The Household of God
Volume 2
Rise and spiritual prime of the first world empire Hanoch
- Chapter 207 -
LAMECH'S SADNESS BECAUSE MAN CAN DO NOTHING THAT HAS MERIT BEFORE GOD. KISEHEL POINTS TO HUMILITY AS THE BEGINNING OF PURE LOVE (10th December 1842)
After Kisehel's speech Lamech was far more cheerful, but still like somebody who, while trying very hard to be quite cheerful, cannot hide that he is wearing a very tight shoe exerting constant pressure.
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This was soon noticed by Kisehel who stepped up to Lamech and said to him: "Listen, brother Lamech, I must tell you that you are as yet by no means free in your soul.
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"Secretly you are still chewing over so many a thing without coming to a conclusion; tell me what is still oppressing you and I will gladly enlighten you and with the Lord's grace help you out of all distress."
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And Lamech turned to Kisehel in great friendliness and said: "Mighty friend and brother, I glorify and praise now Him Who lives everlastingly, Whose power has no end and Whose kingdom and almighty rule are end· less and last forever and ever.
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"Yes, I, Lamech, now honor, glorify and praise Him, compared to Whom all who dwell on earth and are mighty, have to be regarded as absolutely nothing.
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"For He does according to His will with both the forces in heaven and those on earth and no one can oppose Him and ask Him: 'What are You doing, Almighty One?'
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"For He alone is a Lord and can do as He will. Whomsoever He wants to chastise, He chastises; whomsoever He wants to humiliate, He humiliates; whomsoever He wants to tempt, He tempts.
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"If He wants to forgive someone's sin, He forgives it without reservation; if He wants to kill someone, He kills him in His own time, without having to say to him: Tomorrow I shall kill you!', and nobody can call Him to account and no one judge Him, - for He is above all the heavens and above all the men of the earth!
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"Behold, brother, all this I now know. But nevertheless all this does not help me much; for whatever I can and may think, the final result is always this: God alone is all in all; we all put together, however, are absolutely nothing compared to Him!
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"The only thing, namely, that we may love, honor, glorify and praise Him, is of value only amongst us; but viewed before His almighty, infinite and eternally divine essence it is also practically nothing. For since all men and animals of the earth and all forces of the heavens are nothing compared to Him, of what value to Him should be our love, our glorifying, our honor pledged to Him and all our praise?
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'Thus we cannot love, glorify, honor and praise Him in the real sense of the word, for when we do this, we do it only with a view to our own personal welfare. For who can exalt God, since He is from eternity the Most High?
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"Who can glorify God through his praise, Him, before Whom heaven and earth are like nothing? Who can love Him, the infinite Might, Strength and Power? Who make a fitting sacrifice to Him, Who from eternity owns everything?
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'Thus we do all this only for our own sake and cannot possibly do anything for God in the real sense of the word.
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"Yet I want to do all this only for the sake of God - and not in this way forced on account of my own welfare!
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"Viewed from this true standpoint, how is this possible?
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"I now realize that all the temptations arise from God's great grace for which we can only thank Him forever because He remembers us, He, the infinite, eternal God!
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"But the fact that we can do nothing for Him in return, behold, this is now oppressing my soul, saddening my heart.
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"O brother, this you cannot feel in the same depth and fullness as I, the great sinner! Though you were a sinner, too, you were such not to the same extent as I was, - and so, as I said, you cannot feel as I do, what it means to be a debtor and unable to pay back the debt.
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"Now you know what oppresses me; so advise me if you possibly can."
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This speech startled Kisehel and at first he could not collect himself in earnest, but when My Spirit again came over him, he comforted Lamech with the following words:
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O brother Lamech, what you are feeling now, we have all long since felt and are feeling it all the more now that you are feeling it with us; but at the same time we know from the Lord's own holy mouth that our gratitude is most pleasing to Him when we realize our complete nothingness compared to Him.
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"When you no longer find words to thank Him and no sacrifice worthy of Him, you are a true thanksgiver, glorifier and worshipper of God, the holy Father.
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"Behold, this is the proper humility, and this again is the seed for the eternal life in God.
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"It is the beginning of pure love, - but the latter is Eternal Life itself.
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"Therefore, be exceedingly glad and cheerful; because exactly therein have you just received the eternal spirit of the true, eternal life.
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O Lamech! Brother! My joy in you has become great!
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"Remain thus, and you will live forever, ever, ever! Amen."