act of cheerful self-denial for Christ's sake, every sacrifice of Christian liberality, every instance of love and pity towards his brethren, shall also be rewarded both here and hereafter; rewarded not according to its own desert, but according to the love from which it springs, and to the faith which it shows in Christ's promise.
How should this doctrine teach us to trust in ourselves, when we are but seeking for a reward of grace; ours by promise, not by merit? But moreover, we know, that neither these works of love, nor yet the principle of love whence they spring, are our own. We "are God's workmanship," we "are God's husbandry;" every good thing in us. He first gives, and then He rewards that which He has given[1]. Both grace and recompence are His gift, but He will reward us in proportion as He hath first wrought
- ↑ The following is the prayer and answer, in the 21st chapter of the third Book, De Imitatione Christi:—
Prayer.—Non reticebo donec gratia tua revertatur, mihique Tu intus loquaris.
Answer.—Ecce adsum. Ecce Ego ad te quia invocasti Me. Lacrymæ tuæ et desiderium animæ tuæ, humiliatio tua et contritio cordis, inclinaverunt Me et adduxerunt ad te.
Et dixi: Domine, vocavi Te et desideravi frui Te, paratus omnia respuere propter Te. Tu enim prior excitasti me ut quærerem Te. Sis ergo benedictus, Domine, qui fecisti hanc bonitatem servo tuo secundum multitudinem misericordiæ tuæ.
cerning the atonement of Christ, (Eph. v. 2.) is wonderful. And it shows how pleasing real good works, the fruits of the Spirit, are to God through Jesus Christ."
