desire his hand to be removed till all is consumed that is for the Fire in this fiery Baptism and if you continue faithful to the end of your Purification in Patience and Long-suffering diligently attending upon His Hand alone for His redeeming Power to redeem you from the Earth and all perishing things whose Fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly purge his Floor and gather his Wheat into his Gardner but the Chaff he will hurn up in this unquenchable fire and then you shall come forth as the Gold seven times refined And farther take this from one that hath upon Tryal proved it for your comfort and encouragement in your Journy that the more diligently you wait upon him in all Conditions you pass through even so much the more shall you receive of his virtuous Life and heavenly Power for by this your continual secreet converse and invisible Union with the Everlasting GOD you will come to be so filled with his divine Love that your Mortal will be swallowed up of the Immortal so that it will become your whole Life and all your Thoughts Words and Works will have their Rice and settled Habitation therein but then you must be sure let nothing come out of the fire unconsumed for hear lies the stress of all your giving up all that which is for the Sword to be cut off and that that is for the Fire to be burnt up for if you keep any thing back that GOD requires to be offered up of any Darling-sin or beloved Dalalie whether Love to the World Name or Fame together with the whole Catalogue that belongs to Self for if Self be in any case whatsoever you must lay the Ax to the Root of that Tree and with all your Strength and Power cut it down for if the Root remains the fruitless Tree will grow therefore Self the accursed Thing must be found out and destroyed Joshua 7.11.22 Before you can prosper in this Holy War to get the Victory over all your Enemies for you know a faithful Souldier intangles not himself with the Affairs of this Life but gives up all to follow him that hath chosen him counting nothing dear to them nor any thing hard to endure for the hope of obtaining the Victory and I entreat you consider how intent he is in the Fight Doth he mind any thing but striking at the Enemy No for if he did he could not overcome it is so in the spiritual Warfare of the Soul It counts nothing dear that it may win him CHRIST JESUS thinking no time long nor any thing hard to endure for the Joy and Beauty that is set before it of its beloved Lord who went before through the bitter Agony of Soul and bloody Passion with Mockings Slanders Reproaches Hatred and Malice of his cruel Enemies and ignominious Death for thee and the Redemption of thy Soul from all Iniquity if thou follow Him the Captain of thy Salvation through his self-denial in Faith and Obedience for it is not only given you to believe but also to suffer for his sake Because Faith without Works is dead and thus the LORD will be found in his own way For I am the Way the Truth and the Life and none can come to the Father but by me saith he Here you see CHRIST is the Way his suffering Life is the Way he hath appointed and also saith He that comes this Way to me I will in no wise cast him off but will pray to the Father that whatsoever you ask the Father in my Name he will give it you even the Spirit of Truth that shall lead you into all Truth and cut of all Errour and will be your Strength in all Weakness for this is that your Souls travels for and hath such bitter Pang as a Woman in Travail to bring forth my Will my most exceptable Will therefore will I deliver you and though you sowe in Tears you shall reap in Joy and tho' you go out weeping and carrying precious Seed you shall return with Joy and bring your Sheaves 126 Psalm 5 6. As one speaking his own Experience with Christ's words said For though Sin the evil Seed be sown when Men sleep and take root with Pleasure and springs up with Delight yet the End thereof is Bitterness Lamentation and unconceivable Wooes But my precious Seed saith Christ is sown with Tears conceived with Sorrow and brought forth with Sighings Nights of Watchings Days of Mourning and with much labour of Spirit and travail of Soul must you see your desire Brought forth and it s not beating the Air that will fight your battels for its a gainst such airy Notions you are to make War and all Spirits of what sorts soever that would possess you with Words and Forms without the power of Righteousness regard them not for nothing less than Victory over Sin will satisfie your immortal Souls Therefore yours is Work and not vain Words and for my part all 's a like to me whether in Forms or out of Forms if they deny the power of Godliness in the Practical-part I say as the Apostle said From such turn away and do as Christ my LORD and Master did turn from the proud Pharisees to the poor Publicans and Sinners that wants a Physician and tender his loving kindness to them for the whole needs no Physician but the Sick and what tho many may say we have Eat and Drank in thy presence nay farther cast our Devils and in thy Name done many wonderful Works but what said Christ to all this Depart from me ye workers of Iniquity I know you not This is plain and evident for you to see if you are not wilfully blind it s not all the outward Services of the outward Temple nor the outward Water nor the Holy Duties nor the holy and comply Orders for the worker iniquity hath spoiled all these and made them unholy and uncomly But the latter of these might uave claim'd more right to the aforesaid wonderfull works had they kept to their first works and in the humility of Christ But what they had committed to them when they were in poverty of spirit they have decked themselves therewith and now it serves to make a discourse of though they are gone from the Life of Innocency into the spirit of Craft and subtilty and so are got above the Cross of Christ which is the power of GOD into the Liberty of of the Flesh by which they are become Great and waren â—ich and so bless themselves in the Earth instead of the GOD of Trueth This is Adultery Treachery and Whordom therefore their Portion is with the rest Depart from me ye workers of Iniquity I know you not Others there are who have a Sight beyond Forms but the same Ground remains in them as in the rest very few excepted that I know of yet a more universsal Spirit of Love to all remains in them than the rest Friends to you this is my Advice Take not
on to their own destruction But wo and alass where are these holy Zeaâ—ots now in our age that lies prostrating themselves before the LORD â—ight and day And though they see the Sword of the LORD drawn over these Nations as David and the Elders of Israel 1 Chron. 21.16 17. which were cloathed in Sackcloth falling upon their Faces crying out most bitterly before the LORD with rended hearts saying Is it not I â—hat have sinned and have committed Evil in thy Sight Is it not I That have loved Covetousness which is Idolatry Is it not I that have gone a whoring from thee after my Lusts and Pleasures my Silver and Gold Pride and Profits of a perishing World so long till I have provoked the Eyes of thy Glory to say as thou didst to Israel of old For â—hree Transgressions and for four I will not pass by the Iniquities thereof And now Oh LORD GOD let thy hand be upon me and my Fathers House to bring me to a true and unfeigned Repentance offering unto Thee Body Soul and Spirit a Sacrifice of Righteousness to love and serve Thee all the days of my appointed time until my Change com And thus in judging and condemning your selves and bearing the Indignation of the LORD the Altar is set up in the Threshing-Floor of Orman the Jebusite where true Penitents sacrifice their Lusts vile Affections and their own wills ways and works this is the Valley of Jehosha â—hat where Mohab shall be threshed to pieces Isa 5.10 as Straw is thrashed in Madmenah therefore saith GOD Let the Heathen be awakened and â—ome up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat for there will I sit to Judge all the Heaâ—hen round about Therefore Oh Multitude Multitude come into the Valley of Threshing for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of Threshing here will God plead with all Flesh here will he Judge between the Precious and the Vile and when you have born the indignation of the LORD for Sin and Iniquity so long till Judgment turns to Victory then will he arise and plead your Cause The word Jehoshaphat signifies Pleading or Judgment and that which is call'd the valley of Jehoshaphat was before called the valley of Berachah 2 Chron. 20.26 which signifies Blessing or Thanksgiving and from hence proceeds the true and acceptable Praise from the valley of Judgment where GOD destroys the Iniquity and so it comes to pass that whatsoever is done in the History must be done again in the Mystery therefore whosoever will have Life and Salvation must come into the Valley of Judgment â—udge your selves hate and abhor your selves believe your selves from the bottom of your Souls to be the vilest and unworthiest of all the Creatures of GOD in respect to your disobedience and rebellion against Him and his Holy Laws and this must be your Work in the best state you have yet attained to yea if you were come to such a Statâ— as Paul was come to when he said 1 Cor. 4.4 Though I know noâ— thing by my self yet herein am I not justified but he that justifies me is thâ— LORD Therefore how much more ought it to be the daily and hourlâ— work of those that call themselves Christians of this Generation whâ— are so loaded with Sin that the Spirit of God both within and withouâ— them is oppressed as a Cart is oppressed under the Sheaves but lest any should think I mean a bare Historical Judging or Pharasaical crying out LORD have Mercy upon us miserable Sinners Here you may cry out long and loud as Jezebels Prophets did and never be heard or answered no no I mean a going down into the valley of Judgment the valley of Jehoshaphat where God himself will sit to Judge the Heathen that knows not him nor his Righteous Judgments and yet are crying out LORD have Mercy upon them miserable Sinners who never knew this River of Jordanâ— 2 Kings 5.14 or Judgment to cleanse them of their Leprosie their going down into the deep where they behold his Wonders this valley of Tears where Luke 10.39 Mary sate to hear the precious words that came from his gracious Lips which are not to be heard but by leaving all the hurryings and turmoiling Incumbrances of a perishing World to sit attentively at his Feet seeking loving admiring nothing but Him no not its own life but for his sake that it may serve him therewith and this was the pleasure and treasure of all the regenerated Christians that were born again both under the Law and Gospel and this way in which they attain'd this Resurrection and holy life was through Judgmentâ— I will saith David sing of Mercy and Judgment to thee Oh my Strength will I sing Blessed are they that keep Judgment and do Righteousness at all times I will praise thee with an upright heart When I have learned thy Righteous Judgment my Flesh trembleth for fear of Thee and I am afraid of Thy Judgments The Fear of the LORD is clean saith he and endures for everâ— The Judgments of the LORD are Truth and Righteous altogether more to be desired than Gold yea than much fine Gold sweeter than the Honey and the Honey-Comb Moreover by them is thy Servant warned or made Circumspect and in keeping of them there is great Reward And in the Law Exod. 28.13 the Vrim and the Thummim which signifies light and perfection or Knowledge and Holiness GOD commanded iâ— to be put into the Breast-plate of Judgment which was to be upon Aaron's Heart continually when he went in before the LORD And now Christ our Pattern and High-Priest for ever after the Order of Melchisadeck fulfilled that Heavenly Institution in his Earthly Body who bore the Judgment of GOD upon his Heart in his suffering life which he hath in his merciful loving Kindness as it were left us a legaâ—y or Portion to be like unto him in all things to fill up that which is â—ehind of his Sufferings in our Flesh for it is not only given us to beâ—ieve but to suffer for his sake but I would not have you mistaken I do not confine all true Christians to those external Sufferings of Christ as Mockings Scourgings and nailing to the Cross for it may be some may not be called to suffer on that wise but the Sufferings I now treat of are the Internal sufferings of the Soul which the Apostle Paul spake of when he said I bear in my Body the Dyings of the LORD JESVS and said our Blessed Saviour If ye suffer with me ye shall Reign with me mark that with Him That is a Heart-breaking Suffering an inward Suffering to be grieved in the very bottom of your Souls if you do the â—east thing that grieves the Spirit of GOD in you keeping so intent to your Watch that you may see the Tempter before he comes and then your Weapons are to be the Sword of GODs Spirit your Prayers and Supplications with strong Cries even as a Woman in â—raâ—ail to the
they know all things and lovingly they supplicate and propitiate the Father and blessing him they give him thanks and sing Hymns unto him being ordered and directed by filial affection and natural love and before they give up their Bodies to the Death of them they hate their Senses knowing their Works and Operations Or rather I that am the Mind it self will not suffer the Operations or Works being the Porter and Door-keeper I will shut up the entrances of Evil and cut off the Thoughtful Desires of filthy Works But to the foolish and evil wicked envious and covetous murderous prophane I am far off giving place to the revenging Demon which applying unto him the Sharpness of Fire tormenteth such a Man sensible and armeth him the more to all wickedness that he may obtain the greater Punishment and such a one never ceaseth having unfulfillable Desires and unsatiable Concupiscences and always fighting in Darkness For the Demon afflicts and tormenteth him continually and increaseth the Fire upon him more and more For the Soul entring into the Body of Men if it continue evil shall neither taste of Immortality nor is partaker of the Good But the Soul of Man which is pious and religious is Angellical and Divine and such a Soul after it is departed from the Body having striven the strife of Piety becomes either mind or divine and the strife of Piety is to know GOD and to injure no Man and this way it becomes Mind But into a pious Soul the Mind entring leads it into the Light of Knowledge and such a Soul is never satisfied with singing Praâ—se to GOD and doing good to all Men both in VVords and Deeds always doing good in imitation of her Father And this Mind in Men is GOD and therefore are some Men Divine and their Humanity is near Divinity For the good Demon called the Gods Immortal Men and Men Mortal Gods Man had more than all living Creatures and the World because of his Speech and Mind also Man became the Spectator of the Works of GOD and wondred and acknowledged the Maker for he divided Speech among all Men but not Mind and yet he envied not any for Envy comes not thither but is of abode here below in the Souls of Men that have not the Mind But wherefore Father did not GOD distribute the Mind to all Men Hermes Because it pleased him Oh Son to set that in the middle among all Souls as a Reward to strive for And where hath he set it Hermes Filling a large Cup or Bowl he sent it down giving also a Cryer or Proclaimer and he commanded him to proclaim these things to the Souls of Men. Dip and wash thy self thou that art able in this Cup or Bowl thou that believest that thou shalt return to him that sent his Cup thou that acknowledgest whereunto thou wert made As many therefore as understood the Proclamation and were Baptized or dowsed into the Mind these were made partakers of knowledge and became perfect Men receiving the Mind but as many as missed of the Proclamation they received Speech but not Mind being ignorant whereunto they were made or by whom But their Senses are just like to bruit Beasts and having their temper in Anger and Wrath they do not admire things worthy but wholly addicted to the Pleasures and Desires of the Bodies they believe that Man was made for them But as many as partaked of the gift of God these Oh Son in comparison of their Works are rather immortal than mortal Men comprehending all things which are upon Earth and which are in Heaven and lifting up themselves so high they see the good and seeing it they accounted it a miserable Calamity to make their abode here and despising all things bodily and unbodily they make haste to the one and only Thus Oh Son is the knowledge of the Mind the beholding of divine things and the understanding of GOD the Cup it self being divine And I Oh Father would be baptized and drench'd hearin Hermes Except thou first hate thy Body Oh Son thou canst not love thy self meaning the Soul but loving thy self thou shalt have the Mind and having the Mind thou shalt also partake of the Knowledge or Science How meanest thou that Oh Father Hermes Because it is impossible Oh Son to be conversant about things Mortal and Divine for the things that are being two Bodies and things Incorporeal where is the Mortal and the Divine the Election or choice of either is left to him that will chuse for no Man can chuse both and of which soever the choice is made the other being climinished or overcome magnifieth the act The choice of the better therefore is not only best for him that chuseth it by defying a Man but it also sheweth Piety and Religion towards GOD but the choice of the worst destroys a Man for God is innocent or guiltless but we are the causes of Evil preferring them before the good Therefore whether are you carried O Men drunken with drinking up the strong Wine of Ignorance which seeing you cannot bear why do you not vomit it up again Stand and be sober Look up again with the eyes of your Heart for the malice of Ignorance surroundeth the Earth and corrupteth the Soul shut up in the Body not suffering it to arise at the Haven of Salvation Suffer not your selves to be carried with the great stream but stem the Tide you that can lay hold of the Haven of Safety and make your full course towards it seek one that may lead you by the hand and conduct you to the door of Truth and Knowledge where the clear Light is that which is pure from Darkness where there is not one drunken but all are sober and in their Heart look up to him whose Pleasure is to be seen for he cannot be heard with Ears nor seen with Eyes nor expressed in words but only in Mind and Heart But first thou must tear in pieces and break through the Garment thou wearest the web of Ignorance the foundation of all mischief the bond of Corruption the dark Coverture the living Death the sensible Carkass the Sepulchre carried about with us the domestical Thief which in what he loves us hates us envies us Such is the hurtful Apparel wherewith thou art cloathed which draws and pulls thee downward lest looking up and seeing the Beauty of Truth and the good that is reposed therein thou shouldest hate the wickedness of this Garment and understand the traps and ambushes which it hath laid for thee filling what it presents unto thee with hateful Pleasures that thou canst neither hear what thou shouldest hear nor see what thou shouldest to understand so great a GOD. Here you may see what I have delivered to you is no Fancy or Imagination of my own Brain no new Doctrine but what came from the old Aged for so he is called in the old Translation but in the new the Aushout of days Dan. 7.9 From