it was so Awake thou that sleepest and I will give thee life And how is this He is the resurrection and the life thus he that receives power to beleeve in him though he were dead yet shall he live SECT XII §. 12 This teaching will make us perfect THe best have need of his telling none knows so much but he can tell them more and when they think they know something are puffed up they know nothing yet as they ought to know for I may say in very many things we are yet ignorant but we shall not always know in part we shall know as we are known and when that which is perfect is come that which is imperfect is done away and indeed it is God alone can tell us best When none is nigh us he hath a sweet still secret way a voyce behind us telling This is the way this is right and truth That is not Hear him what the Spirit saith SECT XIII Nothing can quench kill or separate §. 13 this love O Thou whom my soul loveth This is a heavenly voyce breathed out by the Spirit a divine flame of love by which it appears how the Spouse was sick of love and nothing but death without his presence And also that all Gods teachings and workings towards his people are all in lone His very Rod and Staff is in love He loveth every Childe whom he correcteth And so the Soul that loves the Lord truly though the Lord kill him yet will he put his trust in the name of the Lord. Such a thing is love that though it wander a while in the wilderness and lose it self yet it will finde out the way nothing can quench it no waters nothing can kill it no death nothing can separate it no torment no defence nothing can diminish it or any way choke it but the thing it lives upon and where it loves there it lives What other argument could the Spouse bring to move God As his love constrains us so will our love to him constrain him draw him and he will run after us fall about our necks and kiss us I remember in the history of Lazarus that Mary and Martha sent to Christ this message Lord he whom thou lovest is sick They thought that was enough he knew well whom they meant and they knew well how much that would prevail upon him to which Christ returns This sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God and so it was His love to Christ made him sick and Christs love to him made him well Therefore saith Mary Lord hadst thou been here my brother had not dyed Christs absence was his death and his presence brings him life SECT XIV §. 14 Christ loves where it is is in the heart and spirit with all our souls strength and might THe love we have to Christ must be with all the soul or else it is not love he will have the whole child or none of the child he is the right mother that bare us he cannot endure to have us divided between God and Mammon he will say to uâ— as he said to Peter Lovest thou me more then these that is more then gold silver lands livings wife children lusts sins gifts or graces men or mâ—ans then it s well if we can return the answer better I mean upon better grounds then he did not from a Confidence in the Flesh but in the Spirit saying Lord thou knowest that I love thee better then all things David could many times say so O how do I love thee Lord above my rest or appointed food O how do I thirst after thee and when shall I appear before the living God And again One thing have I desired of God and that is that I might always live in the house of the Lord. Such a love as is between man and wife they have but one life one love one soul so here is one spirit when it is so rooted in love and stablished in God that nothing can move or shake it it can do all things and endure all things deny it self take up its cross and follow him through fire and water life and death and rejoyce in him in the midst of all fearing nothing as long as he loves them and his love is with them SECT XV. §. 15 The five things that are excellent in this love of the Spouse called the soul love NOw there are five things that shews forth the excellency of this love of the Spouse to Christ that it will deserve the name of a soul love and a sound love The 1. is Where this love is it is a love above all loves whatsoever no other love comparable to it it endures to the end it will bear all things believe all things hope all things and endure all things though other loves fail but this doth not it is of a more excellent Nature from an excellent Principle from a divine Spirit there is no love in the world like it it being transcendent and supernatural Secondly It is a love before all other loves this the best the love that commands all the rest For where the soul is all else is there is mind will and affections it sits at uppermost room hath the highest place in our hearts all the rest bow down to this sheafe to this love here they all cover their faces and pull down their top sails Thirdly This soul love is a love beyond all loves whatsoever beyond the love of husband and wife parents or children beyond the love of other men women brethren or friends nay Angels themselves for all these loves may exceed their bounds and then prove hurtful but let them keep their bounds and then they fall very short of this infinite and exceeding weight of love For though the Lord hath set bounds to Seas and other Creatures nay to men women and children thus far you must love and no further but here are no bounds nor limits to this soul love Love him with all thy soul thy heart thy strength It is a love beyond all love whatsoever it is larger higher deeper longer broader then any love else that made the Apostle cry out and this will if rightly understood make us cry out O the heighth depth bredth length of the love of Saints to the Lord O thou whom my soul loveth Fourthly It is a love without all a naked free pure love not for ends gain or ought else not for any reward or wages as Satan would have accused Job to God to have done saying Doth Job serve God for nought No no Job knows what he doth and knows what he gets by it or else he would never be so serviceable as he is whereas indeed Job served God without all but simply and truly for the Lords sake alone and not his own sake at all this is called a love without all out of love and not of fear to him The fifth and last is To love the Lord in all which is indeed
good though it be not so high excellent as the other for to love God without all as Job did when the Lord stript him as I may say stark naked left him hardly a rag nay almost took his life away besides yet in the midst of this it is said he sinned not but blessed God who giveth and taketh blessed be the Name of the Lord. And again Though thou kill me yet will I put my trust in thee This is a greater degree of love nay a stronger love to love the Lord without all as the Disciples said Lord we have left all and folowed thee There is more of God in this then to love God in all when we have what heart can desire the Lord filling ful our cup every one that hath the smoaking flax can be praising God when they are wel prosper enjoying richly every thing but few in death sickness wars misery want nakedness in the Cross can say Blessed be the Lord. SECT XVI §. 16 The strong grounds of the souls love to God when as Gods love is such to us and much more abundant also ANd is there not much ground for this love with all our souls to God if well and rightly consider First Is it not he first that loves us above all things Heaven Earth Creatures Angels putting all things in subjection to us to make us to have dominion over all The Apostle can tell us He took not upon him the nature of Angels but mans Secondly And is not the Lords love to us with all his soul when he again loves us before all before either Hills or Mountains were brought forth or any world was even from everlasting to everlasting hath he and doth he love us We were the first in mention though the last in execution Thirdly The Lords soul love is beyond all O the heighth depth bredth length of this Love John 3. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life And again Who loved us and washed us from our sins in his Love And again When we were sinners and enemies Christ dyed for the ungodly And again God first loved us and behold what manner of loveit was that we should be called the sons of God Fourthly The Lords Love it is without all without money or money worth Ho ho every one that thirsteth come to the waters and drink come buy wine and milk without money and without price And again When he saw us in our blood he said unto us live then was the time of love Fifthly And his love is within all for all things are beloved and preserved for our sakes and good he blesses all we take in hand goings in and comings out abroad and at home in soul and body being his trees planted by his living waters and always bringing forth his fruits and whatsoever we do he prospers it This is the Lords love to his people and how can they chuse but love him thus then and make him the Beloved of their souls for he alone is worthy for he is sweet gracious holy heavenly wise blessed the fairest amongst ten thousand he is all fair indeed there is no spot in him SECT XVII The Soul that loves Christ desires to live §. 17 with him WHere thou feedest The Soul that loves Christ desires to live no where and no longer then she may live with Christ for her life is hid with God in Christ Jesus She saith as Ruth said As the Lord liveth where thou goest there will I go thy Country shall be my Country thy Friends my Friends thy God my God and nothing but death shall part thee and me And is it not so here with the Spouse and her Beloved as Man and Wife they will live together and not asunder the Woman forsakes Father and Mother and all to be joyned to her Husband So here the Soul is restless till she be with him SECT XVIII §. 18 The Soul that loves Christ desires to live upon him feed on him AGain the Soul that loves Christ desires not only to live with him but to live upon him to feed as he feeds to sit at one table with him in his Kingdom to lie in one bed with him and to fare as he fares to feed upon his dainties his hony and hony-comb his corn wine and oyl to feed upon his love mercy and truth his grace and righteousness to hang upon his lips and Christ Jesus to be his dayly Bread that Manna that comes down from heaven that he that eats thereof shall never hunger more So that his presence and pleasures are its appointed food And again To know and do his will shall be her meat and drink SECT XIX §. 19 The Soul that loves Christ will live as he lives NAy yet further the Soul that loves Christ desires not only to live with him to feed upon him only and nothing else but it farther desires to live as he lives in the same life the same way to live as the Lord lives be it in shame or in honor in mourning or in joy in peace or trouble in want or in abundance in having nothing or in having all things all is one yet herein is their desires perfected in being made like unto him in all things not only in the Cross Death but in his Rising Ascending in the Throne with him in this they rejoyce and are exceeding glad SECT XX. They love if they live §. 20 AGain they that love Christ thus they live no longer then he lives and loves them When he doth but hide his face they are troubled when his love ceases their life ceaseth for they live in him and by him and through him SECT XXI §. 21 If we love Christ we shall love the flock of Christ ANd where thou makest thy flocks to lie down at noon If we love Christ we shall also love the flock of Christ If we love him that begat we shall love him that is begotten He that saith then that he loveth God and hateth his brother is a lyar and the truth is not in him For he that loveth God loveth his brother also He must needs love that which God loves and hate that which God hates and so be like unto God For this is his Commandment That we love one another as we have him for an example And if we say we are in the light and do not love our brethren we are altogether in darkness and know not the light SECT XXII §. 22 Christ and his flock are together CHrist and his flock are always together there Christ is and there they are He their Shepherd and they the sheep of his pasture They shall not want for any thing that is good either for pasture of still waters of comfort or garments of righteousness or guiding the Lord leads them or for oyl or their cup filling or their table spreading they have all things Thus he feeds them
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
the world what God hath done in the secret printing-house of the heart and whatsoever comes out to the world that is not of his printing and licensing shall be suppressed by the Spirit as not having the hand-writing that makes free and none shall buy or sell but those that have his mark SECT XIII §. 13 What be the things God makes use of in writing this Book Man ANd when the Lord God doth thus he will make our hearts his table-books washing them clean and pure fit and prepared to receive any impression his letters shall be all Spirit and his words life his Precepts and Commandments perfect Liberty as for the Lords Pen it shall be the Finger of the Spirit of God the Inditer God himself the Ink it shall be the pure Christal waters of Life and Grace that proceeds from the Throne of God and of the Lamb the everlasting Fountains of Love the Writings and Printings shall never perish it shall be for a perpetual Memorial to all generations the Lords Hand and Seal shall be set to the Book he will not be ashamed of his workmanship nor his writing therein it shall be also dedicated to all the world Angels and men for all to read his Name shall be to it and the Title shall be this The Book of Life Printed in the year of our Lord the fulness of time SECT XIV Gods making mans heart plain and fair for it §. 14 as paper I Will put my Laws in their minds this is the mind of God to have them of one minde with himself minding the same things His mind in their minds God would fain put his new wine into the new vessels of their minds knowing full well how much vanity for the most part lodges there like the Inn that was full of guests that there was no room for Christ to lay his head so it is in most minds enough of every thing but little enough of this love of the Spirit of Life What said the Lord Now I will come into the temple of mans mind and cast out the buyers and sellers overthrow the tables of the money-changers drive out the beasts and birds and the house that was full of murderers aden of theeves I will make a house of prayer before I leave them SECT XV. §. 15 What God minds and loves it is to live with us and in us BY this we may see the mind of God what he minds most amongst men what he loves best where he desires to live it is the minds of men Again we see all those Sacrifices under the Law that were commanded to be offered to God must be of the best the male in the flock not the sick blind lean or lame all which was abominable to God so here this is the male in the flock God will have offered to him his Laws put into our minds and if this be not all is nothing Thus it was with David surely when he said Oh how do I love thy Law it is my meditation day and night and again Psal 1. 2. Blessed is the man whose delight is in the Laws of the Lord surely it was because God had put his Laws in his mind As it was in the Temple of God which was a shaddow of good things to come there was we read in the most holy place the Ark of the Covenant surely this Ark was a kind of figure of what God would do in these last dayes in our Temples in the most holy place of our hearts even in the Ark of our minds he would place his Covenants and put his Laws in that Arke SECT XVI §. 16 What is shall be of the Lords Will and Law and nothing else ANd in that it is said my Laws it shall be a living Law a holy heavenly wise gracious good Law God himself shall be our Law and our Example in all things follow him the Governments shall be upon his shoulders he will Rule in us and over us and be our King Priest and Prophet Happy art thou O Israel a people governed by the Lord He is your Law-giver and it is given to the spirits and hearts of men where he rules and sits brings al things into subjection to himself I will break every other Law of man all your Laws either in Church or in State either in the inward man that convinces or in the outward that restrains that are not mine shall be rooted up those yokes and burdens you shall no longer bear but take my yoke it 's easie my burden and Laws are light and in them you shall find rest SECT XVII §. 17 His own Laws he keeps and them he will have us keep one Law for both ANd in that he saith my Laws see how good and gracious God is he will lay no other burden then what he bears himself live by one Law one Mind one Life one Spirit one Truth one Peace one Righteousness one Kingdom the Law God walks by lives in the way he goes that which is his own very heart and nature the same he would give us that we may be as God is holy as he is holy just as he is just that we may be the children of our Father which is in Heaven SECT XVIII §. 18 All Gods Laws a whole volum within us ANd it is observable he doth not say my Law though all his Laws agree in one and are as one but shews us further that how the Word of the Lord shall dwell in us richly and not sparingly we shall not abound in some grace but in every grace nor in some knowledg but in all wisdom knowledg not doing some of the Will of God but instructed in the whole Counsel of the Lord we shall have Laws in us of all sorts the Law of Faith the Law of Love the Law of Truth the Law of Life the Law of Righteousness the Law of Meekness the Law of Contentedness nay there is not a Law in Heaven nor a Law in the Heart of God but he will put it in our hearts for we shall be men after his own heart And this we must know God is the searcher of heart and mind it must be such an eye and such an arm as must be stretched out to reach the bottom and depth of our minds all that is in the world is too short we may speak to them present the forms and patterns of things given to us in the Mount to the eyes ears and outward view and hearing of men in the world and there we must leave it then comes God and gives the increase he puts it farther he doth the work powerfully We can but John the Baptist like say I indeed baptize with water but he that comes after me it is he that must do all without him all is nothing so here unless Christ come after as here he hath promised and put his Laws in our minds we shall heare pray and do all in vain SECT XIX §. 19 WHerefore my dearly beloved
wisdom knowledg learning arts sciences laughter and joy yea his whole study and practise yea all his sobriety chastity charity fortitude temperance patience there is vanity in it all Besides the things that are outward as his buildings stately possessions pleasant gardens and orchards all his precious substance his royal attendants his faring deliciously every day there is a deeper vanity upon these SECT II. §. 2 The earthly man is the vanity of vanities and the vexation of spirit ANd all this comes from man which is a bundle of vanity yea less then nothing vanity and vexation of spirit The vainest thing that is saith the Prophet is man that is the natural man the earthly man the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart are evil and that continually from his evil heart proceeds all evil for unto the defiled and unclean there is nothing pure or clean hut all he touches tastes or handles is defiled till he be cleansed within being like the lepers that infected all about them houses and walls So here O vain man the worst of all things in whom dwells no goodness nay he makes all other things vain but it is not so in the Kingdom of God nor in the World to come by Christ therein every soul that tasted and received of the Father sees nothing but excellency and everlasting comfort there is no vanity nor vexation of spitit there is nothing but holiness to the Lord there is durable riches and eternal mansions and no alteration or shadow of changing for all things are there of God c. CHAP. XVIII The seventeenth Book that God writes in Man is called The Song of SOLOMON SECT I. Christs Kisses and his Mouth what §. 1 they be CHrists Song and the Spouses Song The kisses are the Testimonies of the Spirit the manifestations of his presence His mouth are the divine oracles that breath into her the giving her the holy Spirit opening his mouth and breathing into her that spirit that may quicken her and teach her all things And kisses the more the better the running over of his spirit presence For thy loves His kisses are his love tokens Are better then wine The light of his countenance the least presence of him a kisse a look a touch a taste far beyond all the world SECT II. The oyntment poured out §. 2 THe savor of the good ointments poured forth This is Christs Fulnesse Grace Glory and Truth full of Grace and truth full of Spirit and Life this is then good ointment poured forth freely he hath received and freely he gives For of his fulness we all receive grace for grace Therefore do the Virgins love thee This is a pure undefiled love therefore called Virgins when it is begotten only by the pure ointments of Christ pouring forth and nothing else this is the fire that kindles it and the oyl that maintains it burns the purest flames admits of no mixture whatsoever but keeps it Virginity and chaste pure love for the Lord Christ and no other SECT III. What the Kings Chamber is to be brought §. there 3 DRaw me and we will run after thee They must needs run whom God draws and love will not only draw but constrain and it is the love shed abroad in us this anointing poured forth will ravish us and it s nothing but the inward anointing that draws the outward teaching is nothing without it The King hath brought me into his Chamber This is the place of Rest no where else no society else but the presence Chamber nay the bed Chamber of the King himself none of his Attendants will serve no other room but to live alone in him and in the same Chamber and glory with him and no other this anointing draws us thither We will be glad and rejoyce in thee This is the fulnesse of joy now she is in Heaven full of joy now and never till now can we be glad and rejoyce We will remember thy love more then wine the upright love thee We shall never part more I am brought to his Chamber but nothing can draw me hence again Come let us take our fill of love and forget all sorrow and enmity remember nothing but love alone and no love but thine that is the love that makes us forget all things else and love thee above all things to live with thee SECT IV. What the blackness and the comeliness is §. 4 4 I Am black but comely O ye daughters of Jerusalem It is not the outside the form the image or shadaw you are to look at that is black indeed but all my comelinesse is in Christ it is in the Lord he is my Beauty and Splendor my Wisdom Righteousnesse Sanctification and Redemption but I am black my flesh and nothing but blackness and darkness from it this I was but the other I am now this I have put off the other is put on Nay I am black you may think and call it so it may be so to you black heresie blasphemy and yet it may be comely to me it may be judged black by men and yet be approved of God for that which they call heresie so worship I the God of my fathers SECT V. §. 5 What the brothers are angry at and what is the keeping of other Vineyards and not the true Vineyard 5 LOok not upon me because I am black because the Sun hath looked upon me That is you are my friends and have accounted me your brother you now look scornfully upon me casting me out of your Synagogue because the Sun hath looked upon me and the Lord hath anointed me and enlightened me above my fellows envy me not for that neither look at that which is outward but at that which is inward for all my glory and excellency is not in me but in the Lord God that lives with me My mothers children were angry with me We that were one and agreed in one when we lived both in the flesh are now angry at me since I have lived in the Spirit You my own mothers children that have one Mother Nature and Country go about to kill and crucifie me they would sell me away do any thing with me betray me into the hands of all my enemies they are set spitefully against me as they did Joseph and Christ and Abel at the beginning and all because their works are evil and mine good they see the Lord is with me and blesses me They made me the keeper of the Vineyards but my own Vineyard have I not kept That is while I ruled others was set over us and had a glory and preheminence in the flesh above others teaching them and governing them I my self in the mean time became a cast-away and I received honor that came from men but not from God and I was sent of them and called by them and ruled as a man but I was not called by God I condemned that in others which I found in my self I lived according to
the flesh in the Letter but not according to God in Spirit I saw others moats but not my own beams such a hypocrite I was thus I followed a false Christ and not the true and so was a false branch and not a true SECT VI. It is God that justifieth that is our §. 6 comeliness 6 TEll me O thou whom my soul loveth It is God that justifieth who is it that condemneth It is God that sanctifieth who is he that defileth It is God that is with us who is he that is against us It is God that makes us comely what shall make us black Tell me therefore and say unto me Thou art all fair my love there is no spot in thee and then though my mothers children be never so angry with me or do condemn me yet there shall be no condemation to them that are thus in Christ Jesus and do not walk after the flesh but after the Spirit he hath justified and that shall be justified If this be vile I will be more vile I value not their anger then for I have thy love SECT VII The true Vineyard §. 7 AGain I have followed false christs and worshiped strange gods and those have been my blackness In that I have lived in the Vine Christ as a Branch therein I have lived in the Vineyards of men and means they have planted Vineyards and made Sermons and Worships and these I have kept before I recived thy anointing and had almost forsaken the living Fountain the Vineyard of the Lord of Hosts SECT VIII §. 8 Three things thirsted after by him that is as the Spouse here hath tasted any thing of the Life of God TEll me There be three things that every soul that hath tasted any thing of the heavenly Life thirsteth after The first is To have the everlasting Love of the Lord to be revealed to him which is better to him then life it self better then all things Secondly To see a love from the Lord a fire from Heaven falling in our hearts and kindling an everlasting flame of heavenly love in us to him again that from a coal from his Altar we may be all a fire of love with him that the zeal and love we have to the Lord may eat us up Thirdly That the love wherewith God loves us and the love wherewith we love God we may also be taught to love one another all these three loves may thus agree in one we should not then be angry at our mothers children without a cause and hate them but love and pitty them SECT IX §. 9 The bread that satisfies not and where our rest fulness and fatness lies TEll me I shall insist something more largely upon this having had my enlargement and commission from God to speak more from hence upon sundry occasions And first That when we are wearied out in following and keeping many Vineyards many mens works and labours when we are weary of all and loaded after all and as far to seek then at last as at first then here is our Rest after all this is the Vineyard Come unto me and I will give you rest I am the Way the Truth and the Life In me shall ye have peace and perfect freedom When you have emptied all the Cisterns I am full when their Lamps are grown dim and almost spent I will be thy sun shield and great reward Why do we spend our labor then for that which is not bread and our mony for that which profiteth not and our strength for that which satisfieth not Hearken unto me and your souls shall live ye shall eat that which is good and delight your selves in fatness SECT X. We shall never be taught well till the §. 10 Lord teach us TEll me When men can teach us no longer then God can and will and may I not say as the Apostle said Whereas for our time we might have been teachers of others we have need that one teach us again what be the principles of the doctrine of Christ And what is the reason of this because we have been taught of man and by man and so shall never come to the knowledg of the truth that way unless the Spirit teach us all over again then we shall profit indeed We shall never be well taught till then For flesh and blood can never reveal such things unto us as in the 16. of Matthew saith Christ What do men say that I the Son of man am that is what do the Scribes and Pharisees Rulers and Sadduces the wise Doctors and Rabbies those as well as others what do they teach to the people and say or speak of me Peter answered Some say thou art Elias others say thou art Jeremias others Iohn Baptist is risen again and others one of the Prophets Thus these great wise learned men were at variance and said nothing to the purpose For God had hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes Therefore said Christ again But what sayst thou that I am thou that art taught of God thou that hast none of these outward glories after the flesh thou that art a fool to them what sayst thou Peter answered Thou art the Son of the living God this was a lively voyce that spake thus in him Well saith Christ I would have you know That flesh and blood could never tell thee this but my Father which is in heaven he hath told thee it SECT XI The teachings of God more excellent in three §. 11 things then mens teachings A Gain the teachings of God are more excellent then any other whatsoever in these three things First His teachings are plain Secondly Pure Thirdly Powerful First Plain as the Apostle said Now thou speakest plainly and not in parables And again Shew us plainly of the Father that we may see the Father and it sufficeth us And again Thou hast the words of eternal life whither should we go And again When Christ comes he well tell us all things in Heaven and in Earth in Scriptures and Prophesies he will open all to us and we shall have all things naked and open Death and Life Hell and Heaven Flesh and Spirit There shall then be neither proverb nor parable nor dark saying no sealed books nor sealed fountain no secrets nor mysteries but all things shall be manifest for the Day shall declare them Secondly Purely now he is the pure Being and Fountain of all things in whom is light or he is light and in him is no darkness at all There is no mixture at all with God the throne of the Lord and the Lamb from thence come the chrystal waters of life pure and clear Thirdly Powerfully he speaks with Authority and not as the Scribes he speaks and brings forth his word and it is done All things are at his command he calls and all obey Lazarus come forth and it is so Be it according to thy faith and it was so I will be thou clean and
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
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