Page:The Doctrines of the New Church Briefly Explained.djvu/30

24 and vice; goes down with tender yearning to the most sinful and abandoned—yes, down to the very lowest of the hells,—and, veiling his ineffable brightness in merciful accommodation to their states, forever strives to save them from a lower depth, and to promote their greatest comfort and best welfare. Such is the nature of God's love—forever seeking the highest good even of those who are enemies to Him by wicked works. Nor is his love a mere blind impulse. It is infinitely wise. It is united with supreme intelligence as the sun's heat is united with light. It therefore knows what is best for every human being; knows how to bring good out of evil, light out of darkness, joy out of sorrow, success out of disaster, and ultimate triumph out of temporary defeat. Infinite love permits nothing to befall us, which infinite wisdom cannot in the end convert into a blessing. The sternest discipline of life, its most wearying vexations, its sorest disappointments, its hardest trials, its bitterest griefs—they are all permitted and overruled for our own or others' ultimate good. No cup of sorrow is proffered to our lips, but the hand of Infinite Love is there, ready and eager to make the bitter draught contribute to the best welfare of our own or others' souls.

Such, briefly, is God's character as disclosed in the revelations made for the New Church. Very