LETTERS

OF

MADAM GUYON. 

 BEING SELECTIONS OF HER RELIGIOUS THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES, TRANSLATED AND RE-ARRANGED FROM HER PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE

By P. L. UPHAM. 

 "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. "

BOSTON:

HENRY HOYT, No. 9 CORNHILL. 

Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1858, by HENRY HOYT, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District ofMassachusetts. 

PREFACE. 

Madam Guyon's correspondence was very extensive, occupying five printedvolumes. Her style of writing is somewhat diffuse. In givingreligious advice to many persons, there would necessarily be frequentrepetitions. It has, therefore, occurred to the writer, that aselection and re-arrangement of thoughts, such as is found in thislittle volume, would be more acceptable and useful, than a literal andfull translation of her letters. This selection necessarily involvedmuch re-writing and condensing. Great care, however, has been taken toreach her true sentiments, and to give a just relation of her religiousexperience. 

In the interesting preface to her letters, published in 1767, thewriter remarks: "Next to the Holy Scriptures, we do not believe therehas been given to the world, any writings, so valuable as MadamGuyon's; and of all these precious treasures, her letters are the mostrare. All who have received the unction of the Holy One, whereby theyknow the truth, are agreed upon her divine writings. "

If the writer may be permitted to add her humble testimony, havingenjoyed the privilege of reading her writings in the original forseveral years, she would say, there are no writings, excepting theSacred Oracles, from which she has received so much spiritual benefit. It is on this account, she has endeavored, with divine assistance, toportray to others, Madam Guyon's deep religious feelings. May the samespirit of devotion to her Lord and Master which she possessed, restupon the heart of the reader. 

Happy are they in whose hearts burns the flame of divine love. 

P. L. UPHAM. 

Brunswick, Me. , April, 1858. 

SKETCH OF HER LIFE. 

Jeannie Marie Mothe, the maiden name of Madam Guyon, was born atMontargis, in France, April 13, 1648. She was married to M. J. Guyon, in 1664, and became the mother of four children. In July, 1676, shewas separated from her husband by death. Madam Guyon was one of thatnumber, who, in advance of the common standard of piety, are called tobe _Reformers_; and on this account, she suffered great persecutions. She was several times imprisoned. At one time eight months; andsubsequently four years in one of the towers of the celebrated Bastile. After her release from prison, she was banished for the remainder ofher days to Blois, on the river Loire. At the time of her release fromthe Bastile, she was fifty-four years of age. Her sufferings from thecold, damp walls of the prison, in winter, and the confined air insummer, with other privations and hardships, greatly impaired herconstitution, and rendered her a sufferer to the close of her days. She died June 9, 1717, aged sixty-nine years. 

During her imprisonment, she wrote her Autobiography, which has beentranslated into English. Another work of hers, "The Torrents, " hasrecently been translated, very happily, by Mr. Ford. Also two essays, "Method of Prayer, " and "Concise View of the Way of God, " by J. W. Metcalf. It is not known by the writer, that her other works have beentranslated, with the exception of some of her poems by William Cowper;and "The Life and Experience of Madam Guyon, " in two volumes, writtenby my husband. 

P. L. U. 

 CONTENTS. 

 1. REIGN OF CHRIST IN THE HEART 2. TURN AWAY FROM SELF TO CHRIST 3. STATE OF ASSURANCE 4. HUMILITY THE EFFECT OF LOVE 5. DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS 6. JOY IN PERSECUTIONS 7. LIBERTY IN CHRIST 8. MELANCHOLY AVOIDED 9. GOD'S CARE OF THE SOUL 10. POWER OF THE ADVERSARY 11. UNCTION OF GRACE 12. SPIRITUAL ONENESS 13. VICISSITUDES IN EXPERIENCE 14. PATIENCE WITH THE FAULTS OF OTHERS 15. HOW TO DISTINGUISH THE MOVEMENTS OF GOD 16. STATE OF SIMPLICITY 17. QUENCHING THE SPIRIT 18. SUFFERING CRUCIFIXION AND REDUCTIONS OF SELF 19. REPROVE IN LOVE 20. SILENT OPERATION OF GRACE 21. LIMIT NOT YOUR SPHERE 22. SECRET OF DIVINE OPERATIONS 23. NO UNION WITH SELFISH SOULS 24. NEVER YIELD TO DISCOURAGEMENT 25. WEAKNESSES. IMPERFECTIONS 26. STATE OF ADVANCEMENT 27. GREATNESS OF SPIRITUAL POVERTY 28. ASSISTANCE RENDERED 29. SIMPLICITY AND POWER OF THE WORD 30. FORGETFULNESS OF SELF 31. DIVERSITY OF MEANS OF SANCTIFICATION 32. COMFORT IN AFFLICTION 33. BEARING FRUIT IN UNION WITH CHRIST 34. DESOLATE STATE 35. SELF-ABANDONMENT 36. NO DEPENDENCE ON INSTRUMENTS 37. CHILD OF GOD, SOON TO DIE 38. UNION OF SOULS IN GOD 39. SECRET OPERATIONS OF GRACE 40. TO A YOUNG FRIEND 41. FINAL LETTER TO HER SPIRITUAL GUIDE 42. GLORY OF GOD, THE ONE DESIRE 43. SPIRITUAL UNION AND AID 44. LIVE IN THE PRESENT 45. HOW TO ADMINISTER REPROOF 46. BEARING THE STATES OF CHRIST 47. IMPERFECTIONS NO HINDRANCE 48. DEATH, RESURRECTION 49. GRACE DEEPLY INTERIOR 50. SELF-RENUNCIATION 51. UNEXPECTED FAULTS 52. APOSTOLIC STATE 53. PAINFUL EXPERIENCE 54. ECSTASY OF THE MIND AND HEART 55. A VIEW OF SELF 56. STATE OF A SOUL IN UNION WITH GOD 57. STATE OF REST IN GOD 58. GREAT HUMILIATIONS 59. REPOSE OF THE SOUL IN GOD 60. POWER OF CASTING OUT DEVILS 61. STATE OF A SOUL RE-UNITED TO GOD 62. CONCISE VIEW OF THE INTERIOR WAY

 SELECTIONS FROM HER POETRY. 

 63. A LITTLE BIRD I AM 64. GOD EVERYWHERE

LETTERS OF MADAM GUYON. 

REIGN OF CHRIST IN THE HEART. 

I have read your letter, my dear brother, with great pleasure. It ismy highest happiness to see the reign of Jesus Christ extending itselfin the hearts of God's people. An external religion has too muchusurped the place of the religion of the heart. The ancientsaints--Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Enoch, Job--lived interiorly with God. The reign of Christ on earth is nothing more nor less than thesubjection of the whole soul to himself. Alas! the world are opposedto this reign. Many pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is inHeaven, " but they are unwilling to be crucified to the world, and totheir sinful lusts. God designs to bring his children, naturallyrebellious, through the desert of crucifixions--through the temptationsin the wilderness, into the promised land. But how many rebel, andchoose rather to be bond-slaves in Egypt, than suffer the reductions oftheir sensual appetite. 

Since Jesus Christ appeared on earth, there is a general belief thatthe kingdoms of this world will ultimately be subject to his dominion. But we may ask, who hastens his coming, by now yielding up his ownheart to his entire control?

Our Lord imposed no rigorous ceremonies on his disciples. He taughtthem to enter into the closet; to retire within the heart; to speak butfew words; to open their hearts, to receive the descent of the HolySpirit. 

The holy Sabbath has not only an external, but a deeply spiritualmeaning. It symbolises the rest of the holy soul, in union with God. Oh! that all Christians might know the coming of Jesus Christ in thesoul! Might live in God, and God in them!

God alone knows how much I love you. 

TURN FROM SELF TO CHRIST

You are not forgotten, my dear E. God has engraven you on my heart. If you have not consented to the thoughts that have crossed your mind, do not be afflicted on account of them. The examination and dwellingupon these thoughts, brings them again to life. Be on your guardagainst everything that entangles you in self. God is a Father whobears with the innocent faults of his children, and wipes away thestains they have contracted. The greatest wrong you can do to God isto doubt his love. He regards the simplicity and purity of theintention. It is right to cherish great self-distrust, to realise yourweakness and helplessness; but do not stop here. Confide as much morein God, as you hope less from yourself. 

Do not afflict yourself, because you do not at all times realise a_sensible_ confidence in God, and other consoling, happy states. Walkby faith, and not by sight, or positive perception of the good youcrave. Let us, my dear E. , be closely united, and walk together; notaccording to the way we might choose, but according to the way Godchooses for us. 

I love you tenderly. 

ASSURANCE. 

Notwithstanding all that is said to me, my dear M. , in opposition to mystate, I cannot have one doubt of its reality. There is within me aninward testimony to the truth; so deep, that all the world could notshake it. It is the work of God upon my heart, and partakes of his ownimmutability. It seems to me that all the difficulties of theologiansconcerning this state, arise from viewing it, not in the light ofdivine truth and power, but in the light of the creature. It is true, the creature, in itself, is only weakness and sin; but when it pleasesGod to new-create the soul, and make it one with himself, it is thentransformed into the likeness of Christ. 

Who will dare limit the power of God? Who will say that God, whoselove is infinite as it is free, cannot give such proofs of love as hepleases, to his creatures? Has he not the right to love me as he does?Yes, he loves me, and his love is _infinite_. I do not doubt it. Andhe loves you, too, dear M. , in the same manner. This is eternal lovemanifested, --the heart of God drawn out, --_expressed_ towards hiscreature. 

In this state, we understand the mutual secrets of the Lover and thebeloved. Who will so deny the truth of the Lord, as to question this?When I hold my beloved in my arms, in vain does one assert, "It is notso, --I am deceived. " I smile inwardly and say, "_My beloved is mineand I am his!_" "If we receive the witness of men, how much greater isthe witness of God?"

HUMILITY THE EFFECT OF LOVE. 

I assure you, you are very dear to me. I rejoice very much in theprogress of your soul. When I speak of progress, it is in descending, not in mounting. As when we charge a vessel, the more ballast we putin, the lower it sinks, so the more love we have in the soul, the lowerwe are abased in self. The side of the scales which is elevated, isempty; so the soul is elated only when it is void of love. "Love isour weight, " says St. Augustine. Let us so charge ourselves with theweight of love, as to bring down self to its just level. Let itsdepths be manifested by our readiness to bear the cross, thehumiliations, the sufferings, which are necessary to the purificationof the soul. Our humiliation is our exaltation. "Whosoever is leastamong you shall be the greatest, " says our Lord. 

I love you, my dear child, in the love of the Divine Master, who soabased himself by love! Oh! what a weight is love, since it caused soastonishing a fall, from heaven to earth, --from God to man! There is abeautiful passage in the Imitation of Christ, "Love to be unknown. "Let us die to all but God. 

DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS. 

God communicates himself to pure souls, and blesses, through them, other souls, who are in a state of receptivity. All these littlerills, which water others, little compared with the fountain from whichthey flow, have no determinate choice of their own, but are governed bythe will of their Lord and Master. The nature of God is communicative. God would cease to be God if he should cease to communicate himself, bylove, to the pure soul. As the air rushes to a vacuum, so God fillsthe soul emptied of self. 

The seven blessed spirits around the throne, are those angels whoapproach nearest to God, and to whom he communicates himself the mostabundantly. St. John, perhaps, was better prepared than any of theapostles to receive the Word, incarnate, dwelling in the soul. 

On the bosom of Jesus, --in close affinity with him, --John learned theheights and depths of divine love. It was on this account our Lordsaid to his mother, "seeing the disciple stand by whom he loved, Womanbehold thy Son. " He knew the loving heart of John would give her aplace in his own home. 

God communicates himself to us in proportion as we are prepared toreceive him. And in proportion as he diffuses himself in us, we aretransformed in him, and bear his image. O, the astonishing depths ofGod's love! giving _himself_ to souls disappropriated of self, becomingtheir end, and their final principle, their fulness, and their all. 

JOY IN PERSECUTIONS. 

I am very grateful to you, my dear sir, for your sympathy in myapparent ills. God has not permitted that I should consider themotherwise than blessings. I trust what appears to destroy the truthwill, in the end, establish it. Those who maintain the inward reign ofthe Holy Spirit will yet suffer many persecutions. There is nothing ofany value but the love of God, and the accomplishment of his will. This is pure and substantial happiness. This joy no man taketh from us. 

It is my only desire to abandon myself into the hands of God, withoutscruples, without fears, without any agitating thoughts. 

Since I am there, O Lord, how can I be otherwise than happy? Whendivine Love has enfranchised the soul, what power can fetter it? Howsmall the world appears to a heart that God fills with himself! I lovethee, my Lord, not only with a sovereign love, but it seems to me Ilove thee alone, and all creatures only for thy sake. Thou art so muchthe soul of my soul, and the life of my life, that I have no other lifethan thine. Let all the world forsake me; my Lord, my Lover lives, andI live in him. This is the deep abyss where I hide myself in thesemany persecutions. O, abandonment! blessed abandonment! Happy thesoul who lives no more in itself, but in God. What can separate mysoul from God? Surely, none can pluck me from my Father's hands. Allis well, when the soul is in union with him. 

LIBERTY IN CHRIST. 

"If the Son make ye free, ye shall be free indeed. " When the man ofsin is destroyed, and the new man established in the soul, it findsitself in perfect liberty. As a bird let loose from its cage, the soulgoes forth, unfettered, to dwell in the immensity of God. The naturalselfish life restricts the soul at every point; and even God, the great_I am_, is unseen, or deprived of his glory. 

When Paul asked, "Who shall deliver me from this body of death?" headded, "I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. " That is, when bythe grace of God, the new man is established in my soul, I shall bedelivered. And, subsequently, when deliverance came, he cried out intransport, "I live, and yet not I. Christ liveth in me!" He was nowno more occupied of himself, but let Jesus Christ live and act in him;he was animated by him, as the body is of the soul. If another soulanimated our body, the body would obey this new soul; it would becomethe moving-spring of its operations. Thus Jesus Christ becomes thelife of the new man. And what can be more free, more enlarged, thanthe soul of Jesus? His nature is divine, eternal, boundless. Alas! towhat a narrow point does self reduce us! Who that looks at the freedomand expansion of the soul, as it puts on the new man, Christ Jesus, will not crush the reptile self to the dust, that the life of God mayagain, as in its first creation, animate the soul?

This liberty is as the eagles' wings, of which the prophet speaks, which carries the soul on high. The dove that lighted on Jesus, was anemblem, not only of innocence, but of freedom, --of liberty of spirit tosoar and dwell in God. May it please God to give you an experience ofthis liberty. Quit self, and you will find the freedom and enlargementof the All in All. 

MELANCHOLY AVOIDED. 

I assure you, my dear M. , I sympathize deeply in your sufferings; but Ientreat you, give no place to despondency. This is a dangeroustemptation, --a refined, not a gross temptation of the adversary. Melancholy contracts and withers the heart, and renders it unfit toreceive the impressions of grace. It magnifies and gives a falsecoloring to objects, and thus renders your burdens too heavy to bear. Your ill-health and the little consolation you have from friends, helpto nourish this state. God's designs, regarding you, and his methodsof bringing about these designs, are infinitely wise. 

There are two methods of serving little children. One is, to give themall they want for present pleasure. Another is, to deny them presentpleasure for greater good. God is a wise Father, and chooses the bestway to conduct his children. 

A sad exterior is more sure to repel than attract to piety. It isnecessary to serve God, with a certain joyousness of spirit, with afreedom and openness, which renders it manifest that his yoke is easy;that it is neither a burden nor inconvenience. 

If you would please God, be useful to others, and happy yourself, youmust renounce this melancholy disposition. It is better to divert yourmind with innocent recreations, than to nourish melancholy. When I wasa little child, a nephew of my father's, a very godly man, who endedhis days by martyrdom, said to me, "It is better to cherish a desire toplease God, than a fear of displeasing him. " Let the desire to pleaseGod, and honor him, by an exterior all sweet, all humble, all cordialand cheerful, arouse and animate your spirit: For this I pray. Everyours. 

GOD'S CARE OF THE SOUL COMMITTED TO HIM. 

O, that you could realize, my dear friend, how much God loves you. Asa painter draws upon his canvas what image pleases him, so God is nowpreparing your soul, by these inward crucifixions, to draw upon it hisown likeness, He cherishes you as the mother her only son. He wouldhave you yield readily to his will, even as the branches of the treeare moved by the light breath of the wind. In proportion to yourabandonment to God, he will take care of you. When you yield readilyto his will, you will be less embarrassed to discern the movements ofGod. You will follow them naturally, and be led, as it were, by theprovidencies of God. God will gently arrest you if you mistake. Godhas the same right to incline and move the heart as to possess it. When the soul is perfectly yielding, it loses all its own consistency, so to speak, in order to take any moment the shape that God gives it;as water takes all the form of the vases in which it is put, and alsoall the colors. Let there be no longer any resistance in your mind, and your heart will soon mingle in the ocean of love; you will floateasily, and be at rest. 

POWER OF THE ADVERSARY. 

I am deeply afflicted that so many, at the present day, and even somegood persons, allow themselves to be openly seduced by the Evil One. Has not our Lord warned us against "false prophets, and the lyingwonders of the _last days_?" All true prophets have spoken in the nameof the Lord--"_Thus saith the Lord. _" Nothing gives the enemy greateradvantage than the love of extraordinary manifestations. I believethese external movements are a device of the evil one, to draw awaysouls from the Word of God, and from the interior tranquil way of faith. 

The tendency of all communications from God, is to make the soul die toself. An eminent saint remarks, that she had often experiencedilluminations from the angel of darkness, more pleasing, more enticing, than those that came from God. Those delusory manifestations, however, leave the soul in a disturbed state, while those that come from Godhumble, tranquilise and establish the soul in Him. The most dangerousseductions are those, which assume the garb of religion and have thesemblance of truth. 

Elias appeared alone among four hundred prophets of Baal. Theseprophets were much agitated, attracting great attention, "cryingaloud, " etc. 

When Elias was told by the angel, that he would see the Lord in MountHoreb, he _hid himself_ in a cave. He saw a great trembling of theearth. God was not there. There came a great whirlwind. God was notthere. Then there came a little zephyr. _God was in the still smallvoice_. 

The only true and safe revelation, is the internal revelation of theLord Jesus Christ in the soul. "My sheep hear my voice. " Thisinvolves no disturbance of our freedom, of the natural operations ofthe mind; but produces a beautiful harmonious action of all the powersof the soul. I beseech you, my friend, in the name of the Lord, toseparate yourself from all these delusions of the adversary. 

UNCTION OF GRACE. 

Friday morning, the 15th, I suffered very much, on account of _theindividual_, whom you know. It seemed to me, that God wished that _theall of self_ in him should be destroyed. I perceived, that althoughthe troths be uttered, proceeded from the inward work of the spiritupon his heart, his reasoning faculty operated so powerfully, withouthis perceiving it, that the effect of these truths was in some degreelost. Souls are won more by the unction of grace--by the weapons oflove--than by the power of argument. 

Are not the truths you utter, my friend, too much elaborated by theintellect, and polished by the imagination? Their effect seems to belost, for want of simplicity and directness. They fall pleasantly onthe ear, as a lovely song, but do not reach and move the heart. Thereis a lack of unction. Are you not always laboring for something newand original, thus exhibiting your own powers of mind, rather than thesimple truth?

Receive this suggestion, and light will be given you upon it. Do Ispeak too plainly? To speak the truth, and the truth only, is all Idesire. I have this morning prayed, rather to be taken out of theworld, than to disguise the truth. I have proclaimed it, in itspurity, in the great Congregation, and it will be seen that Thou, OLord, hast distilled it in my heart; or rather, O Sovereign Truth, thatThou art there thyself, to manifest thyself plainly, and that Thou dostmake use of weak things to confound the strong. God is truth and love. In Him yours. 

SPIRITUAL ONENESS. 

My union with you, my dear child, is steadily increasing. I bear youin my heart with a deep and absorbing interest, and seem anxious tocommunicate to you the abundant grace poured into my own soul. Howclose, how dear is the union of souls, made one in Christ! Our Saviorbeautifully expressed it, when he said, "Whosoever shall do the will ofmy Father, the same is my mother, sister and brother. " There is nounion more pure, more strong, than the union of souls in Christ! Inthis manner, pure as delightful, the saints in Heaven possess eachother in God;--a union which does not interrupt the possession of God, although it is distinct from God. 

Let your soul have within it, a continual _Yes_. When the heart is inunion with God, there is no _Nay_, --it is _Yes, be it so_, whichreverberates through the soul. This _Yes_, this suppleness, rendersthe heart agreeable to the heart of the Spouse. It was thus with Mary, the mother of our Lord, when the angel messenger came to her, shereplied, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according tothy word. " It was thus with the child-like soul of Samuel, when hesaid, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. " It was thus with ourdivine Lord, "Lo, I come to do thy will. "

Yours in the fellowship of the Saints. 

VICISSITUDES IN EXPERIENCE. 

As the outgoings of life proceed from the living man, while we live inourselves, we have a strong will and eager desires, and manyfluctuating states. But in proportion as our will passes into the willof God, the desires which are the offspring of the will, aresubjugated, and the soul is reduced to unity in God. 

As the soul advances in the life of God, its natural or selfishmovements decrease; and it depends less on mere emotional exercises, and there is really less _variation_ of the emotions. 

Rest assured, it is the same God who causes the scarcity and theabundance, the rain and the fair weather. The high and low states, thepeaceful and the state of warfare, are each good in their season. These vicissitudes form and mature the interior, as the differentseasons compose the year. Each change in your inward experience, orexternal condition, is a new test, by which to try your faith and love;and will be a help towards perfecting your soul, if you receive it withlove and submission. 

Leave yourself therefore in the hands of Love. Love is always thesame, although it causes you often to change your position. He whoprefers one state to another, who loves abundance more than scarcity, when God orders otherwise, loves the gifts of God more than God himself. 

God loves you; let this thought equalise all states. Let him do withus as with the waves of the sea, and whether he takes us to his bosom, or casts us upon the sand, that is, leaves us to our own barrenness, all is well. 

For myself, I am pleased with all the Lord orders for me. I holdmyself ready to suffer, not only imprisonment but death; perilseverywhere--perils on the land--perils on the sea--among falsebrethren; all is good in Him, to whom I am united forever. 

PATIENCE WITH THE FAULTS OF OTHERS. 

I love you very much, my dear M. If my love could be of any avail, itwould console you, for I feel a greater tenderness and sympathy foryou, than I am able to express. I am more certain than ever, that Goddesigns you for himself. Live exteriorly with N. , as being entirelyreconciled. Make not too much account of his coldness, his passionatetemper, his contempt. It is not by these you are to regulate yourconduct, but by a motive more elevated--God and his glory. Let yourheart endure his bitterness, for the love of Him, who preferred griefto pleasure. At the same time, do no violence to your own sacredfeelings, to accommodate yourself to him, in order to give him apleasure he cannot appreciate. Regard your present condition, as ameans God has given you, to manifest your love to himself, by awillingness to sacrifice yourself. Reject not this cross, shall I notrather say _crown_, and let all be accomplished between God and yoursoul, in such a quiet manner, that the struggle with your own feelingswill not be perceived. 

While you are bearing this daily cross--this real crucifixion--I amcertain God will sustain you, from the fulness of his love. All isalike good, when God is with us. I love you tenderly. God loves you;let this make amends for all. In Him devotedly yours. 

HOW TO DISTINGUISH THE MOVEMENTS OF GOD. 

You enquire, how one who desires to follow the movements of God'sspirit, may distinguish these movements, from the natural operations ofthe mind. There is not, at all times, a positive certainty regardingdivine movements. If it were so, we should become infallible as theangels; that is, if we were as pure in our intentions. We must walkwith God, in entire abandonment and uncertainty, at the risk ofsometimes making mistakes, which in the infancy of experience isunavoidable. He who wishes for a particular inspiration, or directionin common matters, which his own reason and judgment can determine, isliable to deception. 

A pure soul acts in simplicity, and without certainty, being persuadedthat what is good comes from God, and what is not good from self. Thegreater the simplicity, --the more separate from the mingling ofself-activity--the purer are these operations; because the soul in thisstate is only a simple instrument, that the Word, which is in her, moves, so that it is the Word which speaks and not herself. Thismanner of speaking, relates to matters of importance, and not to theminute concerns of every-day life. The divine Word, _in allexigencies_, is found in the soul, that is wholly consecrated toChrist. "When they bring you before magistrates and kings, etc. , itshall be given you in _that hour_ what ye shall speak. " This method ofdivine leading--by the hour and by the moment--leaves the soul alwaysfree and unencumbered, and ready for the slightest breath of the Lord. This breath, in the pure soul, is as the gentle zephyr, and not as thewhirlwind, which shakes the earth. Do not then expect to haveanticipated movements, or movements beforehand from God. I have anexperience of many years, that God often makes known his will, only inthe time of action. 

If a pure soul, wholly sacrificed to God, should undertake somethingcontrary to the will of God, it would feel a slight repugnance, anddesist at once. If one does not feel this repugnance, let the act beperformed in simplicity. A mother who holds her child by aleading-string, loosens it, that it may walk; but if about to make amis-step, she draws the string. The repugnance which a holy soul feelsto do a thing, is as when the mother draws the leading-string. 

STATE OF SIMPLICITY. 

I experienced recently, a marked perception of your state, as one inwhich God took delight, and upon which he had infinite designs, regarding himself and his glory. I saw clearly the state to which Goddesired to bring you--the means to be used, and the obstacles in theway--the mutual sympathy and confidence he required between us--and theopenness and freedom of communication necessary for our mutual benefit, and that we should not hesitate to speak freely of each other's faults. 

The peculiarity you remark in my experience, needs some explanation. You say I do not seem to be wounded, nor blame myself when reproved fora fault. To which I reply simply, there is no more of self remainingin me to be wounded. This indifferent state you notice in me, arisesfrom the state of innocency and infancy in which I find myself. OurLord holds me so far removed from myself, or from my natural state, that it is impossible for me to take a painful view of myself. When afault is committed by me, it leaves no traces on the soul; it is assomething external, which is easily removed. Do not infer that I amblind to my faults. The light of truth is so subtle and penetrating, that it discovers the slightest fault. Souls which are in the naturallife, have real faults, as a paper written over with ink is stronglymarked, therefore they see and feel them. But souls, transformed intoGod, have faults, as a writing traced on sand when the wind is high, the wind defacing it as soon as it is traced. This is the economy ofdivine wisdom, relating to souls in union and harmony with God. Oh!the greatness and simplicity of the way of Truth! How unlike theworld's apprehension of it!

QUENCHING THE SPIRIT. 

Desiring to follow closely the divine leading, I expressed to you theother day, some sentiments you were not able to receive. I perceivedat once, that on account of your resistance, I could say no more. Fromthis experience, although painful as regards yourself, I learnt theextreme delicacy of the spirit that seeks to aid others; and thestrength of man's freedom to oppose this operation. I realized, also, my inability to act of myself; for, as soon as the spirit in me wassilent, I had nothing to say. I had, however, the extreme satisfactionof knowing, that this good spirit alone conducted me; and that I wouldnot, in the least degree, add, nor diminish from its operations. 

It was from a knowledge, gained by experience, of the extreme delicacyand purity of this divine spirit, that I remarked to you, the otherday, that if you did not receive the instructions I then imparted, Ishould have nothing farther to communicate to you. O, how pure and howunlike the impetuous operation of man's spirit, is this operation ofGod!

SUFFER THE CRUCIFIXIONS AND REDUCTIONS OF SELF. 

All the graces of the Christian, spring from the death of self. Letus, then, bear patiently the afflictions, which reduce this overflowinglife. There is a suffering in connection with confusions anduncertainties, very trying to bear. Unbounded patience is necessary, to bear not only with ourselves, but with others, whose various tempersand dispositions are not congenial with our own. "Offences, "--woundsof spirit will occur while we live in the flesh. These offences mustbe borne in silence, and thus subjugated and controlled by the spiritof grace. By a law of our nature, we feel, more or less, the influenceof the spheres in which we move. 

While we honor, we think, the true cross, the affliction that comesfrom God, let us remember, that these instruments, so disagreeable, arethe true cross that providence daily furnishes us. 

Do not sully the cross and mar its operations, by your murmurs andreflections. Let us welcome any trials, that teach us what we are, andlead us to renounce ourselves and find our all in God. 

Jesus Christ says, "He who renounces not all that he hath, cannot be mydisciple. " Of all possessions, that of ourselves is the most dangerous. 

Please present my cordial regards to your brother. I sympathize deeplyin his misfortunes. I use this expression, in conformity to commonusage, but it does not express the sentiments of my heart. I amconvinced that the loss of wealth, worldly honor, persecutions, are thebest instruments to unite us to Jesus Christ. All evils, or apparentevils, are great blessings when they unite us to our All in All. Ipray God, to sustain him. His sufferings only increase my sympathy andlove for him in our Lord. My health is still feeble, but all is wellin the depths of my heart. God is there. 

REPROVE IN LOVE. 

It is important to use great care and sweetness in reproving others. Reprove only when alone with the person, and take not your own time, but the moment of God. As we are not free from faults ourselves, wemust not expect too much from others. Be yourself very humble andchild-like, and this character will act sympathetically on others. Jesus Christ was full of sweetness and charity. How patiently did hebear with his imperfect disciples, even with Judas, without anger, without bitterness, and even without coldness. 

How lowly was Jesus! He "did not break the bruised reed. " He impartsto his little ones no tyrannic power. They use no violence in dealingwith souls, but say with John, "Behold the _Lamb of God_, who takethaway the sins of the world. " Our Lord, "rejoiced in spirit, " in anunusual manner, such as we find nowhere else in Scripture, when hesaid, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thouhast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto_babes_. " How happy are we in the presence of a little child; how muchat ease! It imposes on us no burden of restraint, of fear, ofmanagement! It is in this childlike disposition of meekness, ofsweetness, of innocency, that we should seek to benefit others. 

In the love of Jesus, yours. 

SILENT OPERATION OF GRACE. 

I perceive, by your letter, you are in doubt about the grace whichpasses interiorly from heart to heart. We notice an illustration ofthis in the woman who touched our Lord, when he said: "I perceive thatvirtue is gone out of me. " In a similar manner, without words, oneheart may communicate grace to another heart, as God imparts grace tothe soul. But if the soul is not in a state to receive it, the graceof the interior is not communicated, as is expressed in anotherpassage; "If they are not children of peace, your peace will return toyou again. " This illustrates, according to my view, pure interiorcommunications of the grace of God, from heart to heart, which the soulrelishes in silence, and which silence is often more efficacious than amultitude of words. 

At our last interviews I had an inclination for silence, but finding inyou an aversion to silent communion, I entered into conversation, butwithout any interior correspondence on my part, and, evidently, withoutany benefit to you. God would teach you, my dear child, there is asilence of the soul through which he operates, filling it with theunction of grace, to be diffused on other hearts who are in a state ofreceptivity, often more efficacious than words to replenish the soul. 

We find this still harmonious action in nature. The sun, the moon, andstars, shine in silence. The voice of God is heard in the silence ofthe soul. The operation of grace is in silence, as it comes from God, and may it not reach and pass from soul to soul without the noise ofwords? O, that all Christians knew what if means to _keep silence_before the Lord!

LIMIT NOT YOUR SPHERE. 

Let me urge you, my child, to enlarge your heart; or, rather, suffer itto become enlarged by grace. This contraction shuts you up inyourself, and hinders an agreeable openness which we should evermaintain, even towards those who have no particular affinity withourselves. An open, frank exterior wins confidence. Let it notappear, that you have so much relish for yourself, as not to think ofothers. What seems to us a virtue is sometimes regarded by God as afault; and which we shall so perceive, when we have clearer light. 

You seem to mark out for yourself a certain sphere, and if you gobeyond it, you think you do yourself an injury. Thus, while you havean apparent movement, you are only describing a circle, whose centreand circumference is self. I entreat you, pass beyond the narrowbounds of self;--suffer yourself to be led out of self into the willand way of God. Thus you will be much more happy and useful. If Iloved you less, I should be less severe. 

Let God be the sovereign Master over our hearts, and instruct, andreprove, and operate in us, by himself, or through others, as pleaseshim. 

Adieu. God bless you, my child. 

SECRET OF DIVINE OPERATIONS UPON THE SOUL. 

Do not suppose, Dear Sir, that you are to be purified by great trialsand extraordinary events. All is accomplished in you by the supplenessof your will, --by the state of infancy. It must be so on account ofthe pride of your natural reason. God conducts the soul in a wayopposed to human philosophy. Hence the necessity of being reduced tothe state of infancy, and to the subjection of the will. What we callthe _death_ of the _will_, is the passage of our will into the will ofGod. This change implies not only a change in externals, but theinward subjection of the desires and sentiments of the heart. Heremost persons, who commence the religious life, stop short. They cannotsubmit to the interior crucifixion, which lays prostrate the whole ofthe natural carnal life, and consequently there follows a mingling ofthe spirit of the flesh with grace, and it is this which produces suchmonsters in the religious world. Do we not read in Scripture, that inconsequence of the alliance of the sons of God with the daughters ofmen, giants were born, who so filled the earth with wickedness, theydrew down a deluge of wrath upon the world? It is from this abominablealliance of the flesh with the spirit, that all those who appear in theworld, as "mighty men, men of renown, " are produced and sustained. Onemay be full of the natural life, while apparently dead to the externalthings of the world. Thus they are dead to inferior things, and alivein the most essential points--dead in name, but not in reality. 

By an authority as gentle as efficacious, God accomplishes his will inus, when we have surrendered our souls to him. The consent we give tohis operations, and our relish of them, is sweet and sustaining, inproportion to the perfection of our abandonment. God does not arrestthe soul with violence. He adjusts all things in such a manner, thatwe follow him happily, even across dangerous precipices. So good isthis Divine Master, so well does he understand the methods ofconducting the soul, that it runs after him, and makes haste to walk inthe path he orders. 

Suppleness of soul is, therefore, of vital consequence to its progress. It is the work of God to effect this. Happy are the souls, who yieldto his discipline. God renders the soul, in the commencement, suppleto follow illuminated reason; afterwards to follow the way of faith. He then conducts the soul by unknown steps, causing it to enter intothe wisdom of Jesus Christ which is so different from all its formerexperience, that without the testimony of divine filiation, whichremains in the soul in a manner hidden, and the ease and liberty thesoul finds in this unknown way, it would consider itself as beingseparated continually from God, being left, as it were, to act ofitself. Human wisdom being here lost, and the powers of the soulcontrolled by the wisdom of Jesus Christ, born in the soul, itincreases in its proportions, even unto the stature of a perfect man inChrist Jesus. 

The soul, having now passed into God, is in its proper place, and willbe happy, provided it remains fixed and separate from its former mannerof acting. 

Reason may at times oppose with all its strength, and cause some fears, some hesitations; but, being fixed in God, it is impossible for thesoul to change its course; and, after the experience of many uselesssufferings, having their origin in self, it suffers itself to be drawnin the current of love. There is now no more of violence to nature. The soul is in its natural state. The ease and naturalness of thisstate causes, at times, some fear, some anxiety. It is as much thenature of man, originally, and in his new creation in the likeness ofChrist, to be in God, and to be there in perfect enlargement, simplicity, and innocence, as it is the nature of water to flow in itschannel. When man is as he should be, his state is one of infiniteease and without limitations, because he is created sovereign, ormaster of himself, and cannot be subjected by anything created, although he is subjected to God, if that may be called subjection, which brings the soul into affinity with God, and makes it partaker ofhis nature. 

Be therefore persuaded, that God uses no violence in dealing with thesoul. This commotion in the soul, arises from the resistance of man'swill to divine operations. When the soul is disenfranchised of allthat is opposed to the will of God; when it is not arrested either bydesires or repugnancies, it runs without stopping or weariness in theway. This is what is called death, --death to self; but the soul wasnever so much alive; it now lives the true life, the life of God. 

When the soul becomes one with God by the loss of its own will andlife, it has purposes, and it is important to follow them; but they arepurposes in God, and have in them nothing of self. All that hasrapport to self is no more, and God is all. Being passed into God, thesoul is changed and transformed in him. This is what the mystics call_Resurrection_. But the word used in this way, does not bear its usualsignification. To resuscitate is to revive the former life. But inthis case, the will, or natural life is consumed, and gives place tothe will or life of God. Thus the Holy Spirit operates effectively inthe soul, transforming it into the likeness of the Son of God. 

Now the soul participates in the qualities of God, one of whichqualities, is that of communicating itself to other souls. Or rather, it is as a stream, which, being lost in a large river, follows thecourse of the river, communicating itself where the river communicates, watering where it waters, drawing into itself all the smaller rivers, which are destined alike to lose themselves in the great ocean of Love. These streams have no independent life, but proceed from, and flow backinto their origin. Here is the consummation of souls in oneness, asJesus Christ has expressed it, --"_One in us_. "

There is divine reality in this truth. Blessed are those whocomprehend it! How many walk side by side along these rivers, and yetnever mingle their waters! And many there are, also, who haste witheagerness, to precipitate themselves into this divine stream, and flowtogether, as the souls of the celestial ones, in the fulness of divinelove. 

This is not a chimera of the fancy; it is the wonderful economy ofdivinity. It is the end and object of the creation of the soul--theend and compass of all the efforts of God, regarding his creatures. Here is consummated all the glory, God derives from their existence. All beside are only the means approaching this final end, this glorioustermination, and absorption of the soul in Deity. Here is the lightwhich ravishes the soul. A light which does not precede, but followsthe soul in its progress; unfolding more and more, as a man in a darkcavern, discovers the concealed places, only when he has remained in itfor some time. 

This is the pure Theology in which God instructs the angels and thesaints. It is the Theology of Experience, that God teaches only to hischildren, who having abandoned their own wisdom, he has himself becometheir wisdom and their life. This is the law of wisdom, my friend, forus, --the way of the Lord in us. In him we are one. 

NO UNION WITH SELFISH SOULS. 

There are some souls which cause me great suffering. These are selfishsouls, full of compromises, speculations and human arrangements, anddesiring others to accommodate themselves to their humors andinclinations. I find myself unable to administer in the least degreeto their self-love; and when I would be a little complaisant, a Master, more powerful than myself, restrains me. I cannot give such personsany other place in my heart, than God gives them. I cannot adaptmyself to their superficial state, neither respond to their professionsof friendship; these are very repulsive to my feelings. 

The love which dwells in my heart, is not a natural love, but arisesfrom a depth which rejects, what is not in correspondence with it, orrather what is not in unison with the heart of God. I cannot be with achild without caressing it, nor with a child-like soul without a tenderattachment. I do not regard the exterior, but the state of the soul;its affinity and oneness with God. The only perfect union, is theunion of souls in God; such as exists in heaven, and on earth after theresurrection, life takes effect in the soul. 

NEVER YIELD TO DISCOURAGEMENT. 

Do not be disheartened, my friend, on account of your slow progress. Along martyrdom is sometimes necessary, in order to purify our soulsfrom the concealed faults of self-love--faults interwoven in ournature, and strengthened by long indulgence. As you cannot control atonce the agitations of nature, arm yourself with patience, toaccomplish the task little by little; not in the way of direct effort, but rather by ceasing from effort, remaining quiet, permitting neithergestures nor words to betray your feelings. 

Could we enter into the highest state of grace, as we enter into aroom, it might be easily accomplished. But alas! the door is straight, and there are many deaths to pass; in a word, death to self. It isthis long martyrdom, or dying of the old man of sin, which causes allthe pains of the interior life. It is rare to find persons, who arewilling to die entirely to self, and therefore few reach the higheststate of grace. 

Have good courage. It is a great work to draw a large ship from hermoorings, but when she is in the waters, how easily she rolls! Whathappiness, when by perseverance, you have triumphed over nature, tofind yourself in the abundant waters of grace! I pray God to put hisown hand to the work. He will. 

In Him, devotedly yours. 

WEAKNESS AND IMPERFECTION. 

I reciprocate your friendship, madam, with all my heart. Our divineMaster knows how happy I am to serve you in any possible way. Oh!madam, it is better to be feeble, when God leaves us in our weakness, than to have a strength which is our own. I once thought, that thepure soul was free from all faults, but I now see otherwise. Godclothes his children with frailties, that they may be humble in theirown eyes, and be concealed from the eyes of the world. The Tabernaclewas covered with the skins of the beasts, while the Temple of Herod wasornamented with gold. Let us not afflict ourselves on account of ourlittleness and infirmities, since God so orders it, but become aslittle children. When a little child falls, it cannot raise itself, but lets another do for it all that it needs. 

It does not depend on ourselves to make the presence of God more orless sensible. Let the desire for a lively sense of this presence, becrucified to the will of God. Take what is given you. Be as thelittle child, who eats and sleeps and grows. God gives you the bestnourishment, although not always the sweetest to the taste. Adieu! myheart sympathises with you. 

ADVANCEMENT. 

During the process of the soul's purification and advancement, it losessight not only of itself, but of all things else; except God; and evenof the distinct apprehension of our Lord, in his humanity. That is, there are no longer distinct, bounded views and perceptions of Christ, the soul becoming identical with Christ. This is necessary in order todraw the soul into oneness with God. Let all go in the divine order. When the soul has returned to its end and origin, and is lost in God, it finds all it lost, without going out from God. 

When the soul is yet in itself, it draws all things to itself, and seesGod and all creatures in itself. But when the soul is in oneness withGod, it carries all creatures with it in God, and sees nothing separatefrom God. Seeing all in God, it sees all things in the true light, aswith the eye of God. This is what David calls, "Seeing light in thylight. "

May God give you understanding of what I say, and docility andacquiescence in the truths, which he causes to penetrate your soul. Imake no reserves, but express freely all my thoughts. The leastreserve for self, is as a strong breath against a mirror, it obstructsthe view of God. My soul, it seems to me, is clear and transparent, reflecting only what the Master presents; and the execution of his willrenders the soul always increasingly pure and transparent. May God beall in all to you. 

GREATNESS OF SPIRITUAL POVERTY. 

Do not measure yourself by others, who may not be led as you are. Godchooses to enrich some souls with brilliant gifts, but he has chosenyou, stripped of all, in the depths of spiritual poverty. This is theperfect self-renouncement, without which, one cannot be the disciple ofthe Lord Jesus. All other states, however elevated they may be, areinferior to this pure, naked state of the soul. It is a state, whichdespoils the lover of all he possesses in favor of his Beloved. It isa state in which the soul is shielded from all inroads of the enemy;who can reach only what remains of self in the creature, and not whatis enclosed in God. 

God has chosen you for himself alone. You are the sanctuary, which isopen only to the high priest, in which is contained the ark of thecovenant--the essential, will of God--the sacred place, encompassed bythe clouds, where the glory of God appears. Oh! blessed poverty ofspirit, in which state the soul is enriched with the best gifts a Godcan bestow!

Measure not your advancement by relation to the road passed over, butby rapport to the end. There yet remains a great road to pass over, since God himself is the way. 

The more fully you enter into his designs, the more I love you. 

ASSISTANCE RENDERED BY ONE SOUL TO ANOTHER. 

The interest I feel in your spiritual welfare, my dear F. , is verygreat--so deeply absorbing, that I slept but little during the pastnight, presenting you in prayer before our Lord. I have an inwardconviction, that God is enriching your heart by my humbleinstrumentality; thus, while he elevates you on one side, he debasesyou on the other, by communicating his grace through so unworthy achannel as myself. The Spirit has revealed to me your state, when Ihave received no intelligence from you. God has thus ordered it, forhis own glory; and when many years hence, this method of God'soperations will be better known--the assistance rendered by one soul toanother, without the mediation of the body--the use he has made of thisfeeble instrument to communicate to you his grace, will serve tosubstantiate this divine truth and heavenly mode of operation. 

There is therefore for you, a means of interior advancement, which nodistance of place can interrupt. It will be only from lack ofcorrespondence on your part, that it will be diverted. God desires it, at least for a time, until your soul is entirely in union with himself. This method of communication is only a superior fountain dischargingitself into another; or, as two rivers bearing each other to the samesea. 

Receive then this poor heart in the fulness of Christ's love, andbelieve me, no one can be more fully united to you than I am. 

SIMPLICITY AND POWER OF THE WORD. 

You enquire, my friend, why I do not use obscure terms andextraordinary expressions, in explaining the Scriptures. My Lordteaches me, that while there are no writings so profound as theGospels, there are none so simple. And further, that simplicity ofsoul gives simplicity of expression. When we speak of a state beyondour experience, we do so with difficulty, and have recourse to learningto aid us, and use forced expressions. 

In the natural, simple expressions of Scripture, there are deepsentiments, adapted to the wants of each soul--to those less and moreadvanced. 

The word of God enters the centre of the soul; it has a penetratingquality; an operative efficiency. No words of man can produce the sameeffect; at least, none but such as come from souls, who are purechannels of the word of God. It is the good pleasure of our Lord, toexpress and reproduce himself upon the self-abandoned soul. Who doesnot admire the profound mystery of the creation of the world, where Godproduced all things by his word? When God created man, he formed himof the dust of the earth--the lowest form of matter--made of dust, thathe might not rob God of his glory! But man thus created, received _thespirit_--the breath of the Word. This dust of the earth became theliving breath of God. When Jesus Christ is formed in the soul, heimparts not only a clear understanding of the word, but is himself theWord, reproduced in the soul. Those only in whom Christ dwells, fulfill the word, or have the word accomplished in them. Such only areable fully to interpret the word. It is not learning which bestexplains the truths of God, but the reproduction of these truths in thelife---the experience of them. 

FORGETFULNESS OF SELF. 

I cannot compliment you, dear sir, and I am persuaded, that you willexpect from me, only the simplicity of the Christian. This simplicityleads me to say, only what our Lord gives me. You need more of thissimplicity. The frequent self-returns you make, dwelling so much onyour unworthiness, although it may have the appearance of humility, isonly a refined self-love. True simplicity regards God alone; it hasits eye fixed upon him, and is not drawn towards self; and it is aspleased to say humble as great things. 

All our uneasy feelings and reflections, arise from self-love, whateverappearance of piety they may assume. The lack of simplicity inflictsmany wounds. Go where we will, if we remain in ourselves, we shallcarry everywhere our sins and our distresses. If we would live inpeace, we must lose sight of self, and rest in the infinite andunchangeable God. These self-returns have a tendency to establish thesoul more and more in itself, and hinder it from running into its greatoriginal. But it is to this, God is calling you. You withhold fromGod the only thing he desires--_the possession of your heart_. Thetime is short; wherefore spend it in the compass and surroundings ofself? The single eye sees only God. You act as a person who beingcalled before a king, instead of regarding the king and his benefits, is occupied only with his own dress and appearance. God wishes todisarrange you--to destroy self; and you wish to preserve what he woulddestroy. Be more afraid of self than of the evil one. It is thespirit of Satan to exalt self above God, and this spirit is fostered bythese continual returns you make upon your own doings and misdoings, which leaves no place in your mind for the occupation of God. 

DIVERSITY OF MEANS OF SANCTIFICATION. 

Although there are impenetrable mysteries in God's dealings with souls, in order to promote their sanctification, it is true that each soul, aside from the ordinary means, common to all, has a specific training, and this method of the divine order can alone accomplish the work. Themeans that sanctifies another may not sanctify you. You, my friend, will not be led by great crosses and severe sufferings, but in the wayof helpless infancy. The child-like, yielding soul is necessary foryou; therefore God has chosen a child, myself, to be your helper. Forget yourself as the man to whom many eyes are turned, and become thelittle, helpless one, who cannot take care of itself, but lets anothercare for it. The pride, presumption and vanity, of the natural man, must give place to the littleness and simplicity of the child. Saysour Saviour, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, yecannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. " O, when shall we learn thatit is littleness, and not greatness, that God requires of his child!

God has given me a maternal yearning for your soul. I sympathizedeeply in your wants and burdens. Be assured, the eyes of the God ofLove are upon you. I entreat you, yield to the influences which are inoperation to restore your soul to God. I can offer no apology for myletter; for in all things, I obey my Lord. 

COMFORT IN AFFLICTION. 

I assure you, Dear Sir, I sympathize deeply in your afflictions. Withall my heart I present you before our Lord. I have prayed, and stillpray, that if you are called to participate in the sufferings of JesusChrist, you may partake also of his patience and submission. You willfind the Lord at all times near your heart, when you seek him by asimple and sincere desire to do and suffer his will. He will be yoursupport and consolation in this time of trouble, if you go to him, notwith fear and agitation of spirit, but with calm, confiding love. 

Jesus said to the blind man, whose eyes he anointed with clay, "Go washin the waters of Siloam"--waters soft and tranquil. O, that you mightexperience the abiding peace which Christ gives. O, that you mightbecome reduced to the simplicity of the little child! It is the childwho approaches the nearest to Jesus Christ. It is the child whom hetakes in his arms and carries in his bosom. O, how lovely, howattractive, is child-like simplicity! May the sufferings you are nowexperiencing, render you, child-like and submissive to all the will ofyour Father. My ill health forbids my writing more fully. God lovesyou, and you are very dear to me in him. Amen. Jesus, help. 

BEARING FRUIT IN UNION WITH CHRIST. 

God has united my soul to yours in the oneness of his own nature, andwhen all the obstructions on your part are removed, you will realizethis same divine union. "We have many masters, as said St. Paul, butonly _one Father in Christ_. " This Father unites himself to us by theimpartation of his own nature, and from this communication, of himselfto the soul, proceeds our spiritual paternity; or the power by which wecommunicate to others what we receive from him. We are not alwayssensible how this power, or aid we render others, is imparted. In someindividuals it is more manifest than in others. It always adaptsitself to the subject who receives it. All the gifts and graces of thespirit are either more sensible and apparent, or more spiritual andinward, according to the power of receptivity in the individual. 

It seems to me that when I am with you, there is only a simple, imperceptible transmission from my soul to yours. You do not perceiveany marked results, and they are not great, because you are not in astate to receive much, and often interrupt me by speaking, which causesin me a vacillation of grace. If we were together some considerabletime without distraction, you would perceive more marked results. Itis the desire of God that there should be, between us, perfectinterchange of thoughts, of hearts, of souls;--a flux and reflux, suchas there will be when souls are new-created in Christ Jesus. Atpresent, my soul in rotation to yours, is as a river which enters intothe sea, to draw and invite the smaller river to lose itself also inthe sea. 

This truth, --the fruitfulness of souls who are in God, whereby theycommunicate grace, --however much it is rejected, is, nevertheless, atruth. This flux and reflux of communication, like the ebbing andflowing of the great ocean-current, is the secret of the heavenlyhierarchy, and makes a communication from superior orders toinferior, --and of equality, between angels of the same order. 

During all eternity, the communication of God the Father, and the Son, to angels and saints, and their reciprocal communication to each other, will be a well-spring of blessedness. The design of God, in thecreation of men, has been to associate to himself living beings, towhom he could communicate himself. He could create nothing greaterthan likenesses of himself. All the splendor of angels and saints, isbut light reflected from God. 

God could not see himself reflected in saints, without theirparticipating of these two qualities, fruitfulness and reciprocalcommunication. In this life all perfection consists, in that whichmakes the consummation of this same perfection in heaven, No one can beperfect, if he is not perfect _as_ the Father in heaven is perfect;that is, partaking of his nature. 

Jesus Christ is the Father of souls; his generation, or the souls thatare begotten of him, are eternal in their nature as he is. The figure, "giving us his flesh to eat, " is the nourishment he gives the soul incommunication with himself; or himself reproduced, or begotten in us. The eternal Word is the essential, undying life of the soul. 

DESOLATE STATE. 

Believe me, dear madam, I take a deep interest in your spiritualwelfare, and I earnestly hope your confidence in God will not fail, onaccount of your present desolate state. As the winter plunges stilldeeper the roots of the trees in the earth, so the wintry state of thesoul plunges it deeper in humiliation. Remember the confidence of Job, "Although he slay me, I will trust in him. " Although stripped of allconsolation, and left in the desolation of nothingness, you may yetrejoice in God--out of, and separate from, self. Let the earth bestripped of her foliage; let neither flowers nor fruit appear; yet _Godis_, therefore you may be happy. The mother loves to sacrifice herselffor her child, and finds her life in what affords it happiness; thusdie to self, in relation to God. 

When your weaknesses rise up before you, when you would weep over someerror in judgment, or some unguarded expression, do as the littlechild, who having fallen into the mud, carries its hands to its mother, who cheerfully wipes them, and consoles him after the fall. Can younot believe God loves you, as much as you love the little one enfoldedin your arms? Does he not say, "A mother may forget, yet I will neverforget thee!"

The discovery of your weakness and emptiness, is an evidence of God'slove; and while it is ground for humiliation, it is also ofthanksgiving. When it pleases God to fill this void with his grace, itis cause of thankfulness; but if we realized at all times thisfullness, we should be in danger of appropriating the grace of God toourselves. Thus, our times of desolation are necessary, and we shouldaccept them joyfully, as a portion of the bread our father gives us. 

Yours in tender sympathy. 

SELF-ABANDONMENT. 

The death of self is not accomplished at once. It is for some time aliving death. Its opposite, spiritual life, is represented byEzekiel's vision of the dry bones. First, the bones were rejoined;afterwards covered with sinews; then the flesh appeared; and finally, the spirit of the Lord animated them. When the soul begins to inclinetowards God, it finds many obstructions; but in proportion as we yieldto the will of God, these obstructions are removed. The followingsimile will help to illustrate my idea. The rivers empty themselvesinto the sea; before they lose themselves there. Wave by wavefollowing its course, seems to urge onward the river, to lose itself inthe sea. God imparts to the soul some waves of pure love, to urge onthe soul to himself; but as the river does not lose itself in the sea, until its own waters are exhausted, so the soul reaches God, and losesitself in God, only when the means of supply from self are at an end. As the waves, which are precipitated into the sea, roll many timesbefore they are lost in the sea, so the soul undergoes many changes, before it is received into God. 

The results of self-crucifixion are happy, because God then becomes allto the soul. We lose self, and substitute God in its place. We takeaway the finite, and receive the Infinite. This is blessed. 

NO DEPENDENCE ON INSTRUMENTS. 

What shall I say regarding the state in which you find yourself, inrelation to me? I have no movement either to promote our re-union, orhinder it. Let God direct. Are you leaning upon him, or upon thecreature? If on the creature, it is a bruised reed, which will failyou. God sometimes makes use of instruments, whom he finds itnecessary afterwards to reject. If he designs to remove me from you, can I have any wish to retain you? God forbid. He may design thisseparation, to make you die to any confidence in the creature. He mayno longer design to use me for your benefit. I might have mingled myown impurity, with his pure light flowing through me. If God permit meto err, it is on account of my pride. I have never given you anyassurance of my infallibility. What am I but an erring creature?Leave me, leave me, and unite yourself only to God, who will nevermislead you. Means are good, only in the order of God. They injureus, if we rest in them. If God remove me from you, acquiesce in hiswill, with a devotion worthy of a child of God. Be humble, andcourageous enough to own your fault, in leaning on an arm of flesh. Men of the world may be obstinate, but the child of God should besupple. Whatever separation there may be between us, believe me, youwill always be dear to me in our dear Lord. I hope, when you are lostin him, you will find this little drop of water, (myself) in the samegreat ocean of love. 

CHILD OF GOD SOON TO DIE. 

I have had a presentiment that you would not survive this illness. Ilose in you the most faithful, and the only friend on whom I couldrely, in the persecutions which threaten me. I feel my loss, butrejoice in your happiness, I could envy you. Death only lends ahelping hand to rend away the veil, which hides infinite beauties. OurLord has strongly cemented our souls. May the benediction of thedivine Master rest upon you. Go, blessed soul, and receive therecompense prepared for all those, who are wholly the Lord's. Go, weseparate in the name of the Lord; I cannot say a last adieu, for weshall be forever united in him. I hope, in the goodness of God, to bepresent with you in heart and spirit, at the time of your departure, and to receive with you, the divine Master who is waiting for you. Bemy ambassador in the courts above, and say to him I love him. 

UNION OF SOULS IN GOD. 

The assurance you give me of the union of your soul with mine, is agreat consolation. It is a union to which my heart fully responds, notin a way of emotional transport, but in the depths of peace; there isnothing of nature in it. It is a union in Jesus Christ. We are one ina sense of our lost condition, and one in self-abandonment. Oh!blessed oneness with Christ, where all evils perish; and there remainsonly the casualties inseparable from the state of humanity. Howwonderful is this operation--the sacred mingling of a poor creaturewith its God, where all the evils of our fallen nature, are removedfrom the depths of the soul, and the soul, in its elemental being islost in its original! There all the little ones are united inHim, --these little drops of water reassembled in the divine ocean! Howswiftly do the streams embrace each other, and flow into one channel, when the obstructions are removed! When souls become pure in JesusChrist, they flow into one another with the same rapidity. Purity ofsoul consists in an entire separation from self, and re-union with God. The soul _can_ return to self; it has the power, and therefore is notinfallible. 

Our union, my dear friend, is independent of the relish or disrelish ofall created things and events. You could not be separated from mewithout being separated from God; for it seems to me, that I am onewith him, and inseparable, and you are the same; and thus, we are onein Him, and one with each other. 

Ever yours, in the heart of Jesus. 

SECRET OPERATIONS OF GRACE. 

My heart has been tenderly united to you, during all my bodilysufferings. In proportion as the outward man has been reduced, Godseems to be more the life of my soul. Although the operations of Godupon your soul may be less marked than formerly, they are no less real. There is a secret fire in your heart, which burns continually, althoughimperceptibly. This keen and continual operation enfeebles you, because it consumes so rapidly the more sensible and marked operationsof the soul. This is, I apprehend, your ordinary state; withoccasionally the unction of the oil of grace poured upon the concealedfire, to give you a sweet and clear manifestation of the lovingpresence of God. 

You bear two marked results of the divine presence--interiorrecollection, and a continual _amen_ in your heart; a true and justresponse to all God's dealings with your soul. 

I realise a very close union with you. This union is not in theemotions, and not in the will of man, but in the will of God. It is aunion, from which I could no more separate myself, than from God; it isa fulfillment of the prayer of our Lord, "that they may be one, as weare one. " It is a union which death cannot interrupt, but willsubstantiate more and more fully in God. 

Ever yours, in our Lord. 

TO A YOUNG FRIEND. 

You are very dear to me, my child. Do not think I have forgotten you. God alone can render you happy. Give yourself wholly to him, nevermore to take yourself back. Love him with all your heart. Retireoften within the closet of your heart to commune with God. Do not prayto him in a constrained and formal manner, but all simple and natural. God loves better the affectionate language of the heart, than, the coldand discursive thoughts of the intellect. The prayer of love softensthe heart. 

Do not shrink from your ordinary duties. We are often more united toGod, in our daily avocations, than in retirement. The reason is, ourgood Father holds us more closely, when we are most exposed totemptations. Endeavor to maintain, at all times, harmony and onenesswith God. You have only to abandon yourself wholly to divine love, andperform all the duties that devolve upon you. Do not be restive, andthus mar God's beautiful design and operation upon your soul. Place inhis bosom of rest, all your inquietudes, and allow him to carry you, asa little child is borne by its mother. This little one has only toregard, lovingly, the smiles of its tender mother. 

God will give you a wise discernment as to food and drink, and all thepleasures of life. He calls us to a temperate life, but not to a lifetoo austere. We should avoid the _too much_ and the _too little_ ineating and drinking. 

I pray our divine Lord, to enlighten, strengthen and comfort your heart. 

LETTER TO HER SPIRITUAL GUIDE. 

The state in which I find myself, my Father, takes away from meentirely, the liberty to address you any longer as my Spiritual Guide. I realize so great a detachment from all things, that there remains inme only a triumphant, dominant love, which acknowledges no master butLove. It is my experience, that the closer the union of the soul withGod, the more it is separated from all dependence on the creature. Ifind also, that the secret operations of divine love upon the soul, cannot be expressed. These operations do not consist in sweet andflattering expressions, neither in consolations, in the ordinary way, but in the discovery of mysterious truths; truths, which give soprofound a knowledge of God, that the soul can find no language to giveexpression to these views. 

To speak, and to act, is the same thing with God. "He spake, and itwas done. " When the divine Word operates in the soul, without anyobstruction, the soul becomes what this Word wills it should become. When Mary Magdalene was made whole, it was no more Mary Magdalene, butJesus Christ, who lived in her. St. Paul says, "I live, yet not I, Christ liveth in me. " In the same manner, the Word is incorporatedinto my soul. 

Some time since, there was given me a view of the States of Mary, themother of our Lord. I was alone in my chamber, and my soul wascompletely filled with divine love. The divine Word seemed to saywithin me, "I will show thee the chief work of my hands, --a perfectnothing in itself, --the heart of Mary. " In this manner was conveyed tome, the inexpressible love of God for men--his operation in pure souls. It was shown me, that her silence and acquiescence in the will of God;her entire self-crucifixion and hidden life were worthy of imitation;and that this same love which had operated so powerfully upon thissoul, emptied of self, desired to draw other souls also to her states, and to make an effusion of the same grace and love in them, as in her. O divine love! how great are thy wonders, how marvellous thy operationson human hearts! My soul is lost in the depths of thy secret wonders!Silence, silence--only silence!

I write to you, my Father, for the last time, to bid you a final adieu. I can no longer listen to any other teachings, than this divine Word ofeternal Truth, which is spoken in the depths of my heart. But howeverfar separated from you, in the relation of Director, you are very nearand dear in the affections of my heart; in that pure love, which isalone the operation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

GLORY OF GOD THE ONE DESIRE. 

What have we to desire in heaven and on earth, only the glory of God?But it is necessary to desire the glory of God as he desires it. Hewho has absolute power over the heart of man, has a plan of operations;he does all things in their time; he waits until the hour is come. Incoming into the world, our Lord could have converted the world at once, and destroyed all its vices; but the economy of his wisdom did not sodirect. When I hear our Lord say, "_Mine hour is not yet come_, " andwishing neither to advance nor retard, for a moment, the hour that hisFather had appointed, I am plunged into my nothingness. We are onlyinstruments in his hands, which he may lay aside, or use according tohis good pleasure. We should be so dead to self, as to be indifferent, whether he makes use of us or not. 

Remain, therefore, my dear friend, in the hand of God. Let himaccomplish in you, and by you, all his good pleasure, whether to castdown, or build up. God knows how much I love you. 

SPIRITUAL UNION AND AID. 

Spiritual union, is a state of the soul very clear in my perception, although I may not be able to give you a definite impression of thisstate. In order to benefit you, it became necessary for me to enterinto your state, to have an experimental knowledge, an endurance andsuffering of the same state. By this experience I have been broughtinto closer relation to God, partaking more fully of the Christ-likenature by being rendered capable of bearing the infirmities of others. And I have had, also, a clearer idea of that quality of God, whereby hemultiplies holy souls, by the communication of himself. In thisexperience, the soul appears to be in God, and God in her, as firstcause, drawing and penetrating the soul nearest to himself, and bypenetration, in this soul, drawing, through her instrumentality, manyother Souls. 

Although, by these powerful rays the soul itself may seem to penetrateand draw other souls, yet it is God who draws them by his efficiency;and he communicates this efficiency, most powerfully, to those inclosest contact with himself. So pure and transparent is this soul, that there seems to be no space between the first Mover and the soulsmoved by the agent or instrumentality. There is a difference betweenthe ray and the body of the sun, although it is difficult to separatethe ray from the sun. It is the divine ray, which is transmittedthrough this soul, as the natural ray through the medium of theatmosphere. These same rays, transmitted through many souls, and fromsoul to soul, unite them in one common centre, and thus the bond offiliation is complete in God. I may not express myself so as to beunderstood. May your light supply, what is wanting in clearness ofexpression. 

LIVE IN THE PRESENT. 

Do not expect, my dear E. , that the will of God will be made apparentto you in any extraordinary way. The most remarkable events occurnaturally. It was by an order of the Emperor, that Joseph, being ofthe house and lineage of David, went to be taxed at Bethlehem, wherethe holy child Jesus was born. The fountain of water was near toHagar, when she laid down the child to die with thirst. Behold God, myfriend, in the present arrangement of his providence for you, andsubmit wisely to passing events. He sees the end from the beginning, and plans wisely for his children. O, how good to submit our limitedview to his far sight, reaching through time and eternity!

Remember, the present moment comes to you, as the moment of God. Useit for his glory, and every succeeding moment. Thus the presentbecomes the eternal moment, for which we must render account to God. May God be All in All to us in every passing moment, now and forever. 

HOW TO ADMINISTER REPROOF. 

A single word, spoken in the spirit of Christ, with humility andsweetness, will have more weight, in correcting others, than many wordsuttered in our own spirit. The reason is this: when passion mingleswith correction, although the truth may be spoken, Jesus Christ doesnot coöperate with us. Therefore, the person is not corrected by whatwe say, but, being opposed to the manner of correction, is moreconfirmed in the evil. In proportion as Jesus Christ speaks by us, without us, or without the minglings of self, his word is efficacious, and turns the heart of the person to whom we speak, to receive what wesay. I know there are some who resist, knowingly, _his_ word, but ourpassionate zeal does not correct them. 

It is important to wait the moment of God to collect others. We maysee real faults, but the person may not be in a state to profit bybeing told their faults. It is not wise to give more than one canreceive. This is what I call _preceding_ the _light_, --the lightshines so far in advance of the person, that it does not benefit him. Our Lord said to his apostles, "I have many things to say to you, butyou cannot bear them now. "

The prophet says, the Lord carries his children in his arms, as anurse. A nurse could wish that the child could walk alone, but shewaits in patience the time. Let us do the same, and never discouragethe weak. Let us not destroy the good grain with the tares. Who doesnot admire "the long suffering patience of God?" And I may add to St. Paul's words, all unworthy as I am, and of those who admire it, how fewimitate it! If those to whom God has given so much grace, have so manyfaults themselves, with how much patience should they bear with thosewho are less favored. 

BEARING THE STATES OF CHRIST. 

During my late severe illness, a strong impression rested on my mind, that I was called to participate in the last sufferings of JesusChrist. The language of my heart was, I am ready, O, Father, to sufferall thy will! In thus yielding my heart, as Abraham when called tosacrifice his beloved Isaac, I realized a new bond of alliance withChrist, and these words, "I will betroth thee unto me forever, " was thevoice of the Bridegroom to my soul. 

When Paul said, "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus, " he didnot refer to any external marks in the flesh, but to bearing the statesof Jesus Christ. In David are expressed all the states of Christ, withthe difference only there is between the type and the original. Jobwas an eminent instance of being reduced to nothingness, and also ofexaltation by the favor of God. Those who pass through the furnace, and suffer with Christ, are prepared to wear the white robe, whichadorns the bride, the Lamb's wife. Their souls become thedwelling-place of the Most High. 

Are not those beautiful subterranean palaces, which we read of infable, and which are reached after crossing deep caverns, and so hiddenthat none can find them, only those to whom the secret is revealed, representative of the interior palace of the soul, where the Lordinhabits. "The king's daughter is all glorious within. "

OUR IMPERFECTIONS SHOULD NOT HINDER OUR LABORS FOR OTHERS. 

Although I am so weak and unworthy in myself, God uses me for the goodof others. The many defects of our temperament, should not hinder ourlabors in behalf of others. These faults have nothing to do with thegrace, which operates effectively on the souls for whom we labor. Godreveals himself, through the fathers and mothers in Israel, and thusincreases confidence in them; while, at the same time, their weaknessesforbid placing too much dependence on them. 

Although our Lord acquaints us with his designs regarding others, andthe aid we may render them, yet this should not give us the leastdesire to aid them, only in the order of his providence. Neithershould we be arrested in his work, although the souls we aid repulsethe effort. God will make good the results in due time. It impliesgreat death to self, never to put our hand selfishly to the work of theLord, as it does, also, never to go a step out of the path in which heleads us. When we mingle self, we retard, rather than advance, hiswork. Nature is so corrupt that it deeply infests spiritual things, and so subtle as to conceal itself under all artifices. 

I do not know why I have written you thus. God knows, and that issufficient. 

DEATH, RESURRECTION. 

This is no time to be disheartened. When the sinful lusts rebel, leavethem to their disorderly cravings. Let them cry, as a child from whomwe take away a dangerous yet pleasing toy. Strengthen yourself forcrosses and humiliations. You will soon be made alive in Jesus Christ. 

The extraordinary peace you have tasted, is the commencement of theresurrection-life. This peace is not invariable, because the new lifeis given little by little, yet, I assure you, it will soon fill yourwhole soul. As God has rapidly advanced inward death, and caused youto run, with a giant step, in the way of self-crucifixion, and this, notwithstanding all the oppositions of the carnal man, he will alsothus rapidly advance the resurrection. 

The loss, of all things of the earthly life, which follows theresuscitated life, will be deep and extended. The death and burialwhich precede the resurrection, cannot compare with that total loss, which follows the resuscitated life. This is something different, andin a new state. You will arise from the sepulchre, as the Spouse ofthe Beloved. 

All is consumed in myself, not in the ordinary way, but in a totalloss; so that there remains nothing which can be named or known. Itseems to me, the death of self is carried almost to infinity, it makesso many unknown steps. Since this morning, this unworthy creatureexperiences a still greater reduction of self than ever before. Die, live; lose yourself, and find yourself again; then you will haveexperience of this state. 

GRACE DEEPLY INTERIOR. 

While you perceive nothing sensible, or apparent, in your religiousstate, there is, at the same time, evidence to others of a hiddenspring of life within your soul. God does not give you the sweet rainwhich, falling, clothes all the surface of the soul with verdure, buthe gives you the deep well-spring, by which means you live andflourish, and produce, not herbs and flowers, which are born and die inthe same day, but substantial fruits, ripening for eternity. Davidsaid, the life of man upon the earth is as grass, which groweth up inthe morning, and withers in the evening. This refers to the naturallife, but it is also true of the selfish life of man. It flourishes inthe morning of the spiritual life, but no sooner does the sun ofrighteousness arise in his warmth, than this life withers and is cutdown. The righteous are as a tree planted by the rivers of water, whose leaf is always green. This is because the roots are well wateredby the deep-flowing current. 

God never ceases to operate in your heart. The calm, resigned state ofyour soul is proof of this. 

Take good care of your health. Do not labor beyond your strength. Godwill abundantly reward you for your labors of love in behalf of others. These are labors he never fails to recompense. I pray God, my dear F. , to preserve you for his work. I have many things to say, but Iforbear. Your time is precious. 

SELF-RENUNCIATION. 

God designs you, my friend, for himself, but he will lead you by a way, entirely opposed to what you have marked out. He does this in order todestroy your self-love. This is accomplished only by the overthrow ofall your purposes, preconceived views, natural reason and sagacity. Self-love has many hiding-places. God alone can search them out. Youseek the honor that cometh from man, and love to occupy a highposition. God wishes to reduce you to littleness, and poverty ofspirit. Believe me, dear sir, you will grow in grace, not by knowledgeacquired from books; not from reasonings upon divine truths, but by anefflux from God. This efflux will reach and fill your soul, inproportion as you are emptied of self. You are so much occupied ofyourself in speaking, reading and writing, that you give no place toGod. Make room, and God will come in. 

You speak of your many cares. If you will give yourself wholly to God, these cares will be greatly diminished. God will think for you, andarrange by his Providence, what you cannot effect by long years ofplanning. In the name of God, I entreat you to renounce your ownwisdom, your self-leadings, and yield up yourself to God. Let Himbecome your wisdom. You Will then find the place of rest, you so muchneed. 

May you read this letter, with dependence on the Spirit, which hasdictated it, and without regard to the instrument, and your heart willtestify to the truth of what I have written. Take courage, and bepersuaded that if God destroys the natural life, it is only to give youhimself. Endeavor to be nothing, that God may be all. When void, Godhimself fills the space. 

UNEXPECTED FAULTS. 

Yesterday, after I left the parlor, I uttered some words hastily, andsuffered very much in consequence; a suffering not like the pangs ofpenitence I formerly experienced, but more subtle and interior; and thesoul was more acquiescent. Whether it was the words I uttered tooprecipitately, or the reflections that followed, which caused thissuffering, I could not determine. A part of myself seemed to be thrownout of God, as we see the ocean reject certain things, which itreceives again more deeply into its bosom. Thus I seemed to myself tobe rejected, and without any power to make the least movement toreturn, and without even a regret that I was rejected. I was willingto remain where God placed me, until the moment he received me again tohimself. If I should afflict myself on account of this experience, which was new and unexpected, I believe it would be wrong, and sullystill more the soul. The depths of my soul remain unchanged--fixed inGod. He removes the impurity, that has exteriorly sullied it, andholds the soul still his own. 

APOSTOLIC STATE. 

I have read your letter, my dear F. , with great pleasure. The trueApostolic state is to become all things to all men; that is, to impartto each one spiritually, according to his necessities. Only those whoare reduced to littleness and simplicity, have this power ofcommunicating grace. They have also the ability to sympathise deeplyin the states of others; of bearing in some measure their burdens, andare sometimes in great heaviness on their account. This communicationof grace and aid, is not necessarily restricted to the personalpresence of the individual. We may be "absent in body, yet present inspirit, " after the manner of God's operations; and as the angelicpowers communicate to us. It is only by the enlightening of God'sSpirit, that we realise the state of those to whom we are spirituallyunited. 

Unity of souls is experienced, not only with those in the body, whohave affinity with ourselves, but also with those out of the body. Irealise with the holy prophet David, a correspondence and unity, whichrenders our souls one in God. You will experience this unity with thesaints more fully, when all perception of self is taken away. St. Paulsays, "_Ye are come_ to an innumerable company of _angels_--to the_spirits of just men made perfect_. " David was in the Old Testament, what Paul was in the New. They were both deeply interior Christians. The Apostles, after having received the Holy Ghost, spake alllanguages. This has also a spiritual meaning. They communicatedgrace, according to the necessities of each one. This is speaking theword--the efficacious word, which replenishes the soul. Thisnourishing, life-giving word is represented by the manna, and thereality is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is himself the bread oflife in the soul. Amen, Jesus!

PAINFUL EXPERIENCE. 

To-day my health is better, and I find myself able to reply to yourletter. Let the view of yourself that God gives you, be accepted, whether it relates to your fallen condition in general, or toparticular faults; but add nothing to this view by your ownreflections. These continual reflex acts of the mind, do not help you;they do not remove the faults. I am not surprised, that you find inyourself so many evils; evils which render you almost insupportable toyourself. When God accomplishes the work of purification, he removesall that is opposed to the divine inflowing life. 

These evils of your nature, which are now apparent, and which weredeeply concealed, are perceived by you, only because they are passingout from their hiding-places. All persons do not have so deep aknowledge of themselves; therefore do not suffer so much, because allare not destined to so profound a death and burial while in the body. Be silent, and drink the bitter cup. These humiliations will endureuntil your state is in some degree perfected; after which they willbecome more and more slight, and only at intervals, until the death andburial is consummated. 

ECSTACY OF THE MIND, AND THE WILL OR HEART. --THE DIFFERENCE. 

The intellectual part of man can be in some degree united to God; butthe soul loses itself in God, only by the loss of the will and by love. This loss of the will is the true ecstasy, which is a permanent state, and is effected without any violence to nature. When love is thecontrolling exercise, the will follows, and the soul is reduced tounity; as in the natural exercise of love, the stronger the love, thegreater the submission of the soul to the object beloved. Sacred lovedoes not bind parts, but draws it fully, until it is absorbed wholly inthis divine oneness. 

The mind may tend towards its divine object, with ardor, but the willnot concurring, causes dissonance and swooning, or impetuoustransports. I call this momentary ecstasy; it cannot long endurewithout separating the soul from the body. 

The difference between these two states is, as that of water, retainedin the air by a machine, and of a river, running naturally into thesea, as ordered by the grand Architect of the universe. Love, whichcarries the will in its train, changes the whole man; this is thedivine, the true ecstasy. This is what is called transformation, andloss of the soul in God. It is certain, however, that the creaturealways remains a being distinct from God. 

A VIEW OF SELF. 

The activity of the natural selfish life, is the greatest obstacle toyour progress. Allow of nothing which gives sustenance to this life. Be on your guard against applause. Applaud not yourself when you havedone well. Admit no reflections in regard to the good you haveaccomplished, so that all that nourishes self-complacency may die. 

Possess your soul in peace as much as possible; not by effort, but byceasing from effort; by letting go everything that troubles you. Bequiet, that you may settle, as we leave water to settle when agitated. When you discover your errors and sins, do not stop, under whatevergood pretext, to remedy them. Rather abandon yourself at once to God, that he may destroy, in you, all that its displeasing to him. I assureyou, you are not capable of yourself, to correct the least fault. Youronly remedy is abandonment to God, and remaining quiet in his hands. If you discovered the depth of inward corruption in your heart, yourcourage would fail! On this account, God conceals from us, in part, the view of our sins, and discovers them to us, only as he destroysthem. 

Rest assured, God loves you. He will take care of you. Have faith inhis love and mercy. You will see farther by and by. When you are introuble, do not fail to write me. Have good courage, and all will bewell. You are very dear to me in our Lord. 

STATE OF A SOUL IN UNION WITH GOD. 

Although, in the latter part of my life, I do not perceive those markedstates of abandonment and submission, neither of interior sorrows, suchas I formerly experienced, this does not prove that these distinctstates no longer exist; but the soul having become more fullyestablished in God, it makes less account of them, or is less affectedby external impressions. As pure flowing water leaves no trace whereit passes, so these _distinct_ states leave no durable impression. Thesoul seems to have lost its own qualities of resistance and aversion, and runs, without ceasing into its Original. It is on this account Icannot write so fully of my states of mind as formerly. My soul, inits depths, rests in God. "My peace, says Christ, _I give unto you_. "

I pray for the church; I mourn at times that God is so little known andloved; but these feelings are transient, and the soul is ready to takeany impression that God gives it. While it seems to have no consistencyof its own, so to speak, it adapts itself to the state of others withwonderful facility. Sometimes even relating amusing stories, tochildren, and to those who cannot be entertained in any other way. 

The soul, in this state of union with God, is sometimes permitted toforetell things to come, which appear very obscure to man, but whichare, nevertheless, infallibly true, because proceeding from God. Theknowledge of the event, and its full explanation, will come in thefulness of time. The soul is ready for anything; ready for nothing. Allthat is true comes from God; what is not true, from the creature. Thesoul does not seek to justify itself, nor produce humiliation, butpasses on, disregarding self, and absorbed in God. 

STATE OF REST IN GOD. 

If I do not reply to you, Dear Sir, as soon as you might expect, it isbecause I hold myself in reserve, until I have a movement to write, andnot from any want of regard to you. Relative to the distinct, voluntary acts of resignation, renouncement, it would be difficult, inmy present state, to make such acts, because such acts would seem toimply something of self-appropriation still remaining; whereas, I havegiven to my Sovereign, all that I am; and as far as I know, I havenothing more to give him. My soul is at rest in his will. 

It is the same in regard to prayer, or petitions. The soul having avery simple method of prayer, all other prayer seems foreign to it. When it would make a request, and as soon as the soul knows distinctlywhat it demands, there is something which goes before to accomplish it, without the utterance of words. When the soul utters words, or makespetitions, if the spirit accompanying approves, the prayer is made withease. If the spirit do not coöperate, the words are uttered withdifficulty, or not at all. God takes the place of self in the soul, and there prays for things agreeable to his will. This is a state ofthe soul, in which it has no desire to originate prayer, but loves tobe silent in the presence of God. This is an experience moresatisfactory than I am able to express. O, that all the earth knewwhat it means to keep silence before the Lord!

GREAT HUMILIATIONS. 

I have a clear discernment of your state. It seems to me, I see it insome measure as God sees it; that is, in the pure light of truth, --thereasons why you suffer, and the blessed results of these sufferings. Ihave known that the period of discipline would be long, and very long, because you suffer not only on your own account, but also for thebenefit of others. God destines you to accomplish great things for hisglory, and exterior humiliations in your case not being suited to hisdesigns, he makes use of concealed humiliations, known only to yourselfand God. I will repeat to you the words addressed by our Lord to St. Paul. "My grace is sufficient for thee; my strength is made perfect inweakness. "

It will be in companionship with humiliations, that you will be savedfrom falling into sin and error, and be prepared to be come a vesselfit for the Master's use. You will experience from time to time, areturn of these humiliating states, and when you may think they haveentirely passed away, they will suddenly revive. But the greater yourhumiliation, the more God will use you to perform his most excellentworks. In this state of entire self-reduction and humiliation, yourwords will be clothed with power. 

"I am come, " says our Lord, "to bring fire on the earth. " O martyr ofPure Love, --_a sacrifice_ for the good of others, what if the fires bealready kindled in your bosom, shrink not! If you were less to God, hemight spare you. 

Do not hesitate to speak to me of your sufferings, because it appearsto you useless. It is not so. If you speak of them in simplicity, your heart will be relieved, and strengthened. I know how tosympathise with you. God bless you. 

REPOSE OF THE SOUL IS GOD. 

Having given up myself wholly to God, and loving Him far better thanmyself, how can I find any opposition to his good pleasure? How can Ido otherwise than yield to one I love better than myself? How can asoul withdraw from the dominion of a Sovereign, that it loves with thewhole heart? "What can separate us from the love of God, in ChristJesus?" Although, while we remain in this life, there is a possibilityof sinning, and of separation from God, and it is true, that the soulremains in oneness with Him, only by the continuance of his mercy, andthat if he should leave it, it would immediately fall into sin, yet Icannot have the least fear, that my God will leave me, or that I shallever separate myself in any degree from his love. 

The creature can take no glory to itself, to whatever state it mayarrive. O that you might comprehend what I cannot express--the sense Ihave of the goodness of God, to keep what is his own! How jealous, howwatchful he is over the soul! God seems so truly all things to me, that I seem to see nothing, to love nothing, relish nothing, only whathe causes me to see, love and relish in himself. I am only capable ofloving and submitting to him, so much is he my life. I believe Godblindfold, without questioning or reasoning. _God is_; this issufficient. How immense is the freedom of the soul in him! O may younot doubt, that when all of self is taken away from the creature, thereremains only God. O God, can I have any self-interest, or appropriateaught as mine? In what can I take it? How strange the thought! how farremoved from the possession of God! I am lost. God is. 

POWER OF CASTING OUT EVIL SPIRITS. 

Although for many years, profound truths have been revealed to me, andGod has manifested his power through me, in an extraordinary manner, mystate has invariably been one of infancy, simplicity and candor. God'sgrace has rendered me equally willing to lie concealed, or to executehis will more publicly. During seven years, without my knowing how itwas accomplished, as soon as I have approached some persons, possessedby demons, the evil spirits have departed. I have realised simply adesire to relieve them, and this desire, or prayer, has been answeredin a way unknown to myself. Of myself, I have no goodness nor power atall. I have only the capacity of a child--of letting myself be used byGod, as pleases Him. My life appears natural. I am encompassed withinfirmities. My health is greatly impaired. My infirmities are abalance-wheel, a counterpoise to exaltation. Yet life is ever flowing, without any thought of the means of sustaining it, as we live in theair, without thinking of the air we breathe. 

STATE OF A SOUL RE-UNITED TO GOD. 

In reply to your enquiry, my dear children, concerning my state, Iwould say, that exteriorly, I am open, simple, childlike. My interiorresembles a drop of water, mingling and lost in the ocean, and no morediscerning itself, --the sea not only surrounding, but absorbing it. Inthis divine immensity, the soul discerns and enjoys all objects in God. All is darkness and obscurity in respect to itself; all is light on thepart of God. Thus, _God is all_ to me. This has been my state morethan thirty years, although in latter years I have realized greaterdepths in these experiences. Think of the bottomless sea; what isthrown therein, continues sinking, without ever reaching the end. Thusdivine love is the weight of the soul, that sinks it deeper and deeperin God. "God is Love, and he who dwells in love, dwells in God, andGod in him. " O immensity!

Jesus Christ, the embodiment of truth and love, has explained theScriptures by fulfilling them. So when the soul has passed into God, the Word is fulfilled in the soul, as it was in Christ. O Love! thouart thyself the pure, naked, simple truth, which is expressed, not byme, but by thyself, through me. Amen. 

CONCISE VIEW OF THE INTERIOR WAY. 

_The soul seeks God in faith not by the reasonings of the mind andlabored efforts, but by the drawings of love; to which inclinations Godresponds, and instructs the soul, which co-operates actively. God thenputs the soul in a passive state, where he accomplishes all, causinggreat progress, first by way of enjoyment, then by privation, andfinally by pure Love. _

What do we understand by the Interior way? It is to seek the kingdomof God within us. Luke 17, 21. We find this kingdom only where Godhas placed it, _within the soul_. It becomes necessary, then, towithdraw the eyes of the soul from external landmarks and observations, which man, in the pride of reason, has located around it, and rest theeye in faith, on the Word of the Lord, --"_Seek and ye shall find_. "This seeking, involves an interior activity of the soul; a desire, adetermination, and searching after what is hidden. 

When the soul has thus earnestly sought the kingdom of God within, thiskingdom is developed little by little. Interior recollection becomesless difficult, and the presence of God more perceptible and agreeable. Formerly it was supposed, that the presence of God was only the thoughtof God, and that it was necessary to force the mind--to concentrate thethoughts with violence to find God. This is true in some sense, but, as the soul cannot long endure this tension, and as the kingdom of Godis not found in the external vestments of the soul, but in its depths, this labor is of little avail. So little progress is made, the soulbecomes discouraged, and the evil one, who fears nothing so much as thereign of God in the soul, makes an effort to draw the soul toexternalities. 

In order to accomplish this object, he takes two methods, either byexcessive labors, persuading the soul that this is the way to find God, and thus choking the internal process of the interior life, or, by thistension of the mind, of which I have spoken. Neither of these methodsopen in the soul, the interior way. 

You reply, how, then, is this life accomplished? I answer, God, seeingthe heart of him who seeks him within, draws near to him, and teacheshim a just moderation in all things; and, by this retrenchment of allexcess in externals, the soul begins to perceive the peaceful kingdom. It realizes within itself a guide, who provides for its necessities, according to divine laws, who takes away the burdens that sin imposes;a guide who does not foster corrupt nature, nor forbid innocentpleasures. 

When the soul begins to perceive this kingdom, and that the Kinghimself is manifested in some degree, it thus communes, (and we maycall this the second step), O, my Beloved, I have sought thee with allthe strength of my heart, in the place where thou hast taught me toseek thee, and I have there found thee! Days and nights have I passedin seeking thee. All the desires of my heart go after thee. But now Ihave found thee. I pray thee to reign as Sovereign, to establish thineempire in my soul. I will do thy will alone. I will resign to theeall the right I have to myself; all that thou, by thy goodness, hastgiven to me. 

At this stage of progress, the soul ceases from self. Its work is toregard, lovingly, the operation of God, without a desire either toadvance it, or place any obstacle in the way of its progress. The soulhas been active, in the first stage, to destroy, with all its power, that which might hinder the kingdom of God within; and this was a greateffort; for habit had rendered interior recollection very difficult, and the powers of the soul did not easily reunite themselves in onecentre. 

Now the soul seeks no longer to combat the obstacles, which hinderedits return within, but lets God combat and act in the soul. Saying, itis time O, Lord, that thou shouldst take possession of thy kingdom! Doso, I pray thee, exclusively. I desire, on my part, only to observethine operation. 

This commencement of the reign of God, and of the passive way, is veryhighly relished by the soul. The soul passes days, and even years, separated from creature enjoyments without weariness. It advances verymuch more by this way, in little time, than by all the efforts of manyyears. It is not without faults and imperfections, but divine lovediminishes them little by little, or does not permit the soul to becomedisturbed by them, lest it become discouraged and its love hindered. This state is called passive love. The soul sees no cause to fear; itsupposes that all the work is done, and that it has only to pass intoeternity, and to enjoy this good Sovereign, who already gives himselfto the soul in so much fulness. 

But in the onward progress of the soul, it becomes no longer doubtful, whether the soul is to remain in the passive enjoyment of God and hiscommunications. The soul begins to feel a drawing, to let God not onlybe all things in the soul, but there to reign separate from the soul'senjoyment of his gifts. The soul now experiences what is called, bythe author of the Imitation of Christ, _the exile of the heart_. Ithears a voice in the depth of the soul, or, rather, has an impression, that God reigns there alone. This exile is at first very painful, forit is important to notice, that, from the commencement of seeking Godin the depth of the soul to the possession of him, there are manytrials, temptations, sorrows. _Every successive state is marked by apurifying process_. Persons often mistake, and take the firstpurification for the last. When God reigns alone in the soul, separatefrom the action of self, and self is destroyed, it is beyond anyprevious state. 

When the soul has ceased from its own selfish operations, and the manof sin is exterminated, its defects become more apparent, because Godwishes it to comprehend what it is by itself, and what it would bewithout him. The soul is thus afflicted, believing it has lost thevirtues, acquired with so much care, and seems to have faults that ithad not before perceived. It says, with the spouse in the Canticles, "I have washed my feet, how shall I sully them?" You do not perceive, O, soul beloved, that you do not sully them in going to "open to thespouse, " and that if you contract some slight impurity, he will removeit so perfectly, that you will become more beautiful. In the meantime, it is not the desire of the spouse to become beautiful in her owneyes, but to see only the beauty of her Lover. When the soul isfaithful in this state, and really desires to die to itself, she ispleased only with the beauty of her Beloved, and says his beauty shallbe my beauty. But it is necessary to advance beyond this, for, afterbeing despoiled of her beauty, it would be a selfishness much greaterto appropriate to herself, the beauty of her Beloved. His beauty mustremain untarnished, unappropriated by her; she must leave him all, andremain in her nothing, for the nothing is her proper place. This isPerfect Love, which regards God alone. 

SELECTIONS FROM HER POETRY. 

A LITTLE BIRD I AM. 

 "A little bird I am, Shut from the fields of air; And in my cage I sit and sing To Him who placed me there; Well pleased a prisoner to be, _Because, my God, it pleases thee_. 

 "Nought have I else to do; I sing the whole day long; And He, whom most I love to please, Doth listen to my song; He caught and bound my wandering wing, But still he bends to hear me sing. 

 "Thou hast an ear to hear; A heart to love and bless; And, though my notes were e'er so rude, Thou wouldst not hear the less; Because though knowest as they fall, That Love, sweet Love, inspires them all. 

 "My cage confines me round, Abroad I cannot fly; But, though my wing is closely bound, My heart's at liberty. My prison walls cannot control The flight, the freedom of the soul. 

 "Oh! it is good to soar, These bolts and bars above, To Him whose purpose I adore, Whose Providence I love; And in thy mighty will to find The joy, the freedom of the mind. "

GOD EVERYWHERE, TO THE SOUL THAT LOVES HIM. 

 "Oh! Thou by long experience tried, Near whom no grief can long abide; My Lord! how full of sweet content, _I pass my years of banishment_. 

 "All scenes alike engaging prove, To souls impressed with sacred love; Where'er they dwell, they dwell in Thee, In Heaven, in earth, or on the sea. 

 "To me remains nor place nor time, My country is in every clime, I can be calm and free from care On any shore, since God is there. 

 "While place we seek, or place we shun, The soul finds happiness in none; But with a God to guide our way, 'Tis equal joy to go or stay. 

 "Could I be cast where Thou art not, That were indeed a dreadful lot; But regions none remote I call, Secure of finding God in all. 

 "My country, Lord, art Thou alone; No other can I claim or own; The point where all my wishes meet, My law, my love; life's only sweet. 

 "I love my God, but with no love of mine, For I have none to give; I love thee, Lord; but all the love is thine, _For by thy life I live_. I am as nothing, and rejoice to be Emptied, and lost, and swallowed up in thee. 

 "Thou, Lord, alone, art all thy children need, And there is none beside; From thee the streams of blessedness proceed; In thee the bless'd abide. Fountain of life, and all-abounding grace, Our source, our centre, and our dwelling-place. "