1. THE wisdom of God, being infinite and incomprehensible, works the dispensations of grace incomprehensibly and unsearchably upon the human race in various fashions for the testing of our free will, so that those who love Him with their whole heart, and will endure every danger and toil for God’s sake, may be made manifest. To some the gifts and endowments of the Holy Ghost come in advance, directly they draw near in faith and prayer, without labour, or sweat, or toil. Sometimes, while they are still in the world, God gives them grace, not idly, nor out of season, nor at random, but in an unspeakable and incomprehensible wisdom, in order to try the determination and free will of those who have so quickly received the grace of God, whether they were sensible of the benefit and of the kindness and sweetness of God that was shewn them, in proportion to the grace received without pains of their own, in return for which they ought to show diligence, and run well, and fight hard, and to bear the fruit of will and purpose and love, and to give back a requital for their spiritual gifts, by yielding themselves wholly up to the love of the Lord, and accomplishing His will alone, and perfectly withdrawing from all carnal affection.
2. To others, even when they have withdrawn from the world, and have renounced this age, according to the gospel, and pass their time in much perseverance in prayer and fasting and diligence and the other virtues, God does not immediately grant the grace and the refreshment and rejoicing of the Spirit, being patient with them and reserving the gift. And this He does, not idly, nor unreasonably, not at random, but with unspeakable wisdom, for the testing of their free will, to see whether they have counted God faithful and true who promised to give to them that ask and to open the door of life to them that knock, to see whether after believing His word in truth they continue to the end in full assurance of faith and diligence, asking and seeking, and will not prove faint-hearted, and draw back, and give up, and in unbelief and hopelessness despise the quest, not persevering to the end, because of the putting off of the time, and because of the testing of their will and purpose.
3. For he who does not receive at once, is the more kindled through God’s delay and patience, and the more desirous of the good things of heaven, and every day adds to his longing and diligence, his running and striving, and every disposition of virtue, his hunger and thirst after that which is good, not slacking for the sinful suggestions which are present in the soul, or turning aside to despise or forget or despair; nor again under pretence of patience will he give himself over to slackness, using this argument, that “Some day or other I shall receive the grace of God,” and from this enticed by sin into carelessness. On the contrary, so long as the Lord Himself in His delay is patient over him, testing the faith and love of his will, the man himself ought the more keenly, the more laboriously, without giving in, without turning faint, to seek the gift of God, having once for all believed and assured himself, that God is true and cannot lie, who has promised to give His grace to those who ask with faith to the end, in all perseverance.
4. For God is faithful and true in His leading of faithful souls, and they have set to their seal that He is true, according to the true word. Therefore in accordance with this intuition of faith they examine themselves to see in what respects they on their part are lacking—in labour, in striving, in diligence, in faith, in love, or in the rest of the dispositions of virtue; and thus examining with all minute exactness, they force and constrain themselves to the best of their power to please the Lord, having once for all believed that God, being true, will not cheat them of the gift of the Spirit, if they continue to the end with all diligence serving Him and waiting upon Him, but that they will have the heavenly grace vouchsafed to them, while they are still in the flesh, and will obtain eternal life.