"They know by experience that true religion is a union of the soul with God, a real participation of the Divine nature, the very image of God drawn upon the soul, or, in the apostle's phrase, 'it is Christ formed within us.'" (pg. 44)
Thus, Scougal aptly terms true religion "Divine life," and for a believer, it is indeed the life of God in the soul of man.
Later, in speaking of the excellency of Divine love and how all our affections ought to be directed toward God, he says -
"But, certainly, that passion which account[s] its object a Deity, ought to be bestowed on Him who really is so... Those chains and cords of love are infinitely more glorious than liberty itself: this slavery is more noble than all the empires of the world." (pg. 73)
Thoughts?
1 comment:
These are the sorts of books I don't mind getting spoilers about. More people ought to be encouraged to read the old writers, the men whose writing has stood the test of time and the standard of biblical teaching.
Concerning the first quotation, Mr Scougal amply sums up what God says concerning his people: "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; 'After those days,' saith the LORD, 'I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.' " (Jeremiah 31:33) It is a further step in regaining the communion mankind had with God walking in the garden before the Fall. Religion, as Mr Scougal points out, is not and was never meant to be a ritual, a dry recitation of law, but a living and active communion with the Most High. It doesn't preclude fear and reverence - even the angels cover their faces - but it is far more intimate than the division of the veil and chants in Latin.
The second quote is providential coming on the heels of the conversation on Love that InkyScubs and I have been communicating through letters. Her comment which most leapt out at me is the inescapable nature of this Divine Love, which is at once a great comfort and a great obligation. If the Love which has revealed itself to us to be so omnipotent, so thorough, so stalwart and unwavering in its direction, we are the more compelled to render back to that Love the fruit of its cultivation in our souls. To return to the Garden, God created man for work, and this must be the highest work: the unfettered and reverent communication with the Godhead in free and obligatory Love.
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