From John Donne's Whitsunday
sermon, 1629:
So that, as the Holy Ghost is the Comforter, so is this comfort exhibited by him to us, and exercised by him upon us, in this especially, that he hath gathered us, established us, illumined us, and does govern us, as members of that body, of which Christ Jesus is the head; that he hath brought us, and bred us, and fed us with the means of salvation, in his application of the merits of Christ to our souls, in the ordinances of the church.
... he moves us to a zeal of laying hold upon the means of salvation which God offers us in the church; and he settles us in a peaceful conscience, that by having well used those means, we are made his. A holy hunger and thirst of the word and sacraments, a remorse, and compunction for former sins, a zeal to promote the cause, and glory of God, by word, and deed, this is the motion of the Holy Ghost: and then, to content myself with God's measure of temporal blessings, and for spiritual, that I do serve God faithfully in that calling which I lawfully profess, as far as that calling will admit, (for he, upon whose hand-labour the sustentation of his family depends, may offend God in running after many working-days sermons,) this peace of conscience, this acquiescence of having done that that belongs to me, this is the rest of the Spirit of God.
Comments
Post a Comment