— edited from The Interior or Hidden Life (1844) Part 2, Chapter 10.
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.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Rejecting Inordinate Indulgence of the Appetities
God will require of us, in the fulfillment of our act of consecration, that we shall separate ourselves from all inordinate indulgence of the appetites. Undoubtedly there is a degree of natural pleasure, connected with the exercise of the appetites, which is lawful. But it is very obvious, that self in the natural man, which is always seeking for pleasure without regarding either its nature or its lawfulness, has polluted every thing here. It is in connection with the appetites in their unsanctified state, that we find one of the strong ties, which bind man to his idols, and which subject his proud spirit. This strong bond must be sundered. No one can be acceptable to God, who does not crucify and reject every form of attraction and pleasure from this source, which is not in accordance with the intentions of nature, and does not receive the divine approbation and sanction.
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