All Things Equal

ALL THINGS ARE EQUAL to the soul,
That doth no private ends fulfill;
But bends beneath the just control
Of God, the great, the sovereign Will.

It sees, in all things high and low,
The presence of a higher care;
And if there's much it doth not know,
'Tis sure of this, that God is there.

It sees Him in the stormy cloud;
It sees Him in the smiling sun;
And says, with thoughts and purpose bow'd,
In light and cloud, "THY WILL BE DONE."

— Christ in the Soul (1872) XLVII.

Christ in Man

How beautiful the wondrous plan
Of God in Christ, and Christ in man;
Which helps prophetic souls to trace
Bright heaven beneath the human face.

'Tis true,  He  shines in brook and tree;
But  brighter shines, oh man, in thee.
Oh, dim not with the shades of sin,
The glory which should gleam within.

In  thee doth Jesus walk the earth;
In  thee He speaks of heavenly birth;
In  thee instructs, in thee rebukes,
With wisdom not in earthly books.

Look not to heaven's celestial dome;
In holy hearts He makes His home;
And let it be thy thought and care,
To seek, and find, and know Him there.

— Christ in the Soul (1872) XLVI.

Waiting

'Tis a great lesson which we learn,
In this our weak and trying state,
To see God's hand at every turn,
And patiently to wait.

Conceal'd in mysteries sublime,
When painful months and years are past,
The things, deep hidden for a time,
Are all revealed at last.

We know them then, but know not now;
We walk by faith and not, by sense;
And cheerfully and humbly bow
Before Thy Providence.

Oh God, this blessedness impart,
This foretaste of a heavenly state,
The gift of a believing heart,
Which patiently can wait.

— Christ in the Soul (1872) XLV.

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.

Confession and the Decietfulness of Sin

It is proper... to confess our sins, because there may be sins in us, and not merely those which result from infirmity and are involuntary, which are seen by the omniscient eye of God, but which may not be obvious to ourselves. We have no doubt that, as a general thing, we may rely upon our consciousness in confirmation of the great fact of perfection in love. Certainly it is a reasonable idea, that, as a general thing, a man may know in himself or in his own consciousness, whether he loves God or not; and whether he loves him with his whole heart or not. At the same time there may occasionally be cases, in which he is left in some degree of doubt. He may through the influence of some sudden temptation, be driven so closely upon the line which separates rectitude from sin, that it is almost impossible for him to tell whether he has kept within it. The Scriptures also recognize the great deceitfulness of the human heart. Who, then, is able, either on philosophical or scripture principles, to assert, absolutely and unconditionally, that he has been free from sin, at least for any great length of time? We may, therefore, with great propriety, even if there were no other reason but this, ask the forgiveness of our trespasses, of our sins, or of whatever God sees amiss in us. And it is unquestionably our duty so to do.

We may add here, that it is generally, and perhaps we may say, universally the case that those, who give good evidence of being in that state which we variously describe as assurance of faith and as perfect love, and which involves the possession of the blessing of present sanctification, speak of their state in a qualified, rather than in an absolute manner. In other words, they generally express themselves, (and it is exceedingly proper that they should do so,) merely as if they hoped or had reason to hope that they had experienced this great blessing, and were kept free from voluntary and known sin. Such a mode of expression seems to be unobjectionable; it is consistent with confession, and corresponds to the precise state of the case.

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

Confession and Infirmity

There is a propriety and a practical importance in the confession of sin, during the whole course of the present life, because our various infirmities, our defects of judgment, our frequent ignorance of the motives and characters of our fel­low-men, and the relatively wrong acts and feelings which originate in these sources from which no one, in the present period of the history of the church, can reasonably expect to be free, require an atonement, as well as our willful or voluntary transgressions. We do not suppose, that it is necessary here to enter into an argument for the purpose of showing, that such imperfections, originally flowing from our fallen condition and our connection with Adam, require the application of Christ' s blood. Such is not only our own belief; but we have reason to believe, that it is a doctrine which is generally conceded by those, who will be likely to take an interest in these inquiries. There are various passages of Scripture, such as Lev. 4:3, and Numb. 15:27-30, which have relation to such infirmities and sins, and which might be properly consulted, if the present were an occasion to enter into a minute examination of the subject.

Confession of Sin is Needed Throughout the Christian Life

Should those, who are so far advanced in the religious life as to be justly regarded as sanctified or holy persons, confess sin? This is a question, which is sometimes asked with a degree of solicitude and from good motives. And besides, it is often adduced as one of the greatest objections to the doctrine of the realization of holiness in the present life, that those, who have experienced it, ought not to, and cannot confess sin.

The confession of sin during the whole course of the present life is exceedingly proper, for various reasons; and in the first place, because sin is an unspeakable evil. We suppose that those, who have experienced a perfected state of faith and love, will understand this remark more fully than others. They have tasted the bitter fruits of sin; they have in many cases endured a severe and terrible contest in driving it from the heart; they are now engaged momentarily in a constant warfare to prevent its re-entrance; they know it is the one great thing and the only thing which separates the soul from God; they know that every sin, even the smallest, is exceedingly heinous in God's sight; they feel that they had rather die a thousand deaths, than voluntarily commit even the smallest sin. Now when they remember, that during a considerable portion of their lives they were sinning against God every day and hour; despising, injuring, and insulting continually that great and good Being, whom now their hearts as continually adore, they are penetrated with the deepest grief. They never, never can forget the greatness of their former degradation and guilt. And, in their present state of mind, they never can remember it, without being, at each distinct retrospection, deeply humbled and penitent. Indeed, as true confession consists much more in the state of the heart than in the expression of the lips, and as the surest mark of true confession is an earnest striving after the opposite of that which is confessed as wrong, those, who are earnestly seeking and practicing holiness, may be said in the highest sense of the terms to be always acknowledging and always lamenting their sin. Their watching, their strife, their warfare is against sin, as the evil and bitter thing which their soul hates; and which their souls shall ever hate whenever and wherever committed, whether by themselves or others, at the present time or  in times past.

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