way the only way to restlesness and misery to be touched and inflamed with love towards God Is there no cure for this love no rasing it out of the heart nor no attracting its object into the heart O God why art thou so coy why dost thou so disdain the low estate of thy Spouse What credit will it be unto thee to have it said and seen when all things shall be opened to all eyes and spoken in all eares Behold a Soul burnt up into perfect misery by the flames of its own love Of the Difference between God and the Creature THE Difference between God and the Creature can only be seen by that eye which throughly discerneth and is able to measure both throughout yet according to that measure we have to discern somewhat of both we may also in part discern that vast difference that is between them God is the Original Being the Creature but a derived Being and hath only so much of and from God as he is pleased to impart unto it who may do what he will with his own dispensing it as he pleaseth As every thing is a shadow of him so every thing hath some stamp of his Image upon it one sort of creatures more then another Man more then other sorts some sorts of men more then others Man is a God in respect of the creatures yet still he is but man the Egyptians are men and not God Some men are Gods in respect of others in reference to that majesty wisdom justice mercy kindness love holiness c. wherewith some are endued beyond others Man in his best estate is vanity weak fading changeable his very soul and spirit subject to faint and unable to stand before the hand of God when it goeth forth against him Who knoweth the Power of thine anger I will not contend for ever neither will I be always wroth lest the spirit should fail before me and the Souls which I have made Man came from God his spirit was made so was not Gods God is able to bear his own weight in every kind Man is not able to bear his weight in any kind God can so wound the strongest man as quickly to make him sink A wounded spirit who can bear But God can not only bear up himself but man also under the greatest pressure Man is a poor narrow confined limited spirit God is a large universal unlimited Spirit He sitteth upon the Circle of the Earth God is Substance Truth Man is vanity in his best estate altogether vanity a shadow in himself in all his motions man walketh in a vain shade a lye a lyar let God be true and every man a lyar All men put them in the ballance they are nothing before God but as the dust of the ballance as grashoppers as nothing less then nothing and vanity All that all the men in the Earth have derivatively from him is nothing to that which is originally in him Whereunto will ye liken me saith the most High There is nothing throughout the whole Creation nothing that man can see nothing that can enter into his heart or thoughts that can bear any true or substantial resemblance of God Alas poor man what canst thou think aright concerning God! Wilt thou be measuring God what he is or what his Thoughts or what his Ways in any kind are Who knoweth the Spirit of the Lord O Man thou hast ever been befooled in all thy thoughts of God and as thou risest higher in thy apprehensions and bolder in thy determinations the more shalt thou certainly be befooled When God openeth himself to thy cost shalt thou see how far thou wast from knowing him or speaking aright concerning him Of Good and Evil. GOOD is that which tends to the welfare of the creature Evil is that which tends to its hurt and damage They have also some reference to God though not as he is in himself yet as he discovereth himself appeareth and acteth in such or such a line So in the several lines wherein he acts there is a Good and an Evil the one tending towards his honour in that line the other towards his dishonour God as he is in himself cannot be touched yet as he appeareth acteth and holdeth forth his Name it may receive honour or disparagement Him that honoureth me I will honour The Wisdom Power Goodness Love Grace Mercy of God c. may be neglected slighted undervalued by the creature He may discover these in his motions and the creature not take notice of them not acknowledg them not acknowledg him in them and this is a dishonour cast upon him Again They may be taken notice of and he exalted in the thoughts and heart of the creature thereby and this he pleaseth to accept of and esteem as an honour done unto him Now there is a double kind of good The creature 's keeping in its line walking to its rule moving orderly in its station and the enjoying of life sweetness and content therein The living to God and the enjoying of God in its course in its Orb in its sphere this is good and herein lieth the happiness of the creature There is answerably a double Evil. The creature's deviating from its line walking out of its way swerving from the rule of its Creation and its meeting with that misery which attends this losing its life sweetness content happiness And let men think what they will by the change of their apprehensions yet Good and Evil will evidence their difference to the sence and experience of the creature that they are different in their own nature are sown in different grounds grow from different roots and tend to different ends And the creature while it is a creature cannot be happy in the way of Evil either in his present state or in his end but only in the way of Good Mark the perfect man behold the upright the end of that man is peace Say ye to the righteous it shall go well with him Say to the wicked it shall not go well with him Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly c. he shall be like a tree planted c. The ungodly are not so they shall not stand in judgment nor sinners in the Congregation of the Righteous Christ himself the beloved Son cometh to his Exaltation by Righteousness Because thou lovest Righteousness and hatest iniquity therefore God even thy God hath anointed thee with the oyl of gladness above thy fellows Let the righteousness of the creature fall lay it as flat as ye will make unrighteousness equal with it as well ye may because it is but unrighteousness and somewhat more unlovely because of its paint But is there no other Righteousness Is there no true Righteousness Or must that fare the worse because there is so much painted righteousness Consider this well All Gods work from the very beginning hath been about Righteousness and Unrighteousness holding forth the evil nature of the
all the vigour of its life shall not find it self able to live out of God when the time of its remove and separation comes and the other for all its weakness shall find it self able to live in God when it is taken into him There is nothing so weak so imperfect but God can make it taste of strength of perfection There is nothing so strong so perfect but God can make it taste of weakness and imperfection There was nothing ever born planted built up c. but may have a time to dye to be plucked up to be thrown down c. There was nothing ever deaded plucked up rased out but may have a time to be quickened to be planted to be written in again All things are brought forth in weakness the inward world as well as the outward All things under the Sun there are vanity are to have but a vain course and to end in vexation of spirit God indeed is perfect in every motion of his both in the inward and in the outward world I know that whatsoever he doth it shall be for ever nothing can be put to it nor any thing taken from it Vers 14. But man is weak man is vain the outward man vain the inward man vain every motion of his comes to nothing He seemeth to be wonderous wise to have motions of great weight even of Eternity upon him but alas he cannot reach Eternity he is but a vain empty cipher which stands for nothing He hath purposes in him but his purposes are poor shallow things and there is a season for them wherein he takes his swinge in them but these seasons must blow over too and the time must come wherein man must be ripped up with all his hurdle of vanity from the very begining to the end and then both he and it blown away with the wind an eternal puff will quickly set them all packing What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth O God Let others treasure up but I abhor I throw away every inward motion that ever hath sprung up from me I will have nothing to delight in nothing to glory in nothing to hope from before thee Do thou gather them up and save them as they are thine as thou hast been and appeared in them but as mine let them pass away for evermore Let there be no profit of all my labour and travel Do thou reap the travel of thy Soul and be satisfied but for my part I have long turned and still do and cannot but turn from all the works of my hands all the delights of my spirit even in the inward world and with as perfect irksomness and tiredness of spirit as ever Solomon did from his in the outward He hath made every thing beautiful in his time Every thing is beautiful in its season and nothing is lovely out of its season There 's a beauty in life O how lovely is the spring both in the inward and outward world The life of the flesh the life of the spirit each shoots forth with a grace And there 's a beauty in death it is comely to see things dye when the season of death comes There is nothing so black but there is beauty written in it nothing so evil but it hath goodness engraven on it Nothing so bad but it is good in its own place order season course nothing so good but it is bad out of its place There 's a beauty in killing and a beauty in healing a beauty in weeping and a beauty in laughing c. in their seasons but of their seasons they are very deformed All the motions of God both in the inward and in the outward world are very exact They have all reference one to another the outward to the inward the inward to the outward every motion in each hath an universal aspect and referrence there is a strain of Eternity in every motion There is the very Nature and Excellency of God in every thing that God doth every thing as it comes from him savours and tastes of his own Perfection Man hath but a poor sight of things either the outward or inward man and after that manner that he sees he doth not see either from the beginning or to the end of any thing The outward man seeth not any outward thing so nor doth the inward man see any inward thing so And indeed God hath so set the world in mans heart that man cannot be left free and unbyassed in observation and judgment There is such a desire planted in man to grasp and enjoy what ever is discovered every thing in the outward world there is a desire in the outward man to possess every thing in the inward world there is a desire in the inward man to possess that man cannot addict and apply himself to understand things to observe the motion and operation of God in things from the beginning to the end There is nothing seen in the root either as it lies in the root or as it springs out of the root or as it returns into the root Man hath only a bruitish knowledg of things or of the motions and actions of God in and about things seeing only a present appearance of this or that but not knowing what it is whence it came what it means or whither it tends And this also is beautiful in its season Darkness becomes the night spiritual darkness the spiritual night as light becomes the day and shadows and lyes are as proper for the night as Truth and substance is for the day While the night remains it is as suitable that the shadows should remain also as that when the day dawns the shadows should fly away Now here is the Excellency of Christ of Sion of the holy Seed They are not exempted from any varieties or changes either in the inward or outward world but in their running through them they still remain the same They are like God Every where in every thing what ever their clothes what ever their appearances be yet their Substance their Life is still the same The inward man shall be befooled all his light be put out and he made to see and confess that he knoweth nothing as well as the outward it is the spiritual man only whether in the seed or grown up that shall live and flourish And for the coming of this day my Soul after its own hidden way and manner waiteth and longeth the breaking forth whereof is alone able to afford my spirit rest and satisfaction The secret hidden most inward Voyce and Demeanor of Sion in the time of her Captivity FROM LAMENT 3. Vers 24 c. The Lord is my Portion saith my Soul therefore will I hope in him The Lord is good unto them that wait for him to the Soul that seeketh him It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the Salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his
their Temple they must dwell in God and God in them The Creature the Creation when it was brought forth it was to be removed at a distance from God God would have communion with the Creature but when and as he pleased after what manner and by what rule he pleased He would not dwell in the same house with him he would not keep continual company with him but he would come and walk and converse with him at what seasons he saw good He puts Adam into the Garden but there he leaves him and what befell him while he left him we all too well know But the Son abideth in the house for ever the Father ever abideth with the Son the Blood the Life the Spirit of the Father continually runneth in the veins of the Son The Word was ever with God and God was ever with the Word the Son lay ever in his bosom and he lay ever in his Sons bosom The Word was made for he was the begining of the Creation of God for his own immediate and everlasting Possession When he keeps him within himself he possesses him there when he sends him forth he goes forth with him and possesses him there also I am not alone but the Father is with me They never are alone they never act alone but where the Father is the Son is and where the Son is the Father is what the Father does the Son does and what the Son does the Father does in him He is not he acts not he speaks not but the Father in him the Father is not acts not speaks not but in him Here him expounding this himself how he was with God in the beginning Prov. 8.22 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his Way before his Works of old The Lord had a Way to go a great Circuit to fetch to make Eternity Life Perfection run through all the paths of mortality He had Works of old the things he made a great while ago the whole Weeks Creation that ye read of Why in the very beginning of his Way when he set the first step in it yea even before any of these his Works of old he possessed me Vers 23. I was set up from everlasting from the beginning or ever the Earth was The Fabrick of Christ was reared from everlasting or if you will from the beginning I was the first he began with and he began with me from everlasting yea then was I perfected I was his Tabernacle pitched I was set up from everlasting Ye cannot conceive how any thing can be brought forth from everlasting neither can ye conceive how any thing can be from everlasting but ye may beleeve the one as well as the other I was set up from everlasting from the beginning or ever the Earth was I am not of the stamp of this Creation not such a thing as is brought forth in time but I am that Word wherein God brought forth his own Eternal Being his own Eternal Life and Substance and as he reared up his own Eternity in me so he set me up from Eternity I was not the first in this Creation but from the beginning before ever the Earth was Not from the beginning of this Creation that is but a shadow of the beginning as well as all the things created are but shadows of somewhat else but from the beginning indeed from that beginning which was a beginning from everlasting where all things do begin and end in another-ghess manner then can be shadowed out by draughts of Creation to a created eye and from then was I set up Vers 24. When there were no depths I was brought forth when no fountains abounding with water He instances in the first things and in the greatest things The first thing we read of was the great deep and the deeps they are the wonders of God and where he does wonders These see the Works of the Lord and his Wonders in the deep And the Fountains of Waters are one of his Master-peeces in this Creation Worship him who made the Heaven the Earth the Seas and the Fountains of Waters Yea but there was a more wonderful thing brought forth then these before any of these When there were no dephs I was brought forth when no Fountains abounding with water Vers 25. Before the Mountains were setled before the Hills was I brought forth The depths and fountains they are the eminent things in the Waters The mountains and hills they are as eminent in the Land or dry part of the Creation What mighty mountains are there up and down throughout the whole Earth and what a peece of work was it think you to settle and fix these in their places or to bring forth all the hills throughout the whole world and yet I was before them I was brought forth before them Before the mountains were setled before the hills was I brought forth Vers 26. While as yet he had not made the Earth nor the open places nor the chief part of the dust of the World He speaks very accurately as one who was very well acquainted with the work of Creation He divides the Earth into three parts or represents it under three Considerations There is the bulk of it which is generally hid Then there is the surface or open part of it which lieth open to the eye of the creature for it to view and behold and then there is the spirituous part of it wherein is as it were the life and excellency of the Earth Nor the chief part of the dust of the World There is a choyceness in Earth as well as in other things and God hath a special eye to the chief part The dust is the lightest part the most minute and spirituous the fittest to be formed into any thing God formed man of the dust of the Earth and he hath a choyceness in dust too But before he made either the bulk of the Earth or the open part of it or the chief part of the dust of the World I was brought forth and stood by him Vers 27. When he prepared the Heavens I was there when he set a Compass or Circle upon the face of the depth Here are two wonderful things more his preparing Heaven and Earth He had Works to form and fashion above as well as beneath he had Heavens to make as well as Earth He takes the matter he would make the Heavens of the Sun Moon Stars and all that Host the several Regions and Orbs there and prepares it for it makes it ready for himself to work upon to cast into what form he pleased And he takes the depth out of which and within which he would make the dry Land and the Sea which were jumbled together in one Mass and draws a line about it within this Compass saith he will I do it When he did this says Wisdom Wisdom brought forth which was the Word I was there I saw him do it I knew his meaning in it I perceived the very
world is not worthy A dram of their life is worth a thousand worlds They are blessed in their likeness unto Christ blessed in their present communion with Christ in their fellowship in his death and sufferings and shall appear to be blessed when they are taken up into his glory and come to inherit both God Heaven and Earth in and with him which he who cannot lye hath promised them and hath reserved for them and which none shall ever come to partake of with them but this way Of the Fathers care over this Childe and his readiness to provide for him every thing he needs FROM LUK. 11. Vers 13. If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your Children how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him NAture among other of her lessons teacheth Parents to be tender over their Children to give them what is for their good and not for their hurt While they are babes unable to chuse for themselves they provide for them what they know needful when they grow up and begin to feel what they want they are still ready to furnish them with those necessaries which Nature directeth them to seek to them for God hath his Children his Children need provision and his Nature teacheth him to take care of them to be tender towards them as well as the nature of man teacheth him That which these children chiefly want is the Spirit of the Father to live in them to dwell with them to guide them to enlighten them to quicken them to comfort and refresh them They came from this Spirit and all their content lies in union and communion with this Spirit in the presence and power ot this Spirit in them He is their meat their drink their light their life their strength their clothes their house their inheritance their way their end their all They are as it were at present severed from him as the seed is from the body but they cannot be well till they return into him and that which they want in the mean time is him to enter into and dwell in them And as they grow up to any distinct understanding of themselves and their state they feel this want and are led by their nature to ask accordingly of their Father That which this Childe begs is the Spirit he cares not for any thing else It is that which his Soul which every part of him wants it is that which he needs in every motion in every condition He cannot tell how to shift any where how to do any thing without this Spirit of life There is no life more vigorous then this when it lives in this Spirit nor no life more flags without it To them that ask him This Childe asks it is natural to him to be asking what he wants of the Father He is taught to ask and according to the nature and degree of his want And Oh how he begs for this Spirit for this Holy Spirit He loathes the unclean spirit of the world but he loves and longs for the pure Spirit of the Father His Nature is pure and he loves purity His Nature is spirit and he loves spirit but not every spirit but that spirit which is suitable to his Nature the Spirit which he himself came from and for this he cries and groans unto the Father night and day Now there seems to be a great hardness in God to part with this Spirit unto them which may be gathered out of this question here and may be further confirmed by their experience for though they cry hard for him they obtain little of him little of his presence little of his power little of his comfort They are ever and anon complaining that they have not sufficient of him to rub on with They do not onely want the delight of his presence but they have hardly enough to keep life and soul together hardly enough of Gods Spirit to keep life in their spirits But for all this there is a great propensity in God to furnish them with his Spirit with so much as their present state needs though not with so much to their sence yet with so much to his knowledg How much more shall your heavenly Father c. He is not an heavenly Father for nothing but is as ready to give heavenly good things as earthly Parents are to give earthly good things How much more If your Nature which is weak derived which came from him teach you to carry your selves thus towards your children how much more shall his Nature which is strong which is the Fountain of Strength and Perfection teach him to empty his Goodness into his Children according to their need If ye being evil know how to give good gifts c. If your nature thus prevail to instruct you who are corrupted and in whom it is corrupted how much more shall his pure his heavenly his incorruptible Nature teach him tender-heartedness towards his Children How much more shall it encline him to give not outward things earthly things but heavenly things and that heavenly thing which they all want which is his own Spirit Be silent O Sense Be confounded O Experience who art still witnessing the contrary in our spirits We see not we feel not we taste not we apprehend not God or any of his Ways aright through thee A strange Occurrence which may befall this Darling of God and of Christ in his pilgrimage and travel towards his native Country hidden in a Parable JOHN Chap. 11. IN which Parable there are several strange things covertly held forth or represented to that eye which is taught and enabled to pierce into them under a vail 1. There is the sickness and death of one dearly beloved of Christ he whom he loved was sick His love was so great to him that he was known to be an especial object of it Christ who cured others had power enough to have preserved him in health if he had pleased or to have recovered him at a distance but for all Christs Love and Power Lazarus falls sick and his sickness tends unto that which we count and call death 2. The true causes of his death which were Christs neglect and an hidden design of glory to God and love to him I reckon not his sickness as any that was but an instrument an engine so inferior a cause as it deserves not to come in number with these First Christs neglect and that was very great Vers 6. When he had heard therefore that he was sick he abode two days still in the same place where he was Though he had notice of it and that in the most pathetical maner that could be the news was directed to his heart and so directed as it might best touch and wound his heart Behold he whom thou lovest is sick There is one whom thou hast professed and born much love to he now stands in need of thy love of the putting forth of
writing its own in stead thereof It sets the creature at the greatest distance from God it turns the heart of God most from the creature God can only have communion with the creature in its low estate it must be nothing when he who is all fills it and dwells fully in it So much as the creature strives to be desires to be it turns from God God is all where he is himself and appears as all where he appears as himself and he cannot fully be not fully appear in that creature that is or that appears any thing The proud he beholds afar off but he maketh his habitation with the humble he lives there he dwells there and the humble may walk converse have full and free communion with him humble thy self to walk with thy God It were better for the creature never to see or enjoy any thing of God then to be lifted up by it and if I might have mine own choyce I would never have any discovery of God further then I were first enabled by him to bear it 3. The Remedy of this danger which hath a very proper appellation here it is called a thorn to the flesh somewhat to prick and make the flesh sensible of its weakness and so to abate and asswage its swelling Flesh is the weak part a thorn is that which is very painful and irksom to the flesh Visions and Revelations they lift up the flesh cause it to forget it self raise it up in its own eyes and thoughts as if it were no longer flesh but spirit no longer weakness but strength surrounded with the Life Glory and Perfection of God which these give some taste and sense of so that the poor creature begins now to perk up above all other things beholding them far beneath it self they lying in a dungeon of darkness horror weakness filthiness corruption death whereas it is scituated in the light of the Lord dwelling with him in the Land of the living But now when a thorn is thrust into the flesh making it ake and smart and all its Visions and Revelations can neither help to pluck out this thorn nor take away the smart of it it begins to feel and know it self again it finds it self not to be what it took it self to be not to be where it was not so full not so glorious not so safe It thought it self above all these things above the reach above the sense of these things but now by this it sensibly perceives that it is still a weak frail creature in a weak frail state This lets the wind out of the bladder and so its swelling falls by degrees There is no better physick in such a state and it is the skill and kindness of the Physician to administer it to the Patient though against his mind Paul here calls it a gift there was given me a thorn to the flesh indeed it was a gift a kind gift a needful gift a seasonable g ft. Paul if he might have had his own choyce would have had more Revelations still but he who knew the present state of Paul knew what to give him and however he looked upon it at present yet afterwards when he came to understand himself he could not but see and acknowledg it to be a gift The captivity of our life that pain bondage heaviness of spirit death which we are so apt to complain of is a gift which our life in this state wherein it is needs if need be ye suffer heaviness through manifold temptations 1 Pet. 1.6 it cannot otherwise enjoy it self it cannot otherwise be rid of that enemy which is still surprizing it in its enjoyments The particular thorn to the flesh here bestowed on Paul was a messenger of Satan to buffet him To bring him down Satan is let loose upon him who when he hath his Commission will quickly make the flesh feel it self what it is To bring him down yet more Satan deals with him by a messenger as if notwithstanding all his height he scorned to deal with him himself and this messenger handles him in a most disgraceful way buffets him and Paul lieth open to him not knowing which way to help himself but is fain to receive blow after blow from him as he gives them him This was a thorn to the flesh indeed a very sharp thorn He who knoweth what it is to be wrapt up into the might and power of the Lord cannot at that time fear the powers of darkness dares challenge the very Prince of darkness with all his force and stratagems to do his worst and cannot suspect the least prejudice from him Now for this person who knoweth the sweetness of this strength to be wholly stripped of it have his enemy let loose upon him be left to the weakness of his own flesh be laid open to receive and feel the smart of every blow that Satan pleaseth to give him and that not by himself but by a messenger as if he scorned to put his own strength to it this is a grievous thorn to the flesh this pricketh very sharply the weak the fleshly part and by its continuance allayeth and letteth out that swelling and puffing wherewith it was lifted up by those Revelations and Inlets of the Life Glory and Power of God which were bestowed not on it but on the spiritual part It is the flesh that is lifted up and were it not for the fleshly part the spirit would as willingly lie low as be exalted yea in some respect rather for it desireth not to be exalted but to lie low it desireth to have the Lord alone exalted it would not be any thing it would not appear any thing it would not own any thing but have the Lord alone be appear be known So far would it live as the Lord liveth in it so far would it shine as the Lord pleaseth to shine in it and no further And the sufferings of the spirit are with and because of the flesh and to this intent to free and deliver it from the infirmity bondage and corruption which cleaveth close to the flesh and is ready still to annoy it by reason of its present conjunction with the flesh The spirit and the flesh are so incorporated one within the other yet unmixed that whatsoever is done to the one the other also partakes of as suppose like two trees whose root body boughs branches leaves and fruit were entwisted within one another yet still retaining their own property and distinction You cannot feed the spirit but the flesh also will suck in and partake of the sweetness thereof and be nourished and grow thereby you cannot feed the flesh but the spirit tasts and is made sick by the poyson for such is the food of the flesh unto the spirit no other then poyson You cannot smite the flesh but you also wound the spirit and if you go about to heal the spirit the flesh will also partake of it and gather strength and freshness by it If
youth He sitteth alone and keepeth silence because he hath born it upon him He putteth his mouth in the dust if so be there may be hope He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him he is filled full with reproach For the Lord will not cast off for ever But though he cause grief yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies Vers 24. The Lord is my Portion saith my Soul A Portion is the childs share in his fathers estate containing in it present provision for him education according to his quality and degree and a proportion of substance for him afterwards to enjoy and inherit as his fathers estate will bear and as his fathers good will standeth towards him The Lord hath his children and he according to the bond of the relation provides portions for them shares out his own estate among them taketh care of them both to furnish them with necessaries and to bring them up by education suitable to their rank in the time of their nonage and hath cut out an inheritance for them which he will freely bestow upon them when they come to age which he hath divided and disposed of partly according to the greatness of his own estate partly according to the disposition and inclination of his own Will Now this Portion is the Lord himself As he hath cut out his people for himself the Lords Portion is his People Jacob is the lot of his Inheritance So he hath cut out himself for his Peoples Portion the Lord is my Portion saith my Soul For every thing that is made he hath made provision but his own Seed hath he reserved for himself and himself for his Seed They come from nothing but God they live upon nothing but God they can expect nothing but God He is all their share all that ever was intended or appointed for them all they have all they can enjoy all they are to look for And as God knows this so his Seed have a knowledg of this likewise When they are grown up to understanding they come to see whose they are from whence they came to whom they belong what their life and hope is Their relation and all that belongs to them is written in their very nature which when they come to be so skilful as to read they cannot but take notice of But in their Captivity their light and their life is buried their relation to God vailed they removed at a distance from him He severs them from him as if they belonged not to him he acteth towards them as if he knew them not he letteth all kind of misery and distress befall them as if he took no care of them at all so that the poor Soul loseth all sight of him all viable vertue from him yea and interest in him cannot tell how to lay any hold of him Yet for all this there remains a deep inward sense of this thing and the heart secretly inwardly in such a manner as perhaps the person himself cannot distinguish the sound saith the Lord is my Portion I have no share in any thing but God nothing can help me nothing can relieve me nothing can refresh me but God And I have a share in him he will yet look after me I shall yet see him who is the health of my countenance and my God he will yet be Life unto me and Spirit in me The Lord is my Portion saith my Soul Therefore will I hope in him In extremity the poor creature looks up and down every where is everywhere kindling desire after relief everywhere fastening hope for relief But the heart of the Spouse the heart of the child looks for no relief any where else but only from her Husband from its Father nor will fasten hope any where else If it can but look at any time into its own heart it shall hear this kind of language Nothing can relieve me but God Nothing can mitigate my misery but God Nothing can satisfie my tormenting love my scortching desire but the full enjoyment of God therefore there is all the hope I have I may be made to search up and down by the force of extremity I may be perswaded to try this way and that way and the other way but I have no manner of expectation from them I cannot hope in them I will not hope in them I will hope in him He is all my share my only share my help my relief lies there or no where from thence must I have it or no where at all and thither alone will I have recourse upon him will I hang for it Vers 25. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him to the Soul that seeketh him There are two son-like tempers or kinds of motion in the spirit of this child towards his Father in his Fathers withdrawing and absence for him which are to wait for him and to seek after him He waits and he seeks he seeks and he waits Fain would he find him and therefore he seeks and yet he would not have him come afore his own time and therefore he waits for his appointed season He waits for a full enjoyment of him he seeks for present food and support Those that know not God can neither wait nor seek but those that have this life in them can forbear neither for their nature is pointed towards it their nature puts them into and keeps them in that posture it is the proper course and current of their nature which cannot be stopped while their nature remains If it were possible by the thickness of darkness and extremity of misery to drive them into the greatest hatred of these and strongest resolution against these yet their spirits would return again to their course yea in the very midst hereof have their secret current through secret channels though perhaps untaken notice of by themselves in these To what parpose is it to wait to what purpose is it to seek saith the flesh and the fleshly birth Yes it is to purpose saith the Spirit and the spiritual Child for the Lord is good unto them that wait for him to the Soul that seeketh him It is not in vain to wait for God for the goodness and kindness of God to seek him or what our spirits want from him The Lord is good to such You cannot perswade the child that it is in vain for him to ask what he wants of his father or to wait the pleasure of his father for it he knows it is not He who is led to seek God to wait for God to seek what his spirit wants of God to wait for it from God shall find that the Lord who put him into this posture who keeps and sustains him in this posture will be good unto him And what ever jealousies to the contrary may be whispered into his ears yet they cannot enter into the inmost of his heart but there is still this secret language there The Lord is good unto
even go shift for my self as well as I can but that hope that strength which I fastened upon God for and which I was wont to have from God is quite lost the very bottom of it is failed Vers 30. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him He resisteth not evil All his strength is broken and now he knoweth how to resist no longer He lieth open to all manner of injuries from all manner of enemies he yeeldeth up his face to men to Satan to buffet Now his wisdom is taken from him his spirit is not so averse from bearing oppression He wants his true fence his proper fortress which he knows is alone able to secure him and so he seeks no shelter from any indignity from any stroke of malice or cruelty but yeelds himself like Christ to be led about like a fool spit upon buffeted any thing He is filled full with reproach There is no such object of shame and obloquy as the people of God in their Captivity Their former height their nearness to God their interest in God their boasts about their expectations from God all tend to fit them for and lay them open to the greater scorn And the more livelily God did appear and act in them before the greater is their present shame All that pass by clap their hands at thee they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem What is this the City that men call the perfection of beauty the joy of the whole Earth Is this the people that were so glorious so eminent in piety in purity in self-denyal in mortification in faith in love in all manner of righteousness and holiness And his spirit is sensible of the just ground of this reproach that is cast upon him for there is not that loveliness that was nay there is all manner of unloveliness appearing in him now God hath left him He is besmeared all over with lying among the pots and though he be comely in this his blackness yet not to any outward eye no not to his own eye he seeth not his own comeliness and therefore cannot cast off any of that reproach that is thrown upon him not so much as from his own spirit but is filled with it he is filled full with reproach Vers 31. For the Lord will not cast off for ever Here is the ground of all this his misery hinted at God hath cast him off at present When he had nothing he was made rich by Gods entertaining him and taking care of him who when he saw him in his blood pitied him and bid him live But now he who clothed him strips him again naked naked as in the day that he was born he who took him in thrusts him out of doors he who gave him light takes away his light he who breathed life into him dryeth up his life he who redeemed him out of his enemies hand delivereth him back into his enemies hand again And now he is worse then he was before both worse used by his enemies and more sensible of his sufferings and misery in his own spirit Thus it was with Christ He was the Son of his Love he in and with whom he delighted to live and converse his only one in whom the pleasure of his Soul was seated whom he was continually nigh unto whom he delighted to satisfie fill and please with himself with the inhabitation presence and enjoyment of himself But at last when Christ had most need of him then he left him My God my God why hast thou forsaken me And thus may every one also partake of feel and complain of it when the time of their Captivity when the season of the hour and power of darkness's seizing upon them cometh But the Lord will not cast off for ever Though he doth thus cast off and make miserable for a season yet it shall be but for a season it shall not always last And it is a secret sense of this that makes him thus quietly give up himself unto his present most miserable condition Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell I shall not always lie in the grave saith Christ and while I lie there that life which I would have preserved shall not corrupt there I shall lose nothing by my death by my misery but that which I my self am willing to part with I shall not lose my God for he will be still with me in the grave though not to my sense and will raise me out of the grave and manifest himself again unto me He will so appear in me that I shall fear grave death hell sin devil no more Why then art thou so sad O my Soul and why art thou so disquieted within me Hope in God for I shall yet see him and satisfie the desire of my heart with the sight of him The Lord will not cast off for ever nay doth not cast off at present any further then I desire to be cast off by him Though there is that weakness and tenderness in me which is much encreased by duration of misery which turns from the cup and desires if it were possible to avoyd it yet there is that also in me which takes it willingly and drinks it down heartily and stands ready to embrace both that sickness and that death with all its sick fits and sharp pangs which it hastens upon them who drink deeply of it Vers 32. But though he cause grief yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies It is God that causeth grief He measureth out our sorrow to us as well as the misery that causeth it He drowneth the Soul in anguish who thought it had been impossible for him to have been driven from rejoycing and delighting in himself And our state requireth it We have as much need of the pain of the smart of the grief as of the affliction that occasioneth it if need be yea if need be only if need be ye suffer heaviness through many temptations for he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men from his heart it is his strange work not his natural delight He sends into captivity and he maketh that captivity doleful and though we cry and roar yet will he not hear but shut up his bowels against us But he will have a time again to have compassion he will have a time to heal and take away grief as well as to wound and cause it He hath multitude of mercies within him to heal and make up every condition of misery with and he will one day open the sluces wide and let forth all his bowels he will have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies And then he that keepeth not alive his Soul shall know and praise him God will build up Sion and when he builds up Sion he will appear in his Glory He will repair the old waste places and shine himself in those desolate ruines He will make the Wilderness a pleasant Land
earnest to bring others unto also as being very sensible that it tends both to his and their happiness whereas all other things tend apparantly to the misery and destruction of the creature And herein lieth the excellency of man this is the best he can desire or hope to attain and a Birth to or in this is the best Birth that can be produced by him But this is not the new-birth this is not that which God calls Regeneration this is not the heir but the son of the bond-woman which shall never inherit this is but the fruit but the off-spring of the first Adam which is of the earth earthly not of the second Adam which is the Lord from Heaven heavenly in himself and begetting an heavenly nature All these come from man the nature of man the blood of man the desire and skill of man the corruption of man or at best the excellency of man But the Child here spoken of the Child God delights in the Child he will own as his Son is of his own Seed is begotten by himself is born of him He is of the Seed of Eternity of Immortality and therefore Eternity of right belongeth to him He is the Child of God by a new Nature by a new Life he is the immediate off-spring of his own Son formed by his own Spirit But of God This whole Birth belongs to God 1. It is he that sows this Seed in the heart the seed of this Life his own Seed the Seed wherein the very Godhead is contained and which cannot but grow up into God God hath his Power to generate as well as man and the other creatures he hath his Seed to sow as well as they and his Seed doth a truly and fully contain his Nature as their seed doth theirs He is the great Sower that sows his own grain in his own Vineyard He is the great Builder that lays the foundation of his own House He hath begotten us again c. 2. It is he that quickens the Seed and causeth it to grow And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins Eph. 2. He casts a vail of death upon Eternity upon Immortality for a season he maketh it as it were to rot in the heart that he may quicken it again that he may cause it to grow up in its own shape and fulness And when it shoots forth it is he that causeth it to thrive and flourish Paul may plant and Apollos water but God giveth the increase This Life floweth only from God and groweth up only by the breath of God 3. He doth this by his own Power by his mighty Arm He puts his whole strength to it It doth not cost him nothing to sow this Seed to beget this Son but it costs him the very Power and strength of the Godhead even an exceeding greatness of Power he works with the very might of his Power when he begets this Child when he brings forth Faith in this Child even with the very same strain of strength that he exercised upon Christ when he raised him from the dead and exalted him above all other power Ephes 1.19 20. 4. He does this also by his own Will The other births are by the power of man by the will of man this is as by the Power of God so by the Will of God He is not at all moved to this by any thing in the creature by any thing from the creature but meerly by his own Will of his own Will begat he us He soweth his Seed according to his Nature as other things do theirs according to their nature Lo this is the New-Birth The Spirit breatheth where he listeth No man knows whence this breath comes no man knows whither this breath goes but it keeps within its own Circuit which is only known to it self Thus is every one that is born of God Of the Excellent Nature of this Birth or of the Child thus begotten thus born FROM JOH 3. Vers 6. That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit SPirit denotes excellency purity strength durableness of nature its constitution is more excellent more clear more strong more lasting then that of flesh Flesh is weak corrupt fading hath little loveliness it and that loveliness quickly perishing the Egyptians are men and not God and their horses flesh and not Spirit Spirit is a sublime an excellent kind of nature both in its inwardness and in its outwardness its way of Being of motion either within or without of generation far exceeds that of flesh and so doth the Child begotten this way it is of the same nature with that which begets it That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit That which is begotten by the Spirit is of a spiritual nature of the same nature with himself of the very divine nature who hath made us partakers of the divine nature He observes the Law of Generation which is to beget and encrease his own nature and kind to multiply himself So that this Child is divine what ever is in this Child what ever flows from this Child cannot but be divine its Faith its Love its Hope its Joy its Meekness Sweetness Holiness Righteousness are not such as grow in Natures garden but in the Paradise of God and from a more inward and spiritual seed then is sown in nature That which is born of the flesh is flesh All the excellency that man can attain to all the Faith Hope Love Joy c. that man can have from any of the Births fore-mentioned is but fleshly but weak corrupt fading but that which is born of the Spirit that which flows from this Life that which grows out of this Seed is spiritual and hath the Spirit of Life Eternity and Immortality in it The flesh profiteth nothing Christ speaks that to persons who were bending their whole strength to understand him all this avails nothing The greatest fleshly desire moves not God the greatest fleshly industry and endeavour furthers not the creature What ever is thus received what ever is thus understood what ever is thus obtained is but fleshly and will not avail All the faith in God all the love towards God all the desire after God or delight in him all the obedience unto God thus gained thus put forth hath no true life in it and must needs wither and come to nothing The fleshly understanding of any thing revealed by Christ is of no value It is the Spirit that quickeneth It is the spiritual part in the Word the spiritual part of the Word engrafted by the Spirit in the heart that quickeneth it at first or causeth it afterwards to thrive and grow This Child hath a generosity a nobility an height an aspiringness in him He can never rest out of his own Country nor out of his own place of habitation in his Country He cannot endure to live beneath himself He must possess and enjoy God to the full or he is not satisfied He must live
and living of its own nature O how richly hath God prepared for thee O Child of Eternity He hath sown his own life and perfection in thee he hath reserved his own life and perfection for thee and he feeds thee with no less then life and perfection at present onely a little prepared a little qualified and corrected for the queasiness of thy stomack in the state of thy weakness Some Properties which attend this New-born-Childe in his nonage while he is growing up to his inheritance FROM MATTH 5. Vers 3 c. 1. HE is poor in spirit stript of all his life of all his beauty of all his excellency of all his wisdom of all his strength of all his righteousness of all his holiness of all his happiness a peece of perfect weakness emptiness vanity and misery He is nothing he can do nothing He cannot pray he cannot beleeve he cannot wait he cannot hope he cannot love he cannot so much as desire Indeed when God breathes any of these into him then he has them when God draws forth any of these in him then he acts them when God lives in him then he lives but of himself he is nothing knows nothing can do nothing Other men can resist temptations but he lies open to all evils Other men can conquer corruptions but every thing is too strong for him Other men have a stock of duties of mortification of holiness but he is poor Other men are strong but he is weak Other men cannot but trust God love God live in and upon God but he sees he knows he feels he can do none of them He hath nothing of his own nothing in his power but is shut out of all the possession and possibility of life in himself Behold a poor one indeed There are none else so poor but they are rich in themselves rich in the esteem thoughts and conceits of themselves But this Soul is emptyed within as well as without is stript of his inside as well as of his outside is made naked to purpose his very spirit is unclothed he hath nothing to cover support or refresh himself even there 2. He is of a mournful spirit cannot but grieve at the sight and sense of this poverty As he is the truly poor one so he is the truly afflicted one As this is the greatest the deepest poverty So it pincheth hardest it causeth the greatest the sharpest smart It overwhelms his heart to see how he is fallen short of the glory of God to finde himself destitute of the life and presence of God He cannot rejoyce while he wants him who is the light of his countenance The Primitive Christians indeed had a taste of joy but that was from the riches which were then dispensed unto them which did not long last They were poor outwardly but rich towards God as having nothing but yet possessing all in him but this was no abiding state the Bridegroom was soon taken away and ever since hath been a time of mourning 3. He is of a meek spirit by being continually emptyed broken and stript he is made very meek His haughtiness and roughness is tamed and subdued by his constant sense of misery He knows what it is to be miserable to be subject to vanity to be destitute of the life and power of God He hath nothing in him to lift up it self against any to accuse any of He can neither act roughly towards others nor oppose any rough actings towards him He knows the meaning of nothing and so is silent and meek towards all and concerning all He is not a fretful outragious mourner but he bewails himself and the sad condition of all things with a meek broken spirit 4. He is hungry and thirsty after Righteousness He is very poor altogether stript of them yet not contented so to remain but there is a great hunger and thirst kindled in him after them He feels the vanity and misery of unrighteousness and would fain be rid of it he tastes the sweetness and excellency of righteousness and is very eager to be filled with it to be possessed of it to have it brought forth in him It is his own natural temper and he cannot rest until he return into the freedom and fulness of it until he finde nothing but righteousness within nothing but righteousness flowing forth perfect righteousness within perfect righteousness flowing forth even the Righteousness of God himself communicated to him living in him and displaying it self through him When he is perfect as his heavenly Father is perfect then and not till then will he have enough 5. He is very merciful full of compassion of bowels Merciful to every creature merciful to all men to their Bodies Souls to every thing that is liable to suffer He loves no cruelty no oppression but would fain have all tendered all pityed all relieved He is touched with every ones want and would fain have them supplyed He would not have the Bodies of men want food or rayment He would not have the Souls of men want God the life of God satisfaction in and from God 6. He is pure in heart Though he is overspred and covered with abundance of filth and impurity yet the principle of life in him is pure and uncapable of being tainted 7. He is a peace-maker does not love quarrels and contentions but meekness and quietness There should be no fallings out no jarrings between Creature and Creature or between God and Creature if he could help it and he is still making peace so far as lies in his reach He loves peace exceedingly and because of his abundant delight to reap it he is ever sowing and cherishing it He is the very Image of his Father still moving and working towards Reconciliation 8. He is persecuted for righteousness sake for that righteousness sweetness meekness c. that God bringeth forth in him There is no cause why he should be persecuted but yet he is persecuted and this kinde of temper layeth him open to persecution the Dove-like Lamb-like spirit is a temptation to the Hawk to the Wolf Christ was persecuted for this very cause and the same spirit in the world that persecuted Christ will also be still persecuting such as these upon the same ground and speaking all manner of evil against them falsly for Christs sake because of their reference and likeness to Christ whom by a secret antipathy the spirit of the world when most refined and spiritualized cannot but oppose They cannot for shame before men and in their own spirits speak against these things in them therefore they invent lyes and falshoods that they may represent them odious to men and their own spirits thereby and so more freely without check of Conscience persecute them under colour thereof But these notwithstanding all their present miseries and hardships though they be looked upon as the scum and off-scouring of the world and so used by the world yet they are the blessed of God of whom the
one another There is none comes between the Father and the Son they know one another indeed The first act of the Fathers knowledg passed upon the Son and the first act of the Sons knowledg passed upon the Father and there it is fullest and strongest God knew the Son first and all for his sake Christ knew the Father first and all for his sake Their knowledg is concentred in each other there they fix it there they make use of it there they delight in it Just such a knowledg as this is there between Christ and his sheep Christ knoweth them as those he himself hath begotten as those whom he hath breathed the Image of the Father into as those that were taken out of him as his wife formed out of his own side as Eve was out of Adams They know Christ as the everlasting Father as the Fountain of their life as their onely Lord and Shepherd And therefore it is the first and most natural act of the Soul so soon as it is begotten and born to beleeve on Christ to love Christ to hope in Christ So soon as ever it opens its eyes and sees it sees Christ the original of its own life and it clings unto him all its motions are goings forth of it self towards him and receiving and letting him into it self It cannot live further then it enters into Christ or then Christ enters into it this is its proper element where it onely can rest and delight it self As Christ did hang on the Father from that knowledg he had of him and the Father did continually communicate himself to Christ by that knowledg he had of him So Christs sheep presently hang on him as their Shepherd so soon as they are made sheep and he naturally taketh care of them as the Father doth of him Look after what manner and upon what grounds the Father and Christ know one another and what the effects of this knowledg are just such a knowledg and such effects of knowledg shall you finde between Christ and his sheep Knowledg is the acquaintance persons have one with another their comprehending of one another in the same light wherein they are and live wherein they understand the dispositions the ways the counsels of one another God is said not to know wicked men because he holds no acquaintance no correspondence with them but he knows Christ he holds intimate acquaintance and correspondence with him he lets him see what ever is in him and what ever he intends to do and so Christ also advises with his Father about every thing desires to hide nothing from the Father desires to know nothing but from in and with the Father Such an acquaintance is there between Christ and his Christ opens his excellencies and the mysteries of his ways to them and they open their hearts and thoughts and burthens and every thing to Christ it is a knowledg accompanyed with and begetting the most intimate familiarity the most mutual communion delight and confidence And this knowledg onely is certain all other knowledg all from without all from within that is any other ways received then from the lips of Christ is but a lye and cannot but deceive We know Truth by knowing Christ and it is in and from Christ that we know it Christs sheep cannot take up truth at any time when it is held out nor from any hand but onely when they see Christ going before them Though they see Truth to be their food yet they desire it not they meddle not with it but when their Shepherd picks it out for them and as he distributes it to them It is the subtilty of the Devil to be beforehand with Truth to hold it out first on his false grounds and principles that afterwards by felling them he may supplant the Truth it self when Christ comes to hold it forth And though other persons may take up Truth thus held forth by drinking in the outward notion yet they cannot They do not know this kinde of voyce they are not used to receive things thus from principles or from the light of Reason after the manner of men but when Christ leads them by his Spirit when he thus speaks to them they know his voyce and follow him They regard not what Creatures speak in or through the Creation They regard not what spiritual men speak of God or Christ or any other spiritual thing They regard not what is spoken within them they know the root of vanity and deceit is deep within But what Christ speaks either from within or from without is exceeding welcome to them when he opens that ear and that heart that can hear and know his voyce And this is their kinde of knowledg which having once tasted of they are not able to relish any other Christ relisheth no other knowledg in them nor do they relish any other knowledg in themselves When this is at any time darkened hid or buryed from them or within them though they have never so much left of that which men call knowledg yet they cannot look upon it or own it as knowledg Such kinde of knowledg is not knowledg with them is not their knowledg they have neither interest nor delight in it As Christ knows them by his own light by his own knowledg by the knowledg of his own divine spiritual Nature so they know Christ and spiritual things by the same light by the same nature with the same knowledg He hath the peculiar knowledg of such a Shepherd as he is and they have the peculiar knowledg of such sheep as they are Their relation is distinct different from any relation in this world of another nature and kinde their union is such an union as is not to be found here below and such is their knowledg and communion I am the good Shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine Of the New Covenant FROM HEBR. 8.10 11 12. For this is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days saith the Lord I will put my Laws into their minde and write them in their hearts and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a People And they shall not teach every man his neighbor and every man his brother saying Know the Lord For all shall know me from the least to the greatest For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more A Covenant with us is that agreement which is concluded of between man and man between two several parties It contains in it the agreement between them and the terms of the agreement This is sown every where in every thing throughout the whole Creation and in all affairs and transactions there may be seen and read the force and vertue of a Covenant written either in open letters or secret characters Every union every relation contains a Covenant in it the bounds whereof makes the union and relation
the flesh be thrown into the furnace the spirit goes with it and is burnt and melted in the fire as well as it Therefore all the life the spirit gains possesses pleases it self with it must part with again and must dye a bitter death with the flesh that it may be quite rid of the flesh all its life must sink back into its principle and lie there as if it were dead while the flesh is truly mortified and slain for ever And if it were not of an excellent nature if it could not bear the force of that fire which kills and burns up the flesh it would also be slain and consumed with the flesh if it were not pure gold it could not but waste and perish in the heat of that furnace which is still consuming and at last when it is heated hot enough will quite devour all fleshly dross whatsoever that is cast into it 4. The restlesness of the spirit under this Remedy For this thing I be sought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me He useth the best means with the utmost vigour to get rid of it Nothing more effectual then prayer then fervent prayer then constant prayer We have no strength of our own our strength lies in God faith and prayer or faith in prayer is our readiest and surest way of recourse to him for it Paul prayeth once yea again and again and fain he would be heard and mark the earnestness of his spirit that it might depart from me He doth not pray for strength to bear it for submission to the Will of God for spiritual benefit and advantage by it No nothing will serve his turn but to have it taken away to have it removed to have it depart the pain the shame is so great that he can by no means be content to lie under it This is such physick as we would never take if we might chuse it maketh us so sick that we would rather be without health then come by it this way If this remedy were not forced upon us this sickness would always remain with us 5. The support of the Soul under this restlessness the Cordial that is of most force to refresh the spirits under the violent workings of this physick which make the spirits very faint and bring the Soul very low My Grace is sufficient for thee The Grace of God the good will of God revealed to tasted by the Soul is able to refresh and support it under sense of the greatest misery There are two things of very great efficacy in it 1. There is a taste of sweetness at present which doth secretly relieve refresh revive the spirit He who ever knew God let him at any time taste the favour and love of God though in the lowest darkest deadest most oppressed state he can be in he cannot but find a secret touch of life in it in thy favour is life yea thy loving-kindness is better then life it is better to taste the sweetness the kindness the love of God in the most bitter pangs of death then to enjoy the sweetest touches and motions of life in ones own spirit 2. There is an assurance of a good issue and of all this tending that way He who sees the Grace of God the vertue of its nature its skill and efficacy in operation will see his physick administred to him from that Grace and working by that Grace He sees no more the temptations of the Devil in the Devils hand or his own sins in his own hand doing him mischief but in Gods hand doing him good He sees his own weakness not any longer his snare but his advantage making way to rid him of his weakness and to give him full possession of the strength of God for my strength is made perfect in weakness The strength of God is not made perfect in the discovery of it self to the creature in the creature for the creature till the creature be made perfectly weak While there is any strength left in the creature there is some room left there which the strength of God doth not fill the strength of God may be there but not all his strength the strength of God may act there but not perfectly The strength of God can never do that it hath to do for the Soul to perfect it before the Soul be first made perfectly weak and then the strength of God will soon be perfected when the Soul is brought to perfect weakness When we are brought into perfect captivity and perfectly weakened in captivity so that there is nothing left nothing remaining nothing visible to be delivered but the whole life of the spirit is perfectly dryed up and lost even for ever then is there nothing to hinder the breaking forth of perfect deliverance 6. The exultation of the spirit from the sense and experience of the good that the Grace of God works for it by these it can hereafter sport with misery play with death laugh while it is in the very jaws of destruction Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities I will not be so ashamed of my weakness now I know what it is and whither it tends but I will glory in it I will rejoyce in mine own inability to withstand temptations to keep back the breaking forth of any corruption in me to secure my self from the meanest messenger of Satan and I will not do it as a forced thing but most gladly it shall be a free motion of my spirit that which it shall most freely give it self up to namely to rejoyce in and because of its weakness most gladly therefore c. Yea I will rather do it I will chuse to rejoyce and glory in them before I would do it in Revelations I like them better they tend to bring me nearer to that which my spirit longs after whereas Revelations tend to set me further from it That the Power of Christ may rest upon me My life my happiness lies in enjoying the Power of Christ Revelations tend to strip me of it but weaknesses tend to possess me of it yea to cause it to rest upon me not only to seize upon me but to abide with me Our weaknesses are not only to fit us for some more vigorous aid and assistance from God but for the inhabitation of God there will he dwell thither shall the Power of Christ resort and there shall it rest Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities I will never be so unwilling to be weakened again Since I knew the meaning of it I cannot but take pleasure in it It is my delight to be made weak to be thrown down to be reproached to be bemired in my own filth I could not endure shame immediately after my Revelations but now I can please my self to behold mine own shame Yea I love to be brought to necessities to distresses that I know not which way to turn my self for all this is for Christs sake to give him more hold of
thing else Man thinks now he can attain any thing there is nothing either in Heaven above or Earth beneath but he can understand in his proportion according to what of it is represented to him and according as he bends and applies himself to take in the knowledg of it but the bryars and the thorns of the wilderness will teach him otherwise When he is throughly brayed in the mortar though his folly will not depart from him yet his conceit of his wisdom will fall And what will then become of the life in him What would become of the life of the Creature if there were no Sun Where will be his knowledg of good and evil wherewith he doth now so lift up himself judging justifying or condemning as he pleaseth How will he resist his enemies or turn towards his friends when he cannot see or distinguish either Ah poor man poor Christian How doth my spirit bewail that dreadful captivity which thou dost not so much as dream of yet must drink deep of There is no avoyding it it is the Lords interest to put out thy light to put out thy life and it must not be spared There is a double Captivity hastening hastening coming on apace very swiftly though man may account the Lords haste slackness A captivity of the whole Creation a captivity of all Creation a captivity of the old Creature a captivity of the new Creature a captivity of the seed of man a captivity of the seed of God a captivity of the flesh a captivity of the spirit a captivity of the old creaturely life of the reason wisdom understanding of the creature a captivity of the new regenerate life of the life of God sown in the creature I shall onely give a glance at the latter of these because it is here pointed at and is first to take place for God will begin with his people God shall judg his people Judgment must begin at the house of God and the other captivity the captivity of the Creature may go hand in hand with this in them so that their whole captivity perhaps may be wholly ended before God begins with the world They shall lift up their heads because their redemption draweth nigh when destruction is but coming upon others God will say to them Arise shine thy light is come the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee when he is but raising the cloud of darkness yea of gross darkness to cover the earth and the people of the earth with But as they must rise before the world so they must dye before the world they must dye while man remains alive that they may live when death issueth forth to seize upon man And as their Life and Resurrection is far more excellent then ever man can attain to so is their Death and Captivity far more bitter To touch a little at it There is a captivity a great captivity which the spiritual life is subject unto before it entereth into perfect rest Whether this shall befall any in the body or out of the body I know not God knoweth for I know not the way of the spirit in the body nor the way of the spirit out of the body Yet Paul seemeth expresly to affirm concerning some that they should be saved in the Day of the Lord which is the proper time of Salvation yet so as by fire Their works should not be able to endure the fire many of them but should be burnt up yet they themselves notwithstanding their loss by the burning up of their works should be saved yet not perhaps as they think but so as by fire The Soul must be purified throughly purified perfectly purified before it enjoy God it must pass through the fire and if it be not able to endure the fire it cannot but suffer by it both pain and loss Sin may be taken away by imputation but the work of renovation is not so either begun or perfected but by often casting into the fire and by often molding in the fire where the very powers of life are melted and transformed by several steps and degrees into perfection and the process and growth into life is still according to the force and degree of death I have nothing to say concerning a place of Purgatory which the Papists speak of but in this I know not how to be otherwise minded but that the Soul must be throughly purged of all its dross before it enter into perfect union and communion with God and the Apostle seemeth to intimate that some shall not be so purged until the Day of the Lord which is the proper time for the letting out of that fire for the tryal of all things And when the Tryal is then must needs the suffering be of that which is not able to bear the Tryal although in the result it should be saved he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire 1 Cor. 3.15 If we observe mens departure out of the body there are few seem so purged but that they have still need of the fire How far that Thief was changed upon the Cross or what is wrought in men at the point of death or what becomes of them immediately after I have nothing to say concerning yet the general apprehension of such an immediate entering into perfect rest would not to me carry sufficient clearness if I should go about to scan things as a man But to let that pass There is I say a great captivity for the spiritual life to be tryed in and by to the purpose before it be entrusted with Rest before it be admitted into the possession of perfect and unchangeable Rest There may be an entering into the Land of Canaan yea a setling in and an enjoying of it and yet after that a going into captivity We who beleeve have entered into Rest Paul deeply entered and yet here is a kinde of captivity afterwards he was buffeted by a messenger from Satan and his spirit very restless under it And though his be but a type or taste of the captivity not the captivity it self yet it may serve to point at it The Jews were Types of the true Israel Canaan a Type of their Rest and the captivities of the Jews Types of the captivities of their spirits To have a spirit wounded is very bitter what is it to have a spirit in captivity where it is continually wounding nothing but wounded at the pleasure of its greatest enemy There are two things in this Captivity pointed at here as in a figure The nature of it and the helplessness of the spirit under it 1. The nature of it which consists in a subjection to the Devil The person who was delivered from him snatched out of his Kingdom set free from his yoke of Tyranny seated in its own land is thrust out of its own land and put into the hands of the Devil again he is brought back to Egypt concerning which it was said unto him that he should return no more
calling to minde the former sweetness of these its former activity in these which are now become so difficult so impossible to it and a lively remembrance of the sweetness of what was formerly enjoyed doth much encrease the trouble of the present want of it 2. It encreaseth the sense of the present bitterness by making it more lively It doth not onely encrease the sense of the want of these but encreaseth also the sense of that which lieth upon the spirit The remembrance of former life and liberty makes the present bonds and pangs of death a great deal more sharp and weighty 3. It encreaseth the Devils rage that he now layeth load upon the Soul To finde that life yet striving to stir which he hath bound so fast this makes him seek for new cords to binde it yet faster for stronger poyson to strike it yet more dead Now if I should tell you of a strange Mystery viz. of embracing this subjection of putting your necks under Nebuchadnezzars girdle of receiving quietly all the buffetings of Satan not onely of entering again willingly into your Captivity but of bearing your whole burden in your Captivity of letting your life hope strength and all suffer death and be layd in the grave if I should speak after this manner to you ye would say this were a very hard doctrine yet this is certain that the Bird in the Cage doth but tire yea perhaps bruise and hurt it self by fluttering to get out or the Bird in the net or snare doth but entangle it self more by straining to get loose and fly abroad There is no way like to lying still and yeelding up even the spiritual life as a sacrifice following Christ as a Lamb or Sheep to the slaughter without the least resistance gainsaying or reluctation O sad sad sad will this Captivity be Never was there destruction desolation and anguish like unto it Then shall every member feel the pains of the head and then shall every member so afflicted complain with the head and say Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger From above hath he sent fire into my bones and it prevaileth against them he hath spred a net for my feet he hath turned me back he hath made me desolate and faint all the day But when this Captivity is ended when life shall again come forth from under this bondage O how sweet how fresh how pure will it be how pleasant to look back upon the several yokes bonds snares deaths in the Land of our Captivity Then we shall glory more in those multiplyed deaths then in our former life Our former life and enjoyments tended but to lead us to Captivity but this Captivity tends to lead us to that Life which cannot enter into Captivity which cannot feel Captivity but will be master of it where ere it meets it Our life led us into that Captivity where we felt unutterable anguish death misery but our Captivity leadeth us to that Life which is so strong and vigorous that it is able to lead Captivity captive even in its own Land The Way to true Knowledg FROM 2 COR. 5.16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh yea though we have known Christ after the flesh yet now henceforth know we him no more THat which God created was flesh He brought forth every thing in this Creation in a state of weakness All the Images and representations of himself here are fleshly The eye he made to behold them was a fleshly eye The content the happiness that cometh by this sight is a fleshly happiness The enjoyment of God in this way is a fleshly enjoyment There was emptiness weakness vanity written in the very state yea in the very make of the Creation Indeed it might have enjoyed a kinde of happiness if it had remained as it was made but it would not have been true happiness nor could it have lasted It was as impossible for Adam to have stood as it is for God to fall for there was mortality mutability written in his state in his nature as there is Eternity Immutability written in Gods Adams nature disposed him to what befell him it was flesh walked in the path of flesh hastening towards the end designed unto flesh Henceforth know we no man after the flesh The eye the created eye the eye of this Creation in its best in its purest in its perfectest state is no better then fleshly This eye as it is fleshly so that which this eye seeth is flesh it can see nothing which is spiritual The eye of sence cannot see the reason of man nor can the reason of man see the Nature of God Man may see God as the creatures see man not comprehending not understanding him He may see the fleshly part of God the fleshly appearance but not the spiritual Substance He may see outward visible Demonstrations of God but not his Nature not his Spirit which alone is God The manner after which this eye seeth is fleshly after a weak shallow fleshly manner not comprehending not piercing into things not gathering things into it self but by gathering deductions and conclusions from principles and experiences this is mans way Henceforth know we We. There is a parcel of this Creation in whom Eternity in whom the seed of another-ghess life then this Creation is acquainted with or can comprehend is sown in whom this Creation is in part pulled down and the Foundations of Eternity laid in the ruines of it All things are not one all things are not alike do not your senses perceive a vast difference in things There is an inward world and there are inward senses which have felt and can tell you that the difference there is more vast and more substantial In this world ye see that excellent things are rare there is abundance of dross but little pure mettal in comparison abundance of stones but pearls are not so common abundance of chaff and off all but not so much pure seed So is it in the inward world The jewels of God the grain of God the seed of his own Spirit is very scarce and precious We know As there is such a seed so they have a life and knowledg suitable to them and indeed their knowledg is the only knowledg before which all the knowledg of man vanisheth and shrinketh away like a shadow It is true man hath knowledg man hath life if ye speak in one kind of language but if ye speak in a pure language he hath not He doth know God he doth live in God he doth live to God in a sense in a shadowy life and knowledg and so do other creatures in a sense too in a more dark and more shadowy life and knowledg but in truth he doth not But we know this seed this man the new man doth
know his is knowledg and shall appear knowledg when it cometh to be tried when the day comes and the shadows fly away this shall stand and remain we know He that is born of God he that feeds upon and grows up in the Life of God he doth indeed know He that sees with his eye in his light sees truth sees himself and that not any way painted but in his own native nakedness beauty and excellency But all other eyes all other lights all other sights of things with these eyes in or through these lights are but shadows tend but to hide and deceive and after their appointed season is over must pass away Man must dye his eye be closed at the time of his death after which it can see no more and then must he into the grave and all his light and knowledg be buried with him Go on O Man study the creatures study the Scriptures gather a stock of knowledg and experience from these Admire God love God live in God live to God be perfect walk exactly with God This is knowledg this is life this is excellency I cannot but give it its due as I am a man I love it and O how is my heart taken with the person in whom I find this vigorous But again This is not knowledg this is not life this must perish and thou with it This will not save thee but kindle the flames upon thee and help the more to scortch thee And if I do not know this more certainly then thou knowest any thing let me be proved a Lyar and shamed before the whole bulk of mankind for so unjustly arraigning accusing and condeming man so long and so deeply in mine own spirit and now at length so publiquely in open view We know no man after the flesh This Seed of God who are begotten and born of God who live in the Life of God who walk in the Light of God they see nothing after the manner of men they know nothing as man knows It is not by reason or experience by the sight of the eye or hearing of the ear that they come to understand but by the springing up of their own life in them Indeed while the man remains in them he will be knowing even spiritual things as other men know them and making use of them as other men make use of them but this is not the life in them that doth thus The Life only knows it self and it only knows by it self by its own living it comes to know There is light sown every where in this life and as the light grows the life springeth up in it They need nothing to make them perfect but the perfect growth of their own life they need nothing else to teach them to guide them to refresh them all that they can desire dwells in that life which they already have They are like God his Seed cannot but have his likeness their happiness their perfection lieth in themselves in their own life They walk in the light as he is in the light the knowledg the fellowship they have with things is by feeling them in their own spirits They know God by feeling him there and they know other things by comprehending them there in God in whom they are originally and most fully Yea though we have known Christ after the flesh The Word became flesh The Word appeared in flesh the Word tabernacled in flesh dwelt in flesh discovered himself in flesh and the Word may be known after the flesh Those spiritual Excellencies and Glories of God which he in his fleshly Appearance held forth may be seen by the fleshly eye and after a fleshly manner All his Preachings all his Miracles all his outward Manifestations of the Power Goodness and Love of God in these were but fleshly Manifestations and he who thus knew him knew him but by these knew him but after the flesh Christ as he was here in a fleshly state so he had a fleshly knowledg of God and held forth a fleshly knowledg of God which was useful to him and might be also to others in the season of it but it passed away with him he dyed to it and is to live no more to it and with his Apostles after him in part and must pass away in all in whom the other seed is sown according as that comes to live in them Yet now henceforth know we him no more We have been weak we have been babes in Christ and then the man did much live in us and we knew by outward receptions of Light and by visible demonstrations of Power While the seed is young and tender the weeds are suffered to grow up with it that it might also grow If you should at first pluck up all the knowledg of the man ye could not but pluck up the knowledg of God too which is weak and as it were hangs upon it but let them both alone let them both grow till it hath taken thorow rooting and then it will keep its ground and be able to bear the violence of the separation Let but the New-Man grow strong and hearty enough he will spue up the other of himself henceforth know we no man after the flesh yea though we have known Christ after the flesh yet now henceforth know we him no more Not as if Paul or any else then had perfectly attained unto this but life in him and in others was working apace towards this and had in part also attained And now let me tell thee O Man if thou canst bear to hear it that though thou hast a great deal of knowledg in thy kind yet not one dram of true knowledg not one grain of knowledg in the right kind Thou canst not read aright one line throughout the whole Creation nor one tittle of the Book of God Thou dost not know God or the creatures or that which thou thinkest cannot but be known that God made the creatures Thou dost not know sin or the Law whereby sin is sin or Christ who is the Redeemer from sin That which thou callest the knowledg of these things which indeed thou hast is not knowledg and when they come to be opened in the light of the Lord which shall put out thy light and discover thy darkness which is now painted as if it were light thou shalt find thou dost not know them Thou art so far from Redemption that thou never knewest what sin was even thou who canst talk of sin and seemest to thy self to be able to open it in the several kinds natures and degrees of it Ah poor perishing man how wilt thou be deluded in thy hopes of Salvation Thy ways are the ways of death all thy motions towards God towards Life towards Happiness as thou thinkest are but so many steps from it Thou dost but dream of things in the night and it is not much material whether thy dreams please or disturb thy fancy for whichsoever it be it is but imaginary thy
the sound of a milstone shall be heard no more at all in thee Filthy nakedness in stead of precious garments and ornaments for she was clothed in fine linnen and purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls The plagues and downfall of Babylon they may be put together for her plagues shall quickly make an end of her shall be sudden violent and utterly destructive Sudden like the taking up of a stone and throwing it into the Sea her plagues come in one day Vers 8. death mourning famine yea utter burning nay in one hour Vers 17. Violent Thus with violence shall that great City Babylon be thrown down besides its own weight which will make it descend downward amain there is the strength of him that casts it added to it and it is a mighty Angel who is chosen out to that purpose And utterly destructive she shall be so sunk that she shall be found no more Sion though long drowned and lost in Babylon shall be fought out and found again her Land shall be married though she fall she shall rise again though her light be put out and she sit long in the dark sighing and mourning over her widowhood and desolation yet her Sun shall rise again light shall spring unto her out of obscurity But Babylon shall be utterly destroyed eternally destroyed shall be put to such a death as it shall never recover from shall be buried in that Sea where nothing can never be found more that is cast into it and shall be found no more After this manner shall Babylon be destroyed It shall not only be rased to the ground but it shall be plucked up by the very roots God will not only cut off some branches of Babylon and cast them into the fire but he will lay the Ax to the root of the tree and cast the whole tree with all its branches leaves fruit trunk root and all into that fire which shall prevail over it utterly to consume it Sion shall be purified with Judgment but Babylon shall be destroyed with Judgment Sion shall be purged by the fire but Babylon shall be burnt to nothing in the fire This dross the fire will lick up for ever and suffer to be or appear no more An Exhortation to such in whom the seed of life is sown to wait for the growth and happy success of it FROM JAMES 5. Vers 7 8. Be patient therefore Brethren unto the coming of the Lord behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the Earth and hath long patience for it until he receive the early and latter rain Be ye also patient stablish your hearts for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh BRethren They in whom the Seed of God is sown are brethren They are begotten by the same Father in the same nature and life They are members of the very same Body whereof Christ is the Head They have such a relation one to another such a knowledg of one another such love towards one another such delight in one another as that which is in the world among natural brethren even where it is highest and purest is but a dark shadow of Christ is the Head of this relation the Foundation the top stone the corner stone in this new building he is the first-born the eldest Son the elder Brother but all the rest have a share in it they are also the children of God and having the same sonship from God they must needs become brethren with him and among one another I will declare thy name among the brethren Be patient Every thing is exposed to suffering the first Creation the second Creation Man Christ God every thing That which sweetens sufferings and makes the sufferer hold out is patience If man were not endued with patience he could never go through those hardships which he ordinarily meeteth with If Christ had not been furnished with patience he could never have born the contradiction of sinners the weight of sin and the absence of his Father If God himself had not patience he could never suffer his Name and Glory to be so trampled upon in the world There is a patience formed in every thing proportionable to its nature and kind of sufferings God and Christ as their sufferings are great so their patience is of a very deep intense nature they are not capable of being provoked further then they themselves please to give way to it And the new-man as he must drink of the same cup of sufferings with them so he hath the same patience given him There is none knoweth the nature of his sufferings nor doth any know the nature of his patience Be patient Give your selves up to patience settle your spirits to wait quietly be content to meet with storms with blasts with troubles and to stay your time for the enjoyment of your life and happiness Every thing must be encouraged and cherished according to its nature and kind or it will not grow nor move freely and kindly The natural man who hath natural patience must apply himself unto it or his passions will over-master him and make his troubles very grievous and burdensom to him Man hath knowledg faith love joy patience meekness for these are not spiritual but where they grow in a spiritual seed from a spiritual stock yea all natural excellencies sown in him but if he hath not wisdom to draw them forth and manage them aright he cannot use them he cannot enjoy them he cannot reap that sweet benefit which he might from them The New-man hath faith love patience yea all spiritual excellencies in him but for want of spiritual skill these are not always drawn forth into act according to the strength of them within but many times in many cases the use of them and that comfort and refreshment that might be had by them is lost There are oppositions to every kind of motion to faith to love to hope to joy and so to patience now if there be not strength within to graple with and overcome the opposition met with these motions must needs flag I know this life is of such a nature as that it cannot be put out This faith this love this patience every thing of this impression must live for ever yet its life may be driven back exceedingly inward and it deprived of all the sense and sweetness of life or refreshment by life Vnto the Coming of the Lord. Here he tells them how long their patience should last namely until the Lord come then they shall wait no longer then they shall hope no longer then they shall desire no longer but enjoy what they have waited for hoped after and desired The Lord. Christ is the Head of both Creations he is the Lord of Life he gave life unto both he hath appointed every thing its course in life and motion and he will call all to an account concerning every Talent that they have been entrusted with by him The Coming of the
sown which must have seasons pass over it before it spring up must rot and dye before it live though in its rotting it doth not rot and in its dying it doth not dye and when it doth spring up must grow gradually and undergo many changes before it cometh to maturity There is a double sowing one of Christs another of ours Christ soweth and we sow Christ soweth in us and we sow unto him He sows the seed of life in us and this life in us sows the seed of living motions towards him and of living operations in him it moves spiritually towards Christ it works spiritually in Christ Every motion of life put forth towards Christ is a sowing Every act of faith of love of joy of expectation of contentedness and submission of spirit under his dispose is a sowing He that soweth unto the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth unto the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting To be spiritual to move spiritually to live spiritually is to sow unto the spirit as to be carnal to move carnally to live carnally according to the will and desire of the flesh is to sow unto the flesh Now all these all these motions all these operations this life with all the buddings forth of it must be thrown into the Earth dye there be gone and lost a long season before they come to any thing so that the flesh which had great hopes because of them great delight in them and great desire after them will lose all its expectation be weary of its delight and let fall its desire and will be vehemently perswading the spirit to do so also To what purpose is it to beleeve to what purpose is it to pray to what purpose is it to deny ones self and to suffer in so many kindes All comes to nothing he whose spirit multiplyeth in these multiplyeth sorrow unto himself c. True all these are thrown into the Earth lost and gone for ever to all sight and appearance they come to nothing a great deal of pains and trouble there is but to no purpose And how can it be otherwise seeing the time of reaping nay perhaps of growth is not yet come But wait run the venture as you see the husbandman is fain to do who expects a crop Be ye also patient Follow their example wait and wait long as ye see they do Stablish your hearts Do not give way to frights to discouragements from present pressures which may dishearten you and make your waiting irksom but stablish your hearts to wait It will come it will be worth all your waiting for it when it comes and the longer it stays the more weighty will it be in it self and the sweeter to you Be content then to stay for it and to expect nothing but trouble and misery until you meet with it For the Coming of the Lord draweth nigh It is a great encouragement to wait if one be neer the attaining of what one waits for And this great advantage Faith hath always had to represent things very neer as neer as they can be desired to be The Coming of the Lord is a great way off to the eye of man so far off that he can hardly forbear scoffing at the spiritual man for speaking of it as nigh at hand but close by to the eye of Faith even as near as Faith would have it Faith would have nothing wrought otherwise then it is he that sees every thing with a spiritual eye can dislike nothing it would not have any thing come sooner then it is appointed to come It is the flesh which shall never be saved that is so hasty after Salvation but he that beleeveth doth not make haste but stayeth willingly till Salvation be ripe and till he be ripened for Salvation It is the foolish flesh that thinks it self wise enough to cut out its own season and proportion of deliverance but the truly and spiritually-wise-childe knoweth his degree of wisdom the degree of wisdom allotted him doth not amount high enough for this undertaking and therefore yeeldeth it up to the dispose of the wisdom of the Father The flesh is much troubled that it cannot have things times and seasons at its own dispose the spirit or spiritual childe would not have them at its own dispose if it might The spirit in the spirit of the childe teacheth it contentedly from choyce and with delight to give up it self to the dispose of the spirit in the spirit of the Father Surely it cannot but seem strange to the eye of man that the Apostles should then in their times so many ages ago speak of the coming of Christ as so nigh and that it should yet be so far off but Faith can digest very well Faith sees the certainty of it the suddenness of it yea that it is already in motion Behold he that cometh will come and will not tarry He is certainly a coming and he will come on he will not stay He comes he comes he wo'nt step back again he will come on forward nay he wo'nt stand still he will not tarry Behold he cometh leaping over the mountains skipping over the hills Arise shine thy light is come Lift up your heads your Redemption draweth nigh Howl ye who have thriven and grown rich in his absence your delight your content your life your peace your happiness is ended your Sun is set Spring forth with joy and singing ye weak ye sick ye poor faint distressed spirits the Sun of righteousness is risen with healing in his wings he is coming to anoint you with the oyl of salvation and gladness to wipe away all tears from your eyes and so to fill you with joy as ye shall be able to grieve or weep no more He will appear the second time without sin to Salvation ye have been long talking of Salvation when he cometh again ye shall know what it meaneth ye shall feel what it is and it will not be long ere he come he is upon his march already hastening towards you coming on apace the appointed time of his absence is wearing out amain and the time of his return approaching The day is at hand the Coming of the Lord draweth nigh Even so Amen Come Lord Jesus come quickly redeem the time of thy long delay and come quickly yea very quickly The Spirit of the Bride saith Come and he that is athirst saith Come Come O Water of Life or I perish come O Bread of Life or I famish Come Come ERRATA'S Pag. 24. l. 6. r. a new-man P. 30. l. 27. r. doth not onely P. 31. l. 28. r. this is the. P. 74. l. 28. r. lives safe P. 78. l. 23. r. diverts P. 79. l. 1. r. and bonds P. 109. l. 28. r. out of The Contents 1. OF the difference between God and the Creature Pag. 1 2. Of Good and Evil. Pag. 3 3. Of the Devil Pag. 5 4. Of Righteousness Holiness and Happiness Pag. 9 5. Of Redemption Pag. 10 6. Of Faith Pag. 12 7. Of Love Pag. 14 8. Of Self-denyal Pag. 21 9. Of Christ from John 1.1 Pag. 24 10. Of the two Principles Seeds or Creations their different Natures Motions and Ends. Pag. 35 11. Of the New-Birth whence Faith and Love flows and to which Redemption with all the priviledges of it appertain from Joh. 1.12 Pag. 39 12. Of the excellent Nature of this Birth or of the Child thus begotten thus born from Joh. 3.6 Pag. 42 13. Of the excellent Food prepared for this New-born-child to nourish him and cause him to grow from Joh. 6.63 Pag. 44 14. Some Properties which attend this New-born-child in his non-age while he is growing up to his inheritance from Matth. 5.3 c. Pag. 47 15. Of the Fathers care over this Child and his readiness to provide for him every thing he needs from Luke 11.13 Pag. 51 16. A strange Occurrence which may befall this Darling of God and of Christ in his pilgrimage and travel towards his native Country hidden in a Parable John 11. Pag. 53 17. Of the Relation between Christ and his and the Hold they have of each other from Joh. 10.14 Pag. 58 18. Of the New Covenant from Hebr. 8.10 11 12. Pag. 65 19. The way to Life which is through the death of that which we account and press after as life and particularly through the Captivity of the Life it self from 2 Cor. 12.7 8 9 10. Pag. 83 20. The Way to true Knowledg from 2 Cor. 5.16 Pag. 100 21. Of the Seasons varieties and changes in the inward World which answer to the seasons varieties and changes in the outward World which is a map or picture of them according to that description given by that wise Observer of the course of Nature Eccles 3.1 c. Pag. 106 22. The secret hidden most inward voyce and demeanor of Sion in the time of her Captivity from Lament 3.24 c. Pag. 111 23. The Ruine Destruction and utter Desolation of Babylon from Revel 18.21 Pag. 121 24. An Exhortation to such in whom the seed of Life is sown to wait for the growth and happy success of it from James 5.7 8. Pag. 125 FINIS