August 20 — On the Mortification of the Passions

Consider, first, the necessity we lie under, ever since the corruption of our nature by sin, of keeping our passions also in order, by a continual mortification of them. Before man was corrupted by original sin, his whole soul was regular and orderly, and all his passions were under proper command. But as soon as the superior part of the soul had withdrawn herself from her allegiance to God, the inferior part began to rebel against the superior, and all its appetites and passions were let loose, to run into all manner of disorders, because the bridle of original justice was now flung off, with which they were kept in and restrained beforn Hence arises an indispensable necessity of our ever mortifying our passions, if we would secure our souls. For as our nature is now corrupted, our love and our hatred, our desires and our fears, our joy and our grief, our anger, &/C., all share in this corruption, and are all apt to be disorderly, if not curbed and corrected by daily mortification.

Consider, secondly, that this most necessary branch of mortification, which relates to our passions, chiefly consists in the duly regulating all their motions, by directing them in a proper manner to their proper objects, and restraining all their excesses; so that they may all be brought under subjection to reason and religion, and made even serviceable to the true welfare of our souls. Thus we are to regulate our /ove, our desires, and oor joy, by turning them away from all disorderly affection to perishable creatures, to the living God; from running after vanity and lying fooleries, to the pursuit of virtue and truth; and by keeping them always within their proper bounds, that they may not disturb the peace of the soul, or distract its application to God. In like manner, we must mortify our fear, our anger, and all our other passions, by watching over all their motions, and restraining all their disorders and excesses. O, how happy are they, who, by the daily practice of this mortification, are arrived at that command of their passions, which is the blessed parent of true peace, and a certain image of heaven upon earth 1 Happy they, who turn all their fear and all their love to God, and to what God would have them year and love! who hate nothing but the Offence of God, desire nothing but the will of God, rejoice in nothing but God, grieve at nothing but what is contrary to his honour, and the good of souls, and are angry at nothing but sin!

Consider, thirdly, that as love is the strongest of all the passions, and that which principally influences all the rest, so the regulating of our love, and mortifying its disorders, ought to be, at all times, the great object of the Christian’s attention. My love is my weight, says St. Augustine; thither am I carried whithersoever I am carried. Now, our love is regular and orderly, when we love all things according to the great rule of the will of God; when we love our friends in God, and our enemies for God’s sake; when we weigh all things in the scales of the sanctuary, prize them according to the weight they have there, and allow them no other love than what will stand this test. But then, on the other hand, whatever love, whether of any person, or any creature, or any thing else, offers to captivate our affections, or to divide or take off any part of our heart from God, or to carry us any way out of the bounds of moderation, reason or religion, is disorderly, and must be restrained, corrected and mortified. All such love as this strikes at the very root of the welfare and salvation of the soul, by violating the very first and chiefest of all God’s commandments, which is to love the Lord our God with all our heart.

Conclude to watch over thy passions, that thou mayst keep them all in subjection; but principally to take care to restrain thy love, and thy desires, from all unlawful, dangerous, or vain objects, and from all excess and immoderation, in being too strongly bent, or too eagerly carried, even to lawful ones. For whatsoever the object be, it is a criminal love to affect any thing more than God.