O Lord Jesus, how ardent is thy charity! how pure, how free from deceit!
how perfect! how spotless! how great! how exalted! how profound! In a
word, how sincere and hearty is thy love! Suffer, I beseech thee, my soul
to rest in this thy love.… Here let my poor soul rest free from fear of
danger or disquiet. In thee let all my senses rest, that I may hear thee
sweetly speaking, O thou highest love! Let my eyes behold thee, O thou
celestial beauty! Let my ears hear thee, thou most harmonious music! Let
my mouth taste, thou incomparable sweetness! Let the refreshing odors
of life breathe upon me from thee, thou most noble flower of paradise!…
Let my heart rejoice in thee, my true joy! Let my will desire thee
alone, thou only joy of my heart! Let my understanding know thee alone,
O eternal wisdom! Lastly, let all my desires, all my affections rest in
thee alone, O blessed Jesus, who art my love, my peace, and my joy!
Take out of my heart everything that is not thyself. Thou art my riches
in poverty; thou art my honor in contempt; my praise and glory against
reproaches; my strength in infirmity; and in a word, my life in death.
And how, then, should I not rest in thee, who art my all in all? My
righteousness against sin; my wisdom against folly; redemption from
condemnation; sanctification from my uncleanness.…
Let me, I beseech thee, surrender my whole heart to thee, since thou hast
given me all thine. Let me go out of myself, that I may enter into thee.
Let me cleanse my heart and empty it of the world, that thou mayest fill
it with thy celestial gifts, O Jesus, the rest of my heart, the Sabbath
of my soul! Lead me into the rest of a blessed eternity, where there are
pleasures at thy right hand for evermore. Amen.—_Arndt, “A prayer for
obtaining true rest and tranquility of soul.”_
[_Sunday, July 19._]
For Prayer is a
Conversing with God,
The Key of Heaven,
The Flower of Paradise,
A Free Access to God,
A Familiarity with God,
The Searcher of His Secrets,
The Opener of His Mysteries,
The Purchaser of His Gifts,
A Spiritual Banquet,
A Heavenly Enjoyment,
The Honey-comb of the Spirit,
Honey Flowing from the Lips,
The Nurse of Virtues,
The Conqueror of Vices,
The Medicine of the Soul,
A Remedy against Infirmities,
An Antidote against Sin,
The Pillar of the World,
The Salve of Mankind,
The Seed of Blessing,
The Garden of Happiness,
The Tree of Pleasure,
The Increase of Faith,
The Support of Hope,
The Mother of Charity,
The Path of Righteousness,
The Preserver of Perseverance,
The Mirror of Prudence,
The Mistress of Temperance,
The Strength of Chastity,
The Beauty of Holiness,
The Fire of Devotion,
The Light of Knowledge,
The Repository of Wisdom,
The Strength of the Soul,
The Remedy against Faint-heartedness,
The Foundation of Peace,
The Joy of the Heart,
The Jubilee of the Mind,
A Faithful Companion in this Earthly Pilgrimage,
The Shield of a Christian Soldier,
The Rule of Humility,
The Forerunner of Honor,
The Nurse of Patience,
The Guardian of Obedience,
The Fountain of Quietness,
The Imitator of Angels,
The Conquest of Devils,
The Comfort of the Sorrowful,
The Triumph of the Just,
The Joy of the Saints,
The Helper of the Oppressed,
The Ease of the Afflicted,
The Rest of the Weary,
The Ornament of the Conscience,
The Advancement of Graces,
The Odor of an Acceptable Sacrifice,
The Encourager of Mutual Good-will,
The Refreshment of this Miserable Life,
The Sweetening of Death,
The Foretaste of the Heavenly Life.—_Arndt._
[_Sunday, July 26._]
SERMON ON LUKE iv, 1-13.—The _weapons_ of Jesus?—say we rather _the
weapon_—for he has but one, it is the _Word of God_. Three times tempted,
three times he repels the temptation by a simple quotation from the
Scriptures, without explanation or comment. “_It is written_”—this one
expression tells upon the tempter like a tremendous discharge upon an
assaulting battalion. “It is written”—the devil withdraws for the first
time. “It is written”—the devil withdraws for the second time. “It
is written”—the devil gives up the contest. God’s word is the weapon
which Satan most dreads—a weapon before which he has never been able
to do aught but succumb. Most justly does Paul call it the “Sword of
the Spirit;”[A] and John describes it, in the Revelation, as “a sharp,
two-edged sword, proceeding out of the mouth of the Son of man.” With
that “Sword of the Spirit” in our hands, our cause becomes that of the
Holy Spirit himself, and we shall be as superior in strength to our
adversary, as is the Spirit of God to the spirit of darkness. Without
it, on the contrary, left to ourselves, we shall be as much below him as
is man’s nature below that of angels. Adam fell, only because he allowed
this sword to drop. Jesus triumphs, because no one can wrest it from his
hand. But why is it that the Son of God, instead of meeting the enemy
with some new sword brought from the heavens whence he came, took up only
our own weapon, from that very earth where Adam had, with such cowardice,
left it? This is for our example. From what that weapon accomplished in
his hand, we must learn what it can do in ours. Let us, then, take it
up in our turn; or, rather, let us receive it from him, resharpened as
it were, by his victory, and we shall have nothing to fear. To all the
adversary’s attacks let us oppose a simple “_It is written_,” and we
shall render vain his every endeavor.… If after having heard him on the
theater of temptation, scoffing at the word of God, we could (allow me
the expression) follow him behind the scenes, and hear him confess to his
accomplices that he is lost if he can not succeed in wresting from our
hands this irresistible weapon! If we did but know all this, and if, like
the valiant Eleazar, “we could keep hold of our sword till our hand clove
unto it”—oh, then we should be invincible, yea, _invincible_!—_Monod._
[A] Revelation i:16; ii:16; xix:15-21; Hebrews iv:12, “The word of God is
quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even
to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joint and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
“WE SALUTE THEE, AND LIVE.”