single and higher intuitive natural Understanding than Man's though in but the same First-Covenant Law-life of the Creature as Man He appear'd to the Angels immediately as four living Creatures that had the Likeness of a Man Ezek. 1.5 the comprehensive Sum of all changeable First-Creation-Being and Life The word Man comprehends all Every individual Man is a Microcosm or lesser World having all found in the Macrocosm or greater without him and something more peculiar to himself He has Being an earthy Body with Elements and all inanimate Simples or Compounds a threefold Life or Spirit of Lives Gen. 2. 7. Vegetable with Grass Herbs Trees c. a Life of Sense with Birds Beasts Fishes and creeping things an intellectual Exercise of the Life of his natural Spirit above and without the Body while in it with Angels but inferiour to them therein Then besides all this has he the rational Exercise of his natural Understanding by bodily Organs not found in any Parts of the greater World Angels or Beasts The four living Creatures by which Christ represented himself to the Angels had the Face or Likeness of a Man And they are call'd again and again the or one living Creature Ezek. 1.20,21 10. 15 17 20. The good Angels figur'd by Wheels or Chariots Psal. 68. 17. follow'd this Head fully Whithersoever his Spirit was to go they went and turned not or looked back as they went Ezek. 1. 17 20. The Reason hereof was the Spirit of the living Creature was in the Wheels v. 20 21. a Seed of his spiritual Life was in them Hence when the four living Creatures with the Face of a Man did let down their Wings the said Angelical Wheels did let down their Wings v. 24. In Passive Obedience to the Divine Will and Conformity to Christ's Death of the first Creation they ceas'd from the mortal Life of their own Spirits given them in their first Creation and from the Exercise of their own fallible Understandings and corruptible Wills therein which are the mystical Wings by which natural Angels and Men flie abroad in this perishing World to view and place their Thoughts and Affections on what seems desirable to them in order to pick up a true Happiness to themselves where it never is to be found While Man thus rambles and flies abroad for a self-pleasing delusive Happiness amongst the Delights of the Sons of Men he never looks or seeks after God and his heavenly Creature-life and Things the peculiar Delights of the Sons of God These heavenly Creature-things offer'd by a new Creation are out of the Reach of all single natural Understanding of Man 1 Cor. 2. 9. and the only way for attaining them is most contrary to his natural Will The Death and Loss of both and all is the appointed way in God's Wisdom whose Thoughts and Ways are not as Man 's but quite contrary about their true Salvation Isa. 55. 8 9. When the good Angels had let down their Wings importing a perfect Rest and Cessation from the Labours or Exercise of their own Spirits Wills and Understandings a Voice from the Firmament over their Heads calls them out of the said Death of Nature into a living spiritual Faith working by love to Christ as seen by them the Man upon a Throne as exalted Son and Branch in his heavenly Creature-life Hereby were they actually possess'd of eternal Life and infallibly sure of being compleated therein in God's time They patiently waited with a holy kind of Impatience well-pleasing to God also in longing Desires and Pantings after the actual Gift of the Holy Ghost or Gospel-Spirit of the Man they saw upon his Throne therein They with Old-Testament-Saints waited four thousand Years for this promis'd unspeakable Gift which was not given to either or any of them till Christ was ascended in our Nature Iohn 7.39 But as inseparably united therewith by a living spiritual Faith working by Love thereto they all had a good Report with God as well-pleasing and acceptable to him though they had not receiv'd his promis'd Holy Ghost Heb. 11. 39. All along the said four thousand Years the good Angels with Old-Testament-Prophets and other Saints desir'd to pry look into and consider what time the Spirit of Christ in them as enjoy'd by a spiritual Faith therein did signify when it testified before-hand the Sufferings of Christ and the Glory that should follow with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven and clear Gospel-preaching experienc'd therein 1 Pet. 1. 10-12 On this account the good Angels had Cause of Rejoicing at the Birth of Christ in our Nature as their own concern as well as Man 's though not in reference to Sin For they never sinn'd at all nor were in danger of ever sinning after their first change from Nature to Grace They rejoic'd also on behalf of Mankind who are all born Sinners The high Joy of the good Angels on these Accounts at Christ's Birth is recorded Luke 2. 8-14 By the first Demeanour of the good Angels is implied the contrary Behaviour of the evil ones The good follow'd Christ their Head the evil ones turn'd from their true Head as they went or were going a while with the good under the same Light Satan made himself a contrary opposite Head to Christ and with his Tail drew a third part of the Angels Revel 12. 4. signified by Stars Iob 38. 7. into the same Condition with himself under him as their Head in the self-chosen earthly Life of the first Creation in unchangeable Enmity to God and his heavenly Life offer'd them by a second As thus it was with the evil Angels so too oft with Men. Under high spiritual enlightning Gifts many that have gone a while with Gospel-Saints after Christ as their Head finding his Cross or the Death-work of his heavenly on their earthy Spirit to be pass'd under in order to be married to him as risen from the Dead they turn away from him under Satan's Witch-crafts Gal. 3. 1 3. to set up for themselves in their holy Flesh or righteous Life given them in their first Creation in unchangeable Enmity to God and his holy Gospel-Spirit offer'd by a second So Satan as God and Prince of this World brings them under his Influence by which he renders them the most enrag'd Antichristian Enemies of Gospel-Saints and Truths 1 Iohn 2. 19. A third part of the Angels will perish for ever Of Mankind the many in the broad easy self-pleasing Way to Hell out-number Christ's few in the narrow Way to Heaven though they also out of all Generations will be a numberless Multitude Revel 7. 9. CHAP. V. A short Review of the four preceding Chapters by way of Recapitulation CHAP. 1. God infinitely blessed from all Eternity Chap. 2. Determin'd to create Angels and Men to give them immortal Spirits and to put into them a mortal Life in their first-creation to be call'd their own with all the things thereof their own Righteousness Wisdom Works Fruits c. but
Angels and Men by a first Creation of them This Creature-Son and Branch is call'd by the Name of its peculiar divine Causer in the Creature-part of the Mediator's Person the Word This Word as the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World Revel 13. 8. and exalted by and out of that Death into the originally unchangeable Life of his Creature-root and Father became the living Word of God and immediate Creator of all Angels and Men by a first Creation and of an innumerable Multitude of both by a second He will also be the immediate Performer of the whole Divine Will on all Angels and Men good and bad in the final Love or Wrath of God in Heaven or Hell to all Eternity 3. In order to all this did the third of the Divine Three call'd Holy Ghost cause the said Creature-root and Father as the supream mystical Abraham to perform a sacrificing death-Death-work on his Creature-Son and caus'd the said Creature-Son as the supream mystical Isaac not only to submit thereto in a compleat Passive Obedience to the Divine Will but in the supreamly partaken of heavenly Creature-life of his Root and Love thereto to join therewith in Active Obedience to the Divine Will for carrying on the said Death-work on himself The like did he in our mortal Nature when in the Fulness of God's appointed time taken by him in the Fountain-purity thereof above and beyond what it was in the first Adam before his Fall He was therein also full of Grace and Truth John 1. 14. full of the Holy Ghost Luke 4.1 He was Son of Man in Heaven in full Possession of the eternal Life of his Creature-root without any mortal Life about him at same time that he was Son of Man on Earth in our mortal Nature Iohn 3. 13. and long before All in Christ's Person below his infinite Divinity and Creature-root is call'd Man His whole Creature-nature Root and Branch in personal Union is the heavenly Creature-spirit or Holy Ghost render'd communicable to Angels and Men by the exalted Creature-Son and Branch This Creature-Son was one of the three Men that did eat of Abram's Meat else would not have own'd his worshipping him in Prayer for Sodom when the other two created Angels were gone towards it to destroy it and deliver Lot c. The two good Angels are also call'd Men Gen. 18. 1-8 and v. 22-33 Satan also with his evil Angels are Men of Sin 2 Thess. 2. 3. Christ was active in carrying on the Death-work upon himself as First-born of every Creature and so was he in his second Sacrifice by carrying on the Death of our whole mortal Nature in him Spirit Soul and Body By the Holy Ghost or heavenly Creature-spirit in him did he crucify the Spirit of our Nature in himself Luke 12. 49 50. He was also a voluntary Giver up of his Body into the Hands of Men under Devils to put a full Period to all that was mortal about him Iohn 10. 17 18. He laid down the Life of our whole mortal Nature and took it up again in the originally incorruptible immortal eternal Creature-life of his Root above all Deaths or Enemies And by his communicated heavenly Creature-spirit or Holy Ghost in Saints will he enable them to be active in carrying on the like Death-work on the Spirit of Nature at best in themselves and freely also to give up their bodily Life into the Hands of evil Angels and Men God's and their Enemies where God so permits and orders for the witnessing his Gospel-Truths The Record Witness or Products of the first and second of the Divine Three Father and Word in the Creature-part of the Mediator's Person as brought into inseparable Union by the Third bears the Name of the peculiar Divine Causer Holy Ghost All these things were transacted and done by and within God himself before any meer Creatures Angels or Men were brought forth The Three in the Divine Nature with their Record in Heaven the Divine Form are one and the same Three as bearing Witness in Earth the Creature-part of the Mediator agree in one The one Divine Mind is declar'd and done in and by both and all 1 Iohn 5.7,8 By what was done of the Divine Three by their distinct Products and Operations in the Creature-part of the Mediator will they let down themselves to the Sight and Enjoyment of blessed Angels and Saints for evermore The Divine is not the Creature-nature in Christ nor in his whole Creature-nature is the Creature-root the exalted Branch And his whole Divine and Creature-Person is most intimately one with the Divine Essence or Father the Head of all in him 1 Cor. 11. 3. All are one incomprehensible God Iohn 10. 30. The exalted Branch in Christ is the immediate Head of his true Gospel-Church The Creature-root in him Head of that his Divine Form Head of his whole Creature-nature Root and Branch the Divine Essence or Father Head to his whole Divine and Creature-person yet remains uncompounded with Creature-nature as the Divine Form or Son is Gal. 3. 20. 1 Tim. 2. 5. After all this account of Superiorities and Inferiorities in all that 's truly call'd God the lowest Creature-part in the Mediator the exalted Branch or living Word of God thinks or infallibly knows that 't is no Robbery or unwarrantable Presumption in him to reckon himself equal with God as in personal Union with his Creature-root and infinite Divine Nature Phil. 2.6 These are strange seeming Contradictions to Man's Wisdom which is Foolishness to God's and to be destroy'd Isa. 29. 14. in all self-confident Disputers of this World 1 Cor. 1. 19 20. CHAP. IV. The infallible Consequents of the said preparatory Condescensions of God within himself in pursuance and for the accomplishing of his abovesaid twofold Purposes in the twofold Creation of Angels and Men. 1. THUS were the Works determin'd of God to be set up in Angels and Men by a first Creation of them finish'd Heb. 4. 3. to his well-pleasing by the right Use of the mortal earthly First-Covenant Law-life of the Creature in order to receive the Heavenly-Creature New-Covenant Gospel-Life of the Creator Finish'd they were by the Mediator himself as the Lamb slain in the Fountain-purity of the first and ascended into the originally unchangeable Gospel-life of the second Rev. 13.8 All this was done within God himself by the Mediator as the Lamb slain from or in the Foundation of both Worlds natural and spiritual this World and the World to come laid in himself the Creator of both All receiv'd by Angels or Men in their first Creation or restor'd in Men by the Redeemer since their Fall in Adam is with the fallible Understanding and corruptible Will thereof their discerning and desiring Powers their own Righteousness Wisdom Glories natural Excellencies and Perfections therein to be given up in Sacrifice to the Will of God by Passive Obedience This is the only possible Means and Way for their being transform'd and exalted into
and see what all will amount unto Isa. 41. 21. Object 1. Will God destroy the First creation-creation-works of his own Hand Will he take away Man's Reason Wisdom and Righteousness bring to nothing all his good Works and Fruits done and brought forth therein Must the very Life of our own Spirit at best with all the things thereof our own Wills and Vnderstandings therein be given up in Sacrifice to the Will of God by a holy Death Answ. Yes And all to our transcendent Advantage and greatest Gain in order to find all again in a Life above all Deaths and therein an infallible Understanding and incorruptible Will for the right knowing and doing all things in answer to the very Divine Will of God Most High Object 2. Does God require Impossibilities of Man such Obedience as 't is impossible for him to perform in his own Spirit Will and Way at best in the restor'd Life and Righteousness of Man Answ. Yes But had provided an originally incorruptible heavenly eternal Creature-life in the Mediator to be given them in the room thereof by a Second or New-creation of them This is a Life above all Deaths temporal or eternal will swallow up Death in Victory Isa. 25.8 1 Cor. 15. 54. This Life is figur'd by the Wine in Iotham's Parable Iudg. 9. 13. cheering God and Man answering all Man can rightly desire of God and enabling him to answer all God requires of him He that has not this Life of the Son of God has not Life not true eternal Life 1 Iohn 5. 12. Quest. Will the Disputers of this World still contend with their Maker in defence of their own Wisdom Will and Way against his for Salvation Answ. They will till Satan's Reign and Man's Day under him are at a full Period But what are Men like to get by this Contest Eternal Death True Saints oft suffer a violent temporal Death from such self-confident Contenders against God and them Man 's own fallible Reason or Wisdom perverts him turns him away from looking after the infallible Wisdom and Reason of God to his own sudden unfore-seen everlasting Destruction Isa. 47. 10 11. He searches the Scriptures thinks he understands those written Oracles of God yet never comes to Christ the living Word of God for the Life therein witness'd and declar'd Iohn 5. 39 40. The Scriptures are a Book seal'd as to Man's Understanding that reaches not to the heavenly Creature-life and things therein signified under Figures Types and shadowy Similitudes Isa. 29.11 All spiritual Salvation-truths signified from the beginning of Genesis to the End of the Revelation are fast lock'd up and hid from Man's highest single natural Understanding The losing all in our own Law-spirit of Works is the only way to find and do all in God's Spirit of Grace Esphes 2. 8-10 'T is by Grace only or in the never-sinning Life of God's Spirit of Grace in Christ Jesus communicated to them any can be finally sav'd never in their own boasting Law-spirit of Works Having thus promiscuously consider'd Sinners in their First-creation and Saints in the Second come we now to consider meer Creaturality in spiritual Saints and Angels for evermore Spiritual Saints of the Double-portion making up God's New Heavens in their various distinct Portions therein from the highest to the lowest and Gospel-Angels the supream in the single Portion with all variety of Gospel-Saints therein making up God's New Earth in true Salvation-life are all Members of Christ's mystical Body In the former Christ's peculiar Dove supream double-portion'd Saints in the twofold heavenly and glorified earthly Life of Christ are the peculiar Wife and Bride of the Lamb Revel 19. 7. Below these in the double Portion are threescore Queens and then in the single Virgins without Number all in a Union of Mind with her praising her and owning her Superiority to them Cant. 6. 8 9. There will be no envying of the highest in the lower and lowest nor any insulting of the highest over the lower in Heaven to Eternity They 'l all rejoice in the superiour and inferiour Attainments of each other as is figur'd in the higher and lower Members of the literal Body of Man all mutually rejoicing in the Joys of one another as compleating the Joy of the whole Body 1 Cor. 12. 12-27 The various spiritual Capacities in higher and lower Saints are figur'd by Cups and Flagons Isa. 22. 24. None of all these will ever pretend to a personal Union with Christ's Creature-root and less yet with his infinite Divinity but only with the exalted Creature-Son and Branch in him the living Word of God the immediate Creator of all and Performer of the whole Divine Will on all good and evil for evermore in Heaven or Hell A World of gross Errors concerning God Christ and the eternal Concerns of Men have been toss'd up and down in the various Conceptions of Man's fallible Understanding under the unperceiv'd Influence of evil Angelical Rulers over this dark World Ephes. 6. 12. so as to blind and keep Men from looking after God for his all-discovering Spirit of Grace and Truth Rom. 3. 11. CHAP. XVII The ruling Power of Satan over Mankind all along this World as permitted God thereof under God's infinite over-ruling Wisdom and Power HE is so call'd in the Scriptures of Truth God of this World And he uses all his evil Angelical Subtlety and Power for the blinding and deceiving Men so as to keep them from any regarding or looking after God for his Gospel-life wherein alone any can be saved or ever enter into his Kingdom 2 Cor. 4. 3 4. Christ himself calls him Prince of this World John 12. 31. 16. 11. 14. 30. But says of him he hath nothing in me nor shall be able to touch or ever meddle with so as finally to overcome any Partakers of my all-powerful Gospel-life 1 Iohn 5. 18. Saints therein are Fence-proof against all the Gates or Strength of Hell all the Powers of Darkness evil Angels and Men Rulers of the Darkness of this World Ephes. 6. 12. in their own dark-spirited worldly Life and Wisdom of the First-creation The first unpardonable Sin of the evil Angels was their turning as they went or were a while following Christ towards that Life he represented himself in to them and the good Angels and in the Passage thereto by way of Death and Resurrection in such Transactions as had pass'd in the Creature-part of his wonderful Person before they were brought forth In a contrary Demeanour to that of the good Angels they turned as they went in love to themselves in their own self-chosen mortal Life given them in their first Creation in unchangeable Enmity to God and the Heavenly eternal Creature-Life of their Creator offer'd them by a second The good Angels did let down their Wings ceas'd from the mortal Life of their first Creation and Exercise of their own fallible Understandings and corruptible Wills therein signified by letting down their Wings in Conformity to
Resurrection of Life and therein the right Exercise of their whole Beings Body Soul and Spirit in the incorruptible New-creation Order of all to Eternity Incorrigible Sinners also will receive their Bodies in a Resurrection of Damnation Iohn 5. 28 29. Saints in their glorified Bodies and whole personal Beings will be everlastingly blessed in the Enjoyment of God and incorrigible Sinners in their whole Beings most exquisitely sensible under God's everlasting Curse and unquenchable Wrath without any Hope or Possibility of mitigation or end of their Torments to an endless Eternity 'T is a most fearful thing thus to fall into the Hands of the living God to be dealt with in final Wrath and infinite revenging Justice Heb. 10. 31. without any Day's-man or Mediator to stand between them and such Wrath but instead thereof will he be their Accuser Witness and Pleader against them Judg and Condemner of them and the infallible irresistible Executor of his infinite and everlasting Wrath upon them All this will he do so easily as by the Word of his Mouth by which he made them With the Breath of his Lips will he slay the incorrigibly Wicked Isa. 11. 4. Satan with his Gog and Magog his innumerable Multitude of evil Angels and serpentine Seed of Men. His Breath like a stream of Brimstone will kindle his unquenchable Wrath upon them both and all as having rendred themselves fitted perpetual Fuel for it in the Tophet ordain'd of old the Lake of Fire and Brimstone prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels with their innumerable serpentine Seed of Men Isa. 30. 33. Rev. 20. 10. This will be the everlasting Condition of all Inhabitants of the Earth and of the Sea in distinction from the Dwellers in Heaven who will have eternal Joy and Blessedness in the Sight and Enjoyment of God for evermore All that in this World take up their Rest and Dwelling in but the earthly Law-life and Righteousness of Man as needing nothing therein for true Blessedness Rev. 3.17 these Inhabitants of the Earth will with the Inhabitants of the Sea all that Party of Mankind that wallow in the miry Filths of literal Sodom foaming out their own Shame find their Portion in the same Lake of Fire and Brimstone in the Hell-part of the eternal World to come Rev. 12.12 Isa. 57. 20. Iude 13. Dwellers in Heaven that have their Conversation in Heaven Phil. 3. 20. Minds fix'd on things above the peculiar Delights of the Sons of God these only have true Joy in this World and continual Advantage by all God permits Devils and Men to do to them in their implacable Malice So they rejoice under all Trials and Injuries from evil Angels and Men Matth. 5. 11 12. Act. 5. 41. and Wo is denounc'd to all sorts of incorrigible Enemies of God and them to eternity after all their laughing and delusive Merriment in this short-liv'd World They 'l mourn and weep eternally Luk. 6. 24-26 Under Satan's Reign by his false Prophets and Apostles true New Ierusalem-Saints are counted the Filth of the World and Off-scouring of all things 1 Cor. 4. 13. Under Christ's Reign they 'l be a Praise in the Earth for which therefore Gospel-Angels and Saints continually pray and never keep silence Isa. 62. 6,7 This will Saints come to after a little time spent in this confounded mortal World under and amongst a Throng of innumerable Enemies evil Angels and Men. Come we now to consider what was ever possible to be done by Angels or Men in their First-creation earthly Life at best with reference to their finding eternal Life or scaping eternal Death The Death and Loss of all therein Life Wisdom Righteousness Works Fruits by Passive Obedience in Sacrifice to the Divine Will is undispensably necessary to the finding eternal Life the heavenly Creature-life of the Creator In the Methods of God's unquestionable Wisdom and Appointments of his declar'd undisputable Will this is the Way to eternal Life When any ask'd Christ what they must do to inherit or find eternal Life and confidently asserted all these things they had done in the restor'd righteous Life and Wisdom of their own Spirit in their own Will and Way his reply upon them and Counsel to them was Part with all this and follow me in the true Regeneration by Death and Resurrection out of the Death of the Creature into the Life of the Creator To this effect was Christ's constant Answer to such Enquirers And their constant rejecting such Counsel and departing from him sorrowful and amaz'd thereat we find in these Scriptures Matth. 19. 16-22 Mark 10. 17-22 Luk. 18. 18 -23. None can do the Divine Will of the Father but in the partaken of heavenly Creature-life and Will of the Son nor therefore enter into his Kingdom Mat. 7. 21. None but new Creatures can ever come there Gal. 5.6 6.15 2 Cor. 5. 16 17. In the restor'd Light of the First-creation by him that lighteth every Man that comes into this World Iohn 1. 9. ought all Heathens to walk and keep that kind of good Conscience that consists in a moral Obedience thereto as their Principle In the restor'd First-covenant Law-life ought Men to walk in such Obedience to that higher Knowledg of God as amounts to the legal good Conscience withstanding all brutish Lusts and sinful Desires of their sensual Life But all this done till the partaking of and experiencing the Life of the quickning Spirit of the Second Adam or a living spiritual Faith therein working by Love to God and walking therein so as to have the evangelical good Conscience we have nothing of that eternal Life in which only any can ever enter into the Kingdom of God Paul could truly declare to the Jewish Council that he had liv'd in all these three sorts of good Conscience before God successively one after another in Obedience to the Light of Nature Law and Gospel Act. 23.1 And he found his evangelical good Conscience by living and walking in Christ's Gospel-spirit Gal. 5. 25. to comprehend and unspeakably out-do all performable by any in the two former This indeed is the only right Performer of all Duty to God and our Fellow-creatures in God's Sight All First-covenant Life receiv'd by Angel or Man in their First-creation is figuratively character'd in Scripture by Flesh Grass a fading Flower call'd a vain Shew or vanishing Shadow all their natural Excellencies and Perfections therein all but a Glory to be done away in order to receive the heavenly Creature-life and Image of God in Christ with the eternal things of God therein the Wisdom and Righteousness of God Isa. 40. 6-8 1 Pet. 1. 24 25. 2 Cor. 3. 10 11. Satan with all his humane Disputers of this World in the Words of his and Man's Wisdom against God's and for their way of Salvation quite contrary to his Isa. 55. 8 9. God challenges in a holy Contempt of their vain Thoughts to produce their Cause bring forth their strong Reasons for self-defence