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He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,[1] saith the Lord. These are the words of Christ; and they teach us how far we must imitate His life and character, if we seek true illumination, and deliverance from all blindness of heart. Let it be our most earnest study, therefore, to dwell upon the life of Jesus Christ.
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, save to love God, and Him only to serve. That is the highest wisdom, to cast the world behind us, and to reach forward to the heavenly kingdom.
Strive, therefore, to turn away thy heart from the love of the things that are seen, and to set it upon the things that are not seen.
what profiteth knowledge without the fear of God?
Be not high-minded, but rather confess thine ignorance.
That is the highest and most profitable lesson, when a man truly knoweth and judgeth lowly of himself.
let all creation keep silence before Thee: speak Thou alone to me.
The more a man hath unity and simplicity in himself, the more things and the deeper things he understandeth; and that without labour, because he receiveth the light of understanding from above. The spirit which is pure, sincere, and steadfast, is not distracted though it hath many works to do, because it doth all things to the honour of God, and striveth to be free from all thoughts of self-seeking.
All perfection hath some imperfection joined to it in this life, and all our power of sight is not without some darkness. A lowly knowledge of thyself is a surer way to God than the deep searching of man's learning.
but a good conscience and a holy life is better than all.
Of a surety, at the Day of Judgment it will be demanded of us, not what we have read, but what we have done; not how well we have spoken, but how holily we have lived.
And he is the truly learned man, who doeth the will of God, and forsaketh his own will.
All Scripture ought to be read in the spirit in which it was written.
but let the love of the pure Truth draw thee to read.
Men pass away, but the truth of the Lord endureth for ever.
The proud and the avaricious man are never at rest; while the poor and lowly of heart abide in the multitude of peace.
For true peace of heart is to be found in resisting passion, not in yielding to it.
only in him who is fervent towards God and living the life of the Spirit.
Be not ashamed to be the servant of others for the love of Jesus Christ, and to be reckoned poor in this life. Rest not upon thyself, but build thy hope in God. Do what lieth in thy power, and God will help thy good intent.
If thou hast any good, believe that others have more, and so thou mayest preserve thy humility.
Let thy company be the humble and the simple, the devout and the gentle, and let thy discourse be concerning things which edify.
God. Choose for thy companions God and His Angels only, and flee from the notice of men.
Though thou run hither and thither, thou wilt not find peace, save in humble subjection to the authority of him who is set over thee.
Avoid as far as thou canst the tumult of men; for talk concerning worldly things, though it be innocently undertaken, is a hindrance, so quickly are we led captive and defiled by vanity.
away. If it be right and desirable for thee to speak, speak things which are to edification.
all where those of kindred mind and spirit find their ground of fellowship in God.
How can he abide long time in peace who occupieth himself with other men's matters,
Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall have abundance of peace.
But let us lay the axe to the very root of our life, that, being cleansed from affections, we may possess our souls in peace.
Oh, if thou knewest what peace to thyself thy holy life should bring to thyself, and what joy to others, methinketh thou wouldst be more zealous for spiritual profit.
It is good for us that we sometimes have
sorrows and adversities, for they often make a man lay to heart that he is only a stranger and sojourner, and may not put his trust in any worldly thing.
these things help us to be humble, and shield us from vain-glory.
Therefore ought a man to rest wholly upon God, so that he needeth not seek much comfort at the hand of men.
since without God he can do no good thing.
heart. Then he groweth weary of life, and would fain depart and be with Christ. By all this he is taught that in the world there can be no perfect security or fulness of peace.
So long as we live in the world, we cannot be without trouble and trial. Wherefore it is written in Job, The life of man upon the earth is a trial.[6]
for through them we are humbled, purified, instructed.
There is no position so sacred, no place so secret, that it is without temptations and adversities.
by endurance and true humility we are made stronger than all our enemies.
Little by little, through patience and longsuffering, thou shalt conquer by the help of God, rather than by violence and thine own strength of will.
The beginning of all temptations to evil is instability of temper and want of trust in God;
As fire testeth iron, so doth temptation the upright man.
temptation revealeth to us what we are.
Therefore we ought not to despair when we are tempted, but the more fervently should cry unto God, that He will vouchsafe to help us in all our tribulation; and that He will, as St. Paul saith, with the temptation make a way to escape that we may be able to bear it.[7] Let us therefore humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God in all temptation and trouble, for He will save and exalt such as are of an humble spirit.
In temptations and troubles a man is proved, what progress he hath made, and therein is his reward the greater, and his virtue doth the more appear.
but if he behave himself patiently in the time of adversity, then is there hope of great progress.
the humiliation may teach them not to trust to themselves in great things, being weak in small things.
Look well unto thyself, and beware that thou judge not the doings of others.
If God were always the sole object of our desire, we should the less easily be troubled by the erring judgment of our fancy.
