Meditations

GOD'S KINDLY HAND I Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. God did not wait for us to become something before he would love us. No, before the worlds came into being, and even before we had our very existence, he was thinking about us. And his desires for us were only to do us good. What he once meditated on in eternity, he has carried out in time. His kindly hand has showered us with every sort of good thing. And even though our expressions of unfaithfulness and ingratitude almost equal the instances of his favors toward us, they have never been able to stop the flow of his gifts or dam up the flood of his graces. O love without measure, you have made me what I am, you have given me what I have, and you promise me infinitely more besides. O love that has no beginning, you have loved me for infinite ages, even when I could neither feel nor recognize your love. O love that knows no interruption or inconstancy, love that all the bitter waters of my iniquities have never been able to extinguish. Have I a heart, O my God, if I am not completely filled with gratitude and tenderness toward you?