CHAPTER VIII. The Government of the Heart. CHRIST. SON, there are many things in which thou art not yet sufficiently instructed. DISCIPLE. Lord, show me what they are, and enable me to understand and do them. CHRIST. Thy desires must be wholly referred to me; and, instead of loving thyself, and following thy own partial views, thou must love only my will, and in resignation and obedience be zealous to fulfil it. When desire burns in thy heart, and urges thee on some pursuit, suspend its influence for a while, and consider, whether it is kindled by the love of my honor, or thy own personal advantage. If I am the pure principle that gives it birth, thou mayst yield thyself to its impulse without fear; and, whatever I ordain, thou wilt enjoy the event in tranquillity and peace: but if it be self-seeking, hidden under the disguise of zeal for me, behold, this will produce obstruction, disappointment, and distress. It is always necessary to resist the sensual appetite, and by steady opposition subdue its power; to regard not what the flesh likes or dislikes, but to labor to bring it, whether with or against its will, under subjection to the spirit. And it must be thus opposed, and thus compelled to absolute obedience, till it is ready to obey in all things; and has learned to be content in every condition, to accept of the most ordinary accommodations, and not to murmur at the greatest inconvenience. DISCIPLE. O Lord my God, from thy instructions, and my own experience, I learn the absolute necessity of patience: for this fallen state is full of adversity; and whatever care I take to secure peace, my present life is a continual trouble and warfare. CHRIST. This, my son, will be the invariable condition of man, till every root of evil is taken from him. But peace, so far from being found in a state that is free from temptation, and undisturbed by adversity, is derived only from the exercise of much tribulation, and the trial of many sufferings. Thinkest thou, that the men of this world are exempt from suffering, or have but an inconsiderable portion? Thou wilt not find it thus, though thou searchest among the most prosperous and the most luxurious. Wilt thou say, that in the free indulgence of their own will, and the enjoyment of perpetual delight, their hearts are insensible to sorrow? And how long, dost thou think, this uncontrolled licentiousness, and this uninterrupted enjoyment of sensual pleasure, will last? Behold, the mighty, the wise, and the rich, shall vanish like the cloud driven by tempest, and there shall be no remembrance of their honors or delights! Even while they live, the enjoyment of what they have is imbittered by the want of what they have not; is either made tasteless by satiety, or disturbed by fear; and that, from which they expected to derive pleasure, becomes the source of pain. O how transient and false, how impure and disgraceful, are mere earth-born pleasures! Yet, wretched man, intoxicated by perpetual draughts, and blinded by custom, is insensible of the poison he imbibes; and for the momentary delights of an animal and corruptible life, incurs the danger of eternal death! Do thou, therefore, my son, restrain the appetites of the flesh, and turn away from thy own will: " Delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart." If thou wouldst truly delight in me, and be plentifully enriched with the joys of my Spirit, know, that such blessedness depends upon the conquest of the world, and the renunciation of its sordid and transitory pleasures; and the more thou abandonest the desire of finite good, the more truly wilt thou enjoy that infinite good which dwells in me. But to the enjoyment of infinite good, thou canst not attain at once; nor without patient perseverance and laborious conflict. Inveterate evil habits will produce an opposition, which can only be overcome by habits of holiness. The flesh will murmur and rebel; and it is only by increasing fervor of spirit that it can be silenced and subdued. The old serpent will deceive and trouble thee, and tempt thee to revolt; but he must be put to flight by ardent prayer; and his future approaches opposed by earnest vigiance and continual employment in some holy exer-. cise, or innocent and useful labor. CHAPTER IX. Of obedience and self-abasement. CHRIST. He that doth not freely and voluntarily submit to that superiority, under which my providence has placed him, demonstrates, that the flesh is not yet overcome. If, therefore, my son, thou desirest to subdue thy own flesh, learn ready and cheerful submission to the will of thy superiors: for that outward enemy will be much sooner overcome, if the mind is kept under strict discipline, and not suffered to waste its strength in dissipation and indulgence. There is not a more violent or more dangerous ene→ my than thy fleshly nature, when it does not freely consent to the law of the Spirit: thou must, therefore, be established in true self-abasement, if thou wouldst prevail against flesh and blood. It is the inordinate love thou still indulgest for thy fallen self, that makes thee abhor submission to the will of others. Is it a great thing for thee, who art dust and ashes, to submit to man for the love of God; when I, the Supreme and Almighty, who created all things, submitted to man, for the love of thee? I became the least and lowest of all, that human pride might be subdued by my humility. Learn, therefore, to obey, O dust! learn to humble thyself, thou that art but earth and clay, and to bow down beneath the feet of all men! Learn to break the perverse inclinations of thy own will, that with ready compliance thou mayst yield to all demands of obedience, by whomsoever made. With holy indignation against thyself, suppress every intumescence of pride, till it can no longer rise up within thee; and till thou art so little and worthless in thy own eyes, that men may walk over thee, and as the dust of which thou art made, trample thee under foot. What hast thou to complain of, who art vanity itself? What, O base and unworthy sinner, canst thou answer to those who reproach and condemn thee, thou who hast so often offended God, and incurred his terrible wrath? But thy life was precious in my sight, and my eye hath spared thee, that thou "mayst know my love, which passeth knowledge ;" and in a perpetual sense of my mercy and thy own unworthiness, devote thyself to unfeigned humility, cheerful submission, and a patient bearing of the contempt of mankind. DISCIPLE. I stand astonished, when I consider that the heavens are not clean in thy sight. If thou hast found folly and impurity in angels, and hast not spared even them, what will become of me? If the stars have "fallen from heaven; if Lucifer, son of the morning," ," hath not kept his place; shall I, that am but dust, dare to presume upon my own stability? Many whose holiness had raised them to exalted honor, have been degraded by sin to infamy; and those that have fed upon the bread of angels, 1 have seen delighted with the husks of swine. There is no holiness, if thou, Lord, withdraw thy presence; no wisdom profiteth, if thy Spirit cease to |