第9章 PART THE FIRST(5)

Therefore,if the whole world were a consuming fire,and there lay in the midst of it a handful of flax,it would not,from its very nature,be so susceptible of the burning flame as the abyss of My mercy is ready to pardon a repentant sinner,and blot out his sins.

The Servant.--O my Father!O my Brother!O all that can ravish my heart!And wilt Thou still be gracious to my offending soul?O what goodness,what unfathomable compassion!For this will I fall prostrate at Thy feet,O heavenly Father!and thank Thee from the bottom of my heart,and beg of Thee to look on Thy only-begotten Son,whom,out of love Thou gavest to bitter death,and to forget my grievous misdeeds.Remember,heavenly Father,how Thou didst swear of old to Noah,and didst say:I will stretch My bow in the sky;I will look upon it,and it shall be a sign of reconciliation between Me and the earth.O look now upon it,tender Father,how cruelly stretched out it is,so that its bones and ribs can be numbered;

look how red,how green,how yellow,love has made it!Look,O heavenly Father,through the hands,the arms,and the feet,so woefully distended,of Thy tender and only-begotten Son.Look at His beautiful body,all rose colour with wounds,and forget Thy anger against me.Remember that Thou art only called the Lord of Mercy,the Father of Mercy,because Thou forgivest.

Such is Thy name.To whom did Thou give Thy best-beloved Son?To sinners.

Lord,he is Mine!Lord,he is ours!This very day will I enclose myself with His bare extended arms in a loving embrace in the bottom of my heart and soul,and living or dead will never more be separated from Him.Therefore,do Him honour today in me,and graciously forget that wherein I may have angered Thee.For,methinks it were easier for me to suffer death than ever to anger Thee,my heavenly Father,again.Neither afflictions nor oppressions,neither hell nor purgatory,are such causes of lamentation to my heart,as that I ever should have angered and dishonoured Thee,my Creator,my Lord,my God,my Saviour,the joy and delight of my heart.Oh,if for this I could give voice to my grief of soul,through all the heavens,till my heart should burst into a thousand pieces,how gladly would I do it!

And the more entirely Thou forgivest my evil deeds,so much the greater is my sorrow of heart at having been so ungrateful in return for thy great goodness.And Thou,my only consolation,Thou my tender elected one,Eternal Wisdom!how can I ever make Thee a complete and proper return of thanks for having at so dear a rate healed and reconciled with Thy pangs and wounds the breach which all created beings could not have made good?And,therefore,my eternal joy,teach me how to bear Thy wounds and love-marks on my entire body,and how to have them at all times in my keeping,so that all this world,and all the heavenly host,may see that I am grateful for the infinite good which,out of Thy unfathomable goodness alone,Thou hast bestowed on my lost soul.

Eternal Wisdom.--Thou shouldst give thyself and all that is thine to Me cheerfully,and never take them back.All that is not of absolute necessity to thee shouldst thou leave untouched;then will thy hands be truly nailed to My cross.Thou shouldst cheerfully set about good works and persevere in them;then will thy left foot be made fast.Thy inconstant mind and wandering thoughts shouldst thou make constant and collected in Me;and thus thy right foot will be nailed to My cross.Thy mental and bodily powers must not seek rest in lukewarmness;in the likeness of My arms they should be stretched out in My service.Thy sickly body must often,in honour of my dislocated bones,be wearied out in spiritual exercises,and rendered incapable of fulfilling its own desires.Many an unknown suffering must strain thee to Me on the narrow bed of the cross,by which thou wilt become lovely like Me,and of the colour of blood.The withering away of thy nature must make Me blooming again;thy spontaneous hardships must be to My weary back as a bed;thy resolute resistance to sin must relieve My spirit;thy devout heart must soften My pains,and thy high flaming heart must kindle My fervid heart.

The Servant.--Now,then,fulfill Thou my good wishes,according to Thy highest praise,and according to Thy very best will;for indeed Thy yoke is sweet,and Thy burthen light:this do all those know who have experienced it,and who were once overladen with the heavy load of sin.

CHAPTER VI.How Deceitful The Love of This World is,And How Amiable God Is The Servant.

--Sweetest God,if I leave Thee but a little I am like a young roe which has strayed from its dam,and is pursued by the hunter,and runs wildly about,until it escapes back to its cover.Lord,I flee,I run to Thee with ardent desire,like a stag to the living waters.Lord,one little hour without Thee is a whole year;to be estranged one day from Thee is as much as a thousand years to a loving heart.Therefore,Thou branch of salvation,Thou bush of May,Thou red blooming rose-tree,open and spread out the green branches of Thy divine nature.Lord,Thy countenance is so full of graciousness,Thy mouth so full of living words,Thy whole carriage such a pure mirror of all discipline and meekness!O Thou aspect of graciousness to all the saints,how very blessed is he who is found worthy of Thy sweet espousals!

Eternal Wisdom,--Many are called to them,but few are chosen.

The Servant.--Gentle Lord,either they have broken with Thee,or Thou with them.

Eternal Wisdom.--Lift up,therefore,thy eyes,and behold this vision.