"Whatever
pains the philosophers have taken to know God by the effort of their
intellect, they have not known Him, because they have not loved Him,
and because all the rest of the knowledge of the most learned men of the world, who are destitute of love, is a deception...We
no sooner love Him than we begin to have a real knowledge of what He is
and of what He deserved; it is a knowledge by experience, which is only
given by love;just as he who possesses a property knows infinitely
better what it is worth than he who has merely heard of it.
"That
is why it is written "Taste and thou wilt see" - taste in the first
place, by love, how lovable God is, and then you will see, by the
knowledge which will be given to you in loving.
"Oh how mistaken are those who make all piety consist in the effort of their minds to know an incomprehensible
object, and who persuade themselves that prayer should be a continual
reasoning! Oh, no! Prayer should be a continual loving...The knowledge
of God should come by love, and not by sight or study. God only gives
knowledge of Himself by His love; he who loves the most, knows the
most."
The Autobiography of Madame Guyon
- A phenomenal story of a woman whose sole desire was for intimacy
with the Lord. Written at the command of her confessor, it describes not only
the external details of her walk with the Lord, but provides a view of the spiritual
relationship which fueled them. I have discovered that we have been handed a
seriously reduced picture of the spaces into which God calls us, and this book blows them
wide open.
Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
- Madame Guyon firmly believed that deep, intimate communion with the Lord
was the inheritance of every Christian. In other words, a simple field-laborer,
indwelt by the Spirit of God, could experience the presence of Jesus Christ as
deeply as a full-time member of a monastic order. This book describes a devotional
practice which helps the individual prepare for and faciliate the working of the
Spirit which draws us into the presence of God.
- Final Steps in Christian Maturity
- This book is a sequel to 'Experiencing the Depths', and simply
contains a selection of teachings gleaned from her 1200-page work "Justifications".
The content provides a series of superb and concise discourses on the inner walk of
faith and the unitive life.
- Union with God
- This book is a concise description of the progressive stages of
maturity through which one may pass between conversion and 'spiritual marriage' or
'divine union'. As God is unique in His relationship to each one of His children,
she never claims that these stages are definitive or necessary, but simply describes
her own experience and the Biblical basis for it. The book concludes with a number
of poems born of her desire for and walk of intimacy with the Lord.
- Spiritual Torrents
- Just as Jesus spoke of three kinds of ground into which seed is sown,
Guyon speaks of three kinds of rivers: the struggling stream - sometimes dry,
sometimes barely moving, the majestic but slow flowing river, and the violent,
impetuous torrent which literally flings itself towards the sea with utter
abandonment. In describing the course of this third river (a sketch of her
own life), Guyon speaks extensively on the utter thoroughness of the work of
the cross in the life of a believer. This book, in all truth, scares the
daylights out of me. It offends my sense of self-preservation and dignity.
It frightens me because the process of crucifixion is so lengthy and so
thoroughly merciless that I can't imagine facing it. But the sweetness
of the resurrection life which she describes as following this death is,
as Paul says, worth this 'momentary light affliction.': "Your Spirit will be
so entwined with God's spirit that you will not be able to experience Him as
someone separate and disjoint, but only as someone who is deeply joined with
you."
- The Song of the Bride
- Guyon's commentary on the Song of Solomon, interpreting it in light
of her experiences in reaching a state of 'spiritual marriage' or 'divine union'
with Jesus Christ.
- Christ Our Revelation
- Guyon's commentary on the Book of Revelation. This will be a very
different experience for anyone used to modern eschatological studies. While she
does address the issue of 'things to come', her focus in this book is very much on
the practical aspects of persecution, endurance, and trust in the Lord which are
addressed in John's revelation.
