tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58027105312451343872024-03-18T13:53:05.185-04:00The Hidden LifeA blog drawn from the writings of Thomas Cogswell Upham (1799-1872).Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.comBlogger1070125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-82080176727397957522024-03-18T09:00:00.002-04:002024-03-18T13:52:33.876-04:00A Faith that Overcomes Anger<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Holy anger implies a strong faith.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFK0Jtd1F7cDBIkZ97KpLuvreIK9iYXx_ggMS1C4wGhjQaVCvRONNcHkWp4vaJdxMExsVUvlMiFUYIO4f693bfxEuBqP7BdeB8xtMEFxTPTr2qdVzG1Xs9ieQKT3HUXVKSSyPuoJLnrqN8W8J6TT-fkaP9y3aUSLC2lZir50Ohy9BEp3PXbPDd2A8Jo7g/s1920/Faith-in-burning-candles.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFK0Jtd1F7cDBIkZ97KpLuvreIK9iYXx_ggMS1C4wGhjQaVCvRONNcHkWp4vaJdxMExsVUvlMiFUYIO4f693bfxEuBqP7BdeB8xtMEFxTPTr2qdVzG1Xs9ieQKT3HUXVKSSyPuoJLnrqN8W8J6TT-fkaP9y3aUSLC2lZir50Ohy9BEp3PXbPDd2A8Jo7g/w200-h133/Faith-in-burning-candles.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Again, God has promised in many
passages of his holy Word, his aid and protection to those, who endeavor
to fulfill his purposes by obeying his will. “I will never leave thee
nor forsake thee.” The man, who truly believes in God’s veracity, and of
course who believes in his promises of assistance, will find his
purposes and efforts much strengthened by such belief. This, as is well
known, is the result of a law of our nature, which is universal in its
operation, namely, that we shall find our purposes strengthened and
shall put forth the stronger effort, where we have some hope and
expectation of succeeding. The man, therefore, who has this faith in
God, will be much more likely to succeed in his attempts at keeping the
angry passions under control, than one who is without faith. <br /><span><a name='more'></a></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span>And
then there is the promise of ultimate victory, (the promise not merely
of assistance, but of triumph,) which can never fail to be fulfilled in
the behalf of those, who look and who act for its fulfillment in a
proper manner. We are told that all things shall work together for the
good of those, who love God. Numerous are the passages of Scripture,
which assure us in very explicit terms, that the wrath of the wicked
shall avail nothing against the people of God. And the wrath of Satan,
operating in the form of an inward temptation, will be found equally
unavailing. Beautiful is the language of the Psalmist. “The Lord God is a
sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will
he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” It was said to the Apostle
Paul, on a certain occasion of great trial, </span><span><i>“my grace is sufficient for thee.”</i></span><span>
Under such circumstances we may admit that we sometimes have reason to
be displeased and angry; we cannot love sin; we cannot be indifferent to
it. On the contrary, as those who love God, we must be displeased with
it; we must hate it. But it is still true, whatever may be the fact or
the ground of our displeasure, that we have no reason and no right, on
scriptural principles, to be impatient. We have no reason and no right
to be intellectually agitated and confused in our anger; we have no
reason and no right to be unkind and unforgiving. God’s will and God’s
glory, which are only other expressions for the highest reason and the
highest rectitude, require the opposite. And what is reasonable and
right, what is God’s will and God’s glory, faith in God will always
render possible. And if faith can sustain us in temptations and trials
of this nature, we need not fear, that it will fail us any where else.
So true it is, in the language of the Apostle John, that, “whatsoever is
born of God, OVERCOMETH THE WORLD. And this is the victory, that
overcometh the world, EVEN OUR FAITH.”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>— from <i>The Life of Faith</i>, Part 2, Chapter 8.</span><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /> </span></span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-36904486870388427872024-03-17T09:00:00.001-04:002024-03-17T09:00:00.335-04:00Wickedness and the Plan of God<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Holy anger implies a strong faith:</span><span><span> <br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKROzSwkpb2SAYj6z7gDuGLkEaGe_f-sWBx8uOCqi8rdlOI07TVhyrYmu_qWVTOF8BmCz7SbtLzx8znk_iPACHaZEoGngm7Kl81UCFNJQ3ttaveVUSmPROQ1dDgGAYnaoQk3W2_6s3ECuM9-hn4vRifS9b3l6I0mmKR-PN7Ve_NavzIMutrVlMIJYG9Mo/s1281/faith-share-clipart-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1281" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKROzSwkpb2SAYj6z7gDuGLkEaGe_f-sWBx8uOCqi8rdlOI07TVhyrYmu_qWVTOF8BmCz7SbtLzx8znk_iPACHaZEoGngm7Kl81UCFNJQ3ttaveVUSmPROQ1dDgGAYnaoQk3W2_6s3ECuM9-hn4vRifS9b3l6I0mmKR-PN7Ve_NavzIMutrVlMIJYG9Mo/s320/faith-share-clipart-3.png" width="225" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span>In the first place, God teaches us, or
rather it is one of the received principles or doctrines of Christian
faith, that it is a part of God’s plan, in the operations of his
mysterious providence, to let wicked men manifest their wickedness. On
the supposition that sin exists in the universe, of which we have such
clear and melancholy evidence, God is willing, for purposes which are
best known to his own infinite wisdom, that those, who have sin in their
hearts, should manifest it in their conduct, in order that their
condemnation, which follows in its own appointed hour, may be seen and
known to be just. He is willing also, that those, who do not sin or whom
he desires should be kept from sin, should see, in the lives of unholy
men, the odiousness of sin. The Savior has himself said in language
which has a significant and awful import, </span><span><i>“It is impossible but that offenses will come.” </i></span><span>[Luke
17:1.] The man of faith, therefore, knowing that sin develops itself in
these relations and with these results, does not lose his confidence in
God. He remains unshaken.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span>In the second place, it is one of
the received principles of Christian faith, that God sometimes uses the
wicked as instruments in the discipline of his own people. Perhaps the
wrong doing of others manifests itself in injuries, of which we
ourselves are the subjects. Seeing the agency of God, not in the sin but
in the direction, which the sin is permitted to take in its relation to
ourselves, the doctrine of faith in its inward operation would require
us to be humble, to be patient, as those whom God, for wise reasons,
sees fit to afflict. It is God’s will, that we should be afflicted in
this manner. The principle of faith, existing practically in our hearts,
will enable us to receive this affliction humbly and patiently, as we
do other afflictions.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span> — from <i>The Life of Faith</i>, Part 2, Chapter 8. </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-58724193091420066392024-03-16T10:00:00.001-04:002024-03-16T10:00:00.489-04:00How Could Godly Anger be Possible?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWblg1UC8-pAClGpvdmOzLv_hmQP5NaDgSgGXEHkslM0tWdLUxHxX39Zf9kErnz8CKRPcVnI71p-kRvgq4lWgHMeXdCI4qFHFZCsqeVuoojrD4Jy2zshCYWmrwgnf57KN6Kx0dSlRzS6HlH99bLOskpsuekli4G4mNFWdfNrUrcocMQPotvVRvYvlrNII/s1601/christian-cross-illustration-as-symbol-faith-48633805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1601" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWblg1UC8-pAClGpvdmOzLv_hmQP5NaDgSgGXEHkslM0tWdLUxHxX39Zf9kErnz8CKRPcVnI71p-kRvgq4lWgHMeXdCI4qFHFZCsqeVuoojrD4Jy2zshCYWmrwgnf57KN6Kx0dSlRzS6HlH99bLOskpsuekli4G4mNFWdfNrUrcocMQPotvVRvYvlrNII/w200-h200/christian-cross-illustration-as-symbol-faith-48633805.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />But taking the ground as we do, that no feeling of displeasure or anger is allowed to exist in a holy bosom but such as God approves and such as is analogous to his own holy anger, the question now presents itself, How is it possible for us to be angry in this manner? How is it possible for us, knowing the nature of the feeling as we do in our own consciousness, to be angry without being agitated; to feel deeply and at the same time to perceive calmly and clearly? And still more, how is it possible to have feelings of displeasure and anger, and at the same time to be in the spirit of prayer, and also to have kind feelings towards the subject of our anger? <br /><br />We are aware, that this is a difficult problem for unsanctified nature to solve; but it is not beyond the reach and power of a vital Christianity. The answer is, as every one, who knows what it is to live to God and to God alone, will anticipate, WE MUST HAVE FAITH. Human discipline, standing by itself, may perhaps do something; but faith will do more. Faith, aided by human discipline not as a principle but as a humble and dependent auxiliary, will do all.<br /><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">— from <i>The Life of Faith,</i> Part 2, Chapter 8.</span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-52158109712003105392024-03-15T15:00:00.000-04:002024-03-15T15:00:50.459-04:00Godly Anger? — or Not.<p><i>"Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:"</i> — Ephesians 4:26 (King James Version). <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03NheZTIKfdpzAgBoUVxPXCZryH364p5fYwBsJwjssMQFGf-DGXDHzQddS3n4zK_tcf2d56aTRB60ik1_qCKOtLplRWJCcoFM1Pd1QtZHz_YwHhqbpNnjqqBFqVximl9KhX4TYBOPrdN5Sm-VZlo2wSPEl2SOaBWSNH6C4-vhjWRC1RgczexJsaFQGq8/s1600/dreamstime_m_37530342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1290" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03NheZTIKfdpzAgBoUVxPXCZryH364p5fYwBsJwjssMQFGf-DGXDHzQddS3n4zK_tcf2d56aTRB60ik1_qCKOtLplRWJCcoFM1Pd1QtZHz_YwHhqbpNnjqqBFqVximl9KhX4TYBOPrdN5Sm-VZlo2wSPEl2SOaBWSNH6C4-vhjWRC1RgczexJsaFQGq8/w161-h200/dreamstime_m_37530342.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>One of the characteristics of that anger, which is like God’s anger and is holy, is, that it leaves the intellectual perception unagitated and clear. Another mark is this. If our anger is like God’s anger, we shall be in that state of mind, which will enable us to bring our displeasure, and all that relates to it, to God for his direction and assistance. In other words, if we are so displeased, so angry, that we cannot calmly bring the matter before God and ask his direction and blessing in relation to it, we may be certain, that there is something wrong in it. There is nothing, as it seems to us, in joy or in sorrow, nothing in friendship or in enmity, nothing in any state of mind or in any situation of life, which authorizes the omission of prayer. And if we need it at any one time more than another, it must be in a state of mind so full of uncertainty and hazard as that which we are now considering. If, therefore, we are so displeased, so angry that we cannot pray, we may be assured that our anger is not like God’s anger, and is wrong. <span><a name='more'></a></span><br /><br />Another characteristic of that state of mind, which is expressed by the Apostle, when he says, “BE YE ANGRY AND SIN NOT,” is, that it must always be attended with a loving and forgiving spirit. One of the directions, which our blessed Savior has left to us, is, that we should love one another, even as he has loved us. He loved those who were his enemies; and we should love those who are our enemies. No one ever had greater occasion to be displeased with sin, than he had. And yet when he had before him exhibitions of sin of the most atrocious kind, when he heard the reproaches and saw the spears of the murderers as he was suspended on the cross, and when as a holy being, whose very nature it is to hate wickedness, it was impossible that he should not be displeased, he still said, with the same loving and benevolent disposition he exhibited on every other occasion, <i>“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”</i> So that if our displeasure is like that of God or like Christ’s, we shall always connect with those, who are the objects of it, the spirit of forbearance, of kindness, and of forgiveness.<br /><br />Another practical mark, which is involved in what has been said and flows from it, is, that we shall make no returns to the wrong-doing of others, either by advice or reproof, either by words or by action, until the time, in which they can be received with the most benefit by the other party. To be silent, when we are angry, is almost as sure a sign that our anger is right, as it is to pray; provided that we keep silence in order to maintain a suitable control over our own feelings, or for awaiting a more favorable opportunity for the good of the adverse party. Give no harsh reply under any circumstances. “Fire,” says St. Chrysostom, “cannot be extinguished by fire.” Be patient, and God’s providence will at last discover the favorable moment, when the injurious party will be likely to receive your instructions and advice, and also your expostulations and rebukes, if it is necessary to bestow them, with submission and with profit.<br /><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">— <i>The Life of Faith</i>, Part 2, Chapter 8.</span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-15962500077573714952024-03-10T10:20:00.001-04:002024-03-10T10:20:00.122-04:00Instinctive Resentment<p><span style="font-size: small;"> <span>Perhaps we ought to add here, that in
these remarks [concerning resentments] we have more especial reference to deliberate and
voluntary displeasure or anger, than to that modification of anger,
which, in order to distinguish it, is termed </span><span><i>instinctive</i></span><span>. </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGAV5t67Ygdngb9WeF0AQalC-leINKxjN9OfC1-X99uPieVECvnzQK0msUwg83WJkIOWwQ-ABCzeeEzqCg7bPh3t1WB9FusxwEdeVudY5KJmUtT7Mz27pCdFpct-yQdF-dKWd0gej-jo15sRThU1u2Bj083RKRqxOip7e8_OIILJm0jQ1PPCeLhrPU6A/s596/733068.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGAV5t67Ygdngb9WeF0AQalC-leINKxjN9OfC1-X99uPieVECvnzQK0msUwg83WJkIOWwQ-ABCzeeEzqCg7bPh3t1WB9FusxwEdeVudY5KJmUtT7Mz27pCdFpct-yQdF-dKWd0gej-jo15sRThU1u2Bj083RKRqxOip7e8_OIILJm0jQ1PPCeLhrPU6A/s320/733068.png" width="193" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span>There is at times in man an instinctive resentment, arising very
suddenly, but continuing only till the laws of the mind will permit the
perceptive and reasoning powers to come to our aid, which during the
brief time of its continuance is obviously beyond the control of reason
and the will; and which, therefore, may cause a momentary agitation of
the physical system and a momentary confusion of the intellect, without
our being able to prevent it. To this form of resentment, so far as it
is truly and absolutely instinctive, it will be naturally understood,
that the remarks, which have [previously] been made, will not fully apply. And
the exception, which is interposed here in regard to the Malevolent
affections, might very properly be made in respect to those of a
different character, which have already been considered. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span>When it was
held that the benevolent affections should be subjected to the control
of the will and to the law of right reason, it obviously could not be
meant, that the obligation thus to control them extends to that very
sudden and momentary action, which is purely instinctive; and which, in
being such, is never reached by the reason and the will, and never has
and never can have a moral character. And this can be said, we think,
with safety to the suggestion, that if our instincts, as well as other
parts of our nature, have become perverted and depraved in the Fall of
Adam, so much so as properly to be described as fallen and depraved
instincts, they have an indirect relation to the Atonement, and furnish
grounds of humiliation and confession.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span> — from <i>The Life of Faith</i>, Part 2, Chapter 8. </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span><br /></span></span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-15714896702442291392024-03-09T10:08:00.007-05:002024-03-09T10:10:13.127-05:00Resentment<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrV3muaZ2jHFE8hmNr5CF5wD7r7VmO7OEodHn3N00WDjznpQWNZTGiPX9lHXaOD6YFZglMzDMvXj-lY5IAyBbQxj1gfr1D5I9uBfgfEdjfxlHTQlj8t2CRPzghXLcpFhszbVKIQBtGNa6mVoEU3z1bgwGrJzQF10S-wBdRCkBGRD33qXCGbWTqlyuy8-c/s600/faith-clipart-7caKpLkcA.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="600" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrV3muaZ2jHFE8hmNr5CF5wD7r7VmO7OEodHn3N00WDjznpQWNZTGiPX9lHXaOD6YFZglMzDMvXj-lY5IAyBbQxj1gfr1D5I9uBfgfEdjfxlHTQlj8t2CRPzghXLcpFhszbVKIQBtGNa6mVoEU3z1bgwGrJzQF10S-wBdRCkBGRD33qXCGbWTqlyuy8-c/s320/faith-clipart-7caKpLkcA.gif" width="320" /></a></div>It is hardly necessary to say, that the feeling of displeasure, which is but another name for the feeling of resentment, when it exists in its milder or mitigated form, is a state of mind, which by the laws of our nature, is appropriate to wrong-doing. Of the nature of this feeling, it is not necessary to attempt to give any explanation, as it is too well understood in the consciousness of every one; although it may properly be said, that the natural law of its origin and action requires it to be more or less intense, in accordance with the nature and degree of the wrong-doing. Such are the facts and relations of things, and such is the obvious and precise adaptation of the human mind to such facts and relations, that displeased or angry feelings not only come into existence by their own natural laws of origin; but if they arise on their appropriate occasions, and in their appropriate degree, they seem to be justly regarded as right feelings. To look on wrong-doing, knowing it to be truly and deliberately such, without disapprobation and without feeling displeased, would itself be as really a crime, as the wrongdoing which is witnessed. And accordingly the Scriptures, if we rightly understand them, allow of displeased or angry feelings under some circumstances. God himself is represented as being displeased or angry, and as having abundant reason to be displeased or angry, on certain occasions. And there are statements in the Gospel, which either assert or imply the same thing in relation to the Savior. <span><a name='more'></a></span><br /><br />But it cannot be denied, that the anger of man, vitiated as it is by the influences of inordinate self-love, is a very different thing on many occasions, and perhaps we may say on almost all occasions, from the calm and just anger of God. So much of selfishness has found its way into the human heart, that it is difficult for men, especially for those, who have personally suffered from the erroneous and evil conduct of others, to place themselves in the situation of the culprit, and to estimate with a proper degree of candor and of christian spirit the various unpropitious influences, which may have operated upon him. Continually looking at the wrong done, and especially at the injury which they themselves have suffered, they are in a position of mind, which almost necessarily exaggerates the evil dispositions of the guilty person; and which, reacting upon their own feelings of displeasure and anger, extends them beyond due bounds. So that man’s displeasure, and man’s anger, (anger being merely an increased or more intense degree of the displeased feelings,) are for the most part wrong or unholy; wrong in fact, but not wrong by necessity; wrong, because man is not solicitous and faithful in making them right, but not wrong, because they cannot be otherwise.<br /><br />There are a number of things necessary to make man’s anger, like God’s anger; or like that holy displeasure, of which we see some instances in the life of Christ, who in his human nature reflected perfectly the divine image. The divine displeasure, on whatever occasion called forth or in whatever degree, never interrupts that beautiful and unchangeable tranquility, which is an unfailing characteristic of the Divine Mind, and of all minds that bear the divine image. And, as implied in this, it never interrupts and disturbs the perceptive act; the clear insight and knowledge of the object, which occupies its attention. When, therefore, our anger is like God’s anger, in other words when it is right anger, it will never be so violent, so uncontrollable, as to perplex the action and to confuse the clearness of the intellectual perception. And there is an obvious law of our nature, which authorizes and requires this view. Such is the structure of the human mind, that it is not possible for us properly to regulate it, without an unperplexed and clear action of our judging powers. Socrates said to his servant on a certain occasion; “I would beat you, if I were not angry.” The reason is obvious. Finding himself agitated, and knowing that agitation is unfavorable to a clear perception of rectitude, and that he could not then inflict punishment without the hazard of injustice, he delayed it, until he could be sure of doing what is right by first disciplining and rectifying himself. “He, that ruleth his spirit,” says the Scripture, “is better than he, that taketh a city.”<p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">— edited from <i>The Life of Faith</i>, Part 2, Chapter 8. </span><br /></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-574076214316151512024-03-02T13:30:00.002-05:002024-03-10T09:02:56.987-04:00The Divine Life<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhafCl4N4QY8GVUuSYeWVlZhWCZYvo9_3BFzwue8lz5AiuHPHzQk5kpZJoVQfmEZbMEwzhyphenhyphen2oUAfHQT9PDoPGDcSlySfD4d_wEAtaFE-iUO0ygO0xGeu25aQbFEEw_U0KuvC4UL5TSXNusnI3v87gpm07QGzrNypvaGmKK_w5LwN-N3H32pooWsXAzojKo/s333/th-970234506.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="333" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhafCl4N4QY8GVUuSYeWVlZhWCZYvo9_3BFzwue8lz5AiuHPHzQk5kpZJoVQfmEZbMEwzhyphenhyphen2oUAfHQT9PDoPGDcSlySfD4d_wEAtaFE-iUO0ygO0xGeu25aQbFEEw_U0KuvC4UL5TSXNusnI3v87gpm07QGzrNypvaGmKK_w5LwN-N3H32pooWsXAzojKo/w200-h113/th-970234506.png" width="200" /></a></div>Oh, sacred union with the Perfect Mind! </div>
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Transcendent bliss, which Thou alone canst give! </div>
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How blest are they, this pearl of price who find, </div>
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And dead to earth have learnt in Thee to live. </div>
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Thus, in thine arms of love, Oh God, I lie, </div>
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Lost, and forever lost, to all but Thee. </div>
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My happy soul, since it hath learnt to die, </div>
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Hath found new life in thine Infinity. </div>
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Oh, go and learn this lesson of the Cross; </div>
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And tread the way which saints and prophets trod, </div>
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Who, counting life, and self, and all things loss, </div>
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Have found in inward death the life of God.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">— <i>Religious Maxims</i> (1846).</span></div>
Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-19681028757243391732024-03-02T09:00:00.013-05:002024-03-02T17:10:50.352-05:00Remarks on Holy Living<h2 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhkCi8NhJ430Q6TgiDONTFb30oE4aXcMQPyEc84_lUULNqoCotz_pVGra9uDAN66SgULaPc1zlJcdo2pZaSLKsrvKD6G0bqU519C22CU2WohVX1SOZE6vv_Hjj5uOL7MEFemeghwZPB8/s1600/Guyon-edit.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhkCi8NhJ430Q6TgiDONTFb30oE4aXcMQPyEc84_lUULNqoCotz_pVGra9uDAN66SgULaPc1zlJcdo2pZaSLKsrvKD6G0bqU519C22CU2WohVX1SOZE6vv_Hjj5uOL7MEFemeghwZPB8/s320/Guyon-edit.png" width="250" /></a><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Reflections on <br />the Life of <br />Madame Jeanne de la Mothe Guyon.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></h2>
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<i>Inquiries on holy living</i><br />
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There is but one way for the Christian to walk in. It is not possible that there should be any other. <i>"A strait and narrow way"</i> it is true; but still, properly speaking, not a difficult way. Undoubtedly it is difficult to a heart naturally averse to it, to enter into it, and to become entirely naturalized to it. Sometimes the difficulty is very great; but when once the process is fairly begun, and the influence of old habits is broken, the difficulty is, in a great degree, removed; and it becomes true, as the Saviour has said, that His "yoke is easy, and His burden is light." <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>But people do not understand this; FIRST, because, in a multitude of cases, they do not make the experiment at all — they do not even <i>enter into the way</i>; and SECONDLY, because they do not persevere in the experiment sufficiently long to render it a fair one. But whether difficult or not, whether the difficulty continues for a longer or shorter time, it is God's way, and therefore the only true and safe way. But why is it described as a strait and narrow way? I answer, because it is a way in which every step is regulated by God's will. It is a way of one principle, and cannot therefore be otherwise than both strait and narrow. Any deviation from that will, however slight it may be, is necessarily a step out of the way. It may be concisely described, therefore, as a way in God's will. And this truly is the way of life. It is not only the way <i>which leads to life</i>, as the Scriptures express it; but it does of itself constitute a life, <i>because he, who is in God's will, is in life, and life is in him.</i> "This," says the apostle John, "is the record,—That God hath given to us eternal life; and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John v. 11, 12.)<br /></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">— edited from <i>The Life of Madame Guyon </i>(1877), Volume 1, Chapter 9.</span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-3779180796578660612024-03-01T09:40:00.003-05:002024-03-01T09:40:00.150-05:00A Visit to St. Cloud<h2 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhkCi8NhJ430Q6TgiDONTFb30oE4aXcMQPyEc84_lUULNqoCotz_pVGra9uDAN66SgULaPc1zlJcdo2pZaSLKsrvKD6G0bqU519C22CU2WohVX1SOZE6vv_Hjj5uOL7MEFemeghwZPB8/s1600/Guyon-edit.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhkCi8NhJ430Q6TgiDONTFb30oE4aXcMQPyEc84_lUULNqoCotz_pVGra9uDAN66SgULaPc1zlJcdo2pZaSLKsrvKD6G0bqU519C22CU2WohVX1SOZE6vv_Hjj5uOL7MEFemeghwZPB8/s320/Guyon-edit.png" width="250" /></a><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Reflections on <br />the Life of <br />Madame Jeanne de la Mothe Guyon.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></h2>
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</p><p><br />
<i>Visit to St. Cloud — Sorrow</i><br /><br />
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If, under the impulse of an unsanctified curiosity, she gave an unguarded look, — if in a moment of temptation she uttered a hasty reply to the rebukes and accusations of others, (moral delinquencies which some might not regard as very great,) — she found that it cost her bitter tears. Even when she dispensed her munificent charity; which brought consolation to the poor and suffering, she sometimes found, with sorrow of heart, that the donation which ought to have been made with <i>"a single eye,"</i> was corrupted by a glance at the rewards of self-complacency and of worldly applause. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><br /><p></p><p>"The God of love," she says, "so enlightened my heart, and so scrutinized its secret springs, that the smallest defects became exposed. In my conversation with others, I could often discover some secret motive which was evil, and was in consequence compelled to keep silence. And even my silence, when examined by the aid of the divine light, was not exempt from imperfection. If I was led to converse about myself, and said anything in my own favor, I discovered pride And I could not even walk the streets, without sometimes noticing in my movements the impulse of the life of self" She seemed to be in the condition described in the seventh chapter of Romans, — a description which will apply both to the struggles of the enlightened sinner when deeply convicted of his transgressions, and to the inward conflicts of the partially sanctified Christian. "I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin."</p><p></p><blockquote>"It must not, be supposed, however," she adds further, " that God suffered my faults to go unpunished. Oh, my God! — with what rigor dost thou punish the most faithful, the most loving and beloved of thy children! The anguish which the truly devout soul experiences, when it sees sin in itself, is inexpressible. The method which G0d takes inwardly to correct those whom he designs to purify radically and completely, must be felt, in order to be understood. The anguish of the soul, in consequence of its inward consciousness of failng to do its duty, can perhaps best be expressed by calling it a secret burning, — an internal fire. Or perhaps it may be compared to a dislocated joint, which is in incessant torment, until the bone is replaced. Sometimes such a soul is tempted to look to men and to seek consolation in the creature; but this is in violation of God's designs upon it, and it cannot in that way find any true rest. It is best to endure patiently, till God sees fit, in his own time and way, to remove the agony, and thus learn effectually the bitterness of transgression." </blockquote><p>In this divided state of mind, continually striving for a better religious state, and yet continually faltering and failing in the resolutions she had most seriously made, she received an invitation to make one in a fashionable party to visit St. Cloud. This beautiful village, situated on the banks of the Seine, at the distance of only six miles from Paris, was then, as it is now, the resort of fashionable society. Celebrated for its natural scenery; its park, and the magnificent palace and gardens of the Duke of Orleans, it was the chosen spot for the residences of many families of wealth and taste. Without supposing that it had any connection with her present movements, it may be worthy of notice, that one of the country residences of the celebrated Comptroller Fouquet, — whose son many years afterwards married the second daughter of Madame Guyon, — was situated in this delightful place. It happened that other ladies, with whom she was well acquainted, were invited to the festival; and it would seem that their solicitations were employed to induce her to go with them. She yielded to them, but not with out condemning herself for doing it. </p><p></p><blockquote>"I went," she says "through a spirit of weak compliance, and from the impulse of vanity. Everything connected with the entertainment which was given us, was magnificent. It was an occasion especially adapted to meet the wants and views of the votaries of worldly pleasure. The ladies who attended me, wise in worldly wisdom, but not in the things of religion, relished it. But as for me, it filled me with bitterness. I pleased others; but I offended Him whom I ought most to have pleased. Rich were the tables that were spread, but I could eat nothing. The sounds of festivity and joy arose on every side; but it was not possible for me to enjoy anything. Pleasure shone in the looks of other visitants, but sorrow was written upon mine. Oh, what tears did this false step cost me! My Beloved was offended. For above three long months he withdrew entirely the favors of his presence. I could see nothing but an angry God before me."</blockquote>The good of others, who may read this account, makes it proper to say, that there was one important lesson which she learned from these temptations and follies, — a lesson as important, as any which the nature of the. Christian life renders indispensable, that of her entire dependence on divine grace "I became,".she says ".deeply assured of what the prophet hath said, <i>'Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain!'</i> When I looked to Thee, O my Lord! thou wast my faithful keeper; thou didst continually defend my heart against all kinds of enemies. But, alas!. when left to myself, I was all weakness. How easily did my enemies prevail over me! Let others ascribe their victories to their own fidelity. ' As for myself, I shall never attribute them to 'anything else than Thy paternal care over me. I have too often experienced, to my cost, what I should be without Thee, to presume in the least.on any wisdom or efforts of my own. It is to Thee, O God, my Deliverer, that I owe everything! And it is a source of infinite satisfaction, that I am thus indebted to Thee." <br /><p></p>It is not surprising, that she now found it necessary to pause and refiect. From this time, she gave her mind to the great subject of holy living, with a deep and solemn earnestness, which she had never experienced before. She began to realize the tremendous import of those solemn words of the Saviour, (words which have an import that is not generally understood, though it is not possible that their meaning should always be hidden, ) "<i>No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon</i>."<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: right;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">— edited from <i>The Life of Madame Guyon </i>(1877), Volume 1, Chapter 9.</span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <br /></p><p><br /></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-45359938161798973922024-02-29T10:44:00.006-05:002024-02-29T15:16:41.504-05:00A Journey to Orleans and Touraine<h2 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhkCi8NhJ430Q6TgiDONTFb30oE4aXcMQPyEc84_lUULNqoCotz_pVGra9uDAN66SgULaPc1zlJcdo2pZaSLKsrvKD6G0bqU519C22CU2WohVX1SOZE6vv_Hjj5uOL7MEFemeghwZPB8/s1600/Guyon-edit.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhkCi8NhJ430Q6TgiDONTFb30oE4aXcMQPyEc84_lUULNqoCotz_pVGra9uDAN66SgULaPc1zlJcdo2pZaSLKsrvKD6G0bqU519C22CU2WohVX1SOZE6vv_Hjj5uOL7MEFemeghwZPB8/s320/Guyon-edit.png" width="250" /></a><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Reflections on <br />the Life of <br />Madame Jeanne de la Mothe Guyon.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></h2>
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</p><p><i>Journey to Orleans and Touraine — Temptations and religious infidelities and falls repeated</i><br />
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Her husband, with the keen eye of one, who did not consider the value of her natural character as enhanced at all by her religious traits, saw her position [of spiritual conflict], and we may well suppose secretly rejoiced at it. It was no disquiet to him, looking at the matter in the worldly light, that she had made her appearance in the fashionable companies of the most gay and fashionable city in the world. And still he could not but see that the snare, which was thus laid for the faith and piety of his wife, in the attractions and assemblies of Paris, had in some degree failed. He was not ignorant that she had both seen her danger, and had exhibited the wisdom and the decision to flee from it. But certainly, if her religious principle was thus severely tested at Paris, there could be no hazard to it, in her making an excursion into the country, among mountains and rivers, and others of God's great works. This, obviously, was a very natural suggestion. It was proposed, therefore, that she should take a distant journey. Her husband could go with her, and was ready to do it. His state of health was such, that it could hardly fail to be beneficial And if her own health should not be improved, as it would be very likely to be, it would certainly contribute to her happiness. And it was an incidental consideration which had its weight, that her parents came from Montargis, the place of her early life and recollections, which could be visited in the way. Orleans, too, which it was contemplated to visit in the tour was a celebrated and beautiful city. Nor was it a small thing to an imaginative mind like hers, to tread the banks and to behold the scenery of the magnificent Loire. With that great river there were some interesting recollections connected. Not many years before, its waters had been wedded to those of the Seine by the Canal of Briare — an astonishing work, a monument of the enterprise of her husband’s father, and the principal source of the wealth of her family. Hence arose the journey to the distant province of Touraine, in the spring or summer of 1670.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><br /><p></p><p>But this journey also was attended with temptation and sin. During the life of her husband, she generally journeyed in a carriage, and with such attendants and equipage as were thought suitable to her position in society, or as her husband’s desires and tastes might dictate. As she travelled from town to town, in the Orleanois and down the Loire, known in history and song, her eye betrayed her heart, and she found the spirit of worldly interest again waking up within her. But the company of others, involving as it does the suggestions and solicitations of unsanctified nature, is sometimes more dangerous than the sight of cities or of the works of nature and art. In that part of France her father’s family and her husband’s had been known, so that her movements were not likely to be kept secret. Her personal reputation had preceded her. Her powers of conversation were remarkable, and were always felt when she was disposed to exert them. Men were taken also with her beauty and wealth. </p><p></p><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>“In this journey,” she says, “abundance of visits and applauses were bestowed upon me; and I, who had already experienced the pangs of being unfaithful to God, found emotions of vanity once more springing to life within me. Strange as it may appear, and after all the bitterness I had experienced, I loved human applause, while I clearly perceived its folly. And I loved that in myself which caused this applause, while in the conflict of my mind’s feelings, I desired to be delivered from it. The life of nature was pleased with public favour; but the life of grace made me see the danger of it, and dread it. Oh, what pangs the heart feels in this situation! Deep was the affliction which this combat of grace and nature cost me! What rendered my position the more dangerous was, that they not only praised my youth and beauty, but passed compliments upon my virtue. But this I could not receive. I had been too deeply taught that there is nothing but unworthiness and weakness in myself, and that all goodness is from God.”</blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: left;">“We met with some accidents,” she says, “in this journey, which were sufficient to have impressed and terrified any one. And it is proper for me to say, with gratitude, that though the corruptions of my nature prevailed against me, my heavenly Father did not desert me. He kept me submissive and resigned in dangers, where there seemed to be no possibility of escape. At one time, on the banks of the Loire, we got into a narrow path, from which we could not well retreat. The waves of the river washed the base of the narrow road before us, and partly undermined it, so that it was necessary for our footman to support one side of the carriage. All around me were terrified; but God kept me in tranquility. Indeed, sensible of my weakness, and fearful that I might still more dishonour Him, I seemed to have a secret desire, that He would take me out of the temptations of the world, by some sudden stroke of His providence.” </blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;">It is obvious, I think, that in this excursion. which she designates as her journey to Orleans and Touraine, she yielded in some degree to the temptations to which she was subject. Such was her own impression, at least; and in the sorrow and depression of her spirit, she went in search of religious friends and teachers, to confess and lament her backslidings. But they did not, or perhaps could not, enter into her feelings. </p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">"They did not condemn," she says, "what God condemned; and treated those things as excusable and proper, which seemed to me to be disapproved and even detestable in His sight. But in saying that they wholly extenuated my faults, or did not consider them very great, I ought to add, that they did not understand, (nobody but myself <i>could</i> understand,) how much God had done for me. Instead of measuring my faults by the mercies and graces which God had conferred upon me, they only considered what I was, in comparison <i>with what 1 might have been.</i> Hence, instead of blaming me, their remarks tended rather to flatter my pride, and to justify me in things which incurred the Divine displeasure and rebuke. </p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">"It is an important remark, that a sin is not to be measured merely by its nature, <i>in itself considered</i>; but also by the state of the person who commits it; as the least unfaithfulness in a wife is more injurious to a husband, and affects him more deeply, than far greater acts of unkindness and neglect in his domestics. I had given myself to God in a bond of union more sacred than any human tie. Was it possible, then, to bestow my thoughts and affections on another, without offending Him to whom my soul had already betrothed itself? My trials were connected, in part, with the fashions of those gay times, the modes of dress, and methods of personal intercourse. It seemed to me, that the dress of the ladies, with whom, in my journey to Orleans and Touraine, I was led almost necessarily to associate, was hardly consistent with Christian, or even natural modesty and decorum. I did not wholly conform to the prevalent modes, but I went too far in that direction. </p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">"It is true, that my associates, seeing that I covered my neck much more than was common for females at that time, assured me that I was quite modest, and Christian-like in my attire; and as my husband liked my dress, there could be nothing amiss in it. But there was something within me, which told me that it was not so. The Christian knows what it is to hear the voice of God in his soul. This inward voice troubled me. It, seemed to say, whither art thou going, thou "whom my soul loveth"? Divine love drew me gently and sweetly in one direction; while natural vanity violently dragged me in another. I was undecided; loving God, but not wholly willing to give up the world. My heart was rent asunder by the contest." <br /></p><p>This was indeed a sad state to be in. But it is proper to say, that there was one marked difference between the present and her former state. In the days of her life of nature, at least in that period before which God began to operate in her by his Holy Spirit, she not only sinned, but had in reality no disposition to do otherwise. She loved to sin. It was different now. Renovated, though imperfect, — sincerely desirous to do right, though often failing to do so, because she was not enlightened in the way of holy living by faith alone, — she could not fall into transgression without experiencing the deepest sorrow and torment of mind. Sin had lost the sweetness which once characterized it. She began to perceive, that even the smallest transgression cannot fail to separate from God. The wretchedness, therefore, which it occasioned, when she found in any case that she had sinned against her Heavenly Father, was inexpressible.</p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">— edited from <i>The Life of Madame Guyon </i>(1877), Volume 1, Chapter 9.</span></p><p></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-43920613949720286802024-02-28T10:05:00.031-05:002024-02-29T15:17:01.762-05:00A Visit to Paris<h2 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhkCi8NhJ430Q6TgiDONTFb30oE4aXcMQPyEc84_lUULNqoCotz_pVGra9uDAN66SgULaPc1zlJcdo2pZaSLKsrvKD6G0bqU519C22CU2WohVX1SOZE6vv_Hjj5uOL7MEFemeghwZPB8/s1600/Guyon-edit.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhkCi8NhJ430Q6TgiDONTFb30oE4aXcMQPyEc84_lUULNqoCotz_pVGra9uDAN66SgULaPc1zlJcdo2pZaSLKsrvKD6G0bqU519C22CU2WohVX1SOZE6vv_Hjj5uOL7MEFemeghwZPB8/s320/Guyon-edit.png" width="250" /></a><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Reflections on <br />the Life of <br />Madame Jeanne de la Mothe Guyon.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></h2>
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<hr /><p> <br /><i>Visit to Paris — The errors committed there — Grief</i><br />
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<br />Man, under the influence of the natural life, is disposed to diffuse himself — to overleap the humbling barriers of God's providence, and to mingle in what is not his own. The principle of curiosity, always strong, but especially so in a mind like hers, was not only not dead, but what is still more important, it ceased to be properly regulated. It was still a matter of interest with her to see and be seen, and to experience the pleasures of worldly intercourse and conversation.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p> At one time the contest in this direction was very considerable. Satan knew how and where to aim his arrows. He had sagacity enough to perceive that she was not a woman that could easily be subdued by appeals and temptations applied to her physical nature, but that they must be made to her great powers of intellect, her pride of character, and desire of personal admiration and personal influence. The suggestion came insidiously, but it entered deeply into the heart. For two years she had laboured faithfully in the cause of Christ. We do not mean to say that she had been without sin, but that she had struggled faithfully, though sometimes unsuccessfully against sin, and without ever thinking for a moment of yielding quietly to its solicitations and influences; and it was not till after all this favourable probation that the secret whisper, breathed out gently and with great art, came to her soul. It came from the source of all evil, and was applied with Satanic skill. Is it possible that I must so far give up all to God, that I shall have nothing left for the world? In this age of refinement and pleasure, when everything is awake to intelligence, and when there is apparently but one voice of joy, is it necessary, or even reasonable, that my eye should be shut and my ears closed, and my lips silent? The assault was made with so much adroitness, that her religious resolution, after having been strenuously sustained for some time, began to waver.</p><p>In connexion with this state of things, she speaks of a visit of some length in Paris — her usual residence being a short distance out of the city. In expressions which convey an ominous import to the religious mind, she says, <i>"I relaxed in my usual religious exercises, on account of the little time I had."</i> Religious declensions generally begin in this way. When she went to Paris, she seems to have been comparatively in a good religious state. She speaks of God's grace to her — of His continual presence and care. She had experienced some heavy temptations and trials before, but does not appear to have yielded to them in any great degree. But she felt here as she had not felt before, since she professed to walk in a new life—the dangerous power of the heart, even of the <i>Christian</i> heart, whenever left to itself, and unrestrained by Divine grace. Speaking of her internal state, she says, " I seemed to myself to be like one of those young brides, who find a difficulty after their marriage, in laying aside their self-indulgence and self-love, and in faithfully following their husbands into the duties and cares of life." To a mind not fully established in the religious life, or temporarily shaken in its religious principles, Paris was a place full of hazard. She found the temptation great; and it is a sad commentary on human weakness, that she in some degree yielded to it.<br /><br />She says, <i>"I did many things which I ought not to have done."</i> What these things were, we do not fully know. She mentions, however, as one thing which gave her trouble, that she felt an improper gratification in receiving the attention of others. In other words, her vanity still lived. There were a number of persons in the city, apparently persons without experimental religion, who were extremely fond of her; and it was one of her faults that she allowed them to express their personal regard in too strong terms, without checking it as she ought. It appears also that she regarded herself as having conformed too much to the dress of the Parisian ladies. Among other things which indicate her sense of her danger and actual unfaithfulness to God, she speaks of promenading in the public walks of the city — a practice not necessarily improper or sinful. She did not do it merely out of complaisance to her friends, nor for the physical pleasure and benefit which might be expected from the practice; but partly, at least, from the unsanctified feeling of personal display, the desire of seeing and of being seen. But deeply did she lament these falls.<br /><br /></p><blockquote>"As I saw that the purity of my state was likely to be sullied by a too great intercourse with the world, I made haste to finish the business which detained me at Paris, in order to return to the country. It is true, O God, I felt that thou hadst given me strength enough, in connexion with thy promised assistance, to avoid the occasions of evil. But I found myself in a situation of peculiar temptation. And I had so far yielded to the evil influences to which I had been exposed, that I found it difficult to resist the vain ceremonies and complaisances which characterize fashionable life. Invited to join in the pleasures to which the world was so generally and strongly devoted, I was very far from tasting the satisfaction which they seemed to give to others. <i>'Alas!</i> ' said I, <i>'this is not my God, and nothing beside Him can give solid pleasure.'"</i> <br /></blockquote><blockquote>"I was not only disappointed, but I felt the deep sorrow which always afflicts unfaithful souls. I cannot well describe the anguish of which I was the subject. It was like a consuming fire. Banished from the presence of my Beloved, my bridegroom, how could I be happy! I could not find access to Him, and I certainly could not find rest out of Him. I knew not what to do. I was like the dove out of the Ark; which, finding no rest for the sole of its foot, was constrained to return again; but finding the window shut, could only fly about without being able to enter."</blockquote><p style="text-align: right;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">— edited from <i>The Life of Madame Guyon </i>(1877), Volume 1, Chapter 9.</span></p><p></p><p><br /></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-4566178859372782432024-02-27T09:55:00.004-05:002024-02-29T15:17:14.222-05:00On Austerities<h2 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhkCi8NhJ430Q6TgiDONTFb30oE4aXcMQPyEc84_lUULNqoCotz_pVGra9uDAN66SgULaPc1zlJcdo2pZaSLKsrvKD6G0bqU519C22CU2WohVX1SOZE6vv_Hjj5uOL7MEFemeghwZPB8/s1600/Guyon-edit.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhkCi8NhJ430Q6TgiDONTFb30oE4aXcMQPyEc84_lUULNqoCotz_pVGra9uDAN66SgULaPc1zlJcdo2pZaSLKsrvKD6G0bqU519C22CU2WohVX1SOZE6vv_Hjj5uOL7MEFemeghwZPB8/s320/Guyon-edit.png" width="250" /></a><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Reflections on <br />the Life of <br />Madame Jeanne de la Mothe Guyon.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></h2>
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<br /><br /><i>The inordinate action of all parts of the mind to be subdued — Austerities may be practiced without the idea of expiation — The monks of La Trappe — Temptations to go back to the world</i></p><p><br /></p><hr /><p>
I doubt not that the distinction which separates the idea of <i>expiation</i> from austere and self-mortifying acts, and makes them merely <i>disciplinary</i>, would be found to hold good in many instances; but, without pretending to say how far this may be the case, I will relate here a single incident which will illustrate what I mean. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>The monks of the celebrated monastery of La Frappe, in France, after the reform effected there by M. De Race, were exceedingly strict in their mode of life. The deprivations they endured, and the austerities they imposed upon themselves, seemed to be as great as human nature is well capable of enduring. A person visited the monastery, and witnessing the austerities practiced, he expressed his admiration of their self denial in rejecting those indulgences so common among other persons. The monks, laying their hands on their hearts, with a look of deep humiliation, replied in words to this effect:— </p><p></p><blockquote>"We bless God that we find Him all-sufficient without the possession of those things to which you have referred. We reject all such possessions and indulgences, but <i>without claiming any merit for it.</i> Our deepest penances are proper subjects of repentance. We should have been here to little purpose, had we not learned that our penitential acts, performed with too little feeling, are not such as they should be; and that our righteousness is not free from imperfection and pollution. Whatever we may endure, or for whatever reason it may be done, we ascribe all our hopes of mercy and acceptance to the blood of Christ alone."<span style="font-size: x-small;"> — Account of the Monastery of La Trappe, and of the Institution of Port Royal, by Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, vol. i. p.140.</span></blockquote><p></p><p>The subjection of the appetites, which has a close connexion with mental purity, and is exceedingly important, constitutes but a small part of that physical and mental contest and victory to which the Christian is called. His whole nature, every thought and every feeling, every act of the desires and of the will, is to be brought into subjection to the law of Christ. Madame Guyon, with the great powers of analysis and reflection she possessed, fully understood this. It was her desire and purpose, both in body and in spirit, to be wholly the Lord's. But she found that the contest, which she was summoned to carry on with other and higher parts of her nature, was more trying and less successful than that which she had prosecuted in other respects. </p><p>Under the influence of principles which are good when they are not inordinate, she found to her great grief that she still loved to hear and to know more than a sanctified Christianity would allow. Man, under the influence of the natural life, is disposed to diffuse himself—to overleap the humbling barriers of God's providence, and to mingle in what is not his own. The principle of curiosity, always strong, but especially so in a mind like hers, was not only not dead, but what is still more important, it ceased to be properly regulated. It was still a matter of interest with her to see and be seen, and to experience the pleasures of worldly intercourse and conversation.</p><p style="text-align: right;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">— edited from <i>The Life of Madame Guyon </i>(1877), Volume 1, Chapter 9.</span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-38350840413827078072024-02-26T17:49:00.006-05:002024-02-29T15:17:28.722-05:00Wholly Devoted to God: Mortifications<h2 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhkCi8NhJ430Q6TgiDONTFb30oE4aXcMQPyEc84_lUULNqoCotz_pVGra9uDAN66SgULaPc1zlJcdo2pZaSLKsrvKD6G0bqU519C22CU2WohVX1SOZE6vv_Hjj5uOL7MEFemeghwZPB8/s1600/Guyon-edit.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhkCi8NhJ430Q6TgiDONTFb30oE4aXcMQPyEc84_lUULNqoCotz_pVGra9uDAN66SgULaPc1zlJcdo2pZaSLKsrvKD6G0bqU519C22CU2WohVX1SOZE6vv_Hjj5uOL7MEFemeghwZPB8/s320/Guyon-edit.png" width="250" /></a><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Reflections on <br />the Life of <br />Madame Jeanne de la Mothe Guyon.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></h2>
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<i>We are to consult our own improvement and good, as well as of others — Desires to be wholly the Lord’s — Efforts to keep the outward appetites in subjection</i></p><p><br /></p><hr /><p>“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as <i>thyself</i>.” Our own vineyard is not to be neglected. True Christianity verifies its existence and its character, not merely in doing good to others, but partly, at least, in the regulation of our own inward nature. It is not enough to visit the sick and teach the ignorant, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, while we leave our own appetites and passions unsubdued, unregulated.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><br /> <p></p><p>[Madame Guyon], however warm-hearted and diffusive may have been her charity to others, felt that there were duties to <i>herself</i>. Something within her, told her that God's providence, which searches through all space and reaches all hearts, had designated her, not merely as a subject of forgiveness, but as a subject of <i>sanctifying</i> grace; not merely as a sinner to be saved, but as a living Temple in which His own Godhead should dwell. And He who, in dwelling in the soul, constitutes its true life, inspired desires within her, corresponding to these designs. </p><p>Referring to the great change, which she dates specifically as having taken place on the 22d of July 1668, she says, “I had a secret desire given me <i>from that time</i>, to be wholly devoted to the disposal of my God. The language of my heart, addressing itself to my heavenly Father, was, What <i>couldst</i> thou demand of me, which I would not willingly sacrifice or offer thee? Oh, spare me not! It seemed to me that I loved God too much, willingly or knowingly to offend Him. I could hardly hear God or our Lord Jesus Christ spoken of, without being almost transported out of myself.”</p><p>And in accordance with these views, she endeavored to recognize <i>practically</i> the Savior's direction, "Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." And also that other direction, "If thy right eye offend thee, <i>pluck it out and cast it from thee</i>; for it is profitable for thee, that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into Hell." It is hardly necessary to say, that no man can properly be accounted as wholly the Lord's, whose appetites, which have their moral as well as physical relations, are not under control. It is very possible, that such a person may be a Christian; that is to say, a Christian in the ordinary and mitigated sense of the terms. It would certainly be reasonable to say, that he may possess a soul, which may properly be described as <i>forgiven</i>; but still it is a soul, which continues to be characterized by undue imperfections. He may possess a soul, as undoubtedly he does, to which the blood of the Atonement has been applied; but still it is a soul which is neither fully nor adequately renovated. If it be true, that the penalty of the Divine Law, in its application to him as an individual, has been satisfied, it is equally true, I think, that the new creation of the Gospel, the reign inwardly of the Holy Ghost, has not yet, fully come. The great work of sanctification must be carried on and rendered complete. And it is hardly necessary to add, that the inward man cannot be sanctified without the sanctification, in some proper sense of the terms, of that which is outward. And, accordingly, under the influence of such views as these, she was enabled, with that assistance which God always gives to those who add faith to their efforts, to subdue and to regulate, on Christian principles, this important part of our nature.</p><p>I am aware, that some of the methods she took seem to imply an undue degree of violence to principles of our nature, which are given us for wise purposes, and which in their appropriate action are entirely innocent. But it may properly be said, I suppose, that there is a principle involved in the practical subjection of the appetites, which will in part justify her. course. It is, that an inordinate exercise of the appetites is to be overcome by what may be termed an inordinate repression; that is to say, by a repression, which under other circumstances would neither be necessary nor proper.</p><p>She refused for a time to indulge them in anything, in order that she might regain her lost control, and be enabled afterwards to employ them aright. She curbed them strongly and strictly, not only to break their present domination, but to annul the terrible influence of that law of habit which gave to their domination its permanency and power. “I kept my appetites,” she says, “under great restraint; subjecting them to a process of strict and unremitting mortification. It is impossible to subdue the inordinate action of this part of our nature, perverted as it is by long habits of vicious indulgence, unless we deny to it, for a time, the smallest relaxation. Deny it firmly that which gives it pleasure; and if it be necessary, give to it that which disgusts; and persevere in this course, until, in a certain sense, it has no choice in anything which is presented to it. If we, during this warfare with the sensual nature, grant any relaxation, giving a <i>little</i> here and a little there, not because it is right, but because it is little, we act like those persons who, under pretext of strengthening a man who is condemned to be starved to death, give him, from time to time, a little nourishment, and thus prolong the man’s torments, while they defeat their own object.</p><p></p><blockquote>“And these views will apply,” she adds, “to the propensive and affectional part of our nature, as well as the appetites; and also to the understanding and will. We must meet their inordinate action promptly. The state in which we are <i>dying to the world</i>, and the state in which we are <i>dead to the world</i>, seem clearly set forth by the apostle Paul <i>as distinct, from each other</i>. He speaks of bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus; but lest we should rest here, he fully distinguishes this from the state of <i>being dead, and having our life hid with Christ in God.</i> It is only by a total death to self that we can experience the state of Divine union, and be lost in God." <br /></blockquote><blockquote>“But when a person", she remarks further, "has once experienced this loss of self, and has become <i>dead to sin</i>, he has no further need of that extreme system of repression and mortification which, with the Divine blessing, had given him the victory. The end for which mortification was practiced is accomplished, and all is become new. It is an unhappy error in those who have arrived at the conquest of the bodily senses, through a series of long and unremitted mortifications, that they should still continue attached to the exercise of them. <i>From this time, when the senses have ceased from their inordinate action, we should permit them to accept, with indifference and equanimity of mind, whatever the Lord sees fit in His providence to give them—the pleasant and the unpleasant, the sweet and the bitter.</i>" <br /></blockquote><blockquote>“And having obtained the victory over the appetites, he who seeks after entire holiness will pass on to other parts of our fallen nature, and endeavour to subject the wandering intellect, the misplaced affections, and the inordinate will. Severely repressive acts, analogous to the cutting off the right hand, or the plucking out of the right eye, must be put forth here also. And success may be expected, if the efforts of the creature, which are always utter weakness without the inspiration of God and the Divine blessing, are attended with prayer, faith, and the spirit of serious and devout recollection."</blockquote><p>Her views of austerities or acts of mortification, in her <i>Autobiography</i>, as they are interpreted and perhaps somewhat modified in her <i>Short Method of Prayer</i>, and her other works, are less objectionable than some might suppose, who have not carefully examined them. It is very probable, that her earliest views on this subject were incorrect and dangerous. But after she had become emancipated (which was the case at an early period of her experience) from certain early impressions, it is obvious that she regarded acts of austerity and mortification as having relation to the laws of our nature, and not as furnishing an atoning element; as disciplinary and not as <i>expiatory</i> — a distinction which is radical and of great consequence. And, in accordance with this view, she thought that such austere and self-mortifying acts, which are to be practiced with a reference to certain definite physical and mental results should continue only for a time In other words, when the end of the austerity or mortification is secured, the act itself should cease.</p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">— edited from <i>The Life of Madame Guyon </i>(1877), Volume 1, Chapter 9.</span><br /></p><p></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-48024735679446178942024-02-23T10:00:00.002-05:002024-02-29T15:17:49.402-05:00Rest From Condemnation<i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnBnbaxEPCbi7L7TuYzt2ptrEhOipwki-q3DXMfEnBtcxkVItYqChUPHnRibJaVZSzJjbSAgLKYGi7RmABwXx7pEj9F_4k_Nz1HAaCpOUv3tM14cNe1MN-b5e3RysUgc08nYGo6Z0xsEXldyKfayLLws4kfX0d5Z8gl4P9G7BG1HCgV9Dr2nRaHWgW5Y/s4024/Christian-Dove-Christian-Symbols.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4024" data-original-width="3912" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnBnbaxEPCbi7L7TuYzt2ptrEhOipwki-q3DXMfEnBtcxkVItYqChUPHnRibJaVZSzJjbSAgLKYGi7RmABwXx7pEj9F_4k_Nz1HAaCpOUv3tM14cNe1MN-b5e3RysUgc08nYGo6Z0xsEXldyKfayLLws4kfX0d5Z8gl4P9G7BG1HCgV9Dr2nRaHWgW5Y/s320/Christian-Dove-Christian-Symbols.jpg" width="311" /></a></div>"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world
giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it
be afraid.</i><span class="p"><i>"</i> — John 14:27 (KJV)</span> <br />
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In analyzing and explaining the elements of that pure and heavenly peace, which our Savior has left both as the inheritance and the characteristic of truly holy souls, we proceed to remark, further, that they are at rest from <i>the reproofs of conscience.</i><br />
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This is a state of things very different from that which is experienced by souls that are only partially united with God. The latter, as they are going through the transition state from love commencing to love completed, have a constant conflict in themselves. Their inward good and evil are arrayed in opposition to each other. They see the right; but they continue, in some degree at least, to follow the wrong. And just so far as this is the case, they are under condemnation. And under such circumstances, they cannot fail to be uneasy and unhappy.<span><a name='more'></a></span><br />
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It is not so with the soul which is given to God without reserve, and which loves him with the whole heart. Such a soul, renovated and purified by the Holy Spirit, may be said to be clothed with innocence; or, if such expressions should be considered as too strong by some, certain it is, that conscience does not condemn it. "There is no condemnation," says the apostle Paul "to them which are in Christ Jesus; who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." In the epistles of John, also, are expressions, which distinctly recognize the state of freedom from condemnation.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVwXW3gsIMKLCKeFPK5fipyllyhBUxtuNO25k-7gySvEjTQzPiaph6Ipd_14HWMHpD-s10vtACeZLyo3g42M6_N9IKQ6oqVWV1SJdfb26brY8-8V_BXCF_x2_PyieHojsQI_pH8eNCbKZiE6SoCIIASBxCAYgMTX0HjysIiGcP8i5rI7dVs3DDLxWLZU/s840/Guyon-edit.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="658" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVwXW3gsIMKLCKeFPK5fipyllyhBUxtuNO25k-7gySvEjTQzPiaph6Ipd_14HWMHpD-s10vtACeZLyo3g42M6_N9IKQ6oqVWV1SJdfb26brY8-8V_BXCF_x2_PyieHojsQI_pH8eNCbKZiE6SoCIIASBxCAYgMTX0HjysIiGcP8i5rI7dVs3DDLxWLZU/s320/Guyon-edit.png" width="251" /></a></div>And this explains a remark which we sometimes find in the lives of devoted Christian<span style="font-size: small;">s.</span> It seems to them as they sometimes say, as if they had lost their conscience. In the writings of Madame Guyon, both in the work entitled the "Torrents," and also in her "Letters," there are repeated references to this peculiar state of experience. The expressions which such persons employ have their foundation in the contrast of the present with their past position. They think they have lost their conscience, because they are not now the subjects of a certain mode of its activity. Formerly their good was so much mixed with evil, that they were constantly the subjects, more or less, of inward admonition; so much so, that this seemed to them almost the whole office of conscience. And, accordingly, when they experienced a higher degree of love, and no longer felt the need of such admonitions and reproofs, they seemed, in the absence of its chastisements, to have lost conscience itself.<br />
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After a while they learn that conscience, operating differently in the evil and the good, has its smiles as well as its frowns; and that its action is felt in that internal approbation which constantly attends them. Angels have conscience; God has conscience; but they never feel its lash; nor is it possible for them, while they remain what they are, ever to know its existence as a part of their own nature, except by the approbation of its smiles. The cessation or rest, therefore, which the persons to whom we allude experience, is not a cessation from conscience, but only from the condemnation of conscience.<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">— edited from <i>A Treatise on Divine Union</i> (1851) Part 8, Chapter 4.</span></div>
Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-44800612499613664952024-02-04T11:12:00.018-05:002024-02-29T15:28:07.899-05:00Liberty of Spirit<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsBTw9hAxyZYtRQf_2ihIeP7byHpdlZhqNE4OBsCoZW6Cj-AFI_fcl8OF9JalFwKnjod9OQJwnhY8IWyBEBEJtGJ__LbDl7hLbedUeUtz7NOSQTXgV8czUquPvGRwxKSD4McBfNQMyXsam1EQbUwc-o4Rl8SvWrpvkLy8EUZUoO1gyRpU0Y78vhR7pqg/s4024/Christian-Dove-Christian-Symbols.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4024" data-original-width="3912" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsBTw9hAxyZYtRQf_2ihIeP7byHpdlZhqNE4OBsCoZW6Cj-AFI_fcl8OF9JalFwKnjod9OQJwnhY8IWyBEBEJtGJ__LbDl7hLbedUeUtz7NOSQTXgV8czUquPvGRwxKSD4McBfNQMyXsam1EQbUwc-o4Rl8SvWrpvkLy8EUZUoO1gyRpU0Y78vhR7pqg/s320/Christian-Dove-Christian-Symbols.jpg" width="311" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">That devout condition of mind, which is
expressed by the term holiness, requires, that we should do the will of
God in all things; or what amounts to the same thing, that we should do
right in all things. But it is obvious, that partialities, inordinate
attachments, loving one more than another without any reasonable grounds
for making a distinction, perplex both our perceptions of right and our
ability to do what is right. It is important, therefore, to keep our
minds in that desirable state, so often mentioned by spiritual writers,
which is denominated </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>liberty of spirit;</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">
a state of mind, in which there are no disturbing influences,
originating either from inordinate hatred or inordinate love, and in
which the soul, acting under a divine guidance, may be moved with the
greatest possible ease in any direction.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> When,
in the exercise of our naturally kind feelings, we strive to do good to
our fellow-men, by soothing their sorrows, by healing their
dissentions, or in any other way, if we do it without a humble and
serious eye to God’s providences, we shall always find on a careful
examination, that we do it in a considerable degree, if not entirely,
without a believing regard to God himself. And accordingly, in
attempting to do good in this way, viz., from the mere impulse of
nature, without a regard to God and his providences, it will not be
surprising, if, in many cases, we fail of our object, and do evil rather
than good. God is present in </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>time</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">, as well as in events. There is always the right </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>time</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">,
as well as the right thing; the right time, as well as the right
action. The man of true faith feels it to be necessary to act at the
right time, to act in God’s time, even in doing those things, which are
clearly of a benevolent nature. God holds the remedy of the evils, which
exist in the world, in his own hands. His people are the instruments,
which he employs, in applying this remedy. But the application is never
made beneficially either to the subject or the agent, except when it is
made under his own superintendence, in his own time and manner.</span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span>— from </span><i>The Life of Faith, </i>Part 2, Chapter 7.</span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-85887468638863429522024-02-03T11:11:00.007-05:002024-02-29T15:30:49.231-05:00Avoid Inordinate Partialities<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUG2tOXdmwzKnwQpAVCDaByyYBP7YUyg1VgDYIiaF8Bolir6zyYIxl4Wv0z_timwx61JKYcR4CDUXArlru7b0CMHrpdJ5-_amE6TYeSsnN7tP8N8JL4GtkIKoc5m10CI5tgPWWSrwDthi7hN5afIznPMIIyzVmhsV8pqjkEYXxIvkKjHGSnCFJHFBgnlU/s612/istockphoto-898447284-612x612.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="612" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUG2tOXdmwzKnwQpAVCDaByyYBP7YUyg1VgDYIiaF8Bolir6zyYIxl4Wv0z_timwx61JKYcR4CDUXArlru7b0CMHrpdJ5-_amE6TYeSsnN7tP8N8JL4GtkIKoc5m10CI5tgPWWSrwDthi7hN5afIznPMIIyzVmhsV8pqjkEYXxIvkKjHGSnCFJHFBgnlU/s320/istockphoto-898447284-612x612.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">We may love wrongly also, when we
knowingly place our love upon wrong objects; or perhaps we should rather
say in this case, upon wrong </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>persons</i></span><span style="font-size: small;">. And accordingly it is a part of Christian duty to avoid wrongly placed and inordinate </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>partialities</i></span><span style="font-size: small;">;
those particular attachments to certain persons, which generally exist
without adequate reason, and which are apt to be attended with
corresponding dislikes to other persons. We do not mean to say, that we
are bound to bestow an equal confidence and an equal affection upon all
persons alike; but true Christianity requires, that, where we make a
difference, we should do it for reasons and on grounds, which God can
approve. It ought to be more generally remembered than it is, that we
have no more right to place our affections on objects or persons,
irrespective of God’s will, than we have to regulate and control our
outward actions in disregard of his will. And it is implied in regarding
his will in this case as well as in others, that we must have a heart
humbly acquiescent in his providences, and must look to him in the
exercise of faith, in order that we may be guided right. It is proper,
therefore, to say to all, who desire to do what God would have them do,
choose your friends in the Lord. Or rather look to the Lord, to choose
them for you. And then you will be likely, not only to choose them
right, but to keep them long. And what otherwise would fail to be the
case, it will be a friendship hallowed by the divine blessing. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>— from </span><i>The Life of Faith, </i>Part 2, Chapter 7.</span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-16634738591790053772024-02-03T09:00:00.004-05:002024-02-29T15:21:12.663-05:00The Love of God as Example<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdVCY1cek0pmiRYdH-WNAFwEQCnDOh5aPrVO7TSqy1DHNci98efUkCI3R2gPh9uTe8bHKSdkaSOpxGWAjXX__1VSryshSNU-myhsBIuAhvu7EX7WOOU3r3K8dBThggVRRjEw9E2EFpVjY7mpsCj3x2-Z6aTnqitM2RuUkSX-Os40sWni33Bt3huHcpEY/s333/th-970234506.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="333" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdVCY1cek0pmiRYdH-WNAFwEQCnDOh5aPrVO7TSqy1DHNci98efUkCI3R2gPh9uTe8bHKSdkaSOpxGWAjXX__1VSryshSNU-myhsBIuAhvu7EX7WOOU3r3K8dBThggVRRjEw9E2EFpVjY7mpsCj3x2-Z6aTnqitM2RuUkSX-Os40sWni33Bt3huHcpEY/s320/th-970234506.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: 16px;">It is obvious, that love can never exist
in any higher degree than in the Divine Mind; but it is certain that it
never exists there in such a degree as to perplex, even to the smallest
extent, the action of God’s percipient or intellectual nature. God loves
deeply and perfectly, for the very reason that he perceives clearly and
perfectly. To love an object, without a clear perception of the nature
of the object and of its claims to love, would involve the hazard of
loving imperfectly or wrongly; a risk which can never, by any
possibility, exist on the part of a perfect and holy being. Now it must
be obvious, that love, in those who bear the divine image, will sustain
the same relation to other acts and affections of the mind, as it does
in God. To be born in the divine image always implies this, and implies
it in the real and strict sense. If we love like God, our love will
operate by the same law, which regulates God’s love; that is to say, we
shall love both in such a manner and such degree as to leave the
intellect unembarrassed and clear in the perception and estimate of the
character of the object and of its claims to our love. When, therefore,
in the exercise of our benevolent affections, the actual affection
exists in such a degree as to perplex the perceptive and intellectual
action, and to render our appreciation of the merits or demerits of the
object confused and doubtful, we may be certain that we are wrong, that
we are jostled out of the true centre, and that we have not God with us.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>— from </span><i>The Life of Faith, </i>Part 2, Chapter 7.</span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-56944802892972848882024-02-02T12:28:00.002-05:002024-02-29T15:21:25.864-05:00Love and Righteousness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTHj1mZolsuJbsEIsSOw6a86gTgj4by70y2GLW5YaGBJcjiTplScNKDlj4GCE_hF1WyRB-Mnl9jxVoYzFXj_cJK3waWPuLSnpXSGNVwBeuB148GOoX5feTHmfyQHFlK4zS7UX47nvJXbcz9dj5oSYYtB2UXliYybsWUhiRZ6Tu8nke3VbdskouaB1TyQ/s612/istockphoto-898447284-612x612.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="612" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTHj1mZolsuJbsEIsSOw6a86gTgj4by70y2GLW5YaGBJcjiTplScNKDlj4GCE_hF1WyRB-Mnl9jxVoYzFXj_cJK3waWPuLSnpXSGNVwBeuB148GOoX5feTHmfyQHFlK4zS7UX47nvJXbcz9dj5oSYYtB2UXliYybsWUhiRZ6Tu8nke3VbdskouaB1TyQ/s320/istockphoto-898447284-612x612.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 16px;">We think it of some consequence to
mention here one rule, which may aid us in determining, whether our
affections, those of the most benevolent kind as well as others, are
properly regulated or not. <b>When our affections to any persons, however
near and dear they may be to us, are found to be so strong at any given
time or on any occasion as to disturb the clearness and precision of the
intellectual action, we may be assured, that such love has become
inordinate, and has some vicious element in it.</b> A number of
considerations go to show this. </span><p><span style="font-size: 16px;">We may argue, in confirmation
of what has been said, from the nature and operations of that love,
which we are required to exercise towards God. It is the tendency of the
true love of God, which is the same as the pure love of God, always to
accommodate itself to what is right. Rectitude is the ultimate and
unchangeable law of its operation. At this, by a tendency inherent in
its own nature, it always aims, viz., to love rightly, to love just as
it </span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><i>ought</i></span><span style="font-size: 16px;">
to love, not only the right object, but in the right degree. The right
and wrong of things, the ought and the ought not, is made known to us,
in connection with, and by means of the action of an enlightened moral
sense. The moral sense, by a well known law of our mental constitution,
demands, as the condition of its own correct action, a clear
intellectual perception. The action of the intellect must be
undisturbed. The pure love of God, that is to say, the love which we
exercise towards God, when it is unmixed with any merely human or
selfish element, never causes disturbance in the intellectual action;
but, on the contrary, is highly favorable to the opposite state. Where
such pure affection exists, therefore, the right or rectitude of things
may be expected to be clearly perceived, as well as strongly loved. But
if the love of God, (that unmixed and pure love which alone can be
acceptable to him,) does not disturb the perceptive or intellectual
action, but on the contrary if its very nature requires a clear and calm
perception of things, then it is very obvious, that the love of our
earthly friends, the love of our neighbor, cannot safely be exercised on
other principles, and cannot require less.</span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>— from </span><i>The Life of Faith, </i>Part 2, Chapter 7.</span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-54380732675702600422023-10-06T12:05:00.023-04:002024-02-29T15:21:39.735-05:00To Love Wrongly<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgenfK8leLwLQP_tKsAxD_NXem-12voaSqN3RbWDN0QMVEOwJ5gVfvfe6WlkKAORnjT40tMloN3UDhwojn7a2N5GCjKPCQ25l0o4dTPyh3vjDql257YSuNQ2vf1ZbXyvNZbySSguHHQ4PWuS0gGpiarlkh4OVmm0-VfPumHamMB5V3ZhKAgfnLh5wwfIbg/s1920/Faith-in-burning-candles.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgenfK8leLwLQP_tKsAxD_NXem-12voaSqN3RbWDN0QMVEOwJ5gVfvfe6WlkKAORnjT40tMloN3UDhwojn7a2N5GCjKPCQ25l0o4dTPyh3vjDql257YSuNQ2vf1ZbXyvNZbySSguHHQ4PWuS0gGpiarlkh4OVmm0-VfPumHamMB5V3ZhKAgfnLh5wwfIbg/s320/Faith-in-burning-candles.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>In the exercise of those benevolent
affections, which our heavenly Father has implanted within us, we love
wrongly, when we place our love on wrong objects. We love wrongly also,
when we love in an inordinate degree. The love, which is inordinate in
degree, arises chiefly from the fact of our regarding the objects of it,
such as parents, children, and other near relatives and friends, out of
their due relation to God. Faith in God, especially assured or perfect
faith, reestablishes the relation; and requires us to love them in God’s
will, and according to God’s law; with an affection, which is neither
wrong by its weakness nor wrong by its inordinate strength. As God, in
the perceptions and estimate of an assured faith, is the sum of all
beings, inasmuch as all are from him and in him; so we are naturally and
rightly required to love him with the sum, the wholeness or entireness,
if we may so speak, of all our powers. And so long as we love God in
this manner, God will help us to love all beings subordinate to him, at
the right time and in the right degree. But we ought not to forget, that
it is faith, which places God in the right relative position; and it is
faith, which opens the strong fountain of love such as his infinite
nature claims; and it is faith, therefore, indirectly at least, which
distributes this fountain to all subordinate beings from God downward to
the lowest insect.<p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>— from </span><i>The Life of Faith, </i>Part 2, Chapter 7.<i><br /></i></span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-70838288977358971782023-10-05T11:57:00.032-04:002023-10-05T11:57:00.147-04:00Inordinate Love<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3t52v6Gu-z5YQmGExR7KXR0enq2Pr7UxwuzuXRWrIqp7lI9WF0HvsRnFNFc80jTWRegldPgPiUSUtlxEr7KEp-VN184w9gkerZU-u-eo7Bu3dzzVd-r95PyBhMhYHxdx30Y43aoR44oxduzbXzOpRBmkiFJmIDxaaTL_HY64PtTHEuAR2lUMgoXfBb98/s986/Francis%20de%20Sales%20ANS%201.24.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="655" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3t52v6Gu-z5YQmGExR7KXR0enq2Pr7UxwuzuXRWrIqp7lI9WF0HvsRnFNFc80jTWRegldPgPiUSUtlxEr7KEp-VN184w9gkerZU-u-eo7Bu3dzzVd-r95PyBhMhYHxdx30Y43aoR44oxduzbXzOpRBmkiFJmIDxaaTL_HY64PtTHEuAR2lUMgoXfBb98/s320/Francis%20de%20Sales%20ANS%201.24.18.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 16px;">I recollect to have noticed a remark,
made in connection with the religious experience of Francis de Sales,
which is worthy of serious consideration. It is found in one of the
religious works of Liguori, entitled the <i>Practice of the Love of Jesus
Chris</i>t, as follows. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></p><blockquote>He was obliged to struggle hard to overcome his two
predominant passions, anger and love. To overcome the former, he
labored for twelve successive years, and to check the consequences of
the latter, he changed the object of his affections, by transferring
them from creatures to God.</blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px;">In order to possess a mind continually and
entirely right with God, which seems to have been the great object of
his efforts, we are informed, that he was obliged to struggle hard, not
merely to regulate and overcome his anger, but to </span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><em>overcome his love</em></span><span style="font-size: 16px;">;
a statement, which implies, and as it seems to us very correctly
implies, that there is no small degree of danger in the exercise even of
this benevolent and ennobling affection. We all know, that there is
danger of being inordinately angry; but it does not so often occur to
us, (which nevertheless is the fact,) that there is danger, if not
equally great yet equally real, of being inordinately and wrongly
affectionate. Against this danger, therefore, supposing it to exist, as
it undoubtedly does exist, we are to guard with the same care, with
which we guard against others.</span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>— </span><span>from </span><i>The Life of Faith</i>, Part 2, Chapter 7.<i><br /></i></span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-23465573607756673312023-10-04T11:41:00.009-04:002023-10-04T16:00:27.224-04:00Faith and the Natural Affections<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5-KyxGrJfw5fjakfGADGcOqZEZlqyoJUGoFL-sHj-l942Mir1SE_qpjCfGodnGEdB-AeJ6H-4SG4uHIGMQOFcolrCrPMVHYaZKsmThE8F_ik9DxmbwwxcbpMvIimH_eAa3Y8xgbxxzXRCzFunLjGaKSr9wLZ18QkRJTjWAMOAQ2zrmZVKCzTopYMIgc/s818/wp3320086.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="818" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5-KyxGrJfw5fjakfGADGcOqZEZlqyoJUGoFL-sHj-l942Mir1SE_qpjCfGodnGEdB-AeJ6H-4SG4uHIGMQOFcolrCrPMVHYaZKsmThE8F_ik9DxmbwwxcbpMvIimH_eAa3Y8xgbxxzXRCzFunLjGaKSr9wLZ18QkRJTjWAMOAQ2zrmZVKCzTopYMIgc/s320/wp3320086.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">A man may make the most decided efforts
and may resort to all methods, to subdue and to bring back his fallen
nature within the limits of God’s appointment and law; but it will avail
nothing without faith. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">We proceed now to apply [this] to
the Affections. Those natural Affections, which God has implanted
within us, discover the divine wisdom and goodness. The perversion,
which they often exhibit, does not destroy the evidence of their
original beauty. Human nature would be far less lovely than it is, far
less happy than it is, if the parent did not love the child, and the
child the parent; and if there were not other domestic and benevolent
ties, which bind together members of the same family, and those who are
otherwise closely related.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">The Affections, (we speak now of
the Benevolent Affections,) beautiful as they are in the place they
occupy in the mental structure, and important and interesting as they
are in their outward office, have felt, like every other part of our
mental being, the effects of our depraved and fallen condition. They
sometimes fall below their appropriate strength; but more frequently
err, either in being wrongly directed, or in being inordinately strong.
It is evident, from a slight inspection of what human nature every where
presents to our notice, that they require a constant regulation; in
other words, they need to be sanctified.</span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">— from <i>The Life of Faith</i>, Part 2, Chapter 7.</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-64699635330546309052023-10-03T11:37:00.004-04:002023-10-04T15:59:33.407-04:00The Sanctifying Influences of Faith<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-yR4Elx0FEeXtVUV3cYVcesXnf3itE-n3Ct7TTfsU4YtzToRpeA86ILS3JAzZB8OXQU9yoa5h5xuCpktmdipNqy5rKy-ziTnO-bNCRH962GVjHVF208acBIGjudTT4mCi3CrXW4lBckOHp31CXNpEF0OUb_PbfCZta4UUuWOdFqtYaIE9rktmkdpzMQ/s1920/bible-2167778_1920.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="1920" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-yR4Elx0FEeXtVUV3cYVcesXnf3itE-n3Ct7TTfsU4YtzToRpeA86ILS3JAzZB8OXQU9yoa5h5xuCpktmdipNqy5rKy-ziTnO-bNCRH962GVjHVF208acBIGjudTT4mCi3CrXW4lBckOHp31CXNpEF0OUb_PbfCZta4UUuWOdFqtYaIE9rktmkdpzMQ/s320/bible-2167778_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">The outline of the scriptural doctrine on
the subject of faith seems to be; FIRST, that men are justified by
faith, and second, that, being justified, they live by faith. And
accordingly it is said in one place, “being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;” and in another, “the just
shall live by faith.” So much has been said on the subject of
justification by faith, it having been almost from the commencement of
the christian era, a leading subject of discussion, that it has not
seemed to us necessary to occupy much time with it. And accordingly it
will be noticed, that ... the attention of the reader is designed to be directed, not
so much to the justifying, as to the sanctifying influences of faith. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">A
man may make the most decided efforts and may resort to all methods, to
subdue and to bring back his fallen nature within the limits of God’s
appointment and law; but it will avail nothing without faith. Without
faith, (not merely that faith which justifies but that which
sanctifies,) the Appetites, which are not too low and degraded to become
purified and holy, always exhibit an action, which is disorderly,
uncontrolled, and evil. Without faith, the Propensive principles, which
may be regarded higher in their position and influence than the
Appetites, although lower than the affections, run into various forms
and degrees of unauthorized irregularity and excess. And we may add,
without going into particulars, that without faith in God, and without
faith in Christ as the mediator between God and man, man’s whole moral
nature will inevitably show itself, as it always has shown itself,
rebellious, perverse, and evil.</span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">— from <i>The Life of Faith</i>, Part 2, Chapter 7. <br /></span></p>Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-59762756942837638702023-09-25T05:00:00.000-04:002023-09-25T17:28:45.862-04:00The Need to Believe That Holiness is Attainable<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4iaUpJtZMdji9eYgBj4BHNlkSLAvCpi0By_0PxYFj6Oz7ylzB7cSREHzc75-ZH1WHA6UEvucGswW-JPLQ509BTb8B-lDhJGLzvP2EgHvUkoS97gVp2dbOksOx3CI5tcNnD7cZxUydkFAW9U2MRaAFV2wjb3CvKwsOnpVl6POxmbhhSOFiKqW1EwUmuU/s1600/dreamstime_m_37530342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1290" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4iaUpJtZMdji9eYgBj4BHNlkSLAvCpi0By_0PxYFj6Oz7ylzB7cSREHzc75-ZH1WHA6UEvucGswW-JPLQ509BTb8B-lDhJGLzvP2EgHvUkoS97gVp2dbOksOx3CI5tcNnD7cZxUydkFAW9U2MRaAFV2wjb3CvKwsOnpVl6POxmbhhSOFiKqW1EwUmuU/w161-h200/dreamstime_m_37530342.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>It becomes a very important inquiry, whether holiness, in any strict and proper sense of that term, is something attainable in the present life. Among other reasons it is important to be able to answer properly this question, because, unless we believe in the attainableness of holiness, we shall not be likely, such are the laws of the human mind, to attain it. Perhaps we may say, that without this belief it will be impossible to attain it. And without holiness, without a heart thoroughly purified from the stains of voluntary transgression, we may be assured that we shall not enter into the secrets of the Most High; the Hidden Life will be hidden to us: and there will be many things in the Christian’s privileges, more precious than rubies, which will never, in the present state of being, come within the range of our experience.<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">— from <i>The Interior of Hidden Life </i>(1844), Chapter 2.</span></div>
Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-23447958594215548552023-09-18T05:00:00.000-04:002023-09-18T17:10:49.055-04:00Holiness in This Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfZpOEE5MThWJjqxTfPdyFKxqZceAwO8TrAo0NOUeGBF-3egt0PutbnJ6LNnEaEXQZ7fr--RmCMq7PcgCkDjwubRbdQVbFeNLAxbxAzLQ_tfLl82gMM1-VLfOKcJJoUosxD9dVNsr_8pjBKP-8VDmayY__VUPpgaF93baIs-x99CrfJAViTro7_vgU0k/s1601/christian-cross-illustration-as-symbol-faith-48633805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1601" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfZpOEE5MThWJjqxTfPdyFKxqZceAwO8TrAo0NOUeGBF-3egt0PutbnJ6LNnEaEXQZ7fr--RmCMq7PcgCkDjwubRbdQVbFeNLAxbxAzLQ_tfLl82gMM1-VLfOKcJJoUosxD9dVNsr_8pjBKP-8VDmayY__VUPpgaF93baIs-x99CrfJAViTro7_vgU0k/s320/christian-cross-illustration-as-symbol-faith-48633805.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Gospel evidently contemplates, in the case of every individual, a progress from the incipient condition of mere forgiveness and acceptance, immensely important as it is, to the higher state of interior renovation and sanctification throughout. The Apostle appears to have reference to this onward progress of the soul in the expressions he employs in the commencement of the sixth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. “Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith towards God; of the doctrine of baptism and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.” What direction, then, shall we take? What course shall we pursue, that we may rise above the merely initiatory principles and feelings of the gospel life, and enjoy the delightful privilege of walking in close and uninterrupted communion with God? In answer to this general inquiry we remark, that the first and indispensable prerequisite is HOLINESS OF HEART. It is generally supposed, that God may exhibit pity and pardon to those in whom there still exist some relics and stains of inward corruption; in other words, that those, may be forgiven or pardoned, who are not entirely sanctified. But those, who would walk acceptably with their Maker, who would receive from him his secret communications and enjoy the hidden embraces of his love, must see to it, first of all, that they are pure in heart; that they have a present, as well as a prospective salvation; in other words, that they are holy.<br />
<br />
We are aware, that, in the view of some, this condition of realizing the full life of God in the soul is an impracticable one. They regard holiness in this life, as a thing unattainable; or, what seems to me to be practically the same view, as a thing never attained. The persons, to whom we now allude, seem to look upon holiness as a sort of intangible abstraction, as something placed high and remotely in the distance, as designed to be realized by angels and by the just made perfect in heaven, but situated far beyond mere human acquisition. Hence it is, that followed and scourged by an inward condemnation, they remain in the condition of servants, and do not cheerfully and boldly take that of sons. They wander about, oftentimes led captive by Satan, in the low grounds of the gospel life, amid marshes and tangled forests; and do not ascend into the pleasant hills and that emblematical land of Beulah, where are spicy breezes and perpetual sunshine.<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">— from <i>The Interior or Hidden Life </i>(1844), Chapter 2.</span></div>
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<br />Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5802710531245134387.post-70152379235375040102023-09-14T07:00:00.000-04:002023-09-14T19:14:28.930-04:00At War with Providence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsQPfW389JZvWtP3r_yv-8_DiGuEk7flI0taAWxvgfodsM4gMIedgdttaZCJtRqCTmGgJ-kQRr_M2oKikT_8tpdXaNFypy0YhrMSCRC_5HX1adJBHBOxGPB2EN3f6j9rzMhqnLPlQGArkzsFDJ_WQzH36IdFJ98FnhXGE1BAjPPhNVXGGjTBcQQyxD6vU/s333/th-970234506.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="333" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsQPfW389JZvWtP3r_yv-8_DiGuEk7flI0taAWxvgfodsM4gMIedgdttaZCJtRqCTmGgJ-kQRr_M2oKikT_8tpdXaNFypy0YhrMSCRC_5HX1adJBHBOxGPB2EN3f6j9rzMhqnLPlQGArkzsFDJ_WQzH36IdFJ98FnhXGE1BAjPPhNVXGGjTBcQQyxD6vU/s320/th-970234506.png" width="320" /></a></div>There are exceptions, it is true, but not enough to reverse, or to modify essentially the assertion, that man is at war with Providence. <br />
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In this state of things it is obviously impossible that there should be peace or happiness. The divine harmony is broken. Man, in being by his selfishness antagonistical to God and God's arrangements, is necessarily antagonistical to his neighbor. Place is at war with place, and feeling with feeling. Judgment is arrayed against judgment, because false and conflicting judgments necessarily grow out of the soil of perverted affections. On every side are the outcries of passion, the competitions of interest, and the crush of broken hearts. <br />
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Shall it always be so? The remedy, and the only remedy, is an adherence to the law of Providence. Renounce man's wisdom, and seek that of God. Subject the human to the divine. Harmonize the imperfect thoughts and purposes of the creature with the wisdom of the Eternal Will.<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">— from <i>A Treatise on Divine Union</i>. </span></div>
Craig L. Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08351091412370400350noreply@blogger.com0