to keep the Word of God Should God through his Son impose us things Impossible What an absurd speech is this Shall a Man think to make the most gracious and most merciful God a Tyrant O abominable Error to the greatest hinderance of the true Birth When Peter gave Christ hindersom and offensive counsel disswading him that he with his suffering should not fulfil the Will of his Father Christ reproved Peter calling his words the speech of Satan saying Get thee behind me Satan thou art an offence unto me for thou savorest not the things that be of God but those that be of men Mat. 16.23 Mark 8.33 Even so may a man likewise say to those that rather speak to please and nourish the security of the flesh and quench the Spirit then to help and set forth the Word of God by men and yet notwithstanding will be held and called good Christians therefore saith Christ Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 7.21 but he that doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven Christ will have his Word kept in deed and not only with opinion tongue or oral faith comparing such a one with a wise man which built his house upon a rock Mat. 7.25 The true faith makes indeed up the house but good works of Love lays the foundation as Christ saith Joh. 14.23 If a man love me he will keep my words which consisteth properly in our life and conversation viz. to walk in his steps even as he hath walked 1 John 2.6 Therefore Christ neither regarded nor required in his followers any prating wit but obedient works of Love and charitable Deeds proceeding from a free heart and he saith further Whosoever will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me Mark 8.34 Neither may any man boast of Christ as if he knew him unless he keepeth his Commandments for otherwise he is a Lyar in whom there is no truth But whosoever keepeth his Word in him verily is the love of God perfected Hereby know we that we are in him 1 Joh. 4.5 Also every one that doth righteousness is born of him 1 Joh. 2.29 Yea he that doth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous 1 Joh. 3.7 Now what want or Impossibility is here Are the Commandments of christ too too grievous Saith not John that the Commandments of Christ are not grievous 1 John 5.3 And Christ himself wisheth us and all others to come freely and confidently unto him and take his yoke upon us being that his yoke is easie and his burden light Matth. 11.30 Now by whom I pray is the truth by Christ or by Antichrist But here lies all the difficulty viz. Antichrist and the Child of this World will not turn in and enter to the Love of God fully and aright leaving the cursed love of the world and of the flesh which hath taken so deep roots in his heart Therefore he had rather make God to be unjust and with the Excuse of Impossibility justifie himself leaving the whole Burden upon the neck of Christ only that he himself may go free and in the security of his wicked spirit and flesh according to his own bestial desire and disposition jump as it were into the Kingdom of God as if he need to do nothing and take no care for his Salvation but only to live freely forth on in pleasures and carnal lust of his Heart proceeding from the false and venomous seed of the wicked Serpent and yet would merit Heaven thereby though he never put on again the Heavenly Image of Christ changing his Bestial and Diabolical Malice into Love But what doth a Men else but shew forth that he hath an abomination to the Childship of God which is in Christ Jesus For St John saith in his 1 Epistle cap. 5.2 By this we know that we love the Children of God when we love God and keep his Commandments for this is the love of God viz. that we keep his Commandments and his Commandments are not grievous To whom therefore Love is hard and grievous he is as yet far from God and his Image being as fast and deep in Lyes Darkness and Death 1 Joh. 2.9 21. and cap. 3.14 Yea he is an Antichrist christ bearing the Mark of the Beast and of the Whore in his Heart and in his forehead Apoc. 19. c. For God Himself is Love and Love is God and he that loveth not knoweth not God 1 Joh. 4.7 Whosoever therefore will be and be called a right true Christian and attain to perfection desiring to be one Spirit with God and obtain his Image again he must make haste and strive to this Gate where the Love of Christ stands open continually and diligently exercising himself therein especially in the inward Image and Likeness of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ esteeming it above all Creatures and then nothing will be hard and grievous for him for what can be grievous to him that rightly loveth Now to learn this aright we must look and consider well what is to be observed in christ CHAP. V. What are those seven thins in Christ which ought to be well and especially considered And how we may attain to the perfection of Love THere are summarily seven principal Points in our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ well and especially to be considered Viz. 1. His wonderous Humiliation and Conception 2. His Birth of a Virgin 3. His whole Life in his Infancy Youth and Mans Age 4. His bitter Passion and Death 5. His Descending into Hell Resurrection Apparition and Clarification 6. His Ascension and Entrance into his Glory again 7. His Glorious Manifestation or Revelation and coming again to Judgment and to his Kingdom In these seven Points all the Mysteries of God are comprehended without which no Man can be a true Teacher in the Church of God and of christ according to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit which are ordained by God to such Ministry although they are not absolutely necessary for every Child of God for it is not Knowledg and Science that saveth and maketh us happy in Christ Jesus but the true Faith being effectual by Love Therefore the knowledg wisdom and understanding of children is one thing and another thing that of the young Men and another thing that of Fathers and old Men for every one hath his own peculiar Gift of Grace of the Spirit of God as Paul teacheth 1 Cor. 14. For it is not a meer Outward Literal or Habitual work of Reason borrowed from the Heathens as now adays is taught in the Schools where the Spirit of God with his true Gifts is extruded and rejected But the Spirit of God and of Christ imparteth in to every one as much as it pleaseth and according as the holy Souls do order and behave themselves in praying aright that they may be fully and fundamentally Partakers of the Divine
himself to the right way of God to walk in the paths of Holiness Man must order and behave himself aright after the conduct and instruction of Moses who is Christ in the new Birth and Conversion Him always in the way we must carefully observe and look upon at his right hand and never set our eyes from him whatsoever he doth and taketh in hand in this life Therefore he must also leave the old Adam in Egypt that is hate and deny himself and on the contrary turn all his love to God in Christ and wholy yield and submit himself in an humble resignation to the Spirit of God and his good Government Now if he thus both within and without with a wholy converted Heart be yielded up and resigned unto God according to his Will and in his Love is desirous of nothing more then God then he walketh in the way at the right hand being no more his own self or an adherent of base and wicked Egypt but having quite left and abandoned the flesh pots is desirous through Christ to become one Spirit with God according to the desire of the Soul and likewise longeth with delight for Perfection that he may enter again into the first Image after which in the Begining he was created of God CHAP. III. Even as God is the Being of all Beings and the Life of all living so also must every one that meaneth to inherit Salvation become like unto him in Christ ALL the care and matter is how Man according to the Image of God may be transplanted again out of this temporary into the Eternal Kingdom of Joy Therefore according as the Man doth form and figure himself in this life under the government and domiminion of the Starry or Sydereal Spirit in such form and figure he also transplanteth and presenteth himself after this life unto Eternity Namely either into one principle of the Abyss or else into the other of the Divine Love and eternal Joy with God and his holy Angels Originally and in the Creation Man was created like unto God and became his Image that he according to that should be a Lord and Soveraign over the world which that he might better perform he was placed and ordained in Paradice with such an Heavenly and uniform body as was wanting in nothing that any way could be necessary to this excellent and glorious Performance Yea as a father and a son are one with another so was Man like unto God and had the perfect wisdom to govern all things aright according to the Will of God in his Image both within and without himself viz. all things so far as it belonged to him and was subject to temporary nature He had not gotten any frail body unless purposely he had thrown himself into this fragillity thus he was uniform with God according to his Image In which uniformity yet this difference is to be observed viz. God is and abideth the Creator and the Father Man is the Creature and childe God hath no time but is Eternal having nothing either afore or after himself But Man hath a Beginning and is comprehended by the Incomprehensible God There is nothing that God hath received but he hath and is all in Himself But man hath received all things from God and hath nothing of his own God needeth neither Angel nor Heaven nor world nor place nor time But Man can neither live nor be without God These differences shew plainly and sufficiently How man ought to live aright according to the properties of the Image both in this time and hereafter in Eternity viz. we must be his onely with Will Heart Soul Understanding and Being and no others besides neither our own but look meerly and onely upon Him by whom we are created and after our fall so dearly bought and redeemed besides whom we must choose or desire nothing seeing without him we be nothing and can do nothing as Christ saith But who so taketh delight in himself loveth himself seeketh and findeth himself he committeth two great and horrible Evils For first He thereby becometh a proud Thief in seeking the preeminence in Gods Being and Dominion arrogating it unto himself as if he were of Himself as God is which he likewise in secret esteemeth himself to be and will needs be equal with God Secondly He becometh also thereby a Murtherer in killing himself so miserably by falling off from God upon himself that is falling off from the Being upon his own nothing and making himself a reproach to him of whom he hath received his Being and Breath seeing that God had also therefore formed him after his won Image that he should not eat of the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil for God is the right hand and he himself the left hand viz. the Creature which afore was nothing Man should keep the Properties of the Image suffering the Will of God to work and do all things in him Man should be the Tool wherewith God should do all things But the desire to know Good and Evil is that horrible Fall whereby he is cast out of the Image of God and that is the right Serpent of Sin which so extreamly hath deceived us perswading us to eat of this forbidden fruit O what a lamentable state and condition is it that we thereby are fallen so deep far from the Image of God and the holy life of Paradice into the uttermost bestial Kingdom and Government of the Starry or Sydereal Spirit Yet it is an infinite and unspeakable Mercy that the Son of God Christ Jesus our Lord would not leave nor forsake us in this extream both temporal and eternal Perdition of our Soul but with his deep Humiliation c. brought back again his beloved Creature into its Principium and Heavenly Kingdom into Paradice opening the Blessed Gate to the former Image lest we in any thing should be wanting Therefore if so be we will enter again into the first and blessed estate of our Souls viz. of Eternal Image and Salvation then we must return back again from and out of the base and bestial Life of our sinful flesh and enter into the living and Heavenly Birth becoming like to Christ in all thins according to his love wherewith he hath loved us and thus with Christ wholy yielding our selves up to God in a perfect and humble resignation forgetting and denying our selves and hating our own life seeing that we our selves are our chiefest and worst enemies and all this to the end that we may attain to Christ Perfection according to the restored Image of his Love Psal 17.15 Not suffering our selves to be drawn back or hindered by any thing in the world CHAP. IV. Of Mans true Perfection in Christ and in the Love IT is a most dangerous and pernitious Doctrine whereby true Christianity most mightily is hindered when many give forth and teach against God Christ Jesus himself and his Holy word and Gospel that it is Impossible for a Man
concreated goodness of disposition whereby one man is better beloved then another and of this nature is the Love towards Father and Mother between Man and Wife and good Friends And here sometimes slippeth in also the Love which is stirred by Fairness Riches Promotions and other outward things and commonly suppresseth the former Love as being now adays most usual and bearing the sway in so much that Men will neither know nor hear of any other kind of Love This Elementary Love is also to be seen in the Animals and Beasts But the Children of God make no account of this unclean and impure Love unless it be for the Lords sake so that Animalish Love be fanctified by the Spirit of Faith for otherwise it is sin Therefore in the Creature-like Love their Love is thus that they also can hate what they love let it be father mother child friend c. namely for Christs sake though they hate it not but rather love it more and better then any Creature-like Love either doth or can do which soon altereth and easily is cast down namely being deprived of that she loveth as we may dayly see by those that lose any thing in Nature which they have loved and set their Heart on how they use to moan and grieve for the loss of it But the Children of God are not sorry when they lose any Creature but leave it wholy to God and his good will and pleasure the reason is thus because they do not love the Creature in and according to the old Creation or in the vanity of the Creatureship but in the new Creation yea in and with Christ and the same Spirit that is in all things Therefore they cannot mourn nor grieve according to the inward man when they have any loss of transitory things being they know that they can never lose it in Christ in whom they love all things Thus Job was not moved or altered when he lost his Children and afterwards also his Health neither regarded he his life as he saith Chap. 13.15 Though he slay me yet will I trust in Him And David saith Psal 73. Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee Or thus When I have but thee I care neither for Heaven nor Earth And this is the difference betwixt the World and the Children of God even in Natural Love Secondly The Love of the Law proceedeth from the spirit of the mind being from and out of the Angelical World and is caused by a good Mind or upright Heart having apprehended and understood well Nosce teipsum or the true knowledg of ones self whereby a man esteemeth his Neighbor as good as Himself seeing that the Souls of all men spring from one Stock and the one Branch hath no reason to hate the other or else it is caused and stirred by command of the Law or else it is moved and raised by the pure Affection and Angelical Inclination of the Inward Soul when I intend to do my Neighbor without any desert of his or hope of gain to my self such kindness and assistance as the Angel Raphael did to Tobias Now in this Love the Children of God do also differ from the Vulgar for there be many that do good but not to a good and right end but only they may be seen but being they do it for their own praise of vain-glory they cannot thereby attain to the communion of the Children of God but remain unprofitable servants as the Apostle saith and perform not their Duty seeing they do not rightly employ their House-keeping and Stewardship trusted to their dispensation and Administration Wherefore also those that would justifie themselves with their good works were rejected by Christ Mat. 25. and such are all those that for their charity and well doing seek a reward which the Children of God do not do for they for all their well doing do esteem themselves far unworthy of the grace and mercy of God Wherefore also the Love that in them ariseth and proceedeth from the Law is sanctified in them by the Spirit of Faith being they seek not themselves in any thing but are unwilling that the left hand should know what the right hand doth and all for this end that they in their transgression may find mercy Therefore they never think on Reward as the rest who having transgressed the bounds of Love find afterwards no Grace nor Mercy being they looked only upon the Reward Therefore saith the Apostle Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned and have not Love it profiteth me nothing or I am unprofitable What is therefore the Condition of Love and what is Love Love seeketh not its own as the Love of the Law which desireth its Reward But this Love viz. It hath nothing for it is not the Owner and Possessor of its own self but yeeldeth and giveth it self with Christ for its Neighbor and suffereth God to be all in all in it It giveth nothing for it suffereth it self to be given over to another namely for Christs sake by the Spirit of Love which is shed abroad in our hearts It takes nothing but Christ himself receives it in her and therefore Christ said What you have done to one of the least of these that you have done to me And this is the true Property of this Love namely It is not Self-loved Self-conceited Self-willed and seeketh not its own But it is all things in Christ Therefore whosoever will be its own or have any thing of his own or meaneth to do any thing of his own Self is altogether of the Devil who alone will be his own Self and belongeth to no Man Thirdly Now this is the Love of the Spirit of God from the Divine World and is caused by it self and not by any object Even as God is moved of Himself by Himself with Himself and in Himself to love us seeing he could not be moved thereto by us being sinners Therefore is this Love stirred by it self beholding it self in an unspeakable Light And how can that be comprehended in the Love which yeeldeth it self to death that it might purchase life to us No man therefore hath greater Love then to give his life as Christ did and this Love cannot be expressed seeing there is no word equal to it and the Eternal Word it self is dead in the flesh O what a great Mystery is this In the Word was Life and the Life is Light and came into the World Loving Sinners O what a Principle of all Principles viz. Light Life and Love Therefore it is the Love proceeding from the Divine World of which the Apostle speaketh which surpasseth all Angelical tongues seeing it cannot be expressed by Angelical tongues for the Angelical World from which the Law proceedeth enjoyneth us to love our Friend but hate our Enemy Matth. 5. v. 43. neither can it judg otherwise being this Law