Jesus and the Soul

THE FIRST PART.

...becomes, until finally the Soul becomes a thistle Continuing the metaphor from the previous page: a heart so hardened and prickly that it can no longer receive the "dew" of grace, and can no longer reach that grace.

Take heed, do not block your heart original: "gemoed," referring to one's inner disposition or the seat of emotions and thoughts and understanding. When your heart speaks: "Turn back, do not do this evil," then know that you are being called by the wisdom of God; turn back quickly, and think of where your home is, in what a heavy house of bondage original: "dienst-huize," an allusion to the "house of slavery" in Egypt, representing the soul's captivity to sin your Soul lies imprisoned, and search for your Fatherland original: "Vaderland," a common mystical term for the soul's true origin in the divine from which your Soul has wandered away, and where it ought to return.

O Soul! O eternal creature, take heed of the time of grace while the door stands open to you. See, a voice calls you from your sleep; raise yourself up, rub the sleep original: "vaak," an archaic Dutch word for slumber or sleepiness from your eyes, and see that the Sun shall soon go down, while you are here in the open field, still so far from home. Spring to your feet, and step forward quickly without looking back, before the eternal night falls upon you; for the Sun of divine grace would not rise for you again, and you would have to walk forever in the dismal darkness. That would be too great a pity! To be eternally deprived of light, of joy, of Father, and of Fatherland.

What, after all, are the luxury and pleasure original: "weelde en wellust," suggesting the intoxicating but empty indulgences of worldly life of this world? Like a shadow they pass by; like smoke and vapor they disappear, leaving their lovers with nothing but a gnawing worm A reference to the "worm that dieth not" (Mark 9:48), symbolizing the enduring regret of the conscience in the heart; everything must be left behind here, yet they take that "treasure" with them into eternity. For a moment of trivial joy, an eternal Kingdom is neglected. God preserve us from such folly.