Hinderances to Correct Judgment: The Pride of Human Intellect

One of the favorable effects of faith on the exercise of the judgment is, that it is adverse to the pride of human intellect. When we speak of faith in God, we mean God as he is; not a God who is dwindled down to the compass of man’s imagination, but God as he is; God illimitable, God omnipotent, God who reveals himself in every thing that is made, but who in every thing that is made indicates also that there is something not revealed, and something which cannot be revealed. The pride of human intellect cannot stand in the light of such a presence. The man of true religious faith, the man who has faith, not in the idol of his own imagination, but in God as he is, reverting from the Infinite Mind to his own mind, begins at once to feel that he has no intellectual strength, no true wisdom, no purity of love, and no foundation of hope, except what he derives from a divine source. “The most enlightened of men,” says Robert Hall, “have always been the first to perceive and acknowledge the remaining obscurity, which hung around them; just as, in the night, the further a light extends, the wider the surrounding sphere of darkness appears. Hence it has always been observed, that the most profound inquirers into nature have been the most modest and humble.

The Desire for Knowledge

The desire of knowledge is another principle, coming under the same general class of mental tendencies, which requires regulation; but which never can be regulated without faith. 

As those, who are desirous of making God’s law the rule of their conduct, we are at liberty to know only what God would have us know. It would certainly be absurd to suppose, that the principle of curiosity, one of the most powerful principles in our mental constitution, operating for the most part during all the moments of consciousness, and involving in its action immense consequences both to ourselves and others, is permitted to act without being responsible to law, and without incurring either guilt or merit. 

In this thing, as in other things, we must trust ourselves with God; believing that he will furnish opportunities of knowledge, and will give strength in the pursuit of knowledge, whenever his providence and his law impose duties which render knowledge desirable and necessary. 

Remain, therefore, in the attitude of waiting upon God, who gives light to the understanding, as well as renovation to the heart. Neither yield to fear on the one hand, nor to the suggestions of eager desire on the other. As christians we ought not to desire, and we certainly do not need any light, which comes from the world or from a worldly spirit; but the illumination, which comes from God’s wisdom and God’s will, is indispensable. And it is so, because it is precisely that kind and degree of light, which is adapted to the situation in which his providence has placed us. And this light he will never fail to give us, if in humility and consecration of heart we are willing to trust him for it.

— edited from The Life of Faith, Part 2, Chapter 5.

The De La Mothe Family Moves to Paris

Reflections on
the Life of
Madame Jeanne de la Mothe Guyon.

---

Sometime in the year 1663, M. De La Mothe removed his family from Montargis to the city of Paris, — a step which obviously was not calculated to benefit his daughter, in the religious sense of the term.  Paris  was at that time, as  it is now, the center of scientific culture and of the arts, of refinement of manners and of fashionable Gaye. Louis the Fourteenth was then the reigning sovereign of France, — a man of considerable powers of intellect, and of great energy of will,— in whom two leading desires predominated — the one to make France great, the other to make himself the source and center of her greatness. The greatness of France, sustained and illustrated in the wisdom and splendor of her great monarch — this, it is very obvious, was the central and powerful element of his system of action. Hence the expense and labor which he bestowed upon the royal palaces, and upon all the great public works which could be considered as having a national character; hence his vast efforts to enrich and beautify the city of Versailles, which he had selected as the principal seat of his residence; hence his desire to attach to his person, and to rank among the attendants of his Court, the most distinguished of his nobles. His munificence to men of literature, his patronage of the arts, the pomp and ceremony which characterized all great public occasions, all sprung from the same source.

All France, and particularly the city of Paris, felt an influence so well adapted to harmonize with the tendencies of the human heart. If it was an age that was characterized by many noble efforts in literature and the arts, it was an age also that was equally characterized by its unfounded pretensions, its vanity, and its voluptuousness. Almost everything, especially in the capital of France, was calculated to dispossess the sentiment of humility, and to impart an exaggerated turn of mind. The sights and sounds which were presented to notice; the displays of wealth, which were made in every street; the crowded populace, intoxicated with the celebrity of their sovereign and of their nation; the vulgar and the fashionable amusements, which were without end; all were calculated to divert the mind from serious reflection — to lead it to sympathize with the senses, and to dissociate it from its own inward center; a state of things which would have been a severe trial even to established piety.

It is not surprising that this unpropitious state of things, which developed itself to its full extent in the proud city to which her parents had removed, should have had an unfavorable effect upon the mind of Mademoiselle De La Mothe; and accordingly she intimates, in the record of her feelings, as she remembered them to have been in this part of her life, that she began to entertain exaggerated ideas of herself, and that her vanity increased.  This was the natural result of her new position. Her parents, as well as herself, led astray by the new state of society in which they found themselves, spared no cost in obtaining whatever might make her appear to advantage. The world, illuminated with false lights to her young vision, seemed to be in reality what it, was chiefly in appearance, and consequently presented itself as an object worth conquering and possessing. It was at this period that she gave to it, more warmly and unreservedly than at any other, that kindling heart and expanded intellect, which she afterwards gave to religion. She was tall and well made in her person; refined and prepossessing in her manners, and possessed of remarkable powers of conversation. Her countenance, formed upon the Grecian model, and characterized by a brilliant eye and expansive forehead, had in it a natural majesty, which impressed the beholder with a sentiment of deep respect, while it attracted by its sweetness. Her great powers of mind, (a mind which in the language of one of the writers of the French Encyclopedic was formed for the world, "fait pour le monde,")  added to the impression which she made on her entrance into Parisian society.

— from The Life of Madam Guyon Volume 1, Chapter 4.

Marks of True Humility: Bearing with Adversity

The truly humble man receives with great meekness of spirit all adverse occurrences — all sudden injuries of body and estate — all disruption of social ties by death or in other ways, and whatever other forms of human affliction exist. Whatever comes upon him, he feels that he deserves it. He opens not his mouth; he stands dumb, as the sheep before its shearer. Satan, it is true, tempts him to evil thoughts; but he resists them easily and triumphantly. It seems to him a light thing to suffer any thing which God sees fit to impose. He bears the cross like one that loves it.

In connection with these traits of feeling, which obviously characterize the humble man, we may perceive more clearly and definitely in what true humility consists. It is obvious, that it does not consist, as some might perhaps suppose, in mere sorrow. It is well known that sorrow sometimes exists in combination with impatience or with pride. But true humility excludes both of these. Nor does it consist in mere depression of spirits; a state of feeling which, it must be admitted, sometimes imparts an outward appearance of humility. But, in reality, the two states of mind are far from being identical. Humility consists in those feelings, whatever they may be, which are appropriate to a realizing sense of our entire dependence upon God. In other words, it consists in a deep sense of our own nothingness, attended with an equally deep and thorough conviction, that God is, and ought to be, to every holy being, the ALL IN ALL.

— edited from Religious Maxims (1846).

Marks of True Humility: Does Not Judge

The truly humble man, although he is not destitute of that observation and judgment, which are necessary to discriminate between right and wrong, is disposed to look with a forbearing and pitying eye on the faults of others. If a brother falls into transgression, while he himself is preserved, he knows who it is, and who alone it is, that makes him to differ. He feels deeply that he himself would be no better than others that fall into errors and sin, if he should cease to be sustained by the special grace of God. And he cannot fail, therefore, to remember that blessed passage of Scripture, which has a close connection with the highest experiences in religion: "judge not, that ye be not judged."

— edited from Religious Maxims (1846).

Marks of True Humility: Not Troubled by Personal Imperfections

The man, who is truly humble, is not troubled and disquieted at those unavoidable imperfections which exist in his own person and mind. It is very true that he sometimes mourns over them, as the indications and sad results of our fallen condition; but so far as they cannot be corrected, so far as they are really unavoidable, he submits to them, however painful they may be, as facts and incidents in his condition and being which originate in the wise dispensations of an unsearchable Providence. It is true, he is thus cut off from many ways or forms of usefulness; but, though afflicted, he does not allow himself to be disquieted. He is aided in thus maintaining himself in interior rest, by the important consideration that God, when he sends intellectual or bodily imperfections and weaknesses, and thus renders a person apparently useless, can avail himself of other instrumentalities and operate in other ways.

— edited from Religious Maxims (1846).

Marks of True Humility: Calmness in Opposition

The truly humble man is not troubled and afflicted, because in some respects he fails in securing to himself the good opinion of his fellow men. It is true, he attaches a degree of value to the favorable sentiments of others; but as he attaches unspeakably greater value to the favor of God, he can meet their opposition, their rebukes and misrepresentations, with entire calmness and peace of spirit. And hence it is that, in ordinary cases, when he is the subject of such misrepresentation and abuse, he is not particularly solicitous to defend himself, and to make replies. I mean to say, that he does not discover anxiety and trouble of mind in relation to it. He knows, if he acts in simplicity of heart and with a sincere desire for the divine glory, God will so order events that in due time the honor of his reputation will be sustained. So that he is willing, for the present at least, to stand silent in the presence of his accusers, that both he and they may see the salvation of the Lord.

— edited from Religious Maxims (1846).

Marks of True Humility: Seeking the Lowest Place

Deeply sensible of his entire weakness, dependence and unworthiness, it is entirely natural to him to seek and to take the lowest place. It does not occur to him, (certainly not as a matter of cherished and pleasing reflection,) that a more conspicuous position would be appropriate to him. But if the indications of the Providence of God should call him to a higher place, and impose upon him duties of a more elevated and conspicuous character, he does not refuse them. True lowliness of spirit leads him to feel that it would be very unsuitable for him to distrust the wisdom of God, and to take the direction of himself into his own hands. So that the same humility, which, in ordinary cases, leads him to decline places of responsibility and notoriety, leads him also to submit himself without hesitation to the guidance of Providence and of the Divine Will. It should always be remembered, therefore that the truly humble man, who has a profound sense of his own nothingness, and always feels at home in the lowest place, nevertheless realizes that he can do all things through the wisdom of God guiding him and the grace of God strengthening him. It does not follow, because true humility is distrustful of itself, that it is distrustful of God.

— edited from Religious Maxims (1846).

Marks of True Humility: No Desire for Great Things

One of the surest evidences of sanctification of heart is true humility. It is this state of mind, when viewed in its true aspect, to which the Savior seems to have especial reference, when he represents to his followers the importance of becoming like little children. Without proposing, at this time, to enter very fully into this subject, we shall proceed to mention some of the marks or characteristics by which true humility is known.

The truly humble man does not desire great things for himself; nor does he desire great things in any worldly sense whatever. If God has given him distinguished talents, he is thankful for it. If God has placed him in a position of great influence in the world he is thankful for it. But he can be happy in his talents, in his influence, and any other possession which the world deems valuable, only as they are the gifts of God, and as they are employed for the promotion of his glory. If God sees flt to deprive him of knowledge, property, influence, or any other mere earthly good, he is equally thankful, equally happy. So that he does not desire worldly prosperity in itself considered; and not desiring it, the possession of it does not puff him up with sentiments of pride.

— edited from Religious Maxims (1846).

Kinds of Sorrow

There are different kinds of sorrow. There is  a godly sorrow, and a worldly sorrow; a sorrow which works life and a sorrow which works death. The one is the product of man's unsanctified nature; the other is inspired by the Holy Ghost. The one is the companion of self-seeking, envy, and avarice; the other is the associate of humility, of love of the truth, and of desires after holiness. The one is sorrow, because we have offended God; the other is sorrow because we have not gained the world.

— Religious Maxims (1846) CLXXXI.

Rest from Reasonings

The soul, in the highest results of spiritual experience,  rests from reasonings. The reverse of this proposition is true in respect to those who have never experienced the power and the guidance of religious sentiments. It is difficult for the soul, so long as it remains in a state of alienation from God, to suppress or avoid reasonings.  It  reasons, because it has lost the God of reason.

God is not more the center of the life of the soul, than he is the center of all truth; that is to say, he does not move the soul more to right action, than he does to right perception. When God is displaced from his center in the soul, the relations of truth, considered as the subjects of our perceptions, are entirely unsettled. It is then that man, cast as it were on an ocean without soundings and without shore, knows not where he is, nor what he is. He resorts to reasoning, therefore, from the necessity of his position. So great are his perplexities, that he is obliged to reason. He doubts, he inquires, he compares, he draws conclusions, he pronounces judgment. His whole mental nature is in action, without its being the action of rest, the quiet movement of the divine order. Perhaps it is well that it should be so, until, by making inquiries without results, and without finding the true rest of the spirit, he feels the necessity of turning to God in humility, who is the only source of truth for the understanding, and of pacification for the heart.

It is different with the truly holy soul. The soul, which is united with God in the full exercise of faith, rests from reasonings.

In order to understand this proposition, however, it is proper to say something in explanation of the terms used in it. The term REST is relative. It has relation to and implies the existence of the opposite, namely, unquietness or unrest. The term REASONING, is the name of that important intellectual power which compares and combines truth, in order to discover new truth. Under a divine direction, this power is susceptible of useful applications and results. It is then entirely calm in its action, and is consistent with the highest peace and joy of the spirit. To rest from such reasonings, from reasonings which do not disturb rest, would be an absurdity. Such rest would be cessation from action, and not rest or quietude in action. When, therefore, the remark is made by spiritual writers, that the truly renewed soul has rest from reasonings, the meaning is, that it has rest from the vicious and perplexing reasonings of nature; in other words, from reasonings which are not from God. It is certainly a great religious grace to be free from such reasonings.

He who has no rest, except what he can find in reasonings, (we mean such reasonings as have just been described,) can never enjoy the true rest, because such reasoning never can give it. It is not an instrument adequate to such a result. And it may properly be added here, that there are some mysteries in the universe which reasoning, in any of its forms, has not power to solve. To a created mind, for instance, a mind which is uncreated must always be a mystery. From the nature of the case, God is a mystery to the human mind, because, being uncreated, he is, and always must be, incomprehensible. Incomprehensible in his nature, he is incomprehensible also in many of his creative and administrative acts. The apostle, in speaking of the depths of God's wisdom, exclaims: "How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" Rom. 11: 33. Well may those judgments be called unsearchable, and those ways past finding out, which pertain to the Infinite,  It is obviously impossible that the finite should fully explore them.

— edited from A Treatise on Divine Union (1851) Part 8, Chapter 2.

Confession and Humility

It ls proper and important also to acknowledge our having sinned against God and to humble ourselves before him on account of sin, because we are thus continually reminded of the unspeakable condescension and mercy of God as manifested in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is impossible, that a truly holy mind, one that has deeply felt the living God within, should ever forget the depth of its former degradation, however different and however encouraging may be its present state. And whenever it calls to recollection its former pollution, it cannot be otherwise than deeply impressed with a sense of the Savior's wonderful goodness and love. May we not even conjecture, that it will be our privilege through all eternity to remember and to confess our former fallen state? Even in heaven, renewed and purified as we shall be, we shall, in one sense at least, be sinners saved by grace; and shall undoubtedly repeat with joy the song of the ransomed, "Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation."

While it is proper for all to make a confession during life, it is nevertheless true, that the mind of a person, who is truly in a sanctified state, is chiefly occupied with supplications and thanksgivings. Such persons may be said for the most part to be always praying, always supplicating, and in every thing giving thanks. The state of those, who possess this blessing, is very different from the condition of persons, who have nothing but their sins to speak of. Such is their peace of mind, such their delight in God's character, such their sense of inward purity, such their conformity to God's will, that their prevalent state must necessarily be one of divine communion and of holy rejoicing.

— edited from The Interior or Hidden Life (2nd edition, 1844) Part 2, Chapter 16.

Christlikeness: Humility

In another particular also, is the Savior's character deserving of our notice. He exhibited, in his daily deportment, a very meek, humble, and quiet disposition of mind. Every attentive reader of the Gospels will recollect, that this interesting and beautiful trait shows itself in his personal history, in a very remarkable manner. He said of himself, "I am meek and lowly of heart." In the language of the Apostle Peter, "When he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him, who judgeth righteously." It was said of him prophetically, and before his advent into the world, "He  was oppressed and afflicted; yet he opened not his mouth."  Isa. 53:7. And again in the same Prophet, "He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets." Isa. 42:3. At a certain time, when there was a disposition among some of his disciples to put forth personal pretensions, and to claim the preeminence over others, he remarked to them, "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your servant; even as the son of man came, not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many." Mat. 20:28. But it is hardly necessary to make particular references, when his whole life, in all the varieties of its situation, was a beautiful illustration of this divine trait. He had compassion upon the ignorant, he made his dwelling with the poor; he traveled on foot from place to place in weariness and sorrow; he sat at meat with publicans and sinners; he washed the feet of his disciples. In  the possession of the inestimable trait of meekness and quietness of spirit, let all, who  seek the highest degree of purification and sanctification of heart, be imitators of the example of Jesus Christ; who, in the language of the Apostle Paul, "made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant." Philip. 2:7. Whatever pretensions any of us might justly put forth as natural men or as men of the world, or, in other words, whatever we might justly claim from the world on the world's principles, we should, nevertheless, be willing, in imitation of the blessed Savior's example, to be made of no reputation, and to become the servants of our brethren.

— edited from The Interior or Hidden Life (1844) Part 2, Chapter 13.

How Selfishness Corrupts Even the Gifts of God

It is difficult to express and even to conceive of the subtleties and insinuations of selfishness.  It enters every path. It lurks in every secret place. And wherever it finds its way, it pollutes, poisons, and destroys. It sometimes attaches itself, by a process almost imperceptible, to God's most valuable gifts and graces; those which are spiritual, as well as those which are natural. An individual, for instance, is possessed of great natural ability. This ability is a gift of God. But how often it is, that the possessor, thinking but little of the great Author of the gift, regards it as something peculiarly his own, and instead of seeing God in it, sees only himself. Almost unconsciously to himself, and greatly to his spiritual injury, he is experiencing a secret elevation of spirit, and is taking a hidden complacency in an intellectual possession, which, when properly considered, should have increasingly detached him from self, and led him nearer to his Maker.

Humility

In endeavoring to estimate the genuineness of our religious experiences, we should ever keep in mind that all those experiences, which are wrought by the Spirit of God, and are genuine in their character, tend decidedly and uniformly to personal HUMILITY. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." How can it be otherwise? The tendency of all true religion is to make God every thing, and ourselves comparatively nothing; to sink the creature while it elevates and enthrones the Creator in the center of the heart. "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."

— Religious Maxims (1846), LXXIII.

The Opposites of Humility

It  will help us to ascertain whether we are truly humble, if we inquire whether we are free from the opposites of humility. The opposites of a humble state of mind, (or at least those things which sustain a divergent and antagonist relation,) are impatience, uneasiness, a feeling that something and perhaps much depends on ourselves, undue sensitiveness to the praise and the reproofs of men, and censoriousness. No man should account himself truly humbled, who is the subject of these unhappy states of mind.

— Religious Maxims (1846) LXVIII.

The Danger of Spiritual Pride

If we fail on suitable occasions to declare what God has done for our souls, we shall be likely to offend our heavenly Father. But on the other hand, if we make such declarations, Satan will be likely to be present and tempt us to spiritual pride. Happy is the man, who can relate and extol God's gracious dealings with him, with such meekness and humility, as to furnish no entrance to evil.

— Religious Maxims (1846) LXVII.

Strong Emotions or Right Emotions?

Many persons seem to be more solicitous for strong emotions than for right emotions. It would perhaps be a fair representation of their state to say the burden of their prayer is, that their souls might be like "the chariots of Amminadib," or that, like Paul, they may be caught up into the third heavens. They seem desirous, perhaps almost unconsciously to themselves, to experience or to do some great as well as some good thing. Would it not be better for them in a more chastened and humble temper of mind, to make it the burden and emphasis of their supplication, that they may be meek, forbearing, and forgiving; that they may have a willingness to wash the disciples' feet, and have great love even for their enemies; in a word, that they may bear the image of Christ, who came, not with observation, but was "meek and lowly of heart?"

— Religious Maxims XLVIII.

Elevation in Profound Humility

If we wish to rise high in God; we must be willing to sink low in ourselves. It may seem like a contradiction in terms, but it is nevertheless true, that there is no elevation in true religion higher than that of profound humility. He that would be the the greatest must become the least. He, who was equal with God, condescended to become man. And it was the beloved Son of the Most High that washed the feet of the disciples.

— Religious Maxims XLVI.

Casting Off the Broken Shield of Earth

It is, perhaps, a common idea, that humility implies weakness; and that lowliness of spirit is the same thing with spiritual imbecility. But this certainly is not a correct view. Christian humility, it is true, has nothing in itself; but it has much in God. In a word, it is the renunciation of our own wisdom, that we may receive wisdom from above; the negation and banishment of our own strength, that we may possess divine strength; the rejection of our own righteousness, that we may receive the righteousness of Christ. How, then, can it possibly be weak and imbecile, while it merely casts off the broken shield of earth, that it may put on the bright panoply of heaven?

— Religious Maxims (1846) XLII.