39. I fear, I say, greatly
for thee, lest, when thou boastest that thou wilt follow the Lamb
wheresoever He shall have gone, thou be unable by reason of
swelling pride to follow Him through strait ways. It is good for
thee, O virgin soul, that thus, as thou art a virgin, thus
altogether keeping in thy heart that thou hast been born again,
keeping in thy flesh that thou hast been born, thou yet conceive of
the fear of the Lord, and give birth to the spirit of salvation.2142
“
Fear,” indeed, “there is not in
charity, but
perfect
charity,” as it is written, “casteth out
fear:”
2143
but
fear
of men, not of
God:
fear of temporal evils, not of the
Divine
Judgment at the last. “Be not thou high-
minded, but
fear.”
2144
Love thou
the
goodness of
God;
fear thou His severity: neither
suffers thee
to be
proud. For by
loving you
fear, lest you grievously offend One
Who is
loved and
loves. For what more grievous offense, than that
by
pride thou displease Him, Who for thy sake hath been displeasing
to the
proud? And where ought there to be more that “
chaste fear
abiding for ever and ever,”
2145
than in thee, who hast no thought
of the things of this
world, how to please a wedded partner; but of
the things of the
Lord, how to please the
Lord?
2146
That other
fear is not in
charity,
but this
chaste fear quitteth not
charity. If you
love not,
fear
lest you
perish; if you
love,
fear lest you displease. That
fear
charity casteth out, with this it runneth within. The
Apostle Paul
also says, “For we have not received the spirit of
bondage again
to
fear; but we have received the spirit of
adoption of sons,
wherein we
cry,
Abba,
Father.”
2147
I believe that he speaks of that
fear, which had been given in the Old Testament, lest the temporal
goods should be lost, which
God had
promised unto those not yet
sons under
grace, but as yet
slaves under the
law. There is also
the
fear of
eternal fire, to serve
God in order to
avoid which is
assuredly not yet of
perfect charity. For the desire of the
reward
is one thing, the
fear of
punishment another. They are different
sayings, “Whither shall I go away from Thy Spirit, and from Thy
face whither shall I
flee?”
2148
and, “One thing I have sought of
the
Lord, this I will
seek after; that I may dwell in the
house of
the
Lord through all the days of my
life, that I may consider the
delight of the
Lord, that I be protected in His
temple:”
2149
and,
“Turn not away Thy face from me:”
2150
and, “My
soul longeth and
fainteth unto the
courts of the
Lord.”
2151
Those sayings let him have had,
who
dared not to lift up his
eyes to
heaven; and she who was
watering with
tears His
feet, in order to obtain pardon for her
grievous
sins; but these do thou have, who art careful about the
things of the
Lord, to be holy both in body and spirit. With those
sayings there
companies fear which hath
torment, which
perfect
charity casteth forth; but with these sayings there
companies
chaste fear of the
Lord, that abideth for ever and ever. And to
both kinds it must be said, “Be not thou high-
minded, but
fear;”
2152
that man
neither of
defense of his
sins, nor of presumption of
righteousness
set himself up. For
Paul also himself, who saith, “For ye have
not received the spirit of
bondage again to
fear;”
2153
yet,
fear
being a companion of
charity, saith, “With
fear and much
trembling was I towards you:”
2154
and that saying, which I have
mentioned, that the
engrafted wild olive
tree be not
proud against
the broken
branches of the olive
tree, himself made use of, saying,
“Be not thou high-
minded, but
fear;” himself admonishing all
the members of
Christ in general, saith, “With
fear and trembling
work out your own
salvation; for it is
God Who worketh in you both
to will and to do, according to His good
pleasure;”
2155
that it
seem not to pertain unto the Old Testament what is written,
“Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice unto Him with
trembling.”
2156
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