Oliver Prescott Hiller

“ Not being able to penetrate through the veil of the letter to the glorious truths that lie beneath, they see only its darkened surface—chequered with alternate light and shade—with the truth only seen dimly here and there, like the sun gleaming through clouds. And how many, being nearly in despair, have been inclined to throw away entirely the sacred Volume, which they cannot understand! But in the last place, and above all, how is the world filled with evil, with selfishness and wickedness, the consequence, in great part, of the wide-spread and destructive errors prevalent in the Church. ”

“ Thence it is, that in man there is no health, that is, nothing sound; but he is one entire mass of evil. Who is there, for instance, that feels that to love himself more than others is evil? and who therefore knows that there is any evil in it? when, nevertheless, it is the head of all evils."—"Man is by birth like a little hell, between which and heaven there is perpetual disagreement. And no one can be drawn out of this hell by the Lord, unless he sees that he is there, and wishes to be delivered." ”

“ When we read the Word in a spirit of humility and devotion, we perceive not only the mind enlightened, but the heart warmed and elevated; which shows that the Holy Word is both truth and goodness—the one affecting the understanding, while the other acts upon the will. Thus is the Word essential goodness and truth. If, then, goodness and truth constitute the name of God, in an eminent sense is the Holy Word his name. ”

“ Were it possible for men to be thus forgiven,—were nothing needed but for the Lord to speak the words "I pardon,"—there would not remain an unforgiven sinner in the universe, nor would there be any hell at all, but the Lord, in his infinite love, would draw all his creatures to his arms, and make them happy in heaven for ever.
But such is not the nature of things, nor the nature of man, nor the nature of man's relation to his Maker. Man, in order that he may be man, and not a mere machine, is constituted with freedom of will ”

“ And above all, we should pray that our acquisition of spiritual truth may be increased through that which is the great and chief means of increasing it, namely, by putting into life and practice the truths we already know; for truth, by being practised, is turned into good—knowledge becomes love; and then from the flame of love in the heart there flows an interior light into the mind, far brighter than the cold light of the understanding alone ”

“ Jehovah, the great Creator of the universe, came down and took upon himself Humanity in the world, in order, upon the battle-ground of that Humanity, to meet the powers and hosts of hell, and overcome them, and cast them down, and so remove them from mankind. Thus Jehovah-Jesus redeemed mankind, by delivering them from the preponderating influence of hell, and so restoring them to mental freedom; as a consequence of which, every man is now able to think and do right if he will, and thus to be regenerated and saved. ”

“ And then, as after the Lord's temptation in the wilderness, "angels come and minister unto us;" an interior, heavenly peace is breathed into the heart,—a sweet calm comes over the spirit, like the dawn of morning after a night of storm,—and we feel ourselves more nearly conjoined to the Lord. ”

“ To ask the Father in the Lord's name, is to pray to the Divine through the Human—for in no other way can the Divine or the infinite God be seen, or thought of, or addressed, than as he was manifested in the Humanity on earth: Jesus Christ was "God manifest in the flesh:" "No man cometh to the Father," he said, "but through me:" "I and the Father are one." ”

“ Such temptations press upon us from every side: no one can entirely escape them: what we have to do, is to fortify ourselves against them. And it is one of the chief duties of parents, by careful and pious instructions, to arm their children against these temptations of the world. Some parents have endeavored, by watchfulness and seclusion, to protect their children from all temptation: but it is in vain: rather arm them well, and let them go out to the fight. They must "fight the good fight of faith;" every one must do so, who becomes regenerate; the kingdom of heaven is taken by violence. ”

“ Our fellow-servant owes us a hundred pence; but we owe our own Lord ten thousand talents: such is the proportion between the wrongs done to us, and the wrongs which we ourselves have done.
Let us beware, then, how we cherish an unforgiving spirit, if we wish to be ourselves forgiven. Let us hasten to put away all feelings of anger, revenge, and ill-will, and come into a state of love and kindness, of Christian forbearance and forgiveness towards all men, if we would be drawn out of hell and be elevated into heaven. "Recompense to no man," says the Apostle, "evil for evil. ”

“ And just as the Lord, from his glorified Humanity, breathed the Holy Spirit on his disciples, so now also, upon us, who desire to be his disciples, who wish to learn of him, and worship him, and do his commandments, he still breathes his Holy Spirit constantly; for though in heaven, he is still on earth, for there is no space with the Lord: he is still near, and can still pour upon us, if we look to him, that light of Divine truth, and that warmth of Divine love, which constitute the Holy Spirit, and which have power to regenerate the heart and mind and the whole man. ”

“ Thus, then, the Lord is properly to be thought of, as dwelling above the heavens, in the midst of a glorious spiritual sun, or great source of heavenly light and heat, which is, in truth, but an emanation from his own Divine and glorious Person. It is the light from the same heavenly Sun, that illumines the minds of men on earth, and it is its heat that warms their hearts with love: as Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." ”

“ No! the prayer cannot be heard, because it is not a true prayer: the iniquity cherished in the heart chokes the words as they issue from the mouth, draws down the thought as it aspires to heaven, and extinguishes the prayer's very life. ”

“ All heartfelt prayer must be acceptable to the Lord; indeed, all genuine prayer is inspired by the Lord himself—both the thought, and the good affection from which it springs:—every heavenly aspiration is from him, and from him alone: "Without me," he says, "ye can do nothing." When, then, a sincere aspiration puts itself forth in words, it is an uttered prayer; and such a prayer cannot but be well-pleasing to the Lord, for it is, in fact, that which is derived from him, returning to him again: and thus, truly, it is not man that speaks, but the Lord in man. ”

“ Look at the spiritual darkness that now hangs over the world—yes, even over the Christian world, proud as it is of the light which it supposes itself to possess. Note the ignorance and doubt that prevail in regard to the most important points of spiritual knowledge, the first principles of a true belief. In regard to God himself, the Lord, man's Creator and Saviour, is there not, in general, either stubborn denial, trembling doubt, or confirmed error?—some maintaining that God is One absolutely, and that he is merely the Creator—not the Saviour ”

“ I say to you, the Lord would create bread for you directly, as he did to feed the five thousand, or shower down manna from heaven, as he did for the Israelites, or send ravens to feed you, as he did to Elijah—rather than permit any one to suffer, who trusts in him and does his duty. Remember the Psalmist's words, "I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." [10] The Lord has a thousand ways of supplying you. Remember that he foresees everything; he is not like one taken by surprise. ”

“ If any one fancies himself justified in indulging anger because he has been wronged, let him think how much more justifiable would our Divine Master be in exercising wrath against us. "If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?" [8] Have we not, each and all, sinned against him again and again, in thought and word and deed,—and if he should take revenge for all these wrongs against his Divine law, where should we be? ”

“ It is to be accomplished with the world in general, precisely in the same way that it is accomplished in the little world of an individual mind: indeed, the work will be effected with mankind at large, only in proportion as it is effected with the individuals of whom mankind is composed. To regenerate the world, you must regenerate the individuals that constitute the world: goodness and truth will increase and be established in the world at large, only in the degree that they are established in the minds of individual men. ”

“ For, by a battle and a conquest in temptation, one makes a far more rapid advance in regeneration, than merely by the slow course of ordinary quiet improvement. The enemy assembles his forces: you meet and conquer him in a great battle, and the whole kingdom of heaven then lies open before you, and you have lasting peace; whereas, when you move on in only the ordinary course of duties, and are not brought face to face with any strong temptations, you are yet continually harassed by petty evils hanging about your path, and you make but little spiritual progress. ”

“ Tor the self-love and pride from which such confidence proceeds, is essential evil, and, though he little thinks it, is in fact inspired into his heart by the evil spirits who are around him. Evil spirits desire nothing more burningly than to injure and destroy man; and they bolster him up in his self-conceit, and lift him up in proud self-elevation, to the very end that they may presently give him the greater fall. For they have a keen perception of all man's weaknesses; and the moment they get him upon the precipice of temptation, they will drop him—and the man is gone. ”

“ Were man merely to pray,—were he to remain ever on his knees looking up and asking, his prayer could not be answered. For even though a dove should fly down from heaven with a morsel in its beak, and lay it on his tongue, yet that would not be sufficient: he wants clothes as well as food, and a house to shelter him from the weather; and he wants many things besides these. Nor, even if all these were supplied him by a continual miracle, would he be content or happy. For happiness comes from within, not from without ”

“ First, Why is deliverance from evil so necessary? Because evil—by which I mean moral evil—is the one great disturber of the universe, the one great destroyer of man's happiness, the one source of all the wretchedness that exists on earth or in hell. ”

“ But from that Divine Love and Wisdom there proceed goodness and truth, which are spiritual heat and light: these flow from the Lord down into the heavens, and into the minds of angels there, and also into the minds of men on earth, giving light to the understanding and warmth to the heart. ”

“ Before you were married, he knew the offspring you would have, and all the wants of each one of them. He will put it into the heart of friends to assist you; he will cause you, in his providence, to meet with some one to whom your needs may be made known: and this, by the way, is sometimes an end for which Divine Providence permits even the good to be brought very, very low, namely, to break down their pride. You must not be too proud to make your wants known—after you have done all you reasonably can to supply them yourself. ”

“ It is on account of this signification of the term Father, as designating especially the Divine Goodness or Love, that the Prayer commences with the expression, "Our Father;" in order to convey the idea that all prayer is directed to the Lord, as a Being of love, and that from his love all requests are granted and all blessings flow. We have indeed a general view of the same truth, when we think of the phrase merely in its literal sense,—the term "father" conveying to our minds the idea of one who loves us as his children, and wishes to bless us. ”

“ Whenever he seemed to speak of himself as distinct from the Father, it was merely the humanity, or human part of his nature, distinguishing itself from the Divine part within; for, before the humanity was fully glorified, there was a distinction between them—they were not yet perfectly united: just as man's natural and spiritual minds are distinct, and even opposite, before he becomes fully regenerated. But the process of glorification, or of uniting the Divinity and humanity, was going on steadily during all the Lord's life in the world. ”

“ The body will, in a few years, die and return to dust; but the soul is destined to an everlasting existence. And the condition of that existence, whether happy or unhappy, will depend upon the soul's having a due supply of its appropriate nourishment, from day to day, and from moment to moment now, in order that it may grow into the truly human and angelic form, into the image and likeness of the Lord.
Goodness and truth are the food of the soul, and these are meant in the spiritual sense by "bread." Hence, the Lord who is Goodness and Truth, or Love and Wisdom itself, calls himself "Bread." ”

“ And while we so cherish these evils, they cannot be removed: in fact, we do not wish them removed, we are not willing to have them removed: we fondle and caress this viper, and hug it to our bosoms, till it stings us to death: we cherish and brood over our wrongs, real or imagined, and form plans of revenge, little thinking that, in so doing, we are gathering around us infernals of the deepest dye, and letting ourselves down amongst the societies of hell. ”

“ It is necessary that man's hereditary evils be in some degree and measure called up by temptation, in order that he may see and resist them, and thus be purified from them. Not, indeed, that any one is to throw himself needlessly into temptation, and thus put himself in harm's way: this is wrong and dangerous: by such a course he may be tempted beyond his strength. It is our duty to guard ourselves from temptation, as far as we can without leaving the path of duty: there are temptations enough that come up in the usual and orderly course of life ”

“ But here an interesting question presents itself—the question in regard to the utility of a prayer of this kind. The Lord, we know, is ever ready to confer blessings on all, and does continually pour forth his truth and love, as the sun unceasingly sends out its light and heat; and if his blessings are not enjoyed, it is never because he does not give, but because men will not receive. ”

“ Having humbled himself by the acknowledgment that he is evil, the infernal spirits who inspire self-conceit, are driven away, and good angels, who are all humble—for they are in the likeness of him who was "meek and lowly in heart,"—come about him and strengthen him with thoughts of truth and affections of good, and thus arm him for the battles of the day. ”