— The Interior or Hidden Life (1844) Part 2, Chapter 7.
A blog drawn from the writings of Thomas Cogswell Upham (1799-1872).
The life of those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High may be called a Hidden Life, because the animating principle, the vital or operative element, is not so much in itself as in another. It is a life grafted into another life. It is the life of the soul, incorporated into the life of Christ; and in such a way, that, while it has a distinct vitality, it has so very much in the sense, in which the branch of a tree may be said to have a distinct vitality from the root.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Curiosity Can Work Against Faith
A life, of which excessive curiosity is the leading element, is necessarily antagonistical to a life of faith. Knowledge necessarily excludes faith, in regard to the thing which is known. And we do not hesitate to say, that ignorance with faith is, in many things, better than knowledge without it. In many things, therefore, having relation to ourselves and others, and especially in many things, which have relation to the divine government, we must be willing to remain in the darkness of sense, in order that we may enjoy the light of religious trust. It is obvious, that this is a condition, to which the man of excessive curiosity does not easily submit. He is restless in his state of ignorance, because he has but little trust in God. How different is the state of mind, (a state of mind which many Christians can testify to be of inexpressible value,) which is disclosed in the devout words of Fenelon. "Behold my wants which I am ignorant of; but do Thou behold, and do according to thy mercy. Smite or heal! Depress or raise me up! I adore all thy purposes without knowing them."
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