The Christian soul saith, thou art my God, I, but he saith first, I am thy salvation. As Augustine saith, non frustra dicit anima, Deus, salus tua, when God saith, I am thy salvation, it is easy ⟨p. 20⟩for the soul to say, thou art my God. And this may teach us in our devotions when we are to deal with God, when we are to bring to him any request, to desire him first to reveal himself to us, desire Christ to reveal himself by his spirit to us. It is an error in he case of mens devotions; they think to bring something of their own strength, and to break in as it were upon God, without his discovery first. But Paul saith, Gal. 4. 9. We know God, or rather are known of him. We must desire, that he would make known his heart to us first, and then we shall know him again, that the would speak to us by his spirit, and then we shall answer to him again; That he would say to our souls, he is our salvation; and then we may lay claim to him, he is our God. Desire the spirit of revelation to reveal his bowels and love to us in Christ, by his holy spirit; for certainly, in every return of ours to Christ, God begins to us, all in all, though not so sensibly; but we ought to pray every day more and more for a sensible revelation, that God would reveal his love to us ⟨p. 21⟩in Christ. And we cannot but answer, if Christ saith, Mary, Mary, cannot but answer, Rabboni.
The Christian soul saith, thou art my God, I, but he saith first, I am thy salvation. As Augustine saith, non frustra dicit anima, Deus, salus tua, when God saith, I am thy salvation, it is ea•ie ⟨p. 20⟩for the soul to say, thou art my God. And this may teach us in our devotions when we are to deal with God, when we are to bring to him any request, to desire him first to reveal himself to us, desire Christ to reveal hims•lf by his spirit to us. It is an errour in he case of mens devotions; they think to bring something of their own strength, and to break in as it were upon God, without his discovery first. But Paul saith, Gal. 4. 9. We know God, or rather are known of him. We must desire, that he would make known his heart to us first, and then we shall know him again, that the would speak to us by his spirit, and then we shall answer to him again; That he would say to our souls, he is our salvation; and then we may lay claim to him, he is our God. Desire the spirit of revelation to reveal his bowels and love to us in Christ, by his holy spirit; for certainly, in every return of ours to Christ, God begins to us, all in all, though not so sensibly; but we ought to pray every day more and more for a sensible revelation, that God would reveal his love to us ⟨p. 21⟩in Christ. And we cannot but answer, if Christ saith, Mary, Mary, cannot but answer, Rabboni.
