their father which is in heaven Til this time Iesus Christ was crucified dead and buried but when once this Lion of the Tribe of Iudah begins to rouse up himself then it shall appear that there is now a King born that will bear rule that shall be such a Messiah spiritually as the Iews expected temporally a Potent and Mighty Prince whose Government shall be upon his shoulders His Name being WONDERFUL Counsellour and Prince of Peace And now all those Accursed Iews which â—rucified him and made him to serve shall now be made to serve him as the Prophet saith You have made me to serve with your iniquites Now all those headstrong lusts those Kings and Rulers of the Earth which cryed Let us break his bonds in sunder and cast away these cords from us He shall now rule them with a rod of iron and crush them in pieces like a potters vessel So that we shall live no longer the life of natural carnal men in the vanity of their mind to fulfil the lusts of men and the will of flesh and of the world but they live the life of spiritual men we shall then shew that we are the Off-spring of Christ Till you become to this whatever you think of your selves there can be nothing well done for before this we altogether think our own thoughts do our own actions go our own ways For all the imaginations of mans heart are onely evil continually But before this great and not able day of the Lord come the Lord will set signs in the heavens and in the earth and there shall be great stirs and wars and rumors of wars and the Inhabitants of the earth shall be troubled amazement and terrour shall seize upon them because of these things And when thou seest these things come to pass I say within thee then look up for know your redemption draweth nigh When you see the red Dragon watch against the woman shall be delivered of her man-child spoken of in the Revelation that he sends forth whole floods of water out of his mouth to drown her then know the child is born But before this time when you see the woman in travel and hath great pain and cryeth out extremely and hath bitter pains I say Bitter pangs then you may know the child is near delivery that is when this beloved old man our own will as the Scripture terms him who was never by us denyed anything himself desired but all was carried smoothly according to his own desire and now to be crost and contradicted Oh â—his is great pain to him Oh he cryes out like a travailing woman Oh he would by no means forsake himself his own will his own pleasure his own profit Take up his cross and follow Christ What forsake all that is dear to him this is death to him Oh! when you hear your flesh cry out Oh! would to God I had never been born then I had never seen this day Oh! let me dye let me dye I am weary of my life when ye hear him like Iob bitterlycurse the day of his birth Oh Beloved this day is a terrible day to flesh and blood it never saw such a day Oh it s a bloody day it comes with a terrible confused noise of the warriors and garments tumbled in blood as the Prophet speaks it was never so haled and puld this way the flesh tother way the spirit it was never so torn in pieces But know Beloved when these pains are upon you that the child is at the birth near to be delivered Beloved these things will be if ever Christ be born in the soul And when it is so that the flesh hales one way and the Spirit another Oh then it behoves you to pray That so your flight be not in the winter nor on the Sabbath nor in the harvest Oh Beloved pray that these things this Seed do not dye without fruit that in the midst of this biting bitter winter you do not fly but bide by it and indure and wait the fruit that in the midst of winter you may enjoy your Sabbaths a day of rest peace lest that when other men enjoy their Sabbaths their harvest you have nothing but winter bitterness trouble and want and no fruit to refresh you Brethren I beseech the Lord that you may prove try and examine your selves by these things see if this day hath overpast ye hath your woman had pains and bitter agonies have you suffered such contradiction between the flesh and the spirit that these wars and terrours and rumours have struck through the very soul of you that you have felt it as bitter as gall as bitter as bitterness it self for saith our Loâ—d Luk 21. 22. Then be the dayes of VENGEANCE that all things which are written may be fulfilled insomuch as you may say of your selves Call me not now Naomi pleasant but call me Marah bitterness for the Almighty hath dealt bitterly with me This work being gone through you may be sure the child is born to you and to you a Son is given else not Tell me of what you will of education and good nature and the still work of Gods Spirit except this work be done in you so that you can speak of the work thereof experimentally you do but befool and delude your own souls And this work being gone through and the child born then as I said before he grows and increases in age and perfection every day He is not grown to a man in a moment but by steps by degrees He that hath this work brought about in his soul he need fear nothing he is in a free and safe condition all the men upon earth nay the powers of darkness cannot hurt him although the Dragon the Devil Sin Lusts the old man Self Lucifer Adam the Serpent c. these with all their fiery darts for when I name one I name all as I opened them to you upon another occasion for I opened near 20 of his names severally for these names and many such the Scripture gives him to set out that evil one within us which the most part of men are little acquainted with although they hug them in their bosomes eat drink sleep work play with them all these I say although they send forth whole floods of water after the woman yet they cannot drown her 〈◊〉 this work delivers and frees men from the powers of darkness this work brings down the strong holds disarms the strong man and sets the soul free Saves it delivers it carries it above all waves The next remarkable action Christ did he was circumcised That is He submitted himself to all outward Ordinances because he knew that all powers were ordained of God and so far forth as they tend to God and tend to love and peace we ought to submit So then we are then circumcised with Christ and Christ is
and rule in thee and be KING in thy soul and Tread all his enemies under his feet thou hast betrayed him into his enemies hands Thou hast delivered him up to be crucified As long as thy sins live and thou pretendest to be a servant to him Thou hast made A MOCK of the Son of God And counted the blood of the Covenant an Unholy thing wherewith he would have sanctified thee therefore ye must seek to have your part in the first Resurrection if you hope the second death shall have no power on you But Let me remember my self Perhaps friends I speak Riddles to you for you may say in your hearts Far be it from me to crucifie my Saviour I find no Christ crucified in me nor I would not do it no not for a Thousand worlds What to have my hands imbrewed in the Death and BLOUD of the Son of God God forbid No poor soul I believe thou feelest it not so Because the strong man keeps the house and He keeps all at peace But if once Jesus Christ come into thy soul Even He that was dead and now begins to live That he begins to rouse up himself like a Lion He will then Make all the beasts of the Forrest to TREMBLE And know this if he once Will Lift up himself it is not in our power nor in the power of all the lusts and corruptions in the world nor in all the powers of darkness to keep him Down But Till this time He is content To serve your iniquities But When He doth Arise He will then shew you and make you sensible How you have scourged and crucified him All this while He will make you Amazed to see How all this while you have had him Live in you and been so near you and you have Crucified him What I Crucified my Saviour all this while and I not aware of it Oh wretch that I am Oh! now now he cryes out Oh! let these Jews dye let them live no longer these lusts ' these Sins of mine that have crucified and put to death The LORD of Life When I read the story of his life and death how he was used deâ—ided buffered c. little did I think that I was He that was in doing all those things to Christ my self Then thou shalt clearly see that when Christ commanded thee These and these things to be done Thou hast cast his Commands behind thy back and thou wouldest not have him rule in thee but thou chosest rather to follow thine own will and what self and flesh commanded Oh! here now thou hast Newly pierced Iesus Christ to the heart with a sharp spear Thou confessest truth it is God commands me to do these things to cross my self to forsake my own will and follow him Tush but it is all one I will and I must have my own will I will not stand bent to these Laws thou sâ—â—ppest in sunder these bands and casts these cords from thee Oh Friend thou art now The very man that hath newly wounded the Son of God and brought from his sâ—de water and blood Oh Beloved these are The Spears These are the Mocks these are the Scourgings these are Vinegar and Gall to Christ And that man that hath Thus Crucified him He hath more truly crucified him then ever the Jews did But after a man is brought to see and feel This How do you think Can that man that sees how he hath crucified Christ In him and put him to death Can he go on and crucifie him still Can he wound and put him to death still Can he be so Cruel to take these Spears these sins and lusts and wound him to the very heart again Oh! no no He cannot He cannot he will rather chuse to dye Ten thousand deaths Whatever he doth he will not wound again So Meek and Merciful A Saviour But it may be there is this Qâ—estion which may run in your thoughts and it may be it is Hard for you to conceive How Christ should suffer and not God to suffer seeing he is God and man It is certain God cannot suffer and therefore ye must understand That Christ in Himself cannot suffer but he suffers in his body in his members Those types and shadows of his sufferings are but to shew how He still suffers in his Members Internally and spiritually He suffers In regard of Us and to Us and for Us because we live and our sins and lusts live and our Self lives and therefore He suffers He is Crucified and dead For whatever we see done by Christ in the letter is An Embleme of that He doth for Ever For He is the Lamb slain from the beginning Iesus Christ is yesterday and to day and the same for ever Did you see him yesterday nailed to the Cross he is the same to day and for ever c. yet He HIMSELF suffers not but his body For Example my body can never suffer unless my soul be in it neither can my soul suffer without my body and yet my body cannot suffer without my soul Then wonder not if it may be thus in a creature if Jesus Christ in himself suffereth not but onely Himself in his members neither can his members suffer unless he be in them I my self saith Paul fill up in my body The measure of the sufferings of Christ. Beloved These are Divine sublime things if your eyes be but open to see them And you having This KEY put into your hand by God himself for God himself must interpret his own meaning then you will have Such a light such a Demonstration of Truth so that Those Scriptures which you knew not before what to make of them nor what they concerned they were So dark and Obscure and Contradictory Now all the whole Scriptures open of themselves and shew you all their Hidden Iewels and Unspeakable Treasures And now my Brethren God forbid that after an hours or more patient hearing that I or you should fall under the reproof of Iobs friends In ventum verba protulisse or to have entertained you here so long with Wind or lyes as Ephraim is said to have dieted himself with Hos. 12. 1. He feedeth on wind and followeth after the east wind He daily encreaseth lyes God forbid That all we have said should be but as Lyes or wind or Nothing to you But if you see these things in experience Then Beloved you shall see wonderful things How all Davids Psalms come in How the Fat Bulls of Basan came about him like Bees and How his feet were fast in the stocks and how he was overwhelmed in the mire and so throughout the whole Psalms and the rest of the Scriptures still seeing and taking them as done spiritually and invisibly And so you shal come to see The Scriptures to be A Bottomless SEA where in the Elephant may swim and the Leviathan may sport himself Neither would many
If so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together THis Text as I have told you represents a Christians whole time that is His Non-age and his Full-age if that be too long his Winter and his Summer if that also be then call it His Day His Evening and His Morniâ—g as Gen. 1. The Evening and the Morning were a day Observe The Evening alwayes before the Morning Now every one I know will be ready to say as Balaam said Oh that I might dye the death of the righteous and that my last end might be like his Numb 23. 10. Oh let my Full Age be like his let my Summer and my Morning be like his The truth is every one would Reign with Christ but none would Suffer with him When the time shall come that we must surrender up these precious souls of ours and that we feel and see we have but our three last groaning sighs to fetch and that we must be dissolved depart out of this Tabernacle and return to our first principles from whence we were taken and that our spiâ—its must return to God that gave them I say when we shall come to see this if so be we believe so far as this Oh then we would willingly dye the death of the righteous and that our dayes might end like his but by no means would we take part with him in his Non-age in his Winter in his Evening in his Suffering with Christ Oh no therein he cryes out Master favour thy self from these things let none of these things happen to thee but this Text I have now read unto you withstands all these wishes and desires In plain words If ye suffer with Christ then shall ye be glorified with him if ye suffer not with him there is no hope of glory no hope of reigning no hope of the crown Therefore it behoves us to look for sufferings we must make account of being sufferers and of being such kind of sufferers as may claim a part in Christs sufferings for there be many sufferers in the world yet have no part with Christ. Moreover it may be We never were whipt with Christ never poor with Christ never crucified with Christ never imprisoned with Christ we were never called as the Apostle saith to resist unto bloud how then can we claim a part of suffering with Christ therefore we must labour to find out such a condition wherein we may claim a part in Christs sufferings and then we may also in his Throne and Glory We must therefore suffer as the Apostle defines Christs sufferings Phil. 2. we must first empty our selves as Christ did and Secondly We must humble our selves as he did fot he being God equal with his Father yet he emptied himself of all his glory that is poured it all out and made himself of no reputation being so humble that he was found in the form of a servant Now when a Christian begins but to set his face toward Ierusalem if he do but begin to look towards this Emptying and suffering life he shall be sure to find enemies enough this old man Adam Lucifer Antichrist the red Dragon Sin c. All standing like so many Goliaâ—s or strong men armed standing at the very gate that if ye do but look towards the door they prepare to encounter they stand at the very foot of the six steps which I named unto you 1 Condemnation 2 Annâ—hilation of our selves 3 Forsaking of all things 4 Indifferency to all things 5 Conformity in all things 6 Deiformity or Transformity Wherein conâ—â—sts Our suffering with Christ which Enemies do labour might and main to hinder us from suffering with Christ so that before we can set one foot on this first step there stands I say Goliah That mighty Giant Standing for the whole army of the Philistims being six cubits and a span high with an helmet of brass upon his head armed with a coat of Male and greaves of brass upon his legs and a target of brass between his shoulders and the staff of his spear being like a Weavers beam and his spear head weighing 600 shekels of iron This Goliah thus armed stands and if any man attempt or have a thought to look toward these six steps he cries and proclaims Choose you a man and if he be able to come and fight with me if he prevail over me then will we be your servants and serve you but if I prevail over him then shall ye be our servants for ever But it may be some will say to me I know not the man I never saw any such thing as you speak of I have none of these things in me you touch not me I am free I have nothing to do with this strong man armed This Goliah nor Lucifer nor the Serpent nor the red dragon nor Antichrist Therefore I intended and began last day to open unto you those names that thereby you might see whether you knew any of these or no for the Scripture hath given this Enemy divers names and set him out divers wayes to us because these things are in themselves far above our capacitie therefore he hath divers names that if you know him not by one yet you may by another for he hath divers and various effects and workings in man and he works in darkness and his works are works of Darkness so that few ever come to discover him or them Therefore I hope after we have gone tâ—rough them all ye will not say Ye know not the man we speake of or that you have not heard of any of these things and that you have no such things within you Nor that you have none of these secret whisperings none of these resistances and fightings within you Nor you have none of these wars and rumours of wars within you you can repent and confess your sins when you list And you for ought you can see have none of this battle of Warriors as Isaiah speaks of which is with confused noise and garments tumbled in blood you have none of this burning up with the fewel of fire But assuredly know That all These things will be within you before there can be To us a child born and To us a son given And if there be Through Gods Blessing such a happy discoverie by that time we have opened these names so that you shall be able to say Sir as you say he is so have we found him truly Nabal is his name and Nabal is his nature Adam is his name and so is his nature the Serpent is his name and so is his nature the red Dragon is his name and so is his nature Then this will be a Happy â— Blessed day to you As I said if so be you find him in you by these names or by his effects then assure your selves He must be fought withal there is no overcoming of him without fighting Do not think that he is Scared with words
Nay he that goes no further and rests on that goes no further sees no more then the very Devils for they by long custom and experience have gotten whatever can be known in the history far beyond any man upon earth And therefore he whose faith hath brought him no farther then to believe in an external Christ in that Christ that was born at Bethlehem and there brought up and afterward wrought miracles and was crucified dead and buried and rose again c. This man The Letter kills him he knows no more nay not so much as the Devils themselves know and believe nay I say herein the Devils outstrip thee the Apostle Paul was so far from accounting this any thing that he slights the knowing any man after the slesh Henceforth know we no man saith he after the flesh no though we had known Christ yet henceforth know we him no more insomuch that if he had known and seen exactly what Christ did what he said how he lived how he dyed and how he rose again all is nothing henceforth we will know him no more after this manner No no but let me know all his actions his death his life his miracles his passion his resurrection all within me let me know and experiment them in my self if we know him thus this is knowledge worth prizing indeed this is worth Boasting of as 2 Cor. 5. 16. Christ died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him that died for them and rose again and again Col. 3. 1. If ye be risen with Christ seek those things which are above This is that we should labour to finde Christs death and Christs life in us to see if Christ hath done all his actions not onely among the Jews at Ierusalem other then spiritually but in us I must finde that he hath been born and brought up in me that he hath put all the Doctors to silence within me that he hath wrought all his miracles in me opened my eyes as he did then open the eyes of the blinde open my ears as he did then so opening my lips that my mouth may shew forth his praise And as he cast out then both dumb and deaf Devils That there are the same to cast out in us If these actions be thus done in thee as verily as ever Christ did any of these actions in the flesh if this knowledge and this experience be fixed in your mindes and you feel the power thereof in your hearts then you have crackt The Shell you have gotten the Marrow the Fatness of the word Yet for all this we must not do with the Letter as I then told you because it is the shell as men usually do with the shells of Oysters or of Eggs Having once the Meat throw away the Shells no no for they are the means to bring the Word to us for to us because of our weakness cannot this word be conveyed without The shell therefore our merciful God hath bin pleased to convey it to us in earthen vessels and under Earthen resemblances that so we might hear it understand and receive it If we look upon it as it runs in black and white letters t is true It s a Lofty Majestical kinde of writing That carries Majesty and Authority in it and the proof is in it self Whereas other Writers are fain to bring proofs and witnesses of the truth of that they write whilst this carries proof and Authority in it self and at the best it is no more but he that can get within it He that can get into the midst of the burning bush He shall see Such spirit and life That eye hath not seen ear heard nor ever entred into mans heart to consider In short he shall know what it is to marry Achsah To have the vail rent and what it is to enter into the Holiest of All. And so of this history concerning Moses bringing Israel out of Egypt To see what slavery they were in and how Pharaohs Taskmasters beat them and increased their bondage taking away their straw and making them Toil harder and harder and yet the more they oppressed them the more they increased I say All this and the rest in the history runs High and Majestically and that is the best you can say of it but he that through the history shall see that the History was not written barely for a history but mainly and chiefly for us He shall see there is therein contained an eternal LIVING SENSE He that looks within himself shall finde all verified in himself And not onely This Scripture but the whole Scripture All the five Books of Moses Ioshua the Kings and all the battels of the Kings and so throughout that whatever part of Scripture he shall read he shall be able to say and feel experimentally This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears this day is this Scriptare accomplished in me for the substance of all those histories throughout is verified to this day and shall be to the worlds end It is no matter what other Pharaoh there was what Typical Pharaoh there was so we have found the True Pharaoh Nay it were no matter then though we had never heard of that Pharaoh for that Pharaoh doth but Type out unto us what the Spiritual Pharoah is How he labours to strengthen and advance himself in his Kingdom and if any offer to go out from him he will lay heavy burthens upon them He will make them groan under service insomuch that their cry shall come up before the Lord And if they do get out from him by strong hand it is By Miracles and wonders and he will be sure to pursue them till he himself be quite overthrown in the midst of the Sea and so he that sought for honour and glory in overcoming them the Lord shall get himself a name on that Pharaoh and on all his Host. And That we may come to the history in particular concerning bringing Israel out of Egypt There be three principal things in the Chapter 1. The Preparation before this vision That Moses saw 2. The vision it self the bush burned and was not consumed 3. The effect That followed of the vision viz. Moses his Commission to Pharaoh To deliver Israel 1. For the Preparation to the vision that is in the first verse Moses kept the flock of Iethro his father in Law and he led the flock to the backside of the desart c. Moses it is testified of him in the Acts that he was a man mighty in all the learning of the Egyptians for being brought up as a Kings Son he wanted for no teaching in the Kingdom For the Egyptians had the chief learning of the world For I must tell you We and all Antiquity are beholding to the Egyptians for all their and our chief learning in natural things Now we must labour to see in all the words of
it is Recorded in Sacred Scripture to be A Natural Tree Planted by God in Paradise And of such A Nature That whosoever did Eat of it should have their Eyes opened against themselves and so to be made As Gods To know Good and Evil It may be God would Admonish Adam both Inwardly and Outwardly of what He did Inwardly and in His Heart either Forbid or Teach him That He would likewise for the greater Evidence Set before His Outward eyes But I desire withall that they will grant This that What was Outwardly done The Same also happened Inwardly in the heart of Adam That he was there Tempted by the SEED of the Serpent To make some Account and Reckoning of his own Wisdom Will and Nature and not to Submit Himself unto God As Void of all Name Knowledge or Work But to be SOMETHING of himself And There are Two Causes that move me to think so The First is this Because the Promise is That the seed of the Woman should Bruise the Head of the Serpent Now We read of no Natural or Living Serpent whose head was so Bruised by that Seed Therefore say I As the Spiritual Seed of the Woman was in Adams Heart So likewise was the Serpents Seed For Man indeed was made Good Not of the Substance of God But out f Nothing And therefore He Alwayes Turns Himself from God and Inclineth to His own NOTHING and Vanity For I call The Devil Sin Death and Hell NOTHING As many of the Ancient Fathers have done and especially Taulerus For God Never Created Them But they are A NON-ENTITY A NOT-BEING which is Contrary And Perfectly oposite to ENTITY and BEING And Peradventure this was the Devil that dwelt in Adam and Seduced Him As well as in Lucifer The other Cause is this That the Scriptures likewise Witness That The City of God And The Heavenly Ierusalem and The Kingdom of God is a Paradise Within Us And further that God and His Almighty Word Is Our Paradise The Tree of Life The Temple Where we Dwell Walk Sacrifice and Pray As we likewise are His Temple and Paradise And That The BEAST Spoken of in the Revelation Which the Whole World Great and Smal Do At This Day Worship in their Hearts As likewise The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is Within Us. For All the Whole Exterior World or Whatsoever either is Or is done Outwardly are but Onely An Accident and A Figure Signifying The Truth of the thing And The Internal Nature And therefore There is Nothing True of whatsoever is Seen with our Eyes For the Figure and Fashion of this world must pass away and Perish As being Nothing else but a certain Imaginary world And The Figure of the World That is True Right Eternal and subsisting of it Self Consequently all things which in the Bible were done Externally and Signifyingly must again be done and again brought to pass After their Manner And All the History of the Bible All Moses and the Prophets and in Summe the Whole Scriptures Do To This Day Stand in Force And are Continually Accomplished and Fulfilled Internally and Spiritually All things are By Christ Translated into the Truth And it must needs be That All the Prophesies which God spake From the beginning of the world by the Mouth of his Holy Ones must still be Called back Reiterated or Done over again therefore that Shadow or that Tree Was and is Nothing else in the Truth But the Nature Will Knowledge and Life of Adam Of This He should not Have Eaten This He should not have Ascribed or Arrogated To Himself But Rather To be Free and Freely Subject To God and not to have Known anything But What God Knew In Him Nor to have Done any thing But What God Did in Him Nor to have spoken any thing But What God Spake in Him and so forth in the rest To the End That God Without any Impediment Might have Exercised His Almighty Kingdom Will Nature and Power In Him But Himself should have been utterly Void of all Knowledge Will or Nature And not have Arrogated any of These As Proper to Himself This Pleased God This was That Which He Commanded And what He would have had Done To this Interpretation agreeth GERMANE DIVINITY which Resolves That this Tree in the substance thereof is Nothing else But our Own Will and Knowledge of which Alone In all the Earthy Paradise of this Wide World of our Hearts We Ought not to Eat But to Account it as Forbidden Except we will also Eat of Death and Destruction Now then As soon as Adam Fell and did Eat of This Tree The TREE was Immediately Planted in His Mind And afterward Derived into All the Branches and Fruits thereof So that As the Same Word Precept and Forbidding was Common to all So is The same Fall All We which are In Adam Have now Eaten of Death and haue Received from the Serpent This Undigested Poyson Of an ill Bird an ill Egge Hence it may easily be perceived How Every Man is His Own Greatest Enemy And what he ought to think of Himself Of his Own Will Understanding Wisdom and Knowledge Seeing it is the Counsel Seed Wisdom Knowledge and Head of the Serpent Which must By Christ be Bruised In us I say it must needs be That As in the Old Testament was Signified by Circumcision and in the New One by Baptisme All things which we have By Nature and Inheritance from Adam Must Dye That we may Unlearn and Put off All Things Even as we would do The Devil And Death it self viz. Our own Will Prudence Wisdom and Righteousness Wherewith as with Figleaves Our Adam doth Vainly seek to Hide Himself For that is SIN and the Sting of Death Namely To Eat of This Tree And to Arrogate to a Mans Self His own Wisdom Providence Will Nature or Himself But Alas for Woe Who knowes This Who thinks of it Who is it That is Displeased with his Own Will Understanding or Wisdom Oh when shall we forsake them Every Man Delights Himself In His Own Will and Recreates His Mind Sweetly and Contentedly therein Reposing upon His Own Knowledge Understanding and the like The Tree is Fair to be looked upon and Sweet to be Tasted and therefore All Mortal Men do Greedily Swallow and Devoure Death as Adam did But This is the Misery No Man knoweth it No Man thinketh of it But Judgeth it to be Good And All flesh thinks Assuredly That This Is The Tree of Life Even To follow their Own Wills And their Own Conceit and opinion of Good which indeed is false As to Know Much to Learn Much to discern Many Sciences And in sum To become Gods And in the mean time They are not Aware That This is Adams Fall His Biting of the Apple Yea His Bitter Death It Self Continually do we speak of This Miserable Adam and of His Fall and never Take notice that the Same is done In us We Talk of His Eating and detest
the blessed Apostles and Disciples were brought to Oh! but where are such Disciples now where are your Great Doctors and your learned men Are they Doctors in this School of the Cross of Christ No no nothing less Are They Dead men Are They come to this to let others rejoyce in the heaping up riches And adding Land to Land and making themselves and their posterity great in the world These things should not concern Dead men And saith David again I am as a broken pitcher that can hold no water Just so is This man He is a broken pitcher that can hold Nothing Pour Riches into him Health Wealth Praise Honour or the contrary Whatever ye give to him or take from him He is all one if ye take his Cloak from him he will give you his Coat if ye strike him on the one cheek he cannot revenge He will rather turn the other Curse him and He will pray for you And all this he learns of his dear Saviour JESUS CHRIST And all this He hath attained by being united and by being made One with Him whose practise and Command you know it was so to do and whose Nature and life he partakes of knowing assuredly by experience That there is No other way to find rest to his soul But by forsaking his own will and living Free in the world and Dead unto it and to his own proper will and affections Oh Beloved How Happy and how Free doth such a soul live how at liberty and free from those Chains that most men are fettered with as love of Money and Honours and Houses and Lands Distracted with hopes on one hand and Fears on the other and are never at rest but are like the Troubled Sea tumbled this way and that way rolling to and again and never quiet But this Man is Delivered Set free from all such things What a comfort is it for a man to be made Willingly to leave the love of the world to live free and above all hopes and fears What a comfort is it not to fear death for this man dyes daily not to fear To Answer All our enemies in the gate to look boldly and undauntedly on Death on Satan as knowing them overcome and brought under what a comfort is it to Find See and Feel The life of Christ In Us and that we are in some measure and every day more and more made conformable to our Head And that we shall now for ever Overcome and be at Rest and Sit down with Him upon His Throne even as he is set down upon his Fathers Throne what a comfort is it to feel and see our graces Faith Hope and Patience And the rest to Revive to live and flourish which in former times flagged and dyed what a comfort is this To see That when either the North wind or the South wind blow Let him be in any kind of condition Yet His Garden prospers His Soul flourishes And the Spices thereof flow out and Christ and He To eat the pleasant fruits thereof To this man Nothing is a Rod to him Nothing a judgement Let God do what he will with him He can see no Anger no Frowns in any thing but all that comes is to Him Mercy and Loving kindness This is The Soul That lives with God and lives in God This soul is at Rest And none else But This Soul For he hath in pâ—rt Possession of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of Heaven Possession of him Even while he is in the body which possession he knows he shall never be deprived of but shall have the FULL Possession and Enjoyment thereof for ever and ever In His Fathers due Time O my Dear Freinds To What A Blessed Tranquillity AND SERENENESS of SPIRIT Is This Soul Attained These are to Him BLESSED and HALCION DAIES Here end the SERMONS of JOHN EVERARD And All that can be of His Expected Here follow certain brief Collections out of some Sublime and Mortified Authors Translated out of Latin by Dr. Everard Hereunto Annexed to these Sermons as things suitable to His preaching and giving further light each to other viz. To him who is in the light 1. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. These two placed in the midst of this book the other six herefollow 2. The Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God 3. Dionysius the Areopagite his Mystical Divinity 4. Certain grave and notable sayings in Latin and English 5. The saying of a certain Divine of great note and name 6. A lovely glass or example of our Lord Iesus Christ his life taken out of Taulerus his works 7. Another short Instruction out of the same Author 8. A short Dialogue between a Learned Divine and a Beggar THE MYSTICAL DIVINITY OF Dionysius the Areopagite Converted by Paul the Apostle who did at Athens believe and cleave unto him ACTS 17. 34. Written to Timothy Translated into English By Dr. EVERARD JOB 36. 26. Behold God is great and we know him not ISA. 55. 6. For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your wayes my wayes saith the Lord. LONDON Printed by Iohn Owsley for Rapha Hartford at the Bible and States Arms in Little Brittain 1657. THE MYSTICAL DIVINITY OF Dionysius the Areopagite Written to Timothy CHAP. 1. What the Divine Mist or Darkness is OTRINITY That art above ESSENCE above GOD above Goodness the Governour of the Christians wisdom concerning God Vouchsafe to direct us to the More-then-unknown More-then-shining Highest-top of Mystical Oracles where the simple and absolute and unchangeable MYSTERIES of Divinity do Hide by the More-then-lightsome MISTINES of Secret-Teaching SILENCE in the Darkest Darkness Even Him that over-shineth That which is More-then-most-Glorious and under that which is utterly impalpable and invisible doth More-then-fill the blinded or Eye-less Mindes with More-then-fair Shinings 2. And these things I pray for but do thou O my friend Timothy by thy most intent study and exercise about MYSTICAL Visions leave and forsake thy senses and all sensible and intelligible things and thy mental operations and all things that are not and that are and after an unknown manner lift up and advance thy self to the Conjunction and Union with Him who is above all Essence and Knowledge for by a free and purely absolute departing from thy self and all things having separated all things and being freed and loosed from all things thou shalt be brought back to the Super-essential BEAM of the Divine Darkness 3. But take heed that none of them that are not Entred or Initiated in our MYSSERIES do hear these things I mean such as are still detained and holden in the things that are and do imagine nothing to be super-essentially above the things that are but presume by their own knowledge to understand HIm that maketh DARKNES his Secret place And if these Divine Institutions concerning Mystical things be above Them what is to be said of such as are yet more strangers and
those that hunger and thirst for them and who cannot be satisfied without them and to none else Besides all this the importunity and sollicitations of many Scholers and other Christians from time to timeâ— who having experience of these practical things in themselves who though they want much of the Doctors schollership and parts yet deemed them worthy the publishing and have now prevailed to communicate them publiquely assuring themselves that those who have the things themselves in them will not be captious to spy out faults but receive in good part what is well intended Moreover another main reason of deferring them no longer is the abuse of many truths more broken forth of late them foâ—merly many of those Diamonds of truth being therein cleared and polished which have been so much abused and abased either by those filthy dreamâ—rs who have as to men wofully mistaken corrupted and defiled many glorious truths and by their false and devillish conclusions have not onely given occasion but a justification to defile the â—lesh falsly pretending that truth allows it though truth in it self cannot be corrupted or defiled or else by those blind Seers of 〈◊〉 times who yet calling themselves Prophets but are not do as Isaiah saith Isa. 5. 20. call truth errour and errour truth call darkness light and light darknesâ— evil good and good evil c. here also thou shalt find many of those Diamonds and prâ—cious Tâ—uths taken up from under their feet having been by them so trodden in the dirt as to men I say still they not knowing the worth of them by their viâ—ifyings and by their foul names of Errour Heresie Familsm c. because they knew not a true and right Diamond or if some yet not all and thâ—m they knew not they presently vilifie as cheating and counterfeit indeed few can know them from such or from dirt they have so daubed and trampled them in the miâ—e yet here thou shalt find them made orient spaâ—kling and refulgent as â—it to be numbred among those foundation precious stones whereof the New Ierusalâ—m is built Rev. 20. And those blind Seers pourtraitured to the life and their seemingly-holy disguises pulled off And yet in all this we have said commendatory of the Author Christian friends do not think that we have gone about to praise or liâ—t up Man or that we would have you fasten your eyes on any creature whatever No no God forbid far far be any such thing from our thoughts for what is man or wherein is he to be accounted of neither was it the Authors practise at all to lift up Man neither do we here present him as a perfect man but with Eliah as the Apostle saith of him Iames 5. 17. He was a man subject to like passions as we arâ— and with Lot Abraham David Pâ—ul and Peter he had his infiâ—mities but he could say also with Paul 〈◊〉 me that is in my flâ—sh dwelleth no good thing But I dâ—ligâ—t in the Law of God aftâ—r the inward man now if I do that I would not it is no more I that do it but sâ—â— that dwelleth in me neither did he ascribe any good either graces or gifts to himself but all to God he would not set that crown upon his own head or upon the head of any creature but with Paul confessed Gal. 2. 20. I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me And when God had wrapt up his spirit in pâ—eaching even as it were to behold himself in the third heaven yet he had that prick in the â—lâ—sh which would cause him often to say even in publique Beloved if at any time you find any good by me or see any truth more then you did before or find your souls raised from death to life or the Cripple from his mothers womb healed and cured within you or if you see any grace any gift in me as Peter to the Jews Ye men of Israel why look ye on us so earnestly as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man walk if you see in me any good know that is none of mine I dare not claim it neither can any creature claim it But if you see in me or your selves any sâ—â— any evil that is most properly mine and yours and yet it is not I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me but all good is Gods whatever it be that comes under the notion of Good under what name soever it is Gods and his onely So that we have onely hereby laboured to set and six your eye on him from whom all excellencies slow to see and behold the excellencies and vertues not of man but of him who calleth from darkness to light from the power of Satan to God and that you should wonder and be amazed that the Almighty should stoop so low as to work in men and to communicate of his own nature and put â—orth his mighty workings in and through such poor nothings as men are And in this respect let no man â—ear to speak to the utmost freely and fully of the Vertues Excellencies and workings of the Lord in the hearts of his people for in them he displayes his gloâ—ies they are his Sanctuary his Temple in them he rests as in his holy hill where every one speaks of his glory and although these motions and mighty miracles be wrought in man yet they are not of man or by man Therefore let men or whoever shall have occasion to speak either of the dead or of the living but keep to this rule and fix their eye on him to whom all glory and praise is due and then let them set forth freely and fully whatever vertues or what ever is praise-worthy in any of the sons of men thus far made the sons of God then they need never fear to be charged with flattery or hope of rewards from men Let not so far as lies in man the graces of God and his glorious working in his Saints dye no not when thâ—y dye 〈◊〉 this is far from over praising the dead or the 〈◊〉 as the mistake hath been though man may and must return to his mother the Earth and to his principle of dust yet let the Lord alone be exalted and in this sense spare not to speak out freely the vertues and endowments of God in any man although for the best of man or men we must say of them with Daniel and other Saints To us belongeth nothing but shame and confusion of face for ever but to the Lord honour and glory mercy and forgiveness for over and â—ver Let no man appropriate to himself or put upon others any good for all good is fâ—om God and whatever is evil is mans although naturally and generally mens practises are quite otherwise appropriating all good to themselves and nothing of evil whereby the poor blind creature Man deludes his poor soul while
he lives or when he comes to dye if the Lord do but speak to him as he did to Iob then he finds quite contrary that all evil is his and no good at all and then he is amazed at himself and confounded And although it is heartily wâ—shed if it had so pleased God that the Author had lived to see these Sermons in print and some other pieces of his as he intended but prevented by death yet as the proverb is Seeing we cannot do as we would 〈◊〉 us do we may T is pity these things should dye and be altogether obsâ—ured there may be in them such an apâ—â— door to some men whom the Lord hath this way enlightned and such hints given as may lead them to 〈◊〉 things then these yet thus much we assure you 〈…〉 were in the Authors hands a Considerable and were perased over by himself 〈…〉 who gave this approbation of them There is nothing in them but I own he saying withal That writing of Sermons was a very great advantage not onely giving men account of what was delivered many years after when both the matter the subject and expressions were forgoten But also said he t is a kind of immortalizing mens labours and the workings of God upon their spirits to generations to come though they themselves dye and are forgotten yet their works may live and remain And if Writing be so much more Printing which makes them so common publique and cheap so that so many thousands do enjoy them and many thousands more might and would were there not a common fault especially of late in those that should disperse sell or communicate them and do not or will noâ— either because of their particular dislikes every one affecting and will not prefer any thing but what suâ—s to their apprehensions or else being tainted with envy at others accepâ—ation and prosperity whereby abâ—ndance of precious Books dye in obscurity either lying by the walls and rot or turned to Wast paper being a just judgement of God upon persons and Traders tainted with envy or affecting singularity the fruits whereof this generation hath deeply tasted the bitterness of and those that succeed are like to do much more except we repent and resolve amendment beginning again to love and receive each other in the truth and bearing with what our selves at present see not for you have found that with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again but let us now learn that safe and sure rule so much in these dayes neglected As ye would that men should do unto you even so do ye unto them for this is the Law and the Prophets T is true we know one main cause is fulness and over-abundance whereby many stomachs are cloyed and indeed our full stomachs have loathed and turned against abundance of precious hony-combs but though this be one reason yet the two formâ—r may lead the van as being chief ring-leaders to this mischief But to conclude for this Authors Sermons thou must accept of these or none for here is all can be hoped for or expected we rather choosing to present thee with all at once then divided in regard this Authors manner of teaching was not in an ordinary way whereby some things asserted may seem harsh or dark to some that so one paâ—t thereof may express and give light to another he insisting more fully in some Sermons then other therefore judge not all untill thou hast read the work through and pondered well with waiting on God by prayer for here are things worthy to be seriously weighed and waited for till God reveal So we commit thee and them to him who is not tyed to mans teachings but is able to teach without him and it is onely be that teacheth by him according to his most gracious promise in the new Covenant I will be their God and they shall be my sons and daughters and thâ—y shâ—ll not teach every man his brother saying Know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least to the greatest Farewel Yours desiring if by any means he might serve you in the Gospel and help you on to perfection R. H. TESTIMONIES Freely given By Mr. Iohn Webster and by Mr. Iohn Cardell in their publick Preaching at Aâ—hallowes Lombard-street LONDON By Mr. JOHN WEBSTER AND therefore I cannot but take notice and I much wonder at That precious Book lately printed which it may be many of you have not taken notice of being Sermons preached by Dr. Everard called Gospel-Treasures opened wherein he among other Divine things expresseth this point in several of his Sermons most Divinely and Elegantly and I could not but recommend it to you having my self found so much sweetness in it and I wonder much at the Heavenliness and sweetness of his spirit for to me it is as clear a piece as any I know extant Setting forth as to this particular the infinite and deep condescention of the Son of God being God equal with his Father yet to stoop lower and beneath the unexpressible misery of man to bring him up again He there shewing that herein lay the great and unconceivable sufferings of Christ far beyond his external sufferings of whipping reviling spitting upon crowning with Thorns or his crucifying upon the Cross and the like all being far below and not worth the naming the same day with these sufferings And shewing also how these things are to be also in every Christian And that this Liberty purchased by Christ is not to encourage the flesh or to purchase liberty for it but 't is for the inward man and the spirit And how he once having such a principle of life he cannot give way to sin but sin is his bondage and how the power of Christ in him slayes all fleshly actings in the love of them And that all things of man shall be slain and crucified in him by the death of the Son of God And that these are the things which shall be burnt up for ever and ever with unquenchable fire And although many self-wise Professors in the world are offended at the Book and stick not to asperse and belye it with their common slanders of Error and Heterodoxal opinions and the like Yet we know the World can do no other but will belye the Truth as it alwayes hath done And the more Divine any truth is the more they oppose it Why Because the Light thereof Condemns their Darkness Sin and Ignorance and their Practices And they are not able to stand in or bear the Light thereof For either they must Condemn the Truth to justifie themselves or else Condem themselves by the Truth which they can never do till they are overcome and Captivated by the Truth By Mr. JOHN CARDELL AND therefore I cannot but recommend to you those precious Sermons Preached by Dr. Everard which I know many of you have both in your houses and hearts whose Name is very sweet and precious to many that
the soul then and not before expect to hear and see God God is never seen or heard but when all things in us as of us are at rest Those that come and acknowledge him and deny themselves and all they are even all their parts both of Nature and Grace these are come to enâ—oy their rest these onely keep Subbaths these are they that have overcome and are set down with him in his throne even as he hath overcome and is set down in his Fathers Throne In the evening it is said God came into the Garden and called to Adam in tâ—e cool of the day Gen. 3. 8. that is when the heat of Adams lust and self-will was over till then lust made such a noise in Adams soul God could not be heard Then the Lord God puts Adam upon the examination of his soul Adam where art thou whâ—t hast thou done hast thou tasted 〈◊〉 eaten of thine own will that forbidden frâ—it whiâ—h 〈◊〉 shalt find the very eating or tasting will be death to thee which every soul thâ—t God hath really spoken to findes true in his own feeling and experience Thus have we run through this hour allotted it may be God may open your eyes that you may see into these things and I pray God you may even far beyond what I am able to express that you your selves may say and feel that this knowledge is that one thing necessary For this is that word which if you believe not will be the savour of death unto death but if believed and received will be the savour of life unto life THE STARRE IN THE EAST Leading unto the true MESSIAH 1 COR. 2. 2. But I determined to know nothing among you save Iesus Christ and him crucified In two Sermons Preached at a Private meeting at KENSINGTON BEloved there are such things In-wrapt and folded up in the sacred Sriptures of God Almighty which being once known he that knows them in a right way he need not with the Apostle here being taught by the holy Spirit deire to know any thing more And because the treasure that is in these words and also in all the words of God is so fast lockt up so that no natural man can come at them he knows nothing of them for he perceiveth not the things of God neither indeed can he for they are spiritually discerned Therefore let us implore and beseeâ—h his help who hath the keys to open the seven seals as it is in the Revelation of S. Iohn He who onely was counted worthy to open the book that He may unloâ—k and reveal to us these precious mysteries I determined to know nothing among you c. What doth the Apostle mean by these words was he a man that knew nothing or was he an ignorant in all those other things and therefore sleighted them That because he had no learning therefore sleighted learning No 〈…〉 me leave to tell you He was no Fool he was 〈…〉 he was no Babâ—â— no not in all that great and â—hiefest learning which was in his time accounted so highly of for he was as great a proficient Therein as most of them all He was brought up as he â—aith of himself at the feet of Gamaliel and he waâ— a great man in the learning of the Pharisees who were at that time the onely learned men of the Church yea of the whole world Insomuch that they were had in reverence of all because they thought these Rabbins had all knowledge that these were the onely men to whom God himself opened and revealed himself So that he was counted a madman or a fool one led with the spirit of error and schism that should dare to oppose or speak a word against them Yet our Apostle here being inferiour to none of them all and could have gone their paths to have gotten their estimation in the world if he had then seen any excellency in them as before he did he could have gloried after the slesh as well as they But now having to do with these Corinthians and seeing the vanity of all humane learning without this knowledge he layes all aside and undervalues all as dross and dung and comes to them in wonderful plainness of speech that he might preach to them Iesus Christ and not himself as they did to gain honour and profit in the world and to make themselves great in the esteem of others it was death to them to fail of these ends These they put so 〈◊〉 confidence both Preachers and People in this kind of way and in this learning being onely litterally learned and knowing in the Scriptures onely Externally so that all the world was undervalued to them for so it was at that time All this great fabrick of the world was divided into two parts onely viz Iews and Barbarians if they were not Iews they were Barbarians and Heathens And this kind of learning was then and so alwayes is accompanied with all manner of riches and honour with all the glory and splendour of the world every man bowed to their parts and worth they were presented with gifts and it was accounted a great honour to have them accepted by them they were repaired to at all times As to resolve doubts and give counsel c. they were as Oracles in the peoples esteem generally And he that went not this way was like to lead an obscure beggerly life no body taking notice of him scarce having a hole to put his head in nay He should be sure to be trampled down and cast under foot by these great men by their great blustering and by their great parrs and by their great learning The foxes have holes and the birds of this world have nests but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head Well notwithstanding all this our Apostle sticks not at it but layes all aside learning credit honour and dishonour riches poverty he tramples all under foot and is content to expose himself to whatever their malice could bring about he reposes no confidence in whatever Parts he had equal with them and sayes that he expected and was content to be accounted a Fool and to hide himself and be as one that had nothing in him He will never go about to dispute it out with these great Rabbins that is not the way he knew that would do no good for he had experience that of disputations there was no end for every one stuck so fast and unmoveable to his opinion one to shew his wit and eloquence another to gain honour and riches another because he had declared what he held and being once past the bars of his lips he must not recant and be a flincher and discover his ignorance wherein he had declared so much confidence but must then stand it out to the death so one for one end and another for another mens Ends being infinite and unspeakable so that therein he had no hope Well
the shell of the Letter except we go further and Iesus Christ opens the seals and shews us the life the marrow That which except it be given to us we cannot understand And therefore the Apostle flatly denies all other knowledge 2 Cor. 5. 14 15 16. for saith he the love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judge that if one died for all then were all dead and he dyed for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him that dyed for them Wherefore saith he in the 16. verse henceforth know we no man after the flesh yea though we had known Christ after the flesh yet henceforth know we him no more What may be the meaning of this blessed Apostle thus seemingly to sleight the very body of Jesus Christ In all probability he never saw the body of Jesus Christ upon earth in that 33 years he lived here except he had a vision of him as he marched to Damascus when he was smitten from his horse His meaning therefore must needs be If we know Christ after the Letter never so exactly the whole history of him what avails it Our knowledge of Jesus Christ must be internal spiritual experimental to live unto him that dyed for them if a man be not as the Apostle saith in the succeeding verses made a new creature altered and changed according to Christ in the inward man so that he lives no longer to himself but to him that dyed for him so that all old things are past away and all things are become new so that there is by the mighty power of Jesus Christ a new man begotten in us as the Apostle saith My beloved of whom I travel in birth till Christ be formed in yoâ— This is indeed that Christ that died for us else Christ dyed not for us his cross is of no effect he dyed in vain to us T is not all the knowledge and believing that ever thou canst attain to of an external Christ will do thee any good without a Christ begotten within thee a Christ in experience Hath any man gotten or attained though by much pains and industry any taste any knowledge of Christ otherwise it is but old things old knowledge old learning attained by the power of the old man fot self-ends And all old things must pass away saith the Apostle That knowledge that was conveyed to us by our parents or by our School-masters let it be what it will or by whom it will by all the Catechisms and Books that can be made and that we are able to apply them to our lives according to the Letter t is all but old things old knowledge as the young man in the Gospel he knew the law and had kept all those things from his youth but he failed in point of self-denial he obeyed from old powers and to old ends And although we had all knowledge and all power and all conformity in this regard before Christ be created in the heart it must all pass away This is that knowledge that we cannot depend on This is that knowledge that the Apostle regards not he esteems it Nothing let it be never so glorious and splendent and though all the world hath received it and in their words own it though in practise they renounce it he counts it all dross and dung Why St. Paul what manner of knowledge then is it that thou wilt know nothing besides it And that is the second thing he answers it himself in this chapter Lo if ye are able to understand saith he so that the god of this world hath not blinded your eyes we do speak wisdom even the hidden wisdom of God yet in a mystery not the wisdom of this world nor of the Princes of this world which comes to nought indeed this wisdom it tends not to outward pomp not to riches nor honour nor the setting up of men and parts but we speak wisdom to those that are perfect to those whom Jesus Christ hath pulled off the scales from their eyes What mystery is it to know Jesus Christ his death and resurrection outwardly and all the circumstances Will this faith save you No but to those that know no more we are very fools and they can see no wisdom in our words The carnal man knoweth not the Profound the Deep things of God neither indeed can he because they are spiritually discerned But he that can divide these waters shall have dry and firm ground to walk on and over Iordan safely He that can crack the shell those can rellish and digest these precious mysteries And to those they are the preciousest dainties in heaven and earth they are the sweetest excellencies wherein their souls can live and die these are the souls which delight themselves in Fatness undervaluing the world and all things therein as seeing them lean and empty things But to the carnal man and he that will go no farther then the Letter these truths we now speak of are the unrelishablest the tasteless est the sapless est meat you can give them we pour but water in their shoes ye cannot please them worse then when you talk of these things or preach of these things because ye are out of their element t is as unwelcome and as Nauseous as a câ—p of cold water they are sick of such doctrine To tell them that they must be killed and slain their own knowledge their own lives must be crucified they must no longer have their own desires their own wils their own affections but must be content to cross themselves in every thing and to take up their cross dayly and follow Christ else they cannot be his Disciples oh here is vinegar and gall ye are the unwelcomest men to them in the world they cry with the Jews Our soul is weary of this light meat give us somewhat that we can feel give us some ponderous thing some comfortable thing somewhat that our senses may see and feel good Alas this is not the Heaven we look for Can we think it a happiness to be destroyed to be killed and crucified Give us such a Christ and such a Heaven as is good to our outward man who will let us have credit and honour and riches such a Christ that we may believe in who died so many years ago that will save us outwardly such a Christ that will be good to my eyes to my hands and to my feet to my back and to my belly such a Christ as will save us if we do but externally and litterally believe in him and will let us have our own wils and speak our own words and please our affections and save our souls at last I marry Sir Here is a Christ indeed this is such a Christ as all the world would have But give me leave to tell you This is a Christ of thine own making this Christ which thou speakest of
you what I mean not that Christ in regard of dwelling can come in or go out but in regard of his workings in us and to us Christ in himself cannot grow greater or less or more exalted for his praise is far above the earth and heavens but to us he is more manifested and to us and in us he grows and increases and so his life comes to us by degrees And so far forth as we lay down our selves and all that is in us or whatsoever is acted by us at the foot of Christ and that we are ruled and guided by him then we shall see how he speaks all in us doth all in us hears all in us sees all in us for it is not ye that speak but the Spirit of your Father which dwells in you This is to have Christ come into the soul because before we are really sensible of this he is as it were not there But he being I say once come into the soul for we must make use of such expressions for our understanding then he opens those eyes that before were shut he now makes those feet that were cripple from the mothers womb so that they could not set one foot forward in his wayes now he makes their feet like hindes feet he makes them run his ways with delight and he shews his miracles in all their members he turns all into a new creature and in this sense he grows more and more in them till they come to a perfect stature even the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ Before they could not endure this life it was the old life they were taken up withal how they might please the flesh and fulfil the desires of the flesh and were by nature children of wrath even as others Those were the thoughts they were taken up withal at bed and at board all their thoughts words actions eyes ears tongues feet were all imployed in this service else they were unquiet and never contented To see Christ to be all in all in us this is to know him experimentally and if ye know him thus then you know him as you ought to know him else he is but a fable to you for so to know him is to have all the Scriptures fulfilled in you as our Saviour said This Scripture is this day fulfilled in your ears Beloved such a light such a key ye have gotten who see these things that whatever place of Scripture you read or hear that you shall be able to say and feel it in your own souls That this day is this Scripture though writ so long ago fulfilled in your ears in your souls When you read the Story of the Conception Birth Life Death Resurrection of Christ of his Whipping Crowning with Thorns Buffeting Spitting upon you shall be able experimentally to say and cry out Alas this day is this Scripture fulfilled in me And Beloved this is a daily doing all the Scriptures over again this is the enduring of the word for ever as David speaks sayes the soul Alas my soul was like a Leopard spotted from head to foot with the leprosâ—e of sin and he hath commanded I willâ— be thou clean he hath washt away with his bloud all my spots I found that I was grown crooked and bowed together with my strong sinews of lusts and he hath made me straight I found I had a continual running issue that continually ran to the polluting of my soul and to the dishonour of God and the touching of his garments hath healed me Oh happy soul to whom God hath been pleased to give this key this is saving knowledge of the Scripture all other knowledge of the Letter is but the flesh of the Scriptures that which the carnal man may comprehend and although it be never so great never so exact it is meer dirt and dungâ— it s not worth one rush for thus to know the Scriptures as I have said is to have the whole Scriptures fulfilled in us as David saith I will hearken to what the Lord saith in me Now we come to the third thing What it is to know Jesus Christ crucified I determined to know nothing among you save Iesus Christ and him crucified And again saith the Apoâ—â—le God forbid that I should rejoyce in anything save in the Cross of Christ whereby the world is crucified unâ—o me and I unto the world And again I count all things loss and dung that I may win Iesus Christ and know him crucified Before we can live the life of Jesus Christ we must of necessity know his death and find that he is crucified in us In a natural life a man must first be born and live before he can be crucified and put to death but in the spiritual life in us its contrary a man must first see that Christ is crucified before he is born Beloved I tell you if you take but this key to unloâ—k this pâ—ecious Cabinet of God you will find precious Iewels will come tumbling down to your hand Christ Jesus as he was crucified upon the cross so by way of equivalency he is still and daily crucified in us for he is the lamb slain from the beginning of the world and shall be to the end of the world You are deceived if you think the passion of Christ is past when he had suffered under Pontius Pilate Every man before he comes to be a spiritual man he was a carnal man a natural man And this natural man possessed the house and he is the strong man and not onely strong but armed and when ever I speak of the strong man or the old man or sin or the Devil or Satan or Lucifer or Antichrist c. I mean and intend one and the samething and so doth the Scripture as I conceive and I would have you well to consider this thing for they are those enemies the Scripture most minds us of and gives us warning to beware of and watch against they be our bosome enemies that betray us as for outward enemies we meddle not now with them but the Scripture hath given these Enemies or rather this Enemy of ours several names that thereby we may come to know him or by some of them at least that we may see in our selves the several effects of all those names and the several workings according to the nature of those names So long as this strong man keeps the house that is so long as our own wisdom strength gifts abilities of nature reason understanding will affections so long as these keep the house Iesus Christ is crucified these are those Jews who have Crucified the Lord of life these have kept him under and made him to serve your iniquities these have laden him as a cart is pressed with sheaves these have kept him down these have put his feet in the Stocks with Joseph and the irons have entred into his very soul. This is
man alive as the highest and gloriousest Saint But the One he is senâ—ble how Jesus Christ is near him and He knows how he hath been overtopt in him and overmastâ—â—ed by him and therefore he is ashamed and will do so no more But the Other not knowing of thisâ— he goes on according to his own laws and his own will and kills him Again and Again and runs his own wayes and thinks his own Thoughts and pleases himself Rushes upon any thing that tends to satisfie his own will He rushes upon any sin as a horse rushes into the battel as the Prophet speaks without fear He pleases himself and Tickles himself in his own delights cryes Ha Ha and he feels nothing sees no danger what ever men talk of Hell and Death and Bitterness Destruction and Damnation yet he believes none of these things and therefore he goes to the same course again and again But having onâ—e espyed the King Him who stands Behind the Hangings Him whom he hath so often kickt at and crucified then he is amazed at his Horrid Oaths and Blaspheâ—iâ—s of his Pride and Arrogancy against Him of his Envies and Reproches against his Brethren being onâ—e come to a true sight of this He is amazed and confounded in Himself Sayes he Have I been the man that hâ—th put the Son of God to death have I trampled his Blood under my feet I will not any more adde to hiâ— torments no not to gain the world Hath he dwâ—lt so near been my guest and lodged within me been my life and my stay and have I been he that hath starved and famished him have I so often moâ—kt whipt derided crucified him and knew it not Rather then I will do it again I will dye ten thousand deaths All the world shal never make me commit thosâ— Horrid Facts again I will now be ruled by him I will now do his Will not mine own I will now by his assistance live as he will have me live now I am content to deny mine own wisdom gifts parts strength For now I see I am Nothing And so by this means Christ shall be fed nourished and brought up and he shall grow in wisdom and stature and favour with God and man By this means Ye shall bring Christ to the Temple who shall put all the Doctors within you to silence and so non-plus them that not one shall be able to gain-say or answer him By this means you shall find him do all his miracles more truly over again the substance of his miracles as I shewed you before you even you your self us shal see him work all his miracles in thy sight within thee and this shall make thee more run after Christ to see these Divine miraâ—les far more affectionately and with more wondring and with more true love then ever they did in the dayes of his flesh to seeâ— his external mighty works and miracles This was that S. Paul determined and desired Onely to know for he knew this knowledge would never leave him till it had discovered such things such Miracles as neither eye had seen nor â—are heard no nor ever entred into the heart or thoughts of any man things unutterable unspeakable Let others seek after what they will to get glory and splendour in the world and to get those things that the world accounts great matters or any external literal knowledge of Christ though never so glorious though never so received yet sayes he I lay all in the dust for the Excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord by whom the World is crucified unto me and I unto the World for all those things shall vanish with them and perish in the using and come to nothing But these comforts will stand a man instead this is such knowledge that it will set one foot in Heaven while the other is upon earth when as other men who rest in the Flesh and in the Letter who know none of these things God knows when they come to dye how many weary winter Cold and comfortless steps they have to fetch that they shall be forced to Fly upon the Sabbath and in the Harvest and have their Oyle to buy when all things are at rest with others and they enjoy a fulness and a harvest and have Oyle in their Lamps at the Bridegrooms Coming for they have given up their wills and their lives to Christ So that Christ and they have such sweet Embraces as if they were in heaven already Insomuch that they are gotten above the world â—and all things below go they Even or Odde with other men they alwayes go Even with them they have gotten above Themselves and their own wills Now Christs will is their will And Christs â—eace is their peace And They have begun â—â—eir Eternal SABBATH and are at Rest in the bosome of Jesus Christ their Blessed Saviour OF SVFFERING AND REIGNING WITH CHRIST ROM 8. 17. If so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together In eight Sermons Pâ—eached at Kensington Publique Meeting-place T Is true the Coherence of the Text imports An exception after some vast and immense Priviledges asserted and those priviledges Such whereof a Christian may boast of and triumph in as first of his Sonship Ver. 14. As many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God have received the Spirit of Adoption Verse 15. For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear but ye have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father 2. Such is a Christians Priviledge and Sonship that he is delivered and set free from the Spirit of bondage he need never fear more And 3. He hath also received the Spirit of Adoption whereby he can own God and cry to him and call him Abba for he is his Father 4. The testimony of the Spirit of our Father with our Spirit Verse 16. The Spirit it self beareth witness with our Spirit that we are the children of God And lastly Of our being made the Heirs of God and Co-heirs with Christ As in the former part of the Text And if Children then Heirs Heirs of God and joynt-heirs with Christ. Our Text being much like the Exceptions in the Kings general Pardon wont to be given in the end of a Parliament where at the first beginning you would think he had forgiven all and every One but by that you have read it to the end you will find so many exceptions and limitations he hath scarce forgiven any So this out Text is such a restriction or limitation narrowing and bounding all those large Priviledges Immunities and indulgences and tells us in plain terms Except we suffer with him we shall not regin with him for every one is ready to catch at the Priviledges and assume them to themselves but stay as if he should say Although these be very large priviledges yet let me tell you to whom they
belong If so be we suffer with him that we may be glorified together These words I say are a limitation and concentring these precious priviledges And terminating them upon One out of a city and Two out of a Tribe No more yea though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea A remnant onely of them shall be saved Isa. 10. 22. Being like those words of our Saviour Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many go in thereat but strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life and few there be that find it Yet for this present we will consider the Text As a Melchizedek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without father without mother viz without any dependance or succession from the words going before or any reference to them that follow As a substantive standing by himself so we shall find this Text an Everlasting Almanack an Erra Pater setting before your eyes the state of a Christian from the very first day of his Regeneration to his last day even of Glorification â—ay beyond all time according to the Angels Oath Rev. 10. 6. Till time shall be no more This Text is that sword without which you will never cut asunder that Gordian knot As to tell us why St. Paul sayes Col. 1. 24. That he did Gaudere in passionibus Rejoyce in his sufferings and saith he 2 Cor. 11. 30. If I must needs glory I have nothing more to bast on then of the things that concern my infirmities That which to you and to all the world Seemeth my infirmity my loss and my cross this is my gain and my Crown In labours more abundant in stripes above measure in prisons in deaths in perils in painfulness in watchings in hunger and thirst in fastings in cold and nakedness c. and herein sayes He I glory And he asserts it with the greatest asseveration that can be The God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ who is blessed for evermore knoweth that I lye not What a strange paradox is here what a Gordian knot is here to be untyed or who can with the sword of mans reaâ—on cut it insunder Therefore have I chosen this Text that itâ—nd â—nd by Divine Light the Spirit of God we may clear this pâ—radox and untie this knot Neither was this Pauls case alone but the other Apostles also when they were beaten Acts 5. 41. they departed from the Councel reâ—oycing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name I pray Beloved if you had known no more of the Apostles then the Jews did would not you have said as they did that they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 2. 13. These men are full of new wine for its ordinary with you when you are not able to comprehend the Mystical Depths of the Spirits working in the hearts of those regenerated to â—ay They are Mad Distracted Drunk Filled with new wine And if you had known no more of the Martyrs of the Primitive Church then their Persecutors would you not have said with them Wisd. 5. 4. We fools thought their life madness and their end without Honour It is said Nemo carnem suam odio habuit c. Ephes. 5. 29. No man ever yet hated his own flesh but nourisheth and cherisheth it What did They then and what case were They in Isa. 50. 6. that gave their backs to the smiters and their cheeks to the nippers and hid not their faces from shame and spitting And were content to be killed all the day long And to be as sheep for the slaughter that preferred Mountains and Dens and Caves of the earth before Palaces of Princes wildernesses before Society Heb. 11. 8. Mat. 11. 8. sheep-skins and goats-skins before the softraiment of them that are in Kings Courts mockings and scourgings before sleeping in a whole skin Rackings before down-beds Stoning Hewing asunder and slaying with the sword before Deliverance safety health and long life Heb. 11. And generally all who are not sufferers with them have that opinion of them rooted in them which Festus had of Paul Acts 26. 24. that they conclude they can be no less then Mad men and the very trâ—th is these true sufferers are counted every where In All Ages no other Then God Almighties FOOLS But there is no finding out Sampsons Riddle without ploughing with Sampsons Heifer could we but do so then we may say as Philip said to Nathaniel We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write Jo. 1. 45. So here In opening these words now read we hope by the gracious assistance of the holy Spirit we shall unfold As this Text so those Riddles mentioned in the SCRIPTURES As 1. What is meant by Moses bitter waters at Marah Exod. 15. 25. whereof the people could not drink but murmured and Moses cryed unto the Lord and he shewed him a Tree which being cast into the waters they were made sweet even so shall these sufferings with CHRIST be made very sweet to us And come to know How they come so to be in our own experience 2. We shall see what is meant by Elishas naughty waters of Iericho 2 Kings 2. 19 c. The men of the City said to Elisha the situation of the City is pleasant but the water is naught and the ground barren Then he took salt and cast therein and said I haue healed these waters there shall not be from hence any more death or barren Land and the waters were healed according to the saying of Elisha which he spak Even so shall be these sufferings with Christ. All bitterness and unsavouryness shall be taken from them 3. You shall see what 's meant by Iobs unsavoury meat and the salt to season it Iob. 16. 6. Caâ— that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt or is there any taste in the white of an egge These Sufferings with Christ being once seasoned by Christ they will be savoury to your Taste Self-Denial will be no hard task but Meat and Drink to you 4. You shall come to see what is meant by Having salt in your selves Mark 9. 50. Salt is good saith our Saviour but if the salt have lost his saltness wherewith will you season it Have salt in your selves and have peace one with another 5. You shall see what is meant by Davids sowing in tears and reaping in joy Psal. 126. 5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy he that goeth forth weeping bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoycing bringing his sheaves with him And then the Lord shall turn again your captivity as the streams in the South all these things you shall come to see and feel experimentally fulfilled in you and upon you 6 You shall come to see what is meant by Isaia's
is in them both meat for nourishment and also excrements buu who can say when he looks on either This is the meat and This is the Nutriment and this Other is the excrements and this is that which goes into the draught and is good for nothing Yet you know The stomach will sever these and divide to either their proper way and places and to their proper uses and a skilful Physician which knows the body the arteries and the veins and all the parts how they lie he knows how nature disposes of all these things and knows both the things and the causes And so likewise in Physick ye can have no Physick without excrements though ye cannot see the virtue and the Life and the Spirits yet ye may see the effects and though in meat you cannot see the nourishment yet you may see the thing nourished by it So we cannot have the true word of God without the letter God could not as I may so say considering our state as we are he could not give us meat or Physick by the word but by the Letter And although it be not the Physicians intent to give excrements but onely Physick and we do not eat meat for the excrements sake but for the meats sake and for the nourishment So my Brethren we being of so low a nature and quality so earthly so fleshly so sensual so far from a spiritual nature That I say God cannot give us His Mind and the soul of the Scriptures which is so Divine Heavenly and Spiritual without the Letter without the shell without those excrementsâ— Yet His meaning is not to give us the shell or the excrements but the nourishment his meaning is to give us Living water springing up to eternal life and to feed us with Hidden Manna and to give us the white stone wherein there is a new name that no man knoweth but he that receâ—veth it But we must not therefore Throw away the Letter because there is excrements with it as we do not throw away meat or Physick because excrements are in it because if you throw away the meat you throw away the nourishment as well as the excrements But if you take the Carnal letter as carnally spoken The literal letter as literally spoken Then you have not taken the City of the letter If you look for no more in the Scriptures we do but cast pearls before swine you go no further then the Pharisees The Jews and the Pharisees before Christ came they were so literal sensual and carnal they thought that whosoever did not break the letter of the Ten Commandments If they did nothing against the Outward Literal letter they thought themselves blameless As in the seventh Commandment They thought If they had not actually layen with a woman then they had perfectly kept that Law but Christ goes further and tells them He that looks on a woman and lusts after her hath committed adultery already in his heart And so for murther they thought if they did not lay hands on their brother to murther him they thought they had gone a great way in keeping that Command but our Saviour goes further then every eye can see and saith He that is angry with his brother without cause is guilty of murther So they rested on the Letter and the Letter perished They had not married Achsah they had still The vail before their eyes and those that are come no further they are still Jews as the Apostle saith They have still the vail before their eyes even while Moses is read and Christ is a mysterie Hid to such even from the beginning of the world Beloved we have many Chatechisms now adayes and They say they are for children and I believe so to Onely for children to get by roat and be never the better for them and I am afraid there are Too too many such children who think themselves Tall men who have most of the Scripture at their fingers ends And because they can answer any Catechistical point in Divinity they must be accounted The greatest Proficients and tallest Châ—istians But you see by this we have said how far men may go herein and yet know nothing to salvation As we said The children of Israel how expert were they in the Scriptures so as they thought themselves the strictest observers of the Commandments yet you see how our Saviour undervalues all their knowledge and strictness And now seeing it is fallen in our way we will touch upon each Commandment briefly The Israelites they thought if they observed the litteral Ten Commandments there was no more required As in the first Commandment if he worshipped either Sun Moon or Stars or any creature then he thought he should dye the death but if they never bowed to any creature in a way of worship then they were innocent But This they might do and be never the better for saith the Apostle The end of the Commandment is love out of a pure heart and faith unfeigned To have any thing in the world for thy God Either to love or fear so that it draws away the love and fear of thy Creator that thing is to thee a God and thou givest it that worship fear and love that is due onely to God So far as any creature hath caused thee to offend thy Creator thou hast broken this Commandment If either riches or beauty or honour or promotion hath weighed down thy love from obeying God Almighty thou hast set it in the room of God and cast Him behind thy back And that thou hast worshipped and served thou sacrificedst to it thy heart thy fear thy love thy trust which is onely due to God They never came to this To observe what they set up in their hearts for God and herein lay The marrow The nourishment the meat of the Commandment and all because they had not smitten Kiriathsepher they had not crackt the Letter And so the second Commandment Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image Here let me tell you thus much In making of Images God loves Carvers better then Painters It may be The strangeness of the expression will cause you to take the more notice of what I am to say Be not offended aâ— the expression for I shall open my intentions in so saying Quest. Why sir what do you mean Answ. I le tell you Carvers you know in their work they lessen cut pare and take away but Painters they do not so but they adde in their work they put colour here and there So this is that I mean God loves those that seek him in poverty in a way of emptiness and self-nothingness And as for those that seek him in riches and greatness and in high things in mens esteem they go farther and farther from him The Virgin Mary found it so in experience when she said The hungry he fills with good things and the rich he sendeth empty away he hath regarded the
live And With those men which Live â—pon the shadow and content themselves with Shels and Husks There is no peace to be had with them except ye make the Substance Vail to their Shadowes And the True God to stoop to their Idol Baal Otherwise They are like Saul Before He was converted Acts 9. 1. Exceedingly Mad against them like Inraged Mad Bulls and Breathing out Threatning and Slaughter against the Disciples of the Lord And are still seeking to the High Priests and the powers of the Earth to assist them with Commissions To make Havock of the Church But Oh! that the Lord would graciously Shine Round about them And smite them to the earth Causing them to hear That voice Why Why persecutest Thou Me It is Hard for thee to Kick against the Pricks But St. Paul â—e was now come to those things of which he knew and found Christ His bod was but A shadow He now possest the 〈◊〉 let the shadow go And if men woâ—ld never sleigh the Shadow or the Letter or the Shell Till the did it on the same ground the Aposâ—le did 〈◊〉 instead of blaming them I should Highly commend them But this is that which is too common in these dayes they throw away the shadow and the shell too soon they throw away the Letter and Ordinances upon a meer supposition 〈◊〉 they are in S. Pauls condition and this is thâ— very ground of the Error of Many in these dayes and therefore I caution hence 〈◊〉 much and charge you Not to throw away the Letter noâ— sleight the body of Christ in the least exâ—epâ— inrelation to the Spirit the Life and the Substance Onely comparatively And you as come Really 〈◊〉 enjoy these things not to cast them quite 〈◊〉 as I said before but not to rest in them 〈…〉 the Handmaid before the Mistress or the 〈◊〉 before the Marrow or the Casket before thâ— IEWEL or the â—ield before the PEARL Le no man saith the Apostle Iudge you in Meats 〈◊〉 Drinks or in respect of an Holy day New 〈…〉 of The Sabbath dayes which are shadows of Thing To come But the Body is Christ. For beloved Christs body was Symbolical 〈◊〉 well as his actions they all held 〈…〉 that we might not rest in them bâ—t this is 〈…〉 flesh in us is ready to abuse to our own 〈◊〉 and condemnation The cunning politick Devil in us when he cannot hold us in prophaneness by the Chains of ignorance then he labours to do it by the Chains of knowledge Sayes he in us if the letter be a shadow and nothing then we will neglect it we will throw it away there is nothing now to be done we will live as we list we Owe No duties to God or man we will please our selves and deny our selves nothing for we are gotten above Word Ordinances Sacraments Worships and all Oh Beloved these are the Devils strongest Chains of all These Chains of Knowledge to abuse the highest liberty and glory of a Christian to the Idleness and Luxuriousness of the flesh He that is taken in These Chains a thousand to one if he ever get out as the Apostle saith Heb. 10. There is after this no more Sacrifice for sins such will hardly ever recover themselves out of the snare of the Devil and as he expresseth it in Heb. 6. It is impossible for those who were once inlightned and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come if they shall fall away it is impossible to renew them again to repentance and he so goes on and explains it by a similitude For the earth which drinketh in the rain which cometh oft upon it and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whom it is dressed receiveth blessing from God else it beareth thorns and bryars and is rejected and is â—igh unto cursing and in the end to be burned This caution I thought good to mind you of that in taking you off from Resting on these things that you do not quite slight them nor think your selves come to the Spirit when ye have scarce Attained The letter and Outside But as I was saying Christs body and his actions were symbolical for though he healed the lame and cured the deaf and raised the dead and the like yet this was not the Substance nor the End of his coming for he by them shadowed out to us what he doth internally in our souls For Iesus Christ is yesterday and to day and thâ— same for ever He did then Those actions of curing the blind cleansing the lepers casting out devils and the rest So he doth the same still as David saith Psal. 103. Praise the Lord O my soul which cureth all thy diseases and healeth al thy infirmities which redeemeth our lives from destruction and crowneth us daily with loving kindnesses and tender mercies These are the diseases Christ cures daily and so cures that they never mortally fall sick again Those he cured then they might fall to the same diseases again or worse it may be and besides that curing them saved them not from death as this curing doth The young man that was raised from death dyed again and Lazarus dyed again but those he cures in soul they are cured for ever them he quickens for ever them he so raises from death that they dy no more As old Simeon said of him Luke 2. 34. That he was for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and he was for a sign which shall be spoken against He is for a sign in the flesh and in his Humane nature of what he did from the begining and of what he is still in doing He himself in the body in his humanity and All his actions were typical These things I often represent to you because we are Backward to reâ—eive them we are loth to turn our eyes inward in hearing and reading the Scriptures To see all those things fulfilled in our selves Nay we do not yet feel and believe That we are those that Christ came to cure that we are the dumb and the deaf the halt and the blind Little do we think that Devils are to be cast out of us but those whom Christ hath cured they are able to see really that they are The men that Christ then by them represented They see when they read of the Iews crucifying of the Lord of life of their cruel whipping mocking c. crowning him with thornâ— and the like they can say to themselves as Nathan said to David when by a parable he had represented his sin sayes he and so can this man say to himself Thou art the man And so likewise in all his other actions Far be it from any one to think that to heal those External diseases was the End of his coming But thus think Did he arise from death to life he doth the same
thoughts and all his former thoughts were banished Even so doth this man behave himself when once God hath spoken to him and discovered himself to be so near He doth as David sayes he did Set the Lord alwayes before his eyes then he minds God and observâ—s his workings his out-goings and incomings he alwayes then puts God forward in him He must do all Before He was the forward man and who but he All Gods acts in him he arrogated to himself and as he thought the actions were His done by His power wisdom and parts so he took home The glory and praise of all to himself But now Upon Gods appearing to him this man is Undonâ— slain crucified Then he can with all his heart let God Be all and Do All Speak in him Move in him Live in him Work all his works in him and for him He now minds God in whatsoever any creature saith or doth to him He no longeâ— lives his own life but the life of God t is true He lives as the Apostle saith Yet not He but Christ in him He now As a New man Hath no words but the words of Christ no thoughts but the thoughts of Christ made One spirit and life with Him and so he becomes throughout A changed Man A New man But the other he that is not aware of God He that is a Reprobate who knows not That Christ is in Him He takes no knowledge of all this but does what he list and as he thinks He speaks his own words and thinks his own thoughts and All their thoughts words and actions All their aims and endeavours tend to the fulfilling the desires of the flesh Either more gross and open or else more subtile and refined and more hid from the eye of the world Their desires and aims are How they shall procure such a benefit to themselves such an estate or how he shall be delivered from the danger of the times and he is full of carking and caring how his flesh shall be provided for and the like And truly beloved it cannot be otherwise for whatsoever is born of the flesh is flesh and whatsoever is born of the Spirit is Spirit for it can never act without its own sphere and compass were we born of the Spirit we could not but dye to the flesh and seek the things of the Spirit then all his thoughts for the advantage of the flesh Cease and he is altogether fot Increasing and Perfecting This life of God begun in him let God live more and more and himself less and less As John Baptist saith he must increase but I must decrease This is his life now which before was his death and contrary his death is his life God is now A welcom Guest Yet Not that God is more or less there you being alwayes Gods Temple as well before you see him as when you see him for Christ cannot Alter his lodging in the reality of it This is a certain truth Nothing can make Christ depart in regard of his Essence and Being but to you he may depart and so you are to understand all such expressions for if you think and as some preach that God comes and goes from place to place from earth to heaven oâ— from heaven to earth departs and returns and that you can stay Him and change Him or make him return These are all childish fopperies in this ye do as it were Create another God to your selves and make the true God an Idol but it is spoken in refâ—rence to the Creature in regard of our sight and apprehensions As To you He is departed and dwels above far remote And indeed and really he is as having no being and is as no God to thee However thou mayest flatter and deceive thy self Until thou hast smitten and taken Kiriathsepher and marryed Achsah Calebs daughter Till there be power given To rend the vail But then you shall see Him who is the truth of all things The substance of all things and not before for whatever you can see are but Shaddows and not the Truth As in this my body you cannot see the Internality and the Truth of it for the truth and Substance of it doth not consist either in the coldness or in the hotness for it hath been hotter and it hath been colder neither in the Oldness nor Youngness for it hath been younger and may be older neither in the heaviness nor lightness for it hath been lighter and may be heavier nor in no accidents you can name Then if so none hath ever heard or seen or spoke that which is the Truth of me for my Substance cannot be seen but onely Accidents the truth consists in things internal and t is the like for any other thing you behold besides And so likewise such is the Word of God it consists not in any thing you can hear or see or can perceive or comprehend for Gods Word is as himself Mighty Incomprehensible Omnipotent c. not included in any place His Word is the Being and life of all things the Letter cannot possibly contain the Eternal Majesty of the Word it is not the Word of God till it be expounded to the heart and made a word of power and quickning in the hearts of his people The Word is Eternal and was before any Letters or Scriptures were and shall be for ever when all those things Cease Gods speaking is His creating Let it be done there can be no resisting sayes David whatever he commanded it was wrought God Hath spoken As many Words as he hath made Creatures But He hath spoken One Great and mighty word and that One WORD includes All those Words and that One Word is Jesus Christ the Onely begotten of his Father and the first born of every creature all the rest of the creatures are but as so many Letters of this GREAT Word for he is called the Word He being in the bosome of his Father He was Unspoken Unuttered Unpronouncedâ— there was not then any one creature in heaven or earth but God was ALL there was then Neither Father Son nor Spirit as divided But He being Once pronounced He is the Word Spoken then immediately there is Father Son and Spirit For these are expressed Several or TRINE onely in relation to the creatures which to me is clear for there is not diversity in God but God is one and in Himself cannot be more and I hope it is clear to you If any should think or say unto me the words of Pilate Oh Sir What thing is truth I must answer thus truth is not possible to be either spoken or heard for God onely is truth and nothing else can be now it is impossible to see or hear God saith our Saviour No man hath seen God at any time for we cannot see him and live we must depart Out of the nature of man and return into God and be one with God Else we can never know
it and Him for it And yet WE Continually Eat as well as He. O MAN VVho art Thou That dost so Prepare A Rod foâ— thine Oâ—n Back and givest Sentence against thine Own Life In Condemning Thy first Father Adam and Pereeivest not That thou art First in the Same Trap Here then Consider Diligently VVhat OUR Will Knowledge and Understanding is Whereof we Boast so much And wherewith we Think we may Come into the Presence of God VVhereas Indeed It is Nothing But The Bitterness of Death And The Fruit of the Forbidden Tree VVho is there Among ALL Living Men That Perceiveth This Or will Learn To put Off Deny Fear and Mortifie or Kill His Own VVill and VVisdom Nay rather VVe Hold it Fast Extol and Value it as Pure Gold VVhen as Indeed It is Eternal Death And In This Misery The Whole VVorld â—yeth sick But VVhere are Those Blessed Redeemed Ones THE TREE OF LIFE WHAT IT IS And why Adam was Shut out Forbidden and withholden from it and not suffered to EAT thereof I Can also be Content there should likewise Outwardly have been in Paradise The Tree of Life as you read in the Scripture Whose Fruit might have been so Seasoned and Endowed by God And How it had that Nature that He who should Eat of it should Live for ever and Never Dye And when Adam had first Eaten of the Forbidden Tree and had Fallen as God foretold into Death it might not Now be That He should be permitted to Eat of the Tree of Life Otherwise he must have Lived for ever And the Word of God If thou eat thereof thou shalt dye the death had been false Moreover God who is meer Love and cannot for ever be angry with His own workmanship did well provide That Man in this Misery Hated of God and an Enemy to Him might not for ever Leada Wretched and Calamitous Life And for that cause he drave him out of Paradise from the Tree of Life into this House of Penance as it were The World And shewed him a Way whereby he might again come out of Death into Paradise To this Tree of Eternal Life But In the mean time He fenced The Tree of Life with a Flying Cherub and a Glittering Sword Lest Adam in this Banishment should Eat Life For it seemed better to the Good God That Man should Dye and so by Death put off this miserable Life and Changing It To be Translated to a better For He knew That Life after this Death Cold Calamity Banishment would be so much more Welcom and He so much more Dear unto God after Victory Therefore God Who cannot Hate Us Ever deals Mercifully with Us Howsoever he handleth Us If we would alwayes take it In Good Part And not Suspect Him to be our Enemy For so is The Nature and Suspicion of Mans Heart Now I do Thus think That for Agreater Testimony The Same thing did likewise Happen In the True Paradise i. e. In Adams Heart As There is The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil Which is the Seed Speech Counsel Knowledge Wisdom and VVill of the Serpent So there also is The Tree of Life The Seed Speech and Counsel of God or of The VVoman And As God and the Devil are Even so are These Two Trees So Contrary The One to the Other That the One brings Life The Other Death And therefore It is Impossible That whoso Eates of the One should at the same Time Eat of the Other or come unto it As being Separated by a Flying Cherub and a Glittering SWORD Thus I Interpret VVinged Sin and Obstinate Disobedience Which is elsewhere called in Scripture A Separation For who so Eats of the Tree of Knowledge of Good And Evil That is He that Greedily Swallowes down and Devoureth Humane and Diabolical VVisdom He Is already separated from the Tree of Life That is from the VVisdom speech and Knowledge of God Neither of these Wisdoms Speeches VVills Knowledges Can indure the Other Neither can One come from the One to the Other So great is the Gulf between them Being as Far Divided asunder as Heaven and Hell He that Eats of the Tree of Life That is Of The VVord of God He is Born of God and cannot Dye No Nor Sin For Their Fruit Doth Eat The Eater and Translate Him into His Own Nature That is Into Life As Elsewhere The Scripture Speaketh Of Eating of Christ His flesh For indeed It is The same Thing To Eat Christ To Live in His Word To Believe To Know God and the like As likewise it is All one to Be in Adam To Live in Adam To Dye To Eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil To Obey the Seed and Word of the Serpent And to become GODS Therefore He that Eats of the Deadly Tree And cleaves to the Word and Wisdom of the Serpent And Being Born of Satan and Affected as men are Lives in Flesh and Blood He cannot Do Well or Please God As Contrariwise The Other Cannot Sin Do Evil or Displease God Therefore He that will have the One Must needs part with The other We must of Necessity Go out of the Wisdom of Man and The Serpent and from The Forbidden Tree That so The Wisdom of the Tree of Life may Enter into Us Adam and the Wisdom of the Flesh must Dye in Us That Christ may Live in us and The Spirit Have the Government The Life of the One is Alwayes The Death of the Other And The Weakness of the One The Strength of the Other No man can serve two Masters And in vain shalt thou strive To Reconcile Couple together and Make Agree God and Adam or Christ and the Serpent Light and Darkness The Old man and the New That the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil planted in the heart of Adam Is the Seed Speech and Spirit of the Serpent And that great Idol ANTICHRIST Sin Death the Devil and the BEAST spoken of in Daniel and the Revelation which is the Greatest and most ordinary Worshiping of Idols VVHat do you think is the BEAST of which Daniel writeth that Resisteth and Blasphemeth the Most High and killeth his Saints What is that Old Serpent that overthrew Adam and Eve What is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil What is the Shameless King and Antichrist Of which Daniel wrote and Pâ—ul to the Thessalonians What is That many-Headed Monster and the Seven-Headed Beast which the whole world Adoreth Of which is spoken in the Revelation What is Sin What Death What the Devil Himself But every mans own Will Wisdom Reason Religion Righteousness Skill Delight For which cause Paul calleth it Death it self Enmity against God and Folly before God And Saint Iames calls it Earthly Humane Devillish wisdom Because these three are one and the same and that is Devillish which is meerly Humane And contrariwise For Man the Devil Adam and the Serpent are the same and do agree For the Serpent did
so In-stil this Wisdom and Fâ—igned Goodnese into the Nature of Adam that the Serpents Seed and Wâ—rd was in Adam made a corporal Man So that now the same thing may be said of them both And as they that are born of God and in whom the word of God is made Man or Flesh are called Gods and One Spirit with God so all men being Sprung of flesh and bloud before they be Born again and before they are Planted into Christ and Born of the Spirit are justly called Devils and the Devils Children and off-spring Therefore that which is Humane onely is evil and that which is Devillish is Humane Again What is the fall of Adam but the wisdom of the flesh and the fruit of the Forbidden Tree What is that Old Dragon that came out of Hell and Drew down from Heaven with himself with his Tail a great part of the Stars of Heaven But onely the wisdom of this Tree Which extols it self against God and would it self be God and place his Seat with the Highest I pray What else Are the thoughts of the flesh What is Sin What Arrogance but the Fruits and Wisdom of this Tree What are the Decrees of all men and the bent of their Reason against God Their Devises Light Books c. but the cunning of the Devil from this Tree Eaten What is all the worship of Idols The false Religion of all the wicked Iews Turks Gentiles Mamalukes and all false Christians What are all their Leagues Conventicles Ceremonies But the Apple of this Tree Which counterfeiting The Tree of Life sheweth to be pleasant fruits but are such as are death it self No man can sufficiently express The general worshipping of Idols wherewith All the corners of the World and the Hearts of men are stuffed How common it is to all men Who is he that Adores not Himself and saith to his Own Hand Reason Knowledge Honesty Art and Wisdom Thou art My God In thee I Hope In thee I Trust They do not I grant say thus with their mouth but their Whole life and their Idolatrizing mind saith as much by their deeds Here Here it is that all Mortal men deny God and testifie it by their works For if they think there be A God why do they not leave Vengeance to God Why are they so Anxiously careful Why do they so exercise mischief and fraud and so deceive one another Why do they make War and Strife right or wrong for mine and thine Why do they so Lye Deceive and Flatter one another Why do they forget God and His sayings making no account of his Commandements Wherefore do they labour Night and Day to Get and Heap up Riches Truly all this is because they believe not That God hath any care of them or will or can Revenge for them And therefore it is necessary that they Help and Revenge themselves Otherwise they might look long enough unto Gods Hand but be overcome and starve before Roasted Geese flye into their mouthes as they say and before he will avenge them on their Enemies And they might be killed ten times over and they might all beg their bread if they will have ought to do with God and truth in good earnest No they must not be wanting to themselves but make their own Markets by Lying Deceiving Cousening and Usury This This they are assured will do them good and inrich them Whereas his commandments would come too late for to Help them and fail them at most need and the Word of God is an insufficient Help in Adversity Therefore it pleaseth them To kiss their own Hand To speak Bigge words And to Admire themselves for who else is Our God saith the Whole world by their Works Of that Great Idol of Mans Wisdom and Knowledge How men kiss their own Hands and the whole world doth diligently Worship Onely it SELF and the works of their Own Hands That is the Inventions Arts Counsels of their own Reason and Wisdom VVHat Other thing is the Worship of Idols Superstition Witchcrast Evil Doctrine and the Ordinances of men Then the Wisdom Reason Inventions Crafts Actions Instincts and Prudence of men Therefore the worshipping of Idols is but to fashion such a form like unto God not according to his word as He Teacheth Figureth and Formeth Himself In us But according to our opinion and Judgement of God Moreover what is sin Other then Our own Will Wisdom Counsel Sown in the mind of Adam and in his posterity by the Seed of the Serpentâ— Consider the Purpose Course Life of All mankind where how thou wilt and it is nothing but Humane wisdom Here Will every man be his Own God Lead Teach Govern Actuate Revenge Defend Excuse Inrich Himself and the like and every mans own Head Will and Reason is instead of A God unto Him Though the sin and fall of Adam be nothing but Humane Affectation of The Cunning Reason and Wisdom of the flesh Which is therefore worthily called by God Folly and Enmity against God yea Death it self and Devillish Wisdom All men ought with Christ to bring Man to nothing and by daily lesâ—ening and depressing Him to make him An Ass A Fool and a Child But now it is clean contrary All men build up The Man that he may prove Wise Glorious and Famous Here are so many Cart-loads of Arts to the end The wretched and unprofitable Man may become Great Eminent Praised and Excellent And may obtain many Places Titles and Names Here young men are purposely inslamed with a desire of Glory that they may not be content to sit in the lower form but may Domineer in the Pulpits and Teaching-places And to the end there are Artificers imployed to make the Scholars Accute Witty Knowing in all kinds of Crafts and Exercises and in all Exercises Arts and Literal Deceits Whereby it appeareth clearer then the Light That the world is contrary An Enemy to God Here Every body Kisseth his own Hands and Adoreth the Wisdom of his own Wit This he accounteth instead of God his Way and Word and indeed which is of all things The greatest and Onely sin and that very fall of Adam And the fountain whence all other sins do flow as Iob confesseth For this is to be obedient and addicted to serve Himself to Admire and Adore Himself to follow his Own will Briefly to be His Own Being glad and willing to be somewhat and to do to Omit and to know somewhat in himself and not to be utterly void of all Name Wâ—ll Work and subject onely to God this is the Onely and most deadly Sin Yea rather the Sink and Mother of all Sin For the Delight Will and Wisdom of the flesh is Death it self and a man is thereby no more profitable better nor religious then a Swine in his death But so far forth as he doth Nothing knoweth Nothing Willeth nothing but bears and suffers and sees God making Holy-day In Him This man
for present I conclude and commit you all to the Lord and to the word of his Grace Farewell Where Christ FEEDETH AND RESTETH CANT 1. 7. Tell me O thou whom my soul loveth where thou feedest where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the stocks of thy companions In two Sermons preached for Mr. Hodges at the publick meeting place at Highgate in the Forenoon THIS Text may well be called the request of a fair Lady to her dearly beloved Lord it is clear it is so for though she complains of her self in the verse before my Text that she is black the Sun hath looked upon her yet in the verse following my Text he sayes That to him she is the fairest among women and she cannot be so forward in requesting any thing at his hands as he is ready to accommodate her if she desire to have her name written in the palms of his hands he will do more he will set her as a Signet upon his heart as you may perceive in reading over this Book this Lord here spoken of is such a Lord whose judgment when you know him you cannot disallow for it is Christ Jesus the Lord of life and death and this Lady is the Spouse of this Lord viz. the Congregation or the body of this Saints and Servants and wonder not that I call her a fair Lady for though we see it not yet He her Lord says she is all fair and there is no spot in her And I tell you if we would see the beauty of the Church we must not look upon any one particular member for then we can never say she is all fair ye shall see many spots many wrinkles in them but if you look upon the whole Church then she is all Fair that is the compleat body together As any one species the excellency thereof cannot be known by any one Individual as in a horse the best that is though he may excell in one and many things yet he may want something that is excellent in another if he have strength yet he may want comliness if one have comliness he may want swiftness c. but take all together and then you may judge of the species of a horse and so of a man or any other kind it is a vain thing to judge of the perfections of a man by any one mâ—n one is comely of body another is comely in mind if one be diligent another is wise so if you look upon the whole kind of man and the excellencies of all men put together I say look upon him outwardly inwardly then you must needs say he is a glorious Creature a rare workmanpiece So O Lord Christ wherewilt thou shew us where shall we find that beautiful one thou speakest of that is Altogether fair that is Tota pulchraces amica mea if we look upon any one Member but take the religion of one and the charity of another the zeal of another the faith of another the patience of another and go through the whole body and look upon these as a compleat body and then thou mayest say truly Tota pulchraes amica mea c. There is no spot in thee Thou art all fair my Love And if any one man or member shall claim this beauty to himself except it be as he stands in relation to the body he claims a lye for if ye will claim this Perfection ye must look upon The whole body both all below upon Earth and all that are in Heaven all that ever were and all that are and all that ever shall be and adde to them Christ the head of all then we shall confess that as she requests him not to look upon her as black in any one member so he answers her and acknowledgeth that she is all Fair. This Text then is a request of a fair Lady to her dear espoused Lord whom he hath wasâ—t and purified with his own blood I hope be that is the weakest the meanest in religion will not imagine this Sons to be a Dialogue between two carnal Lovers or as Solomon and his wife complementing together if ye consider them so they are but the eâ—crements of flesh and blood and they shall perish with them But whereto then shall I liken these songs of the Canticles They are like those three Tabernâ—cleâ— that the Disciples would have made when Christ was transfigured one for Moses one for Elias and one for Christ. 1 One for Moses and for his Law that is for the legal and civil life 2 The second Tabernacle is like the Book of Ecclesiasâ—es and the Proverbs leading a man above this life when it condemns this civil legal life reprehending whatsoever is in man as man as wisdom strength power and what ever power there is in him to act and to bring any thing to pass 3 But the third Tabernacle may well be called The Holy of Holies and such is this namely this Book of the Canticles Here Christ answers his Spouse familiarly face to face even in the silence of thunder as it is in Psal. 81. 7. there he calls it the silence of thunder and yet what is more â—ud then thunder the meaning is that to that soul to whom God speaks it is as loud to him as thunder but to them that stand by it is silence and secret wispering because they hear not the voyce of Christ. Beloved this Book is a Mystical Divine High-flown Book the things herein contained are not fit for every ear to hear lest the dead Flie as Solomon saith corrupt this precious oyntment Let the flesh abuse it and turn it to fleshly liberty and for this end the Jews would not suffer their children to read this Book lest the wantonness of flesh should make them abuse it but I hope well of you that you are better instructed so that you will not abuse this Scripture to your own destruction as the Apostle saith Charity bids me judge the best I go on propound them as to the immaculate Spouse of her dear Lord. Ye may observe in the words yet rather for memory then order sake four things 1 The first is her Request Tell me she is in a doubt and cannot be satisfied therefore she desires to be taught 2 The Adjuration or the Poise or weight she hangs upon her request it is not slight weak cold or perfunctory but she is violent in her request follows him with strong arguments Oh thou whom my soul loveth she offers violence to the Kingdom of God to say the truth she doth as it were commit a Rape upon the Kingdome of God 3 The Matter of her Request and that is double she would know where he feeds where he rests at noon 4 The Reason of all this why she would be taught where he rests and where he feeds for why should I be as those that
claudo because it is kept secret sacrâ—d and shut up because in all Mysteries t is necessary to keep close the mind and not to shew the things which are to be concealed as one saith for as St. Paul saith concerning Circumcision Rom. 2. 28 29. He is not a lew which is one outwardly neither is that circumcision which is that of the flesh but he is a Iew which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God So say I of saving knowledge He that sees the Mystery of the Scripture he hath the true knowledge of the Scripture He is not taught of God that knows only the Letter and the Flesh of the Scripture but true understanding is that of the Spirit and not of the Letter and though men may â—ry up and praise literal knowledge yet God onely esteems of inward knowledge the mind and inside of the Scriptures All other knowledge is vain and maketh a man not one hairs breadth the better before God Therefore we may observe also what Ministers the Apostle preferres not the Ministers of the Letter but the Ministers of the New Testament as in that of 2. Cor. 3. 6. Able Ministers not of the Letter but of the Spirit And those also to be true Christians having not the Law onely outwardly in tables of stone but within in the fleshy tables of the heart he having made us able Ministers of the New Testament not of the Letter but of the Spirit for the Letter killeth but the Spirit giveth life all the knowledge of the history is but as the Law written in Tables of stone which doth us no good but it is onely the Spirit the knowledge of the Mystery And Marrow That giveth life But you will say to me How doth the Letter kill I Answer By resting therein and not seeking for the marrow the food and the life but contenting our selves with the knowledge of the History and outside but because I have at other times unfolded this unto you I shall here pass it by and come to the Spirit and Mystery of our Text in hand So then it resteth This premised being That we may safely conclude even thus much that as our Saviour was typisied by others who went before him he was the Substance of all those Shadows both of persons and things even so Christ Jesus himself he is the resemblance and type of himself his outward temporal and visible actions in the flesh were a type of his inward and internall actions in the souls of all Believers He being their life and Resurrection they being before but dead men in Trespasses and sins untill his actions be their life and Regeneration So likewise as his life was Typical and resembled himself so in regard of his death and crucifying whatever he suffered externally in the flesh it shews how he is internally crucifyed daily even to the end of the world Heb. 6. 6. Seeing they crucifie to themselves the Son of God a fresh and put him to an open shame So likewise for all his other actions and passages related of him as his Nativity it held out our spiritual birth and Christ his being born in the soul as the Apostle expresseth it Gal. 4. 19. My beloved of whom I travel in birth till Christ be formed or brought forth in you So also in his Circumcision is held forth our Spiritual Circumcision as in that of Col. 2 11. Ye are compleat in him in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ c. So also for holiness of life Christs holiness shew us what holiness shall be in them that are his children and people Mat. 5. 16. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in Heaven So also for his outward Teaching it represents to us that all His people should be taught of God he himself would be the true Teacher in us as Isa. 54. 13. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of thy children And Jer. 31. 34. And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother saying Know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least to the greatest saith the Lord. And Christ himself cites these places Iohn 6. 45. It is written in the Prophets And they shall all be taught of God every man therefore that hath heard and learned of the father cometh unto me So also in Christs Miracles as in opening the eyes of the blind it shews that Christ himself must open our eyes or else we remaine stark blind yea as those born blind And never any man but he was known to open the eyes of any born blind David saith Psal. 13. 3. Lighten thou mine eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death And Psal. 18. 28. For thou wilt light my Candle The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness So also in opening the ears of the deaf it is he alone can say to our ears Ephathah be ye opened it is so So also for his restoring of limbs causing those that are Cripples from their Mothers womb to leap like an Hart and to run his wayes with delight The like also for his raising the dead and feeding the Multitudes And what shall I say more you may apply them more to your selves The time would fail me to undertake to speak of all his actions So also of his Resurrection If ye be risen with Christ seek those things which are above Col. 3. 2. And so of his Ascension and all other his Actions and Miracles to see all these things held forth and typiâ—ied in the Person Actions and Miracles of our Saviour These are all Saving actions wrought in us and we thereby partake of the excellency and vertue thereof The other though wrought for us yet if we are not quickned vivified and put into act by these we receive no benefit by them An outward dead faith to believe onely in an external Christ is no better then a faith of Devils This is that Christ whose day Abraham saw and rejoced in Joh. 8. 56. and not in regard of the other onely viz. Prophetically but this chiefly This is that Christ and him crucified whom St. Paul desire onely to know 1 Cor. 2. 2. in regard of which Christ in him working acting and expressing his own life himself in him he slighted the external knowledge of Christ according to the flesh 1 Cor. 5. 16. Wherefore henceforth know no wan after the flesh yea though we have known Christ after the flesh yet henceforth know we him no more Now then as all the other actions and passions of Christ were not onely meritorious in themselves
Iacob as it seemeth being gone from his Fathers house and travelling all alone had many sad thoughts he knew not what to do nor what entertainment he should have where he went and it was a long journey and Iacob was to go from his Fathers house where he had been brought up in the knowledge of God and was to go among Heathen Idolaters These thoughts much perplexing Iacob at night in the open field laying his head upon a heap of stones he fell asleep dreamed This Dream which whatever it seems to be in the History In the mind and meaning of God it was the fittest that could have been revealed to him Behold saith the Lord v. 15. I am with thee and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest I will not leave thee And Iacob being taught by God and not by his own wisdom presently makes the right use of it Thought he I had thought that I had left God behind me In my Fathers house onely but I see God goes along with me God is in this place and I was not aware Had I been aware God had been with me all this while and that where ever I go he is still with me I would not have been afraid Now What shall I fear Seeing God is with me in all my Iourney and where ever I am What need I be careful To see God Thus Really present with a man what will he nay what can he be afraid of though there were a thousand deaths before him God being so near a man And to see and believe this really it would make him not afraid though he were to enter into a Sea of molten lead who would be afraid if God were thus present with him to back him to defend to preserve to protect and to encourage him as here he was with Iacob It s no marvel Paul went thorow al so bravely having such a one to back him Now Iacob whatever he thought when he left his Father and knew not what should become of him nor whether he should go nor where he should stay Now all these thoughts are vanished for now He sees God is with him whereever he is withal the Creatures he meets with And that they can neither do me good or Hurt Except He Order it Then also thought he He being so near me I am sure all my prayers shall reach him and he knows all my wants And what hath Iacob lost now He hath forsaken father and mother and house and home he hath bidden them all Farewel and now he hath God instead of All who I am sure will suffer me to want nothing and he is able and willing to relieve me He was with me yesterday and I saw him not and he is with me to day and will be to morrow and for ever And so I say of this vision of Moses this vision that he had here of Christ for it is no other Whatever it seems to be To him at this time it was the suitablest and the fittest that could be revealed to him For Moses was to be sent to Pharaoh a great King and He was but a Shepherd such a one as was An abomination to the Egyptians Gen. 46. 34. And besides He was an Exile a banished man out of Egypt for he was fain to fly thence for killing a man and being come thither again he might be questioned for his life for Pharaoh sought to slay Him for that very thing And besides all this he went to intreat for almost half the people of his land to depart from him and they must carry all their goods and all their substance with them all their cattel and all their jewels they would not leave a Hoof behind And besides all the Kingdom depended upon their making of bricks therefore no wonder though Moses made so many objections as he did no marvel he asks Who am I that I should do this thing Who would have thought it possible for Him To have brought it to pass The thing was of such admiration and attended with so many difficulties And the vision was The Wonder which made Moses turn aside to see it Not that the Bush Burned for oftentimes Trees in a violent wind standing close together have been known by rubbing and rushing together to fall on fire and by many other occasions but in that it Burned and was not Burnt Therein was the Miracle Who ever saw Trees on fire and not consume who ever saw a forrest on fire a whole day and the wood not burnt Now I say This represented Christ so fitly so oppertunely on this occasion as could possibly be It may be you may say unto me This was a great miracle but I see no great matter in it for this occasion But though you see nothing yet Moses saw enough in it to bear up his mind against all those weighty objections I before named You will say it may be 'T is true in the sequel of the story God fitted Moses with miracles for to bring about this great work 'T is true the Egyptians had ten miracles and the Israelites Three and here Moses but One but This One Miracle had such strength in it that it perswaded Moses The work was possible But wherein was the strength of this argument unto Moses Suppose I could not tell you Suppose God had not Revealed it unto me what would you do But Be not careful God will Expound and Reveal it to us He that taught Moses the Text Taught him the Comment and the meaning Nay He that was the Text was the Comment to him The Text is common to all it is a well that stands open for all to draw water at and men expound every one as they understand but the True Comment is a spring shut up a fountain sealed And truly He that wrote the text must give the interpretation or we shall never find it But be not careful God will be merciful to us not onely to shew us the vision in the letter but the meaning thereof and it may be here is some one poor word that will give us light to find it It is here said God appeared to him Out of the midst of the Bush from this word Ouâ— we have a hint of the meaning he appeared to him outwardly by a burning bush but inwardly he taught him the meaning Out of it All visions are Typical and represent and intend something equivalent to the outward representation Having a Reach beyond the External Signe leanding us to the Thing signified It is certain Christ â—esus is He that all Visions tend to HE is the substance of all the Types Shadows Sacrifices HE is the business that the whole world was ever and onely is About or ever shall be He hath been is and shall be the business of all ages in one kinde or other they have been still busied in setting forth HIM to us by all Means and by
when he might have been advanced and made a King he ran away from among them he was Far of another Spirit then is now in the world and alwayes was in the world among the men of the world and no greater sign of a carnal earthly low base spirit then to be alwayes seeking the great things of the world to be tickled and itching after the praises of men to lift up our selves to be some-body in the world to desire to sit above and to trample upon their brethren to have the cap and the knee and yet how many of such men forsooth must be the onely gracious and religious men of this age but you see these are far from the life of Christ As far as the East from the West As far asunder as darkness and light Are these the men that brag of Power and Wisdom and Holiness and yet are thus swallowed up in the world love the praise of men and greetings in the Market and the Highest seats in the Synagogues and the uppermost rooms at feasts Their Phylacteries must be broad and long viz. to be known from other men that they may be bowed to and reverenced of all men Are these the Doctors and Teachers of all others Are these the Disciples and Ministers Christ hath sent out to preach to us the life of Christ by their Doctrine and example Judge ye Beloved ye must know that all Christs actions which were imitable while he was here upon earth they were symbolical they shew that he is yesterday and to day and the same for ever for whatever he did then he did but shew and represent to our senses by external actions what he is still Doing in the souls of men and will be to the end of the world For did he cure diseases in the body he did it to shew us how be cured the diseases of the soul Did he heal the blind and cure the lame cast out Devils dumb Devils and deaf Devils yes yet these do but shew what he doth daily when our mouthes are shut up as to things appertaining to God and his glory his power dispossesses this dumb Devil when our ears are shut up and we can hear nothing but what pleases self and flesh and the carnal man Let the Charmer charm never so wisely now Christs power and wisdom in us dispossesses al of his nature he turns the minstrels out of doors to those deceiving pleasures and allurements of the world that in our crosses make us such deceiving musick he saith Give place and He Himself enters aâ—one and brings us to own and delight in him and in what he administers to us Those actions of his he did then upon the bodies of men do but shew what he doth upon their souls for he then cast out but some Devils not all he healed and cured but some of their diseases not all for that was not the end of his coming for had it been so he would have cast out all Devils as well as some and cured all diseases as well as some but he onely by them did teach our dull capacities which else could not conceive what he did in the soul but by representing the same thing Outwardly even by those things which were most equivalent to them Did he resist the temptations of Satan and so made him depart from him it was to shew that he doth the same in those that are his even by himself in his own person and through his own power in â—hem For whatever actions he did they were done by him onely for a resemblance of his internal workings Did he pray whole nights it doth but shew that his Spirit in us makes continual requests and expressions even with sighs and groans which cannot be expressed Did he come before Pontous Pilate and was accused arraigned whipped buffered mocked and crowned with thorns yea he was and this was to shew how our carnal judgements Arraign him and How we whip him and peirce him by our sins mock and grieve his blessed Spirit Was he nailed to the Cross did he dye and was he put to death by the Jews and was he buried and a stone rolled upon him never to rise again they did so and in these and other his actions lies all our hope and our faith this is our Anchor-hold and our trust and whoever shall deny it let his tongue cleave to the roof of his mouth Yet these were but symbols and representations of our killing of him crucifying and burying of him daily in our souls by our sinâ— by following our own wils and by our Arrogance Pride and selfness and thereby his life is crucified And also it is to shew how we have daily quenched the motions of his blessed spirit so that it lives not in us but the Old Adam the Old man is alive and Christ the New-man is dead within us And so likewise in the rest of his actions Did he â—ise again the third day and triumph over hell and death it shews How this mighty Lion of the Tribe of Iudah hath and will raise up himself and overcome all his enemies and hath and will put them all under his feet in our souls then after he is once arisen he will appears to al the brethren to five hundred brethren at once where-ever Christâ— is risen he will appear and shew himself If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me as he saith Iohn 12. 32. As you know it is the nature of fire to draw all things to ascend upward to its own center so if Christ be risen and ascended in us he will so display his own glories and beauties in us that he will draw all our affections upto him so that we cannot buâ— eagerly and vehemently desire to be like him to draw all our love to the love of him and all our hatred to hate that which he hateth and all our love to love that which he loveth our hate and love joy and grief and all our other affections to be like his Even as fire also endeavours vehemently to make every thing like it self so doth Christ where-ever he comes with his life light and glory Thus you see that what Christ did for a time in the historie the same he still also doth as truly as really and as constantly in the mysterie he did some things visibly to shew that he doth the same things as truly invisibly he did so much as was enough to manifest himself to be Emanuel and that he was God manifested in the flesh And as I said when Christ was ready to leave the earth then he made this boast of himself and never before did he ascribe this power to himself Even so till we are made one with him till we are made like him and till we can sit so loose to the earth that we are with him ready willingly and freely to leave the earth we can never claim this power till
thou art dead to every creature thou canst never make this boast Beloved if you would have power to remove mountains and to offer violence to the Kingdom of heaven then you are to be thus qualified that thou hast experimentally seen and felt in thy own soul how that thy sins have ploughed and made long furrows upon his back as David saith and how you by your sins have quenched the light that is in you and how in thee he is crucified dead and buried and how thou hast drawn grave-stones of custome over him and how you have buried his light resisted and grieved his spirit in you and that you have found him arise in your own souls that you have really seen and felt all these things actually done within you his birth his life his death his resurrection that as his enemits have overcome and crucified him within you so himâ—rise â—rise gloriously and triumphantly within you and that he hath put down all his enemies under his feet In thee insomuch that thou hast heard him and seen him and felt him crying within thy soul Isa. 1. 24. Ha ha I will now arise I will avenge me on my adversaries Now I that was crucified am now risen again so that you see his glory and the love of him triumphing in you so that now thou canst truly say with David Psal. 27. 4. Now I am so far gotten from and forsaken the world and my self that now I desire but one thing and that will I seek after even that thou wouldest give me thy self unite me and make me One with thine own life that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life and visit his Temple You being once come to this pass Really in experience then you also may say All power is given to me in Heaven and Earth for then you are as I may say within an inch of being swallowed up into God and then are you ready to leave the earth and all things therein for this man he is become one spirit with the Lord And if we be one spirit as Chriâ—ts prayer hath purchafed Ioh. 17. 21. That they may be one as thou and I are one that thou mayest be in me and I in them and they in me that the world may believe that thou hast sent me if it be so then Christ himself lives in us and all our words are the words of Christ we have no thoughts but the thoughts of Christ we have no life but Christ lives in us as the Apostle saith I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me And then also as the Apostle again saith and so may you say All is yours and not before Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or things present or things to come all are yours and you are Christs and Christ is Gods You being come to this as you may claim a right to all things so you may claim a Power over all things for you are already set down in Heavenly places with Christ himself in the very glory of God the Father who is blessed for ever But yet many there be that wil claim this right and appropriate to themselves this power and life when alas they are farre from it they will assume and presume that this is their condition when indeed and in truth Christ and his life is as yet buried in them He is not risen in them he hath not conquered nor gotten victory over his enemies but he is still crucified and made to serve their sins and their lusts Self-will and pride and arrogancy and vain boasting is still alive in them he hath not as yet Avenged himself on his enemies But pride and covetousnes and love of the world and praise of men these things live in them still and Christ is dead and so much the more dead and crucified in as much as they glory of that which is not conceiving Christ is theirs when as all their wayes are contrary to him and yet they conceive themselves made One with him when as it were far better they had a true sight of their opposition and contrariety to him And therefore thou must know thou art but an usurper to claim this power and right to all things in which thou hast no part For when a man is come to that life we formerly spake of then he is made Lord of the earth and hath then Real dominion over all the Creatures And made little lower then the Angels as it is exprest in Psal. 8. Then thou belongest to and art one with him who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords though you see it not A supposition of two drops reasoning together As suppose two Drops apart from the Sea should Reason together and the one should say to the other Whence are we canst thou conceive whence we are either whence we come or to whom we belong or whither we shall go something we are but what will in a short time become of us canst thou tell And the other Drop should ansâ—wer Alas poor fellow-drop be assured we are Nothing for the Sun may arise and draw us up and scatter us and so bring us to nothing Says the other again Suppose it do for all that yet we are we have a Being we are Something Why what are we saith the other Why Brother Drop dost thou not know we even we as smal contemptible as we are in our selves yet we are members of the sea Poor Drops though we be yet let us not be discouraged we belong to the vast Ocean How saith the other we belong to the sea to the Ocean how can that be We have heard of the mighty greatness of the Ocean we have heard that there is the huge Leviathan that sports himself there who is so great and terrible he feareth none whose heart is as firm as a stone and as hard as a piece of the â—ether milstone the mighty are afraid before him who feareth not the spear nor the dart nor the Habergeon who esteemeth iron as straw and brass as rotten wood the arrow cannot make him flee-darts are as stubble and he laugheth at the shaking of the spear who maketh the deeps to boyl like a pot and maketh the sea like a pot of ointment so that he maketh a hoary path to shine after him and upon earth there is not his like What that we are of the Sea how can it be We have heard the Sea is great and wide Wherein also are things creeping innumerable both small and great beasts there is that Leviathan who is made to play and sport therein and they that go down into the sea in ships and do their business in great waters they see the wonders of the Lord in the deeps there are the huge roaring waves that mount them up to heaven and suddenly they fall down into the depths and their souls melt because of trouble and those great
glorious and beautiful yet Christ is crucified and Self is alive and set in the Throne As David saith Up Lord why sleepest thou Avenge us on our adversaries God is asleep in men till this work be brought about in them and again Arise O Lord exalt thy self above the Heathen Till thou Till thy self be brought down the Heathen are exalted and Jesus Christ is trampled down as the heathen in old time typically got the upper hand and took possession of the Land and the fair houses of God and banished and carried captive the people of God kept them under made them tributary and overrun the Land Even so are those very things accomplished in us when lust and sin commands and bear rule and over-run the soul like locusts which are the very locusts of the bottomless pit Which also are ANTICHRIST and they keep him under and daily crucifie him that is crucifie his life in us And these are those enemies we continually ought to make war with and hate and pray against these are that Meroz that we ought to curse bitterly as the Angel commands and not men nor any thing which God hath made for all creatures As they are made by God are good very good but the seed of the Serpent we must war with and persecute Even to the very death and nothing else These things Brethren we ought still to find in our own experience Not onely to hear and read the history of them as done in and by others but to see and feel how they are really accomplished in our selves for except we see This fighting and resisting accomplished in us except we have found the strong man bound in us and felt those fightings and resistings that he makes till he be bound and overcome we are yet in our sins Strangers possess the Land and the Temple of God lies waste and the enemies of God roar in the midst of the Congregations and they set up their Ensigns for signs and break down the carved work with axes and hammers Could we but see all these things in our selves then we might be sure that Light was approching to us And if This Light were but set upon a candlestick then it would give light round the house and we should discover these things more and more but till then the lights is hid under a bed or under a bushel as our Saviour saith And if we have not found these things in our selves we have not been so much as in the way to union with Jesus Christ but having found it we have cause infinitely to rejoyce for then Those Masters and Lords that formerly commanded thee now thou shalt command them and they shall obey then thou shalt find that he hath in thee broken the gates of brass and cut the bars of iron in sunder Psal. 107. 16. thou through him shalt have power now to rectifie thy understanding thy will thy affections to rule and govern them As a King because Christ is exalted as King in thy soul then thou shalt be taught of God and shalt receive An unction from that holy one and thou shalt know all things In our selves indeed and in our own strength we can do nothing but by the power of Christ and by his strength in us we shall be More then Conquerours and we shall find these words true to our selves that our Saviour here saith All power is given to me in heaven and in earth you shall feel it true in your selves for you being united and made one with him you shall so derive his power to your selves that you may say All power is given to me in heaven and earth then you shall come to see such things as never eye saw nor ear heard nor ever entred into the heart of man things unutterable For till this comes to pass within you you shall never see the new heavens and the new earth so often promised in the Scriptures not till then shall we ever see the day that old things shall pass away and all things shall become new as it is exprest Rev. 21. 4. Then is the day come that God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes And thou shalt heare Christ himself in thee proclaiming Behold I make all things new Then shalt thou have power over the earth then also art thou that blessed Meek one spoken of Mat. 5. That shalt inherit the earth then shalt thou have power to meet thy Saviour Prepared And adorned as a bride to meet the bridgroom at his coming then indeed shall all those spiritual promises be fulfilled and accomplished in thee And all this by being risen again and united to thy Bridegroom Jesus Christ. And the way to this life is by being dead to the world and dead to the flesh the world being crucified to us and we to the world I le tell thee such a pass thou art now come to that as thou stinkest to the world so the world stinks to thee As all things are ready to forsake thee so thou art as ready to forsake them so that thou beginnest to see no excellency in any thing the world presents to thee no not in PROPRIETY which the whole world yea generally al esteem so highly of and are of all things lothest to forgo I say to this man even propriety begins to dye to him and he to it It departs from us and we depart from the love of propriety or with affection laying claim to any thing in the world but having it as having it not as 1 Cor. 7. That both they that have wives be as though they had none and they that weep as though they wept not and they that rejoyce as though they rejoyced not and they that buy as though they possessed not and they that use this world as not abusing it for all the fashion of this world passeth away This man is an a man dead and clean cast out of sight as David saith clean out of mind he is as a bubble that no body sets by but yet be contented hâ—ppy yea thrice happy are those men that are come to this to be dead men You know dead men are not affected with any thing dead men lay no claim to any thing dead men cannot so much as say This is I they esteem not of themselves they boast not of themselves praise and dispraise is all one to them they can let men do what they will with them they are all at one pass they claim no interest no propriety in any thing let them be merry while he lies by or let them be sad all is one to him let them be sharers of his goods One will have one part and another another part let them make merry and spend lavishly of His goods He is not moved why The reason is because he hath lost all his SENCES in this world his life is gone he is a dead man Beloved This was the condition
the same is the Snare Poyson and Death of all Natural men Therefore As All Works before Faith and Regeneration are Sin and Unclean so also To Read the Scriptures to praise God to fast pray and the like and not onely to torture and kill men or to steal and the like for seeing that whatsoever is not of faith is sin and to the Unclean nothing is Clean but they are Reprobate to every good work It must needs follow that all their Seemingly good life exercises and vertues are sin and nothing but dissimulation So God doth often in Scripture reject the Fasts Holidays Sacrifices Prayers Praises Preachings Gifts and Charitable Deeds of the Pharisees as well as the known and gross impieties of the Publicans the wicked words of men and their Violences Usuries Murthers Adulteries Thefts c. Therefore is Regeneration Principally necessary before which All things are alike sin whatsoever thou canst Think Speak Do leave Undone Read Hear Write Give Love Worship Will Know Have or Be for as to them that Love God all things are to their Good so to them that love the world all things are to their Evil yea God himself is to them Perverse contrary and a Devil and his True word is to them hateful and deadly for it is meet that to the froward all things should fall out Untowardly and to them that are Contrary to God all things should be Cross wherefore as they are not Enough so they are not alwayes good those Sayings Fast Pray Give to the Poor Read the Scriptures c. But these before all things Be Regenerated and Born Again of God and his word and then Thou wilt be Fit to do All things which that New-birth will teach thee which Cannot Sin and whatever thy hand shall find to do thou shalt do it Well for God will be present with thee for then thou being Iust shalt do Iust things It is not enough to do a thing but to do it Well else better be idle and leave doing By this means the good deeds which good men do are not rejected but onely the shew and feigning of good deeds which that Herd of Apes do imitate It were expedient indeed to read and hear all things if a man knew how to read or hear but few there are that have the Art of God to hear and read his word and far fewer that can so pierce into this Thorny-thicket that they be not rent and torn Therefore I will not by these my writings scare any man from any right Art of writing learning or reading but do admonish all men to see they use and do all things rightly and first of all in the word of God to grow Fools and Infants and then at the length we shall know how to read do and Use all things profitably and then we may safely Philosophize even in the writings of the Gentiles or any others and like Natural Birds fly among all the boughs and branches not taken whereas before we could not safely be conversant no not in the Sacred Scriptures themselves without eating Death from God and his word Briefly by this you may See the conclusion of the whole business And be it thus determined Onely the Pious and Regenerate man can and doth use All things Well and with pleasure and profit read all Arts and all Heathen Books to him there can be nothing Prohibited or Corrupt He is a certain clean Bee upon what thing soever He Sits He sucks from it meer Honey and Life yea even from Death and Sin Again the old and Natural man which in Scripture is called flesh and blood can use nothing at all well and to him all Arts and all the Nature of things nay the very Scriptures and God Himself and His Word do bring Death and Evil He can neither Do nor Read nor Know any thing Profitably or Pleasing to God He is Abuse and Poyson it self and an Unclean Spider which Siâ— where it will sucks nothing thence but Poyson Sin Death even out of the Scriptures themselves Out of things Well done out of God and His word So it comes to pass that to the wicked all things are deadly and forbidden such as are good deeds to make or hear Sermons to read the Scriptures to do good to the poor to pray to fast and such like as is before said for to the unclean all things are unclean and hurtful so that it cannot be but the things that to the Good are profitable shall be to them Unclean and deadly Briefly the good man in point of God is never at rest till being Entred into God He have lost his own Pleasure Will Act yea Himself and all His things in God so that wanting Sense Will Desire He doth now as the word requires at his hands Covet nothing so that now God in him freely Wills Knows Desires Doth leaves Undone How What Why and to whom he pleaseth Summarily In such a man God hath freely his Will Kingdom Pleasure Place so that he is not now The man he was but is as A dead man who attributes nothing to himself yea so far that God is in him All things God in him Loves Reads Writes Preacheth Gives Prays Hears Knows and is All things and therefore it is that the great God hath determined to Crown own or Reward Nothing in us but His own work the rest which himself in us doth not Know Read Write Do leave Undone Speak Preach Hear Think are Sin and therefore saith St. Paul Now live not I but Christ liveth in me And I dare not Do nor Say anything which Christ doth not Say or Do in me To this Iudge let every man refer all his life he shall then soon find in what estate all his Affairs are and to whose Service he hath addicted himself and offered his members as a living sacrifice Let him observe himself and understand who it is that worketh in him And That he to whom he liveth and beareth fruit His Servant he is Now the fruits of the two Masters are reckoned up in the Epistle to Gal. 5. 22. The fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance c. against such there is no Law and they that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit c. I would be glad with all my heart if by the help of God I might have so much power as to drive all natural men from their good Deeds Actions Omissions Life Arts Reading Writings and the rest unto God the True Sabbath that lacking both hands and feet and utterly void of will Art Desire they might keep Holy-day from their own works Truly then God which otherwise goeth not forth in our strength would go forth in them with great strength for indeed God must and will go forth and the time is at hand that the heavens must keep Holy day as it is in that
being life and a quickning spirit they are dead and sluggish And men may be full of Notions and Literal knowledge and yet have no power The Letter it suffers men to be dead idle sluggish as to the Life of Regeneration and the power of godliness The Letter never binds The strong man it never conquers the will and a mans Own Self it never makes a man to deny the World To rejoyce in the Cross To sell all and follow Christ. If the letters or the Grammatical sense were the word of God Christ would never have so often condemned and expressed so many woes against the Scribes and Pharisees for who took moe pains in them then they who had them or observed them outwardly more exactly and for That The people had them in High Honour and great Esteem yet Christ He condemns all their knowledge learning holiness parts c. for they sought not after the minde of Christ in them if they had known the Word of God they would have known him who was The Word If the Literal Scriptures were the Word of God why doth the holy Ghost so often say He that hath ears to hear let him hear And why doth the Prophet Esay say That hearing they may hear and not understand and seeing they might see and not perceive make the heart of this people fat their ears dull and their eyes heavy lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and I should heal them This is spoken not in regard of those that are ignorant but of those that are very knowing and very much conceited of their much knowing and yet their knowledge and gifts and Precise Holiness according to the Letter is but a stumbling-block and an occasion of their falling death and destruction and Thus to know all things is but to be ignorant of all things And God accounts these knowing men among the number of those the world accounts The onely Prophane and he esteems them farther off the Kingdom of God Then Theeves and Harlots and saith That these shall go into the Kingdom of Heaven before them and therefore Christ himself sooner conversed with Publicans and Harlots and preferred them still before them as knowing there was more hope to work upon them then upon these Great Conceited puffed up Professors And therefore I have the more and the larger insisted upon this that if it were possible These men might come to know the Truth and so themselves that they might be saved Thus to understand the Scriptures is that which the Scriptures call Eternal liâ—e and That good part which Mary hath chosen this is to â—at Christ to believe to put on the new Man to be regenerate to be born again to live to the Spirit to be baptized to receive the Word to be ingrafted into Christ and the like The other Carnal Knowers they reach none of these things though they think they are possest of them and enjoy them but Even from this very knowledge and holiness they eat death and this is that forbidden tree of good and evil From whence they Enquire much after knowledge and Aime to be Like God and so live for ever and this is nothing but the Seed of the Serpent in our hearts whereby these men much admire themselves and kiss their own hands that is they much set up their own wills their own wisdom and their own carnal reason and cover themselves with fig-leaves as Adam did whereby also they are come to that pass that as I said before they are ready to teach God knowledge and To bring God to School to them and to prescribe and direct him what he shall do in the world and how he shall govern according to their wills and their prayers The word of God is Pure High Holy Heavenly Powerful Reviving Quickning Spirituallizing But the Letter is not onely dead in all these regards But killing and destructive in that sense formerly exprest If you live and dye with this word I mean the letter of the word and the Grammatical External sense which These men call the word of God All is nothing If you have it exactly by heart that you have it as ready at your fingers ends to apply it to all occasions as the Devil himself yet this can be no service of God this is but bodily labour and bodily exercise as the Apostle calls it which profiteth nothing this is but the flesh this is but mans teaching the Spirit of it The WORD of God Debir you never yet found But yet as I said let us not say If the Spirit be all then what do we with the Letter Let us then cast it away No no by no means the letter is of use to regulate the flesh and the outward man in bodily exercises But I say it reaches not the inward man and the heart That must be That bread which the Father giveth which comes down from Heaven Neither Moses nor the knowledge of the whole Law and of all the Scriptures can give us That bread as Christ saith Iohn 6. 32 33. Verily verily Moses gave them not that bread from heaven but my Father giveth you the bread from heaven for the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life to the world And besides as I said As the spirit of a man you cannot have without the body Nor you cannot have the Oyster without the shell so neither can you have these mysteries these Allegories without the flesh without the shell without Excrements that is without the letter of the word for we being of a dull low corporeâ—â— substance must have these high divine sublime things brought to us in such vessels and represented by such things as we understand feel hear and see and so come to know them We are not able to conceive of the spiritual meaning and Gods mind without something represented and pâ—oposed suitable to our Element to our language to our sphere to our condition something bodily must be presented that we may conceive of that which is in the same proportion done in us spiritually And therefore this is that I advise still Be sure still To maintain the letter of the word Undefiled Untouched Uncorrupted And let his tongue cleave to and for ever Rot in his mouth That goes about to abrogate the Letter for without the letter you cannot have the Spirit even as we cannot have Meat and Nutriment but you must have necessarily dung and excrements and if you cast away the Excrements you cast away The Meat with it Not that the Letter is dung and excrement as of it self or killing or dead but occasionally made so to us and to all those who crack it not smite it not and so suck not life but death from it Therefore it is said My heart or a Good heart a Caleb must set us a work and an Othniel must smiâ—e it for you
see what fruits follow any other smiting The heart that seeks liberty to it self it abuses the Scriptures It comes in privily to spie out our liberty that it may be an occasion to the flesh I say a Caleb must smite this City and not a heart that seeks for liberty to satisfie its own will and its own desires for such Smiters there be too many that would cast away the Letter of the Word They would have no Law to rule or curb them but this is not a good Hearts A Calebs or an Othniels smiting But to it I say viz. to this Good Heart Let it smite the Letter and spare not nay I counsel ye Take it and Tear it And Rend it all to pieces as we do meat else ye get no nourishment for in the Letter lies the nourishment hid there is no getting out the Nourishment and vertue without we do as it were Tear it with our teeth and Chew upon it to get out all the vertue As cleane Beasts Chew The Cud and that by a power given from above and the more we can tear it and chew it in that sense the more and the better nourishment it gives Nor do I bid you do it as of your selves by your own power but by the wisdom and power of God who will enable you to find the Treasure if you dig for wisdom as for gold And search for it as for Hid Treasures With a resolved heart To dig for truth for truths sake and not for self and for sinister ends and advantages but out of love to truth thus I say let a good heart use the Letter of the word and spare not Take it Strike it Smite it Tear it all to pieces not because he hates the Letter but as men do by meat they tear it champ it chew it between their teeth not because they hate meat but because they would get all the nourishment out they possibly can Beloved in this manner Strike Kiriathsepher In the Name of God and the Almighty prosper ye Go on and the Lord of heaven give you good success that he may enable you to get out Those pure waters of life proceeding from the Throne of God and of the Lamb That Hidden Manna that may nourish you to Everlasting life that ye may have that Treasure that Pearl hid in the field that white stone and that New Name that ye may be enriched with gold purified seven times as David in that 12. Psalm sayes the Woâ—d of God is Do you think he means the Letter No no but That thou mayest have That white raiment to cover they nakedness and that eye-salve to anoint thine eyes that thou mayest see then also art thou Him that overcometh to whom it shall be given to sit with him in his Throne even as he also overcame and is set down in his Fathers Throne Then shall ye come to be marryed to Achsah Calebs daughter Then shall Othniel Gods fit time or opportunity give you possession of this City Kiriathsepher that it may be unto you The Word of God That the Vail being Rent you may look within and see the glory of the Holie of Holies and that you may behold The Beauty of the Lord and may visit His Temple and there fall down and worship and desire there to be for ever and for ever AMEN Shadows vanishing SOME Rays of Glory appearing The two last SERMONS on JOSH. 15. v. 16 17. And Caleâ— said he that smiteth Kiriathsepher and taketh it to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife And Othniel the son of Kenaz the brother of Caleb took it and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife THE last Sabbath I told you that part of this Chapter was as the One Cherâ—b and that in 2 Cor. 3. was as the other Cherub which as the two Cherubims lookt directly face to face to each other so doth this Chapter look forward to that and that turns it self and looks face to face upon this that is the One is the interpretation of the Other and you may remember as a Prologâ—e to our Text we gave you a brief Epitome of the History of Moses his sending the twelve Spies to discover and view the Land of Canaan whereof Ioshua and Caleb were two of the twelve and they bring news of the goodness of the Land with the other Ten which Ten All but Caleb and Ioshua they brought up an Evil report though they All confessed the Land was Excellent and good and abounded in plenty of all things flowing with milk and honey yet they said it was impossible to get it or conquer it for the men were mighty sons of Anack Giants and the walls Thick and high The people hearing this began to murmur Then Caleb and Ioshua standing up they clear the slander and encourage the people and for this confidence and saith of theirs they two onely entred the Land all the rest being about Six hundred thousand that murmured died in the Wilderness and not one entred the Land And as we related the History we raised some observations and endeavoured to bring the History home to our selves and shewed how these things were daily in fulfilling spiritually and really within us Then we came to our Text where I also told you that this Text as I have now read it It is Hebrew and reading it but as it is printed is still Hebrew But as I then told you we may not nor will not deny the Truth of the History and of the Letter but we must take heed we rest not in the Story and go no further for the Word of God Endureth for ever There is a secret in the whole Letter of the Word which lasts to Eternity which is accomplished not onely in that time and of that man of whom it is written but fulfilled as well and as Really in all times in all ages in all men ever after and before As Ambrose said of Ahab and Nabal These Histories are old in time but new in practise for there are many such persecuting Ahabs and many such churlish Nabals So may I say of this History and the rest of the Scriptures Old in time but ordinary in use To this very day Caleb proclaims Whosoever shall smite Kiriathsepher and take it he shall have Achsah his daughter to wife This was done Once in the Letter but Ever doing in the Spirit for the world of God lasts for ever as David saith Thy Word O Lord endureth for ever Often in the 119. Psalm and elsewhere They are such things as not onely instruct one age one season but every age and every season that follow it The meaning and the mind of God we must look at and not to the bare History hear what the Apostle Paul saith Bodily exercise profiteth nothing or rather hear it from our Saviours own mouth The flesh profiteth nothing but the Spirit giveth life Caleb here signifieth A good 〈…〉 or the City of