A Little Book of Eternal Wisdom [24]
even this cannot
be. Behold, such is the song of woe which succeeds the joys of this world.
The Servant.--Oh, Thou severe Judge, how terrified are the depths of my
heart, how powerless sinks my soul beneath the load of sorrow and compassion
for those unhappy spirits! Who is there in the world that hears this, and is
so insane as not to tremble at such fearful distress? Oh, Thou, my only
love, forsake me not! Oh, Thou, my only chosen consolation, do not thus
separate from me! Sooner than be thus separated from Thee, my only love, for
ever and ever (I will say nothing of the rest), oh, misery of misery! I
would prefer to be tormented a thousand times a day. When I but think of
such a separation, my heart for anguish is like to break. Yes, tender
Father! do with me here what Thou wilt, Thou hast my free consent, but, oh,
deliver me from this woeful separation, for I could by no means endure it.
Eternal Wisdom.--Cast away thy fear. That which is united in time
remains undivided in eternity.
The Servant.--Oh, Lord, would that all men heard this, who still
consume their days so foolishly, so that they might become wise, and might
reform their lives, before these things should overtake them. Oh, ye
senseless, obdurate men! how long will ye protract your foolishness, sinful
lives? Be converted to God, and shield yourselves against this wretched
misery, and lamentation of eternal woe.
CHAPTER XII. On The Immeasurable Joys of Heaven
Eternal Wisdom.--Now lift up thy eyes and see where thou dost belong.
Thou dost belong to the Fatherland of the celestial paradise. Thou art here
as a stranger guest, a miserable pilgrim; therefore, as a pilgrim hastens
back to his home where his dear friends expect him, and wait for him with
great longing, so shouldst thou desire to hasten back to thy fatherland,
where all will be glad to see thee, where all long so ardently for thy
joyous presence, that they may greet thee tenderly, and unite thee to their
blessed society for ever. And didst thou but know how they thirst after
thee, how they desire that thou shouldst combat devoutly in suffering, and
behave chivalrously in all adversity, even such as they have overcome, and
how they now with great sweetness remember the cruel years through which
they once passed, truly, all suffering would only be the easier to thee,
for, the more bitterly thou shalt have suffered, the more honourably wilt
thou be received. Oh, then, how pleasant will honour be, what joy will then
pervade thy heart and mind when thy soul shall be so honourably praised,
commended, and extolled by Me before My Father and all the heavenly host,
because she has suffered so much, and fought against and overcome so much in
this scene of temporal strife, in whose fullness of reward many a one who
has never known affliction will have no participation. How brightly will not
then the crown shine that here below is gained with such bitterness! How
exquisitely beautiful will not the wounds and marks glitter, which here
below are received from My love! So welcome wilt thou be made in thy
fatherland, that the greatest stranger to thee of all its countless hosts
will love thee more ardently and faithfully than any father or mother ever
loved the child of their bosom in this scene of time.
The Servant.--O Lord, through Thy goodness, dare I hope that Thou wilt
tell me yet more about my fatherland, so that I may long for it all the
more, and may suffer every affliction the more cheerfully? Yes, my Lord,
what manner of place is my fatherland? Or what do people do there? Or are
there very many people there? Or do they really know so well what takes
place with us on earth as Thy words declare?
Eternal Wisdom.--Now, then, ascend thou on high with Me. I will carry
thee thither in spirit, and will give thee, after a rude similitude, a
distant glimpse into the future. Behold, above the ninth heaven, which is
incalculably more than a hundred thousand times larger than the entire
earth, there is another
be. Behold, such is the song of woe which succeeds the joys of this world.
The Servant.--Oh, Thou severe Judge, how terrified are the depths of my
heart, how powerless sinks my soul beneath the load of sorrow and compassion
for those unhappy spirits! Who is there in the world that hears this, and is
so insane as not to tremble at such fearful distress? Oh, Thou, my only
love, forsake me not! Oh, Thou, my only chosen consolation, do not thus
separate from me! Sooner than be thus separated from Thee, my only love, for
ever and ever (I will say nothing of the rest), oh, misery of misery! I
would prefer to be tormented a thousand times a day. When I but think of
such a separation, my heart for anguish is like to break. Yes, tender
Father! do with me here what Thou wilt, Thou hast my free consent, but, oh,
deliver me from this woeful separation, for I could by no means endure it.
Eternal Wisdom.--Cast away thy fear. That which is united in time
remains undivided in eternity.
The Servant.--Oh, Lord, would that all men heard this, who still
consume their days so foolishly, so that they might become wise, and might
reform their lives, before these things should overtake them. Oh, ye
senseless, obdurate men! how long will ye protract your foolishness, sinful
lives? Be converted to God, and shield yourselves against this wretched
misery, and lamentation of eternal woe.
CHAPTER XII. On The Immeasurable Joys of Heaven
Eternal Wisdom.--Now lift up thy eyes and see where thou dost belong.
Thou dost belong to the Fatherland of the celestial paradise. Thou art here
as a stranger guest, a miserable pilgrim; therefore, as a pilgrim hastens
back to his home where his dear friends expect him, and wait for him with
great longing, so shouldst thou desire to hasten back to thy fatherland,
where all will be glad to see thee, where all long so ardently for thy
joyous presence, that they may greet thee tenderly, and unite thee to their
blessed society for ever. And didst thou but know how they thirst after
thee, how they desire that thou shouldst combat devoutly in suffering, and
behave chivalrously in all adversity, even such as they have overcome, and
how they now with great sweetness remember the cruel years through which
they once passed, truly, all suffering would only be the easier to thee,
for, the more bitterly thou shalt have suffered, the more honourably wilt
thou be received. Oh, then, how pleasant will honour be, what joy will then
pervade thy heart and mind when thy soul shall be so honourably praised,
commended, and extolled by Me before My Father and all the heavenly host,
because she has suffered so much, and fought against and overcome so much in
this scene of temporal strife, in whose fullness of reward many a one who
has never known affliction will have no participation. How brightly will not
then the crown shine that here below is gained with such bitterness! How
exquisitely beautiful will not the wounds and marks glitter, which here
below are received from My love! So welcome wilt thou be made in thy
fatherland, that the greatest stranger to thee of all its countless hosts
will love thee more ardently and faithfully than any father or mother ever
loved the child of their bosom in this scene of time.
The Servant.--O Lord, through Thy goodness, dare I hope that Thou wilt
tell me yet more about my fatherland, so that I may long for it all the
more, and may suffer every affliction the more cheerfully? Yes, my Lord,
what manner of place is my fatherland? Or what do people do there? Or are
there very many people there? Or do they really know so well what takes
place with us on earth as Thy words declare?
Eternal Wisdom.--Now, then, ascend thou on high with Me. I will carry
thee thither in spirit, and will give thee, after a rude similitude, a
distant glimpse into the future. Behold, above the ninth heaven, which is
incalculably more than a hundred thousand times larger than the entire
earth, there is another