A Golden Book of Three Tabernacles - Thomas a Kempis - Bog

Exerpt: Great, Lord my God, is the patience of thy servants. And this is the victory of those who overcome all adverse things in this world: for thou hast said: In your patience ye will possess your souls. Luke 21. Thou diversely triest us, and thou dost encompass us on all sides with tribulations, at one time from without, at another from within; thou searchest us now by open, and now by hidden temptations; so that nothing may be in us, that has not passed through the fire of temptation. Thou art willing to try us in all things, to strengthen us in many things, that being tried in all, and freed from many miseries, we may return great thanks to thy mercy and to thy goodness. This is pleasing to thee, and appeareth good in thy sight, and useful to our advancement; and if thou, Lord our God, be for us, who can be against us? I shall therefore follow thee, Lord, whitherso ever thou wilt go, so that thou be my guide on the way. If I shall walk in the midst of the shadow of death, no evils shall I fear, because thou art with me. Yet will I confess against myself my injustice to the Lord, and my weakness I will not hide: if so be, that I happily receive from a kind physician the cherishings of a consolation. Look, Lord, on my poverty and my weakness: hearken to what I say, for unto thee have I made known my case. Behold, I wish for rest, and thou commandest me to labour; I pant after lofty things, but thou dost propose to me what is humble; I seek after a store of delights, but thou counsellest the distresses of poverty. Is this, Lord my God, thy advice and thy word? Lord. It is. Soul. And how am I straitened, that it be per- fected in me? Lord. Love me, and thou wilt not be straitened in thyself. It is easy that all the distresses of poverty be consumed in the fire of charity. It is sweet to the lover to be impoverished with the Son of God. Charity maketh every burden light that it commands us to cany. Nor will labour be hard to any one that is strengthened by the bread of charity. Soul. Lord, thou hast spoken well, and I beg that it be done as thou hast spoken it. Thou hast given us the counsel, give us likewise thy assistance. May whatever appears burdensome to the flesh be come sweet, and the burden itself light, which I before seemed too heavy to be borne. May my flesh rejoice in the living God, and my spirit in God, its salvation. Israel, how good is God to those who have an upright heart. I will love thee, Lord, my strength, my stay, and my refuge; I likewise will love holy poverty, humility, and patience, by following thy footsteps, and those of thy saints. I will consider henceforward poverty as my riches, humility as my glory, and patience as my rest. May I attend to those things, and may every thing that is useful to the spirit become pleasant, because the flesh availeth nothing. May I be delighted in those things as in the greatest riches, and may the foot of the proud rich, and of those who live in delights, never disturb me. For these shall fall when their day will come, and their end will be without honour. But I will rejoice in the Lord, and will greatly delight in God my Saviour, who is become to me an example of poverty, of humility, and of patience. Another rare Kempis Classic brought back into print. Kempis is well known for Imitation of Christ, the 2nd best selling book next to the Holy Bible.