must have recourse (Eph. 6:18; Prov.
18:10; Ps. 31:3); and though the devil and wicked men raise the greatest
opposition, yet “all things work together for good to them that love God.”
Rom. 8:28.
7. Lastly, he that continually watches unto prayer may always thankfully
rejoice in the Holy Ghost; according to the doctrine of St. Paul, “Rejoice
evermore; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks.” 1 Thess.
5:16-18. For the comfortable addresses made to God, the eternal King, by
prayer, are an effectual remedy against sorrow, trouble, misery, and
affliction; and produce joy, peace, and tranquillity in the hearts of the
faithful; and when our prayers are right, we are assured that all our
righteous designs shall prosper in our hands “whilst we cast our care upon
God.” 1 Pet. 5:7. “The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing.” Phil.
4:5, 6. “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall
bring it to pass.” Ps. 37:5. For all solicitude arises from a distrust of
God, which naturally proceeds from the neglect of prayer. On the contrary,
faith and prayer give us confidence towards God, and are the proper
antidote against all anxiety and trouble of mind.
A PRAYER.
Help me, O Lord my God, that I may continually call to mind, that it is
for my own sake that thou invitest and urgest me to the exercise of
prayer. Do thou rouse me, and I shall arise; awaken thou me, and I shall
awake, and follow Christ alone. Amen.
Section IV.
The True Christian Chooses The Narrow Way In Christ, Rather Than The Broad
Way In Adam.
_We glory in tribulations._—ROM. 5:3.
1. The Scripture teaches us that when Adam was placed in Paradise, God
showed him the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and forbade him to
eat of it (Gen. 2:9, 17); so that Adam was thus placed between time and
eternity. Life and death, light and darkness (Deut. 30:15), were set
before him, that he might qualify himself for eternal glory in the narrow
way. Our case is just the same. For since the fall of Adam, Christ comes
to us, and endeavors to draw us from the broad way in Adam, to the narrow
way, which is himself; and this he does gently and without violence,
resolving to force no man either to his salvation or his condemnation. He
shows us the way by his prevenient grace, which is bestowed on all men
without exception. Christ now says, “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for
wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction; and
many there be that go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow
is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matt.
7:13, 14.
2. Here we plainly see two paths set before us: the one is the way of the
world, in which many walk, because they continue in Adam, and refuse
Christ; the other is the way of God, in which few walk, because they
prefer the broad way in Adam. Many are the difficulties which attend both
these paths. If you conform yourself to the world, you will meet with many
troubles and vexations; and, not being established in the truth of God,
your lot finally is eternal damnation. But if you enter into the way of
God through Christ, and persevere in prayer, you must expect to suffer
with Christ, from the opposition of this evil world: but, at the same
time, your heart shall be constantly filled with the refreshing
consolations of the Spirit of truth, and in the end, you shall obtain
everlasting life. 2 Tim. 2:11, 12; 3:12.
3. He that prays, fights against the devil and his own corrupt nature;
overcomes himself, the devil, and all the enemies of his salvation; and
shall at last with Christ, the Captain of his salvation (Heb. 2:10), enter
into everlasting rest.
4. But he that lives in the neglect of prayer, makes no progress in the
conquest of his spiritual enemies; but is a miserable slave of the world,
and shall at last, with the prince of darkness, be condemned to
everlasting misery.
5. It is better to fight now, and to enter triumphantly into everlasting
glory, than not to fight, and yet endure many afflictions, and at last be
doomed to everlasting destruction.
A PRAYER.
Oh that men would but consider these things! They would then loathe and
despise this present world; would hate and deny themselves, and would
follow Christ alone, in the narrow way of the cross. That we may,
therefore, seriously lay these things to heart; that we may renounce the
old Adam within us, and put on the new man, Christ Jesus: and at last,
through the narrow way, enter into everlasting life, may God of his
infinite mercy grant, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Section V.
Considerations Which Should Move The Heart To Commune With God In Prayer.
_Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off_?—JER.
23:23.
1. It is of great use to us, to have before us certain heads which may
serve as encouragements to the exercise of earnest prayer, which is that
worship in spirit and in truth, which God requires of all his servants.
2. I. First, then, we must consider that “God knows what things we have
need of, before we ask him.” Matt. 6:8.
3. II. That God draws, invites, and encourages us to the exercise of
prayer, and assuredly promises that he will hear our prayers. Ps. 50:15.
4. III. That God is no respecter of persons, but has an equal regard for
all mankind. Acts 10:34.
5. IV. That he is as sinful who presumes to pray upon the opinion of his
own righteousness, merit, and holiness, as he that is afraid to pray out
of a sense of his own sins and unworthiness. Luke 18:11, 14.
6. V. That God is not confined to any certain place, where only we ought
to worship him; but that he is everywhere to be found, and is always “nigh
to them that call upon him.” John 4:21, 22; Ps. 145:18.
7. VI. That God is, in his own eternity, unchangeable, and not confined to
any certain time; but is always attentive to the prayers of his servants.
1 Thess. 5:17.
8. VII. That God anticipates our prayers, and gives us both natural and
supernatural blessings, which yet, without prayer, nobody can truly enjoy.
9. These considerations will renew and awaken every soul that shall duly
attend to them (Eph. 5:14): they will cleanse them from darkness and
error; establish them on the foundation of truth; elevate them towards
God; and inflame them with a lively devotion. For from them flow the
following lessons:
10. I. That God commands and encourages us to pray, not for His own sake,
as if He were ignorant of our wants, but for our sakes, that being
quickened by prayer we might know and acknowledge them ourselves.
11. II. That God does not stand in need of any minute declarations of our
necessities, but knows, even before we ask him, what things we have need
of. Isa. 65:24; Ps. 139:2.
12. III. That God, who never slumbereth nor sleepeth, needs not to be
awakened by our cries, fastings, and watchings; but that these exercises
are profitable for man, to awaken and rouse him from the sleep of sin. Ps.
33:18; 34:15.
13. IV. That God is a thousand times more ready to give, than man is to
receive. Jer. 32:41.
14. V. That the goodness and mercy of God towards mankind are infinite
(Ps. 103:12), but that the negligence and sloth of men in praying,
seeking, and knocking, are excessive. Matt. 7:7.
15. VI. That God is impartial and just in all his works, and is by no
means the cause of our blindness, infirmities, ignorance, or miseries; but
that wretched man himself is in fault, by neglecting to pray or to seek.
Deut. 32:4; Ps. 92:15.
16. VII. That the true worshipper may at all times and in all places,
offer up his prayers in spirit and in truth to God the Father, through
Christ, provided he do not hinder himself. John 4:21, 23; Luke 18:1, etc.
17. VIII. That whosoever neglects prayer, deprives himself of the blessed
opportunities of speaking to God. Ps. 19:14. Thus the sinner inflicts
punishment on himself.
18. IX. That the diligent worshipper doeth good to himself; not of himself
but by the prevenient grace of God, which is freely given to all men
without exception.
19. Let him that is unacquainted with the preceding heads of meditation,
know that he is still far from Christ, and has tasted but little of the
truth. He who knows them, and believes them not, is guilty of a very great
sin; and, lastly, he that believes them and yet is inactive, and does not
stir up himself to the practice of them, but, on the other hand, lives on
from day to day, in a state of doubt and indifference, is a great sinner,
and shall be beaten with many more stripes than he who knew not his Lord’s
will, and therefore did it not. Luke 12:47. Let the one last mentioned
look carefully to himself, that he may be seriously converted, and not
perish in his sins.
A PRAYER.
O Lord, and merciful Father, awaken me by thy Holy Spirit, that I may not
only know those things, but may practise them by a lively faith, and
become a true worshipper in spirit and in truth. Amen.
Section VI.
The Omniscient God Knows What We Stand In Need Of, Before We Ask Him.
_Thou understandest my thought afar off._—PS. 139:2.
1. The truth of these words is confirmed by our blessed Saviour: “Your
Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him” (Matt.
6:8); and by David: “He that planted the ear, shall he not hear?” (Ps.
94:9); and by St. Paul: “He is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart.” Heb. 4:12. For our God is not as man, who stands in need of a
long account of our necessities. All the possible successions of time are
in his sight but as one single moment, in which all things, both past and
to come, are beheld as actually present. Therefore, he numbered the hairs
of our heads before we were born, and understands all our thoughts before
we pray. In a word, all things are naked and open in his sight. Heb. 4:
13. These and similar meditations may be of use, for the encouragement of
those who begin the exercise of prayer; so that they may always have
certain sentences of Scripture ready at hand, upon which they may
meditate, and which they may apply to themselves, by comprising the sense
of them in a short prayer. This will be easily understood by those that
are exercised herein.
2. A man that walks abroad in an open spacious field, and in a clear day,
finds himself encompassed with light; which light, if it were spiritual,
instead of being natural, would even penetrate the spirit itself. Just so
are all creatures, visible and invisible, in the sight of God. He discerns
and comprehends all things, and nothing can be hidden from him. “The
darkness hideth not from him; but the night shineth as the day.” Ps.
139:12. He himself is the all-seeing eye, to whom all things are as clear
as a mote in transparent crystal would be to our bodily eyes.
3. This consideration is of great use to the inexperienced, in order to
purge their hearts from the thick clouds of darkness and error, and to
quicken them in prayer; by which, when truly roused and awakened, we
discover many great and noble truths that had hitherto been hidden from
our eyes. Many are apt to think, that God knows and sees no more than they
themselves do; which is the effect of egregious blindness and ignorance,
and will merit a proportionable punishment. Ps. 7:9.
A PRAYER.
Almighty and everlasting God and Father, the Searcher of hearts, and the
Judge of all our secret thoughts, who seest, knowest, and hearest all our
designs and purposes before they are brought to pass! Behold, I appear
before thee, to confess my necessities, not with any design to awaken thee
by my cries, as if thou wert ignorant of me, or of my concerns; but to
stir up myself to know and consider, that thou knowest all my necessities,
and that the very hairs of my head are numbered by thee. Assist me, Holy
Father, that I may truly know and consider these things, that my soul may
joyfully submit to thy good pleasure, and that I may wait upon thee in
true resignation and obedience. Amen.
Section VII.
That God Invites And Engages All Men To The Exercise Of Prayer, And
Promises To Hear Their Petitions.
_Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be
delivered._—JOEL 2:32.
1. These words ought to be carefully considered; for it is not sufficient
to believe that God knows all things; we must also remember that God
commands us to pray, and promises to hear us. Thus, “Whatsoever ye shall
ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” John 16:23. “Everyone
that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that
knocketh, it shall be opened.” Matt. 7:8. “Men ought always to pray, and
not to faint.” Luke 18:1. “If any one lack wisdom, let him ask of God,
that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be
given him.” James 1:5. “If we ask any thing according to his will, he
heareth us.” 1 John 5:14. “All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer,
believing, ye shall receive.” Matt. 21:22. In all these places, both a
command and a promise are expressed; which must needs make an impression
upon every man that has not a heart of stone; and he that does not believe
them, is in a desperate state, and deserves not the name of a man. But if
these things are true, and acknowledged to be so, why do we not believe
them? Why do we not pray? Why are not our prayers heard? Why do we not
receive the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit? Verily, because we do not
pray _with faith_, nor wait upon God with _constancy and patience_. For
the property of true faith is to submit ourselves to God, in a quiet and
peaceful resignation of mind; but he that wavers, is unfaithful and
inconstant, and makes his own prayers void. Moreover, he denies the truth
and power of God, making him either unable or unwilling to supply our
wants. Both these are signs of a perverse spirit.
2. On the other hand, faith gives quietness to the soul, and makes it
capable of divine grace. God requires nothing from man but that he should
be quiet, and rest from all his works, and especially from himself. The
spirit and mind of man are like waters, upon which the Spirit of God is
perpetually moving. Gen. 1:2. So soon as our spirit is quiet, and at rest
from the impetuous motions of worldly thoughts, then God rests upon it,
and speaks forth the word of his power into such quiet and still waters;
and the moment of this divine influx is of more value than the whole
world. Still waters are easily warmed by the sun, but violent and rapid
streams seldom or never. Unbelief sacrilegiously robs God of his honor,
destroying the very names of faith and truth. This changes the Christian
into a heathen and atheist, and, unless repented of, will lead to his
everlasting destruction.
A PRAYER.
O Eternal, faithful, and righteous God, who canst not lie; I know that
thou dost graciously invite, encourage, and impel all men, for their own
infinite advantage, to pray unto thee; and dost offer thy grace and mercy
equally to them all, without distinction or partiality. Grant, I beseech
thee, Holy Father, that I may seriously lay these things to heart, and
attain a true, firm, and upright faith, and not be deaf to the invitations
of thy infinite mercy; but may constantly and cheerfully submit myself to
thee, and expect with patience thy light within my soul. Amen.
Section VIII.
God Is No Respecter Of Persons, But Has An Impartial Love For All His
Creatures.
_The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his
works._—PS. 145:9.
1. I am now indeed convinced (some one may say), that God knows my
necessities better than I can discover them to him; that he has commanded
prayer, and promised to hear it: but I am not yet fully satisfied, whether
I in particular am not excluded from the benefit of these promises?—Come,
then, and let us now show that God is no respecter of persons, in
opposition to those blind guides, who, by their false interpretations of
some places of Holy Scripture, particularly Rom. 9:13, Mal. 1:2, and the
like, have endeavored to prove that God has an aversion to some particular
persons, and a partial fondness for others; contrary to the plain and
indisputable testimonies of Holy Scripture, which we ought firmly to fix
in our minds, that we may not be perverted by the false glosses of
unreasonable men.
“Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every
nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with
him.” Acts 10:34, 35.
“The Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a
mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. He
doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the
stranger, in giving him food and raiment.” Deut. 10:17, 18.
“God accepteth no man’s person.” Gal. 2:6.
“There is no respect of persons with God.” Col. 3:25.
“As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live.—As for the
wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he
turneth from his wickedness.—None of his sins that he hath committed shall
be mentioned unto him.” Ezek. 33:11, 12, 16.
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit,
for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show
forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter
believe on him to life everlasting.” 1 Tim. 1:15, 16.
“God will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth.” 1 Tim. 2:4.
“God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.” 2 Pet. 3:9.
These and such testimonies of Scripture ought to be deeply imprinted on
our minds, that every one may know, that all men are equally dear to God;
that all men were created by him according to his image, and redeemed by
Jesus Christ. Moreover, God has sworn by himself, that he desires not the
death of a sinner. Hence God assists us all by his prevenient grace, not
waiting till we are worthy to receive it. He comes to us, before we come
to him; he knew us, before we knew him; he loveth us, before we love him;
he loved us while we were yet his enemies. Rom. 5:10. He, therefore, is
blind and impious, who dares assert that God does not love all men alike.
Such a one scorns the God of heaven, accuses him of injustice, and makes
him a respecter of persons.