Fall, Redemption, and the Physical Creation

When man, as the head of creation, fell into sin, it may be said, with a great degree of truth, that the physical creation fell with him. There are connections and sympathies between man and the outward or physical world, which are not well understood, and are not likely to be well understood, in the present state of things. Certain it is, however, that in a world destined to be the home of holy and happy beings, the outward will correspond to the inward, the objective to the subjective, the home to the inhabitant. It is not in the nature of God, who delights in the beautiful as well as in the good, to surround a holy being with barrenness and deformity, and to compel him to take up his abode among thorns and thistles. The world was and must have been beautiful as the happy souls that dwell in it. Originally the earth was everywhere clothed with its green and pure carpet;  fruits suitable to the support of its holy inhabitants, hung from the branches of richly laden trees, and flowers sprang up at their feet. "Out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight,  and that is good for food."

Choosing to Be Where You Are

One  of those things which particularly characterizes the holy mind, in distinction from the unholy or natural mind, and also in distinction from the partially sanctified mind, is, that in the allotment which falls to it in life,  it chooses to be, and loves to be, where it is; and has no disposition and no desire to be any where else, till the providence of God clearly indicates that the time has come for a removal.

— Religious Maxims (1846) CXXXII.

God's Will is Good

The will of God includes every possible good. He who seeks conformity to the will of  God, necessarily seeks whatever is most desirable and best for himself.

— Religious Maxims (1846) CXXXI.

To Endure and to Suffer God's Will

To be willing to execute or do the will of God, cannot be acceptable to Him, unless we are willing, at the same time, to endure and suffer his will.

— Religious Maxims (1846) CXXX.

The Hidden Life

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is  hid with Christ in God."  Col. iii. 2, 3.

My life is folded in the life of Jesus,
No longer mine, but purchased by that tide,
That crimson tide, which shed on Calvary, frees us
From those dark stains that in our hearts abide.
MY LIFE IS HID WITH CHRIST, and I am His.
Whate'er his will, that am I bound to do;
If He doth call me to far lands and seas,
I hear his summons, and his steps pursue.
Where'er He goes, I cannot stay behind;
In what He does, my hand shall have employ;
Whene'er He suffers, sorrow fills my mind;
When He rejoices, I partake the joy.
He bought me by his blood, and I am his;
I have no other will, no other grief nor bliss.

— American Cottage Life (1850) XIII.

The Place of Refuge

"For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in distress, a refuge from  the  storm."

"A man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest."  Is. xxv. 4-xxxii. 2.

The clouds are gathering in the distant sky;
I hear the fiercely muttering thunders roll;
Terrors invade my breast; my trembling soul
Looks forth around, but sees no refuge nigh.
Ah, whither shall I flee? What friendly hand
Shall guide me to some safe, select retreat,
Where, while the dark, perpetual tempests beat,
Unscathed, uninjured, I may safely stand?
He comes! He comes! I see the platted crown;
I see the bleeding feet, the wounded side.
Now let the bellowing storm rush fiercely down,
Thy smile shall comfort me, Thine arms shall hide.
With Thee, Thou dear Redeemer, are no fears;
Thou scatterest all my doubts, and wipest all my tears.

— American Cottage Life (1850) XII.

Consolation in the Gospel

"That we might have a strong consolation,  who  have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor to the soul both sure and steadfast."  Heb. vi. 18, 19.

How beautiful, as fades the gloom of night,
How beautiful the early sunbeams fall
In long and leveled lines of light, o'er all
The wide expanse of plain, and vale, and height,
And clothe them with a young and purple bloom!
So, when my heart environed is with sorrow,
And from the earth no ray of hope can borrow,
The Gospel's glory dissipates its gloom.
That Gospel plants a sun within my breast,
Which hath the power to change dark shades to day;
Unchanged, unfailing, it transmits its ray,
And e'en in sorrow makes my bosom blest.
The vales throw off their shades, the mists take wing,
The flowers unfold their leaves, the birds start up and sing.

— American Cottage Life (1850) XI.