as the best and most excellent ibid. Two Sermons on Exod. 3. 6. the first six verses Moses kept the flock of Iethro his father in Law and he led them to the back side of the Desart And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in the midst of a bush c. THis is one of the grâ—atest miracles in the whole Scriptures p. 232. This History and Miracle concerns us now as much as the Israelites then p. 233. The Spirit magnified above the Letter p. 237 The truth couched under parables p. 240. The infinite condescension of God to become weak to the weak p. 242. The depth of the true word is imployment for Men and Angels for Eternity p. 244. Why Moses and the Patriarchs are taken such notice of that they were Shepherds p. 246. What the life of a true Shepherd is and why preferred before Husbandmâ—n p. 248. Moses led the flock into the desart before God appeared to him so must we foâ—sake the world or God will not manifest himself p. 250 c. Whether Miracles be ceased now oâ— no an ignorant question p. 253. Greater miracles done in accomplishing the truth of miracles then in the type or shadow p. 254. Yet this a mighty miracle in the letter but the mystery a miracle far transcending p. 255. How suitable Iacobs Vision of the Ladder reaching to heaven was to him and so this miracle to encourage Moses so the great work he was to go about p. 255. Why the Almighty is somâ—times termed an angel and why angels were worshipped in the Old Testament and St. Iohn forbidden p. 258 God not more present in heaven then in earth p. 260 c. God is to be worshipped as present in all places and in all creatures p. 265. The error of the Papists in worshipping Images condemned and why ibid. Hence a ground to interpret that saying of our Saviour Their Angels alwayes behold the face of their father c. p. 268. The use and Application from the foregoing truths p. 269 c. The second Sermon on the same Text. THe life of a Shepherd and of a Husbandman further explained p. 27â— The life of a Husbandman not condemned but a Shepherds life prâ—ferred before it p. 276. Going into the Dâ—sart not meant of forsaking all things actually but in aâ—fection and using them as if we used them not p. 280. The reason of all mens unquietness p. 283. The way to understand the vision is to put off our shoes from our feet as Moses and what that means p. 285. Men as men can comprehend nothing but what is within their own sphere of reason p. 288. Something about the name and nature of angels ibid. Every beam of the Divinity is an Angel p. 294. Christ the Substance of all types and visions p. 296. The true interpretation of visions and types from God alone p. 297. He that can see God thus cannot so far fear any creature nor any cross or death it self p. 298. The wonderfulness of the vision opened p. 300. Making known Jesus Christ is the business of all creatures of all men and all ages p. 302. The substance of this vision is Jesus Christ he is that fire that burns and changeth all things but not himself ibid c. He weighs the mountains and measures the waters he alters all things yet preserves the substance entire so that nothing is lost p. 304 c. How Gods will and theirs harmonize and coincide to whom God hath shewed this vision p. 308. They cannot find fault with anything God doth but they see one spirit moving and guiding all actions of men and creatures through heaven and earth p. 310. Vain man as his ignorance so his wisdom is to stoop and bow before the Almighty p. 311. He that looks no further then the letter of the vision he sees not these mighty things p. 312. But he that doth he sees Jesus Christ not onely changing all things but how at last he shall change our vile bodies ta make them like his glorious body p. 315. The substance of several Sermons on Mark 1. 25 26. And Iesus rebuked him saying Hold thy peace and come out of him and when the unclean spirit had torn him and cryed with a loud voyce he came out of him THe Text divided as Paul diâ—ides a man into body soul and spirit p. 318. Six morall observations onely named from the soul or letter of the Text not stood upon ibid c. Nothing absolutely evil but sin and nothing perfectly good but God p. 323. Obâ—â—r 7. That Christ is stronger then the Devil though he seem weaker and lets the Devil sometimes prevail in the world more then himself p. 324. Distinctions in the will of God as Revealed Secret Permissiv Ephes. 4. 17 18. Luke 10. 42. Phil. 3. 8. Heb. 4. 12. Gal. 6. 14. 1 Pet. 4. 15. 2 Cor. 5. 17. Jer. 17. 9. Ephes. 4. 21. 2 Cor. 3. 6. Exod. 26. 33. 2 Cor. 3. 14. 1 Cor. 6. 5. Rev. 22. 2 Ephes. 6. 12. Ezeâ— 13. 18. Mich. 3. 5. Heb. 6. 1 2. Rev. 1. 10. Isa. 5. 20. Isa. 2. 22. James 5. 17. Rom. 7. 18. Gal. 2. 20. Acts 3. 12. Rom. 7. 20. Acts 26. 18. Psal. 26. 9. Dan. 9. 7. Mat. 7. 2. Mat. 7. 11. Jer. 31. 33 34. Luke 14. 35. Luke 2. 12. Luke 4. 22. Rev. 8. 1. Rev. 3. 16. John 4. 11. John 6. 60. Mat. 13. 36. Num. 22. 28. Ps. 51. 15. Mat. 9. 49. Isa. 10. 17. Mal. 3. 2. Mat. 5. 29. 30. 2 Pet. 3. 7. Joh. 11. Isaiah 20. 3. and Joel 2. 10. Acts 26. 18. Exod. 19. 16. Hos. 2. 19. Mat. 26. 39. Heb. 12. 29. Col. 4. 6. Prov. 16. 21. Eccl. 8. 1. Mat. 5. 13. Heb. 2. 11. Mat. 5. 13. 1 Cor. 3. 4. 5. 1 Cor. 1. 13. Mat. 5. 14. Joh. 1. 9. Joh. 8. 12. Lev. 6. 13. Lev. 2. 13. Num. 18. 19. 2 Kings 2. 21. Ezek. 16. 4. Job 16. 4. Gen. 27. Mat. 3. 17. Mat. 1. 24. Mat. 13. 34. Prov. 15. 23. Psal. 119. Rea. Hos. 13. 9. Luke 10. 34. Reas. 2. Psal. 38. 5. 2 Pet. 2. 22. Reas. 3. 2 Chro. 13. 5. Numb 18. 19. Mal. 3. 6. Psal. 102. 26. Ps. 139. 4. Rev. 3. 14. Heb. 1. 3. Col. 1. 17. Heb. 3. 14. 1 Cor. 15. 51. Mat. 18. 1â— Psal. 104. 3. Col. 1. 15 17. 1 Cor. 7. 31. Heb. 13. 8. Heb. 6. 19. Joh. 1. Rev. 19. 13. Col. 1. 15. Object Luk. 14. 34 35. Maâ— 9. ult Answ. Exod. 16. 18. Prov. 30. 4. Job 12. 7. Gen. 28. 17. Psal. 18. 11 c. Psal. 18. Eph. 6. 12. Psal. 15. Psal. 24. Hab. 1. 2. Rom. 10. 7. Ioh. 1. 26. Gen. 18. 27. Psal. 12. 4. Job 12. Isa. 20. James 4. 13. Isa. 9. 9. Hos. 13. 9. Rom. 12. Mat. 24. 49. Ioh. 9. 41. Mat. 24. â—0 Isa. 2. 18. Gen. 19. 35. 2 Cor. 13. 15. Isa. 46. 10. Jer. 48. 11. Psal. 62. 11. 46. 2. Job 42. 5. Jude 1â—
ascribed to him He gave them favour and he hardened the heart of Pharaoh and He bid Shimei curâ—e David and the like Be assured whatever clashing and dashing thou observest in the world So as to thy thinking all will come to Nought and Miscarry yet be assured He it is that keeps all Guides all from dashing one against another but so far as his wisdom will have it so and it must be so for the accomplishment of his most holy ends O therefore let Vain man and his ignorance Nay his wisdom and his will stoop yea stoop to the very dust before him and leave all to him and be afraid To Censure His doings or to say concerning the Almighty Such an action was not well done Such a man O it were well if he were Removed Oh! he doth a great deal of hurt Oh! let him be cut off Oh! Beloved know God Almighty is a God of Infinite wisdom and art thou wiser then he must it needs be as thou conceivest no no you are deceived submit your judgements to him Expand and give up your selves and all you are and have to his Wisdom and Soveraignity and do not once dare to oppose that Infinite Infinite Wisdom of God in comparison of whose wisdom all the wisdom of all men and Angels put together is but folly before him He chargeth his Angels with folly and the Heavens are unclean in his sight what art thou then Poor Crawling worm to lift up thy self in his presence But thus to see God Doing all This is that Moses saw by the eye of faith in this Burning Bush It is He that Overturns the world It is He that burns every Creature New-forms and New-shapes The whole Universe He is that Great Potter that makes destroys and Re-makes at his pleasure what vessels he pleaseth He maketh vessels of honour and dishonour He alters and changes every Creature New-moulds and New-makes all and yet he destroys nothing And know this and set to thy seal that whatever He doth He cannot but do all things well superlatively well so well as it cannot be better And hereby the Lord will also set His seal to this soul so that He and It are so joyned together and made One that they will never part But he that looks upon the bare vision in the bare letter he cannot see these things What is it to him that Moses saw the vision That is gone and past But dost thou see what Moses saw Dost thou see all acted altered and changed by him Dost thou see Him alone doing all That it is He that Vn-makes and New-makes That it is He that makes men yong and makes men Old That it is He that bringeth to the grave and turneth man to destruction and saith at his pleasure return again ye sons of men That it is He that maketh and formeth man and all Creatures and bringeth them back again to their first principles and thereof Creates Raiseth and re-makes new Creatures Dost thou Thus see That the whole Universe is but a Body acted and guided by one soul by one spirit And that it is nothing else but a Carcase moved and led up and down by one spirit And that He is the substance of all and of every Creature the meanest the smallest the vilest as well as of the most glorious Dost thou see HIM in the midst of all this changing and tumbling up and down That it is He that destroys and preserves all things Unmakes Re-makes as the Potter doth and yet the clay is the same but that it is he which is still producing new forms Dost thou see that it is He that doth all these things that it is He that preserves all and weighs all so that nothing is lost For did not he Preserve all entire in themselves every element in its Property and Nature and keep them within their own bounds which is His Excelling glory they would presently devour and Overcome one another Fire if it did predominate were not bounded it would turn all things into Fire it would make all things like it self And so of Water it would turn all to Water and so of the rest But he hath set them their bounds which they cannot pass hitherto shalt thou come and no further and here shall thy proud waves be stayed So that he keeps all things Entire in their own Element and every thing in its Proper place And in all this change or alteration and tumbling of the elements together Herein is His power seen That there is nothing lost nor diminished Dost thou see all this and that it is He that ruleth the Nations and that it is He alone that reigneth and that HE commandeth and ordereth the affairs of Princes all Nations and that all the Kings of the earth are in his hands My times are onely in thine hand saith David And know though thou thinkest That Kings and Rulers and others walk according to their Own wills and contrary to thine and thou art therefore offended yet know They all walk according to my will and pleasure saith God and though thou and they think otherwise and though they have no such purpose to obey my will but to please themselves and fulfil their own wills and not mine yet I have them so in my hand that they shall all in the end serve to my praise glory yea even in that they think they serve themselves and their own ends Poor Ignorant souls Alas when as they glory and pride themselves in their great pomp attendance and command and think that it is They that Rule when as they see not Psal. 66. 7. that it is He that ruleth by his power for ever and ever And Dan. 4. 17. The most High ruleth in the Kingdoms of men He it is alone that doth whatsoever He will and not they wil He sendeth the sword giveth it a Commission The Sword never awakes Till he say awake O sword And t is said of our Saviour That he came to bring peace unto men Luk. 2. 14. Peace on earth and good will towards men And yet our Saviour saith again Matth. 10. 34. I come not to send peace but a sword and vers 35. I am come to set a man against his father and the daughter against her mother and the daughter in Law against her mother in Law c. what strange contradictions are here What flesh and blood can reconcile these Scriptures yet both very true Again dost thou see That it is he that shall change these our vile bodies and make them like the glorious body of Iesus Christ Phil. 3. 21. Jesus Christ will purifie thoâ—â— that cleave to him and purifie them like unto himself Fire I told you never rests working and purifying till it hath brought All things to be as pure as it self So That Divine Fire Jesus Christ will never leave purifying and cleansing His people till he
bring them to be Purer and Purer Finer and Finer till they be all made pure As himself is pure He who is called often Fire in Scripture as Mar. 9. 49. He will purifie the impure from the pure the dross from the gold The light of Israel shall be for a fire and his holy one for a flame and he shall burn and devour his bryers and thorns in one day All wickedness shall be before him like the Thorns of a forrest before the fire and shall not be able to stand before Him It shall All be burnt up and nothing remain thereof as it came of nothing so it shall return to nothing And this Christ will do not at once but by degrees as Fire makes not a thing at first as hot as it self but by degrees but it wil not rest nor cease till it hath Heb. 12. 29. Our God is a consuming fire Wickedness nor any impurity shall not be able to stand before this consuming fire no more then thorns and stubble before devouring fire but by degrees he will purifie us throughout in bodies souls and spirits All the works of man as of man shall be burnt up and he shall suffer loss but himself shall be saved yet so as by fire as the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 3. 15. For the fire shall try every mans work of what sort it is Therefore I say take heed of Standing Up before this fire If thou arâ— not 〈◊〉 â—own beforehand this â—â—e will burn thee down to ashes Do not quench the motions of the Spirit in you do not strangle them in the birth as Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew Midwives To strangle the Male-children of the Israelites in the birth Exod. 1. 18. But let this Fire have its Perfect work as the Apostle Iames saith of Patience Expand and give up your selves to Him Let him work his will in you give him leave to burn up your dross That you may be brought nearer and nearer to him and be made more like unto him that ye may more fully enjoy him That so at length ye may be Swallowed up and Emptied into him Even into that Ocean whence ye came as all the small rivolets which come from the Sea never rest till they return into the Sea And let us continually Magnifie the infinite goodness of Almighty God who of his Meer mercy will so far Humble himself to sit as a refiner over his work and never ceaseth but is always Purifying Clarifying and Refining from one degree of purity to another till we come to be like unto his own Dear Son Jesus Christ and all our dross so separated till we be made all pure silver and pure gold and that all our chaff may be removed till we become pure wheat and fit to be gathered into our Lords Garner Even till we be Clarified Rarified and Glorified even like unto the Precious and Glorious body of Jesus Christ himself who is blessed for ever and ever Amen TRUE and DIVINE EXORCISM OR THE DEVIL CON-JURED BY IESVS CHRIT MARK I â—5 26. And Iesus rebuked him saying hold thy peace and come out of him And when the unclean spirit had torn him and cryed with a loud voyce he came out of him The Substance of several Sermons preached at Kensington Publique meeting-place AS the holy Apostle Paul divides a man into body soul and spirit so do I this present Text the body is the history according to the letter the soul is such moral observations as arise and are deduced from the letter and history the SPIRIT is such heavenly instructions and divine documents as rightly applyed may be fitly termed The Marrow and Quintesscence of the Word of God The History according to the letter is so plain that he that runs may read and understand it and so needs no explanation and therefore I intend to collect the moral observations And 1. From the place where this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This man with an unclean spirit was in the Synogogue at Capernaum We from hence are taught That no place can secure from an unclean spirit 't is not a Church Chancel Communion-Table or Pulpit no Bishop or rigid Chancellor or stout Archdeacon nor yet any Politick Official can with all their wit wealth or power excommunicate him or drive him out when he hath once entred in He appeared among the Sons of God Job 1. 6. He stood at Ioshuah the High Priests right hand Zech. 3. 1. nay into Heaven it self and Paradise he intruded therefore we should as our Saviour saith Beware even of Men Such men as are of His spirit Unclean they will deliver yon up to their counsels Mat. 10. 17. And the Apostle hath it Phil. 3. 2. Beware of dogs That is beware of men of proud cruel fierce and dogged spirits And then 2. As no place can secure us from Others Evil Men or Devils without us So nor can none of us assure our selves that we are what we should be If Templum Domini If the Jews crying out The Temple of the Lord would have serv'd the turn Ier. 7. 4. but that did not though they rested secure and blest themselves in it So also do we now in the Outward Baptism so in the Outward receiving of the Ordinance of the Lords Supper and also in the outward profession of Christianity c. Sed ista omnia folia sunt but all these are but leaves but 't is the fruit God looks after For though no tree that bears fruit but hath leaves yet Wo to those Trees which bear nothing but leaves Then 3. From the Devil his confessing Christ we learn That though as Paul saith Ore fit confessio with the mouth confession is made Rom. 10. 10. yet that is nothing without the other except the heart believes unto salvation for that confession is vain which is void of faith saith Fulgentius 4. Observe For all the uncleaneness strong possession of this unclean spirit as soon as our Saviour speaks for he spoke a s one Having Authority and not as the Scribes 't was a destruction to him for he cryes out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Art thou come to destroy or to torment us Luk. 8. 28. the Scribes and Pharisees might have preach'd long enough ere this Devil would have Roared For as some go not out but by fasting and prayer Mat. 17. 21. so some unclean spirits wil not stir out of men but by powerful preaching which is Christ coming Himself with power and casting them out And 5. From this Renting the poor man we learn how furious and raging his malice is to man Tearing and renting Them whom he may not cannot longer possess The Dragon never watch'd the Woman so narrowly as when nearest her time of deliverance Rev. 12. 4. So Pharaoh pursued the Isralites most eagerly when departing his land And the Prophet Isaiah saith For unto us a Child is born and a
own souls and you shall better consider and know his malice not onely to the bodies but to the souls of men as t is said 1 Sam. 18. 10. Saul was vexed by an Evil spirit so when you hear of casting out of Devils Take heed lest your selves fall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into the snares and nets and condemnation of the Devil Further to this point St Paul saith 1 Cor. 12. 4. that there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Differences of graces yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but one spirit As there are the graces of wisdom of Knowledge of faith All different in their several acts operations and degrees yet flowing all from the same spirit so I may say there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Differences of sins and lusts in the soul some being spiritual wickednesses others carnal and fleshly some for stature and growth like the sons of Anack mighty and great and strong others of a less and lower size Differences too there be in sins length and time as Iob saith His bones were full of the sinnes of his youth Some do not leave their sins but increase them and carry them in them till they dye and they grow strong and numerous even to a Legion of Devils There be some also that though they come up in a night yet by the blessing of God they are wasted and gone in a night like Ionahs Gourd they are like a wafaring man of no continuance they take no deep rooting in the soul There are differences too in respect of obstinacie purpose of mind malice and HATRed of God c. some going before others others following after unto judgement as the Apostle speaks It was said to Ierusalem Thou hast justified thy sister Sodom in all her abominations Ezek. 16. 51. her sins did exceed for grievousness those of Sodom and yet all sins of what nature or quality soever how different soever they be are all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from that Evil One in us The Devil and though as our Saviour saith Mat. 15. 19. Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts thefts c. yet these are suggested into the heart by Satans malice and policy As t is said of Iudas That the Devil put it into his heart to betray His Master So that it is not onely Hard but impossible for any man that hath not been rapt up into the third Heaven To know How God sends Good motions into souls whether by Angels or not Yet I am sure though the Apostle saith That to will is present with me Phil. 2. 13. But yet that will is from him For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Every good and perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of Lights Jam. 1. 17. Nay all natural actions as to think and to do or to move c. are all of him from him and by him For In him we live move and have our BEING And As hard it is to say directly Though the Prince of this world Joh. 12. 31. The God of this world 2. Co. 4. 4. very lofty titles you see are given him by the Holy Ghost To shew what great power he hath I say 't is very hard to know How he Tempts and moves us to Evil whether by His Angels or not For HE hath Angels called properly and peculiarly HIS Mat. 25. 41. Prepared for the Devil and His Angels and termed The Angels that sinned 2. Pet. 2. 4. And again 't is said He drew the third part of the Stars from Heaven when he fell And the Devil is called The King of the bottomless pit Rev. 9. 11. Sure I am that there are great store of several sorts of Evil spirits For there is The spirit of jealousie Numb 5. 6. The Evil Spirit of lying 1 Reg. 22. 22. The spirit of deep slumber and sleep Isa. 29. 10. The spirit of this world 1 Cor. 2. 12. The spirit of dissention Judg. 9. 23. The spirit of perversness Isa. 19. 14. The spirit of wheredom Hosea 4. 12. 5. 4. And the spirit of seducing 1 Tim. 4. 1. And once for all As we read of the Spirit of Christ so also do we find the spirit of Anâ—ichrist 1 Ioh. 4. 8. And yet necessary it is thâ—â— thâ—s it should be I say Necessary with that necessity of which our Saviour speaks Mat. 18. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is necessary that offences should come For As in visible things there is no change without corruption so in civil things Lex non est posita justo sed injusâ—o The Law is not made for the righteous but for the transgressors for the lawless and disobedient as the Apostle saith And so and no otherwise is it in spiritual things Men cannot imagine How God should have made known the Riches of his goodness Rom. 2. 4. if no Evil had been nor The Greatness of the Riches of his Glory Rom. 9. 22 23. if there had been No vessels of wrath and dishonour Fitted for destruction Neither should he have shewn the Depth of his wisdom and knowledge Rom. 11. 33. If there had been no folly and ignorance Nor yet The riches of his grace Ephes. 1. 7. If there had been None that stood in need of pardon and grace Beloved How could the sons of men have known or understood Either the plenteousness of His REDEMPTION If there had been no Captives Or the exceeding greatness of his love wherewith he hath loved us in Christ If there had been none that were his Enemies and hated him So that now I will say of the Devil and his Angels as once Augustine said of Original sin Whereof after he had long disputed whence it should flow and proceed at length he concludes That it is A more vain and fruitless thing to stand disputing about its Rise or Original when as we feel the flames of evil concupiscence in our selves still Burning then it is for a man when he finds his house on fire to stand still Demanding how the fire came but doing nothing to quench it Or whereas he should find his son fallen into a well ready to be drowned yet should stand still Asking How he came to fall in but not using any help or means to get him out and so save his life So may I say of the Devil and his Angels It being so that they Are And that they are so Active and Destructive to men and that they move in Rule and reign in the Children of disobedience and have already climbed our works and are gotten in our very hearts and there wound kill and slay if we did but see it so I say 'T is but a fruitless question to enquire how they entred or came into us or of what they are made or what Power they have to do us mischief or the like But sure I think it is our best policy and greatest wisdom to
the true the real crucifying of Christ all other crucifyings are but the representment of this This is that crucifying that all the external crucifyings and deaths in the world are not sufficient to figure it out to us and make us sensible thereof unless we our selves partake thereof for herein chiefly consisted the sufferings of Christ even as the Apostle layes them down in Philip. 2. he emptied himself and he humbled himself he emptied himself of all his riches glory and greatness which he had with the Father and came down here among us and was content to be as a servant he that was Lord of all to be content to be trampled upon and crucified both literally and mystically by his own creatures herein were sufferings indeed far beyond his bodily whipping or nailing to the Cross far beyond his buffeting crowning with thorns and the like and if we herein suffer with Christ this is the true Cross of Christ and this is to be made partakers of his sufferings S. Paul largely expresses how he came to know these true sufferings and so shall all that ever shall tast of heaven saith he though we have known Christ after the flesh yet henceforth know we him no more you know that as soon as the body comes the shadow goes away when we enjoy the body the substance there is little use of the shadovv And Christ himself beats us off from these things vvhen he saith The flesh does us no good prositeth nothing but it s the Spirit that giveth life that onely profiteth If once vve have the body let the shadow go if once vve have teh Sprit leâ— the flesh go if you suffer vvith Christ as vve said before then you have the life the Spirit of the Scriptures in that particular and so likevvise in the rest To arise and triumph vvith him c. But by the way because I would have you understand me let me remember you except you know the mystery of the Trinity you will never understand what I mean when I speak of Christ for it is the knowledge of HIM The ONE in Trinity and the Trinity in ONE Being rightly grounded in that it makes all these things easie viz. to him whose eyes and whose heart God hath opened This is that I say Ye must first come to the knowledge of the Three in One and the One in Three or you will never rightly come to know what Christ is Mind this when we speak of God the Father then we speak of him that is Unknowable Unspeakable Unnameable and then you must consider him as abstractedly from all manner of creatures neither in possibility of Creating or being Created He is That he is I am that I am that is he is God Unknown Unspoken Unpronounced either by men or Angels or any Creature as having nothing to do with Creatures or Creatures with him And so the Father Son and Spirit are All one Here is the Trinity in Unity But if ye come to speak of any THING any manner of conception or of Things created then we divide the Godhead into persons then there is immediately Father Son and Spirit There is Iesus Crist the Son of the Father the first begotten of all Creatures The Heir of ALL THINGS And so we behold Iesus Christ as the second pâ—rson in Trinity Although the persons in the Godhead are not before or after other and so He hath to do with creatures and is In the creatures is the Being Action and Life of the creatures And so Iesus Christ is called The WORD Spoken for so he is called in that first of the Hebrews as He was in the bosome of his Father he was Unspoken Unpronounced or in possibility of being pronounced so He was and is God equal with his Father but being once spoken or pronounced so he is less then his Father he is after his Father but before he was neither before nor after As for example for I would illustrate these unknown things to you as well as I can I have a word in my mind while it is in my mind it is my own what have you or any one to do with it but being once past the door the bars of my lips then t is yours Brethren I beseech you mind these things He that hath ears to hear let him hear but it must be given to you to understand these things Flesh and blood cannot reveal these things But I will open them unto you as familiarly as I can As suppose the word in my mind be A House A Tree or any other thing while they were in my mind you knew them not but being once spoken Then you know them and apprehend them the figure and representation of that Word or Thing is immediately also in your mind So long as Jesus Christ was or is in the bosome of his Father he is unknown to the creature he is God Equal with his Father neither One before or after other But if God please to speak THIS WORD if he please to put forth himself in the Creating of any Creature Here now The word is Spoken I say Here now is Iesus Christ come OUT from the Father here is now The MEDIATOR That is between God and man without whom we cannot come to the Father He Onely complyes with his Father and complyes with The creatures If God should speak to us as he is in himself we dye Our God is a consuming fire if he should speak to us as he is in himself all the Creation would be undone consumed to nothing But here is our comfort Onely Jesus Christ HIS SON is Our Mediator otherwise Tell me his name or his Sons name if thou canst Tell as it is said in the Proverbs No man cometh to the Father or knoweth the Father but by the Sonne and him to whom the Sonne will reveal him Christ is called also The Eternal purpose of God and so All things in him had their IDEAL form but vvho knevv vvhat that IDEA vvas or vvhat vvas in his mind But he put forth his Son that so he might reveal to us what his Eternal purpose was And knovv this that what ever was In God vvas God hiâ—â—elf Christ vvas and is in him therefore is Himself His purposes vvere in him and they are HIM And so Christ vvas Equal with his Father Unknown Unspoken But as soon as ever ye think of any word or of any manner of Form then fasten presently on God the Son as Col. 2. 15 16. Who is the image of the invisible God the first-born of every creature by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth visible and invisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things were created by him and for him and he is before all things and by him all things consist The same also is exprest Heb. 1. 2. 3. And then The third Person
this love of darkness is a strong Armour Love is a strong cord As a threefold cord not easily broken because men love darkness they not onely conceit they are in light when they are in darkness but they love it they will not be removed from it If ye break this cord of love ye break their life you undo them What not love themselves what not love that which all the world good and bad sayes is good what not Honours good nor Riches good Oh how sweet are these things to flesh and blood they are joyned together with inseparable love And except God himself with his Mighty Arm break in sunder this Cord it will never be broken The thirteenth name is Flesh â—al 5. 1â— For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would so called because t is executed exercised in the flesh and Iohn 3. 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit If we speak it is by the flesh if we do any thing hear any thing see any thing it is of the flesh t is true we think speak do but t is through flesh and therefore is flesh and you know what the Apostle saith When we are present in the flesh we are strangers to God whatever action we do If we do it by the flesh and from the flesh Sure it is Flesh and blood shall never inherit the Kingdom of God But what may be the Armour of this flesh His Armour is Provision how do men make provision for the flesh Rom. 13. 14. and in the mean time neglect their souls all their thoughts words actions all their walking sitting lying running 〈◊〉 is To make provision for the flesh and when they think they have made sufficient provision for 〈◊〉 then they are at rest till then never 〈…〉 heart hands feet eyes all are set a work to makâ— provision for this flesh but where where is the man that takes such care and endeavours to make such provision for his soul where is the man that can say or doth say of his soul as that rich fool in the Gospel said of his bodily goods Soul soul now take thy ease eat and drink and be merry thou hast goods laid up for many years Where I say is the soul that can say triumphingly Soul soul now take thy rest take thy Ease be Merry in thy God let him be thy joy thy game and thy gain though thou hast not One penny no matter thou hast treasure enough laid up for ever henceforth never more take thought care for no more God is mine he is Enough and Enough The fourteenth name is Selfness Whoever will be my Desciple let him deny himself Luke 9. 23. not onely deny thy self all those things that are evil it is not meant onely so but deny thy self in every thing even in that is good whatever it be that is well done and is indeed a good action that is good really in it self and thou wouldest Nay and thinkest thou oughtest to think well of it Oh this is well done here I have done a good action Away with these thoughts they are dangerous Run away from these thoughts as Christ did when the Jews would have made him King Own not these thoughts the good actions thou dost are none of thine thou hast nothing thou art nothing nothing is thine but sin thou never didst a good action never thoughtest a good thought Shall I ascribe to my self the glory of doing any thing all action is Gods sin evil wickedness is thine away with it down down proud worm down dust down ashes cast down your crowns before the Lamb and him that sitteth upon the throne and confess all honour all praise all power all might all dominion is his and his alone for ever and ever cast down not onely your weaknesses and infirmities but cast down your Crowns your excellencies your graces that wherein your selves and others think you excel and confess That all the glory and all the strength is none of yours it is all his acknowledge I say as the truth is that you are nothing that you can do nothing and say there is nothing due to me but shame and confusion of face for ever but to God onely be all the Honour Glory Power Praise Majesty and Might And the Armour of this Selfness is love of our selves as the Devil told God concerning Iob Skin for skin and all that a man hath will he give for his life This love of our selves we cannot part from He that will save his life shall â—ose it but he that will destroy himself destroy his life shall save his life A very strange paradox to flesh and blood The fifteenth name is Propriety but herein I know I touch your coppy-hold and as our Saviour saith Iohn 8. 45. Though I tell you the truth I know you will not believe me Oh this Propriety is that that is dear to us that is when we ascribe this or that thing to our selves I have Propriety in this thing it is mine and mine onely and we look upon it as a thing we may do what we please with it you think it is your own but know you have nothing but what is given you And it may be you confess that but you think it is given you for your selves and you think you may keep it for your selves No God hath made thee but a 〈◊〉 it is his whatever it be and thou art to â—mploy it for him another hath as much right â—n it as thou if God call for it Therefore thou 〈◊〉 deceived It is none of thine It is Gods But if you will claim it All and you will have All the right in it then I say you must disclaim your â—ighâ— in Christ and I say to you as Peter said to Simon Magus Your money and you perish together Thou hast neither part nor portion in the kingdom of Heaven I but here Propriety hath his Armour and he is armed with the Word of God He that cares not for his family is worse then an Infidel I must â—ake care of my self of my wife of my children Truly Friends through the depravation of reason we have so corrupted the Scripture and so misâ—pplyed it to our own destruction wresting Scripture and picking out some places meerly to serve our own turns and no otherwise But I would to God you had so much care of your wives and children as you should in the name of God go on I do not forbid you to care but walk on in your care and in your callings but consider â—ill you therefore count these things your own â—nd not anothers as well as yours if his necessity call for it Let me tell thee God is not tyed to provide for thee That way
without Perturbation of Spirit and with indifferencie with a weaned affection here is the very Hinge of the business That when thou hast done all and found it true That except the Lord build the City they build in vain And that except the Lord watch the City the watchmen watch in vain Psal. 127. 1 2. and so consequently That when the Lord hath denyed that success thou seekest yet to be content and quiet As seeing him Ordering all in his greatest wisdom Thou art to aim at This viz. To bring thy self to this point to be alike thankful in health and sickness For crosses and disappointments as for successes and blessings as thou esteemest them for all dispensations even crossest may be successes blessings with God though thou esteemest them not so for he may bless thee most when he crosses thee most and contrary he may most curse thee when he most blesses thee as thou thinkest I but Sir by this rule you would not have me pray neither for the one nor the other neither for plenty nor want neither for liberty nor imprisonment or the like Yes by all means I would have you Pray that God would give you that which is best for you and that he would Turn all To the best but not to direct and appoint him what to do Be sure that your prayers be such as become Gods ears to hear for all the prayers of all flesh through the whole world is displeasing to God He hears not if it be for the satisfying of the flesh lusts Na yas I said God may give a blessing and yet not grant the thing thou desirest but the contrary and yet he gives the blessing and he may and doth both hear and grant thy prayers I know iâ— is your ordinary common speech when you are in some distress and affliction to say such a thing hath befallen you you praise God for it But At that time what doth your heart say does not it desire liberty from it if it do you do but dissemble with God For could you praise God for it in good earnest you would do it as for a thing which you rejoyce in and are glad of At least to be as equally content to have that condition as the contrary There is enough can say blessed be his name for good things and such things as please them but if God take away those things then they cannot as well say Blessed be his name as holy Iob did And as Hezekiah when he had shewed the treasures of the house of the Lord to the Embassadors the Prophet comes and denounces Gods judgement against him Esay 39. 8. and told him that the King of Babylon should come and carry away all those things he answers the word of the Lord is good which thou hast spoken so where is the man that when God causes any to carry away those things which we esteem can say The word of the Lord is good This is that we should labour for for if once we could attain to this that nothing that God did should displease us Then nothing that we do should displease God But alas alas Vain Man would be wise and will needs contend with his Maker for this is that we should do to subscribe and set to our faith and belief that what ever happens and comes to pass Is the best yea better then if it should happen otherwise Until we come to this or so far as we come short of it We are meer Lucifers meer Devils for we are not content with Gods government and we mislike what he doth and we would fain establish if we had power we would have a government not according to Gods will but according to our own But untill we come to this to esteem Gods government to be best we can never quietly submit to it or choose it for so long as we apprehend a thing to be Evil we cannot choose but hate it for it is natural to us To hate and abhor that which hurts us and to love that which does us good Hence it is that the husbandman when he hath bad weather that destroyes his hopes of his crop if he apprehend this to be evil he cannot love him that is the cause of it and so the Mariner if he apprehends that a contrary wind is evil for him how can he love God who is the cause thereof So likewise if a man thinks it an evil to lose his father or mother or wife or children or goods or lands he cannot choose but hate him that is the cause of all this As Iobs wife says to her husband Doest thou still remain in thine integrity Curse God and dye as if she should say doest thou still bless God that curses thee This is a maxime too commonly received among us that where profit is there is piety where God does not bless a man as we count blessing there we think is no piety and where he does there God is well pleased Oh fools and slow of heart to believe Know this That every man must either be a god or else subject and submitting to a God there must needs be One Rule One Standard-measure that must be the rule of all justice so it is in every thing in corn-measures and the like in weights c. In every thing there is a rule a standard to repair to That rules governs and measures all the rest to which all measures must be brought to be regulated and fitted by it must not be this or that mans saying so but come to the rule So in Divinity will you be your own judges or shall it be this mans opinion that mans opinion or rather shall we not say as David Arise O Lord and judge the earth I will not tell thee any more what thou shouldst do or tell thee what is best for thou aâ—t Lord and judge Thou art Iustice it self and who shall contradict thee I account better of what thou dost then what I do for my wisdom is foolishness in case of honour in case of dishonor in case of good report in case of evil report in case of riches in case of poverty in case of giving children in case of taking away children In giving fair weather or foul â— whatever thou dost that is best Every thing in the world as one saith hath two hands by the â—ne ye may carry it by the other you cannot As to say My brother hath done me an injury by the hand of injury we cannot carry it but we swell and take it in ill part but take it by the hand of Brother my brother hath done me an injury and then you may bear it for though he hath done me an injury yet because He is my brother I ought to bear with him So again My enemy hath done me an injury by the hand of injury you cannot bear it but by the hand of your Enemy you may for from your Enemy you expected no
is in them both meat for nourishment and also excrements buu who can say when he looks on either This is the meat and This is the Nutriment and this Other is the excrements and this is that which goes into the draught and is good for nothing Yet you know The stomach will sever these and divide to either their proper way and places and to their proper uses and a skilful Physician which knows the body the arteries and the veins and all the parts how they lie he knows how nature disposes of all these things and knows both the things and the causes And so likewise in Physick ye can have no Physick without excrements though ye cannot see the virtue and the Life and the Spirits yet ye may see the effects and though in meat you cannot see the nourishment yet you may see the thing nourished by it So we cannot have the true word of God without the letter God could not as I may so say considering our state as we are he could not give us meat or Physick by the word but by the Letter And although it be not the Physicians intent to give excrements but onely Physick and we do not eat meat for the excrements sake but for the meats sake and for the nourishment So my Brethren we being of so low a nature and quality so earthly so fleshly so sensual so far from a spiritual nature That I say God cannot give us His Mind and the soul of the Scriptures which is so Divine Heavenly and Spiritual without the Letter without the shell without those excrementsâ— Yet His meaning is not to give us the shell or the excrements but the nourishment his meaning is to give us Living water springing up to eternal life and to feed us with Hidden Manna and to give us the white stone wherein there is a new name that no man knoweth but he that receâ—veth it But we must not therefore Throw away the Letter because there is excrements with it as we do not throw away meat or Physick because excrements are in it because if you throw away the meat you throw away the nourishment as well as the excrements But if you take the Carnal letter as carnally spoken The literal letter as literally spoken Then you have not taken the City of the letter If you look for no more in the Scriptures we do but cast pearls before swine you go no further then the Pharisees The Jews and the Pharisees before Christ came they were so literal sensual and carnal they thought that whosoever did not break the letter of the Ten Commandments If they did nothing against the Outward Literal letter they thought themselves blameless As in the seventh Commandment They thought If they had not actually layen with a woman then they had perfectly kept that Law but Christ goes further and tells them He that looks on a woman and lusts after her hath committed adultery already in his heart And so for murther they thought if they did not lay hands on their brother to murther him they thought they had gone a great way in keeping that Command but our Saviour goes further then every eye can see and saith He that is angry with his brother without cause is guilty of murther So they rested on the Letter and the Letter perished They had not married Achsah they had still The vail before their eyes and those that are come no further they are still Jews as the Apostle saith They have still the vail before their eyes even while Moses is read and Christ is a mysterie Hid to such even from the beginning of the world Beloved we have many Chatechisms now adayes and They say they are for children and I believe so to Onely for children to get by roat and be never the better for them and I am afraid there are Too too many such children who think themselves Tall men who have most of the Scripture at their fingers ends And because they can answer any Catechistical point in Divinity they must be accounted The greatest Proficients and tallest Châ—istians But you see by this we have said how far men may go herein and yet know nothing to salvation As we said The children of Israel how expert were they in the Scriptures so as they thought themselves the strictest observers of the Commandments yet you see how our Saviour undervalues all their knowledge and strictness And now seeing it is fallen in our way we will touch upon each Commandment briefly The Israelites they thought if they observed the litteral Ten Commandments there was no more required As in the first Commandment if he worshipped either Sun Moon or Stars or any creature then he thought he should dye the death but if they never bowed to any creature in a way of worship then they were innocent But This they might do and be never the better for saith the Apostle The end of the Commandment is love out of a pure heart and faith unfeigned To have any thing in the world for thy God Either to love or fear so that it draws away the love and fear of thy Creator that thing is to thee a God and thou givest it that worship fear and love that is due onely to God So far as any creature hath caused thee to offend thy Creator thou hast broken this Commandment If either riches or beauty or honour or promotion hath weighed down thy love from obeying God Almighty thou hast set it in the room of God and cast Him behind thy back And that thou hast worshipped and served thou sacrificedst to it thy heart thy fear thy love thy trust which is onely due to God They never came to this To observe what they set up in their hearts for God and herein lay The marrow The nourishment the meat of the Commandment and all because they had not smitten Kiriathsepher they had not crackt the Letter And so the second Commandment Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image Here let me tell you thus much In making of Images God loves Carvers better then Painters It may be The strangeness of the expression will cause you to take the more notice of what I am to say Be not offended aâ— the expression for I shall open my intentions in so saying Quest. Why sir what do you mean Answ. I le tell you Carvers you know in their work they lessen cut pare and take away but Painters they do not so but they adde in their work they put colour here and there So this is that I mean God loves those that seek him in poverty in a way of emptiness and self-nothingness And as for those that seek him in riches and greatness and in high things in mens esteem they go farther and farther from him The Virgin Mary found it so in experience when she said The hungry he fills with good things and the rich he sendeth empty away he hath regarded the
nothingness of his handmaid he hath brought down the mighty and exalted them of low degree and scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts If you would find God It must be by lessening your selves and taking the creature quite out of your way And if you would think of God to find Him you must not imagine Him under any form but cast away from you all that ever you can say or think for God is nothing that we can say name or imagine And therefore if you speak of any thing or think of any thing either in the heaven above or in the earth beneath or in the water under the earth and think him like it though it be never so glorious yea ten thousand times brighter then the Sun yet in this you commit Idolatry and make to your self A graven or a formed image All is one for God infinitely transcends all our thoughts and imaginations yea all the thoughts of all the Angels in heaven for none can comprehend God but God â—imself Therefore herein you belye God for he is none of all those things nor like any of those things we imagine For you know He speakes falsely as well He that sayes less then the truth as he that sayes more then the truth As in your publick oaths they are given in this form Thou shalt speak the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth So that he that speaks less then the truth or more then the truth speaks not the truth and he that speaks not the truth speaks a lye So he that thinks or speaks that which comes short of God and sayes such an one is the Almighty He belyes him and hath broken the second Commandment But he that shall Take away whatsoever is competible to any creature whatsoever He comes nearest to God For whatever is competible or agreeable to any creature Is All but Accidents and so The creature blindes us and hides God from us though God be in every creature and as much in one creature as in another yet These Accidents in the creatures hide God from us And those to whom Christ hath manifested the Father They in whom Christ dwells they know that Christ is in them and in every creature but Reprobates know it not as the Apostle saith Know ye not that Iesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates Those that be reprobates do not know that Christ is in them but if they be No Reprobates they know it and are sensible of it Christ hath manifested himself to be in them by Revealing to them That God filleth all things They See him Believe him and Feel him to be That Ever Blessed BEING That filleth all in all Who Alone can make them Happy They have seen His Goings out and His comings in His glorious Outgoings in every creature which hath so Endeared and won over their hearts to him so that they esteem him Dearer and more lovely and Amiable then ten thousand worlds and their hearts Can never depart from him or rather He hath so united them to himself by His love shed abroad in their hearts that they can never be Reprobated from him as David saith in Psal. 68. 24. They have seen thy goings O God even the goings of my King and my God even in the Sanctuary They see God in every creature Deckâ—d as on his Throne In his Glory and Majesty in his Heaven and in his Holy Temple But as we were saying whatever creature thou lookest upon be it never so glorious That creature by reason of its Clothing by Accidents iâ— blindes and hood-winks us from God for I cannot shew you God nor represent God to you by shewing or setting forth to you any creature but if you take from the creature All that can be felt heard thought or understood then you come Nearest Him As Dionysius in his book of Mystical Divinity who was St. Pauls Scholar mentioned in the Acts He very Elegantly expresseth This very thing we have so often spoke of and I willingly speak of it And the oftener as it comes in my way because I know These things we are very ignorant of generally even among those that think they know All things and yet are ignorant in this Great and Comprehensive truth which is even the very beginning and foundation and Rock of all other truths If you could take from the creature all Heat and Cold all heaviness and lightnesâ— all weight and measure all beauty and ill-favouredness all youth and age all greatness and littleness and all Accidents All manner of fashion and form or Whatever hath a Name or can be imagined then you shall find the High and Holy One in his tabernacle and in his Secret place Even He who is God blessed for ever that is Even God in Christ Iesus Those that go about to find God this way in the way of poverty and taking away they shall find God in Christ Jesus But those that go about to find him in the way of adding or inlarging or setting any creature before them to resemble God God hides himself the more and goes farther off from them And therefore it was I said that God loves Carvers better then Painters So then we have shewed you how Moses delivered onely the Letter of the Commandments and he that made Not an Idol to behold and fall down to it with his body he had not broke this Commandment But the Spirit of this Commandment goes farther then every eye can see and there is more contained in it then we can at first see in the superficies of the Letter For he not onely breaks this Commandment that makes an Image and falls down and worships it for this is but the least breach of it this is but outward and bodily he indeed transgresses against the Letter but there is an inward and more dangerous breach viz. To transgress against the Spirit of it That is He that thinks or believes or affirms That God is like any thing in heaven above or in the earth beneath or in the water under the earth and of this makes himself a God and adores and worships it in his mind This man the Lord will not hold him guiltless for he is a jealous God He that thinks God to be like any thing either glorious or base to be like any thing he hath seen or not seen to be like any thing he hath felt or not felt to be like any thing he hath heard or not heard to be like any thing great or little to be like any thing either present or absent or any thing he can imagine that man hath made him A graven Image and hath fallen down and worshipped it Nay I tell you though he hath neither eyes noâ— hands to make an Image yet he hath both made A graven Image and hath worshipped it Whereto sayes God will you liken me saw you any thing in that day c. and to what will
the 〈◊〉 which is to be smitten and he that doth So â—hall marry Achsah which signifies The Rending or the Tearing of the Vail and so by that means Kiriathsepher the City of the Letter sâ—all be made unto us Debir the Word So that if you put them together you must read it thus in English And A good Heart said He That smiteth the City of the Letter and taketh it to him will I give the rending of the vail asunder and he shall pass into my holy place and enter into my secret Pavilion or into my Tabernacle he shall behold and enjoy the glory of the Holie of Holies as it is promised in that 15. Psalme This is that S. Iohn wept sore for when the Angel 〈◊〉 proclamation in Rev. 5. with a loud voice Who is worthy to open the Book and to loose the seven seals thereof and no man in heaven or earth was able to open the book or look therein but at length it was revealed that the lion of the Tribe of Iudah the root of David had prevailed to open the book and loose the seals The Letter is not this sealed book for every one reads that humane abilities will reach the Letter and the Grammatical sense The Letter is not the Tree of Life nor the Waters of Life which god promiseth to give unto us The Letter is not the Secret Place of the Most High Every unclean Beast may hear and read therein and drink of these waters But He that hath the word of God shall live for over How many are and have been exercised constantly in That viz. in the Letter and yet not live but perish for ever Many thousands have taken great pains and writ many Volumes and preacht many Sermons and yet never reacht This Living for ever many have read it heard it preacht it and therein have thought they have done God good service and expect to enter and shall say Lord open to us and yet Christ shall say to them Depart ye workers of iniquity For by them the City of the Letter was never smitten and taken but he that shall be admitted to come into this Sanctuary and to eat of this Manna he shall find and say from a true and feeling sense thereof This is heavenly Manna indeed I find these are waters of life indeed for I find they give life to read hear and pray and the like they give no life they are no service to God without the life and power but kill and slay those souls that rest therein as most men do The words as I told you divide themselves into two parts Onus and honos The burthen he that strikes or smiteth Kiriathsepher and taketh it And the honour or reward to him that so doth He shall have Achsah to wife but see here it must be a Good heart must do it not a heart that seeks liberty to the flesh To make the knowledge of Christ as a more easie way to sinning to facilitate encourage them to please the flesh No no my Text sayes it must be a Caleb a good Heart such a Heart as seeks not rest in sinning but such a heart as seeks its Rest onely in God such a heart as hungers and thirsts after God Such a one as labours with all his soul night and day and never can be at Rest in any thing below God And then as it follows here Othniel the Lords fit opportunity or in his good timeâ— he struck it and took it Concerning Onus the burden I intimated that it is not sufficient To Read the Scriptures No though we could say all the Bible without Book and understand it according to the Letter It were nothing to salvation If they would read the whole Old and New Testament over every year as I have known some have made it their task yea and made it their boast nay I say more If it were possible they could read it All over every day in the year yet this were nothing for the Devil can do as much what man can come near him in bringing out Scripture upon all occasions As the flesh of Christ Till it was broken and his precious side Pierced and His Blood shed there was no profit could redound to us as he himself said This is my body which is broken for you this Letter of the Scriptures is As the body of Christ till this side of his be Pierced till this Letter be broken till this Rock be smitten there is no water for us Till the Lord give it down from Heaven there is no Manna no bread for us else we may live and dye with the Scriptures and yet hunger and starve and dye but this body being once broken and this Rock smitten and this Side pierced then we shall find a fountain of living waters springing up to eternal life and precious blood gush out and hidden Manna to nourish us so as we can never dye nor perish neither in this world nor in the world to come As you know bread is not food till it be broken whole bread and whole meat goes into the body and through the body into the draught and yields no nutriment to the body The Nourishment and the life and the spirit of it remains untoucht but if it be broken and chewed then the stomach separates the One and the Other The Vertue and the Excrement which divides and conveys to each way its part Truth it is many toss and tumble the Letter and have it much in their mouths and rowl it up and down but never crack it never break it though they seem so to do and make you believe they expound it and give you the sense and the vertue yet how shallow how literal how humane how low how sensual and carnal do they make the Word to be even your Rabbies your Doctors your great Schollars Which shews If that God himself if the Lion of the Tribe of Iudah If the Root of David do not open the Seals t is not all the learning or all the Universities in the world can help us to the Mystery And the Mind of Christ as the Apostle calls it Truth is The worst of men wicked men they feed but upon husks upon Excrements upon the Letter and keep a great stir and a great noise about that they indeed champ that in their mouths but they let the nourishment the vertue and the marrow escape They eat not of the childrens bread that is not for dogs as our Lord saith to the woman of Canaan As in Luk. 15. in the History of the Prodigal there wicked men the worst of men Carnal men they are there compared unto Swine because that any trash any Excrement or the refuse of any thing will serve their turn they feed upon Husks and it agrees well enough to their stomacks that satisfies and they neither desire nor know any better food and as their meat is so are they carnal and fleshly and earthly
live And With those men which Live â—pon the shadow and content themselves with Shels and Husks There is no peace to be had with them except ye make the Substance Vail to their Shadowes And the True God to stoop to their Idol Baal Otherwise They are like Saul Before He was converted Acts 9. 1. Exceedingly Mad against them like Inraged Mad Bulls and Breathing out Threatning and Slaughter against the Disciples of the Lord And are still seeking to the High Priests and the powers of the Earth to assist them with Commissions To make Havock of the Church But Oh! that the Lord would graciously Shine Round about them And smite them to the earth Causing them to hear That voice Why Why persecutest Thou Me It is Hard for thee to Kick against the Pricks But St. Paul â—e was now come to those things of which he knew and found Christ His bod was but A shadow He now possest the 〈◊〉 let the shadow go And if men woâ—ld never sleigh the Shadow or the Letter or the Shell Till the did it on the same ground the Aposâ—le did 〈◊〉 instead of blaming them I should Highly commend them But this is that which is too common in these dayes they throw away the shadow and the shell too soon they throw away the Letter and Ordinances upon a meer supposition 〈◊〉 they are in S. Pauls condition and this is thâ— very ground of the Error of Many in these dayes and therefore I caution hence 〈◊〉 much and charge you Not to throw away the Letter noâ— sleight the body of Christ in the least exâ—epâ— inrelation to the Spirit the Life and the Substance Onely comparatively And you as come Really 〈◊〉 enjoy these things not to cast them quite 〈◊〉 as I said before but not to rest in them 〈…〉 the Handmaid before the Mistress or the 〈◊〉 before the Marrow or the Casket before thâ— IEWEL or the â—ield before the PEARL Le no man saith the Apostle Iudge you in Meats 〈◊〉 Drinks or in respect of an Holy day New 〈…〉 of The Sabbath dayes which are shadows of Thing To come But the Body is Christ. For beloved Christs body was Symbolical 〈◊〉 well as his actions they all held 〈…〉 that we might not rest in them bâ—t this is 〈…〉 flesh in us is ready to abuse to our own 〈◊〉 and condemnation The cunning politick Devil in us when he cannot hold us in prophaneness by the Chains of ignorance then he labours to do it by the Chains of knowledge Sayes he in us if the letter be a shadow and nothing then we will neglect it we will throw it away there is nothing now to be done we will live as we list we Owe No duties to God or man we will please our selves and deny our selves nothing for we are gotten above Word Ordinances Sacraments Worships and all Oh Beloved these are the Devils strongest Chains of all These Chains of Knowledge to abuse the highest liberty and glory of a Christian to the Idleness and Luxuriousness of the flesh He that is taken in These Chains a thousand to one if he ever get out as the Apostle saith Heb. 10. There is after this no more Sacrifice for sins such will hardly ever recover themselves out of the snare of the Devil and as he expresseth it in Heb. 6. It is impossible for those who were once inlightned and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come if they shall fall away it is impossible to renew them again to repentance and he so goes on and explains it by a similitude For the earth which drinketh in the rain which cometh oft upon it and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whom it is dressed receiveth blessing from God else it beareth thorns and bryars and is rejected and is â—igh unto cursing and in the end to be burned This caution I thought good to mind you of that in taking you off from Resting on these things that you do not quite slight them nor think your selves come to the Spirit when ye have scarce Attained The letter and Outside But as I was saying Christs body and his actions were symbolical for though he healed the lame and cured the deaf and raised the dead and the like yet this was not the Substance nor the End of his coming for he by them shadowed out to us what he doth internally in our souls For Iesus Christ is yesterday and to day and thâ— same for ever He did then Those actions of curing the blind cleansing the lepers casting out devils and the rest So he doth the same still as David saith Psal. 103. Praise the Lord O my soul which cureth all thy diseases and healeth al thy infirmities which redeemeth our lives from destruction and crowneth us daily with loving kindnesses and tender mercies These are the diseases Christ cures daily and so cures that they never mortally fall sick again Those he cured then they might fall to the same diseases again or worse it may be and besides that curing them saved them not from death as this curing doth The young man that was raised from death dyed again and Lazarus dyed again but those he cures in soul they are cured for ever them he quickens for ever them he so raises from death that they dy no more As old Simeon said of him Luke 2. 34. That he was for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and he was for a sign which shall be spoken against He is for a sign in the flesh and in his Humane nature of what he did from the begining and of what he is still in doing He himself in the body in his humanity and All his actions were typical These things I often represent to you because we are Backward to reâ—eive them we are loth to turn our eyes inward in hearing and reading the Scriptures To see all those things fulfilled in our selves Nay we do not yet feel and believe That we are those that Christ came to cure that we are the dumb and the deaf the halt and the blind Little do we think that Devils are to be cast out of us but those whom Christ hath cured they are able to see really that they are The men that Christ then by them represented They see when they read of the Iews crucifying of the Lord of life of their cruel whipping mocking c. crowning him with thornâ— and the like they can say to themselves as Nathan said to David when by a parable he had represented his sin sayes he and so can this man say to himself Thou art the man And so likewise in all his other actions Far be it from any one to think that to heal those External diseases was the End of his coming But thus think Did he arise from death to life he doth the same
if a man love his friend let him wrong him if he can but here is matter If ye have but the External Worship As most men content themselves with that and never care for the Internal but if once ye have the Spirit and the True sense of the Letter through the Letter then I say let him throw away the Letter if he can no no he cannot abuse but love that in its place and degree which hath been the Shel and instrument to bring him all that sweetness meat and nourishment I say Beloved once again things being thus and men being generally thus taken with the Letter and go no farther Wonder not To see All the world in A Deluge All drowned in their own ways all seeking themselves and their Own things and not the things of Iesus Christ All being taken with and Idolizing their own Conceits Wonder not To see them All in a mist Groping in darkness and every one feeding himself with his own devices I say Wonder not for Iohn the Baptist He that leapt and sprang for ioy in his Mothers Womb at the salutation of the Virgin Mary For all He as it were lived with him was his acquaintance and conversed with him for 30. years yet knew him not Wonder not to see An Universal Darkness over the whole world and scarce a man knows Him that lives in them dwels in them I am afraid it is with most men as it was with those women the Apostle Paul speaks of Alwayes learning and never came to the knowledge of the truth Yet it is well known ye have alwayes been Throâ—gers of Christ with the Jews but I fear Never yet drew any vertue from him and that ye have not yet Taken the City of the Letter Never yet had The rending of the Vail never yet took Achsah to wife For if ye had you would be so far forth Altogether spiritual and much taken up with these things knowing no man any more after the flesh but altogether in a spiritual manner knowing God to be in you and to dwell with you wherefore to stand in awe of his goodness and greatness majesty and incomprehensibleness c. But Beloved I press these things the more and the oftâ—er because I know these things had need be taught you as the Prophet Esay saith Line upon line and precept upon precept here a little and there a little For these things ye receive but slowly and by degrees like narrow-mouth'd vessels as ye are able to receive otherwise these things run over run at wasâ—e and run besides And are spoiled and ye trample these Pearls under your feet And besides I know you have enough that press the Letter but these things very rarely and therefore I take the more liberty This is such a truth that I would have it founâ—ded and well rooted in you viz. That God is He that Fills All in All I would not have you ignorant of this one thing viz. that God He is All Act a pure Act and nothing acts nor grows or increases or moves but in Him Know that not one creature stirs in any act towards you but by Commission there is no such thing as chance or fortune This is such a foundationâ— Truth that every Branch of Godliness ariseth from this root Iacob He saw this for t is said when he Awaked then he saw God was in this place God there appeared to him On purpose to convince Iacob of this very Truth not but that God was in that place before but Iacob saw him not there before God was in this place before but I knew it not saith he but his eyes being opened then he cryes out Oh! How dreadful is this place this is noâ—e other but the house of God! God dwells with us and in us and we are not aware of it All this while To this very day As suppose two men should come into a large room in which the King should be in one corner behind the hangings privately I suppose I have used the Simile before but the fitness makes me use it the oftner therefore take it and apply it and the One of these two men Espieth the King the Other knowing nothing of him He that knows the King is there he behaves himself with all Reverence and fear as before the King because he knows the King hears and sees all but the other lashes out in idle and frothy talk and behaves himself rudely as among his companions The reaon is because He sees not the King but if once he chance to espye the King or the King discover himself to him Then He humbles himself for all his idle carriage falls down Amazed intrembling and fear and carries himself so much the more Humbly and Awfully and the more submissively His carriage is quite changed he is no such man as he was before so Howsoever a man carry himself before he sees God and before he knew of him that he was so near and he knew it not yet when God once shews and discovers himself to such a man In the midst of all his pride and lofty carriage in the midst of his high and Towring imaginations and self-conceits As he did to Belshazzar when the hand-writing appeared to him on the wall His hair stood upright and his knees smote together and his joynts were loosed Even so is this man astonished at the sight of God in him he falls down and cries out with Iacob Oh! how dreadful is this place this is none other but the house of God and I never knew so much Was my God my Creator the Almighty and maker of Heaven and Earth He that the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain Is he here by me and in me all this while heard all my words and observed all my actions and I not know it I not aware of it Oh vile wretch that I am Beloved the case was thus with Iacob He over night being weary Travelling a whole days journy from his fathers house had no Inne to lodg at but in the open field having gotten some stones together for his pillow and the Heavens foâ— his Curtains He lies down in sorrow and thoughtfulness what he should do what would becom of him what course he should take He was a yoâ—ng maâ— and apt to run hiâ— own wayes and follow his own will little he had and knew not how he should be provided foâ— He was fain to run from home leave his fathers house as a banished man and it seems in these thoughts and the like he fell asleep And in a dream God appears and speaks to him and comforts him And in his dream he saw a vision A Ladder reaching up to Heaven and the Angels of God ascending and descending c. and when he awaked he finding God to be so near him anâ— present with him whithersoever he went his spirit was comforted and refreshed Then He was a changed man Then he had New
who can be against us 〈◊〉 likewise if God be against us who can be for us If a man flye from a Bear what help hath he if a Lion meet him and to flye from an iron weapon and a bow of steel strike him through when God is become thine enemie who dare be thy friend when God shall deny a man comfort then all comforts and Comforters fly from him when the God of all comfort shall deny his creatures power to comfort thee then like Iob if thou lay thee down thou sayest when shall I arise and the night be gone and thou art full of tossings too and fro unto the dawning of the day Iob 7. 4. He seeks for comfort but none dare give when the day comes he wisheth for the night and when the night comes he wisheth for the day and is full of unquietness While a man is in the body the Almighty hath visible Chariots to ride in towards thee In this life he shoots visible arrows Nah. 3. 2. The noise of a whip the noise of the ratling of the wheels of the praâ—sing horses and of the jumping Chariots He striks with visible swords his Chariot-wheels shall rattle against thee in poverty disgrace imprisonments in this life c. these are his rods whatever else seems bitter to us He hath the earth to swallow thee up as it did Dathan and his company and he hath waters to drown thee as he did Pharaoh he hath Whips Racks Strapadoes Halters and the like All these he hath and a 100 times more he useth for the body in the hands of man But adde unto these the invisible torments of thy invisible part And a wounded heart which as Solomon saith and such who have felt it know full well is far above all the rest The spirit of a man may sustain his infirmity but a wounded spirit who can bear I but now if a man shall say with David Psal. 139. 11. Peradventure the darkness shall cover me and I will flee far hence when I have put off this body I shall then be at rest then dark death shall cover me and it shall ease me and hide me from all these things No no Then hath thy God invisible Chariots in which he rides and invisible weapons which shall pierce thy invisible soul The day and the night are all one to him Psal. 139. 12. When thou hast put on death he hath then also fiery Chariots and Horses still to affright amaze pursue wound and kill with a never dying death And therefore let us learn to fear him who can cast both boâ—â— and soul into hell But let us not fear any 〈◊〉 and I hope especially some among us we have not so learned Christ as either to fear them or trust in them Some saith David Psal. 20. 7. put trust in Chariots and some in Horses but we will trust in the name of the Lord. These are things we should never regard for all the Creatures are but Chariots wherein God rides therefore we should not much heed them but God in them neither men nor things but God onely who acts in them and by them for they can neither do us any good or hurt as of themselves but as they are acted and commanded by God and therefore I say we should neither fear them nor trust in them First Not fear them for so saith our Saviour Mat. 10. 28. Fear not him that can but kill the body c. Not trust in them for saith David A horse is counted but a vain thing to save a man Psal. 33. 17. And again put not you your trust in Princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help For what is it that we trust to when we trust in them Fear them not saith the Psalmist why for their breath is in their nostrils they are but a puff of breath which is soon past and gone As soon as ever the Gate of our Life is broken down by some disease or other we come to nothing The snare is broken and our souls are escaped and what can such poor creatures do to us either for good or hurt Secondly Trust not in them no not in Princes nor in the son of man whose breath is in his nostrils in whom there is no 〈◊〉 and wherein is he to be accounted of The words are very remarkable and emphatical for when he had said Trust not in Princes one would think he had gone to the highest pich of power on earth for what is greater and who are of more power then Princes yet he addes nor in the son of man whose breath is in his Nostrils that is when a man hath trusted so long to things without himself till he hath no more to trust to and all fail him yet at last of all he will trust to himself and indeed the last trust is in a mans self therefore Christ nameth this before all to deny a mans self and take up his Cross herein daily But let us have our eye onely upon God and say as Elisha of Eliâ—ah and afterward as Ioash to Elisha 2 King 13. 14. so let us cry to God alone O my father my father the Chariots of Israel and the Horsmen thereof for indeed he is the Horsmen and the Chariots So when we look round about us both on the right hand and on our left above or below us let us take heed we rest not in any Creature whatsoever but let us look up and see that God is the strength of Israel his people and let us call upon him and say O my Father my Father the Chariots and Horsmen of Israel and to say with Iehosaphat in any strait O our God we know not what to do but our eyes are upon thee But as I told you there were chariots of divers fashions some that are made open and some made close And of old the Princes and great Ones of the Earth had Chariots of divers fashions and for divers uses so hath God Almighty As he hath Chariots Of Triumph so of Warre And those are both Offensive to pursue Defensive to deliver So also the Lord Almighty hath his Chariots Both Open and close wherein he Rides In some of his Chariots in some of his Creatures God rides more close in some he rides more open In some Creatures God is more apparently seen in others he is more hid But yet I will say as Austin saith of his Iudgements in some he is more hidden in others he is more manifest yet in all he is alwayes just And so say I of his presence in all his Creatures in some he is more conspicuous and apparent in others more secretly but in all alike truly and apparent to the seeing eye The Heavens are an open Chariot wherein he appears more visibly plainly Psal. 19. 1. The Heavens shew forth the glory of God and the Earth
delicate or wanton flesh and blood saith is good as to eat Calves out of the stall and Kids out of the flock and then rise up and sing to the sound of the Vial and the Harp Can there be any true comforts in these discomforts which if attained are but vanity and if not attained are vexation of Spirit Teshavah Teshelemoth nay most commonly better not attained then attained because they prove but snares and destructions But here may be applyed that of Sampsons riddle out of the sowre came forth sweet and out of the eater meat therefore O that we could behold the love of God in all conditions Indeed there is nothing happens to the wicked that hath any thing of love in it but if we belong to him how heâ—vy soever the afflictions be or how evil or unjust soever the Instrument be from him it is alwayes just and is in love and intended for our good and the issue shall be sweet just and good Shall then any servant of God grudge at whatever such a Tender father lays upon him we suffer the fathers of our bodies to correct us as the Apostle saith Heb. 12. 9. and we gave them reverence and shall we not much rather be in subjection to the father of spirits and live so verily they for a few dayes chastened us for their pleasure but he for our profit that we may be partakers of his holiness I might shew you in many things wherein our profit by afflictions ariseth but this is not our point in hand we must return to it that we may end at present and commit you to God And let not me think because there are so many men and creatures in the world in Heaven and in Earth to provide for defend and protect that therefore I shall be neglected or that he hath not Armies and Angels enough to defend me or that thou who ever thou art that trustest in him shalt be neglected no no. To think because Kings and Princes and great Ones have Angels to defend them therefore to doubt there will be none or not enough to mind or to assist me Yea yea fear not he hath Chariots enough to assist all yea all his Creatures in all places in all times through all ages Beloved those sweet Babes the Kings children that now are How pleasant are they they take their sleep their food their play and care for nothing And yet little do they think how many heads must bleed and hearts must ake before their royal persons can be touched but I say they take their play and sleep quietly in their Cradles neither fear nor care toucheth them So my beloved Let the true royal seed of God do so Let all Gods Servants lie down in peace and take their rest and say O Lord thou alone makest me dwel in safety Psal. 4. for their Gods Armies lie round about them and shall make them all dwel safely They cannot be touched or hurt For besides al this that these millions of Angels both in Heaven Earth are their Guard That great General himself the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is their Saviour Protectour and his Everlasting Arms are under them for evermore But it may be their infirmities and their ignorance wil not let them see it or confess it yet little do they know how many thousand thousands of the Armies of God must be overthrown before Gods people or any one of his children can be touched before ever any one member of Jesus Christ can be hurt for this God as he is great dreadful so he is a God infinite in bowels and compassions who fills and commands all Creatures and all his Armies and Chariots are for their defence relief and protection And therefore from henceforth and for ever let us all cry out in an holy admiration Oh the Heighth Depth Breadth and Length of his Power and Mercy and Loving-kindness 1 HEIGHTH For saith David Psal. 36. Thy Mercy O Lord is in the Heavens and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds Thy righteousness is like the great Mount ains and thy Iudgements are a great deep O Lord thou â—reservest man and beast How excellent is thy loving kindness O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the â—adow of thy wings â—hey shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house and thou shalt make them drink of the Rivers of thy pleasures For with thee is the fountain of life and in thy light we shall see light 2 DEPTH Psal. 86. 13. Great is thy mercy toward me thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Hell 3 BREADTH Psal. 104. 24. O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches 4 LENGTH Psal. 98. 3. He hath remembred his mercy and his truth toward the house of Isaael all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God And now Brethren if this OUR great God be Lord and Governour of the House what then can be out of order If he be our spenditory our house of Store what fear of want If he be our Treasurer what fear of poverty Surely he hath enough and enough infinitely more then enough He can make the Philosophers Stone he can make gold he can and will create comforts and therefore let all these things stay your hearts and depend on him as on that Rock to whom there is none like him though all the men all the Kings Princes on earth should consult and conspire together and all contribute their utmost to make thee happy yet there is none like the God of Iesurun who rideth upon the Heavens in his help and in his excellency upon the skie for the eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are THE EVERLASTING ARMS And so I commit you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and bring you on to perfection Militia Coelestis OR The Heavenly Host The second Sermon upon Psal. 68. 17. The Chariots of God are twenty thousand thousands of Angels The Lord is among them as in Sinai in the Holy Place At Giles Criplegate in the Afternoon the Repetition omitted WE may well call this Verse The heavenly warfare wherein as I told you were contained four things 1 Their nature they are the hariots of God because God was pleased to ride in them 2 Their number the Text saith that they are twenty thousand thousands of Angels and I told you from the Text that they were Infinite 3 Their name they are called Angels 4 Their Commander and that is God The Chariots of God are twenty thousand even thousands of Angels We spake of these two in the forenoon we come now to the two last The third is their name Angels There is much adoo about this name of Angels what they are what their nature is but we will not now stand
much upon that the most do consent that all the creatures are Angels The word it self signifies especially in this plaâ—e an ambassador or a messenger now all the creatures being so messengers or ambassadors from God they must needs all be Angels But if a man should speak now unto the wisest in Israel and tell them that God sent Angels into every womb there to frame and create the Infant would he not wonder But what if I should say that the very forming-power is an Angel This could not be digested yet it is true for every particular influence in every creature is an Angel observe this that never any one Angel was sent on two errands nor never any two Angels on one errand for all the whole creation do joyntly together sing the infinite praise of their most wise Creator there is not the wickedest man alive but sings and sounds forth Gods praise as much as the holiest though it may be against their wills for if they sing not the praise of his mercy yet they sing as much to his praise the glory of his Iustice. God makes even the very worst of his creaturs sing a part of his praise Ask the craggy Mountains what part they sing and they will tell you they sing the praise of the immutableness unchangeableness of God Ask the flowers of the field what part they sing and they will tell you they sing the wisdom and liberality of God who clothes them beyond Solomon in all his glory Ask the Sun Moon and Stars what part they sing they will say the constancy of Gods promises that they shall hold their course and not alter it Ask the poor received sinner what part he sings and he will tell you he sings the infinite free mercy of a most gracious Father And ask the wicked obstinate sinner what part he sings and he will tell you he sings the praise of his patience and Iustice. And truly my beloved not one creature but sings apart and yet all together all that ever were and that are and that ever shall be put all together yet they do not sing no not the thousand thousand part of this infinite eternal God As the Queen of Sheba when she came and heard Solomons wisdom she confessed that what she heard of him in her own Countrey although incredible yet it was not the tenth part of that she saw and heard so though all creatures sing Gods praise yet All and all if they were a thousand times more then they are yet they all do not yield the thousand thousand part of that honour and praise that is due to him for he hath all perfections in him and he also gives and distributes to the several creatures those several parts and portions they have As I have often told you the perfection of any one species cannot be known by any one individual And so Gods Church is a glorious Church taken not as being in any one member but in the compleat body As the perfections of a man cannot be known by any one man for if one man have wisdom another hath sobriety if one hath patience another man hath temperance so that the beauty of the Church cannot be known by any one member be it never so excellent If Abraham hath faith Iob hath patience if Ioseph hath chastness Moses hath meekness c. so that as you must not look for the perfections of a man in one man for if one be as fair as Absalom another is as proper as Saul if one hath proportion another hath sobriety c. so neither must we look to see the admirable perfection of the Spouse of Christ that is all fair and hath no spot by one member neither by all that are now living upon the earth or that were but look upon all that ever were are and shall be and adde to them their Head Christ and then it is a beautiful Church indeed and in her no spot at all So though every creature express God One one attribute another another and they speak his praise wonderfully yet they come infinitely shorr of him and though altogether they say somewhat yet not the tenth part of him not the tenth part of his Iustice not the tenth part of his patience not the tenth part of his Mercy c. One is sent to deliver a message of his love another a message of his justice another a message of his patience another a message of his liberality and bounty all of several errands and whatever message he sends any creature on he is alwayes just they all do but his will Though they sin and transgress and therein think they do their own will that makes it sin but they all do his wil therefore it is said Ps. 103. 20. Bless the Lord all ye hosts ye Angels that do his pleasure and although it be more properly spoken of those Angels that are invisible in the air in the heavens yet it may well be also applied to all creaturâ—â— for he hath made them very little lower then the Angels onely in the Angels below matter prevails above the form but in the Angels above form prevails over the matter for if our forms were not bounded and fastned to the earth by their matter even we should be as the Angels of God so that we should no sooner think or desire to be in any place were it never so far off but we should immediately be there for how soon can my spirit convey it self in thought thousands of miles but my body cannot be there but by times and succession of gradation and by steps The reason is because the form is imprisoned in the matter earth goes to earth and ashes to ashes and dust to dust naturally because it is its center but the spirit goes upward naturally the higher we go from the earth the more pure the elements and the nearer the earth the more gross the more dull the more sad and lumpish it is impossible that a heavy body should hang in the air for every thing tends and bend to his center if it be a heavy body it will fall downward the water is purer then the earth the air then the water the light then the air the fire then the light and so more and more spiritual till you come to him who is All Spiritual Spirit it self And for those Angels are out of our sight which are said to be in heaven you know there are degrees of them some are Angels some Archangels some Cherubims and some Seraphims 〈◊〉 therefore if you have observed it if ever ye saw Angels pictured they were drawn with compleat bodies from head to foot but yet to shew they are above a man and more spirit therefore they have alwayes wings which shew that they are above us in their Nature and are carried above our element but Arch-angels they are pictured with half bodies cut off at the middle with wings shewing that they are further off
Letter speaks that is but Solomon but the spirit is Jesus Christ the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth And when Solomons wife speaks observe and mind the wife of Jesus Christ his Church and Spouse the dearly beloved of his soul being professions of dearness and intimateness of love to his wife and of his wives to him do but set forth the unexpressible and reciprocal dearness between Christ and his Church The Letter is but a dead resemblance or picture of the life within as of good things promised so evil threatned It speaks of devouring fire and everlasting burnings Isa. 33. 14. and of the Tophet prepared of old and of the worm that never dyeth and of weeping and gnashing of teeth and all these are but resemblances and shadows of the terrors of the Almighty the thing it self is infinitely beyond these expressions As I have read of some who of old time kept for their security fierce dogs within the House and were wont to have without doors upon the wall a painted Dog with this Caution Cave Cave Canem Beware Beware the Dog And I have read of some ignorant people that would place burning Lamps made of combustible matter mixt with oil in the Sepulchres of their friends and have likewise pourtraied fire on the stones on the outside to shew there was fire within So the outward Letter is but the picture the resemblance of the truth within that is but the Literal Historical sense the life the fire is another thing Jesus Christ is the Spirit and Life he is the fire as Iohn 5. 35. Christ saith of Iohn He was a burning and a shining light that was so far as Christ did shine and give light in him and by him As true fire is infinitely unspeakably beyond the shadow resemblance and representation both in heat and splendour so is the truth beyond the Letter And as a living Dog is more then a painted or a dead Dog for they bite not at all but the Dog within is of another nature Psal. 110. 1. The Lord said unto my Lord sit thou at my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool that is The Lord said unto his son or unto his word for so the word in the Original may be as well taken The Lord said unto his Word Sit thou on my right hand c. This great Kings word is like the Kings daughter Psal. 45. 13. All glorious within And he that hath the Bride is the Bridegroom that is He thâ—t hath the living sense given to him he is instructed to the Kingdom of God The living sense is the Word the Word is Christ himself the letter thâ—t is but the shell but this is the kernel and is of perpetual use As all the Scriptures are symbolical and figurative so this more especially These words then are a request of the Spouse to her Husband whose love and instruction she never wanted and yet here she sues for it though he was not wanting to her yet still she desires to grow in the knowledge and love of him that she might abound therein as he filled her so still she desires to be filled I gave you four things to consider of which was rather for memory sake then order 1 Her request Tell or Teach her 2 The weight she hangs upon her request Oh thou whom my soul loveth 3 The matter of her Request what it is she sâ—eks these two things where thou feedest and where thou restest at noon 4 Lastly The reason of all For why should I be as those that turn aside to the flocks of thy companions thereby intimating if he did not continually teach her and direct her she should presently turn aside to the flocks of his companionâ— some are so full their Omers run over they are wiser then the Spouse here as God said to Tyrus Ezek. 28. 3. Art thou wiser then Daniel these men they are wiser then Daniel They if they had been but with God at the Creation they could have directed him to have done many things wiser then he hath done they would have shewed him a better way and in their prayers they are still teaching God what to do but there are none of these things in Christs Spouse this is not her voice but in all her conditions and at all times yea till the world shall be no more she cries Tell me Teach me Let us dread the sentence of the Church of Laodicea Thou sayest that thou art rich and wantest nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked There is nothing so pleasing to the ears of God as this sound this voice Tell me teach me direct me Oh thou whom my soul loveth All other prayers are but the prayers of the Devil they can confess God to be and know him to be Mighty Glorious Omnipotent Omnipresent to be the Mighty Lord Iah Iehovah they can herein out-strip any man living therefore let us examine how much we love God and how much more then any thing else if thou canst not examine it by it self examine it by the fruits for by their fruits ye shall know them How much hath thy love increased toward him or doest thou love him as well as ever thou didst for thou lovedst him ever since thou wert born that 's never a whit If thou bearest no fruit thou art dead yea it may be twice dead and pulled up by the roots for if thou be rooted in him thou canst not if thou wouldst but bring forth fruit What ever prayers come from a soul that can truly say it loves God from this root I may boldly say it never returns in vain if it can say Oh thou whom my soul loveth thou art my God and I will love thee I would not commit adultery with any creature but my love is taken off all and is towards thee then is Gods love shed abroad in thy heart But we will go on to the next to the Spouses request Tell me what where thou feedest it is a strange speech now at this time that Christ should eat yet it is a true speech and a real question not imaginative but real not a transitive but a substantive It is true he did eat when he was upon earth you will say but he eats not now For your answer and for your better understanding of this take this short Theory They that conceive Christ according to the short time of 33 years that he lived upon earth or thereabouts they do limit and circumcise as I may say and cut short the vastness of his greatness Yet it is very true he lived 33 years upon earth and One only merit of his One action that he performed at that time was sufficient to satisfie for the sins of all the world abundantly and to perfect the work of Redemption considering what person he was viz. God equal with his Father
bold so it is a very strange speech and a home charge but wonder not for where the Spirit of the Lord is there is true boldness as Solomon saith Prov. 28. 1. The Righteous are as bold as a Lion For the Prophet here strikes at head and tail root and branch great and small Prince and People Priest and Prophet The whole house of Israel are here 1 Accused of Covetousness 2 Condemned for Covetousness The accusation is like an Indictment well laid which expresseth 1 The fault the charge which is Covetousness 2 The extent of the fault it was Epidemical from the greatest to the least 3 The Intention they gave themselves to it they did it purposely and voluntarily And 4 The Charge being proved and they found guilty the sentence or condemnation follows which is onely implyed in the word For it being the connexion of this verse with the former wherein is threatned that God will pour out his fury and indignation upon the children and young men upon the husband and wife the aged with him that is full of dayes and their houses and wive should be turned to others I The matter of the accusation is Covetousness But this sin how evil soever and however threatned here and elsewhere in the Scriptures is hardly esteemed any sin at all ye cannot perswade men of the Evilness thereof but you are ready to think and charge us that we Church-men are strange fellows To set up men of straw and then fight against them for our parts we find very few covetous some indeed are Swearers Drunkards Adulterers Lyars Prophaners of the Sabbath these they can see and acknowledge to be sins and would have us preach against them but to keep such a stir about Covetousness they think is a vain thing and time lost for either they are but few that are so or else t is not so great a sin as you make for or else you call that Covetousness which is not Indeed I confess other sins wear the Devils Cognizance and Livery openly but this alwayes wears a Cloak ye shall never see Covetousness without its Cloak as the Apostle terms it 1 Thes. 2. 5. For our last Translation renders it very right Nor a Cloak of Covetousness For this sin is generally in credit in the world and therefore they do not let it go naked but clothe it not with the name of any vice or sin but under tolerable and credible names as Thrift Providence Good Husbandry Honest care of a mans own and Care of the main chance I and so it should seem they esteem it the main chance a covetous man will part with his soul before he will part with his Covetousness and they have Scripture ready to protect and defend them 1 Tim. 5. 8. He that provideth not for his own especially for them of his own house is worse then an Infidel and hath denied the faith And so they bring it in as a duty that they ought to be scraping and covetous We may endeavour to uncase this covetous man by two words one is in the place before named 1 Thess. 2. 5. Nor a cloak of Covetousness its never without a cloak as I said and the other is 1 Tim. 6. 10. its hare called The root of all evil What a world of evils grow up from covetousness as if we had time we might shew In brief it excludes all love and fear of God and all love and pity to men and all care of our neighbours good and so breaks the whole Law it will make him Oppress Cozen Deceive Lye sell a good Conscience for every trifle In short it will make a man turn his back on all Religion to forsake the faith and consequently Salvation as is there exprest and in the foregoing Verses The love of money is the root of all evil which while some have coveted after have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows It is such a sin that if ever God touch the heart about it it will pierce through with many sorrows before ever they can forsake it for saith he They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in perdition and destruction It is such a subtil snate so cunningly contrived and so full of fair pretences that let a man be once in love with money he knows not which way to wind out but it wil fetter him even to everlasting perdition and destruction Indeed friends it is a very hard thing to uncase this sin because care and diligence there may and must be and this is its Cloak DILIGENCE is Covetousness his Cloak never off his back whereby it s sheltred against all reproof I suppose and sure it is a man may pray Agurs prayer without Covetousness Prov. 30. 8 9. Give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with food convenient for me A Competency of food and raiment this certainly is the limitation and bound of our desires But then will arise another Question What is a Competency or what is sufficient Therefore some in answer hereunto have deâ—ined Covetousness to be an inordinate desire of more and using unlawful means and ways to get it But I conceive this is somewhat too favourably defined for one may be covetous yea deeply covetous and yet get his goods without fraud deceit or oppression c. Aug. de lib. Arbit lib. 3. Chap. 17. Avaritia est plus velle quam satis sit It is Covetousness to desire more then is sufficient which is But daily bread and but This day our daily bread we have no warrant to seek more But we having daily bread according as our Saviour teacheth us to pray in the Lords prayer which includes all things necessary for this life food and raiment and the like without question this is sufficient and the desire of more is Covetousness As our Saviour commands Matth. 6. latter end Take no thought for the morrow saying What shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewith shall we be clothed for after all these things do the Gentiles seek And as the Apostle exhorts 1 Tim 6. 8. Having food and raiment let us be therewith content When this will not content then the desire is inordinate when a man will hunt and seek after that which he dare not warrantably pray for which is but daily bread and why should we seek with carking care for any more for any more for our breath is in our nostrils we are not sure of life not an hour then to what end is all this taking thought and then thou fool whose shall those things be which thou hast provided within this bound we ought to keep our selves for no sooner are we over this pale and bound SUFFICIENT but then we are in the wide wildernes and boundless CHAMPAIGN of Covetousness which consists in two things 1. To be covetous is to let
claudo because it is kept secret sacrâ—d and shut up because in all Mysteries t is necessary to keep close the mind and not to shew the things which are to be concealed as one saith for as St. Paul saith concerning Circumcision Rom. 2. 28 29. He is not a lew which is one outwardly neither is that circumcision which is that of the flesh but he is a Iew which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God So say I of saving knowledge He that sees the Mystery of the Scripture he hath the true knowledge of the Scripture He is not taught of God that knows only the Letter and the Flesh of the Scripture but true understanding is that of the Spirit and not of the Letter and though men may â—ry up and praise literal knowledge yet God onely esteems of inward knowledge the mind and inside of the Scriptures All other knowledge is vain and maketh a man not one hairs breadth the better before God Therefore we may observe also what Ministers the Apostle preferres not the Ministers of the Letter but the Ministers of the New Testament as in that of 2. Cor. 3. 6. Able Ministers not of the Letter but of the Spirit And those also to be true Christians having not the Law onely outwardly in tables of stone but within in the fleshy tables of the heart he having made us able Ministers of the New Testament not of the Letter but of the Spirit for the Letter killeth but the Spirit giveth life all the knowledge of the history is but as the Law written in Tables of stone which doth us no good but it is onely the Spirit the knowledge of the Mystery And Marrow That giveth life But you will say to me How doth the Letter kill I Answer By resting therein and not seeking for the marrow the food and the life but contenting our selves with the knowledge of the History and outside but because I have at other times unfolded this unto you I shall here pass it by and come to the Spirit and Mystery of our Text in hand So then it resteth This premised being That we may safely conclude even thus much that as our Saviour was typisied by others who went before him he was the Substance of all those Shadows both of persons and things even so Christ Jesus himself he is the resemblance and type of himself his outward temporal and visible actions in the flesh were a type of his inward and internall actions in the souls of all Believers He being their life and Resurrection they being before but dead men in Trespasses and sins untill his actions be their life and Regeneration So likewise as his life was Typical and resembled himself so in regard of his death and crucifying whatever he suffered externally in the flesh it shews how he is internally crucifyed daily even to the end of the world Heb. 6. 6. Seeing they crucifie to themselves the Son of God a fresh and put him to an open shame So likewise for all his other actions and passages related of him as his Nativity it held out our spiritual birth and Christ his being born in the soul as the Apostle expresseth it Gal. 4. 19. My beloved of whom I travel in birth till Christ be formed or brought forth in you So also in his Circumcision is held forth our Spiritual Circumcision as in that of Col. 2 11. Ye are compleat in him in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ c. So also for holiness of life Christs holiness shew us what holiness shall be in them that are his children and people Mat. 5. 16. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in Heaven So also for his outward Teaching it represents to us that all His people should be taught of God he himself would be the true Teacher in us as Isa. 54. 13. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of thy children And Jer. 31. 34. And they shall no more teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother saying Know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least to the greatest saith the Lord. And Christ himself cites these places Iohn 6. 45. It is written in the Prophets And they shall all be taught of God every man therefore that hath heard and learned of the father cometh unto me So also in Christs Miracles as in opening the eyes of the blind it shews that Christ himself must open our eyes or else we remaine stark blind yea as those born blind And never any man but he was known to open the eyes of any born blind David saith Psal. 13. 3. Lighten thou mine eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death And Psal. 18. 28. For thou wilt light my Candle The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness So also in opening the ears of the deaf it is he alone can say to our ears Ephathah be ye opened it is so So also for his restoring of limbs causing those that are Cripples from their Mothers womb to leap like an Hart and to run his wayes with delight The like also for his raising the dead and feeding the Multitudes And what shall I say more you may apply them more to your selves The time would fail me to undertake to speak of all his actions So also of his Resurrection If ye be risen with Christ seek those things which are above Col. 3. 2. And so of his Ascension and all other his Actions and Miracles to see all these things held forth and typiâ—ied in the Person Actions and Miracles of our Saviour These are all Saving actions wrought in us and we thereby partake of the excellency and vertue thereof The other though wrought for us yet if we are not quickned vivified and put into act by these we receive no benefit by them An outward dead faith to believe onely in an external Christ is no better then a faith of Devils This is that Christ whose day Abraham saw and rejoced in Joh. 8. 56. and not in regard of the other onely viz. Prophetically but this chiefly This is that Christ and him crucified whom St. Paul desire onely to know 1 Cor. 2. 2. in regard of which Christ in him working acting and expressing his own life himself in him he slighted the external knowledge of Christ according to the flesh 1 Cor. 5. 16. Wherefore henceforth know no wan after the flesh yea though we have known Christ after the flesh yet henceforth know we him no more Now then as all the other actions and passions of Christ were not onely meritorious in themselves
but also typical and Significant so is this growth of Jesus Christ he grows up in us in wisdom and stature and he in us waxeth strong in spirit being filled with wisdom and understanding He teacheth us the true wisdom He in us chuseth that good thing which shall never be taken away He is The grace of God in us I live saith the Apostle yet not I but it is Christ his life in me From him cometh all growth in grace not from our selves the work is his none of ours From him cometh Faith Hope Charity Strength Vertue c. If any of these come from man from the power industry or strength of man they are false and good for nought yet how ready are most men to assume these to themselves or at least to think that by their power or wisdom or industry they have attained them From whence come wars come they not from your lusts So from whence comes pride and the lifting up of the creature high towring and and swelling imaginations that in plain terms exalt themselves against Jesus Christ they are so far from being from him or of him that they are quite contrary to him however to some may seem the vertues of Christ himself but they they are the excrements of the Old man Hence it is said That Iohn Baptist grew and waxed strong in spirit because Christ by his divine life in him brake forth in Iohn and his light did shine before men they seeing those good works in him God was glorified not Iohn for saith he I must decrease but he must increase Hence it is said here accentively twice in this Chapter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 versus ult 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both in our Text and Verse ult And the childe grew and waxed strong in Spirit filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upou him And again Iesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and men As these things were in him in his person then so the same things are as really done in his Mystical body and members All these influences are his and flow from him the head We are dead in trespasses and sins bnt he is the Resurrestion and Life And he that believeth in him shall never dye nay though he were dead yet shall he live When Jesus Christ doth once begin to display and declare the glory of himself in the soul and to adorn the soul with himself what a palace what a Kingdom what a Temple is that soul Well might David say Glorious things are spoken of thee O thou City and Temple of God Psal. 82. 3. more glorious then the Temple spoken of Rev. 21. and saith our Saviour The Kingdom of heaven is within you All that description Rev. 21. there at large setteth out the Glory and light of that Temple which was like Iasper most precious and clear as Chrystal and the wall high and stately wherein were twelve gates the gates kept by twelve Angels and the walls of Iasper and the City pure gold and the very foundation garnished with precious stones a Iasper a Saphir a Chalcedony an Emerald a Sardonix a Sardius a Chrysolite a Beril a Topas a Chrysophrasus a Iacinth an Amethist I say all these things are accomplished in a great measure in some less in some more in all those where Jesus Christ is pleased to display his glories and in that soul where he is pleased to adorn it with his own graces and with the fruites of the spirit as Faith Hope Charity Strength Vertue Love Ioy Peace Long-suffering Gentleness Goodness Meekness Temperance c. Those that are thus qualified inriched and adorned let me tell you they need no Law no Light for they are a Law to themselves and there is a light within them like that City Rev. 21. 23. That had no need of the Sun neither of the Moon to shine in it for The Glory of God did lighten it and the lamb is The light thereof Nay I may say and say truly as I may say they are gotten above Law above Letter in this regard for they have the Gospel and the life within them yet for all this do not think that I speak against Law or Letter or Ordinances use them as I say but Rest not in them And know this also that while the soul is Rapt up in the glory sight and beholding of Jesus Christ he knows this that he enjoys that which is the Substance and that which is as farre above the other as the Substance is above the Shadow and the Life above the Letter and the Spirit above the Flesh yet he will not slight nor cast away these means or Ordinances because God hath often appeared in them and by them to him as I have shewed more at large upon other Scriptures But I say Let us look to find that in us which Christ affirms that the Kingdom of God is within us and that you are in some beginnings of that glorious Temple and City mentioned before for if you think the Kingdom of God or Heaven to consist of such things as are there declared in the Letter you are much deceived But the holy Spirit is pleased to make use of such expressions and representations that are so amiable and Glorious to the carnall eye that so we may come to see the Truth and Substance of those Shadows and Representations to be far and transcendenly more ravishing and glorious as all those Saints and people of God before whom God hath Unvailed his glory can abundantly witness and seal to the truth thereof Insomuch that had they all those precious stones and Houses and Temples built of them really yet they in comparison of what they see and enjoy of God would trample them all under their feet as not worthy to be named the same hour with those true pearls and those ravishing full and satisfying and transparent precious stones which are within them They need not when they are in union and communion with him and when he is pleased to let but his back parts pass before them they shall not desire the light of the Sun or of the Moon to give light in that Temple for the glory of the Lord doth lighten it aud the Lamb is the light thereof And as it is expressed there in Ver. 14. The Nations of them that are saved shall walk in the light of it and the Kings of the earth shall bring their glory unto it This Temple and this Palace and this Glory darkens all the glory and splendor of all the Kings and Emperors under the Sun All their glory vanisheth and makes hast before this glory as being abashed and ashamed once to appear in sight thereof Beloved I hope and I know there are some that hear me which know and see and feel these things to be true yea as you say as true as Gospel yea so true as nothing is nor
reason but herein man shews himself a fool for those Creatures above us are super-rational but man thinks there is nothing above Reason because he never knew any thing greater 'T is as if a toad or a horse should undertake to define the nature of a man he could not but he must of necessity make himself the measure of his judgement what he had not in himself he could not judge excellent So if men define Angels they would measure and define them according to the excellencies of a man But all those invisible Blessed Creatures that are next unto the Burning Throne of Almighty God what are they Alas if we should go about to define their nature as some have done we should prove our selves ignorant yea fools yet thus much we may safely say of them That the nearer to God they nearer to the spiritual nature of God because they are further off from matter though they have matter are bodies yet they have but so much matter as to distinguish them and separate them one from another God he is a pure spirit onely form without any manner of matter and all the Creatures the further off from him the more matter and the nearer the less For example If ye have observed it Angels are pictured with compleat bodies yet to shew that they are further off from matter then man therefore they have always wings and Archangels they being nearer God then Angels are pictured with bodies cut off by the middle with wings but Cherubims having less matter and nearer God himself then either are pictured oâ—ely with heads and wings but Seraphims being furthest of all from man and nearest of all to God they have no bodies at all but onely represented by a certain yellowish or fiery colour All this is to shew the very same thing that I am now unfolding to you it is a thing remarkable though it may be you have took no notice of it For the present let this be enough to limit our ranging thoughts in these mysteries In man matter prevails above the form because the form is limited and bounded by the matter that though the form be quick and full of agility yet the matter hinders it it cannot do what it would but in these Angels form is predominant over the matter that wheresoever the form would be the matter is obedient Then let us lay this for a ground for a maxime undeniable That all Creatures from the highest to the lowest are to God As a sweet-tuned Instrument They all harmoniously and with a joynt consent Sound forth his praise all the Creatures praise him from the highest and sweetest Treble to the lowest BASE of the immovable Earth they all express and sing aloud aloud and Harmoniously His praise It is the main business all Creatures do and shall do for ever to sing praise and Hallelujah to God on High this is the business the Commission that all these Embassadours are sent about Even the very destruction of evil Angels and wicked men do aloud sound forth his praise and glory for ever and ever Thus this name of Angels hath all this while detained us from answering our question Why God is here called an Angel and likewise in many other places as Iudges 6. It is said an Angel appeared to Gideon and afterwards ver 15. it was the Lord. The reason is this and included in that I have now said If we look upon any one Creature so far forth as it is a Creature it is infinitely short of God for God is nothing that we can see or imagine and therefore as long as you see or imagine any thing you are short of God for as the peace of God passeth all understanding so doth God himself and there is not one Creature but God is the peace thereof For whatsoever it be be it never so glorious and splendent a Creature that falls within the compass I will not say of a mans understanding though the soul be a spiritual and a divine thing but let it be within in the understanding and mind of an Angel above us that same is not nor cannot be but an Angel for God passeth all understanding both of Men and Angels none know what He is but his own Blessed Self Whatever comes within the conception of any created Being that is but a finite thing and falls infinitely short of the infinite God If an Angel should appear to me and tell me that he was God in that I can but either see him or hear him I know forasmuch as I hear him or see him or can imagine him under any form or name or expression that He was but a Creature be it never so high an Angel and if I should fall down and worship Him I were well worthy of blame with S. Iohn who would have fallen down and worshipt that Angel that had shewed him all those things for it is But our fellow-servant though it appear in never somuch glory for all the imaginations of Men and Angels poor drops as they are fall infinitely short of God Almighty But if in any Creature you strip it of all manner of form and imagination and behold God the Essence and Substance thereof as One Infinite Eternal Essence as abstracted from all manner of Creatures then I may with fear and reverence fall down before or take occasion by any Creature to adore God If we can behold God thus then the whole Scripture commands us to praise and magnifie him Then praise him in the Sun and praise him in the Moon Then praise him in â—ll the works of his hands not praise the Sun nor the Moon nor the works of his hands nor any Creature but praise Him As suppose there were a Religion that it were lawful to worship the Sun as I instanced last day if the worshippers should fall down to a bean of the Sun instead of the Sun should not he be an Idolater So he that shall fall down to a beam of the Divinity as included or represented in any Creature doth not he sin But if through that Creature we have recourse onely to him that is in the midst of the bush in the midst of the Creature Seeing God to be the existence and being thereof and fall down before him herein I do no more but that which is commanded If I look through the body of that Creature which body veils God from me then I will praise The High and Holy One in his Holy place then will I praise him in the firmament of his power and in all the work of his hands Then A Gods name praise him in a tree praise him in the wind and in all Creatures for the life of every Creature of every tree is Christ Jesus the Son of God and his first begotten of all his Creatures The power of the wind is Christ Jesus the life of a man is Christ Jesus c. But now if I fall down to a Man or
relies and trusts in the wisdom and love of his father and looks upon all his sufferings as ordered and sent from God The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord Job 1. 21. To come now to another and that is the last Observation from the soul of the Text Why Christ rebuked him for speaking truth Mendacium erat dicebat se scire quod nesciebat it was a lye He said he knew what indeed He did not Now here ariseth another Question Whether Christs Incarnation was known to the Devils or no 'T is certain that they are full of knowledge for his very name is derived from knowing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 disco quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doctus so t is read Acts 16. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a spirit of Divination or Knowledge In brief Nolebat hoc testimonium ab illis Christ would not have any testimony from the Devil He wanted no such Testimony Helper or Upholder therefore t is said Acts 16. 18. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Paul rebuked the spirit of Divination in the like kind so saith Austine God would let the Devil know no more then what He pleased that pleased God which was fitting for the Devil in lib. 9. c. 21. de civit Dei And further Christ knew well that the Devil spoke this to tempt him for the Devil in all his actions hath an ill and indirect end And lastly the Doctrine of Christs Incarnation was no ways agreeable for the Devils knowledge it did not reflect any ways upon him he was not to have any benefit by it and therefore there was no necessity of his knowledge of it It was Balm for mankind but of no vertue to the fallen Angels These several Observations now gathered and confirmed which I termed the Soul of the Text I proceed on now to the Summity the Height or Spirit of the Text I would not have you wonder at the Definition for the Scripture is frequent in this definition To cause us to look further then the Letter And we may often find it so Exod. 14. we read of the Cloud and the Red Sea yet 1 Cor. 10. the Apostle calls them Baptism So Exod. 17. the Rock in Horeb yet 1 Cor. 10. 4. That Rock was Christ And Exod. 34. 33. we read of Moses Vail yet 2 Cor. 3. we find the Apostle applying it to the Vailing of the heart Abraham had two sons one by a bond-woman another by a free-woman yet Gal. 4. 24. we read that these things were an Allegory So in reading the History of our Saviour to raise moral Instructions as of his love to mankind readiness to help of his power mildness obedience patience and long-suffering c. this is to do as Moses did Exod. 15. to sing songs unto the Lord and to render him praise But this is not all But to mind the Spirit and life couched under the Vail and Curtain of the Letter Viz. The living bread which cometh down from Heaven which will make us live for ever To eat of Christs flesh and drink his blood is meat indeed and drink indeed Moses brought not the Children of Israel into Canaan therefore as 1 Cor. 10. 11. All things happened to them in figures in types and shadows As his face so his words were Vail'd So to us now Till Christ be pleased to Reveal the Mystery of the Word the Truth is hid and kept secret For as 't is said of our Saviour Without a parable spoke he not unto them but to his own Disciples He declared and opened every parable Mark 4. 34. And as he spake nothing without a parable So He did nothing without a parable and therefore without controversie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Great is the mystery 1 Tim. 3. 16. And for this cause the Son of God was manifested that he might Destroy the works of the Devil 1 Iohn 3. 8. And can we think there are no more Devils to be destroyed yet yes sure Quot Crimina tot Daemonia Yea as many Devils as sins 'T is true that when our Saviour Iohn 19. 30. cryed Consummatum est It is finished There was no more to do That is No more for the fulfilling of the Scriptures vers 28. No more for that individual flesh assumed of the Virgin Mary to suffer But yet there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Remnants of Afflictions for Paul to fill up in his flesh Col. 1. 24. So we also and the Rest of the members must bear 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the marks of the Lord Iesus in our bodies Gal. 6. 16. And for certain 'T is better to feel compunction of spirit and the crucifying the Old man in us then to know onely those quaint finical and neat definitions of it which men by their wit and parts have drawn from the Letter to please the ears and fancies of men Making so many divisions and sub-divisions to set forth the Wits of men and not the Truth so much used by many men Know a minutes feeling spiritually is worth seven years speaking To feel these things spiritually Is to be a Door-keeper in the House of God to talk of them or onely to know them Are but The Tabernacles of Meseck and the tents of Kedar And therefore Jesus Christ yesterday and to day and the same for ever Heb. 13. 8. As to instance in some particulars whereby you may enlarge upon any other 1. Was Christ formed in the Virgins womb 't is true so ought we to be as little Children that Christ may be formed in us Gal. 4. 35. That we may become Nothing in our own eyes that so He may be to us All and in All. 2. Was that done by the Holy Ghost coming upon her and by the power of the Most High over-shadowing her so must our spiritual birth be the Holy Ghost must overshadow and sanctifie us and the power of the Most High convert us and turns us from sin to newness of life 3. Was Christ circumcised so must we be circumcised in heart For this is true Circumcision according to Gods own interpretarion Deut. 10. 16. Circumcise therefore the fore-skins of your hearts Stephen complained of the Jews for want of this O uncircumcised in hearts and ears Acts 7. 51. And Paul saith Rom. 2. 29. Circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit not in the Letter 4. Did he grow in wisdom and in stature and in favour Luk. 2. 52. so ought we to incre se with all the increase of God and to grow from grace to grace Col. 2. 19. 5. Did he dispute with the Doctors and captivate their judgements Convict their thoughts and overthrow their reasonings in the Temple so must he do in us bring every thought though never so high to the obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10. 5.
6. Did he heal the sick and diseased give light to the blind open the ears of the deaf untie the tongues of the dumb feed the hungry preach teach to pray sigh and groan and weep reprove with Authority Was he hungry and thirsty and went up and down doing good Was He Arraigned and condemned under Pontius Pilate did he dye rise again ascend into Heaven and sit at the right hand of his Father All these are true So let us in all these mind that these mighty works be done in our souls that they be cured from the putrified sores of sin and lusts Isa. 1. 6. and from our spiritual leprosie and cry Open thou O Lord mine eyes that I sleep not the sleep of death Psal. 13. 3. We should labour and pray that our understandings may be enlightned that we may have The seeing eye and Hearing ear to confess and praise him with our tongues that they may speak the language of Canaan and say Open thou my lips and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise And that we should hunger after righteousness and be watchful in prayer sigh and groan and weep for sins committed against God Mine eyes gush out with tears Psa. 119. O that my head was a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night c. Jer. 9. 1. Reprove and rebuke and loath our selves as Iob I do abhor my self Job 42. 6. Do good especially to those of the houshold of faith Condemn and accuse and judge our selves I called mine own ways to account saith David I dye daily saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 15. Christ rose again Arise and stand up from the dead and Christ shall give thee light Eph. 4. And so we should rise again to newness of life If ye be risen with Christ seek the things that are above Col. 3. 1. He ascended and so do we when our conversation is in Heaven He sits at the right hand of his Father All power is given unto me Mat. 28. 18. Now I live saith the Apostle yet not I but Christ in me And Jesus Christ cast out Devils too and so must we cast out spirtiual wickedness in high places All these are the works of Christ in us and happy are we if we can truly say This day are these Scriptures fulfilled in us But must our Saviour cast out Devils in us what in me If an Angel should tell me so I cannot believe it and I would ask with the Virgin Mary 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 How can this thing be Luk. 1. 34. If our Saviour himself should tell me 't is and must be so and except I cast the Devils out of thee thou canst not be saved I should ask him as Nicodemus did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 How can it be Ioh. 3. 4 For where is there any Devils in me to be cast out Just so Peter said to our Saviour Ioh. 13. 8. Thou shalt never waâ—h my feet but certainly as our Saviour then told Peter Except I waâ—h thee thou hast no part in me So in this case except he cast out the Devils they are in us still for Beelzebub will not cast out Beelzebub But it may be Here you wil say to me as the Jews said to Christ Iohn 7. 21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Certainly thou hâ—st a Devil To tell us such strange things To make us believe that we are Possest For this purpose it will be necessary to see what the Devil is for that which is here called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An unclean spirit in Luk. 4. 33. is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is The Spirit of an unclean Devil Devils for substance are Angels for quality Evil ones or Angels of darkness A man is in substance a man though Evil and his Evilness of quality doth not make him lame or blind or deformed There are secondly many good Angels as our Saviour testifies More then twelve Legions of Angels Mat. 26. 33. And there are many bad Angels My Name is Legion for we are many Mark 5. 9. Whereas 't is said of both of them that they are spirits 't is true it taken comparatively not positively or simply for this word spirit hath divers Acceptions in Scriptuâ—e As 1. Spirit is taken for the Air Ve-ruach The Spirit of the Lord rested upon the waters Gen 1. 2. 2. 'T is taken for the Wind Ve-ruach The East wind brought in the Locusts Exod. 10. 13. 3. 'T is taken for the spirit of life All flesh died in which was Ruach the spirit of life Gen. 6. 17. 4. For the immortal part of man Ve-ruach The spirit of man returns to God that gave it Eccl. 12. 7. 5. For the purpose and mind of man Kol-rucho A fool opens and speaks all his mind or spirit Prov. 25. 11. 6. For the influences of the spirit As I will take of the spirit that is in thee and put it on them Num. 11. 17. 1. So then Devils are Angels yet different from good Angels Yet not in substance power strength agility or the like but in that one accident of Evil Therefore they are called Evil Angels Psal. 78. 49. And Angels that sinned 2 Pet. 2. 4. And The Devils Angels Mat. 25. 41. and Angels of Darkness Good and evil Angels differ not then in substance but in quality 2. The Devils are spirits who maketh his Angels spirits Heb. 1. 7. And so in the words of my Text The Unclean Spirit But yet they are spirits comparatively or respectively not simply or positively for so onely God is a Spirit it is his peculiar Title Iohn 4. 24. And as God is a Spirit so he is called the Father of spirits Heb. 12. 9. 3. They are Bodies But not Natural or Terrestrial but Spiritual and Celestial 1 Cor. 15. 40 44. Non ut nos yet have not bodies as we have So speaks the Nycene Synod Corpora multo tenuiora quam natura But much more subtile bodies have they then we not so gross and heavy as ours are but more Aerial and sublime so speak the Greek and Latine Father for God is Onely Incorporeal Yet know this That their Corporiety or Materiality hinders not the being of many in one place As a whole Legion in one person Mark 5. 9. and seven Devils were cast out of Mary Magdalen for the Penetration of bodies spiritual is not As of bodies Terrestrial For As the light of many Candles through One hole they are to our senses confounded yet in themselves distinct like the lightning from East to West Luk. 17. 24. And as all the Sun-beams make but one JUBAR till received by several subjects so is it with spiritual bodies 5. That every Devil is As the Star of His ORB as concentring of light to our sight is of things near or far off Ibi est ubi operatur There
waves make them roll to and fro and stagger like a drunken man so that they are at their wits end In the Sea also we hear there be those huge and mighty rocks whose foundations are unmoveable Thou sayest that we are of the Sea and we belong to the Ocean where is any such vastness in us where is any of all those wonderful and mighty things in us therefore we cannot be of the Ocean No t is true saith the other for the present we are not of the Ocean because we are not yet joyned to the Ocean and except we perish and be dissolved as it were to nothing we are nothing but if the Sun draws us up and dissolve us to nothing that we are not seen to be much as drops then are we like to be something for then we shall return into the Ocean to which we belong Then we are those thâ—t have in us those rocks and those ships and those Leviathans and fish innumerable both small and great And they have room to play and sport themselves in us Then we may claim and appropriate to our selves whatever may be appropriated to the Sea or to the Ocean as well as any other drop for we are united and made One with the Ocean The Application by way of Dialogue So just so in like manner suppose Two mortal men reasoning together the one in Iealousie and the other in Revelation What are we says the one We are Nothing sayes the other we are but a Shadow a Dream a Bibble not so much as the drop of a bucket or as the dust of the ballance we are but as stubble before the fire and as smoke before the wind ready to be consumed scattered and dissolved into nothing Oh says the other though in our selves we are poor drops and as thou sayest we are no more then a drop a bubble soon up and soon down we have no power the least and weakest of all things imaginable yet we are we have a Being nay we are more then thou canst imagine Why what are we Why I le tell thee what we are we are members of the very body of Jesus Christ we are as I may say flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone And we are to be made one spirit with him and therefore be contented though we in our selves are Poor and contemptible and apart from him Nothing yea worse then Nothing yet by the grace of God we are what we are we in our selves cannot say I am or â—â—â—ve we cannot call our selves I I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and in time I shall see my self to live in him and then I may And thou mayest claim the same life the same power with him for we shall return into Him who is Almighty we shall be dissolved into him who is infinitely Vaster then then ten thousand Seas or Oceans Ah Brother Saith the other how can these things be we have heard that Jesus Christ is God equal with his Father that he is Almighty incomprehensible Immense c. we have heard that he hath All power given him in heaven and in earth that he Rules over all his enemies and treads them all under his feet that he Rules them with a rod of iron and crushes them in pieces like a potters vessel and He is set upon his Throne and Triumphs in glory and majesty and is Set down in holy and heavenly places with his Father in his Throne and full Authority In us behold There is None of these things we are poor drops and weak creatures as little as we are we are full of nothing but sin and corruption we are empty and vile and despicable not only because of our smalness and nothingness but by reason of our sinfulness and impureness We have none of our enemies at command we are empty and changeable and no stability in us all our actions declare and render us to be always in a dying perishing condition but Jesus Christ to whom thou sayest we belong He is glorious and blessed and lives for ever And therefore I will not I cannot beleive wilt thou make me believe I am a part of him it can never be Oh! saith the other be contented Corn cannot bring forth fruit except it dye neither can a drop return to the Ocean except it be dissolved in it self and from its own proper being So Even so We poor drops in our selves we are nothing empty poor despised Nothings less then Nothings Apart from the immense Ocean But If we can be Content to dye forsake our selves Then should we Return and be made One with that immense Ocean Could we but be contented to annihilate our selves to be brought to Nothing we should be made Something If That Sun of righteousness would but arise and dissolve us and draw us up into Himself then we even we as poor as we be should be united and made one with the Almighty Beloved Beloved The Only Reason Why WE Remain such Empty Drops is because we esteem our selves to be Somewhat when indeed we are nothing while we set such a great price upon our selves and look on our selves as good holy and pure and take notice of our selves what a progress in Religion we have made and despise others This keeps us from being united to him Oh! those High-swelling towering thoughts must be brought down those Thrones and Powers and principalities set up in us by Satan The Prince of this world Those strong holds that keep us from being overcome and being brought to nothing must be brought down that so we may be joyned to the Lord himself to be made partakers of his life and glory My eye can never be united to the Sun till I behold and look upon it Then those beames that come from it draw my eye in a direct line to be joyned to it so thou art never united to Christ till the Lord himself by the eye of faith which is as a beam that comes from him unites and draws up thy soul in a direct line to him again As long as thou art Something in thy self so long thou art Nothing and when thou beginnest to be nothing in thy own esteem then thou beginnest to be really Something then is Jesus Christ Beginning to Arise and to Exalt himself in thee Then is I said before hast thou a right to All things and thou mayest claim all those great things spoken of before to thy self to be thine though not to thy self individual and as separated But as united to him to whom all power is given both in heaven and in earth but till this work be done Christ is kept under and thy self is exalted and it rules thee governs thee terminates all thy actions However they seem to thee and to other men as much lift up in themselves as thou art though I say to thee and to others in the same sphere with thee they seem never so
the blessed Apostles and Disciples were brought to Oh! but where are such Disciples now where are your Great Doctors and your learned men Are they Doctors in this School of the Cross of Christ No no nothing less Are They Dead men Are They come to this to let others rejoyce in the heaping up riches And adding Land to Land and making themselves and their posterity great in the world These things should not concern Dead men And saith David again I am as a broken pitcher that can hold no water Just so is This man He is a broken pitcher that can hold Nothing Pour Riches into him Health Wealth Praise Honour or the contrary Whatever ye give to him or take from him He is all one if ye take his Cloak from him he will give you his Coat if ye strike him on the one cheek he cannot revenge He will rather turn the other Curse him and He will pray for you And all this he learns of his dear Saviour JESUS CHRIST And all this He hath attained by being united and by being made One with Him whose practise and Command you know it was so to do and whose Nature and life he partakes of knowing assuredly by experience That there is No other way to find rest to his soul But by forsaking his own will and living Free in the world and Dead unto it and to his own proper will and affections Oh Beloved How Happy and how Free doth such a soul live how at liberty and free from those Chains that most men are fettered with as love of Money and Honours and Houses and Lands Distracted with hopes on one hand and Fears on the other and are never at rest but are like the Troubled Sea tumbled this way and that way rolling to and again and never quiet But this Man is Delivered Set free from all such things What a comfort is it for a man to be made Willingly to leave the love of the world to live free and above all hopes and fears What a comfort is it not to fear death for this man dyes daily not to fear To Answer All our enemies in the gate to look boldly and undauntedly on Death on Satan as knowing them overcome and brought under what a comfort is it to Find See and Feel The life of Christ In Us and that we are in some measure and every day more and more made conformable to our Head And that we shall now for ever Overcome and be at Rest and Sit down with Him upon His Throne even as he is set down upon his Fathers Throne what a comfort is it to feel and see our graces Faith Hope and Patience And the rest to Revive to live and flourish which in former times flagged and dyed what a comfort is this To see That when either the North wind or the South wind blow Let him be in any kind of condition Yet His Garden prospers His Soul flourishes And the Spices thereof flow out and Christ and He To eat the pleasant fruits thereof To this man Nothing is a Rod to him Nothing a judgement Let God do what he will with him He can see no Anger no Frowns in any thing but all that comes is to Him Mercy and Loving kindness This is The Soul That lives with God and lives in God This soul is at Rest And none else But This Soul For he hath in pâ—rt Possession of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of Heaven Possession of him Even while he is in the body which possession he knows he shall never be deprived of but shall have the FULL Possession and Enjoyment thereof for ever and ever In His Fathers due Time O my Dear Freinds To What A Blessed Tranquillity AND SERENENESS of SPIRIT Is This Soul Attained These are to Him BLESSED and HALCION DAIES Here end the SERMONS of JOHN EVERARD And All that can be of His Expected Here follow certain brief Collections out of some Sublime and Mortified Authors Translated out of Latin by Dr. Everard Hereunto Annexed to these Sermons as things suitable to His preaching and giving further light each to other viz. To him who is in the light 1. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. These two placed in the midst of this book the other six herefollow 2. The Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God 3. Dionysius the Areopagite his Mystical Divinity 4. Certain grave and notable sayings in Latin and English 5. The saying of a certain Divine of great note and name 6. A lovely glass or example of our Lord Iesus Christ his life taken out of Taulerus his works 7. Another short Instruction out of the same Author 8. A short Dialogue between a Learned Divine and a Beggar THE MYSTICAL DIVINITY OF Dionysius the Areopagite Converted by Paul the Apostle who did at Athens believe and cleave unto him ACTS 17. 34. Written to Timothy Translated into English By Dr. EVERARD JOB 36. 26. Behold God is great and we know him not ISA. 55. 6. For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your wayes my wayes saith the Lord. LONDON Printed by Iohn Owsley for Rapha Hartford at the Bible and States Arms in Little Brittain 1657. THE MYSTICAL DIVINITY OF Dionysius the Areopagite Written to Timothy CHAP. 1. What the Divine Mist or Darkness is OTRINITY That art above ESSENCE above GOD above Goodness the Governour of the Christians wisdom concerning God Vouchsafe to direct us to the More-then-unknown More-then-shining Highest-top of Mystical Oracles where the simple and absolute and unchangeable MYSTERIES of Divinity do Hide by the More-then-lightsome MISTINES of Secret-Teaching SILENCE in the Darkest Darkness Even Him that over-shineth That which is More-then-most-Glorious and under that which is utterly impalpable and invisible doth More-then-fill the blinded or Eye-less Mindes with More-then-fair Shinings 2. And these things I pray for but do thou O my friend Timothy by thy most intent study and exercise about MYSTICAL Visions leave and forsake thy senses and all sensible and intelligible things and thy mental operations and all things that are not and that are and after an unknown manner lift up and advance thy self to the Conjunction and Union with Him who is above all Essence and Knowledge for by a free and purely absolute departing from thy self and all things having separated all things and being freed and loosed from all things thou shalt be brought back to the Super-essential BEAM of the Divine Darkness 3. But take heed that none of them that are not Entred or Initiated in our MYSSERIES do hear these things I mean such as are still detained and holden in the things that are and do imagine nothing to be super-essentially above the things that are but presume by their own knowledge to understand HIm that maketh DARKNES his Secret place And if these Divine Institutions concerning Mystical things be above Them what is to be said of such as are yet more strangers and
necessario debeas ad unicum hoc est ad Patrem venire qui Pater eum huic rei destinavit 29. This may and must be done Onely by the losing of that which is contrary to the One otherwise it cannot that is Obedience in Obedience to wit An Intire Resignation A certain Perfect Sacrifice which is Voluntary Briefly that Christ is the true Son of God the first begotten of his Brethren To whom it is Proper whatsoever the Father can who is the True Intercessor by whom alone thou mayest and necessarily must come to the onely One that is to the Father who hath appointed him to this end 30. Si quis hujus orationis rationem consequi nescit is caret spiritus testimonio cujus ipse disciplinam excludit repudiat Si quis eam intelligit judicet judicat autem Dei Spiritus omnia Si quis eo destituitur caret ejus culpa est quod de casu sollicitus non est ut corrigatur qui tamen corrigendus est Si quis haecdicat acutiora sciat maximam Sancti Spiritus stultitiam ut it a loquar acutiorem esse summa totius mundi sapientia 30. If any man understand not the meaning of these speeches he wants as yet The Testimony of the Spirit whose discipline He shuts out and reâ—uses If any man understand it let him judge and the Spirit of God Iudgeth all things If any man Want and be destitute of it it is his own fault because he is not careful of his fall that it may be Amended which yet must be Corrected If any say that these things are somewhat subtil and acute let him know that the greatest Folly of the Holy Ghost if that I may so speak not derogating from him is wiser then the Highest wisdom of the whole world * Non est mirum si haec carni acuta videantur sunt enim divina de quibus judicare caro non potest Ideoque acuta judicat quemadmodum si noctua neget se posse cernere claritatem diei quippe ut ens luce noctis cujus clarissima pars obscurior est quam obscurissima diei * It is no marvel if these things seem somewhat Acute and Subtil to the flesh for they are Divine of which flesh cannot judge and therefore it thinketh them Acute as if an Owl should deny that it can see the brightness of the Day when it useth onely the light of the Night the clearest part whereof is more dark then the darkest part of the day To the Eternal Trinity in Unity neither confounded nor divided be all glory and praise Amen The Sayings of a Certain Divine of great note and name IN conclusion I will hereunto Annex the judgment of Iohn Denqui concerning the holy Scriptures made in his Recantation not long before his death and printed I do saith he prefer the Holy Scriptures before all Humane Treasure yet so that I do not so much esteem them as the Word of God which is Living Potent and Eternal and which is Free and at liberty from all the Elements of this world for if that be God himself it follows that it is Spirit not the Letter written without peâ— or ink so that it can never be Obliterated And for this cause True felicity or the word of God is not tyed to the Letter of the Scriptures The reason is because it is impossible that by the Scriptures alone an Evil mind should be Amended though it may be made more learned but a good mind that is such A One as is endued with any spark of Divine study or knowledge is made better by All things so that the Holy Scriptures are Clean to them that are Clean Good and wholsom i. e. to those endued with the Holy Spirit but to the Unclean and Unbelievers they as all things else are Unclean and Deadly Thus then it is possible that a man chosen by God may be saved without Preaching or the Scriptures yet it follows not that therefore no witness taught of God is to be heard or that the Scriptures are not to be Read and Enquired into but on the other side that all Unlearned Illiterate men are not in the state of Damnation because they cannot Read neither whole Cities and Nations sometimes because they have No Preachers sent them from God Thus far He. All these things aim at this That we should by a Received power from God do our endeavour to hunger for God and his word and not go on so securely with the Killing Letter of the Scriptures but giving them all Convenient Honour should grant them to be a certain Image Splendour Lanthorn Scabbard Manger and Vestry of the Word but withal should know that there is more required namely A Sword to this Scabbard A light to this Lanthorn that it may cut and shine but we know that whilest these things are saying There are some that are much Troubled and Offended as in the case of Mary Saying we would reject the Scriptures whereunto we say There can never be Too much Honour given but the truth is whilest unto the Scriptures as unto Mary is ascribed the Honour due to God Alone it becomes the Worshipping of Idols and of the Scriptures as of Mary is made a certain Idol which is Put Honoured Accounted Adored and Consulted with in the place of God The Scriptures indeed as an Holy thing ought to be a Terror to men and to be Read with Religious Fear and Trembling and as before is said to be preferred above all earthly Treasure but not made Equal to God and His Word The Scriptures as the Law and all things else Are Good to the Good who onely know How to use them well But as now adayes many ignorant people handle them and are conversant in them without all doubt it were Better they were asleep the while For from the wrong understanding and abuse of them flow All Heresies Sects Superstitions so that not onely the Jews but the Turks also make them their Advocates and think the Holy Scriptures are the foundation of Their faith My self know at least twenty Christian Religions all which rest upon the Holy Scriptures and every one Hopes they are on their side all these things proceed Either from far-fetcht Expositions and Allegories nothing to the purpose or from the dead Letter of the Scriptures or lastly from a certain Arrogance and Abuse of them Now it is far better in many cases not to use A thing at all then so to abuse it therefore I must needs say Once again that the Scriptures are Shut up and Forbidden to all flesh because it can Never understand them for to that end there is required to them a Supernatural Divine NEW-MAN Born of God who may bring with him to them The light of the Holy Ghost Such a man can Compose Dispose Understand Interpret Place and Accommodate All things in their due places nay more that which is the Table Feast and Life of these God-born men
the same is the Snare Poyson and Death of all Natural men Therefore As All Works before Faith and Regeneration are Sin and Unclean so also To Read the Scriptures to praise God to fast pray and the like and not onely to torture and kill men or to steal and the like for seeing that whatsoever is not of faith is sin and to the Unclean nothing is Clean but they are Reprobate to every good work It must needs follow that all their Seemingly good life exercises and vertues are sin and nothing but dissimulation So God doth often in Scripture reject the Fasts Holidays Sacrifices Prayers Praises Preachings Gifts and Charitable Deeds of the Pharisees as well as the known and gross impieties of the Publicans the wicked words of men and their Violences Usuries Murthers Adulteries Thefts c. Therefore is Regeneration Principally necessary before which All things are alike sin whatsoever thou canst Think Speak Do leave Undone Read Hear Write Give Love Worship Will Know Have or Be for as to them that Love God all things are to their Good so to them that love the world all things are to their Evil yea God himself is to them Perverse contrary and a Devil and his True word is to them hateful and deadly for it is meet that to the froward all things should fall out Untowardly and to them that are Contrary to God all things should be Cross wherefore as they are not Enough so they are not alwayes good those Sayings Fast Pray Give to the Poor Read the Scriptures c. But these before all things Be Regenerated and Born Again of God and his word and then Thou wilt be Fit to do All things which that New-birth will teach thee which Cannot Sin and whatever thy hand shall find to do thou shalt do it Well for God will be present with thee for then thou being Iust shalt do Iust things It is not enough to do a thing but to do it Well else better be idle and leave doing By this means the good deeds which good men do are not rejected but onely the shew and feigning of good deeds which that Herd of Apes do imitate It were expedient indeed to read and hear all things if a man knew how to read or hear but few there are that have the Art of God to hear and read his word and far fewer that can so pierce into this Thorny-thicket that they be not rent and torn Therefore I will not by these my writings scare any man from any right Art of writing learning or reading but do admonish all men to see they use and do all things rightly and first of all in the word of God to grow Fools and Infants and then at the length we shall know how to read do and Use all things profitably and then we may safely Philosophize even in the writings of the Gentiles or any others and like Natural Birds fly among all the boughs and branches not taken whereas before we could not safely be conversant no not in the Sacred Scriptures themselves without eating Death from God and his word Briefly by this you may See the conclusion of the whole business And be it thus determined Onely the Pious and Regenerate man can and doth use All things Well and with pleasure and profit read all Arts and all Heathen Books to him there can be nothing Prohibited or Corrupt He is a certain clean Bee upon what thing soever He Sits He sucks from it meer Honey and Life yea even from Death and Sin Again the old and Natural man which in Scripture is called flesh and blood can use nothing at all well and to him all Arts and all the Nature of things nay the very Scriptures and God Himself and His Word do bring Death and Evil He can neither Do nor Read nor Know any thing Profitably or Pleasing to God He is Abuse and Poyson it self and an Unclean Spider which Siâ— where it will sucks nothing thence but Poyson Sin Death even out of the Scriptures themselves Out of things Well done out of God and His word So it comes to pass that to the wicked all things are deadly and forbidden such as are good deeds to make or hear Sermons to read the Scriptures to do good to the poor to pray to fast and such like as is before said for to the unclean all things are unclean and hurtful so that it cannot be but the things that to the Good are profitable shall be to them Unclean and deadly Briefly the good man in point of God is never at rest till being Entred into God He have lost his own Pleasure Will Act yea Himself and all His things in God so that wanting Sense Will Desire He doth now as the word requires at his hands Covet nothing so that now God in him freely Wills Knows Desires Doth leaves Undone How What Why and to whom he pleaseth Summarily In such a man God hath freely his Will Kingdom Pleasure Place so that he is not now The man he was but is as A dead man who attributes nothing to himself yea so far that God is in him All things God in him Loves Reads Writes Preacheth Gives Prays Hears Knows and is All things and therefore it is that the great God hath determined to Crown own or Reward Nothing in us but His own work the rest which himself in us doth not Know Read Write Do leave Undone Speak Preach Hear Think are Sin and therefore saith St. Paul Now live not I but Christ liveth in me And I dare not Do nor Say anything which Christ doth not Say or Do in me To this Iudge let every man refer all his life he shall then soon find in what estate all his Affairs are and to whose Service he hath addicted himself and offered his members as a living sacrifice Let him observe himself and understand who it is that worketh in him And That he to whom he liveth and beareth fruit His Servant he is Now the fruits of the two Masters are reckoned up in the Epistle to Gal. 5. 22. The fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance c. against such there is no Law and they that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit c. I would be glad with all my heart if by the help of God I might have so much power as to drive all natural men from their good Deeds Actions Omissions Life Arts Reading Writings and the rest unto God the True Sabbath that lacking both hands and feet and utterly void of will Art Desire they might keep Holy-day from their own works Truly then God which otherwise goeth not forth in our strength would go forth in them with great strength for indeed God must and will go forth and the time is at hand that the heavens must keep Holy day as it is in that