CHAPTER IX.
First Meditation.—The Creation.
PREPARATION.
1. Place yourself in the presence of God.
2. Beseech Him to inspire you.
CONSIDERATIONS.
1. Consider that not many years ago you were not yet in the world, and that your being was a mere nothing. Where were we, O my soul, at that time?—the world had then lasted so many ages, and yet we existed not.
2. God has formed you out of nothing, to make you what you are: purely of his own goodness, having no need whatsoever of you.
3. Consider the being that God has given you, for it is the highest in the visible world, capable of eternal life, and of being perfectly united to his Divine Majesty.
AFFECTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS.
1. Humble yourself exceedingly in the presence of God, saying in your heart with the Psalmist: O Lord, I am in thy sight as a mere nothing, and how hast Thou thought of me to create me? Alas! my soul, thou wert lost in that ancient nothing, and hadst yet been there had not God drawn thee from thence: and what couldst thou have done remaining there?
2. Give thanks to God: O my great and good Creator, how am I indebted to Thee, since Thou hast vouchsafed to make me out of nothing, and by thy great mercy to make me what I am. What can I do to bless thy holy name as I ought, and to render due thanks to thy inestimable goodness?
3. Confound yourself: But, alas ! my Creator, instead of uniting myself to Thee, by love and service,
