Law: the fallen spirit within

Friday, February 18, 2011
Meditation:
    Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine. They have harps and lyres at their banquets, tambourines and flutes and wine, but they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD, no respect for the work of his hands.
    —Isaiah 5:11-12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Though the light and comfort of the outward world, keeps even the worst men from any constant strong sensibility of that wrathful, fiery, dark, and self-tormenting nature, that is the very essence of every fallen, unregenerate soul; yet every man in the world has, more or less, frequent and strong intimations given him, that so it is with him, in the inmost ground of his soul.
    How many inventions are some people forced to have recourse to, [in order] to keep off a certain inward uneasiness, which they are afraid of, and know not whence it comes? Alas, it is because there is a fallen spirit, a dark, aching fire within them, which has never had its proper relief, and is trying to discover itself, and calling out for help, at every cessation of worldly joy.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), Christian Regeneration [1739], in Works of Rev. William Law, v. V, London: G. Moreton, 1893, p. 140 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have rescued me from a dissipated life. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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