CHAPTER XXXIX
How God will have Order, Custom, Measure, and the like in the
Creature, seeing that He cannot have them without the Creature, and of four
sorts of Men who are concerned with this Order, Law, and Custom.
It is said, and truly, God is above and without custom, measure, and order, and
yet giveth to all things their custom, order, measure, fitness, and the like.
The which is to be thus understood. God will have all these to be, and they
cannot have a being in Himself without the creature, for in God, apart from the
creature, there is neither order nor disorder, custom nor chance, and so forth;
therefore He will have things so that these shall be, and shall be put in
exercise. For wherever there is word, work, or change, these must be either
according to order, custom, measure and fitness, or according to unfitness and
disorder. Now fitness and order are better and nobler than their contraries.
But ye must mark: There are four sorts of men
who are concerned with order, laws, and customs. Some keep them neither for
God's sake, nor to serve their own ends, but from constraint: these have as
little to do with them as may be, and find them a burden and heavy yoke. The
second sort obey for the sake of reward: these are men who know nothing beside,
or better than, laws and precepts, and imagine that by keeping them they may
obtain the kingdom of Heaven and Eternal Life, and not otherwise; and him who
practiseth many ordinances they think to be holy, and him who omitteth any
tittle of them they think to be lost. Such men are very much in earnest and
give great diligence to the work, and yet they find it a weariness. The third
sort are wicked, false-hearted men, who dream and declare that they are perfect
and need no ordinances, and make a mock of them.
The fourth are those who are enlightened with the
True Light, who do not practise these things for reward, for they neither look
nor desire to get anything thereby, but all that they do is from love alone.
And these are not so anxious and eager to accomplish much and with all speed as
the second sort, but rather seek to do things in peace and good leisure; and if
some not weighty matter be neglected, they do not therefore think themselves
lost, for they know very well that order and fitness are better than disorder,
and therefore they choose to walk orderly, yet know at the same time that their
salvation hangeth not thereon. Therefore they are not in so great anxiety as
the others. These men are judged and blamed by both the other parties, for the
hirelings say that they neglect their duties and accuse them of being
unrighteous, and the like; and the others (that is, the Free Spirits[44]) hold them in derision, and say that they
cleave unto weak and beggarly elements, and the like. But these enlightened men
keep the middle path, which is also the best; for a lover of God is better and
dearer to Him than a hundred thousand hirelings. It is the same with all their
doings.
Furthermore, ye must mark, that to receive God's
commands and His counsel and all His teaching, is the privilege of the inward
man, after that he is united with God. And where there is such a union, the
outward man is surely taught and ordered by the inward man, so that no outward
commandment or teaching is needed. But the commandments and laws of men belong
to the outer man, and are needful for those men who know nothing better, for
else they would not know what to do and what to refrain from, and would become
like unto the dogs or other beasts.
[44] This is evidently an allusion to the
"Brethren of the Free Spirit," mentioned in the Historical Introduction.