All things that love and entertain thee, because thy Will loves and
entertains them. All things that please and feed thee, because thy Will
feeds and cherishes them. All creatures in flesh and blood; in a word,
all visibles and sensibles, by which either the imaginative or sensitive
appetite in men are delighted and refreshed. These the Will of thy mind,
or thy supreme part, must leave and forsake, and must even account them
all its enemies. This is the leaving of what loves thee. And the loving
of what hates thee is the embracing the reproach of the World. Thou must
learn then to love the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for his sake
to be pleased with the reproach of the World which hates thee and
derides thee; and let this be thy daily exercise of penitence to be
crucified to the World, and the World to thee. And so thou shalt have
continual cause to hate thyself _in the Creature_, and to seek the
eternal rest which is _in Christ_. To which rest thou having thus
attained, thy Will may therein safely rest and repose itself, according
as thy Lord Christ hath said: In me ye may have rest, but in the World
ye shall have anxiety: In me ye may have peace, but in the World ye
shall have tribulation.
DISCIPLE
How now shall I be able to subsist in this anxiety and tribulation
arising from the World so as not to lose the eternal peace, or not to
enter into this rest? And how may I recover myself in such a temptation
as this is, by not sinking under the World, but rising above it by a
life which is truly heavenly and supersensual?
MASTER
If thou dost once every hour throw thyself by faith beyond all
creatures, beyond and above all sensual perception and apprehension,
yea, above discourse and reasoning into the abyssal mercy of God, into
the sufferings of our Lord, and into the fellowship of his interceding,
and yieldest thyself fully and absolutely thereinto; then thou shalt
receive power from above to rule over Death and the Devil and to subdue
Hell and the World unto thee. And then thou mayest subsist in all
temptations, and be the brighter for them.
DISCIPLE
Blessed is the man that arriveth to such a state as this. But, alas,
poor man that I am, how is this possible as to me? And what, O my
Master, would become of me, if I should ever attain with my mind to that
where no creature is? Must I not cry out, _I am undone_?
MASTER
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account