By this Scripture we are taught, that no man can taste the inward sweetness of heavenly joy and comfort hidden in the Word, who does not first vanquish his own flesh and the world, with all the pomps and lusts thereof, and the devil himself. But those that crucify their flesh daily, with all its desires and lusts, by serious contrition and repentance, who die daily to themselves and to the world, and to whom this life is a cross and affliction; these are divinely fed with the heavenly manna, and drink the wine of the joy of paradise. Those, on the other hand, that love the pleasures of this world rather than those of heaven, render themselves altogether unfit to taste the hidden manna, preserved for him alone that overcometh. The reason is, because like things (according to the proverb) rejoice in their like; and things of a contrary nature do not unite one with another. Since, therefore, the word of God is spiritual, it is no wonder that worldly minds take no pleasure in it. For as the body receives no strength from the food which the stomach does not digest; so the soul receives no strength from the divine word, unless it be entirely converted into itself, that is, into its own life and nature.
2. Yea, as a man that is sick of a fever acquires a distempered appetite, and deems the coarsest trash more pleasant than wholesome food; so those that are sick of a spiritual fever, that is, of the love of the world, of pride and covetousness, loathe the good word of God as bitter and insipid food. Those, on the other hand, that have the Spirit of God, find in it a hidden manna, and a secret sweetness, which transcends all other delights; but then it is not to be tasted by such as are carried away with the pleasures of a profane world.
3. Many hear the glad tidings of the Gospel repeatedly, and yet are but little affected with what they hear. They do not feel any fervency of spirit, any sense of spiritual joy. The cause is plain; they are not led by the good Spirit of God, but by the corrupt spirit of the world; nor have they heavenly, but earthly minds, which cannot receive the things of God. Whoever, therefore, wishes to obtain a sound understanding in spiritual matters, to feel the power of the word of God, and to eat of the hidden manna, ought by all means to conform his life to the word which he reads, and to the life of Christ which is set before him. It is then that the Lord feeds the humble with grace (1 Pet. 5:5), satisfies the meek with his love, and supports the patient with his comfort; rendering his yoke pleasant, and his burden light [pg 117] unto them. For the sweetness of this heavenly manna cannot be tasted except under the yoke of Christ, according to the promise of the Lord: “He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away.” Luke 1:53.
4. “The words that I speak unto you,” saith the Lord, “they are spirit and they are life.” John 6:63. Whence it follows, that a carnal and voluptuous man, who has no spiritual understanding or taste, cannot possibly perceive or relish the words of Christ. These must be apprehended in spirit, and in an inward tranquillity of mind, attended with great humility and fervent desires after God. In this order, the Word of God must be received and digested, if ever it is to afford a vital nourishment to the soul; which, if it be neglected, then truly the Word is no more than an empty sound, and an external letter. As a man that hears the sound of a harp, and understands not its melody, receives no pleasure from it; so no man can perceive the virtue hidden in the Word, unless he endeavor to express it in his life, and thoroughly to conform himself to it in his spirit.
5. For this reason, the Lord says: “I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it.”
6. This is the testimony of the hidden Spirit, who witnesses to the divine Word: and in like manner, the Spirit of the Word gives testimony to our spirit (Rom. 8:16), whence both unite, and so become one spirit. 1 Cor. 6:17. This is that new name, which no man knoweth but he that hath it. As no man perceives the sweetness of honey, but he that tastes it; so the name of this divine testimony, written in the hearts of good souls, no man knoweth but he that possesses it. He only understands the nature of heavenly comfort, and of divine visitations, who really tastes them. This name and testimony are called new, because they are the blessed effect of the new birth, and come from above.
7. Blessed is the man to whom God thus gives himself to be tasted! Thus were the prophets of old fed with this heavenly bread, and sustained by the eternal Word proceeding from God, and communicating itself unto them. This made their tongues so free and so ready in the delivery of the divine oracles. And from this inward sense, with which they were so powerfully affected, the Holy Scripture has been derived, and handed down to us for our edification.
8. Even at this day, God does not cease still to speak unto all men, and inwardly to feed them with his Word: but alas! most men have shut their ears against his voice, and will rather hear the world than God, and follow their own lusts, than the motions of the good Spirit of God. They cannot eat of the hidden manna, because they greedily adhere to their carnal propensities, and contemn the tree of life, with the fruit thereof.
9. But surely such men are awfully blinded, since they will not understand that God can afford infinitely greater pleasures than this world is capable of imparting. He that has once tasted the goodness of God, will esteem the whole world, together with its most exquisite pleasures, to be nothing but gall and bitterness. Our first parents were beguiled by the world; and by eating of the forbidden tree, they brought no less an evil upon themselves than death itself: and yet we are so much besotted with the pleasures [pg 118] of this world, as to follow freely their steps, and to obey the forbidden lusts of the flesh, which cause our death. Rom. 8:13.
10. Christ says: “If any shall eat of me,” the true tree, and the true bread of life, “he shall live for ever.” John 6:51. And what is it to eat of him, but to believe in him, to rejoice in him, to delight in him, and to rest and to take pleasure in nothing but him alone? The world bestows poor and inconsiderable wages, and yet it is served with great labor and earnestness; whereas God grants an eternal and never-fading reward; and yet with what sluggishness, coldness, and backwardness is his service performed! How few there are, who adhere to God with as much care and faith, devotion and obedience, as profane worldlings do to mammon, and the world! We see them often take long and tedious journeys for a little money; but for the sake of heaven, it grieves them to move even a foot.