Nothing can quencle kill or separate this love 132. Christ loves where it is is in the heart and spirit with all our souls strength and might 134. The five things that are excellent in this love of the Spouse called the soul love 135. The strong grounds of the souls love to God when as Gods love is such to us and much more abundant also 139 The Soul that loves Christ desires to live with him 141. The Soul that loves Christ desires to live upon him feed on him 142. The Soul that loves Christ will as he lives 143. They love if they live 144. If we love Christ we shall love the flock of Christ. Ibid. Christ and his flocke are together 145. The flock of Christ hath a place to lie down in 146. Satan hath his flock also Ibid. Though we we know not many things yet we are fair 147 Who is like to thee O Israel for fairness and beauty 148. Thy cheeks neck and feet comely all over 149. The exceeding great beauty and delight that is in the Saints through the Lord their God 150. The Rose and the Lilly and the Apple tree 151. The soul brought from the shadow to the banquetting house the substance 152. And having once tasted of the Lords love she counts flaggons of wine was one love and apples also and not leaves now can comfort a soul 153. The left and right hand of the Lord about us 154. The Lord living by degrees from weakness unto strength in us 155. He will stand no more behind the wall door or the window 156. The Lord calling his love to come away 157. The Lord loves to bring his people out of the clefts of the Rock to see his face 158. The Foxes that spoile the Vines 159. My beloved is mine and I am his 160. The day breaks and the shadows flee away 161. The Soul loving seeking finding holding and never parting 162. The Lords high commendations of his Church and Spouse here in part described 163. There is no spot in her she is all fair yea altogether lovely 165. The sending forth of his Spirit into our hearts to make us to abide in the Lord. 166. The sum of the fifth Chapter of Solomons Song 168. The Lord comes to the breaking of bread and drinking of wine to a feasting in us to eat his supper there 169. The Lord comes to awake us out of sleep 170. The Lord overcomming her heart with love 171. The great wickedness of the Spouse to Christ 172. The transcendent beauty and glory of the Lord Christ the Souls beloved 174. The Queens and Concubines and Virgins without number that praise the Spouse which is but one 176. The beautifull feet of the Kings daughter 177. The Lord sets us as a seale upon his heart the strength of the Lords love to us and ours to him 178. CHAP. XIX The eighteenth Book that God writes in Man is the book of the Prophet Isaiah 180. The two sons and seeds one of Flesh and another of Spirit that is in us Ibid. How the fleshly is eaten up of the spiritual 182. The great Vision which the Prophet saw what it is and what it means 183 The Spirit interpreting the Vision to be in us 185. The stay and the staff of the Creature broken but the stay and the staff of the Lord himself remains for ever 186. The beautifull Branch of the Spirit of the Lord and all the fruits thereof holy 188. The Vineyard of the Lord of Hosts and the men of Judah 190. The second Vision of the Throne and of the Temple and him that sits there 191. The Lord ruling in the midst of his people judging all within and without in righteousnesse 193. Rezin and Remaliah's sons confederacy their tails and evil counsel like fire-brands 195. The waters of Shiloah or the soft and still voice condemned by most and Rezin followed the Law and Testimony where to be found 197. The joy of the Lord and the people that sate in darkenesse and see light and are governed by the Lord himself 198. The proud Assyrian is brought low and Israel to be exalted 200. The peaceable and righteous Kingdom of the Branch and the great encrease therof from the foure corners of the earth 202. The day of the Branch brings joy and thankefulness 204. The destruction of Babylon in us the glory of the earth 205. Israel ruling over her oppressors 206. Moabs destruction also 207. Fat things made lean and high things low Ibid. Egypt Assyria and Israel shall be made one by the Lords blessing 208. The whole Earth dissolving and burning 210. The feast of fat things Ibid. The strong City whose Wall and Bulwarks are Salvation 211 The Leviathan slain 212. Against pride and drunkenness 213. The wise and the fool both alike in the sealed book till the Lord open it 214 The counsel that is not of God perishes 215. Nothing below God any thing 216. Righteousness and Judgment King and Prince 217. Who shall abide the everlasting burning and not be consumed therein Ibid. The wrath of the Lord revealed against earth and heaven 219. What strange things the Lord doth amongst us by his Spirit 220. Sennacheribs and Rabshakehs blasphemies against the servants of the Lord in whom they are comforted 221. How the Spirit of the Lord given to his doth overcome all the evil and blasphemies of the devil and is stronger then he or his 224 How the Lord makes sick and well kills and saves and he is glorified in all he doth 226. Babylons letters and presents to betray us and our treasures into his own Land 227. The Comfort that the Lord comforts his people withal as the fruits of his coming 229. The Worm Jacob made strong 231. What the Lord doth for his Servants Ibid. The sweetness and love of the Spirit of Christ in his 233. The smoaking flax and the bruised reed in us the little measure of the Spirit 234. Flesh is deaf and blinde the Lord seeing all things 235. The blinde and the deaf shall be Gods Witnesses Ibid. I the Lord do all things 236. God not like the golden idols 237. The shame and the nakedness of Babylon 238 I have shewed thee what thy Idols could not 239 The Lord from the womb forms us to be his Servants Ib. Look to our Rock whence we are hewen 241 Thy beautiful Garments 242. Shake thy self from the dust Ibid. The Lord rules over us and speaks in us 243. How beautiful the feet of them that do bring the glad tydings of peace are 244 Thy God reigneth in the Zion of Saints 245 How thy God doth set thee apart and how though thy outward man be vile yet the inward glorious 246. The Arm of the Lord. 247. The plant growing up out of a dry ground with sorrow to the flesh and the world but with joy to the Lord and his Spirit in Saints 248. The Lamb that opens not his mouth but by suffering overcomes 249. Christ makes his grave
flagons comfort me with apples for I am sick with love His left hand is under my head and his right hand doth embrace me This banquetting house makes her so sick of love she is so ravished there with more Glory from the Lord that she cries out More Glory Lord more Grace more Wine more Love whole flagons to quench my thirst I am so tormented with love after me Oh â—tay me with flagons of wine and comfort me with apptes No more shadows now but fruits it is not the sitting under the shadow of the tree but eating the apple this is the pleasant fruit indeed this is Christ and his Spirit For it is not the knowledg of Christ in the flesh can profit us any thing we may sit there long enough but Christ in the Spirit is the fruit that must comfort us O comfort me with this this healing and balm to my sick soul and nothing else SECT XXXII §. 32 The left and right hand of the Lord about us I Charge you O ye daughters of Jerusalem by the Roes and by the Hindes of the field that ye stir not up nor awake my love till he please Here she is at rest in a sweet calm not wounded but comforted not sick but well the Lord is embracing her with both hands Heaven and earth about her Christ and his Spirit with hâ—r Grace and Glory on her these be the two hands left and right embracing her Form and Power And now I am layd at rest and the Lord is at his rest awake him not till he please he is my love stir him not disturb not my peace grieve not my spirit awake not my soul SECT XXXIII §. 33 The Lord living by degrees from weakness unto strength in us THe voyce of my beloved behold he is coming over hils and mountains leaping and skipping The Lord is risen and ascended and comes again he hath absented himself but is now drawing nigh to me he hath hid his face for a moment but with everlasting love will he return unto me he is coming Yet a little while he that should come will come and will not tarry His first coming was in Flesh but his second will be in Power and Spirit His first was low in the Valley dark and obscure his second shall be in brightness every eye shall see him he shall come leaping over the mountains and hills that before concealed him they shall now be all under his feet all this in us SECT XXXIV § 34 He will stand no more behind the wall door or the window THe voyce of my beloved He speaks as he comes the voyce prepares for him My beloved is like a Roe or a young Hart he stands behind the wall looking forth at the window shews himself through the lattess This is the Child Jesus coming and it shews the degrees of his coming growing up still dayly First his voyce comes then he stands at the door and knocks and then he breaks the wall of partition and all the windows glass that he makes use of and the walls also that he stands behind and the windows or ministrations that are more clear he appears in them a while but at last appears nakedly in himself stript of all these robes and sweet attire in the brightnesse of his Spirit which is far best of all and this is our beloved and thus we look for him he is now at the windows SECT XXXV The Lord calling his love to come away §. 35 ARise my love my fair one come away This is through the window also the Lord calling his love out of the window and draws her nigh to himself and not to stand at that distance Arise my love stay not there arise go on come to me my love my fair one come away how do I long for thy possession and to enjoy thee wholy for my self I will prepare the way also for thee The Winter is gone the rain and the cold is over the heart of stone removed the flowers appear in the earth I have put my desire in thee the time of the singing of birds is come and the voyce of the Turtle is heard in our Land My Spirit is singing to thee chanting of thee and my Turtle it mourns for want of thee and I cannot be at rest without thee Arise my love my fair one therefore and come away SECT XXXVI §. 36 The Lord loves to bring his people out of the clefts of the Rock to see his face O My Dove that art in the clefts of the Rock in the secret place of the stairs let me see thy countenance let me hear thy voyce for sweet is thy voyce and thy countenance comely Now the Lord is exalting and raising up his people indeed they that are in the clefts of the Rock in the secret places of the stairs that is such as are yet weak and tender ashamed to come before the Lords presence and see him as he is but as Moses run to the Rock and the clefts of the Rock and there behold him only his back parts but the Lord would have them appear with an open face before him and see face to face the Lord longs to see our countenance and to hear our voyce for its sweet and comely to behold us living in God how doth the Lord delight in the prosperity of his servants SECT XXXVII §. 37 The Foxes that spoil the Vines TAke us the foxes the little foxes that spoil the vines for our vines have tender grapes These foxes are such as Christ speaks of The foxes have holes and the birds of the air nests but the Son of man no where to lay his head These birds and foxes are nothing else but the unclean fowls and the birds of prey and the unclean beasts that lodg in us even in our flesh there they live till the Lord takes them and destroys them not only the great foxes but the little ones also not the least vanity shall be suffered to remain in us for the flesh persecutes the spirit and spoils the vines nay the tender vines the fruits of the Lords Spirit in us for the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh SECT XXXVIII §. 38 My beloved is mine and I am his MY beloved is mine and I am his he feedeth amongst the lillies Now the foxes are gone here is nothing but love and joy My beloved is mine and I am his though the foxes prevailed much yet I thank God through the Lord Jesus Christ by whom I have obtained the victory Here is a community of all things what I have he hath and what he hath I have all things common He was made sin for us that knew no sin that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him This is the ministry of Reconciliation given to us who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ So that as the Apostle saith to the wife her body is not hers but the mans and to the man
the blinde eyes opened the deaf ears unstopped the hard heart mollified the lame to walk and leap the dumb to sing the parched land a pool and the thirsty land springs of water Here among these shall the Lord prepare a way it shall be called The way of holiness no Lion shall be there nor any such beast but the Lambs of the Lord shall walk therein SECT XXXIII Sennacheribs and Rabshakehs blasphemies §. 33 against the servants of the Lord in whom they are comforted SEnnacherib comes with an Army against Jerusalem to besiege and take it Rabshakeh sent to summon it with fair promises to enjoy every one his own and to be brought to as good a land as their own and not to trust in Hezekiah nor his confidence or vain words nor in Egypt a broken reed nor in the Lord for there is no God that can deliver you or your land out of our hands or our King the great King of Assyria for neither Samaria nor her gods nor any other god was able to deliver them out of his hand and if they did refuse and rebel they should eat their own dung and drink their own piss and be afterwards destroyed with the sword for thus saith the great King Now all this is true in the application of it to our selves The world and the flesh or the evil spirit in both Rabshakeh like reviles and speaks evil against the Lord tempting and summoning us bringing an army of evil and strong delusions to ensnare us promising if we will yeeld up all soul and body and all that God hath given us to him falling down and worshipping him we shall have all glory and be like gods and withal telling us many lies that God does not nor can deliver us he sees not neither cares for us saying God hath not said it and as for Hezekiah beleeve him not nor stay your selves in the Lord for I am the God of this world and give honor and glory and riches to them I will be I am exalted on high in these Kingdoms All bow down to me and serve me and they that serve me the god of this world I preserve them and if not I persecute hate destroy kill murther and torment Woe unto them if I am set against them This is the railing Râ—â—shakeh contending for the poor creature and rending it but the servant of the Lord is silent and mourns waiting patiently on the Lord in all things and commits it self wholy to him against all temptations and blasphemies SECT XXXIV How the Spirit of the Lord given to his §. 34 doth overcome all the evil and blasphemies of the devil and is stronger then he or his YEt further when the evil spirit that dwells in us or sent to us from the powers of darkness shall grieve the Spirit of the Lord in his Hezekiahs or servants by high imaginations or abominable blasphemies against the holy Spirit of the Lord in his lifting up it self against the Lord then a greater power of the Spirit of the Lord comes upon us and his Word strengthens us saying Grieve not nor be troubled at the blasphemies of Sennacharib and Rabshakeh those spirits of Satan for I will be with thee and I will let all the Nations of the earth see that I am the Lord God and there is none besides me and that you are my people preserved by my power I will put a bridle in his mouth and my hook in his nose and overcome him and fall backwards and perish in his own land and the Angel of my presence shall fall upon his hoste with the breath of my mouth and slay them all you shall finde in the morning nothing but carcasses this shall they have that rage against the Lord and his Spirit above a hundred thousand nay almost two hundred thousand slain in the field but a remnant of the Lord shall take root downwards now and bear fruit upwards manifold and rejoyce in the Lord of the whole earth And again we see that though an evil spirit of wickedness or blasphemy like the beast in the Revelation may for a while triumph over all and speak great words and do mighty things yet the Spirit of Truth and Glory consumes it all at last SECT XXXV §. 35 How the Lord makes sick and well kills and saves and he is glorified in all he doth THis shews how those whom the Lord loves fall sick through boyls and distempers of flesh the corrupt nature is sickly and perishes and how it all turns to the glorifying of God and the good of the soul as in the 11. of John saith Christ of Lazarus this sickness is not for his death but for the death of sin in the flesh and for his life for the Son of God in him shall be glorified by it and it was so And even so here Hezekiahs life is renewed he dyes after the flesh to this life and state and lives to God after the Spirit dyes to himself to live to God as he saith now shall I live to praise thee Thus the Lord makes us sick and well dead and alive wounds and heals takes and gives after his good pleasure sets all in order the fire the faggot the sacrifice the knife and all the whole sacrifice the whole man with his whole house and it is not to kill the Lamb but the Ram not the Sinner but the Sin and the Lord healed him and defended his City all his with him house and all prolonging their lives giving them a long life even for ever and ever and a signe The Sun returning or going backwards ten degrees which shewed the return and fall of his enemies or the forgiveness of sins and the restauration of souls SECT XXXVI Babylons letters and presents to betray us §. 36 and our treasures into his own Land LEtters and Presents from Babylon and her King Baladan upon Hezekiahs recovering hearing of it pretends joy for it Thus the Flesh lies in wait for the Spirit Antichrist for Christ and the Christian if we recover from falling on the left hand we are presently tempted to fall and err on the right hand Here the Devil is transforming himself into an Angel of light and deceives and betrays us basely pretending to be outwardly for us giving us his letters and presents and is inwardly against us so creeps in unawares and like a serpent subtilly gains upon us undermines us findes and feels our strength and eats and drinks with us and is received into our heart and treasure we being all opened to him nothing in us but made known and yet really know not whence he comes a stranger from a far Country to see us and rejoyce with us but not out of love but envy like them in Pauls days that preached Christ out of envy But the Lord remembers us and findes out all our enemies for us and smites us when we do amiss so that as Hezekiah received these messengers and presents and withal shewed his treasures
ground-work and pillars of truth His countenance is as Lebanon excellent as the Cedars His mouth is most sweet yea he is altogether lovely This is my beloved and this is my friend O ye daughters of Jerusalem This is my boast and glory the Lord. SECT L. §. 50 The Queens and Concubines and Virgins without number that praise the Spouse which is but one IT is good to seek the Lord though alone and in it we may provoke others also to seek him with us God bearing witness to us as they do here What is thy Beloved above our beloveds Nay then if he be so as you speak of and so much goodness in him come we will seek him with thee Come then let 's go to the gardens to the beds of spices he feeds there and gathers lillies we finde him in himself in the midst amongst us there he meets us and we meet him My Beloved is mine and I am his and upon this exchange we are beautiful as Tirzah strong and terrible as an army with banners and yet sweet and comely as Jerusalem Our eyes overcome him Queens Concubines and Virgins without number wait upon thee we are but one in the Lord not many the onely one of our mother and the choyce one of her that bare us The daughters see us and they bless us yea the Queens and the Concubines and they praise us when we look as the morning fair as the Moon clear as the Sun terrible as an army with banners I went down to the garden of nuts in the valleys and before I was aware my Soul was like the Charets of Aminadab SECT LI. §. 51 The beautiful feet of the Kings daughter THe Lord makes our feet beautiful shod with peace and glad tidings like Princes Daughters lively to run the Lords ways made with thighs like jewels by the hands of a cunning workman the Spirit of the Lord yea how fair and how pleasant art thou O love for delights Thy stature in grace and spiritual strength like to a palm tree and thy brests to clusters of grapes give nourishment and abounding with fruits full of the blessings of the Lord and all manner of pleasant fruits new and old layd up for thee in my heart O my beloved SECT LII §. 52 The Lord sets us as a seal upon his heart the strength of the Lords love to us and ours to him THe Lord Christ that was our brother and sucked the brests of the Spirit our mother if I should meet thee I would kiss thee without and not be ashamed my love is so strong to thee I will lead thee into my mothers house and there thou shouldst instruct me and I would drink of the spiced wine prepared for thee of the juice of the pomegranate and whither soever I went I would hear thee my beloved Set me as a seal upon thy heart for love is strong as death jealousie is cruel as the grave the coals thereof are coals of fire which have a most vehement flame Many waters cannot quench love neither can the floods drown it if a man would give all the substance of his house for this love of the Lord it would utterly be contemned We have many little sisters virgins that love the Lord what shall we do for her in the day that she shall be spoken for to be married to the Lamb if she be a wall the Lord will build upon her a palace of silver and if a door she shall be enclosed with boards of Cedars whatsoever she wants shall be compleated Lord we are thy vineyards and the vineyard that is thine is before thee Thou Lord must have a thousand and those that keep the fruit of the vineyard two hundred Thou that dwellest in the vineyards all therein hearken to thy voyce cause me to hear it Make haste my beloved and take me to the mountains of spices and to the hills of frankincense CHAP. XIX The eighteenth Book that God writes in Man is the book of the Prophet ISAIAH SECT I. The two sons and seeds one of Flesh and the §. 1 other of Spirit that is in us THe book of the Prophet Isaiah opened in Man both his Visions and Prophesies from the Lord and first you have the carnal and spiritual seed of the Lord the bastard and the son the child of the Flesh and of the Spirit the son of man and the Son of God held forth The first of these the fleshly seed that serve God after the flesh and call themselves by the name of Israel and the children of the Lord thus saith the Lord ye are not sons but rebels you know me not neither will I know you nor consider you you are a sinful people laden with iniquity I have smitten you and you go worse and worse you are all over corrupt within full of wounds bruises and sores whatsoever you pretend without your head and heart and all is out of order the strangers live in you and devour you and the fire of lusts burn in you and eat you up you are children of Sodom more like then of God And as for your Worship and Sacrifice in multitudes your appearing outwardly and treading in my Courts your new Moons Sabbaths calling and sitting of assemblies and solemn meetings your appointed Feasts and Fasts your spreading forth your hands and making long prayers I abhor it all it 's detestable my soul hates all these and I never required them of you your hearts and hands being full of blood and all kinde of iniquity your silver dross your wine water your Ptinces rebellious and theeves SECT II. §. 2 How the fleshly is eaten up of the spiritual I Will therefore stand up in judgment against you all and consume your dross tin blood and filth ignorance and baseness I will mollifie you and binde you all up together and if sons of the Flesh I will make you sons of God in Spirit you shall not have the image of Sodom but Jerusalem no Hypocrisie but Power I will wash you thorrowly and purge you by my Spirit of judgment and burning that all your iniquity shall pass from before me and no evil pass through any more you shall not be bloody but white as snow I will receive you to favor you shall not rebel any more but altogether willing and obedient if I say do this ye shall do it or that it shall be fulfilled and the sword shall be broken in pieces and there shall be no dross amongst your silver nor water with your wine but all things shall be of God Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and her converts with righteousness and the destruction of transgression and iniquity shall be together and whatsoever forsakes God consumed be it an oak or a garden that hath no water they shall be burnt together and none shall quench them SECT III. The great Vision which the Prophet saw §. 3 what it is and what it means THus much for the Prophesie now for the Vision which the