•nX
zB'MtttMsii>ttx.
THE DWIKE MASTER.
a4^u cA^i^
THE
DIVINE MASTER.
^cnt\) l^irition.
LONDON :
J. MASTERS AND CO., 78, NEW DOND .STREET.
MDCCCLJtXVIll.
•KH
Non est alia via ad vitara et ad verara internam pacem
nisi Via Sanctae Crucis. Ambula ubi vis, quaere quodcunque
volueris, et non invenies altiorera viam supra, nee securiorem
viara infra nisi Viam Sanct.b Crucis.
De Imit. Christ, lib. ii. c. 12,
TO HIM
FROM WHOSE HA^DS HAS BEEN RECEIVED
m)t 13realr of ICifc,
A>'D FROM WHOSE LIPS HAVE BEEN HEARD
THE WORDS OF THAT WISDOM
WHICH IS THE
BRIGHTNESS OF THE EVERLASTING LIGHT,
THIS POOR FRUIT
OF HIS TRUE TEACHING
IS WITH DEEP GRATITUDE
INSCRIBED.
2026S28
In preparing a Second Edition of the " Divine
Master," it will be necessary only to contradict
the erroneous statement which has been made in
various quarters, that it is an adaptation from the
French : — this is not the case ; the text is en-
tirely original in every respect, and the mistake
has probably arisen from the fact, that the en-
gravings which have been used in this volume,
were originally published in France, along with
a manual bearing the same name. But the
Author has never seen either "Le Divin Maitre"
or a translation.
Embeh Week,
Sept., 1862.
It may be advisable to explain, in a very few
words, that it is not intended in the following
pages to give the history of an individual in the
person of " the child," who is represented as re-
ceiving instruction from the " Divine Master,"
but simply to illustrate, under this convenient
form, the various trials and difficulties, incidental
to the progressive stages of the Spiritual Life.
Yet whilst indeed it may be hoped, through God's
mercy, that no one person could, in the course of
their earthly probation, be subject to all the
temptations and errors herein recorded, it is
certain at the same time, that none whose war-
fare is with the world, the flesh, and the Devil,
would ever be exempt from the whole of them ;
and it is equally sure, on the principle which
teaches, that if a man fail in one jot or tittle of
Vlll PREFACE.
the Law, he hath failed in all — that no Christian
Grace can have been mentioned here, which the
members of Christ's Church are not bound
zealously to labour for, under all the different
phases of their heavenward course.
It must also be understood, that the term
" Child" has not been adopted as applying to
the Lambs of the Blessed fold, for whom most
of the sorrowful evils here described must still
be unknown dangers : but in acknowledgment
of the deep truth which was set forth on that
day when a Babe was placed in the midst by a
Hand Divine, that there are none, however lofty
in intellect, or wise in this world's knowledge,
who shall ever enter into the Kingdom of God,
except they do indeed receive it in the spirit of
a little child.
Lent, 1852.
CHAPTER I
The Way of the Cross
CHAPTER II.
The Way of the Cross in Repentance
CHAPTER m.
The Way of the Cross in Humility
CHAPTER rV.
The Way of the Cross in the Sacraments
CHAPTER V.
The Way of the Cross in Obedience
CHAPTER VI.
The Way of the Cross in Perseverance .
PAGE
1
12
. 24
37
51
67
X CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
PACK
The Way of the Cross in Holy Zeal . . ,,85
CHAPTEE VIII.
The Way of the Cross in Temptation , , 101
CHAPTER IX.
The Way of the Cross in Suffering . . .120
CHAPTER X.
The Way of the Cross in Death . , . , 140
€^t Wmnt UmUx.
CHAPTER I.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS.
Wi)c Bi\)inc J^astcr. My child, hearken unto
Me ; for thou art set upon the threshold of thy
mortal life within an evil world, and this is not
thy rest. The home that I have purchased for
thee, with My Blood, is in a land that is very
far off, and the path that leadeth thereunto is
dark and difficult ; dangers beset thee on every
side. Thy threefold enemies, the Devil, the
"World, and the Flesh, keep watch around thee
night and day ; and with desire have I desired
to lead thee safely to that Haven where thou
wouldst be : for many shall seek to enter there,
and shall not be able. Child of Mine Agony, for
B
2 THE DIVINE MASTER,
whom My soul hatli travailed in suffering and
in woe, hast thou considered well, that there is
none other way, whereby thou mayest reach the
delightful mansions of My Father's House,
save only the way of the Holy Cross ?
VL^c ©f)iltf. I have considered it, beloved
Master ; for I remember the words Thou spakest
when Thou didst yet tabernacle in the flesh, —
"He that taketh not his cross and foUoweth after
Me, is not worthy of Me;" and "Whosoever
will come after Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow Me." I am content
to do it, O my God, if by any means I might
attain unto the Eesurrection of the Just; for I
know that our life is but as a vapour, so soon
passeth it away, and we are gone : and I will not
be of those who, looking not beyond it, walk in a
vain shadow, and disquiet themselves in vain. I
know the fleeting joys of this fair world, could
never stay the yearning of my deathless soul, for
it is athirst for God, yea, even for the Living
God : and in Thy Love, Thy present and eternal
Love, alone, can be the satisfaction of my being,
and the fulness of joy for evermore. Therefore
will I now embrace Thy Blessed Cross, and say,
" This shall be my rest for ever."
JBibinc J^astcr. It is well, My child ; yet take
heed that, whilst thou art forward to promise with
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 3
thy lips, thy heart deceive thee not ; see thou
that it faint not within thee, when I come to lay
it bare, stripping it of every earthly hope and
wish, whose weight may clog thee on thy way.
Art thou very sure that thou knowest what it is,
in deed and in truth to bear My Cross ? for there
are many on the earth who call themselves My
disciples, and profess to carry it within their
arms ; but the token which they wear, although
it hath the shape and form of a cross, is but a
mockery of the stern and deep reality ; it is too
light to check the wandering of their feet in paths
of human pleasure, where the memory of Mine
Anguish, or the prospect of My Judgment, is for-
gotten in the sweet indulgence of the senses. It
gives no pain or weariness ; it hath no goading
sharpness, driving them to labour as I laboured,
night and day, in hunger, cold, and faintness
often : it hath no piercing power to cut into their
very souls, and drag the loathsome sins, from
their concealed depths, before their weeping
eyes, — nor crushing weight to lay them in the
dust of penitence : rather is it but an ornament,
in the sight of that bad world, which hateth Me,
yet hates them not : and to themselves a flatter-
ing delusion, which leads them, while they seem
to follow Me, in ways I never trod, where swift
upon their steps are speeding the Enemy and
4 THE DIVINE MASTER,
tKe Avenger. Beware, My child ; draw back thy
hand, for it is stretched to take up some such
empty symbol. Look where, close within thy
grasp, there lies a true cross, heavy, and sharp,
and ponderous as was Mine. I will not lay it
on thee, for thy life is given thee as a prey, and
thou mayest mould it as thou wilt ; but by My
fainting on the road to Calvary, for love of thee,
I bid thee to take it up.
®l)iltf. Master, when T hear Thy voice, more
sweet than the songof angels. Thy love constrain-
eth me ; like unto him whom they compelled to
bear Thy burden on that weary way. Thou hast
the words of Eternal Life ; unto whom else shall
I go ? Be it done unto me according to Thy
will. Yet Thine is a hard saying ; open it unto
me as Thou wert wont to lighten the ignorance
of Thy disciples. Must even the weakest bear
the heaviest cross ? Are not there some more
light, proportioned to my little strength and
feeble soul ? I thought a cross so like to Thine,
was only fit for those, Thy bright, peculiar saints,
who walk in highest paths of holiness. If I am
all too weak for such a sharp and terrible ascent,
may I not humbly follow with a lighter burden
on a lower path ? It is not given to all to sit
upon Thy Eight Hand and Thy Left, witliin Thy
Fathee's kingdom ; are there not many who
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 5
by Tliy holy Cross, shall joyful enter there, who
yet attain not to the loftiest place ?
Bibine jl^astf r. No man, having put his hand
to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the
kingdom of God. Hast thou forgotten the words
which I have spoken, — Be ye therefore perfect,
even as your Father Which is in heaven is per-
fect ; and be ye holy, for I am holy ? Said I ever
unto any man, — Thus far shalt thou serve Me,
and no further ? thus far shalt thou purify thy-
self, and no more ? Did I mete out to thee with
niggard hand the love wherewith I loved thee,
or the agony wherewith I bought thee ? If I had
sought to stint the measure of My Atonement
for thy sin, what power should have saved thee
from the nethermost hell, O child of thankless
heart ? Darest thou with tearless eyes speak to
Me of those who, owing Me no more than thou
dost owe, have sought to pay Me with the utter-
most surrender of that life, which thou wouldst
share between Me and My enemies ? Weep,
rather, weep in sackcloth and in ashes, that even
the imperfect service of thy fellow-man doth
shame thy black ingratitude ; for thou knowest
that I loved not them more entirely than I have
loved thee, when My Life-Blood was spent for
all alike.
e^Jjiltj. Oh, Master, spare me ! Thy rebuke
6 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
hath broken my heart. Alas ! did I shrink from
watching with Thee but one hour, — this little
hour of life, when Thou didst leave the glory
and the blissful rest of Thine Eternal Fathee's
Bosom, to weep upon a Human Mother's knees,
a homeless Child, for me ? Did I seek to spare
my body, when each nerve in Thine was wrung
with fiercest pangs ? or my poor soul, when Thine
was so very sorrowful, even unto death, that often
Thou, the joy of all created beiugs, didst deeply
sigh and groan within Thyself? But now it shall
be so no more ; I will leave all, and follow Thee.
I will no longer offer Thee but half a heart, when
Thine for me was altogether pierced through and
through with that sharp and cruel spear. Only
call Thou me ; I cannot follow except Thou draw
me after Thee by Thy most loving Voice. Bid
me come to Thee, though even, like Thy saint of
old, it were upon the whelming waters, the deep
whelming waters of tribulation . Bid me come to
Thee, that I may have power to arise and fling
away all clogging joys and dreams of earth, as
Bartimeus cast aside his garment when he heard
Thy tender call. But, Master, like to him, I too
am blind ; I cannot see my way. Be Thou my
Light ; O lighten my eyes, that I sleep not in
death. I know not how indeed to bear the cross
which Thou dost offer, it seems so great and
THE DIVINE MASTER. 7
heavy ; I cannot tell how I shall walk beneath its
weight, though I could have taken up that little
one, and found it, as many around me do, an easy
task to carry it through life.— Yet am I ready ;
my heart is fixed, O God ! my heart is fixed.
Lead me, guide me, and I shall not wander,
though the way be dark and long.
J3ifa{ne JHaster. Fear not : they who follow
Me shall never walk in darkness. Thy footsteps
shall not slip ; mercy shall hold thee up when
perils encompass thee about, and though the
sunshine of this world's joys be dim for thee, in
My light shalt thou see light. I know thy spirit
is willing, though thy flesh is weak : therefore
will I teach thee now, what is in truth that way,
wherein My Bleeding Feet have trod before ;
thou canst not miss it, for thou shalt know it
soon by the many thorns scattered there, which
fell from My sharp, piercing Crown as I toiled
on. They are the lesser pangs which men must
bear who truly follow Me. But now I speak of
the one great offering, which thou must make to
Me, of thy whole heart and soul ; for the servant
is not above his Master, nor the disciple greater
than his Lord : and even as I gave Myself for
thee, in one sufficient Sacrifice, so unto Me must
thy whole self be given. Know then that from
that blessed hour when I did first embrace thee,
8 THE DIVINE MASTER.
a helpless infant in the Arms of My Mercy, and
buried thee with tender care in the Baptismal
waters, that I might raise thee from them a re-
generate being, to live with Me in righteousness,
— thou hast been pledged to crucify the old man
within thee, and utterly to abolish the whole
body of sin. Attend unto these words, for in
them thou hast the perfect revelation of that
taking up of My true Cross, which thou dost seek
to understand ; the inward crucifixion, daily, ut-
terly, and ceaselessly of thine old nature, which
is at enmity with God, is the sole means whereby
thou canst so cling to Me, thy only safety and
thy only hope, that it be not torn from thy grasp
by the strong powers that work against thee, as
thou passest through the waves of this trouble-
some world.
Now, concerning crucifixion, to whom so fitly
couldst thou come to learn its nature as to Me,
the Crucified? look then upon My Body, stamped
,by its awful marks for ever, and read the truth
respecting it, which men so shrink from learning.
Say, first, if My Torn and Bleeding Form doth
not speak to thee of the extreme of mortal agony,
and can that Spiritual Crucifixion then, of which
Mine was the type, be without sharp, enduring
pain ? Next tell Me if thou seest one of all My
members withholden from the racking torments,
THE DIVINE MASTER. 9
Hands, and Feet, and Heart, even to the inmost
core, were not all given ? and so must thou submit
each power and sense within thee to the bitter
discipline. Behold Mine Arms outstretched and
fastened down upon that Wood alone : can they
grasp at this world's treasures, its good things, or
its hopes ? so must thine own be nailed back, lest
thou shouldst take unto thy bosom the deadly
love of earthly joys, of ease, of luxuries, and va-
nities, till they eating into thy very heart, for ever
quench therein thy little spark of Love for Me.
This, My child, must be thy crucifixion, — to
take My Will holy and perfect. My Will which
is thy Sanctification, for the one sole law of thy
entire being ; and forasmuch as this first nature
which thou must kill is altogether opposed to it,
whereinsoever thou shalt find one thought or
word, or deed, one hope, affection, or desire, which
springs not from the pure resolve to serve Me
and Me only, then must thou take that rebel,
though it be entwined with the very fibres of thy
heart, and nail it to My Cross, forcing it to yield
up its life in pain, whilst thou, released from its
corrupt control, dost bend thyself once more to
the rule of stern submission. Within and with-
out shalt thou bind thyself to do My Will:
within, — by the deep purification of thine heart
and soul, and spirit, till every thought be brought
10 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
into captivity to My obedience, for by holiness
alone canst thou look for Me or find Me : without,
— by incessant labour for the coming of My king-
dom. Thy feet shalt thou nail down, that they
quit not that undefiled way, wherein I walked,
for ever ministering to others. Thy hands shalt
thou pierce through to rivet them unto My work
alone. My heart shalt thou cut open with a
sharp, keen wound, that thou mayest cleanse it
from all corrupt affections and desires and so
crucified with Me, and dead to Sin, and to the
World, bearing indeed My Cross on earth, with
Me shalt thou rise, with Me ascend, to dwell for
ever and for ever, with My Fathee, and thy
Fathee, with My God, and thy God.
Cri^illr. Oh, thanks be unto God for His un-
speakable Gift, whereby so glorious a reward
may be the hope of mortal man. Oh that I
might ever live to see Thy Face in Glor3\ But
alas, Good Master, this is indeed a fiery trial
which is to try me : how shall I endure to be
partaker of such Sufferings as Thine ? who is suf-
ficient for these things ? like unto Thy disciples
when Thou didst open the way of Eighteousness
unto the rich young man, I am exceedingly
amazed, and am fain with them to cry out,
"Who then shall be saved?"
IBiJ3in« i^astcr. As I answered them, so do
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 11
I now answer thee ; with men this is impossible,
but with God all things are possible. Wert thou
not made in Baptism the Temple of the Holt
Ghost, and doth the Blessed Dove not hover
still within thy fainting Soul? take heed that
thou blaspheme not : is there aught too great of
purity or holiness for God's Almighty Spirit to
accomplish ? did I bid thee follow Me in thine
own strength, when without Me thou canst do
nothing ? did I ever ask more of any man than
I would give him power to perform ? have faith,
and thou shalt be enabled to say unto the moun-
tain of thy sins and weakness, " be thou removed
for ever."
®f)iHr. My Loed and my God, it is enough :
I believe that I can do all things through Him
Who strengtheneth me. In Thee will I put my
trust, and I shall yet give Thee thanks for the
help of Thy Countenance. Lead Thou me on; for
Thou alone shalt be my guide even unto death ;
and now to follow Thee do I come forth bearing
my Cross, as Thou didst come from Pilate's Judg-
ment Hall, bowed down beneath Thine Own.
CHAPTEE II.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS IN REPENTANCE.
IBibine JWastcr. My child, for whom I watched
in anguish many a dreary hour, amid the cold
night dews ; My child, for whom I was uplifted,
naked and marred in shame and spitting, a spec-
tacle to men and angels, — is it thus I find thee,
lingering treacherously on the path wherein I
bid thee follow Me with steps unfaltering, and a
heart strong in its burning love, — thus dragging,
slow and far behind thee, the cross to which I
bid thee nail thyself, in thoughts, and words, and
deeds of daily self-denial, and with a veil cast
over thee, that the flattering world may not see
thee as thou art — yea, as thou must fray to be,
if ever thou wouldst reach My sweet and sinless
rest ; — even a penitent, soul-stricken, self-abhor-
ring, crushed beneath a weight of sins, well sifted
and brought up to light by thine own hand j a
THE DIVINE MASTER.
H. A VaLLINCx HEART .
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 13
penitent, so humbled at thine own deep defile-
ment, that thou wouldst have all men know thy
hatefulness, lest any should increase thy con-
demnation by speaking well of thee ; a penitent,
knowing that in thee dwelleth no good thing, and
that thou hast no claim for aught but sternest
punishment, save in the shedding of Mine inno-
cent Blood alone. Thou wouldst not let thy
fellow creatures see thee thus, rebellious child,
though at My Feet thou darest not come in any
other guise ; but thou hast hidden thy corrup-
tion deep within thy heart, where it doth rankle
festering ; and for thine outward practice of fair
and pleasant virtues hast been content to win
the praise of men.
And say, thus veiled, what hath been thy ser-
vice after all ? — a grudging, measured offering ;
just so much as would satisfy thy conscience and
thy fears : that conscience, dulled by self-indul-
gence, and distorted by conformity to the world's
rule of piety, else had it told thee that this out-
ward, painless service, which robs thee not of one
of earth's enjoyments, or of a moment's ease, —
this light performance of thy pleasant duties, —
could never be that hiding of thy life in Me, the
Crucified, whereby alone thou canst appear before
the awful Throne of Him in Whose sight the very
bright stars are not pure ! Hast thou thought
14 THE DIVINE MASTER.
the way wherein I walked, bleeding and afflicted,
could ever be such soft treading unto human feet?
O, My child, My child ! while thou hast dragged
thy cross so far behind thee, through the mud
and mire of this world's joys and comforts, and
still more through its hollow lax religion, where
hath been thy inward crucifixion ? Hath it so
much as touched thee with its sharpness ? Canst
thou show Me any wound, within thy self-de-
ceiving heart, which it hath made ? Is there one
darling hope or wish nailed down on it in bitter
pain ? What hath been the arresting of each
thought within thy soul, each word upon thy
lips, each deed thy hand was set to do, to prove
if it be an offering fit for Me, and if the stain of
selfishness or earthly desire was found upon it,
straightway slaying it as I was slain ? Men have
nought to say against thee : no glaring evil hast
thou done : but tremble at the thought of all
that thou hast left undone. Think on these words
which I have said long since, — " If any man
serve Me, him will My Fathee honour." Canst
thou dare to say, thy service hath been such as
He, the Awful in Holiness, could honour ?
©]^iltf. O, Master, no ; at but the thought my
very soul sinks down in terror, and in trembling,
as though it must expire before that God, Who,
by His purity, in truth is a consuming fire ! I
THE DIVINE MASTER. 15
have sinned, I have sinned ! I can feel it now
Thy words have pierced my heart, and rent the
veil that was upon it, hiding it even from myself.
I have been like unto one that is in a dream, for
the days went by, as I thought innocently, and I
would have scorned any who said that I was not
Thy faithful servant. Yet now I see how, step
by step, I have grown colder and more sluggish ;
so that I have nought to offer Thee, my Loed,
save only Thy talent as Thou didst give it me, —
no less, perchance, but alas ! no greater.
And now all is dimness and confusion within
me, I have so deceived myself with easy service
and stingless self-denials, that I know not by what
means I have fallen from that first love and zeal,
BO full of sweetness and of longing, which filled
my soul when, at Thy dear command, I took my
cross and followed Thee. Oh that I were as in
months past, as in the days when God preserved
me, when His candle shined upon my head, and
when by His light I walked through darkness !
But turn me again, O my Master, and let Thine
anger cease from me ; for I know that, as Thy
Majesty is, so is Thy mercy. Unto Thee will I
pay my vows once more ; to Thee will I return ;
for Thou dost abundantly pardon. Only show me
now wherein I have wandered, that I may take
better heed unto my ways ; set my misdeeds be-
16 THE DIVINE MASTEB.
fore me, and my secret sins in the light of Thy
Countenance, for Thou tellest my Sittings, and all
these things are noted in Thy book. I thought
that I had striven against sin, though I know I
have not yet resisted unto blood, nor unto any
suffering : as when I fell, and even then I knew
I did full oft, I failed not to repent.
3@ibin<j JHaster. Beware of that repentance,
well nigh as easy to thee as the sin itself, — a peni-
tence which, of its threefold properties, contri-
tion, confession, and restitution, had but the first,
and that expressed within thy deceitful heart
alone, without a test of its sincerity. Where was
the carefulness it should have wrought in thee ?
— the clearing of thyself, the indignation against
thyself, the fear, the vehement desire, the zeal, the
revenge, upon thyself? Nought is more easy than
to say, *' Father, I have sinned, forgive me !" and
to believe, with these few words, the deep cor-
roding poison is washed out from thy guilty soul.
"Father, forgive me !" thou dost say, and so to
sin again returnest. Is this no repentance to be
repented of? And again, what were the sins for
which, even after this fashion, thou didst sorrow?
Only such as .were so great and glaring, thou
couldst not choose but see them, even with thy
wandering eyes ; and where hath been that
watchfulness, so needful to the feeble soul, that
THE DIVINE MASTER. 17
in Mine hour of dreariest agony I failed not to
enjoin it, — that watching over all thy senses and
thine inmost thoughts, — that stern examination,
hour by hour, — that keen, true searching down
into the very dej)ths of thy heart and soul, to
look well if there be any way of wickedness in
thee, and root out all thy secret faults ; according
as it is written, " Before judgment, examine thy-
self, and in the day of visitation thou shalt have
mercy."
©i^iltf. Beloved Master, I have indeed for-
gotten to be watchful. I have had a name that I
lived, and been as dead ; but now, I pray Thee,
strengthen Thou those things which remain, and
are ready to die ; for lo ! Thou requirest truth in
the inward parts, — and a deceived heart hath
caused me to turn aside, — prove me, try me,
teach me to repent, and so shalt Thou make me
to understand wisdom secretly.
Bibinc Jitastfr. Eepentance is a hard and
toilsome work, — a thing as blessed as it is rare ;
for many there are who trust in it for their ac-
ceptance, but few there be which find the way to
it. It is no transient feeling passing as a light
mist on the soul, without a sound or token, and
having in it no sting, sharp enough to make thee
dread a recurrence of the sin which caused it; for
knowest thou not how it is written, — " He that
c
18 THE DIVINE MASTER.
washeth himself after the touching of a dead body,
if he touch it again, what availeth his washing ?
So is it with a man that fasteth for his sins, and
goeth again and doeth the same. Who will hear
his pray er, or what doth his humbling profit him ?"
E-epentance not to be repented of is a deep and
earnest labour, well-nigh the bitterest task which
I have given thee to perform as thou comest after
Me. Hearken, then, while I instruct thee how it
must be accomplished. First, do thou make it
thine assiduous toil to ascertain the extent of thy
pollution, not merely in a general discernment of
sinfulness, but in each individual act, and thought,
and word : take thou the perfect rule of My com-
mandments, and judge thyself therein, not by the
letter, but the spirit. Look well till thou discover
what have been the springs of action in thee ; re-
member that self-deceit is the subtlest weapon
whereby the flesh doth war against the spirit; see
thou if in thy very service unto Me, there hath
been no motive of vanity or selfishness ; or if thou
hast not often said, in seeming wisdom, " Such
things are not expedient," because to thy subtle
heart they were not pleasant.
Try thou how far the praise of men hath made
thee love My Name better ; probe down unto
the thoughts and feelings that lie so deep within
thy soul, thou scarce dost know of them thyself,
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 19
and see how far the fair show thou hast made as
My disciple hath been a living falsehood. Nor
even then alone, however truthful be thy self-
examination, canst thou come to know thyself,
indeed, in all thine innermost corruption, or to
hate sufficiently the sins which have seduced
thee; thou must have a surer test than thine
own biassed mind. If thou alone dost judge
thyself, thou wilt be tender to thy soul as a mo-
ther to the child she correcteth not unto his
hurt ; to know the real hideousness of those past
sins, thy weak heart craves to forget, thou must
learn it in the judgment and the condemnation
of another ; of one to whom hath been given, in
sacerdotal gift, that Holy Spirit which convinceth
men of sin. If thou wouldst truly crucify thine
evil nature, then, even as I did. Who was all
innocent, thou must put thyself unto an open
shame.
This is what My righteous servant meant when
he said that true repentance will cause thee to
take revenge upon thyself; it is a task from
which the swelling pride of fallen nature most re-
volts, yet salutary as the knife that cleanseth out
the rankling wound. Thou must tear aside that
veil, and show thyself even as thou art to human
eyes, humbling thyself for all thine evil tres-
passes before a fellow-man ; nor only by the
20 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
general admission of thy faithlessness and guilt,
but as a stern inquisitor against thyself, drag-
ging out with rigorous search each separate act.
My child, rightly wilt thou comprehend the
blessing and the agony of true repentance, when
thou hast learnt to say, not secretly in thy de-
ceiving heart alone, *' I have sinned," but openly
before the eyes of one who shall keenly note
each shade of thy deep degradation, " On such
a day, at such an hour, I cherished vile and
shameful thoughts when all men deemed me
pure;" or *' spake with mean, deceiving lips,
when none misdoubted me ;" or " did fair deeds
which won me looks of love and praise, when in
their hidden springs they came from dark, un-
holy motives." This do, My child, and not in
vain shalt thou cleanse thyself and wash thy
hands in innocency : but so powerfully this dis-
cipline shall work in thee a dread of sin, that
thou shalt flee from it as from the face of a ser-
pent ; for well is it written of it, if thou comest
too near to it, it will bite thee, — the teeth thereof
are as the teeth of a lion, slaying the souls of men.
©j^Htf. Beloved Master, Thou dost command
indeed a bitter discipline ; and at last with but
the thought of such a dread confession the sharp-
ness of Thy Cross is entering even into my soul !
truly have I not known it hitherto ! and now
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 21
should I altogether faint at thought of this stern
ordeal but that I verily believe to see Thy Good-
ness in the land of the living. O, my Master, to
be with Thee one day in Paradise, like that blest
penitent who reaped the first fruits of Thine
Agony, what is there I would not endure ! I do
so long to come to Thee again, from Whom mine
erring feet too far have wandered ; I so pine to
taste once more the sweetness of Thy Love, that
I am all content to prove this sharpest trial, if
only by it I may find my way unto Thy Sacred
Feet again. O, Master, say if I thus cut with
hand unsparing into the deep of my weak heart,
wilt Thou look back on me with mercy as of
old?
Bitine iIW:astcr. I will look back on thee with
Mercy, I will take thee Home into the very
bosom of My Love, My poor lamb, bleeding with
self-inflicted wounds : blessed in that hour, shalt
thou know, are they that mourn, for they shall
be comforted. Sweet as the sound of gushing
waters when one perisheth with thirst shall be
the message of forgiveness I will send to thee.
I will bid My Messenger speak comfortably to
thee, telling thee that thine iniquity is pardoned,
and that soon thy warfare shall be accomplished.
And then, O My child, how beautiful upon the
mountains of thy toilsome journey shall seem to
I52 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
thee tlie feet of him that bringeth unto thee
good tidings.
®i)iltf. Now do I know what stirred Thy con-
trite servant's heart when he cried so longingly,
" Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be
clean, Thou shalt wash me and I shall be whiter
than snow ; Thou shalt make me hear of joy and
gladness, that the bones which Thou hast broken
may rejoice." Surely it shall be so with me,
when the pitifulness of Thy Great Mercy doth
loose me by the absolving words from the chain
of my past sins wherewith I am tied and bound.
But I see that Thy Cross must be driven like a
sharp sword into the very soul, else can It not
divide it from the dust to which it cleaveth, — and
so let it be. Now in truth, my Master, will I
strive in the deep of the inner life to serve Thee,
no more with the mouth alone, making confes-
sion unto salvation, but with the heart also be-
lieving unto righteousness, for without holiness
what man shall see Thee, O my Loed ?
©tUine i^astcr. Thou sayest well, My child,
yet take heed that thou despise not the outward
service, because I have told thee it will not avail
without a deeper and more searching labour : this
shouldst thou have done and not have left the
other undone. Herein greatly hast thou erred
that thou hast thought to serve Me, in a life of
THE DIVINE MASTER. 23
ease by only fleeing from undoubted sins : a pas-
sive service alone hast thou willed to give Me, far
removed from the active, energetic toil wbich I
demand. All spiritual good and sacramental gifts
thou thoughtest to receive, whilst with the very
hands I bid thee pierce, thou gatheredst earth's
blessings to thy bosom ! But in My house none
can eat their bread in idleness, they must labour
for that meat which perisheth not, but endureth
unto everlasting life. I told thee thou must
work for Me in inward purification and outward
toil, among thy fellow-men, for the coming of
My Kingdom. Question now thy heart as I have
taught thee, and thou shalt see how instead of
that hidden cleansing, thou hast rather sought to
gain the fair aspect of Christian graces, in the
eyes of thy fellow-men ; and for the active ser-
vices a little care thou hast had truly of thine
own salvation, but what hast thou ever done to
hasten the completion of My Glorious Kingdom
which shall be tdrmed of holy souls alone ? Yet
I have had compassion on thee, I have not left
thee in thy lethargy : go now and hasten to re-
deem the time; the night cometh when no man
can work.
CHAPTEE III.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS IN HUMILITY
BMnc JITastcr. My cliild, rememberest tliou
the Words I spake wlien I jfirst called thee unto
Me, how I told tliee of thy three great enemies,
that with untiring labour would seek to pluck
thee out of My hand ? Thou couldst not bear it
then, or I would have shown to thee more fully
how bitter was the warfare thou must wage with
them : thou wert so newly set within that unde-
filed way, the Way of the Holy Cross, that thy
feet were feeble and tottering upon it as an infant
when it assayeth first to walk ; but now thou hast
a little strength, and I must unfold to thee the
snares with which they would surround thee, lest
thou be overtaken of their craftiness and subtlety ;
for know that never in this life can thy conflict
with them cease, so soon as thou dost surmount
one temptation they will assail thee with another,
THE DIVINE MASTER.
m. inMii.i-n'
y^/t' ^no^ .1^^ ^/& Ai^. ./Ay/-0/ur:ki cnyA^-^A.
THE DIVINE MASTER. 25
and whilst tliou labourest for peace, if thou shalt
speak to tliem thereof, they will but make ready
to tlie battle ; yet faint thou not at thought of
this ; remember that I, even I, upon ]My Glory
Throne at the Eight Hand of My Fathee, am
touched with a feeling for thine infirmities, for I
was in all points tempted like as thou art, yet
without sin. I will not leave thee nor forsake
thee, and who shall harm thee if I am with thee ?
I will uphold thee in thy goings out and comings
in ; I will confound thine enemies, only be thou
faithful unto death. Know thou that from the
first day when thou didst set thy heart to under-
stand and to chasten thyself before thy God, I
have been about thy path and about thy bed, to
be to thee a strong tower from the face of thine
enemies ; fear not, then, but attend unto My
"Words while I show to thee the snare that
is around thee now, wiling thy soul to deadly
peril.
€'l)ilts. Speak, Loed, for Thy servant heareth.
O let it be Thy pleasure to deliver me from all
these hidden dangers ; do Thou make haste to
help me, for Thou sayest truly that my soul is
among lions, mine enemies are daily in hand to
swallow me up ; show me now their craftiness,
let me not be ignorant of their devices, for surely
in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird ;
26 THE DIVINE MASTER.
tell me, then, I pray Thee, wherein have they
digged pits for me, for I thought to walk so
closely in Thy Blessed Steps, that I left no room
for them to come between us, and to lay hold
on me ? what can I do more, O Thou Preserver
of men ; have I not left all and followed Thee,
and chastened my soul for sin with all the rigour
which Thou hast commanded ?
IBiijinc Jl^astcr. Yea, My child, think not I
have forgotten thy labour and thy love ; I know
thy works, how thou hast borne, and hast had
patience, and hast not fainted, and for My
Name's Sake hast truly toiled ; nevertheless I
have somewhat against thee, because thou hast
sought to make My Cross a Glory in the world's
eyes, which thing I hate. Child, wherefore was
I nailed unto it save through thy sin, thy deep
degrading sin, which, but for the washing of
Mine all-purifying Blood, had dragged thee
down to hell, companion fit for devils ? how is it
that I find thee now then raising that solemn
Cross aloft in shameless triumph that all men
may see — not what I have done for thy salvation,
but tohat thou ivouldst do for Me, — as though to
bear it after Me were a voluntary meritorious
service on thy part, and not thy one sole refuge
from deserved perdition ! Shouldst thou not
rather bow down beneath it in bitterest shame.
THE DIVINE MASTER. 27
knowing that it is a token unto all, how vile, how
lost, bow hateful in God's sight thou wert, since
only the Dire Agony of His Beloved Son, could
snatch thee from eternal burnings ! Is it not
written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree, and was I not made a curse for thee, in
order that by this torturing humiliation I might
save thee so as by fire only, because of thine
utter failing in the bounden duty and service
thou didst owe thy Maker ? and now wouldst
thou dare to make it seem a merit to cling unto
that Cross, as though thine endurance of it were
a great gift made to Me ? What and if I said
to thee, " I will have none of thy service or thy
gifts ; I require them not. Mine are a thousand
worlds and all that in them is ; take back thine
oflfering and restore to Me My Cross, since thou
dost lift it up, not as the one hope of thy last
necessity, but as a vaunted oblation made to Me,
in generous devotion, which could merit in itself
My love or human praise," where would be thy
boasting then if I thus spake to thee ?
Cnf)iltf. O, Blessed Master, say it not, and cast
me not away ! for I know indeed it is Thy Cross
alone upholds me out of that profound abyss that
yawns for me ; and I know — I know too well that
by mine unassisted will I could not even cling to
It — but that I must be even nailed down upon
28 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
It by the Spirit that subduetli my vile flesb, else
should I fall from it into the deepest hell.
Dibinc ^fBnstcr. Thou sayest truly, but how
then hast tJiou dared to make a boast of it, and
been well pleased that men should look into the
wounds its sliarpness made within thy heart, and
note how well-nigh spent thou wert beneath its
weight? Yea, art thou sure thou hast not la-
boured more abundantly that they might marvel
at thy zeal ? Thou hast loved to hear it said how
truly thou dost bear My Cross, how utterly thy
neck was bent unto its yoke ; how even the beat-
ings of thy heart were crushed beneath its weight,
and yet thou knowest well thou never couldst
have had the strength nor even the wish, to lift
it so much as from the ground, had I not con-
strained thee by My Love. I took thee first in
Holy Baptism, or ever thou hadst heard My
Name ; when thou wert yet in all thy sins ; and
sealed thee with its sign, and showed thee how to
bear it through this life ; but then had I left thee
to thyself, too surely hadst thou trampled it be-
neath thy sacrilegious feet ; and even now I tell
thee, but for its redeeming power, there is sin
enough in each of thy best deeds to sentence thee
to exile from My Fathee's House for ever. But
I spare thee — for tbis is the snare of which I
told thee — the very subtlest which thine enemies
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 29
can lay for thee ; the flesh, the world, and the
devil each have alike their share in weaving its
toils about thy soul ; it is the deep temptation
with which they ever seek to ruin those My
ffiithful servants who will not be deterred from
following after Me. By this crafty peril do they
encompass them about, when grosser arts have
failed to make them love the world, or their own
ease and comfort more than Me ; and its great
danger lies in this, that they are chiefly unaware
of it who are most tempted to it.
CTIjiltf. Then doubtless I have been deceived,
Most Holy Master, blinded to my own peril ;
for even now my heart condemns me, pierced
by Thy searching Words ; unfold to me, I pray
Thee, wherein this spiritual vanity hath over-
taken me. Alas, and hath this plague spot been
in all my feasts of charity, when bowed upon
Thine altar-steps, my Loed, I thought to love
Thee so humbly and so well !
Dibinc illastcr. Marvel not at this. My child,
for in these days when all men know Me, and
My Name is great among the Gentiles, this is
the special trial wherewith the Accuser of My
brethren doth seek to win them to destruction.
Thou knowest that when I went unto My Fa-
ther from this world, I left Mine own to suffer
persecution and to be hated of all men for My
30 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
sake ; their portioD was to bear My reproach on
earth ; and whilst their bodies were delivered
up to scourge and sword, their souls were pierced
through with the bitter contempt and mocking
of their fellow-men. But they rejoiced and were
exceeding glad to be thus tormented ; they leapt
for joy when they were driven from among their
brethren, and reproached, and their name cast
out as evil, for they knew that great was their
reward in Heaven : and so through fire and
strife they won their way unto My Father's
Home of Rest. Now when the Prince of this
world saw how mightily My Word grew and
prevailed amid all persecution and contumely,
and that the blood of the Martyrs was in truth
a fructifying stream, causing the earth to bear
much fruit unto My Glorious Kingdom; he
sought by other and by subtler means to stay the
progress of My great salvation. Knowest thou
what he did? Se taught tJie world to smile
upon the Cross, hut never to weep for sin ; he
caused the semblance of a holy life to be a pass-
port unto man's esteem, so that many for whom
I died, assumed the garb of righteousness, with
rank, ambition, pride, and worldly lusts, all swell-
ing in their hearts, and trumpet forth My iName
that they may have it answered back to them in
human praises.
THE DIVINE MASTER. 31
Kememberest thou the words with which I
greeted him who came at dead of night with
swords and staves to take Me — "Judas, betray est
thou the Son of Man with a kiss ?" So is it with
this generation : they do betray Me utterly, day
by day leading Me away to be crucified afresh
in thoughts and words, and deeds of sin, and
yet all the while seeming to kiss My very Feet,
in open-mouthed assertions of their love for Me,
and outward acts of piety. Again, there be some
less false than these, who do bestow on Me the
traitor's kiss, and yet are all unconscious of their
treachery ; such, are those of My disciples who
have desired with a heart sincere, to follow Me
upon the narrow way, and whose one thought
at first hath been, to ofier unto Me an undivided
service ; but when they found how on that very
path soft flatteries awaited them, and that not
only their true devotion was admired of men,
but that the holy and the good whom they them-
selves revered, where drawn to them in gentlest
sympathy, then hath a taint crept into all their
offerings made to Me ; it hath no more been
done in singleness of heart to gain the unseen
light of My sole favour, but, unknown to them-
selves, there was in all they did for Me, a silent
seeking to be thereby exalted in the eyes of
men, and so My Cross, which should have been
32 THE DIVINE MASTER.
SO deeply hidden in their souls, has been made
by them a stepping stone into the world's esteem.
CDl)iltJ. And I have been of these, my Lord !
I knew it not, but now Thy words reveal me to
myself. I feel that whensoever my open love
and zeal for Thee hath won me praise, or most
of all the friendship and the care of those who
were in truth Thy servants, then have I taken
much delight therein, and been stirred up to do
great things before their eyes, still deeming I
was following Thee alone ; but now, O Holy
Master, Thou Who art the Truth, enlighten my
dull soul, I pray Thee, and show me in what
toils I have been taken, for the snare is so subtle
that I have been caught by it unawares.
Wibint JWastcr. Needful is it indeed that
thou shouldst examine it most narrowly, for thou
mayest remember how I said of old, " Woe unto
you when all men speak well of you : and thou
knowest that heaven and earth shall pass away,
but not My Words." And now will I show to
thee some of the avenues Avhereby this deadly
thing, this spiritual vanity, hath entered into
thy consecrated soul. First it hath been in this,
that thou hast forgotten how by the very prin-
ciple of thy new birth, the life thou didst then
receive must be Hidden in Me ; nor ever must
thou dare to draw it forth before the eyes of
THE DIVINE MASTER. 33
men, save when by such a revelation tliou canst
not doubt to benefit their souls ; wrest not, as
many have done, that Scripture to thy destruc-
tion, wherein I said, " Let your light so shine
before men ;".... for I will that by good
works done silently, and with a deep humility
thy light should shine, and not by voluntary
manifestation of thyself and of thy love to Me —
that voiceless, holy love, that should be kept as
a pure and virgin offering sacred to Mine eyes
alone, and which is at once profaned, if human
thoughts and motives do find an entrance to it.
Thy chief temptation in this matter, is that thou
hast yielded to the craving of thy mortal nature,
for the sympathy of thy fellow- creatures ; and
when the workings of thy life in Me produced
despondency or joy, thou hast loved to tell thy
feelings, and to rouse their wonder or compas-
sion, whilst even in thy ordinary state, it hath
been sweet to thee, to tell of all thy communings
with Me. Beware of this. My child, for vanity
lurketh in every word, and most be thou as-
sured, it hath possession of thee when thou dost
display the deepest tokens of humility.
Eesolve then never to speak to any of thy
spiritual condition, save to Mine own anointed
servant, whom thou hast chosen as thy Guide,
in My Name to watch over thee, and to whom
D
34 THE DIVINE MASTER.
tliou hast revealed, as I commanded, thine utter-
most depths of sin. lie, for thy soul's health,
must know the variations of thy state, and
scarcely could thy subtlest enemy find means to
make thee feed thy vanity, in intercourse with
him who knows the miserable details of all thy
great corruption ; for which reason, amongst
many others, it is well that thou lay bare thine
inmost soul before him.
Again, another snare there is for thee in that,
which but for man's insidious sin, would be a
source of highest good — namely, a union in good
works with others of My servants ; this doth
engender many words and much display, and
save where such associations are needful for the
advancement of My Kingdom, seek not to mix
with others in thy deeds of charity. Be not
forward to concert with them, great schemes of
good to man, except there be none other to at-
tempt the work ; rather do thou a little for My
sheep in secret, imscen by all, save Me, Who
watched the widow cast her two mites into the
Treasury. Thou hast done well in seeking to
avoid all intercourse with those who know Me
not, except for their own good. But I say unto
thee yet more, be not over-anxious for the
society even of those who arc well known as
Mine active servants, unless it be to learn of
THE DIVINE MASTER. 35
them unto the profit of thy soul ; for if thou
mingle with them in much converse as thy own
familiar friends, it cannot fail, but thou wilt
show to them thy zeal and sufferings in My
cause, thy many prayers and tears, and from
such revelations do thou shrink as from the
searing of hot burning coals.
Solitude is best for thee, where thou canst
compare thyself with none save Me, and when
in comparison of My purity thy cry will ever
only be, ** unclean, unclean !" Stand in awe and
sin not, commune with thine own heart and in
thy chamber, and be still ; there will I come to
thee, and talk with thee, and whom shalt thou
desire more if I am with thee ? thou shalt hear
My Voice far clearer in the deep silence when
no human sound is near. Seek for solitude then
as the safest condition for thy feeble soul, yet not
so, as to forget that thine outward work, is in
the advancement of My Kingdom on this earth.
Thou knowest how I prayed for My own that
they should be kept in the world ; but let this
bo thy wisdom, to strive wheresoever thou art
among thy fellow-men, to attain unto a solitude
of spirit. Be thou also veiy zealous alike
amongst My followers and the children of this
world, to avoid all singularity in outward things,
which could manifest that thou dost hold thy-
36 THE DIVINE MASTER.
self to be especially My disciple ; by thy humble,
tender love to others only be it known, but
affect not thou to differ from them in external
manner or the like. Let thy soul come forth in
silence then from among men to be with Me
alone ; rise up, My child, and come away ; hide
thee, hide thee in the bosom of My love, with-
draw thyself into My shadow, there shalt thou
find great delight — there shalt thou rest indeed,
and with thy joy no stranger shall intermingle.
CDf)iItr. Yea, my Divine Master, I will come
to Thee indeed ; I will cease from man whose
breath is in his nostrils ; wherein should he be
accounted of me ? to Thee will I come in quiet
and in solitude, till they shall say of me, '* Who
is this that cometh up from the wilderness lean-
ing on her Beloved?" Unto Thee only will I
seek, with Thee abide till the day break, and the
shadows flee away in the Light of the Eesurrec-
tion Morning.
THE DIVINE MASTER.
1\' <)Jii;j)IKN'T ZKAl, .
CHAPTER IV.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS IN THE SACRAMENTS.
€f)ilts. Where art Thou, O my Beloved
Master ? wlierefore hast Thou gone from me in
the way, and left me desolate ? Behold, these
many days have I looked for Thee sorrowing,
but in vain ; and by night upon my bed have I
sought Thee, Whom my soul loveth, and found
Thee not. Wherefore has it thus befallen me P
Surely I have striven to come after Thee ? and
have I not laboured zealously for these three
things which Thou hast taught me to desire in
Thy sweet communings with me,— even self-re-
nunciation, bitter repentance, and a true humi-
lity ? Yet now, I know not why, I cannot see
Thee, nor discern Thy loving promises. My soul
is dead and cold within me ; the very voice of
prayer seems taken from me, and mocking whis-
pers tell me I have never truly found Thee, and
38 THE DIVINE MASTER.
that my hope is all delusion. Art Thou not the
Good Shepherd ? am I not Thy sheep ? O, tell
me, Thou Whom my soul loveth, where Thou
makest Thy flock to rest at noon ; for why should
I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of
Thy companions ?
Mtine JWastcr. I have not left thee, My
poor helpless child, but thou hast strayed once
more far from Me ; though, even in all thy wan-
derings, Mine Arm hath been around thee, or
thou hadst not now been here to call upon Me.
Think it not strange that thou hast sought for
Me, and found Me not, for thou hast been like
unto My disciples of old, and hast gone as it
were to seek Me in Mine empty tomb, whence
I departed at the break of day ; nor hast thou
listened to the voice of the Church, that would
have said to thee, as did Mine Angel messenger
to them, " He is not here ; He is arisen." For I
truly am arisen, and am gone before thee to the
New Jerusalem, which is above ; there shalt thou
see Me, if thou falter not ; but I no longer walk
on earth in visible form, to be met at every turn
by those who, with unguided steps, go forth to
meet Me, each in a path of their own devising.
ffil^iltf. O, Master, what sayest Thou? how
can I follow Thee, if I behold Thee not ? Must
I mourn as did Thy disciples of old, because
THE DIVINE MASTER. 39
whither Thou goest I cannot come ? Surely I
thought to cling to Thee so closely, that nought
upon this earth could tear Thee from me. Day
by day, and hour by hour, my hope was still to
hold Thee by the Feet, and worship Thee j and
now what meanest Thou ? wouldst Thou say to
me, as unto the Jews, " I go My way, and ye
shall seek Me, and shall die in your sins; whither
I go ye cannot come ?" Hast Thou given me
then Thy Cross and not Thyself, — Thy Cross,
bereaved of its Sacred Burden since the eve of
that great day of wondrous rest, when Thy
thrice-blessed servant was allowed to bear Thee
in his own new tomb ? am I left in dreary deso-
lation, to cry out with her whose great sinful-
ness I share, and whose deep love I fain would
rival, — " They have taken away my Loed, and
I know not where they have laid Him P"
IBibiiu /tlnstcr. My child, I have considered
well the voice of thy complaint, and I say to
thee, — as I once said to those, how much more
faithful, — " O thou of little faith, wherefore dost
thou doubt ?" Hast thou forgotten the words of
My sure promise — " Lo, I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world P" And again, —
" I will not leave you comfortless ; I will come
to you P" Yea, though I said, " The world seeth
Me no more," said I not also, " But ye see Me ?"
40 THE DIVINE MASTER.
Understand now this matter, and learn that in
Me is no variableness, neither shadow of turn-
ing. I have in truth ascended unto heaven. It
is good, yea needful, for thee that I should go
away to perfect the work of thy salvation, by My
continual intercession, as thy great High Priest,
before the throne of God. But I have not left
Myself without a witness upon earth, and a
dwelling-place where Mine own Presence is, and
where My Spirit abideth ever. There, if thou
seek Me, thou shalt find Me, but nowhere else ;
there, in My Holy Church, — that is the fold thou
desirest, where I make My flock to rest by still
waters and green pastures, — there Mine own
sheep are gathered, and I feed them day by day ;
they know My voice, and I give to them Eternal
Life, whilst vainly would they seek to come to
Me by any other way. Therefore said I trul}^
that all without this fold is as Mine empty tomb,
where My lifeless Body was, but is no longer.
For I died indeed for all the world : and so each
spot on earth hath known, as it were, the Pre-
sence of the Victim slain ; but the Eisen Loed,
the Living, in Whose Life alone the sons of
Adam can live unto eternity, is not there, but is
departed, to be with the disciples in their assem-
bling, and to be made known to them in break-
ing bread.
THE DIVINE MASTEB. 41
CTi^illf. Yea, Beloved Master, as in that won-
drous hour wlieu, the doors being shut, Thou
didst come and stand in the midst, and say unto
them, " Peace be unto you!" O, how hath my
heart burned within me many times, when I
have thought upon their rapture at that blissful
meeting ! how have I pined to be, as it were,
amongst them, and to hear thy most adored
Voice thus whisper peace to my poor struggling
soul !
Sibinc /blaster. And why then hast thou
closed thine ears to it, when I was ready to pro-
nounce it over thee, through the lips of those to
whom I have given power to speak and act in
My ]S"ame ? On the earth are there none to
whom I said, " Into what house soever ye enter
first say, Peace be to this house ; and if the son
of Peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it ;
if not, it shall turn to you again ?"
<irf;ilti. Is it for this cause, then, that it hath
seemed as though Thy peace came not upon me,
because I sought it not in the way of Thine ap-
pointment from those whom Thou hast commis-
sioned to dispense it ? Yet I thought. Beloved
Master, that the blessings I sought directly from
Thy hand I could not fail to win.
Difainc Jilastcr. My child, I am the same to-
day, yesterday, and for ever ; the Word which T
4J5 THE DIVINE MASTER.
have spoken standeth sure. Once for all have I
appointed certain channels, whereby My salva-
tion is to be conveyed to man, — certain means by
which it is to be applied to each individual soul ;
and thinkest thou that, when I have arranged
this immutably in My perfect wisdom, I will
now consent to grant it unto them in any other
way ? Thinkest thou that I shall be ready at the
call of those who in their wilful arrogance, do set
aside My holy ordinances, to give to them, after
their own fashion, the very graces I have for ever
linked to visible rites ? That which God hath
joined, let no man put asunder. Doubtless with
Me all things are possible ; and if such were My
good pleasure, not only could I convey to thee
the efficacy of My Atonement, without the minis-
trations of My Church, to whom alone I have
given this power on earth ; but I could at once,
if I so willed it, translate thee into heaven, like
My servants Enoch and Elijah ; and thus spare
thee alike the life-struggle of thy soul with sin,
and that which awaiteth thy mortal part in death.
I could do this, and more, also, but such is not
My will; and therefore, if thou wouldst be saved,
seek thou salvation in the way of Mine ordi-
nances, where alone thou canst obtain it.
©i^iltr. Thy will be done. Beloved Master; I
submit myself to Thy good pleasure, blessed in-
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 43
deed if, by any means, I may but so much as
touch the hem of Thy garment, and be whole.
But open to me this matter more fully, I beseech
Thee, that I may ever know most surely where
to seek and find Thee. How is it that I have
strayed so far from Thee ? I knew Thy Cross
was in mine arms, and on my heart, and so I
doubted not that I was following Thee, and only
marvelled that Thou wert so hidden from me.
Sibinc J^astcr. And well it was for thee that
thou didst not relinquish thy hold upon My
Cross, for by this means hast thou drawn Me
after thee, to seek thee even in the barren and
dry land where no water is, into which thy wan-
dering feet have strayed. And now that I have
found thee well-nigh perishing with thirst and
hunger, I will lay thee on My shoulders, and
bear thee safely back to My true fold.
This, then, hath been thy error : — thou hast
beheld Me outstretched upon the altar of My
Cross, having completed a full, perfect, sufficient
Sacrifice and oblation for the sins of the whole
world ; and seeing that there remained only to
have this complete Atonement applied to thine
individual soul, thou hast sought to accomplish
that work by thy single, unassisted eflTorts. Thou
hast sought with thine own powerless hands, as
it were, to take Me, the all-sufficing Victim, from
44 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
My Cross, and unite thyself unto Me ; making
thyself to be incorporate in Me by the mere act
of thine own will, or of thy faith. Now this
thou canst not do, because I have willed it other-
wise. Come, and let us reason together, and I
will show thee, from the very root of the matter
wherefore this must be so.
Thou knowest that I, taking compassion on
the race of man, who were for ever alienated
from their Maker and Sole Good by sin, did
once for all offer Myself, through the Eternal
Spirit, without spot, unto God, that in My sin-
less humanity all who should be made one with
Me might be received into the Bosom of the Fa-
ther, there to abide with Me where I for ever
dwell, and thus purged in My Blood from every
taint of sin, ineffably joined to Me in Whom even
that All-Pure Jehovah is well pleased, they are
restored to the one only life and joy of their im-
mortal being, — an everlasting union with the
Triune God. Thou knowest how many words I
spake in the time of Mine earthly sojourning, to
show that, except a man be thus in mysterious
union made, in very deed and truth, one with
Me, he can in no case be restored to his offended
and most just Ckeatoe. "Abide in Me, and I in
you," thus did I speak, " I am the Vine, ye are
the branches." " No man cometh unto the Fa-
THE DIVINE MA8TEB. 45
THEB but by Me." " At that day ye shall know
that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I
in you." " If a man love Me, he will keep My
words, and My Father will love him, and We
will come unto him, and make our abode with
him." Yea, except he be in Me, no man could
so much as call for mercy, and be heard ; for
God hath said, once for all, ** The soul that sin-
neth, it shall die," and this sentence He will not
revoke. But when a man is incorporate in Me,
Who am altogether sinless, then do I offer his
prayers before the Throne of God, as the very
cry of My pure human flesh, and they are granted
unto him. And now it is most needful that thou
shouldst understand the manner in which this
union is to be effected. This thou mayest clearly
see, for it is by visible means openly discernible
even unto thy human eyes : namely, by the
Holy Sacraments which I have ordained within
My Church for this especial purpose. In the first
of these, My Holy Baptism, this union is com-
menced ; therein, by water and the Holy Ghost,
thou art born anew into Me, — and into My Life,
—a life which is eternal. In the second most
glorious Sacrament and Sacrifice, wherein thou
dost receive Mine actual Body and Blood, and I
do specially offer unto God, on thy behalf, that
Oblation of Myself once made upon the Cross,
46 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
this union is sealed, consummated, and renewed j
My Blood from that hour is upon thee, for ever
washing away thy sins; and thou, made one
with My perfect human nature, mayest come
boldly unto the very Holy of holies, whither I
have gone before thee, even unto the Presence
of the Eternal God Himself.
CTi^iltr. Thou hast well said, good Master, that
this would be plain before my eyes. I knew in-
deed that joined to Thy sinless body alone, could
I hope so much as to pass the gate of Heaven ;
yea, that from the just wrath of God I must ever
hide myself in Thee, and in the wounds which
Thou hast opened for my reception ; so that He
may look upon me only as part of Thee, Who art
His Well-Beloved Son, and altogether lovely.
But now only, do I begin to perceive how vainly
I would have sought to incorporate myself with
Thee, by the mere desire of my soul, and exer-
cise of faith, when Thou hast put such plain and
palpable means before me.
JBi&inc J^astcr. Thine error hath been one
which hath ruined many. Thou hast thought
that thou wert of thyself sufficient for these
things ; that thou couldst, with thine own right
hand, and with thy feeble arm, draw me down
out of heaven to come to thee. Thou hast well-
nigh perished in the gainsaying of Core ; for thou
THE DIVINE MASTER. 47
knowest how ho wrested to himself the office of
the priesthood, when he had none authority from
God, and was utterly destroyed, as though the
very earth was moved to indignation, and opened
to swallow him up. Thou hast thought to deal
by thine own soul as he did by his people, in the
administration of holy things; for thou soughtest,
by a spiritual act, to take unto thyself My Body
and Blood, which can be given thee by conse-
crated hands alone.
Yet further must thou understand this matter.
I have said that, except thou be in Me, thou art
utterly lost ; for that even thy very prayers are
useless, except I offer them in union with Mine
own, and that thou canst be one with Me only
through the Sacraments. Now learn that unto
these thou canst not by any means attain, ex-
cepting in and through My Church. I alone dis-
pense these Sacraments ; but from My Hands
visibly on earth thou mayst not receive them,
because I am gone into heaven, there to appear
before the Presence of God for thee, and there-
fore have I commissioned My Priests to act in
My Name and by My Power. For this purpose
I have given unto them the gift of the Holy
Ghost, the Third Person in the Godhead ; for
who less than God could give My children second
birth in Me, and feed them with My very Flesh
48 THE DIVINE MASTER.
and Blood? He, then, the Spirit proceeding
from the Father and the Son, is with them : so
that whatsoever thing they do on earth, in the
way of My holy ordinances, is straightway sealed
by Me in heaven ; and to My people it is as
though I had Myself, in visible human form,
come near to bless them. Thou mayest under-
stand what an awful authority this is with which
I have invested My representatives, by the so-
lemn words I uttered in conveying it, — " Keceive
ye the Holt Ghost !" I said, and breathed on
them loith the same Omnipotent Breath which
made the first man Adam to become a living soul,
— " Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted
unto them ; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they
are retained. He that heareth you, heareth Me ;
he that despiseth you, despiseth Me; he that
receiveth you, receiveth Me. As My Father
hath sent Me, even so send I you." And from
that hour have they ministered unto My sheep,
and yet do minister with the same power and
authority in its degree as I Mine Own Self exer-
cised on earth. They raise the dead from the
death of sin to the life of righteousness, by the
waters of Baptism ; they feed the hungry, hun-
gering and thirsting for eternal joy, with My
very Body and Blood, even that Meat which en-
dureth unto everlasting life ; they heal the sick
THE DIVINE MASTER. 49
and broken in heart, binding up all their wounds
by that ministry of consolation whereby they say
to them, " Thy sins be forgiven thee ;" day by day
in My Father's house they offer up the sacrifice
of praise and prayer ; and to all these sacerdotal
acts I give an entire efficacy, by My co-operation
with them before the throne of God on high.
Thus do I, through their agency on earth com-
mence, continue, and complete in Mine own
Body, the Church, that union with Me which, as
I have shown thee, is alone salvation, and where-
in each one who is found in Me becomes, as it
were, very flesh of My Flesh, and bone of My
Bone. Understandest thou what thou hearest ?
®f)iltf . Yea, Lord, with what blessedness do I
comprehend Thee ; all is most plain and clear.
Thy voice have I heard indeed, saying unto me,
" This is the way, walk thou in it." Only, good
Master, I think with terror how many there be
who profess to love Thy Name, and yet do sacri-
legiously neglect the ministrations of that sanc-
tuary, which truly Thou hast shown me, to be
none other than the house of God, the very gate
of heaven. I was of such myself, but I did so
through ignorance, not wilfully. I know, Lord,
that they who seek Thee in the way of Thine
ordinances, are indeed the few, and not the many.
How shall it then fare with the greater number,
50 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
if there be none otlier way ? Must all these
multitudes perish, O my Master, who look to
find Thee elsewhere than in Thy Church ?
BttJinc Jl^tastcr. Shall mortal man be more
just than God ? Shall a man be more pure than
his Maker? Leave thou them to Me; I will
deal with them as seemeth good to Me.
®f)iltj. O let not my Loed be angry, and I
will speak yet but this once. I am troubled con-
cerning this matter, because there are so many
who seem to be in truth Thy most devoted ser-
vants, unwearied in Thy cause, and Who despise
not the all-holy Sacraments and the Priesthood,
as many do, from wanton love of their own sin :
but whose one error hath been that they, like the
Jews of old, have stumbled at the doctrine of
that temple of Thy Body which Thou hast raised
up on earth : these be righteous men, O Lord ;
wilt Thou destroy them all for lack of know-
ledge ?
Wiblne J^astcr. And who shall love them
more than I ? Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Howbeit, remember the rebuke I gave unto My
beloved servant, when he asked Me, " Lord, and
what shall this man do ?" I answered him as I
now answer thee, " What is that to thee ? follow
thou Me!"
CHAPTER V.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS IN OBEDIENCE.
CCf)iItf. Beloved Master, Thou hast dealt very
tenderly with me ; Thou hast led me on by ways
I knew not, and I have proved that, dark and
cheerless as they seem at first, they truly are
ways of pleasantness, and all Thy paths are peace.
It seemed hard at first to quit that shining world
of vain delights, when Thou didst bid me come
out from earthly hopes and wishes, and be sepa-
rate. I thought'that in the desert there would be
no streams to slake my thirst for happiness ; and
lo, Thou hast prepared a table for me in the wil-
derness; Thou hast fed me with angel's food,
and my soul hath been altogether satisfied there-
with. When I first lifted up Thy Cross, O
Lord, it appeared most heavy to me, and full of
bitterness ; yet blessed is he that shrinketh not
from the load, for when he hath carried it but a
52 THE DIVINE MASTER.
little way, how cloth he feel, in his inmost heart,
that sweet indeed is Thy mercy Who hast laid
it on him! But now, most holy Master, my
soul is yet a little disquieted within me, and I
come once more to sit at Thine adored Feet, to
open all my grief, and gain from Thee that loving
counsel and divinest comfort, which Thou never
dost refuse to those whose longing soul doth
hang on Thee for life.
JBi&ine JHasttr. Yea, verily, I am more ready
to hear than thou to pray. I do but wait to give
thee more, than either thou dost desire or de-
serve. My love is around thee hour by hour ;
My care is in every breath thou drawest : I count
the beatings of thy heart, and number all thy
sighs. To whom then shalt thou turn in all
thy wanderings and necessities, save to Me,
Whose tenderness for thee was manifest in un-
told agonies ? Open thy mouth wide, then, and
I will fill it ; pour out all thy heart to Me ; un-
fold thy secret griefs ; for I am He That heareth
prayer, and to Me shall all flesh come.
Crf)iltf. O, how gracious art Thou, and mer-
ciful, long-suffering, and of great kindness, to
them that call upon Thee ! Who can declare
Thy noble acts, or show forth all Thy praise ?
Now will I lay me down beneath Thy feet, and
tell Thee of my trouble ; for sweet, as dews upon
THE DIVINE MASTEI2. 53
a thirsty land, the voice of Thy dear counsel
falls upon my soul.
Beloved Master, Thou hast plainly showed
me that the way of life, and of the Cross, is in
Thy holy Sacraments, wherein we do receive Thy
very Self, Who art the Way, and Who sufferedst
by Crucifixion ; in them the Life is given, and
not less the Cross. For instead of Life, we should
receive most fearful death, even our own damna-
tion, if we dared accept of them, without first
surrendering ourselves to that entire crucifixion
of our evil nature, which Thou hast shown me
is essential to salvation ; since all who would be
one for ever with the Crucified, must be riveted
unto His wounded Body by the very nails that
pierced Himself. And now it is herein that I am
so disquieted ; I have sought Thee in the way of
Thy Divinest Sacraments, and truly I have found
Thee, sweeter to my soul than honey and the
honeycomb. Thou hast indeed fulfilled Thy pro-
mise, and given me Thyself; and when I too
would seek to keep my plighted word, wherein I
swore to offer unto Thee, in hourly oblation, my
body and my soul, to be a reasonable, holy, and
lively sacrifice unto Thee, I seem to find no
practical means for its accomplishment : to com-
bat sin is not enough. Surely, since Thou hast
taken me into Thyself, to be Thine own, all that I
54 THE DIVINE MASTER.
have is Thine; and I am bound with all the
powers of my soul and spirit, as well as of my
mortal frame, to labour for Thee day by day.
Yet hour after hour flitteth by, and I discern no
actual means of serving Thee, my Lord ! I lay
me down at night, and say, " What have I done
for my good Loed this day ?" and ever the bitter
answer cometh, " Nought ! Loaded I am with
blessings, and He hath given me all things richly
to enjoy, — yea, that which is all in all, Himself!
and yet I have not even a little offering in daily
toil to make to Him." O, am I not faithless,
blessed Master ? Shall not my broken vow be
more utterly to my condemnation, because to me
Thy promises have been so all abundantly ful-
filled ? I felt not thus at first, when Thou didst
so justly rebuke me for my wicked boasting ; I
thought then I had done for Thee great things,
when I did but a little pierce my soul with the
pressing of Thy Cross upon my deadly sin ; but
now that I have known the richness of Thy
mercy, the joy of Thy salvation, — now that I
have fed upon the sweetness of Thy Presence, in
the Blessed Feast of Thine own Flesh and Blood,
I tremble and weep to think, that while God
Himself is lavished on me, I have not strength
or power to rise from my weak idleness, and
make Him but the least return.
THE DIVINE MASTER. 65
Bibine JWaster. Weep, but tremble not, My
child; yea, weep, that sweeter than all joy and
smiles may be to thee the Blessed Touch of
Mine own loving Hand, when I do wipe those
tears away. For thy present grief is of the nature
of that mourning which I have called blest, and
to which I have promised such exceeding com-
fort. Salutary are the tears which thou dost shed
for thy defection, for thine unwilling slackness in
My service, yea, and precious they are unto Me ;
for they do spring from that deep well of love for
Me, which My pierced Hands have opened in thy
soul. And now, fear thou not that they who
follow Me should ever walk in doubt ; I will soon
make thy way plain in this, which hath often been
a source of anxious thought unto My faithful ser-
vants, even to know in what actual work, from
day to day, they might devote their time, their
toil, their whole entire life, unto My service.
Understand, therefore, that the way and means
thereunto are twofold ; first, by the labour which
thou must accomplish in thine own soul; se-
condly, by the work which thou must perform in
the world without. Of thine interior toil I have
already told thee somewhat ; but I would have
thee more fully to understand that it is a very
and actual labour, wherein thou shalt find weari-
ness of body and soul alike. Thou art Mine own,
56 THE DIVINE MASTEK.
purchased by Me in My redeeming torture, and
taken to My very Bosom in Holy Baptism, that
where I am, to all eternity, there thou shouldest
be also. Therefore thy special task on earth
must be, to prepare thyself in thy mortal flesh —
which is hereafter to put on immortality — and
in thy deathless spirit, for an eternal dwelling
with the pure and awful God, in His Paradise
of Light and Glory. This must thou do by co-
operating with My Spirit, even the Holy Ghost,
the Comforter, which, through thy sacramental
union with Me, worketh in thee all righteous-
ness.
Take thou heed, then, first of all, that thou
attend most diligently upon the means of grace ;
be thou never absent from the sanctuary, when
the ministrations of Mine earthly representatives
call into action Mine office' as the Great High
Priest, in all its power and efficacy. Be thou
there alike when they offer up, at morn and eve,
the incense of praise and supplication ; and when,
through Me, in beatific union, they draw nigh
to their dear elder brethren in the faith, My holy
martyrs and pure saints, who sleep in Me ; and,
most of all, in those bright hours, when it is given
them to make the One Supreme Oblation, the
sacrifice, of Mine Own Flesh and Blood. Let
nought deter thee from My house of prayer, —
THE DIVINE MASTER. 57
no weariness, or pain, or storms of wintry skies ;
for My wrath is kindled against those who make
the care of their poor mortal frame a reason for
abstaining from the very source and food of ever-
lasting life. O that My people would consider
how far better it is to peril the body, than to
starve the soul !
Again, be thou instant in that secret prayer in
thine own closet, which thy Father shall openly
reward ; yea, be thou instant therein, though
often thy frail flesh seem to be overburdened :
remembering still the promise I made by My
righteous servant's lips, — how that in due sea-
son, thou shalt reap, if thou faint not. Nor think
it is enough to pray, when thou art moved by
thine own soul's desire or need ; the full and
reverent worship of thy God, in private as in
public, is thy bounden duty, which in no case but
of dire necessity, may be diminished or set aside.
Nor for thine own good only art thou bound to
pray, but to show forth His glory, as doth all
creation ; and how couldst thou hourly cling to
Me, from Whom thy soul by sin is ever falling,
except by ceaseless communing with Me in
prayer? See, then, that thou have stated times
and seasons for this solemn act ; settle it with
thyself, or by the rule of some wiser guide, how
often thou wilt knock at heaven's gate, that I
58 THE DIVINE MASTER.
may open to thee. See also that thou he as care-
ful of all irreverence, in posture or in thought,
as thou wouldst be when kneeling in My holy
house, before the eyes of men ; according as it
is written, " Before thou pray est, prepare thyself,
and be not as one that tempteth the Lord."
Be not thou alone content, to prevent the
morning watches, and to make the lifting up of
thy hands be as an evening sacrifice. For I
charge thee, by the nights I spent upon the cold
and lonely mountain, labouring for thee in heart-
wrung supplication; let not one of the great
hours of Mine agony go past, without renewing
in spiritual communion the application of My
tortures to the healing of thy soul. Take heed
that thou do specially implore the Abiding Pre-
sence of the Holy Ghost within thy soul— at
that third hour, when on the Birthday of the
Church He came in Living Fire to rest upon the
consecrated heads of Mine anointed Twelve —
and with like earnestness at noon, when My Pure
Hands were nailed unto the Cross, be thine
stretched forth in deep acknowledgment of guilt
and prayers for mercy by those wounds, that
ever as thou sinnest bleed afresh even now. At
the ninth tremendous hour, when the shivering
universe heard the Death-cry of the Son of God,
tremble thou to omit the solemn commendation
THE DIVINE MASTER. 59
of thy soul into My care, Who alone can deliver
thee from the bitter pains of eternal death — and
at the even-tide forget not to visit in spirit
that calm Sacred Tomb where alone on earth the
Son of Man could find a place to lay His Head.
So step by step each day in supplication shalt
thou follow Me upon My way of sorrows, and
win a blessing wheresoever I found a pang.
Nor do thou deem these rules for the interior
life are futile, and avail not to the weightier mat-
ters of the law : thou hast fully learnt, that in thy
union with Me, alone, is life present and eternal ;
and the more utterly thou art made like to Me in
Suffering, the more deeply thou canst assimilate
thyself to every act and thought, and sorrow of
Mine earthly course, so the more closely shalt
thou be knit to Me, and live in My very life.
For this cause also I command thee to give all
diligence, in keeping sacred the times and seasons
which mark the great events of Mine existence
among men ; preparing thyself thereunto with
solemn fast and watching : this wert thou bound
to do as the Law of My Church alone, which with
so gracious care points out the holiest way, for
the performance of that work of fasting, to which
I have promised a recompense great as the re-
ward of prayer. But I do love to lure thee to
Myself with patient tenderness ; and when it in-
60 THE DIVINE MASTER.
jures not thy soul, to give a sweetness to obe-
dience by telling thee the hidden blessing it
unfolds.
Therefore do I show thee why thou mayest
not keep festival with Me or with My saints
till thou hast mortified thy flesh with absti-
nence, and chastened thy soul with deepest
prayer. For lo, I Myself went not up to joy
but first I suffered pain ; I entered not into My
glory before I was crucified ; therefore if thou
wouldst be one with Me, seek not to joy in
My glorious Resurrection till thou hast kept
watch and fast with Me throughout the dreary
days wherein I hungered in the wilderness, and
till thou hast counted one by one, with weeping
eyes and suffering frame, the moments of My
deepening agony ; lay not down in softness and
in peace thy guilty head, upon that night when
I was stretched on stones and thorns, as on a
rack, beneath the load of all earth's wickedness,
nor let one faintest thought of ease uplift thy
soul from lowest depths of penitential woe,
upon My crowning day of Torture. So come
not thou unto the Mount of Mine Ascension,
till, by humbling of thy soul, and outward chas-
tening, thou hast joined thyself to Me, Who
abstained from entering upon My glory in the
Heavens, after that I was risen, till I had la-
THE DIVINE MASTEB. 61
boured yet again to build My Cliurcli on earth.
!N"or triumph thou before the Manger of the
Yirgin-Born, till thou hast entered on the Feast
of My Nativity, by deep humiliation of thy soul
and body, even as I Myself did come into the
world. In like manner, when through the union
of Mine own with Me, thou comest nigh to My
departed saints, on their bright day of death and
victory, meeting them, as it were, in My Bosom,
when I visit thee in sacramental fulness, forget
not how they were tortured, not accepting de-
liverance, being destitute, afflicted, tormented ;
and show thou by mortification of thyself how
gladly thou wouldest share their suflferings, if
thou mightest win their glory.
Cf)iltf. Most Blessed Master, Thou dost make
the path of Thy Commandments sweet indeed ;
this is to give joy in suffering. O, yet more, yet
deeper in my soul ! teach me to labour for Thy
sake.
Wibinc JiSlastcr. Think not all will be joy or
sweetness : full often shalt thou faint and cry
out, " LoED, how long?" and often will thy
flesh rebel against the spirit, but be thou faith-
ful unto death, and I will give thee a Crown of
Life. The severest part of all thy labour is that
actual hourly strife with sin, of which thou
must learn more deeply from Me yet ; but not
62 THF DIVINE MASTER.
now when thou wouldst only seek to understand
aright the outward service I demand of thee.
Eemember then what I did answer when that
young man whom I loved as I love thee, My
child, desired to know what he yet lacked, who
had kept My Commandments from his youth
upward. Said I not to him, *' Go, and sell all
that thou hast and give to the poor?" and so in
like manner do I say to thee ; this was the deep
blessing I pronoimced upon My chosen ones, to
comfort them in the anguish of their souls at
My departing. " Me ye have not," I said, " but
the poor ye have with you always ;" that in one
of the least of these they might have power to
minister to Me. And faithfully have I per-
formed that promise ; there is not a spot in the
wide world, unblest by some poor struggling
sufferer, who claims from My redeemed, the
care and tenderness they would bestow on Me.
There is thy work, My child, enough to occupy
each moment of thy life — if even day and night
thy feeble frame could labour without rest.
For think not, that thou couldest fulfil, so much
as the smallest part of My requirements in this
respect, although thou gavest the whole sum of
thy possessions on this earth, if yet thou gavest
not with them, thyself, thy time, thine energies,
thy toil ; for know that they are not only poor,
THE DIVINE MA8TEB. 63
who lack tlie necessities of life, nor rich, who
possess the good things of this world. Thou
knowest that there are treasures which moth
and rust cannot corrupt, nor thieves break
through and steal, yea, riches unsearchable,
whose depth no human thought can penetrate,
even the riches of the glory of this mystery,
CHEIST IN MAN, the hope of glory ! and lo,
how many millions there be, bereft of these, the
only true possessions which can satisfy the
deathless soul: whilst thou, on whom are la-
vished spiritual treasures, in vast abundance,
makest no transfer of them to thy brethren, and
then complainest that thy days pass by in idle-
ness ! Yet these thy heavenly riches, like the
widow's cruse of oil, could never waste, however
much thou mightest give forth of them ; for
though it were permitted thee, to supply the
very world itself, thou couldst never diminish
the store for thine own soul. Look round, then,
on the whole world lying in wickedness, and
linger no more, so falsely mourning thine in-
action ; set thy hand with hearty zeal unto the
work, and go thou forth to labour in My vine-
yard, even till the going down of thine earthly
Bun.
®i)iltr. Alas, good Master, there is in truth
a lack of labourers in Thy vineyard ; they are
64 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
few, though the harvest is so plenteous ; but what
am I that I should presume to teach others, who
haply may be myself a castaway ? I am not one
of Thy Priests, commissioned and gifted by the
Holy G-host : if I myself scarcely be saved,
because of weakness and great sin, how shall I
seek to rescue others ?
Bibinc J^astcr. My child, when the young
man, of whom I spake, went away from Me
sorrowing because of My words, what was his
sorrow unto Mine, Whom he abandoned ? Be-
ware, lest thou follow in his steps, misled by a
false humility, which is too often the cloke to in-
dolence ; know that the very lowest and humblest
of My children may minister to Me in the person
of My poor. For if thou hast but one mite,
thou art rich to him who lacketh all things per-
taining to this life ; and in spiritual blessings,
if thou hadst but once caught the whisper of My
Name, Jesus Who saveth His people from their
sins, — thou couldst bestow a deathless treasure
upon him, who never hath so much as heard, if
there be any Savioue. Yea, even if thou wert
so poor in this world's goods, and they so rich in
heavenly things, that neither after this fashion
couldst thou serve them ; think not thou art ex-
empt for this from ministering unto them : for
still if nought else is left thee, thou canst go
forth and give them Loiw ! that which, above all
THE DIVINE MASTER. 65
other things, I claim from thee. Go to them in
their sickness and affliction, weep with them that
weep, rejoice with them that do rejoice : thine be
the voice of comfort in the hour of trial, of ten-
derness in their time of desolation ; thine be the
arm to pillow the weary head ; wash thou the
feet of the aged and infirm ; to the bereaved be
thou a child, and to the fatherless a parent, and
to all, for My dear sake, a servant. Besides all
this, said I ever unto thee that thou shouldest do
thy work unguided ? have I not set My Priests
as overseers among you, that they should send
every man to labour according to his vocation
and capacity ? I charge thee lift not thy hand,
nor stir one step within My Fold, except by their
counsel and command ; go submit thyself unto
them, and fear not thou, that they will find thee
work enough, to fill this life until I come to call
thee.
CDibiltf. Master, I bow me down in shame and
confusion of face to think I should have dared
to doubt, that what Thou didst command would
be made possible even unto me ; it is enough, I
go to seek Thee, where the desolate and poor, in
soul and body, shall give me the unutterable joy
of tending Thee.
IBitiinc J¥taster. Go ; but remember in this
as in the work within thy soul, I may not have a
mocking service offered unto Me ; hope not thou
66 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
to join thine own ease and desires with the la-
bour in My vineyard ; ^Drepare thyself to endure,
as did My saints of old, in pain and self-denial ;
be thou ready, night or day, when I shall call
thee by the Voice of My afflicted ; in cold and
weariness, if need be, in sufferings and in faint-
ings, toil thou on ; sit thou not by blazing hearths,
when I without am shivering in the blast ; lay
thee not down on couch of ease, when I am la-
bouring through the hours of rest for scanty
bread; take not thy pleasure in the summer
woods, when I am on the bed of pain : and in all
thy labour see that thou attend the first unto the
claims which I have set around thee in thy life,
by ties of blood and of dependence : not until all
the work is done which I have given thee to do
in thine immediate sphere, mayest thou go forth
to seek a wider range of usefulness, for great is
thy charge if even one of the little lambs of My
pure fold be given thee to lead in paths of holi-
ness; and it shall be. My beloved child, that
when thou hast but made trial of My work, thy
soul shall rather faint within thee at its great-
ness, than longer mourn to be unoccupied ; but
if it prove so, think in that hour on the day whe-n
My Voice shall say to those who gave to Me on
earth their love and their compassion. Come, ye
blessed of My Fathek !
THE DIVI2^i: MASTER.
il
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1
VI. i'KKs±;\'±:ii.s„\'(K
CHAPTER VI.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS IN PERSEVERANCE.
Dibinc ,{¥tastcr. Why is thy soul so heavy, O
my cliild, and wherefore is it so disquieted within
thee ? Dost thou droop already on the toilsome
path that leadeth to the Home of thine Eternal
Love? Have I not had compassion on thee,
as once upon the multitude who followed Me
like thee, into the wilderness, and by a greater
miracle than ever I wrought for them, provided
thee with heavenly food, lest thou faint by the
way ? Behold, in the strength of that meat, thou
mayest go even unto the Mount of God, and is
it well that thou shouldest falter thus, — when on
a far drearier road, Mine awful way of sorrows,
— I hasted with such eager Feet, and would not
be deterred, though every step from agony to
agony still drove me on unto that consummation
of My torture, which I longed for, as thou
68 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
longest now for rest, that out of Mine infinity of
Suffering I might build up for thee an everlast-
ing joy! My child, in all that bitter course,
from My first sigh upon My Virgin Mother's
Breast, unto the deepest and the last, I breathed
expiring on the Murderous Wood, which for thy
sake was unto Me a sweeter resting place, — I
never once laid down My Cross, as thou hast
done this hour. Where were thy Hope, if ever
I had yielded to the weakness of My human na-
ture, when ofttimes spent with anguish? and
wherefore then hast thou relaxed thy hold, and
knelt thee down beside it there, as though no
man cared for thy soul, and I, thy God and
strength, had even forgotten thee? Knowest
thou not, that in thy patience thou must possess
thy soul till the brief tyranny of life be overpast,
and thou art called to rest for ever? a little
while, and all that makes existence on this earth
for thee shall be as a dream, when one awaketh,
merged in the first long loving look of thine
adoring and amazed soul, when thou shalt be-
hold Me as I am.
Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down
and the feeble knees, for of heaviness cometh
death, and the heaviness of the heart breaketh
strength. Well is it for thee that thou hast not
left thy Cross when thou didst set it down, and
THE DIVINE MASTEB. 69
Iiast resolved at least to hneel beside it, for it
had not failed, but thou hadst drifted far from
Me, when no longer anchored by it at My Feet,
except I liad read the voiceless supplication of
thy soul, that called on Me, well-nigh uncon-
sciously, in groanings which could not be uttered.
Cljiltt. Divinest Master, were it not that even
my unclean lips refuse so to blaspheme Thine
everlasting mercy, now should I say, — it is in
vain that Thou hast left the ninety and the nine
fair sheep, all folded safely in Thy blessed Pas-
tures, to follow after me, the one most lost and
erring ! for if all Thy tender care up to this hour,
the rich abundance of Thy Sacramental Grace,
and the priceless blessings of Thine Intercession,
have been resisted by the deep corruption of my
soul, yea, and backward turned by my stony
heart, like gushing waters from a rock, what can
Thy long-suffering avail me now, save to deepen
my great condemnation ?
JBibinc jINastcr. My child, if thy heart con-
demn thee, God is greater than thy heart, and
knoweth all things. Behold, My Spirit hath not
ceased to strive with thee, neither have I con-
demned thee.
®!)iltj. Yea, Loed, but Thou hast said to me,
" Go, and sin no more ;" and I have gone and
sinned again — not once nor twice, but in each
70 THE DIVINE MASTER.
hour and moment of my life ! O Master, Who
didst pray for Thy cruel enemies, with hands
outstretched in supplication, by the very nails
wherewith they did themselves transfix them, I
do not doubt Thy mercy ! I believe that until
seventy times seven Thou dost forgive; that when-
soever the suppliant cometh unto Thee, laden
even with the heaviest weight of sin, but with
full purpose of amended life, straightway Thy
pardoning Hands invisible are laid upon his
head, and from his soul the dark stains pass, as
clouds before the Eising Sun : for it is written
that when the leper knelt to Thee, and said,
" Lord, if Thou wilt. Thou canst make me clean,"
IMMEDIATELY Thine answer came, with healing
power, " I will ; be thou clean." And it is this
very load of mercy, leaving to my guilty soul no
shadow of excuse, that I so dread may weigh
me down, even to the deepest hell ; for, O my
Lord, that solemn charge of Thine, which ever
followethon the reconciling words, "Go, and sin
no more," that just requirement, and most pure
command, doth haunt my very heart and ringeth
ever in mine ears, as the sentence of mine utter
condemnation.
" Go, and sin no more." Alas ! alas ! and I
believe the very last breath which these lips shall
breathe ere they are closed in death, will pass
THE DIVINE MASTER. 71
in some sin-tainted word; for never yet hath par-
don come to me, like an angel of mercy and of
peace, but I have met it with renewed guilt ! O
what great troubles and adversities hast Thou
shown me, in the way of the Holy Cross, and
surely I have endured its discipline in vain !
Sharp is that Cross, — mournful is that way, and
what availeth me to walk in it, if I drag after
me for ever this indestructible pollution, which
cannot enter into Thy Pure Presence, but must
surely cause me to be consumed, by the Bright-
ness of Thy Coming ?
Master, now will I show Thee how it hath been
with me. When I first crouched beneath Thy
Feet, allured by Thy Dear Love, and felt Thy
Tender Hands most gently lay the Cross upon my
heart, and heard Thy Voice so softly speak to me
of that Sweet Home, where I should rest for ever
in Thine Everlasting Arms, — it seemed to me as
if I must have died, ere I had taken the accursed
thing unto my heart again, and driven Thee out
thence, Whose dwelling place my bosom had be-
come in sacramental visitings. But alas ! with the
promise yet upon my lips, I felt some breath of sin
renewed go stealing through my soul, and swift
it rose up as a dark foul mist, obscuring the glory
of Thy Presence there, whilst others followed
hard upon its heels, and soon heaped up once
72 THE DIVINE MASTER.
more a burden that was insupportable. Then I
betook me to the sharp, yet blessed discipline
Thou didst command, and dragged up all that
hateful mass into the light of day, before the eyes
of Thine anointed representative ; and sweet,
more sweet than ever voice of earthly love the
pitying accents of forgiveness came, so like to
those which Thou didst utter on the trembling
woman, — " Thy sins are forgiven thee ; go in
peace." But O, my Loed, dear Loed of great
compassion, scarce had the cleansing power
passed with its healing balm and precious oint-
ment through my fainting spirit, when some fresh
taint came creeping in, and stained the new
washed garment of my soul again ! nor hath it
been once alone, but ever thus ! How often I
have vowed deep in my heart, that could I hear
that voice of peace again, I never would revoke
its sweet decree by my own swift-recurring sin ;
and yet when to my longing prayer that conso-
lation hath anew been given, anew have I de-
stroyed it, by my own dark failings.
And so, in like manner, if I have dared ap-
proach Thine Altar, and received Thy very Self
within my soul, Thyself, all Purity, all Power,
all Love ! how basely have I treated Thee, Thou
Guest Divine ! for ever taking Thee to tabernacle
in my heart, amid the very vices, which have
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 73
pierced Thine Own in sharpest wound ? O when
I have felt Thy Presence in that Sacrament,
when Thou hast been so very near to me, that
almost I thought it was but a little dimness in
mine eyes, that hid Thee from me, it hath seemed
as though I rather would have borne the fires
of hell in innocence, if such a miracle could be,
than defile the Habitation of the Virgin Born,
the Pure immaculate, within my breast, by even
the far-off shade of aught impure. Thus have I
thought, when lingering still beside that altar
where Thou hast met me, and then, alas, Master,
good Master, it hath but required a little step
beyond the sanctuary, a little sound of human
voices, a brief moment in the outer life, and the
soul, that nestled so lovingly within Thine Arms,
and clung to Thee, falls down into the earth
again, and gathers up the very dust to soil itself
withal ! Ever thus as it hath been with these
high privileges, so also with my own poor vows
and prayers, while I have sought to make them
even as angels' wings, to bear me up to Thee,
the sleepless sins, like grasping demons, failed
not to drag me back upon the downward path.
Therefore it is my heart hath failed me ut-
terly, and the hope that once enabled me to
bear this heavy Cross hath faded quite away ;
so that I can no longer hold it up, — for the
74 THE DIVINE MASTEB.
stern requirements of Thy righteous laws, — the
daily crucifixion of the natural will, are all most
sweet and welcome, if through their bitterness
we may look on with longing trust into the
painless rest of a Bright Eternity with Thee.
Eut Thou knowest, Lord, with what deep truth
Thy blessed servant said of all who follow Thee
in pain and weariness, " If in this life only we
have hope, we are of all men most miserable ;"
and I, alas, beyond this mortal span misused,
defiled, and lent perhaps in vain, — can only
look to hear the terrible voice of most just
judgment, bidding me depart from the presence
of Thy purity for ever. Since whilst I pass
from taint to taint, from sin to penitence, and
from penitence to sin again, I know that Thou
continuest Holy, O Thou Worship of Israel, and
the thought is like a keen bright sword, piercing
my very soul.
Bitiinc i^astcr. Yet even by this Eternal
Holiness it is that My long-suffering shall not
fail, nor My mercy find a limit in thine often
infirmities ! Eefrain now thy voice from weep-
ing, and thine eyes from tears ; for there is
hope in thine end, whereof thy very sorrow is a
pledge ; thinkest thou that ever thy feeble soul
could thus have mourned for sin, except the
Holy Spirit had been with thee, uniting thee
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 75
to Me the Prince of Purity ? Thou hast but
proved the truth and wisdom of those words,
** My son, if thou come to serve the Loed, pre-
pare thy soul for temptation." So long as a
man is content to walk in the error of his own
ways, and seeketh not My Love, to be his one
sole joy, he seemeth to have no let or hindrance
in his evil course, for the Great Enemy is well
pleased to leave unto himself the work of his
destruction, and the corrupt nature being given
uninterrupted mastery, goeth smoothly down
the broad and fatal way, without a fear or
scarce a consciousness of its own guilt, from day
to day ; but it is far otherwise when the Grace
of Baptism, all unresisted, hath worked so
mightily upon the soul, that it hath been con-
strained to rise up and follow Me. Then is
there war within it from that hour, the Spirit
against the flesh, and My faithful soldier must
prepare for many a wound and many a woe,
and a sleepless watch by day and night. Por
straightway the Devil standeth forth and crieth
out, "Who is on my side, who ?" and at his call
each lurking passion in that soul, each evil
temper and corrupt desire, come thronging from
their secret haunts, to fight beneath his banner
and assail My servant on his heavenward course;
and ever as he struggleth with a stronger effort,
76 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
they gather themselves up, and do more fu-
riously rage together : the peculiar desires of
his mind, the sins that do most easily beset him,
the evil impulses that quickened first his natural
heart, all these are leagued against him : yea,
his very self doth seem to stand an armed man,
prepared with desperate will to trample down
his pure regenerate nature ; and so, day by day,
the warfare deepens, till oft My faithful chil-
dren deem that they are even spent, when the
very triumph of their rest is close at hand ; for
in the midst of all these fierce assaults, their
feet are ever on a rock that goes with them un-
seen, and that Spiritual Rock is I Myself the
Christ.
Cf)ilU. Beloved Master, it is very sweet to
hear Thee say, that they are most assailed who
love Thee most; in such a thought there is a
very well of comfort, when the soul is torn and
marred by the fiery darts of the Wicked One.
Truly Thou dost not break the bruised reed,
nor quench the smoking flax; but alas, my
Lord, I dare not take unto myself the peace
Thy blessed words should give ; for surely it is
my own infirmity, yea, my own sin, which has
well-nigh extinguished in my cold heart the
lingering sparks of that pure Fire of Love, the
Unction from the Holy One, which was kindled
THE DIVINE MASTER. 77
in me, with the flame of my regenerate life.
Behold, I have not remained steadfast, as Thou
didst command me ; I have not kept my faith,
and struggled on unflinching in Thy Sacred
Steps, despite all obstacles from within and
from without; but I have grown weary and
faint in my mind, when I found myself recalled
each day into a deepening warfare, which through
my weakness was always still a battle, and never
a final victory ; the ceaseless pressing of Thy
Cross on every thought, and word, and deed, in
small things as in great, did seem at length a
burden, heavier than I could bear, the more
that I had so little of the sweet power of hope,
to make it lighter ; it seemed not too weighty
for each separate moment as it passed ; but the
thought that none in all my life should be with-
out its unrelenting load — that I must never
cease to persecute myself, and endure such con-
tradiction of my will, in all my natural longings
and desires, became at last too bitter for my
coward heart ; since I dared not look unto the
bright reward, whose promise had made all
suff'ering and endurance sweet ; and so it came
to pass, good Lord, that I at last, a faithless
child, have laid the burden down, and my poor
trembling feet no more have gained a step upon
that rough ascent ; but I have knelt me here
78 THE DIVINE MASTER.
beside it ; I liave not turned unto the paths of
earth again ; for if Thy Bright and Holy Home
be out of reach for one so faltering and so weak,
at least the soul that once hath panted for the
sweetness of Thy Presence there, could never
seek to feed again on this world's dust and
ashes.
BMnt JWaster. Lingering and slow, replete
unto the last dull second with torture, spiritual
and bodily, such as thy human heart cannot
conceive, the dragging hours of Mine awful
CrucifixioD passed for Me ; each moment of
each one seemed more, oh how far more ! than
My racked frame and spirit could endure;
sharper and sharper thrilled My torn and shiver-
ing nerves ; fainter and fainter on My wounded
Breast, fell down My thorn-pierced Head ;
louder and louder round Me grew the mocking
taunts of those, for whom My Sinless Blood, im-
pelled by tenderest Love, was gushing out
through five deep ghastly rents ; seven times
My lips were opened, from whence one brief
word passing, had sent that lost, ungrateful
world, which by their word was made, for ever
reeling to destruction from before My Face ;
seven times they were unclosed, and I spake
only to intercede, to pardon, to console, to pray,
and to submit; but never to say, "It is too
THE DIVINE MASTEB. 79
raucli ;" that from My Cross I might come down,
as My foes deriding bade Me, to leave the
generations of the sons of men for evermore to
perish in their sins. Patient, patient, to the
end I did endure and meekly bowed My Head,
nor yielded up the Ghost, till I had drained the
Cup of My dread Fatheb's wrath, unto the
very dregs. And now desiring for My children
that this cruel torture should avail to their
redemption, desiring it with all the power of
that Love, which even then lit up the world in
purest glory, while the very day fled from the
awful aspect of My Face in death, I have but
asked of them that they should take the likeness
of My Passion into their lives, and endure the
dying pangs of sin, the suffering of their evil na-
ture crucified ; until made conquerors through
My Love, they echo back the words, solemn and
glorious, — "It is Finished," wherein I told a
world's redemption, — and gently fall asleep in
Me. This only have I asked, in return for all
Mine Agony of Love, that they should follow
the example of My Patience, in order that they
may share My Glory ; and thou from this brief
constancy hast turned away, O faithless child,
and sayest, *' It is too hard for me !"
€ri)iltf. But never more, my Loed, oh never
more will I with such ingratitude repay the
80 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
long-suffering of Thine all-enduring Tender-
ness ! bear with me yet a little, Thou Who didst
heal the wound of Malchus, when he came, with
cruel heart, to bear Thee unto Judgment and
to death, though I so many times have fallen
from Thee, and Thou as often, with unwearied
care, hast stretched forth Thy Blessed Hand
again, and drawn me back unto Thy Breast.
my LoED, the very mother had not known
such Love unquenchable for her own first-born
child, as Thou hast shown to me, in all my
many wanderings ; and therefore I dare yet once
again to plead with Thee, that Thou wouldest
pardon this my last abhorred defection ; for
Thou hast shown me all its hideousness ; and
1 would that mine eyes were a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night, to think I
ever could thus desert Thee in my cowardly
sloth, and prepare to make so base return for
the mercy that endured unto death. O Master
of Divine Compassion, I dare not say I will not
turn from Thee again, for the wreck of many a
broken vow lies rotting in my soul; but it
seemeth to me now, as though it were more easy
far to give my body to be burned, than ever
again to be unfaithful unto Thee, in even the
faintest thought ; yet once more then with Thine
accustomed pity, Gentlest Lokd, unfold to me
THE DIVINE MASTER. 81
the cause of this last hateful fall, that I may
shun it as I would the deadliest poison.
Dibinc /bTdStcr. Thou wilt do well, my child,
and thou mayest see at once wherein thine
error hath consisted ; thou hast lacked the grace
of rERSEVERANCE, without which all other vir-
tues springing up in thy regenerate soul, are
profitless as the unconnected links of some fair
broken chain. This is the seal which must be
set on all the holy gifts of faith, and love, and
zeal poured out upon thee in the waters of
Baptism; else will they break from thy weak
heart, and run to waste. It is the crowning
grace of Mine elect, the patience of the saints,
and therefore is it above all others hard to be
attained ; although not less within the reach of
even the feeblest of My servants.
Now will I show thee how to labour for it.
Dost thou remember, O My child, when thou
wert newly set within the holy path of suffering
and obedience, where My Bleeding Feet had
gone before, and My Pierced Hands upheld a
glorious Crown above thy head, how full thou
wast of energy and pure devotion ? how willing
to assay the hardest tasks ? how longing to lay
down thy very life for Me, and do for My dear
sake such noble deeds as did My blessed Martyrs
in the days of old ? Now to this I called thee
a
82 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
not, My child ; but I commanded thee instead to
bind thy soul in an entire captivity unto My Will,
which can make the calm and uneventful life, an
offering greater and more difficult, than even a
sudden death by fire or sword would be. I bid
thee in every hour of every day, by heart, and
hands, and lips, in little matters, as in great, un-
ceasing immolate thy will unto My pleasure and
that through dryness oft, and seeming desolation,
and the veiling of My Presence from thy longing
heart ; for so it is needful I should prove My
own ; if I were ever to pour out on them, the
whole surpassing sweetness of My Love, they
could not choose but cling to Me, with a rapture
of content, wherein no trial of faith could be ;
and it is herein. My child, that lacking persever-
ance thou hast failed ; thou hast grown weary of
the never-ceasing watch over each temper, feel-
ing, word, and deed ; the flame of thy first zeal
soon burned away, when thou didst find thyself
awaking morn after morn to a renewed servitude,
in every shade and breath of thy soul's life. Thou
who wert eager for the torture and the death,
hast stumbled in the little self-denials perpetually
recurring, the little acts of hourly and unseen
submission, which seemed unto thyself an offer-
ing scarcely fit for Me : each one were easy, as
a separate deed, but to find no single moment
THE DIVINE MA8TEB. 83
free from some slight crossing of thy will, hath
seemed a trial too groat for thy poor strength, O
thou who fearedst not to ask for martyrdom.
And a martyr thou shalt be, but in My own
chosen way ; even in all the common duties of
tliy sphere, never neglected through weariness
and gloom, but never winning human praise, as
deeds of high devotion would.
Thou must practise the grace of perseverance
according as I will that all should learn it ; not,
as in the first transports of a soul called out to
follow Me, when a thousand beams of light ce-
lestial seem to shine upon the heavenward path,
even ecstatic hope, and ardent zeal, a sense of
purest love for Me, and loving sympathy from
tender friends, who hail with joy a fellow-servant
in the faith; but in obscurity and soberness,
when all these have seemed to die away, and thou
art left unnoticed and uncheered alone before
My Cross ; with only a task inglorious as thou
deemest, bound upon thee by My will — a task
which is not the grasping of the spear that
pierced My side, to mangle thine own heart with
it, and bid the world behold thee bleeding for My
sake, but which compels thee to take the thorns
one by one from my sharp Crown, and fix them
in thy flesh, and silently to nail each day some
hidden sm the more, unto the unrevealing wood.
84 THE BIVINE MASTER.
This is perseverance ; — never to rest from tliine
inward purification, day or niglit, yet never to
know the glad excitement of some deed of daring
love. Thy work is to slay thine evil nature, as
thou knowest well ; but remember there is no
sudden death for sin ; in lingering sickness, and
long-drawn agony, it dieth, and thou must abide
its slow expiring, patient as I myself did watch
the life-blood ebbing from My Heart.
€Di)iltf. Beloved Loed, now do I see indeed
that there is a true and blessed martyrdom in
that enduring constancy of calm obedience, which
marketh every moment with the sharpness of
Thy Cross. O grant me then this needful grace
of perseverance, for lack of which I have well-
nigh perished from Thy Presence ! Give me the
Martyr's heart that I may embody in my life
the patient hours of Thy slow, torturing Cruci-
fixion.
L.
»W#9
THE DIVIKE MA.STEB..
Vii. I'Al^'LENCK.
^
CHAPTER VII.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS IN HOLY ZEAL.
©itjine Jilastcr. Cliild of My deep Compas-
sion, believest thou that I love thee ?
CDljiltf. Yea, Loed, I know that Thou lovest
me by Thy Life of Sorrow, and Thy Death of
Pain.
Bibint J^astcr. Believest thou that I would
willingly afflict thee, and for Mine own pleasure
stretch thy soul upon too sharp a rack ?
©I)iltf. O, Beloved Master, so to think were
fearful blasphemy against Thine Everlasting
Love! Surely I know too well Thou camest
down from Thine all-glorious Home, unto this
cruel and evil world, because the very thought
of my least pang in most deserved punishment,
was so abhorrent to Thy tender Mercy, that
Thou wouldest do no less than pay each one I
merited, with an infinity of suffering! How
86 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
should I so misjudge Tliee, Blessed One? or
doubt that the mountains may depart, and the
hills be removed, but that Thy kindness shall
never depart from me, nor the covenant of Thy
peace be removed ? for Thou art in very truth
the LoED that hast mercy on me.
Mitint J^aster. Who gave thee then that
Cross, which I now find thee seeking to diminish,
with such self-willed ardour ?
®f)iltf. LoED, Thou knowest all things, Thou
knowest that in Thy Love and in Thy pity Thou
Thyself didst give it me, that I might by it work
out my salvation, and Thou in me mightest see
the travail of Thy soul and be satisfied.
Wibint J^aster. Was I then ignorant of its
nature when I laid it on thee ? Had I no know-
ledge of its sharpness ?
®i)ilU. O, wherefore dost Thou try me thus ?
Alas, my Loed, and who so well as Thou shouldst
know the uttermost extent of all its bitterness,
when the very Hands with which Thou gavest it
me, were so deep wounded by its power !
JBt&inc J^astcr. And thou knowing all this,
and having yet further learned that I did lay on
thee this Cross, with the sole intent of fitting thy
weak soul, by its pure discipline, for an eternal
joy in Heaven, still hast not feared with thy
rebellious hand to tamper with the burden Mine
THE DIVINE MASTEE." 87
had shaped for thee, and seek to lessen its most
salutary weight. Child, knowest thou what thou
art doing even now ? thus striving to diminish
on every side the bitter exactions of that com-
plete self-sacrifice whijh I demand, an(J from
which, weak as thou art, thou woiddst tremble
to be freed ? Know, that how far soever thou
dost rob thyself of thine appointed discipline, by
so much dost thou make thyself less fit to see
My Face in glory, less prepared to stand before
Me at the Judgment day, less ready to arise
and meet Me when My fearful midnight Call
shall come, thrilling through the quaking world
— so awful that the living shall long to die, and
the dead shall tremble to live again !
(Cf)iltr. O LoED, how dreadful are Thy words !
my spirit faileth me for fear. Alas ! have I dealt
so madly with myself as to frustrate, even in
the least degree. Thy work of grace within my
sold ? truly I knew it not ; for since that hour
when Thou didst teach me how the glory of
Thine Eternal Presence, can only be awarded
unto a Constancy of Love, I would have died
ere I had thrown aside Thy Cross for even a
single day ; though I confess that I have sought,
when heart and flesh seemed fainting, at the
long slow trial, to shun all aggravations of that
constant labour, by which I struggled after Thee.
88 THE DIVINE MASTER.
Bibine J¥lnster. My child, it hath befallen
thee as I foretold long since, ere yet thy feeble
steps were well assured, upon the rough and
toilsome path of Life Eternal. I warned thee,
that ever as thou dost overcome one obstacle,
another will rise up before thee ; and no sooner
hath an upward step been gained, than one yet
higher will appear above it, luring thee on, little
by little to such glorious heights of holiness
that thou wouldest deem them inaccessible,
couldst thou behold them even now, and learn
how there, as on the lofty mountains of the
earth, the air is free from human taint, and the
bright beams of the Sun of Eighteousness shine
unimpeded upon purity, white as the drifting
snow.
For this reason have I mercifully hid the
stages of thy heavenward course from thee, that
thou be not dismayed, with the entire revelation
of the painful and the slow degrees, by which
that great work is accomplished, even the per-
fecting of Mj'- Saints in Me ; and so to each
fresh struggle with thine evil nature, to each
new effort for a needful grace, thou comest with
the hope that therein is the consummation of
thy labour, whilst higher and higher, all unseen
to thee, full many a steep ascent doth yet await
thy wearied feet. Marvel not at this, and be
THE DIVINE MASTEB. 89
not swallowed up with overmuch sorrow, to find
that how painfully soever thou dost labour,
there remaineth yet something to be done, some
nearer approach, some more ardent stretching
out of thy whole soul to Me, till in the plenitude
of My unveiled Love, which is thine everlasting
joy, thou shalt pass on unto My very Bosom.
Marvel not, I say to thee, for the growth of
the regenerate spirit, from the hour of its new
birth into My Life, till it come unto a perfect
man, even unto the measure of the stature of
the fulness that is in Me, is in all things ana-
logous to that slow developement of the human
being, from infancy to full maturity, which is
accomplished in the natural existence. Thou
knowest how gradually the feeble limbs acquire
strength, and how new faculties and powers,
one by one, are awakened in the opening mind,
and how by daily supplies of needful nourish-
ment, and light, and air, this progress can alone
be carried on. And so it is with My redeemed ;
not once alone must they feed on the Bread
which cometh down from Heaven, and behold
the Light of My Guiding Spirit, and breathe
the air of Mine actual Presence ; but day by
day, and hour by hour, feeding, strengthening,
growing into My Likeness more and more, they
must pass through a long and gradual process.
90 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
ere they be so transformed unto Mine Image,
that without annihilation, they could bear to see
Me as I am in the Day of Mine Appearing.
©J)iItJ. But so to see Thee, Blessed Loed, in
Thy Perfect Glory, and Thy Perfect Love, what
lengthening pain of slow and ever deepening la-
bour could not the soul endure ! O speak, and
tell me where I next must plant my wearied feet,
and how ascend a little nearer to Thy Holy Hill,
and to Thy Dwelling ; for I discern in Thy gentle
Words, that for me the end is not yet, and the
land of my Desire and Thy Promise, is yet in-
deed a land that is very far away. Yea, Loed,
I feel it must be so ; for if I so much as think
upon that Hour when Thou shalt rend the
heavens, and come down in the Glory of Thy
Majesty, to shake terribly the earth, when Thou
shalt rebuke the nations, and they shall rush
like the rushing of many waters, and flee far off,
and be chased as the chaff of the mountains
before the wind, — I feel, to the very depths of
my poor soul, that I am yet how far too weak
and tainted to endure the Brightness of Thy
Coming, tiU I have been purified and strength-
ened it may be seven times in the fire !
I felt not thus, good Master, even now, when
Thou didst find me with coward hand, striving
to lessen my dear Cross, and strip my needful
THE DIVINE MASTEB. Ci
duties of all the paiu aud bitteruess, which I
could wring from them by self-indulgence, and
a cold fulfilment of their bare requirements;
but Thou dost ever bring conviction of my great
unlove to this deceitful heart of mine that seems
indeed to burn with ardent longing after Thee,
and yet in actions all unconsciously betrays
Thee ;— Thou dost show me to myself in Thy
calm words as in a mirror ; and ever when Thou
dost so, from the hateful Image straightway I
do seek to flee, and hide me in Thy Likeness,
by any means, however hard, which Thou wilt
graciously employ for this most longed-for re-
formation.
And now I bless Thee, O watchful Shepherd
of my soul, Who hast come to stay my wilful
hands in their base work, ere I had time yet
more to lessen that poor offering of my bounden
duty, so mean and vile already. O gird me
anew with strength, that I no more may seek to
ease my shoulder from this sacred burden.
Teach me once again, as Thou hast ever done,
the secret of my failing courage. Uplift me in
Thy Bleeding Hands, my Lord, for except Thy
Love be written there in Blood, how could I
dare to claim their mighty Help, after such
great and oft-repeated failures? O set me up
on the Bock that is higher than I, and show me
92 THE DIVINE MASTER.
where upon the rough ascent I now must turn
my faltering steps. '
©ibine jFblnster. Stretch forth thy hands, and
I will guide thee : stretch them forth in prayer
for Liglit and Truth, and both will ever come to
thee. Light, to shine upon each step which
thou must take from day to day, and Truth to
pierce into the depths of thy weak soul, and
show thee all the hidden self-deceit, which to
the very last, will seek to blight and spoil that
one unfailing worship, that sacrifice of righteous-
ness, which with thy whole life thou must oflfer
unto Me.
And now this is the subtle cause from which
thy present faithlessness hath risen : in learning
perseverance thou hast unlearned zeal. Yet both
are altogether needful, if thou wouldst be Mine
indeed ; and the one without the other can avail
thee nought : — for I have fully shown thee how,
by constancy alone, thou canst be faithful even
unto death, and so receive the Crown of Life ;
but constancy without zeal. My poor weak
child, is only to persevere in a lukewarm, stinted
service, which is an offering most unmeet for
Me, thy Victim, and thy Sacrifice, thy God and
Judge ! Zeal is but another name for Love, for
that pure ardour of the adoring soul, which
longs in every hour and action of the life to
serve, and praise, and draw more near to Me,
THE DITINE MASTEB. 93
yea, which causctli it even to faint, and to con-
sume away, for the very fervent desire that it
hath to spend and to be spent for 'My dear salce.
My child, tliou knowcst that this is wliat I asked
of thee when I said, "Give Me thy heart."
Sacrifice and burnt-offerings I sought not from
thee ; but thy Love have I desired — thy Love,
zealous and earnest, burning with intense devo-
tion, that will not be hidden nor restrained, but
striveth ceaselessly, with every faculty and
power, to devise some means of manifesting
itself to Me, in living works and self-denial.
And how hath it been with thee in actual
truth. My child .'^ Thou hast persevered as I
bade thee, and for this I do commend thee ; but
thou knowest that thou hast sought, to do only
80 much as was thy bounden duty and no more.
Painful and hard My just requirements seemed
to thee ; and rightly hast thou borne them day
by day, nor soughtest to escape : but thou hast
done so, weighing out, as it were, the scantiest
measure of them which thou couldst venture to
perform, when thou knewest how the gates of
hell are gaping open wide for those, who keep
not My commandments ; and hast thou ever
borne a voluntary pang for Me? hast thou wel-
comed pain, and weariness, and woe, for My
Name's Sake, yea, and sought for them as for a
hidden treasure, if by any means it might be
94 THE DIVINE MASTER.
given thee to serve Me in thy generation ? hast
thou but at the thought of My Deep Love and
Purity been fired with such gratitude and long-
ing, that thou hast not so much as suffered
thine eyes to sleep, nor thine eyelids to slumber,
nor the temples of thy head to take any rest, till
by ardent discipline and cleansing, thou hadst
made the temple of thy soul a place for Me,
an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob?
Hast thou looked round upon this world lying
still in wickedness, though My deep expiring
Sigh was breathed out over it, to infuse new
life, and hope, and righteousness within the
dead corrupting mass, as in like manner from
My Breath the Spirit passed into the first man's
soulless clay ? and hast thou longed with vehe-
ment desire, to give, if need be, thy whole life's
energy to labour in that vineyard I watered
with My Blood, and constrain it to yield up
some little fruit to Me ; yea, hast thou so pined
and yearned to devote thy whole self, who art
all Mine, unto My work, that thou wouldest
rather spend thyself in toil, which could not
profit, if none better were provided, as do nought
for Me on earth ? This is true zeal — and where
hath been thine. My cliild ?
mm. Alas, Good Lord !
©ibinc ifilaster. Thou weepest ? but take heed
that thy sorrow be after a godly sort — dare not
THE DIVINE MA8TEU. 95
to rest contented, with mourning thy great weak-
ness and thy sin, and with only a dim desiring to
be more lil^e to those, who loved Me unto Death,
and Torture ; for many there be who grieve My
Holy Spieit with such profitless bewailings —
making their idle moan for that tchich they have
power to remedy, without a thought, that in so
doing they are uttering the veiy sentence of their
own deep condemnation — for if they know their
faithlessness, and long to serve Me, with a Living
Love, for ever bearing fruit in noble deeds of high
devotion, what hindereth them to rise up, and to
be as very saints P The Spirit and Bride say,
*' Come," God in Heaven, and the Church on
earth, are on their side, waiting to be gracious,
and to lead them with a mighty Hand, and with
a stretched out Arm, to the loftiest height of holi-
ness and zeal, — yea, even to Perfection, — but
they are satisfied with expending all their grief
in hollow lamentations, not stirring hand or foot
to overcome their failing nature, and be strong
in Me, as the feeblest on this earth may be, if
they have but a resolute purpose, and a hearty
will. Nay, verily, I say to thee, they take a very
pleasure, subtle and unconscious, in telling those
whose sympathy they seek, how deeply they be-
wail their feebleness and guilt ; for in the very
words wherewith they mourn their little love for
Me, their deep deceitful heart would rather liope
96 THE DIVINE MASTER.
to prove its greatness ! Out of their own mouth
will I judge them ; be not thou like to them ;
take heed that thou fall not into a snare so com-
mon — has thine own heart judged thee as lacking
zeal and love unto this hour ? Weep then ! but
weep not only : be up and doing, with a burning
heart that crieth out for some vast aliment
whereon to feed its love, and hands that ever
crave the weariness of endless toil.
O child, if thy dim eyes could pierce that blue
unfathomable air which I have for ever sanctified
by My descending blessing, as I passed through
it on the day of Triumph, when the gates of
Heaven lifted up their heads, that I the King
of Glory might come in, — and couldest thou look
for one brief moment upon the wondrous heights
of unimagined bliss, to which IMy own redeemed
may rise, through all the various grades of deep-
ening joy and glory, how would the matchless
revelation steep thy very spirit, as it were, in a
fire of intensest ardour, that would consume thee
even to agony, if thou didst not seek to quench
it in such an active, pure devotion, as rests not
day or night, from seeking ever some new means
whereby to serve and honour Me ! But thou
mayest not seek the stimulus of such a glorious
sight, nor make it an excuse unto thyself that it
is hidden from thee ; for thou hast the Prophets
and Apostles, and if thou hear them not, neither
THE DIVINE MASTER. 97
would it rouse thee, if I bid thee gaze into the
very Heaven of Heavens, like to him, My well-
beloved, who wrote for thee at My command, the
vision of the things which shall be hereafter.
Crf)ilH. O LoED, I would not dare so much as
to attempt a palliation of my lukewarm faithless-
ness because no revelation hath been made unto
my mortal eyes, of that pure land of everlasting
loveliness, whose Light and Sun Thou shalt for
ever be ; for I feel it were enough for my deep
condemnation, that I have known how truly
even now, all Thy Baptized are come through
the Blood of Sprinkling, and the New Covenant,
of which Thou art the Mediator, unto the City of
the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an
innumerable company of angels, yea, and to the
general assembly and church of the first-born,
which are written in Heaven ; to Thee the Judge
of all, and spirits of just men made perfect : if
this should fail, ere my short time of trial be
past, to fire my soul with holiest zeal, Thou say-
est truly it would not avail me to behold, even
the Kadiant Glory of Thy Promised Home. Yet
tell me, O Divinest Master, if I gathered rightly
from Thy Words even now, a hope which hath
most strangely stirred my soul with longing and
with strength renewed ; saidst Thou that there
are many grades of Bliss in that Delightsome
Land, and that they who serve Thee with the
n
98 THE DIVINE MASTER.
greatest fervour here, shall rest more closely by
Thy side for ever ?
Bibinc JKasttr. It were enough for thee to
hope that ever thou mightest pass, so much as
the threshold of that sinless Dwelling ! Yes, I say
unto thee, forasmuch as thou thyself dost crucify
Me afresh, by all thy many sins, thou shouldest
scarcely dare to ask for aught, save only to escape
hell-fire. Thine evil deeds do pierce My Hands
anew ; thy wandering steps do rend My Bleeding
Peet ; thine every sinful thought doth open wider
yet the gaping wound of My pure Heart : and
dost thou not fear to think, thy zeal should still
require to be fed with hopes, that thou mightest
find a place upon My Right Hand or My Left ?
Shouldest thou not do all, which thy whole soul
and life, and uttermost energy, may accomplish,
only to win thyself an entrance there P
But I will have compassion on thee, and
quicken now thy fainting soul and lagging steps,
by showing thee somewhat of the richness, of that
exceeding Great Eeward, which I have prepared
for those who love Me most. Thou knowest that
the immortal soul of man, the Breath of God,
which came from Him, can find no rest nor joy,
yea, nought but sufi'ering and desolation, until
to Him it doth return. The one sole bliss for
which it was created, and which alone can satisfy
it is to be with Him, and to know Him in His
THE DIVINE MASTER. 99
perfect Beauty ; but as He is altogether Holy,
the very Fount and Boundlessness of Purity, so
by holiness alone can the soul be made capable,
in some degree, of comprehending Him, and of
finding even in that dim Comprehension an ever-
lasting Blessedness — and therefore of necessity
the measure of glory and of happiness which it
hath power to enjoy with God eternally, must be
in exact proportion to the amount of purity unto
which it hath attained on earth ; and thus while
each one of My redeemed, to whom it is My
Fatheb's good pleasure to give the Kingdom,
shall there enjoy the utmost extent of bliss, which
they are capable of receiving in their union with
the Godhead, and shall believe none greater to
exist in even the most exalted ranks of Seraphim,
^yet they who in their mortal life have, by a
more ardent discipline of purification and a closer
walk with Me, been made in a higher degree par-
takers of the Divine Nature, shall by that holy
elevation have a far deeper appreciation of the
Kapture of My Presence, and be enabled to steep
themselves more utterly in the inexhaustible
ocean of delight which it affords.
Understandest thou this ? It hath its parallel,
in the enjoyment which a child and a man in full
maturity may know, each to the utmost of their
capacity ; yet differing in kind and in degree ; for
the highest felicity My little ones are capable of
100 THE DIVINE MASTEK.
feeling, could never satisfy him who hath put
away childish things ; nor yet could they enter
into the exalted nature of the bliss, which he in
the ripeness of his powers could know.
By reason therefore, of the Blessed Truth
which I have now unfolded unto thee, My chosen
must be very zealous in this world, to knit them-
selves to Me in such a close and perfect union,
as shall satisfy the cravings of their Love to all
eternity.
Cf)tltr. O LoED, and unto me give grace to
come so near Thee now in pure devotion, that
I may dwell within Thy Very Bosom there for
ever ! Good Master, I do clearly understand Thy
words ; I see it is a fatal error to suppose that our
Soul and Spirit undergo a sudden transformation
at the hour of death ; rather the stripping off of
the mortal flesh doth but lay bare their real state,
and shows how far they are fitted to be glorified
in Thee. And now although Thou saidst truly,
that for me it were enough to hope I might es-
cape the punishment of hell, yet, Loed, Thy rea-
sonings have inflamed my soul with passionate
desires, so to struggle nearer and nearer to Thee
in this Life, that I may know Thee hereafter
even as Thou aet ! And this will I strive to
do, so help me Thy Pure Spirit.
THE DIVIKE MASTER..
X'^n,/ /'a/(( ,M^ Vccjyje 6f-.^u c<!itJ&i'>i/ /tf^tu/. .
CHAPTER VIII.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS IN TEMPTATION.*
CDf)iltr. Save me, O God, for the waters are
come in, even unto my soul. I stick fast in the
mire, where no ground is ; I am come into deep
waters, so that the floods run over me. Behold,
all is desolation within me, — trouble, and terror,
and dimness of anguish,— and I shall be driven
to darkness ; for I am torn, as it were, from the
stronghold of my hopes, and cast out to perish
in a very wilderness of gloom, where Thou art
* The temptation specially referred to in this chapter is one
peculiar only to minds of a certain stamp, and may there-
fore not be found applicable to the generality of readers ;
but it is a trial, at the same time, by no means uncommon,
and in the instances where it does occur, it produces not
only the most extreme suffering, but also a fatal tendency to
despair. This is more particularly the case with young people,
and those who are of an ardent and zealous disposition, and
for this reason it has been thought very desirable to embody
in the following pages, the substance of many wise counsels
102 THE DIVINE MASTER.
not, and where I have not even power to seek
Thee. Woe is me ! I am undone — undone ; for
it seems a very mockery to call on Thee, when
faith is dead within my soul. Alas ! how sweet
and easy seem unto me now, the tribulations I
repined at in my days of blessed hope ; for then,
however manifold my weaknesses and sins, I saw
Thee still above my path, the Bright and Morn-
ing Star, leading me up into eternal day. And
now behold the light is darkened in the very
heaven where I thought to find Thee, and I see
nought, in all this dark bewilderment, but hell
with ready fires, desiring my lost soul, and death
preparing soon to lead me into it.
Bibint Jblastcr. Peace, be still ; be still, and
know that I am God. Wherefore art thou so
terrified and sore dismayed ? If I am for thee,
who shall be against thee ? Am I not He that
which have been given to persons thus afflicted by some
of the most experienced guides of souls in our own day.
It is hoped that, while this chapter may happily meet the
case of some who stand sorely in need of comfort, it may
also convey a profitable lesson to others, who have been
mercifully spared so painful a visitation, by teaching them the
necessity of an abiding faith and constancy through every
species of temptation. But if any, again, should feel a ner-
vous dread of becoming acquainted with difficulties which
they have not hitherto encountered, they can avoid the
perusal of it.
THE DIVINE MASTEIi. 103
opcneth, and no man shuttcth, and shutteth, and
no man openetli ? I know thy works, and be-
liold I have set before thee an open door, and
no man can shut it ; for thou hast kept My
Word, and hast not denied My Name. I am
thy light and thy salvation : whom then shalt
thou fear ? I am the strength of thy life ; of
whom then shalt thou be afraid? Faint not,
therefore, but hold fast thy confidence unto the
end; tell Me what means this sudden agony;
pour out thy heart before Me ; open to Me all
thy sorrow, and doubt not that I will give to
thee the blessing of peace.
(iTfjilti. O Lord my God, Thy pitying words
but weigh me deeper down into the abyss of
condemnation ! If it were to an open enemy
that I had done this dishonour, — if aught save
my faith in Thee had failed me, I could have
borne it ; but it was even Tliou, mine own adored
Master, my crucified and loving Loed, — with
"Whom I had taken sweet counsel, and walking
in Thy holy house as Thine own friend, — Whom
I have thus blasphemed with horrible doubts of
Thine all-perfect truth. Alas ! my very words,
even as I utter them, sound hateful to mine
ears ! But now must I tell Thee how this scourge
hath come upon me, or my desolate soul will
altogether faint beneath its pent-up anguish. I
104 THE DIVINE MASTER.
must speak to Thee, althougli even at this hour
I discern Thee not, good Master, and Thy voice
to my bewildered spirit is as the voice of one
that speaketh in an unreal dream.
O, my LoED, Thou knowest how, along the
weary way, step by step, I have come after
Thee, and how Thou hast led me Thyself, by
Thy loving Spirit, through the land of righteous-
ness, holding me by the right hand, and guiding
me with Thy counsel, till I verily believed Thou
wouldest hereafter receive me with glory ; and
Thou knowest how, allured by Thy gracious
teaching, I have gone as it were from strength
to strength, adding to my repentance humility,
and to humility perseverance, and to perseve-
rance zeal, till it seemed to me, as the times of
refreshing at Thy holy altar grew more and
more divinely blessed, that I had entered even
into Thy very heart through the way opened
for me by the deep wound in Thy side. And
O, in that Pure Heart, the Centre and Focus of
Eternal Love, the Holy Shrine of Perfect Charity
which never faileth, what sweetness of ineffable
repose was mine! How did I rest there in
peace which passeth understanding ! But lo,
suddenly, in the very fulness of my joy, when
most my soul was fuU of hope that I, who for
Thy sake had made it hard unto myself to live,
THE DIVINE MASTEB. 105
should find it sweet to die, there came to me,
like sharp arrows shot into my brain, distracting
doubts of the very foundation of the faith itself!
Blasphemous thoughts rose up in me against
Thee which I abhorred with an exceeding ab-
horrence, and yet they seemed, as it were, a
part of mine own mind. Dark surmises haunted
me, and distracting reasonings tore my spirit
from its rest and hope, and cast mo out helpless
and sinking, into that awful ocean of eternity,
where all must be engulfed and perish, except
they cling unto Thy Cross, as a drowning man
unto the floating wood, and so, upborne by it
drift safely to the everlasting shores.
I cannot tell Thee, Lord, through what a
racking chaos of perplexity and doubt, my
wretched soul hath passed since then ; doubt,
ever intermingled with intensest love for Thee,
till now when my heart acknowledgeth and
desireth no other Loed save Thee, I am yet, as
it were, possessed with an evil spirit of unbelief!
O, said I not well, I am most utterly undone ?
for without fiuth it is impossible to please God.
DiiJinc i^laster. And hadst thou no faith, thou
wouldst not desire to please Him; but now
hast thou, in actual fact, a loving and a true
belief, which the malicious enemy hath clouded
over for a little season, to the great discomfort
106 THE DIVINE MASTEB.
of thy soul. Yet fear not thou, My child, for
he hath assailed thee with this cruel violence,
having great wrath, because he knoweth that
his time is short : he knoweth that yet a little
while, and thy sore conflict shall be over, and
thou shalt gently fall asleep in Me, thy bitter
struggle merged in perfect rest. Therefore this
is his hour, the hour of his temptation ; for when
he hath offered sin unto thy soul, he hath no
more that he can do. He cannot force thee to
blacken thy baptismal robe with the least sha-
dow of defilement, except of thine own free will ;
and now because, through sacramental grace,
thou hast been enabled to resist him when he
sought to tempt thee, by the lusts of the flesh,
or the vain glories of the world, he hath devised
this last and cruel assault, — wherewith, if it were
possible, to deceive even thee. Mine own elect,
and cause thee, by his vile suggestions, to make
shipwreck of the faith j that so, having lost the
hope which was thy very life, thou mightest, in
thine uttermost despair, curse God, and die.
Yea, even as it befell My righteous servant
Simon, Satan hath desired to have thee, that he
might sift thee as wheat, but I have prayed for
thee, that thy faith fail not : wherefore be strong,
O child, greatly beloved ; yea, I say unto thee,
be strong. There hath no temptation taken
THE DIVINE MASTER. 107
theo but such as is common unto men ; and it
shall be, that if thou wilt hold fast thine intei^-
rit}', and thy confidence in Me, firm unto the
end, thou shalt be blessed in this latter trial far
more than in the beginning ; and the peace
wiiich thou hast lost shall return to thee with an
abuudauceaud a sweetness of eternal rest, greatly
indeed beyond all that thou hast looked for ; —
in like manner as I restored unto My faithful
Job, twofold more than he had before, of all
that was taken away from him, when I per-
mitted that wicked one to try him in manifold
afilictions.
d)ilb. O Lord of divinest mercy, God of all
consolation, as Tliou speakest so gently unto me,
I feel how speedily my bitter mourning were
turned into serenest joy, if I could but discern
therein Thy sacred Cross ; even as the waters of
Majah were changed to sweetness, by the cast-
ing in of that blessed tree, which typified the
holier wood. But I dare not take this all-
sufficient comfort to myself; I dare not think
this blasphemy is not mine own abhorrent crime.
It seems as though it were my very soul which
riseth up, with cold and subtle reasonings, to
disprove Thy truth. I struggled with convulsive
eflbrts, still to cling to some poor fragments of
that glorious body of sound doctrine, where I
108 THE DIVINE MASTER.
once found life and hope eternal. But whilst I
strive thus to persuade myself that I believe, I
feel as if I mocked myself, knowing full well, in
dark reality, that all the while faith is extin-
guished in my soul, as a light that hath gone
out, and that dull and steady unbelief seemeth
to pervade every thought and impulse of my
being. Surely, then, if even it be so, that it is
Satan who hath sown these baneful seeds in my
poor, wretched soul, yet on me no less the guilt
of their wicked fruits remaineth. From whence-
soever this great disbelief hath sprung, is it not
enough that in my heart I have denied Thee, and
doubted every marvellous detail of Thy most
glorious redemption, to seal me as a thing ac-
cursed from Thee ? Could any be so paralyzed
with unbelief, and yet be innocent ? O, gracious
Master, in the awful watches of the night, and
through the day, whose light for me is turned
to darkness, how do these words of Thine glare
on my fainting spirit, as though writ in living
fire, — " He that believeth, and is baptized, shall
be saved; and he that believeth not shall be
damned." Alas ! is not this my condemnation ?
for what matter whence this blasphemy of doubt
hath come, if now it is incorporate with me, so
that it is my very self that cannot own Thee ?
Mbint J^aster. And what to thee were those
THE DIVINE MASTEK. 109
dread words which cause thine anguish, if thou
didst not in actual fact, albeit unawares, believe
in Me Who spake them ? My child, I also will
ask thee one thing : thou wouldest know if this
thy dark temptation is a sin. Tell Me, then,
hast thou ever encouraged these unbelieving
thoughts, and cherished them, and been right
willing to escape, by them, from the stern re-
quirements of My righteous faith?
(Cfjilti. Encourage them ! O Loud, as fitly
mightest Thou ask the victim on the rack if he
had sought to cling to it, and loved its tortures,
and desired to stretch his shattered frame more
agonisingly upon it ! No rack that ever tore the
body limb from limb, could cause such deep ex-
tremity of anguish, as this bitter unbelief hath
wrought upon my soul, tearing from me hope by
hope, and joy by joy, the hope of that ineffable
delight, that peace eternal, that undying life and
light, that sweetest consummation of my sole de-
sire, which I have found in Thy dear love. Pre-
sent and Everlasting. My God, words fail me
to express the sorrowful denial, which every
power and feeling of my stricken soul, doth give
to such a question, or describe the utter loathing
which I feel to these cruel doubts, that have
changed me to a very Judas, who once thought
to follow Thee so loving and faithful unto death.
110 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
IBibinc Jilastcr. Then verily I say to thee, My
child, that thou in this matter art altogether free
from sin. These blasphemous thoughts are not
thine own, and thou hast no more part in them
than thou wouldest have in wicked words which
some insidious enemy might whisper in thine ear.
It is permitted unto Satan to tempt My people,
that the trial of their faith, being much more
precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be
tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and
honour, and glory, at My appearing ; and he, in
his malignant subtlety, faileth not to devise for
them exceeding sore temptations, moulded ac-
cording to what he knoweth of their dispositions
and their growth in grace. But in all this they
have no sin, if they do not consent to these un-
hallowed wiles, nor let them unresisted gain pos-
session of their hearts. Except they do, by this
means, make the guilt their own, — they are not
more polluted by these defilements, which the
devil casts into their souls, than one in spotless
robes would be, if dust were flung at him, which
speedily he would shake off, and remain unsoiled
as before.
My child, thou mayest not doubt one single
instant, that temptation in itself, can bring no
guilt unto the soul, when thou knowest that I,
thy Lord Immaculate, was tempted in all points
THE DIVINE MASTER. Ill
like as thou art, yet without sin . O thou afflicted,
tossed with the tempest, and not comforted, re-
member that tremendous and mysterious hour
when I, Who hold the keys of death and hell,
was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, to be
tempted of the devil forty days. Eemcmber
that, as I stood upon the mountain, where the
tempter carried Me, the eternal destinies of all
mankind were trembling in the balance ; for if,
in that awful moment, I had yielded, by SQ much
only as the faintest rising of a wish, to his ab-
liorred suggestions, — if the least shadow of de-
filement had passed into My perfect soul with
them, there had never been redemption for the
race of men ; and every generation that hath
ever lived on earth had been gathered to destruc-
tion, as the whirlwind sweeps away the chaff, and
it is no more seen ! They had been brought
down to the pit, to the house of everlasting deso-
lation ; they had lain in the hell like sheep, and
death had gnawed upon them to all eternity.
But now, because I came out of that furnace of
temptation, seven times heated, pure and scathe-
less as I entered in, having preserved in perfect
sinlessness, the Body of that Flesh in which My
people are reconciled to their Fatheb, it re-
maineth therefore that I have power, not only to
succour those who are tempted, but that I am
112 THE DIVINE MASTER.
able also to save to the uttermost all that come
unto God by Me, for I, Who ever live to make
that intercession for them, am holy, harmless,
and undefiled.
Thus thou seest, by the very nature of the
great salvation offered unto man, that there can
be no sin in the worst temptation, if the spirit
hath not yielded to it, by even the slightest
dawning of consent. And furthermore, there is
a deep and blessed mystery, for all My suffering
members, in this fact that as I Myself suffered
being tempted, in order, that I might be able
to help them in their hour of need, so will they
now find a parallel to every species of temp-
tation, in the different stages of Mine own great
conflict. By every avenue, through which a rea-
sonable soul and human flesh can be approached
of Satan, was I assailed that hour, and was in all
triumphant. And herein thou findest once again
that fundamental principle of man's redemption,
that forasmuch as My people could only be res-
cued from eternal death by living in My life, par-
takers of My divine nature, so was it needful, for
the accomplishment of this deep union, that I
should first live their life on earth, taking part
in their flesh and blood, and so preventing them
in all their trials and temptations, that they might
follow after Me in likeness of My sufferings.
THE DIVINE MASTER. 113
Look well into the record of Mine awful com-
bat with the Prince of Darkness, and thou shalt
find tlie likeness of thine own deep trial in that
accursed eflbrt of the Devil's, when he tempted
Me, as Man, to disown My God, by falling down
to worship him. So would he labour now to
cause thee by his cruel insinuations, even to deny
thy Master — or rather to imagine that thou hadst
denied Me, for I tell thee of a truth thou dost
believe in Me, nor ever hast forsaken Me in
actual fact, by even a single thought, — only thou
hast heard the whisperings of the fiend, and
fancied that thine own soul spake them. Of thy
real faith existent, though silent, in thy sad be-
wilderment, there is a certain proof for thee, in
thy great suffering : for how couldst thou mourn
My loss or writhe in anguish with the dread of
utter separation from Me, if thou didst not indeed
believe in Me and love Me, in the secret of thy
spirit, with all thy power and strength ? Take
courage, therefore, and fear not ; be thou steadfast
and immoveable, always abounding in My work,
and let the blasphemies of Satan be to thee like
raving winds, that vainly beat against the House,
whose foundations arc built upon the Kock.
(f !)iHi. O, Beloved Master, even my trembling
soul no longer can resist the truth of Thy dear
words of comfort : hope, and peace, are dawning
114 THE DIVINE MASTEB.
on me once again, despite mine undiminished
trial ; for I can now believe, that like to him of
old whom Thou didst rescue, I am grievously
tormented with a devil, who causeth me to utter
blasphemies, and ofttimes casteth me into the fire
of tribulation, and the deep waters of despair. I
know that Thou hast power to cast him out, when
it shall be Thy good pleasure to bid him trouble
me no more. But, O my Loed, how shall I live
until the hour of my deliverance ? for although
the momentary calm which Thou hast wrought
hath lulled mine anguish into rest a little space,
yet do I know too well when Thou shalt have
gone up from communing with me, the horrible
delusions will rush back upon me with a seven-
fold power, and surely they will utterly disable
me from following after Thee. Shall I not ever be
like unto the helpless cripple who lay at the Gate
of the Temple, which is called Beautiful, and had
not strength to enter in and worship ? for every
power of the spiritual life seems paralyzed within
me. How can I pray to Thee, my Loed, or call
on Thee for mercy, when my soul appeareth unto
myself to deny Thy Very Being ? How can I
follow all good works, or strive through sacra-
mental union with Thee to grow in Likeness of
Thy Perfect Nature, when I cannot so much as
realize the Truth of Thine Existence?
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 115
In whatsoever shape these awful temptations
come to me, they appear alike to act as a spiritual
palsy ; for even when they assume not the form of
actual unbelief, tliey seem equally to deaden every
effort and aspiration after Thee ; at times they
take the hideous shape of bhasphemy a<]fainst Thee
even wlien my faith in Thee is altogether clear ;
and this is agony, my Lord, to love Thee and
blaspheme ! Again they oft will creep into my
soul, as thoughts unholy and impure, when most
I would keep every shadow of defilement from
me, because of Thine awful nearness in the Holy
Eucharist ; or else fastening upon those awful
words of Thine which spake of sin that hath no
pardon, they madden me with whisperings against
the Holy One the Comforter, the Spirit of Purity
and Love ! but it matters not what guise they
wear, for all seem alike to drive me from the
presence of Thy Divine Majesty.
Dibinc iilnstcr. And all are alike abhorrent
unto thee ! herein be thy comfort, as I said. But
thou dost well to seek the practical solution of
thy difficulty, and to ask by what means thou
canst live as My true and faithful servant, whilst
enduring still such contradictions of the Evil One.
And now the rule I give to thee is plain and ob-
vious, and it applies to every species of tempta-
tion, of whatsoever nature or degree. Tliou shalt
116 THE DIVINE MASTER.
resist tlie devil, and he shall flee from thee, and
thus shall it be done. Do thou live in the midst
of those temptations, as tJiough tlwu loert uncon-
scious of them. Continue thou to do My Will
whatever delusion may have gained possession of
thee, through the wiles of Satan ; thou knowest
full well what is thy bounden duty, as a baptized
member of the Church, which is My Body ; and
do thou in all things struggle only to perform it,
though Light and Hope, and every anchor of thy
soul seem torn away from thee, and the horror of
a great darkness be upon thee. When the devil
constraineth thee as thou deemest to disbelieve in
Me, then do thou act as though thou hadst a per-
fect faith, even a faith zealous, active, all-enduring
unto death ; do thou ever pray, continuing instant
therein, even when it seems to thee that there is
none to hear or answer; and give, as I have always
bidden thee, thy whole energies and thoughts,
and very life, to labour for thine attainment unto
the Kesurrection of the Just, even when the mock-
ing fiend would bid thee altogether doubt of life
beyond the grave ; yea, though he seem to thee
to cast eternal blackness over all the promises of
immortality, and leave thee nought wherein to
hope but an existence in this present world, still
do thou turn unflinching from the joys of earth,
and live a martyr's life, when thou hast no power
THE DIVINE MASTEB. 117
80 much as to believe that there can over be a
Martyr's Crown.
Kemember that I, forcknowinpj every trial
which shall befall jVIy children, have already
said, " That if any man shall do the will of Him
that sent Me, he shall know of the doctrine,
whether it be of God ;" and be thou very sure,
that it is more blessed a hundred-fold, to con-
tinue My faithful servant, when all light and
hope are clouded, and seem to be extinct, than
when the Bright Eays of the Sun of Righteous-
ness make pale the radiance of this world's allure-
ments. In this manner do thou act, whatever be
the form of thy temptations ; when blasphemies
and thoughts impure, to which thou givest no
consent, creep into thine unwilling soul ; shut
thou thine ears to them, making as though thou
heardest not, and go, straightway seek some ac-
tion hard and painful, which thou mayest do for
Me, and prove unto thyself that thou dost love
Me truly, in spite of all. So when the father of
lies would persuade thee thou hast sinned beyond
redemption, do thou, having used all means ap-
pointed for penitence and absolution, go on and
toil, as though thou hadst the certain promise of
reward in Heaven, whilst truly thou dost think
thyself condemned to hell. Say thou ever with
a constancy unmoved, " Though He slay me, yet
118 THE DIVINE MASTEB.
will I serve and trust in Him." And who tliat
trustetli in Me shall ever be confounded ?
©f;illi. O, Master, most Benign, I thank Thee
from the depth of my poor soul, that in Thine un-
failing Pity, Thou dost teach me how I still may
hold me fast by Thee, even when I discern Thee
not, in all the dreary darkness ; yet now this one
thing more would I demand of Thy deep mercy !
The sorest agony in all my trial is the terror,
never quitting me by night or day, that I shall
perish through this deep temptation from before
Thy Face for ever ; and although I am utterly
purposed to follow Thy wise counsel ; and live,
whatever be mine inward state, as Thy believing,
hoping servant all my days, yet it seemeth awful
to me, to think that I may be tormented by this
bitter dread unto the last ; this then only would I
say — How long, O Loed Holy and Pure, shall I
endure the persecution of this fear ? O must the
shadow of this great Despair pursue me even unto
Death, as ofttimes I forebode with anguish?
©i&ine iWastcr. My child, thy Fathee hath
given into thy hands the cup of trembling, and if
He will that thou shouldst drink it to the dregs,
ask not thou that it should pass from thee. I say
not that it will be so, only I bid thee leave the
times and seasons of thy trial to His Almighty
Love ; prepare, if need be, to endure this cross
THE DIVINE MASTER. 119
with patience, evcii unto death ; and that thou
mayest have deeper courage so to do, remember
this — that he of all My blessed saints who was
the first to win tlie mai'tyr's crown, died kneel-
ing ; and in like manner be thou all content to
die, if such be My good pleasure, jJray/;?// without
hope; and lo, it may be in that hour, that look-
ing up into cteniity, thine opening eyes shall see
the Glory of God, and Me, even Jesus, standing
at His Eiuht Hand.
CHAPTER IX.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS IN SUFFERING.
Bibinc jFliTastcr. Arise ! put on strengtli, O
child of My Love! gird thyself anew to the
battle, for behold the night is far spent, the day
is at hand, and the struggle must deepen ere the
victory be achieved. Take unto thee, then, the
whole armour of God, that thou mayest be able
to withstand in the evil day ; and having done
ALL to stand, — for thou hast been faithful in-
deed over a few things, but patience hath not yet
had her perfect work in thee, — that thou mayest
be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Where-
fore, think it not strange concerning the peculiar
and fiery trial which is even now to try thee, as
though some strange thing happened unto thee ;
but rejoice, inasmuch as thou shalt be a partaker
of My sufferings, that when My glory shall be
revealed, thou mayest be glad also with exceed-
ing joy.
CCl)iltf. Beloved Master, surely some great
THE DIVINE MA.STER.
EC. SURE HOPE.
THE DIVINE MASTER. 121
peril is at hand ? — for lo, Thou art very near to
me ! I know indeed that Thou art ever near to
me, and that through all the Alleluias of the
myriad seraphs, chanting in adoration round Thy
throne of glory, Thou hearest still the faintest
sigh that rises up from my weak heart to Thee,
— and notest every tear that falls from my poor
human eyes, amid all the flood of radiance that
is round Thee in the Home of Light unquench-
able. But ofttimes Thou hast willed to veil Thy
Presence from me, that I more ardently might
seek Thee, and feel after Thee, if haply I might
find Thee. And so it was that even now I saw
Thee not, and faith alone went on before me, like
a beacon light, guiding me to Thy pure abiding
place ; as once that wondrous star beaming so
glorious in the Eastern skies, led on the wise
men to the holy spot where Thou didst lie, a
new-born King, receiving Thy first homage, in
Thy spotless mother's all-adoring love! But
now I seem to have a deeper certainty than faith
alone can give, of Thine exceeding nearness;
for a little while since, though I heard no foot-
step, and knew not of Thy coming, suddenly I
felt a thrilling sense of wakening love and joy
unspeakable, as the awful sweetness of Thy con-
scious Presence stole into my inmost soul ; and
I straightway knew that there was One beside
122
THE DIVINE MASTEE.
me, Whose form was like unto the Son of God !
How is it, then, most gracious Master, that Thou
dost especially vouchsafe Thyself unto me now !
hath it not ever been Thy mercy to draw near
when danger menaced me ?
Btfainc i^nsicr. Dost thou remember how,
once upon a desert shore I stood at even, and
watched in the midst of the sea, the ship with
My disciples ? I saw them toiling in rowing, for
the wind was contrary to them ; and about the
fourth watch of the night I came unto them
walking upon the sea, and they were troubled
when they saw Me, supposing Me to be a spirit.
But immediately I talked to them, and said. Be
of good cheer, it is I ; be not afraid. And I went
up unto them into the ship, and caused the wind
to cease. And so, in like manner, from the calm
shores of the land of everlasting life, have I
watched thee. My beloved child, toiling through
the waves of this troublesome world. And now,
because the night draweth on apace, and the
darkest hour is ever before the morning, I have
come to thee upon the billows, that I may be
near thee in thy time of peril : and behold I am
with thee in the ship ! Mine Arm is round thee,
and My Left Hand is under thy Head ; for thou
hast yet to enter on deep waters, where the stormy
wind and tempest shall assail thee, and where,
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 123
as a reed, thou wouldst be broken and driven
of the blast from before My face for ever, were
I not near, to strengthen thee vrith might in the
inner man. That great tribulation is advancing
on thee, out of which thou must come to walk
with Me in white.
Behold, now must I prove thy love to Me by
some surer means than any which have tried
thee yet. Some new and powerful test must
search thee, yea, one sharper than a two-edged
sword ; for know, my child, that except this thy
holy love be now the sovereign power in thy soul,
subduing utterly all other feelings and affections,
and causing thee to hate, if need be, thy dearest
ties, yea, and thine own life also, for My sake, it
shall not serve thee in thine hour of need, when
the great day of My wrath shall come. By it,
the very essence of thy union with Me, must
thou cling to Me throughout eternity; but if
there abide within thee yet, one shade of lingering
tenderness for thine own self or others, which
might cause thee to shrink back from doing ho-
mage unto Me, by even the last extreme of mortal
anguish, it shall be found when thy soul comes
to stand before Me, naked and shivering, stripped
of all fleshly veil, that these treacherous feelings,
which seem to thee just now but soft and weak,
possessed of little power, are in reality most
124 THE DIVINE MASTER.
deep-set cankers ! And fearfully will they para-
lyze and weaken thee, when thou hast need to
concentrate the strength of nothing less than a
love supreme and undivided, in thy one strong,
clinging grasp on Me, — that grasp wherewith
thou must be enabled still to hold thee fast by
Me in calm security, when, in the tremendous
hour of judgment and of execution on a guilty
world, the universe shall be convulsed, the hea-
vens depart as a burning scroll, and the earth
reel to and fro, and be utterly broken down and
dissolved. Art thou prepared, then, to stand
some keen, soul-piercing test, which shall so try
thy love, that thou mayest know if indeed it will
be found faithful and approved by Me in the
day of Ire and mourning ?
^Dj^iltf. Yea, Loed ; better that the sharpest
knife should probe my spirit now, and cut out
every spot diseased, whilst still the blood that
from Thine Altar flows may cleanse and heal the
wound, than that I should perish hereafter in
the awful fire, which shall try every man. But
O, my Lord, how is it that a test is still re-
quired ? Hath not my whole life been a trial ?
Have I not left all, and followed Thee ?
BMne jDHaster. Thou hast heard My voice,
through all the din and turmoil of the world,
calling to thee in the accents of that Love, which
THE DIVINE MASTER. 125
is a part of Mine eternity, and thou couldst not
resist the sweetness and the power with which I
spake. Thou hast arisen and come after Me,
upon the dark and thorny path, truly and well,
O child, beloved of My heart ; but surely thou
canst not think, that in thy few light suflferings by
the way, thou hast yet drunk of the cup which I
have drunk of, or been baptized with the baptism
that I have been baptized with ! Yet lo, because
of thy very faithfulness, must I bring thee now
to this ; that as I rose, pang by pang, to the tor-
turing climax of My Passion, and thence passed
on to resurrection and to glory ; so thou, receiv-
ing sorrows after sorrows at My hands, mightest
ascend unto the one ordeal of peculiar and most
keen temptation, which must try each one on
the earth, ere they with Me can rise, and enter
into that city bathed with Light Divine, where
the countless ages of eternity as they roll on,
shall never behold the shedding of one single
tear, or catch the echo of one faintest sigh.
©i^iltr. Lord, I am in Thy hands; do with
me as seemeth good to Thee. I know that,
whether the Angel of Thy Presence cometh unto
me in shining robes, that glitter white as snow,
— with the palm of victory, and the golden crown
upheld to lure me on ; or clad in mourning gar-
ments, bearing only the scourge of mine offences.
126 THE DIVINE MASTER.
and the knife to try my weak heart to the quick ;
still, whatever be Thine aspect, in Thy love and
in Thy pity only dost Thou come, — to redeem
me out of darkness into Thy marvellous Light.
And I know that, in all my afflictions, which
Thine own chastisement doth work in me, Thou
art afflicted, and by this very means dost bear
and carry me unto the Mount of God, as in the
days of old Thou leddest Thy people Israel :
and so do I trust, through endless ages, that
Thou shalt be my Savioue. But O, tell me, I
beseech Thee, by what test art Thou about to
try me now ? Surely that baptism with which
Thou wert baptized, Whom it became to fulfil,
not only all righteousness, but all sorrow, was a
baptism of Blood? and the cup which Thou
drankest, was it not the cup of the Fury of the
Eternal Father, of the fierceness of His wrath,
which Thou didst fill from the wine-press of His
Anger, when Thou hadst trodden it alone ? What
part, then, can I have in the awful woe that was
heaped upon Thy Sinless Head, O Thou, Who
alone in all eternity, hadst power to lay Thy one
hand on the Throne of God, and Thy other on
the soul of man ?
IBibine Jttasttr. My child, the mighty angels
who lie bowed beneath My footstool in the
highest heaven, have desired to look into that
THE DIVINE MASTEB. 127
Mystery of Sorrow, and have not been able ;
and yet it is given to the very weakest of My
little ones on earth, whom I gather to My Bosom,
to be made partakers of it, in their measure and
degree. Thou say est well that Mine was a bap-
tism of Agony and Death ; and therefore I say
unto thee, each one who would be with Me in
My kingdom must come to share it, by the
slaughter in violence and pain, of the hope, the
joy, the treasure, sure of existence in some shape
whatsoever it may be, which lies so near their
hearts, that it is entwined in the very fibres of
it, and thereby chokes the springs of that Pure
Life Divine, which demands an uninterrupted
passage there. It is, as I have told thee ; every
living soul, ere they can pass the grave and gate
of death, must have their faithfulness towards
Me proved by some one searching and peculiar
trial, which flesh and blood could not endure,
except it were given them of My Father ; and
this shall be the sign that they have been so
tried, and not found wanting, if, when they ap-
pear before Me, stripped of mortal clay, with
the glowing flame of their sacred love thereby
revealed in its undying ardour. My piercing eyes
shall discern within them, as a witness to that
love, one deep, unutterable sufiering, actually
born from it, and partaking of its fiery nature,
128 THE DIVINE MASTER.
inasmucli as it liath eaten into their very life
and being, with an agony like to that of a con-
suming flame.
Cljiltf. Sorrow is, then, the proof which Thou
seekest, gracious Lord ? But surely I have given
it to Thee abundantly ? Have I not suffered
many things because of Thee, not grudgingly, but
with a cheerful heart ? I say not this to glory, O
meek and lowly Master ; but Thou dost speak as
though some sj^ecial trial were needful to the per-
fection of Thine elect, and I cannot discern what
this may be, since already from Thy hands each
one receives his daily cross ; and ofttimes heavy
chastisements besides, — when Thou dost send
Thine angel death to take away the treasures we
love best, or lay upon us sickness and infirmity,
or still more bitter, call on us to bear, as Thou
hast done, the betrayal and desertion of the
friends we trusted ! — by all these trials, and many
more, we learn to know the sons whom Thou re-
ceivest, and dost Thou yet seek a sign, in some
peculiar chastening still unknown to me ?
Bibinc JHastcr. My child, the chastisements
thou speakest of are but veiled blessings which
are shrouded truly in a veil so thin, that even in
their darkest moment the light of My love and
mercy beameth through them ; and forasmuch as
they are seen to come expressly by My will, and
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 129
there is no power to resist or to refuse them, it is
ever found that there is a very sweetness in the
passive resignation which mutely doth receive
them, and boweth down beneath My gentle hand
that is laid indeed upon the stricken head to
bless, when most it seems to smite. 'Now, it is a
grievous error to suppose that these inevitable
sorrows, the medicine wherewith I heal the sick-
ness of My people, are actual persecutions suf-
fered for My sake, according as it is written, " All
that will live godly in Jesus Christ shall suffer
persecution ;" and it displeaseth Me when I be-
hold them make a boast unto themselves, that
they have given proofs of love for Me, in the mere
endurance of woes, from which they have no
power to escape, — or that, by the simple fact of
suffering, they have a claim to future recompense,
as if they had done some meritorious deed of their
spontaneous effort. Herein do they greatly de-
ceive themselves ; for this is not that persecu-
tion of the natural will by their own regenerate
spirit, of which My righteous servant spake;
nor can this be the deep, unutterable woe which
must stand forth in the day of searching, in tes-
timony of their love and their undoubted truth.
Hearken now, My child, and understand, whilst
I do show to thee the special trial, by which thou
must be made to share the sufferings of those,
K
130 THE DIVINE MASTER.
whose constancy was written in their blood ; for
thou rememberest how My beloved servant saw
beneath the altar of the heavenly tabernacle, the
souls of them that were slain for My Word, and
he heard them crying with a loud voice, saying,
" How long, O LoED, Holy and True, dost Thou
not judge and avenge our blood on them that
dwell on the earth P" and he saw white robes
given to every one of them, and heard how it was
told them they should rest yet a little season, till
their fellow-servants also, and their brethren that
must be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Now these their fellow-servants, who should be
with them, and yet not be permitted to escape
unto their rest like the other brethren, through
the passage made by a murderous sword, must
suffer death in their hearts, that they too may
fulfil the measure of their faithfulness, and re-
ceive with the martyred saints, the crown of life.
Nor speak I this of the death unto sin, of which
all My people must be partakers, as the inevita-
ble result of their life in Me, — but of the slaying
once for all, sooner or later, in their career, of
some beloved hope, or love, or dream, which hath
been to them the dearest and most cherished, the
very joy of life, and which ofttimes for that same
reason, and by its special nature, hath become a
clog upon their heavenward feet, and an obstacle
between their souls and Me.
THE DIVINE MASTEB. 131
On that day, wlien the thoughts of many hearts
shall be revealed, it will be found that, in the
lives of every one of Mine elect, there has been
some such intensely prized treasure, some hidden
tenderness, some sweet affection and vision of
delight, of whatsoever nature, — unknown, it may
be, to the world, in silence born, and in silence
slain, which I have demanded as a sacrifice for
My love's sake, to be the test and pledge thereof,
and that because I deem it hurtful to them ; for
there are many blessings which I freely give that
must in thankfulness be held and cherished. But
mark, /take not the beloved joy away, though
it impedes My close abiding in their souls ; them-
selves must immolate it unto Me. Thou knowest
when I told My disciples that, if need be, they
should sacrifice to Me the right hand and the
right eye, I said not, " I will cut it off, or pluck
it out," but " Do thou cut it off, and do thou pluck
it out ;" thus teaching all that I would have them
to be the executioners of their own joys.
They must imitate the constancy of Abraham
My friend, and make their hearts an altar,
whereon to bind and offer up their darling hope,
perchance their only one, but unto whom no un-
expected succour shall be sent; for when the
blow is dealt, and the memory of the dead joy
is cold and mournful, as the thought of a corpse
within its tomb, then doth there pass into their
132 THE DIVINE MASTEB.
souls that which I labour to procure for them
on earth, if they require its discipline, — even a
desolation so utter and so insupportable, that
with dim weeping eyes and bursting heart they
stagger to My Cross, and lay them down be-
neath it with an undivided longing, henceforth
to know no other happiness, in time or in eter-
nity, save My pure love alone !
CEfjiltJ. O LoED, what dreary depths of suffer-
ing hast Thou showed me ! Surely not many
on this earth can so endure. Must all men pass
through waters of such exceeding bitterness ere
they attain Thy Painless Home of Light ?
©ibint Jttastcr. I say not that none can so
much as pass that Blissful Threshold, except they
do endure the loftiest and most searching trials ;
for these are of the nature of that constancy which
I have declared long since all men cannot re-
ceive, save they to whom it is given, — but I do
say unto thee, that blessed, blessed, yea, thrice
blessed with all the glories of eternity, shall he
be to whom it is permitted to attain the highest
stage of devotion and suffering on earth, for high
shall be his seat in Heaven, and he who follows
Me thus close in sorrow here, as close shall fol-
low Me in bliss hereafter. Blessed, I say, is he
whom I allure to slay the treasure I deem pe-
rilous to him, though dearer than his very life ;
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 133
for the soul tlius emptied of all other longings or
desires, will I fill through everlasting ages with
the never-failing riches of My Love ineffable, a
torrent of pleasure for evermore !
But all men have not the same gift, nor are
called to the same endurance. Some lofty souls
there are who so entirely desire the sweetness
of My Presence only, that they with solemn
purpose do utterly renounce aU touch or taste of
human joys, and to that end commit themselves
unto the flames of such an ardent, pure devo-
tion, that they are enabled, albeit with the agony
of burning, to consume the natural impulses and
wishes, which might have made them crave for
this earth's hopes and pleasures. Of such are
those who consecrate themselves to Me in Virgin
lives, that they may be holy both in body and
spirit, and care only for the things of their Loed,
how they may please Me, — and these shall bloom
as Lilies, pure and snow-white, in My Garden of
Immortal Flowers. Of such again are others
who, in holy poverty, have sought and found the
traces of My footsteps, and they shall shine amid
the brightest and rarest of the living gems upon
My Glorious Crown, in the day when I make up
My Jewels ; for all these even in this world of
dark defilement, have attained unto a purity and
love so undivided and entire, that their passion-
134 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
less spirits are like some translucent lake that
lies for ever gathering in its bosom all the Light
of Heaven only, and hath no part in that dim
earth which binds it round on every side.
Yet, My child, as I have ever said to thee, thou
mayest not measure out thine offering unto Me
by what others have done or left undone, but as
thou ascendest, step by step, towards the Eternal
Home, where sits enthroned thy human nature
taken into the Godhead by My power, be it thine
to seek out, even to the last moment of thine
earthly life, what is the utmost height of pure
devotion to which I have called thine oion self.
Eemember that if thou fall short of this, each time
thou utterest in prayer the words I taught thee,
*' Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come,"
thou dost most fearfully condemn thyself, for is
it not a mockery to ask for that thou wilt not seek
to promote, even unto the uttermost, within the
narrow compass of thine own heart and spirit ?
Thou wouldst shudder couldst thou know how
many times that awful prayer comes up to Me,
uttered by the careless lips that therein sound
their own dark sentence : for the Kingdom whose
coming they would hasten by their supplications
is that empire of holy souls from which all who
serve Me hy word and not hy deed must be ex-
cluded. Look then into thyself^ My child, and
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 135
see if tliou retain not, yet unconsciously, some
lingering obstacle to Mine entire abiding in thee
with all that closeness of Divine mysterious union
which I desire, and which nought throughout
eternity shall ever mar ; truly each day and hour
have I taught thee that the way of the Holy
Cross must be in suflfering, — but is there no
crowning sacrifice of sorrow which yet must set
the seal on the truth of thy devotion unto Me ?
©f)iIU. LoED, Thou knowest ; teach me Thy
will, and give me strength on earth to do it, as it
is done in Heaven. I know that I have borne the
burden and heat of the day ; I have toiled since
the morning-tide, and am now well-nigh spent,
for I thought that the night was near at hand;
and I know that wheresoever I have gone. Thy
"Witness Suflfering hath walked with me ; for as
Thou hast ever taught me, gracious Loed, I have
found that to bear Thy Cross in spirit and in
truth is truly and indeed to suflfer ; but whether
Thou hast set Thy mark upon me, in some such
deep and sacred wound as that of which Thou
speakest, judge Thou ; and if I have not passed
the ordeal yet, let me, if need be, be brought into
it now ; smite, smite, and spare not.
BMnt i^nstcr. My child, thou hast answered
Me discreetly, therefore will I grant thee, first
on earth to hear all that My Love for thee de-
136 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
mands, and hereafter in Heaven to know all that
thine for Me shall gain. Tell Me then, O thou
who hast desired to love Me with a perfect Love,
is there not yet within thy life a joy which
maketh earth too dear to thee, and sorely hin-
dereth thy growth in grace ? It mattereth not
what shape it doth assume, if this poison be
within it, whereby thou shalt know its hurtful-
ness, viz., if it causeth thee to feel that to live in
Me is not the all of life for thee, nor yet that
thou couldst deem it only gain to die ! If but
a little it doth gild the world, so that thou art
content to dwell within it, and faintest not with
very fervent desire for the Courts of My Celes-
tial House, then hath it come between thy soul
and that pure Home prepared for thee from the
foundation of the world. Speak, My child, and
take heed that thy lips utter no guile, for I know
what is in man, and have understood thy thoughts
long before.
®i;Utr. O Lord, whither shall I go from Thy
Spirit, or whither shall I go then from Thy Pre-
sence ? Thou hast searched me out and known
me ; Thou art about my bed and about my path,
and spiest out all my ways ; yea. Thou hast looked
into the deep of my heart, further than I could
see myself; and lo, as Thou spakest to me even
now, silently Thy Spirit showed me, that truly
THE DIVINE MASTER. 137
amid all the toil, and ofttimes acguisli, of my
service offered unto Thee, there hath been an
earthly solace brightening all, a human joy,
which was the sunshine of my mortal life, and
which sometimes made this earth seem fair unto
my doting eyes, as in its Eden time of innocence.
I do confess that I have had an all-suflBcient
consolation in this world, one only hope of happi-
ness on this side of the grave, but wilt Thou take
it from me, Gracious Master ? Oh, is it not a
little one ; no foul and wicked pleasure, but a
cherished resting-place on earth, where I have
found a sweet repose ?
©iljinc i^astcr. Foxes have holes, and the
birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man
had not where to lay His Head, — and wilt thou
have a resting-place, a sweet repose within the
world that denied .a shelter to thy Suffering,
Mournful Loed? Said I not ever unto thee,
that on this earth thou mayest not linger, nor be
content, nor seek to lay thee down ? Eemember
those words, " there eemaineth therefore a rest
for the people of God," — not here, not here, but
in that Paradise of Pure Delights where I have
gone to prepare a place for those that love Me.
Oh, My child, take heed that no dream beguile
thee! that joy which thou unconsciously hast
nourished side by side with thy true love for Me,
138 THE DIVINE MASTER.
is but a temptation, like to that wliicli overtook
My people in the wilderness, when they jour-
neyed to the Promised Land, and gradually the
lust came on them to return unto the fleshpots of
Egypt, — if thou dost let it share with My Cross,
all thine energies, and hopes, and thoughts, — too
soon shall it be to thee as a drink of deadly wine,
lulling thee to slumber, when the very morn of
thine eternal day is breaking, and the goal about
to burst upon thine enraptured eyes. Oh, rouse
thee, sacrifice thy treasure ; up, cast it from
thee ! take the sword of the Spirit, and cut it
from thy heart ; strip thee; make thee destitute ;
come unto Me, wounded and weeping, homeless
and joyless, outcast and alone; come in tears,
which none will wipe away ; come in pain, which
no man will relieve ; come in agony, which all
shall pass unheeding, and I — I will give thee rest.
Crf)ilU. But oh, my Loed, it was so dear a joy ;
if I abandon it, how desolate shall I not be !
Bitjinc i^asUr. Desolate ? when I am with
thee; is it desolation that there should be no
sight in the universe for thee, save only My
fixed look of love unutterable ? no sound save
My deep Voice of thrilling sweetness, whispering
ever *' Lo, I come quickly, and My reward is with
Me ?" Is it desolation to lie cradled in the Ever-
lasting Arms, as a child upon its mother's breast ?
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 139
€f)ilti. It is enough, good Lord ; Thy will
be done.
©ibinc J^nster, And it is done ! in the same
moment that even now thy heart conceived this
blessed resolution, to abandon all to Me, thy
dearest and thy best, — that joy for ever departed
from thee, for henceforth thou thyself wilt count
it as a thing accursed from thee, and never more
wilt thou let it come with all its sweetness to thy
breast. Child of My sorrow, is it peace ?
©l)iltJ. My head is laid upon Thy pierced
Feet ; my heart is beating faint against the rock
where I have stretched myself; my hands are
bruised beneath my weight, for they are crossed
upon my breast in dumb submission, and it is
peace, perfect and abiding peace.
CHAPTER X.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS IN DEATH.
®I;iltf. Out of the deep do I call unto Thee,
O LoED ; Lord, hear my voice, for I am brought
very low. My soul is full of trouble ; my flesh
and my heart faileth ; the sight of mine eyes is
gone from me, and my strength hath altogether
vanished. Fearfulness and trembling are come
upon me, and my limbs also are so feeble, that
they no more uphold in the way ; I am fain to
lie down, as one whose day of toil is over, and
who seeketh now to rest, being very faint and
weary. But oh, what means this weakness and
this dim bewilderment ? for I feel as though some
mighty change were working in me. The former
things are passed away, and behold, all things are
becoming new ! I see no more the world, and
the glories of it, as they appear unto the eyes of
mortal man, but in a light so clear and awful,
THE DIVTlSrE MASTER..
X.APvUEXT i.OMi
THE DIVINE MASTER. 141
that surely it beameth from eternity itself ! How
vain and perishing hath that world become, thus
suddenly unveiled to me ! how is its pomp brought
down into the dust with the noise of its mirth, and
the din of its contentions ! how is it fallen, that
deceiveth the nations, and maketh itself to be the
desire of many hearts ! The things which were
dainty and goodly in it dissolve away like a thin
froth that is driven of the storm, and all its trea-
sures are as smoke, which the hand cannot grasp
though they be of a comely form. Lo ! the earth
hasteth and passeth away like a shadow ; it may
be, that I shall never look on its sunshine and
its loveliness again, — that I shall behold man no
more with the inhabitants of the world ; for the
days of the years of my pilgrimage are rising
up before me in the mirror of the past, and I see
them as it were a tale that is told, and there is
an awful whisper going through my soul, which
seemeth to say unto me that time shall be for me
no longer. What does all this portend ? Am I
about to enter into the dark valley P O God !
is this death ?
Bibine J^aster. Eise up, My child. My faith-
ful one, and come away; for lo, the winter is
past, the rain is over and gone ; the shadows de-
part of thy mortal life, and the day is dawning
that never shall fade. It is past — it is gone — the
142 THE DIVINE MA8TEB.
dark time of thy conflict and trial, when the Sun
of thy soul was obscured by the clouds of defile-
ment and sin. No more shall the tempest of
fierce human passion or the storm of temptation
assail thee with might ; no more shall the bleak
winds of suffering chill thy weak heart, nor thy
tears fall fast as that winter rain ; but thou shalt
see the Light which maketh eternal summer in
the City of God, and the flowers that bloom on
the deathless shore. The time of the singing of
angels is come for thee, and the voice of the sera-
phim is heard in that land. Thou hast wrestled
with sin till the breaking of day : thou hast toiled
all night, but the morn is nigh. Arise up, then,
My child. My faithful one, and come away ; let
us haste and be gone, for the dawn is bright on
the everlasting hills.
d^ilTj. The voice of my Beloved! O, how
sweet is the sound ! how softly it allayeth the
wild strife of my heart ! It stilleth my fears, it
calmeth my pain, as of old it rebuked the wind
and the sea.
O my Lord, in the time past of my life there
was a great and strong wind that rent my soul,
and brake in pieces all my hopes in this world,
that they might not impede the work of Thy
grace ; — but Thou wert not in the wind, for I
thought to reach Thine unveiled Presence when
THE DIVINE MASTER. 143
it had passed by, but I found that I had not yet
endured to the end of my trial. And after the
wind there was an earthquake; all the fair
things of earth I had sought to repose in, gave
way beneath my feet, and I knew of what dust
they were made ; and I looked for Thee to fill
my longing desire, but Thou wert not in the
earthquake ! Then was there a fire, the search-
ing flame of sufferiug, fierce and intense, yet
willingly met, that I might pass through it, to
the very shelter of Thine all-loving heart ; but
Thou wert not in the fire, and I still lived on.
And now there is a still small voice.
mibinc iiaaster. And I am here ! Thy Master
is come, and calleth for thee. Thou hast entered
indeed into the valley of the shadow of death ;
thou shalt no more go back to walk with thy
fellow-men in the land of the living. But fear
thou not, for I am with thee ; be not dismayed,
for I am thy God ! Behold, there is a highway
in this vale of stillness and gloom, — a way that
is called the way of holiness ; the unclean shall
not pass over it, but the redeemed shall walk in
it, and thereby shall My ransomed ones return,
and come to Zion, with songs and everlasting joy
upon their heads, for they shall obtain joy and
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
CfjiltJ. But is this for me? If the righteous
144 THE DIVINE MASTER.
scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and
the sinner appear P This then, is death, and after
deatli the judgment ! O Loed, a horrible dread
hath overwlielmed me ; Thou Who hast been the
Savioub, shalt now become the Judge ! Thou,
the Merciful, the Gentle, the Long- Suffering,
the very Friend, tender as a mother, pitying as
a brother, caring for me with a love that passcth
all the loves of earth, shalt soon be set, awful in
holiness, upon the Throne of Justice, for judg-
ment and for condemnation ! Thou shalt not
bear the sword in vain, and I, with all the sins
unveiled that are now coming in upon my me-
mory like a flood, shall stand before Thee to re-
ceive the sentence of that eternity which I have
moulded to myself for weal or woe in the brief
span of life now gone for ever ! O Lamb of God,
who shall be able to stand in that great day of
Thy wrath ? and lo, for me it is near— it is near,
and hasteth greatly ; a day of trouble and dis-
tress ; a day of wasteness and desolation ; a day
of darkness and gloominess, of clouds and thick
darkness ; a day when the mighty men shall cry
bitterly, and call on the mountains and rocks to
fall on them, and hide them from the face of
Him that sitteth on the Throne.
Lord, my Lord ! in the time of my strife and
trial, when my heart was desolate, and none
THE DIVINE MASTER. 145
Bought to comfort me, the thought and hope of
this my last hour was ofttimes my dearest solace.
The struggle with this mortal life hath been very
sore ; this life, that, with its fair allurements and
its soft affections, its passions and desires, was
as a cruel tyrant unto me ; and there hath been
strange rest and sweetness, in the blessed cer-
tainty that I should one day say of it, " How
hath the oppressor ceased ! how has the weary
escaped from its power !" And I have turned
from the hearts that would not harbour me on
earth, because I loved Thy Name, O Lord, — to
think with joy upon the shelter of that grave
where I prayed that I might sleep in Thee ! Yet,
now that it is come in deep reality — now that the
dust reclaims her dust, and the judge standeth at
the door, my flesh doth but recoil with horror
from the worm and the corruption, and my spirit
is even as it were consumed with terror unspeak-
able before the prospect of Thy great tribunal !
so that now there is this cry alone within my
heart, "O God, how dreadful is this death, and
after death the judgment !"
IBifainc ifttastf r. Death must ever seem to come
with pain and terror unto man, for it is the wages
of sin ; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Me, and therefore I will be its plague. My child,
over this dark and awful change, as on every
146 THE DTVTNE MASTER.
stage of man's career, there shincth for My re-
deemed a light serene and glorious, in the one
truth of their union mystical with Me, — whereby
this Death, that was to them only the appointed
punishment, the avenger of justice, the dread
fulfilment of the word of God — hath now become
an angel messenger, that in My Name beareth
to them the salutation of peace, and causing the
chains of their earthly bondage to fall away
straightway, leadeth them forth, from the prison
of the flesh, to be with Me for ever, as I am with
the Father. Eemember, that I have told thee
many times, I lived thy life on earth that thou
mightest live in Mine on liigh ; and, therefore,
now is it thine, if thou art one with Me, to follow
Me whithersoever I have gone without a doubt
or fear. Lo, My death-bed was the Cross ! and
wouldst thou shrink from bearing thine to this
last station, and hanging on it by My side through
these dark hours ? or dread the angel hands that
soon shall come to take thee down, and lay thee
in My place of rest a little while, till I shall call
thy spirit thence, and raise thy mouldering body,
still a part of Mine through sacramental life, to
glorify them both together, in likeness of Mine
eternal glory ?
Understand and know, that death as it now is,
for the true members of the Church, and for
THE DIVINE MASTER. 147
those who are yet in bondage to the Prince of
this world, hath its type in that great sea of
whelming waters wherein I led Mine elder Israel
of old. They passed in safety through that deep
flood to the Promised Land, because they followed
Me, Who went before them in the fiery pillar ;
but the dwellers in Egyptian darkness, as thou
knowest, sank to destruction in the selfsame hour!
CCfjiltf. O Thou, Who art the First-Begotten
of the dead, — I could not dare to doubt the per-
fect blessedness of all who sleep in Thee, whom
Thou shalt bring with Thee in the day of Thy
triumph, and their resurrection; but can I so
much as dare to hope that I could ever be among
that glorious white-robed company ? They from
the dust shall awake, and sing, even the new song
which Thou shalt teach them, and which on earth
they could not know ; for they were far from their
native home in heaven, and how should they sing
the Loed's song in a strange land ? But, O Loed
Cheist, Whom I have pierced with many a sin,
shall not I rather be among those kindreds of the
earth who shall wail because of Thee ? Por lo,
even as Thou hast said, the time of my probation
is for ever past ; the night is come when I no more
can work. And what have I wrought in the days
past of my life, wherein Thou badest me work
out my salvation in fear and trembling ? Alas !
148 THE DiviNE MA8TEE.
I can but remember all that I have done to grieve
Tliy Holy Spieit, and provoke Thy wrath and
indignation against me ! Each thought, or word,
or deed, in which I ever have oflfended Thee, is
present with me now, and my sins have taken
such hold upon me, that I cannot look up to hope.
O, awful Life, that boldest eternity in thy
grasp, and makest of it what thou wilt, if only I
could have thee once again, how far better would
I use thee ! But thou art gone from me, as an
arrow that parteth the air, and leaveth no sign
where it passcth through. Lord, Loed, this is my
terror, that my condemnation shall be in the very
greatness of the privileges which I have enjoyed.
On Thy side, truly, nothing hath been wanting ;
no gift of mercy, or means of strength, the richest,
deepest, fullest, hath been withholden from me ;
and hath Thy sacramental grace but flowed into
my soul as into a broken cistern, that retained
it not, but let it run to waste upon the stony
ground ? Oh when I come to plead before Thee
that I have eaten and drunk in Thy Presence, at
Thy holy altar, many times ; shall this be Thine
awful answer, "Depart from Me, thou that hast
worked iniquity?"
Bibine J^aster. In life and in death, whilst
that dread veil yet hangs before the mysteries of
My judgment-seat, which shall be torn asunder
THE DIVINE MASTER. 149
at Mine appearing, even as at the departing of My
soul, the Temple's veil was rent in twain, there is
but one thought, which can sustain My people, in
the fearful uncertainty of their eternal doom ; —
uncertain they must and will be, to the latest mo-
ment of their mortal span ; for he were furthest
from My glorious rest, who dared believe that he
was worthy of it ! and rather they do tremble more
abundantly, whose heritage is most secure ; since
the brighter My love beams within their souls, so
much the clearer by its light, they see the black-
ness of their sins. But this incertitude were too
tremendous, for their agony of longing and of fear,
were it not, as I have said, that there is one most
solemn thought, arising from the depths of truth
eternal which keepeth them in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed thereon. It is the sure con-
viction, awful, yet calm, that whatsoever be their
sentence, yea, though it were everlasting destruc-
tion from My presence for ever, still it would
be the decree only of My Peefect Justice !
I am the same to-day, yesterday, and for ever j
Perfect in Love, Perfect in equity, and Equal in
both. Behold them in the Cross, combined! I
loved not, so as to betray My justice, nor so re-
membered justice only, that I forgot My Love.
And since they know, that all this Love hath
done was superabundant to their full salvation,
150 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
had they willed to meet the close embrace of My
dear Mercy, they feel, if they are lost, that I con-
demn them not, but that, by their own act, they
are condemned already. Nor could they wish
their punishment to be averted, by My swerving
(were this possible) one hair's breadth even, from
Mine immutable justice. Such an idea were one
of blasphemy and horror unto them, whose ado-
ration for Me lives on My Perfection. Thus it
cometh to pass that My true people, loving Mine
Eternal Holiness, more than they love their own
everlasting bliss, do find, in certainty of My
never-failing Righteousness, even should its ope-
ration slay themselves, a strange and solemn rest,
which enableth them to wait, with meek submis-
sion, the sentence of their dread eternity. Under-
stand Me, that I speak not now of those who shall
indeed be exiled for ever from their God — that
Source and Centre of all Holiness, from Whom
Alone do radiate those pure beams of Eighteous-
ness, which could endure them with such deep
resignation of self-forgetting love. Think not, I
would tell thee that the Lost, (no more the Tem-
ples of the Holy Ghost, but the unhallowed
shrines of a remorse for ever enduring and for
ever vain,) could find aught but greater anguish
in the thought of My Pure Justice and their own
deserved punishments. I speak of those, yet
THE DIVINE MASTER. 151
living on the earth, who in the terror of their
deep humility, scarce dare to weigh even Mine
abundant Mercy against their overflowing sins,
and know not as they feel the swift approach of
that Judicial Hour, if they shall stand upon the
Eight Hand, or the Left.
€f)iltr. I comprehend Thy Words, my Loed,
and truly Thou ever readest aright the heart of
man ! for such a peace, awful indeed, yet full of
a mysterious sweetness, I have myself found in
this deep thought many times, when, during my
past life, I have compelled my shuddering soul to
contemplate the vision of the Judgment. Only,
j ust now, all confidence of whatsoever kind seemed
scared, before the sudden prospect of that fearful
ordeal, with scarce an hour between me and the
grave, where no place for repentance shall be
found. But now I will repose once more, in the
deep assurance of Thine unapproachable Purity
in Justice and in Truth, whereby I shall be judged
in equity ; and waste no more these last most pre-
cious moments, in torturing speculations on my
yet hidden doom. These little fleeting instants,
into which my all of life is gathered up, I must
hasten to give them every one, to make such
preparation, as may yet be permitted unto me.
Thou Lamb of God, That takest away the sins
of the world, have mercy on me even now ! help
152 THE DIVINE MASTER.
me in this my last extremity ! sliovr mo bow I may
prepare ! Soon shall the cry of Thy swift coming,
O most glorious Bridegroom, pierce for me the
Tcry cerements of death, and I shall behold Thy
Bridal-chamber decked, the tabernacle which
Thou shalt make with men, and see Thy Bride
coming down out of heaven, adorned to meet her
Husband in garments white and clean, the righ-
teousness of saints. Blessed indeed are they, who
shall be called unto Thy Marriage Supper ; but
woe, woe to me, if the wedding garment Thou
didst give to me, be soiled with uneffaced stains !
show me, then, how even yet, in some degree,
1 may strive to brighten the robe of my soul,
once white as snow, in baptism, lest I be cast
into utter darkness in that hour. O teach me
how I may gain a little strength, ere I depart,
and am no more seen !
Bibinc ^{Waster. Thou dost w:ell to make good
speed, in using those few precious moments, the
last poor fragments of the treasure I have given
thee, which thou hast ofttimes squandered with
such reckless folly ; and forasmuch as I Who
love My own, do love them to the end, thou shalt
find that I have provided in My Church for man's
departing, certain holy means, whereby they may
be strengthened for the dread encounter of their
naked helpless soul with My all-piercing Gaze.
THE DIVINE MASTER. 153
First, then, hast thou betaken thee to the Tribunal
of Penitence, there to make indeed fit preparation,
for the swift approaching hour, when thou shalt
be brought to the Bar of My Great Judgment ?
hast thou taken once more a solemn account of thy
past life, and with tears of deep contrition dis-
closed them all afresh, to one of those whom I
have set as watchmen on the heights of My Spi-
ritual Zion, that they may keep a faithful guard
over the souls of men ? and hast thou given such
proofs of true repentance, that the absolving
words of pardon have again been passed, uttered
on earth, and sealed in Heaven, if thou indeed
wert upright in thy saying, and faithful in thy
deep humiliation ?
(^\)ilti. Good Master, most thankfully have I
done this ; yea, I could not choose but turn unto
that ordinance of cleansing, more eagerly than
ever did the kingly leper, to wash in Jordan's sa-
cred stream ; for my soul, appalled by its swift ap-
proach unto Eternal Purity, was fired with most
vehement desire to efface, by any means, the stains
of her corruption, ere she reached the sinless
shore beyond the grave— and without the Holy
anointing of this Blessed Absolution, I know not
how the shrinking spirit ever could endure the
first searching Breath of the pure air of Eternity !
O Lord, in the vigour of health and hope, when
154 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
men for lust of life, do seek to crush the remem-
brance of their dying hour, they may not fear to
scoff at this, the sacred means of Thine appoint-
ment, for the pardon of their sins. Even as Naa-
man at the first, scorned the washing that was to
make him clean, because it seemed to him that no
great thing was given him to do ; so they may de-
spise the plain command, to humble themselves
before the power committed unto man, and say
with mocking anger of Thine anointed Priest,
" Is not this man our fellow-servant and our
equal, that he should pretend to do this thing?"
therein catching, as it were, the spirit of those
who cried out against Thyself of old, saying,
" This Man spcaketh blasphemy ; who can forgive
sins save God only ? is not this the Carpenter's
Son ?" But, O Thou Great High Priest, when on
their bed of death they lie as I do now, and when
their memory, endowed with fearful retrospective
power, drags up the thronging crowds of sins
done in the flesh, each one, as it were a living
thing with a living voice, wherewith to call down
vengeance on them, — there is no longer place for
this most miserable pride and sophistry, beside
the fearful looking for of Judgment that over-
whelmed them ! then it is truly that all must
turn and cling to this blest ordinance, as drown-
ing men unto the spar in mercy sent, and with
most ardent gratitude rejoice, that as Thou hadst
THE DIVINE MASTEE. 155
indeed power on earth to forgive sins, so now
Tliou wouldest not leave ns comfortless, albeit
departed in tlie Glory of Thine Ascension, but
iiast ordained the exercise of this Thy Sovereign
Eight of Pardon, in the hands of Thy Eepre-
sentatives within the Church, with whom Thou
hast promised to abide, even unto the ends of
the world. Verily, Death comes unto the man
with Truth in his right hand, and disperses for
ever all deceits of the world, or flesh, or Devil,
that would strive, as in this instance, to make
Thy plain decrees of none effect.
Uibinc J^lnstcr. Thus far hast thou well done,
My child, but hast thou further sought in this the
last hour, which divides thee from the limitless
duration of unending ages, to partake of that All-
Wondrous Pood, which alone can give thee Life
Eternal ? There be many that say, like those of
whom thou hast spoken even now, *' How can
this Man give us bread here in the Wilderness ?"
Knowing that I Myself the Bread of Life am gone
into Heaven to sit at God's Eight Hand, they
dare to mistrust the awful channel by which I
have decreed that My very Body and Blood
should be conveyed to them, even in the land of
this their exile. But I say unto thee. Woe be to
them if they be not found in Me at My Coming !
for upborne in My Bosom only, wherein I bore
the rebukes of many people, can they ascend unto
156 THE DIVINE MASTEB.
the Paradise of God ; and how shall they enter
into Me, to be as bone of My Bone, and flesh of
My Flesh, except they eat Me, even as I com-
manded, and so live for ever ?
CDl;ilK. O Lord, I know how great in this
respect hath been the madness of Thy people ;
but for me I have been as one escaping for his
life, and whither could I flee, even in the midst
of Thy Church, the City of Eefuge, which Thou
hast provided for us on earth, but to the very
Altar of Thy Presence, all sprinkled with Thy
Blood ? where Satan, the Accuser of the Breth-
ren, could not dare to enter in and take me, be he
never so hot in his pursuit. O Virgin-Born, Very
God, and no less Very Man, it hath been my
mightiest help, my sweetest hope, in the deep
terror of this death and this eternity, that I have
been permitted once again to receive Thy Very
Self, in this Divinest Sacrament ! If only I could
dare believe that mine utter unworthiness, and
the ripened corruption of my past evil days, no
more to be redeemed in time, had not impeded
the Reception ofthisAU-Celestial Bread, I should
not fear, good Loed, to enter even on the ever-
lasting ages, in the strength thereof: for by this
means should I then attain, most surely, the one
thing which I long for with unspeakable desire,
even to nestle close within^Thy Sacred Heart for
ever and for evermore.
THE DIVINE MA8TEE. 157
Bib(ne JWastcr. Tliou hast done what thou
couldst in thine extremity ; now leave the rest
to Me ; but time is speeding, and thy moments
are numbered : thou must agree with thine ad-
versary very quickly, lest he accuse thee to the
Judge. Hast thou taken heed before approach-
ing to that Sacred Banquet, that no man had
aught against thee, nor thou against any man ?
hast thou paid that thou owedst, and dost thou
forgive as thou wouldst hope to be forgiven ?
€Cf)iHf. I am at peace with all men. Lord, so
far as in me lies ; yea, rather do I mourn for those
I leave behind, to whom it hath been given me
for Thy dear Sake, to offer sympathy or comfort
in this vale of misery ; they weep as if to break
my heart, because of the words I spake when
Death drew near, telling them that they should
see my face no more.
IBiiiine Jttastcr . If they loved thee, they would
rejoice, because at length the last tears thou shalt
ever shed are stealing from thine eyes, grown dim
with weeping, when none were near to note thy
patient sorrow, — and the tired frame, so wasted
with toil and bitter discipline unknown to all save
Him Who sees in secret, shall never more feel
pain or weariness, nor shall the weary head, that
throbbed so oft upon the cold ground in thine
anguish of humiliation, be tortured with unrest
again. Tf they loved thee, they would rejoice
158 THE DIVINE MASTEE.
as even now for thee that Love rejoiceth, which
is strong as death, — yea, which hath trampled
death beneath His Feet, saying to him, '' I am
mightier than thou !"
My child, the day breaketh, and we must de-
part ! the shadow of death is darkening on thine
eyelids, and the radiance of earthly suns hath
passed from them for ever ; but the Hand that
once opened the eyes of the blind is laid upon
thine ; and through thy soul, already trembling
on the threshold of a new existence, the light of
Eternity is dawning, ere yet the silver cord that
binds thy mortal life is altogether loosed. Look
up ! — what seest thou ?
CTi^ilti. I see the worlds floating in the Infinite
Glory of God, like motes in the sunshine,— I see
the centuries falling into the ocean of eternity,
swift as the rain drops in summer.
JBifainc J^aster. Look again! What seest
thou?
®l)ilti. The Word!— the Word is fulfilled!
mine eyes behold the King in His Beauty ? O
God, Thou aet Love !
J. Masters and Co, Printers, Albion Buildings, Bartholomew Close, E.C .
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