Voices of the Spirit

6 The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,” — GEN. i, 2,

BEFORE God said “Let there be light,” 4 He said “Let there be Spirit.” It was the key-note of all His voices to the human soul. It is no use to bring the light until you have brought the Spirit. Light will not make the waters of life glad unless the spirit of joy has already moved them. Light is only outward and the joy of the soul has its seat within. It is in vain you promise me the herb of the field and the bird of the air and the fish of the sea. It is in vain even that you bring me into contact with my fellow-men made in the image of God. If the Spirit has not moved on the face of the waters there can be no gladness in my face. That which makes me glad is not what I get but what I am, and what I am depends on the Spirit. Therefore it was well that the Spirit should come before all His gifts — before the light, before the firmament, before the herb A of the field. It was well that the joy in the heart should precede the joy in the universe. It was well that ere the light could rise, the Spirit should move on the face of the waters.

O Thou Divine Spirit whose breath preceded all things, I am seeking to invert the order of Thy work. I am asking for other things before Thee. I am crying for light, for sun and moon and star, for the green herb, for the bird of heaven. I am forgetting that without Thee the light would not charm, the grass would not grow, the bird would not sing. Come Thyself first of all and move upon the face of the waters. Come and give to the light its charm, to the herb its greenness, to the bird its song. Come and let me see the image of God in my brother-man, that I may learn to love him as my other self and in the joy of love may find universal joy. Without Thee the days of my creation are evenings without mornings; the nightless Sabbath shall have dawned when Thou shalt move upon the waters.

PrxesO, not always; there shall be peace at E) the last. It is not possible that there ke can be two eternal powers; one must, conquer and be all in all. Shall it be the flesh or shall it be the Spirit? The deluge shall answer that question. All flesh shall be destroyed; all carnality shall be drowned; all worldly lust shall be buried in the waves and love shall reign supreme. O glorious prophecy, thou redeemest the darkness of the flood. Thou art already the dove upon the waters, but thou tellest of a higher rest than that of Ararat. Thou tellest of a time when there shall be no more sea, no more passion, no more sin. Thou tellest of summers without storm, of mornings without cloud, of moments without fear. Thou art better than the rainbow set for a covenant amid the waters. That only promised a freedom from future punishment; thine is the pledge of a freedom from future sin. Thy pledge shall be redeemed when the vision of Patmos shall be fulfilled: “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.”

Spirit Divine, why is it that I am at war with Thee? Nothing else is at war with Thee. We speak of the Jaws of nature and we do well. All nature is Thy law and keeps Thy law; this heart of mine has alone refused to say “Thy will be done.” I am myself the miracle of the universe, the violation of the order of nature. I am the only thing in creation which strives with Thee, which needs to be reconciled to Thee. They say that to believe in Thee is to believe in that which contradicts reason; no, it is to find something which destroys the contradiction. I am now the contradiction to reason, the miracle in nature, the one exception to the reign of universal law. Spirit of Christ, Spirit of the heavenly Father, conquer my will, that the miracle may be destroyed. Reconcile my heart to Thy heart, that there may be no more violation of law. Unite my purpose to Thy purpose, that I may be in harmony with all things and that all things may work together for my good. Let me know for the first time the joy of being no anomaly in the universe of life, no interruption in the order of nature. All things shall be subject unto Thee when I have ceased to strive.

Keep reading