Vol 01 - Chapter 03 - Of the knowledge of God.
Chapter 03 - Of the knowledge of God
1. GOD is an eternal, perfect, infinite, substantial good, full of love and joy, and therefore he will be known by a living faith, in spirit and in truth. But this cannot be, except a man do really taste and feel in his heart, his goodness, sweetness, loving-kindness, and comfort.
2. Now, seeing man has lost this excellent good by sin, and the devil has got an habitation in, and possession of him; who works in him all his own works; man therefore, through faith of the operation of GOD, must be turned again from the world unto GOD, from the devil unto Jesus CHRIST, and SATAN with his works must be driven out, and utterly dispossessed. For as long as SATAN's works are in man, God's works are not in him, but his works are hindered,' that the soul cannot taste that God is good. This-is the reason, Why there are so few that know God aright, seeing in the greatest part of men the works of SATAN have the dominion. The most part stick to the world, to the creatures, and to them selves.
3. But they who will rightly know and feel the Lord, must be joined unto him, and be one spirit with him. And the more this is done, the more God manifests himself in the believing, loving soul; the more the heart is turned from the world unto GOD, the more God is united to the soul. For all love to the world must be turned out, if the love of God shall enter in. " if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." And where God finds a soul empty of the world, he fills it with himself, and with all his goodness. The more the heart is empty of love to the world, the more God filleth it with his light and comfort. Therefore, an ancient father says, In an empty, still, and quiet soul, it can he better felt, than expressed what God is.
4. You can not understand better that God is kind and loving, than when you feclest his comfort. None can teach thee better that God is a being full of joy, than God himself, when he rejoices in thee. And so it is with all the other things of God. If he do not himself work all in thee, you shall never come to a living knowledge of him. For, to know GOD, is impossible to man, says St. Austin. Therefore none shall ever be able to know what God is, unless God makes known and manifests himself. But when a heart feels the living word of GOD, then it knows and understands, that God is all; the true, perfect, eternal Good, and better than all that any heart can wish or think. For beyond this eternal, highest Good, no creature can think, or wish for any thing.
5. Upon this ground David says, " Whom have I in heaven but thee And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee" This is a soul which has tasted the perfect good, in which all love to the world is vanished away, and which has no pleasure nor delight in earthly things, but in God alone. And this is the true, sesnible, and experimental knowledge of GOD, which is felt and tasted in the heart. That we may know him the more, let us consider first, the outward and temporal, benefits; then the spiritual and eternal ones, which God does unto us.
6. God has created nothing, either visible or invisible, which may not be serviceable to man. The invisible creatures, which are ministring unto us, are the holy angels, whose wisdom, strength, diligence, and watchfulness over us, is delared in many places of Scripture; so that even many angels are to wait upon one man; witness the history of the patriarch Jacob, and of the prophet Elisha. Because many evil spirits he in wait for one man to destroy him; therefore many holy watchmen are ordered by God for his defense. Seeing then God makes his own ministers and princes to defend and to watch over us, it is plain this is an exceeding great benefit; as it is when a prince appoints his own ministers to conduct and defend one that is to travel through a wilderness, or a country of his enemies.
7. Look upon the firmament, and consider how God has appointed it for thy service. Behold the wonderful course of the sun and moon; why do they run so unwearied, day and night, and rest not one moment Are they not industrious servants of man For God has no need of their service. He wants none of their operations, nor their light; but man is in want thereof. The sun serves thee like an unwearied servant, which every morning rises early, and carries before thee the light, and puts thee in remembrance of the eternal light, which is CHRIST, and his Divine word. "The night covers thee with her shadow, and teaches thee to abide under the shadow of the Most High," Psal. 91: 1. The moon is like an unwearied hand-maid, fetching in water, and watering the earth. Nay, there is not so much as one little star which has not received one or other blessing for the benefit of man.
8. Behold the air and the winds, how fair and clear make they the firmament, dispelling the clouds, driving them together as great water tuns, and pouring the iii forth upon the earth. And it is very marvelous, that God bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds, and the " cloud is not rent under them," Job 26:8. But the air must bear and hold them up; the clouds being nothing else but a moist vapour, which is afterwards resolved into " small drops of water," Job 36:27. Thunder, lightnings, and hail, serve us to acknowledge thereby the power of GOD, to pray to him, and to thank him when he has preserved us in a terrible tempest.
9. Behold the earth, that great store-house of victuals, and treasury of God. It brings forth meat and drink, physic and clothing, houses and tents, and all the various metals, gold and silver. Each month produces its flowers, which present themselves to our sight, as if they would say, " Here we are, and bring our gifts, and present you with them, as good as we received them from our Creator." Nay, behold a forest, which is the habitation of wild beasts; God has put them under man, and made him have dominion over them.
10. But if one would enumerate all the temporal benefits of GOD, he would find it impossible to number only them that are in one particular country. For there is not the least apple, or any other fruit, but it is a benefit of God. Should not we learn therefore to know our good and bountiful God If a great potentate did make subject unto thee his whole kingdom, and all his dominions, nobles, and strong, powerful men; nay, all his subjects, and did command them to guard, defend, preserve, to clothe, cure, and feed thee, and to take care that you should want nothing at all; wouldst you not love him, and account him to be a loving, bountiful Lord How then oughtest you to love the Lord thy GOD, who has kept nothing back for himself, but appointed to thy service all that is in heaven, and from heaven, and all that is upon earth, or any where For he wants no creatures for himself, and has excepted nothing from thy service, neither in all the hosts of holy angels, nor in any of his creatures under the stars. If we will) they are ready to serve us; nay, hell itself must serve. us, by bringing upon us fear and terror, that we may not sin.
11. Let us now, from the outward creatures, ascend unto God our Creator, and consider his Spiritual benefits. has not the Holy Trinity, and each person in particular, bestowed upon man great grace and beneficence The Father has given us his own Son; "And shall he not with him, freely give us all things" has not God the Son given us himself, and all that he is, and that he has "God commends his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, CHRIST died for us," Roni. 5: 8. Is not the Holy Ghost within us, illuminating, purifying, teaching, comforting, beautifying, and adorning us with his gifts "He beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of GOD," Romans 8:16.
12. God's mercy pours forth itself entirely upon us, and omits nothing whereby men could be moved to the love of God. As many benefits God bestows upon us, so many messengers he sends for us to come and to enjoy his low" If you should ask the Scriptures, the angels, all the prophets, and all the saints of GOD, nay, all creatures besides, from whence came you they would answer, " We are the messengers of the mercy of God; we carry fire and flames, that the heart of man, all frozen, might be warmed and kindled again into the love of God." Yet all those numbers of flaming messengers are not able to warm the dead, cold and frozen heart. This is the greatest wonder the devil can effect, that he makes a human heart so cold, that warmth cannot be raised therein, by so many flames of the love of God.
13. Yet hearken, O man, and consider where thy Creator has placed thee; namely, in the middle among so many benefits, where the glorious angels surround thee-with their flaming love, and where there are so many creatures and messengers of GOD, all proclaiming unto thee his love. Wherein now has God Almighty transgressed against thee Whereby has he deserved that you should not love and serve him If it be too little what he has done for thee; behold! he offers to do still more. He will create for thee a new heaven anti a new earth, and will build up a new, glorious, heavenly city; which his glory will lighten; nay, he will illuminate thee with his own light and glory.
14. And seeing God has implanted love in all human hearts; tell me, if thy love could be bought of thee, unto whom wouldst you sell it rather than unto the Lord thy God But thinkest You, God has not bought of thee thy love dear enough, and has not paid for it a price sufficient has not he given thee his dearest Son for it, and heaven and earth besides All you expectest to get for thy love from the world, is nothing, in comparison to what God has given thee, and what he further has prepared for them that love him. The world giveth thee, perhaps, a handful of honor and riches, accompanied with many troubles; and yet you loves it. Why dost you not rather love GOD, the everlasting good
15. But if thy love will not be bought nor sold, but rather bestow itself freely upon what you likest best, what can love find to be liked better than the supreme, eternal, and most beautiful good For every thing we love, is our beauty and ornament. And if you loves GOD, you shall make him thereby thy beauty, and thy ornament. And nothing can ever make thee more lovely, than the love of God in thy soul.
16. Lastly, it is but just and reasonable, that we should love him " who has loved us first," 1 John 4:19. Take an account of all the benefits of GOD, and sum them. up, so shall you find that all the creatures are full of the love of God. This love follows and surrounds thee every where, so that you can not hide thyself from it. You must enjoy it almost whether you wilt or not, unless you wouldst live no more. Now we know that all the brutes love them of whom they are loved. Wouldst you be worse than a brute, hating thy benefactor, in whose love you livest and movest, standest and walkest, sleepest and wakest
But like as a thing that is to be kindled, must be held to the fire till it takes flame; so also art you to expose thy heart to the fire of the love of GOD, till it be kindled and inflamed therein. So let the eternal high-priest, Jesus CHRIST, kindle the sacrifice of thine heart by the fire of his Holy Spirit. This holy fire of his love was burning towards us from eternity;; for he loved us before the foundation of the world. But afterwards it has gloriously shown forth itself in the Lord's incarnation and birth; and chiefly in his holy sufferings and death; whereby he has bestowed upon us the. highest love. And this fire of his flaming love to us will not be’extinquished to all eternity. -Unto this fire keep you with thy cold heart, that You, may be kindled with, and united to, the love of CHRIST.
17. The love of God willeth that a loving soul do good unto all men, and be profitable both to foes and friends; not for the sake of her own profit and honor, but only for the love of GOD, which causes or movesh his omnipotence to descend and to draw nigh unto us. Which also out of its immense treasure, gives us all we have, to the end that we should give again out of love, what his love has given us, out of the treasure of his omnipotence. Therefore, O man, have a care that you appropriate nothing to thyself, but restore all to the omnipotence of GOD, who himself is all that you hast, and all that you art. No creature can ever give, or take away from thee, any thing; it is only the omnipotence of God which does it. No creature also can comfort thee, but the love of God alone.
18. In this love, the loving soul sees the fullness of God's incomprehensible omnipotence, which comprehends heaven and earth, the sea and the dry land, but cannot be comprehended by any thing. For the whole world is, to the omnipotence of GOD, as a drop of a bucket, and as the small dust of the balance, Isaiah 40:15.
19. And out of the fullness of God's omnipotence, -all powers of all the angels, men, and all the creatures comeforth. Therein stands the firmament of heaven. From the same proceeds the motion of the sea, and the virtues of the earth. So that heaven and earth are fill, of God; full of Divine power and operation; full of the Spirit of the Lord, Wisd. 1: 7. The power of GOD, which is the might of his love, comprehends, encloses, and replenishes all things, but is comprehended by none.
20. But as great and high as God is in his omnipo tence, so little and low is he made by his love. Behold our Lord Jesus CHRIST, the living Son, and powerful arm of GOD, by whom were all things created, and by whom all things consist, Colossians 1:16-17. How deeply is he brought down by his love, and how low has he made himself unto all creatures!
21. Therefore as we cannot fathom, much less - in words express, the omnipotence of God; so we cannot reach with our thoughts the humility of CHRIST. Nevertheless, as deep as he has descended, so high has he also ascended up far above all heavens, Ephesians 4:10. And unto him be honor and praise to all eternity. Amen. The aspirations of a loving soul to Omnipotent Love. O God! O Jesu! O blessed Spirit!-You unchangeable mind!-You unextinguishable Light!-You Peace never to be disturbed!-You indivisible Unity!-You infallible Truth!-You ineffable Bounty!-You immeasurable Might!-You infinite Wisdom!-You incomprehensible Goodness!-You omnipotent Eternity! You all-filling Simplicity!-You all-governing Begiu'ning!-Tllou all-moving Stability!-You Life of all the. living!-You Intellect of all intellectual beings!-You Operation of all operating things!-Do you enlighten me, do you enliven me, and do you sanctify me.
22. All those souls that love GOD, acknowledge him as the highest.and most holy righteousness, which goes through all, and over all. This is in GOD, his most holy will; in angels and men, holy obedience; in all creatures, it is the order of nature, whereby God has ordered all things in number, weight, and measure. All that is done against it is contrary to God and nature. All sins therefore in the world are committed against God's righteousness; and the sinner offends thereby all creatures; even all the angels in heaven, and his own conscience, and sets them in a contrariety against himself. For when God is offended, all creatures are also offended. Likewise when God is reconciled, all creatures are reconciled also. Out of this ground, St. Paul says, that " all things are reconciled by CHRIST, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven:" and this by reason that God. is reconciled through him.