Follow Jesus

To follow Jesus is to be
Possessor of  His inward state;
His truth, His love, His purity,
And all that made Him good and great.

To follow Jesus is to take
The yoke of the great Father's will;
And friends and earthly good forsake,
The Father's purpose to fulfill.

To follow Jesus is to go
The bloody way of Calvary's cross,
If that can ward oppression's blow,
And save humanity from loss.

Oh, be it ours to be like Him;
Our thought, our purpose, and our prayer;
And thus the crown, that grows not dim,
Of the great "Eider Brother" share.

— Christ in the Soul  LXXXV.

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 3.2, 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.

— The Religious Offering  XXVIII.

The Land of Rest

"Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then I would flee away and be at rest." — Ps. 66. 6.

There is no quietude in mortal life,
But, like the fretful and imperious sea,
Whose angry surges heave incessantly,
'Tis toss'd and driven with eternal strife.
Oh when, oh when, shall a deliverance rise
To him, who feels the ceaseless war within
Of truth with falsehood, holiness with sin?
Alas! 'Tis not on earth, but in the skies.
'Tis there we find, and only there, a rest,
Never attained, and never known before;
'Tis there sweet peace shall soothe the weary breast,
And songs re-echo from that happy shore.
Then murmur not, but from the future borrow
Assured hope of joy, to crown this life of sorrow.

— The Religious Offering  XXVII.

Forgiveness

Let men of hatred aim the blow;
And point the cruel, jealous dart;
I will not fear, if I can know,
The power of Love's forgiving art.

Oh God! Be Thou that living power;
Make Thou my soul with pity strong;
That, in the sad and hostile hour,
Forgiving love may conquer wrong.

They smite; but grant that in return
My heart may seek to do them good;
And with its strongest impulse yearn
To show its love and brotherhood.

In vain is all their angry strife,
If God the mighty love hath given,
Which makes the soul's immortal life,
And conquers hate with power from heaven.

 — Christ in the Soul  LXXMV.

Married to the Savior

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

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Reference to the renewed and entire consecration which she had made of herself in the year 1670. This act of consecration reduced to writing and signed for the first time, July 22d, 1672. Instrumentality of Genevieve Granger in this transaction. Form of this consecrating act or spiritual marriage covenant. Remarks. Dangers connected with a journey taken at this time. Reflections upon it

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We have already had occasion to notice, that in the latter part of the year 1670, more than a year and a half previous to the period of which we are now speaking, she had anew given herself to God, in great sincerity, and, as it seemed to her, without any reserve. By a solemn act, to which God himself was a party, she had placed herself on the altar of sacrifice, “the altar which sanctifies the gift,” — never more to be taken from it. She had left herself with God, both in doing and suffering; and whatever might take place in the fulfilment of his will, she could never wish it to be otherwise. In all the trials to which he had seen fit to subject her, no whisper of complaint, no word of murmur, had ever escaped her lips. But it is worthy of notice, that she had not as yet committed her religious purposes to the formality of a written record. At least, we have no mention of any such thing. It was a mental purpose, communicated to Him who is emphatically MIND; a simple transaction between her soul and God, of which God alone was the witness. It was possible, however, that she might forget, that she might be faithless. There were yet many and heavy trials before her.

The Death of Her Father and Her Daughter

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

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Incidents of 1672. Presentiment of her father’s death. A message reaches her soon after with the news of his last sickness. His death. Remarks. Affectionate eulogium on her daughter.  Her sickness and death.

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Thus passed the year 1671. I am particular in the periods of time, so far as I am able to ascertain them, which is not always easy to be done. And the reason is, that by connecting the dealings of God and the progress of the inward life with specific times and situations, the mental operation is aided, and we can hardly fail to have a clearer idea of the incidents which are narrated. Another year had now opened upon her, and found her renewedly consecrated to God, and growing wiser and holier through the discipline of bitter experience. Her trials had been somewhat less in this year than in the preceding, but still they were not wholly suspended. And as God designed that she should be wholly his, there were other trials in prospect, which were designed to aid in this important result. We proceed, therefore, in our narrative, with such incidents and facts as we are able to gather from the sources of information found in her own writings and in the writings of some of her contemporaries, which remain to us.

Inward Quietness as a Spiritual Test

In the Christian grace [of inward quietness] which we have been considering, we find one of the most decisive and most satisfactory tests of religious character.

True religion is a thing, not fragmentary but continuous, not coming and going at separated and distant intervals, but existing always, moment by moment. It is obvious, therefore, that we need a test of religious character which is perpetual; one which is a permanent, ever living, and ever present expression of what exists within. Quietness of spirit, which shows itself so distinctly in the countenance and the outward manner, and which adjusts itself in all its acts so beautifully to the relations and the reciprocal duties of man with man, furnishes this test.