Chapter 41

That not only the glory of our Lord doth shine in the humble things, of God, which our Faith teacheth, but also our own great profit, our strength, and virtue.

NOT¹ only doth the honour of God, shine after an excellent manner, in the works of his humanity, and humility; but from thence also, doth result the great profit, and glory of man; whom nothing doth so much exalt, as that God, hath put himself into Brotherhood with him. Nor is there any thing, which doth so much strengthen his hart, against the swooning afflictions which sin causeth in it; as to see, that God died, for the remedy thereof; and that he gave himself to man, as his own. Nor is there any thing, which can so move him to love God, as to see himself beloved by him, even to the death; nor to make a man despise prosperity, or suffer adversity, nor to humble himself to God, and to his Neighbour; nor indeed to any good thing, be it great or small, as to see God abased, & humaned, & that he was pleased, to pass through these things; giving us commandments to perform; examples to behold; and strength to go through. And since this way of remedying our humility, and baseness, turneth more to the glory of God, and to the good of men; it is a sign, that this is a work of God; since in that which God worketh, he pretendeth the manifestation of his own glory, and man's good. And therefore he that either denyeth this work, or hindereth it, is an enemy of God, and of all mankind. Since thereby he will deprive God of the greatest honour, which, by his works, can come to him; and man of the greatest glory and benefit, that can be imagined. And since he declareth himself, as an enemy both to God and man, it is but reason, that he be punished, and that with eternal death in hell. And the answer that he will be able to give, when God shall ask him this question. Why² didst thou not believe those high things of me? must be this, Because, O Lord, they seemed so high to me, that I did not think thou hadst been so high. And being asked, why he did not believe those mysteries of his humanity and humility, since they were the testimonies of his goodness & of his love, he must answer, That he did not think the love, and goodness of our Lord, to have been so great, that he could find in his hart, to do, and suffer so much for the love of men. So that he stumbleth both upon the high and upon the low. And the root of all, is, because he thinketh basely of God. And that he took his height, and his goodness to be a limited kind of thing. Which root, and that which proceeds thereof, shall justly burn in the fire of hell, as being injurious to the most high God, whom it doth diminish, and confine, with, in a certain narrow compass.

How much better answer shall he make, who saith, I believed, O Lord of thy highness, and of thy goodness, all that possibly I could; because I held thee O Lord, to be infinite in all things. And let it not please thee, that thy works should seem ill to me, because they contain an excess of goodness and love towards me: as it doth to the infidelity of some, who find no other fault in thee, but that thou art so very good, and so amorous to mankind. It being indeed, but reason, that for this goodness, we should come to thee, and should take thee for our God, since every one, O Lord, had rather, that thou shouldest be a ●ouing Father, and a pardoner, than a severe judge, who would make men tremble, by chastizing them in rigorous manner. And if the fashion of Gods treating with mankind, and of redressing our miseries, were put into the hand even of a man, he could choose no other than that which God chose, as most honourable to himself, most useful to us, and full of all happy sweetness.