men according to right reason and clear them of their fleshly lusts that war against their souls did they not disable themselves thereto by withstanding it and the checks thereof in their own consciences and by yeilding to the enemy of their souls to have dominion over them whereby the working of grace comes to be stopt so that it may not enter shine finde room or rest in their souls though it be truely tendered and there sheweth it self to discover things that differ as the Sun doth outward things where it is not letted but while the strong man thus armed keeps the house the things he possesseth are in peace the root body and image of sin stands the false and misruled love lives and the soul remains insensibly wrapt up in stinking rags of sin and selfishness where it feeds on nothing but black smoke in thick darkness and spiritual blindness as a body of sin and death born about and heavily loading the soul and conscience that it cannot comprehend the light but every tentation of the same nature with it prevails over it and leads it captive more and more into a servile slavery and lustful living in fleshly filth for sin is not any corporeal thing and therefore not corporeally to be destroyed striven about or contended with neither have men any power of themselves to amend this in themselves more then in others and therefore cannot but so remain until their minds be truely turned into and surely kept in the pure light which onely can discover and shew them the fairness or foulness of their souls and the love of Jesus Christ therein giving power to take up and bear the cross within in the powers of the soul and feel the two Laws warring against each other as Paul sometimes did and the innermost of the Law of the spirit of life striving for deliverance out of captivity and to gain victory over the Law of the flesh earthly will and worldly wisdom that rests seated in the bodily wits and as the reasonable soul comes to take part with and thereby wait in the pure principle of light and spiritual leading to have some sight of it self and somewhat of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are in Christ Jesus as his free gift to all obedient souls thereby the soul begins to see somewhat of it self and how highly it is concerned to keep a constant inward watch labour and strive by the measure of light and life so in wardly received to keep the thoughts from all bodily things until the sore pain and miserable blindeness of that condition as Paul when he cried out O wretched man that I am be found and felt and then will the Lord Jesus appear as the pain of this dark soul and conscience wherein is to be a free suffering with a patient waiting and abiding with him in his love and meekness until he shall please to raise the soâ—l up and cause the light to shine out of and over this darkness as the day-star arising in the heart to give another life whereby to overlive all the former dead and dark life and then to think no more on that darkness past as a woman forgets her pain and peril for joy that a man is born loathe and despise it but be ever ready and quick in keeping the heart and taking heed that no open door nor privy hole be left to imaginations wisdom of words or earthly vanities that would draw out the soul from the love of God ever minding that as we have born the ugly image of the earthly so it is requisite that we bear the image of the heavenly and as our Lord Jesus breaks down this earthly image of false love and likings he sets up the contrary vertues of pure love meekness patience and brotherly kindeness of his own forming in the poverty of such spirits and also gives true zeal in spiritual devotion with soberness and chastity in soul and body and so puts down the old man with his deeds rotten desires and affections and there sets up the new man of a meek and chaste spirit created in him to good works to walk therein with all his parts and members fitly composed together for his service and glory wherein the old members eye ear heart affections imaginations or desires will not serve the turn but all the whole vessel must be new to hold the new wine and heavenly liquor of the blessed and endless life and thereby be freed from fleshly uses vain thoughts light looks unsavory words carnal reasonings and heeding the praise or dispraise of men and mens judgements but surmounting and over-topping all lets and impediments in the way of this perfect freedom and lightsome liberty in the Lords service as guided and strengthened therein by his holy Spirit as it turns the reason into that pure light and the will into the eternal will which is a great work and therefore to be well waited in until there be no sin charged or felt as a load on the conscience but all freely pardoned as it is discovered to the soul and clean wiped away and so the soul reformed by the siritual light and bright beams of Jesus Christ let into it as burning desires clean affections holy and wise thoughts and considerations and therewith abilities to flee all deadly stirrings in this travel of soul from the first old Adam to the second that makes all things new And though men should otherwise cease to meddle with worldly business avoid outward delights and pleasures and devote themselves to pray read study learn and confer of heavenly matters sigh weep or do any other act outwardly or otherwise yet if he love himself mind or carefully heed providing for the flesh or outward man or have any other earthly fears cares or immoderate desires this will not do it but the greater is the deceit by such forsakings and actings in his becoming affected with himself as if better then others or in slighting others by terms or titles of distinction whereby he is so much the worse and more disabled to good or if he suffer his heart at all to rest in bodily feelings of spiritual comforts or sweetness or set his heart on any such fleshly savours he thereby loseth that life he seemeth to seek for because not rooted and grounded in love but the fleshly part gains ground again in the earthly dark and dead nature and then is the law of sin served for the time but yet if there be no wilful sin or liking thereto it is not he but sin that stirreth in him which he consenteth not to And thus have many been troubled and overlaid for a time with weight upon their weaker parts that they have not had for that time any clear sight or freedom in themselves but sate sadly without any knowledge of their own conditions or abilities to move one step forward because sin got so great a hold or as a lodging in their fleshly parts that it troubled the Reason
liberty in the will of Satan and the flesh to use or rather abuse the outward things upon their own lusts without any touch of Conscience as being unwilling to know what Conscience and the light therein means lest it should hinder their earthly happiness of glorying in their shame as men not in their right minds but bereaved of their wits not knowing what they are of whom they are to whom they belong what their business is here or how to gain content in anything but every Toy disquiets their minds every filthy lust takes hold of them and gets dominion over them leads them captive and they say they cannot help it some adding that if God had given them grace to forsake their evil ways as he hath done to some others then they should be happy and gladly leave their sinful courses and when God giveth them grace they will c. Now to such I say They speak truely but very wickedly that they have no grace and therefore none they will have though the grace of God hath appeared to all men but they continue still in their filthy love and delight in their lusts and that because they disable themselves to receive grace and neither wait to be prepared for the drawings of God in them nor take any heed to his leading or light that would shew them better but resist all so that they seldome feel any glimpse of the light of Christ neither are willing to suffer it to rest in or shine into their souls lest it should draw them from the great love and liking of this world and the lusts that seem so sweet to them But Do they say they want grace to resist sin and tentations thereto that do presently yeild themselves to sin upon the motions thereof These men have grace truely offered to them but they withstand it and turn it into wantonness and resist the true light and holy Spirit when it moveth and striveth with them as sometime did the old world whereby it becomes as natural to such men to commit sin as the Ox to drink in water and therefore think it impossible to withstand it but it is by reason of their custom therein and willingness thereto which doth so weaken and enfeeble their wills and affections to grace that they feel not the vertue thereof to resist the Devil or sin when he offers it to the soul and when they do feel inward smitings in their Consciences or as a heavy weight upon them they presently to quiet their Consciences flee to their vain pleasures and lustful practises even as beasts and Sodomites to eat and drink and rise up to play fill themselves with worldly solace and leave tokens of their jollity behind them from whence that general Question ariseth Do you love this meat or drink this or the other outward thing c. about which lusts many do so mightily spend their strength and employ their wits in striving to get needless wealth to satisfie this love this lust this god their bellies wherein they glory which tends to their utter loss in spiritual things and that when they have over-much unless they would employ it better and also cast it off and detract from their desires inordinate affections loves and likings that keep them from the love of God sight and feeling of Gods grace and way of restauration to the heavenly mysteries of his glorious Kingdom all bodily things being for support of bodily strength as physick for health with much Caution lest Iust step in with the use so could Paul beat down his body and others following his example therein as he followed Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father IV. O ye Formalists that have in these days your ways in the aiery Element without footing or foundation that turn any way with every wind not knowing whither you go because darkness hath blinded your eyes and sloth so possess'd your souls that you are unfree and afraid to have your eyes opened in the light lest it should prove to your loss in earthly things and therefore do neglect the light and silence the voyce of Jesus Christ in your own and others Consciences by your formal and fleshly inventions of Conformity and bodily exercises that all are to perish with the using being as it is written after the doctrines and commandments of men c. from whence spring up the devised snares and gins to catch the innocent and Non-conformists that are not of your aiery minds without considering the commands of Christ Jesus the Lord of the harvest who said Let the tares and wheat grow together in the world until the harvest and again in these words Whatsoever yâ— would that men should do unto you so do you unto them or how he pleasech respectively to carry on his great work of soâ—ls to reform them into faith and spiritual feeling neither yet how you your selves or some of you are but newly released from under the yoke of your bondage and suddenly step up upon a stage of this world to shew your selves for a little season should not in any wise lay a like or greater yoke of bondage upon the necks of others then you your selves were able to bear and especially in these transient times when as it is written the holy God is pouring contempt upon all flesh and these fading glories are vanishing away ready to be left by you or snatcht from you before you have any firm hold of them but times and seasons are all in the Lords hands and his secrets with his saints and therefore in love to your souls consider well your way and be not high-minded but fear before the God of heaven and learn of him to be wise in this your day of tryal to understand what the good will of the Lord is respectively to you and let not love and meekness be mastered by any exalted peevish wrathful spirit of contention in you for he is now proving you that you might know what is in your own hearts and that others might see whether you will indeed truly incline your souls to him and his service so to act as you seem to pray to have his will done in earth as it is in heaven c. who will no more spare you then he hath done others in case you be found in their footsteps contrary to his one good way truth and life which those that have truly tasted the sweetness of cannot neglect whatever others do for the reasonable service is as it is written not a conforming to this world but a being transformed by the renewing of the mind To prove what that good and acceptable and perfect will of God is whereby he reforms mens souls through faith as pleaseth him into a perfect inward savour taste feeling and wise skill which the holy Ghost teacheth and planteth in the powers of the soul whereby he requites no hard harth or intricate service but what is according to right reason and the knowledge thereof to be received
free to wait on Jesus Christ as he ought for so long as love to any creature or lustful desire carries the mind out from Jesus Christ his true light within he cannot die to the world nor come into this darkness of knowing himself be crucified to the world as not desiring it nor accepting it And for this forsaking said Jesus Christ he shall have a hundred fold even the profit of this darkness be hid through grace from worldly goods that he seek them not earnestly is not letted by them loveth them not looketh not after them and therefore hath an hundred fold more then any King or rich man of the earth that takes care to keep that he hath and yet covets more for he that coveteth Jesus Christ and him onely he hath more rest of heart and conscience true love and delight in his soul in one hour then he that loveth the things of this world hath or can have in all his life-time and this darkness is but as mid-day when the Sun shineth out of the darkness and Jesus Christ giveth rest to his beloved that standeth firm in his counsâ—l and doubteth not nor is afraid for any evil tydings because his heart is sined and is well assured that the light of knowledge and feeling of spiritual love is in Christ Jesus of him and for him and that the darkiness in forsaking of worldly love is by his forming and reformming the soul onely to and for himself and that he reformeth us in us and not without us for grace is inwardly given at first and so wrought by degrees as man applyeth his heart thereto As first Jesus Christ by his light and Spirit calleth from worldly vanities and that then brings great sweerness and joy with it but if left and not seconded it stayeth there but for a little season though the remembrance thereof abideth and after that the time of reforming and setting the soul at rights is with much labour and watching for when the mind is set against all sin within and without and the desire wholly on the love of Jesus Christ wherein there will be felt many lets from within in his own will and without from his enemies by temptations and his great torment that he hath lived so long in the false love of the world and this will stick close to him until he pass through spiritual tribulation and be purified through fears doubts and perplexities that he will be near unto despair and wholly left unto the enemy save onely that the Lord Jesus privately loveth him and such a soul hath also private trust in his mercy and go he never so far he shall not fall because he is born up from despair though with great inward pain so that he sometimes knoweth not whence it cometh and yet then that soul would not for all the world be blinded with the false love as before it was for that were hell to such a soul and this the Lord Jesus doth in pure love and for great profit to that soul to drive out sensuality that it might receive spiritual light And when the soul is reformed in feeling and freely accepteth the gift of perfect cleansing to enter into the rest and cease from his own works as God did from his then is Jesus Christ more sweetly familiar with the soul that is so brought through the fire of afflictions into true peace and in this working some souls have great devotion in prayer and main touchings of spiritual light in understanding and others of comfortable heat and great sweetness and never come fully to this restful darkness with a present fervent desire of lasting love and longing after God but these inward feelings where they stand in compunction and sorrow for sin or of devotion or outward imagination are not the feelings that the soul shall have and feel in the gracious habitation with God spiritually while in this life or body of flesh though they may be gracious gifts of God and not to be abused or neglected although the soul that feels them is not yet reformed in feeling for it hath not yet received the gift of perfect and spiritual burning love to Jesus Christ as they may come to if they be faithful in it and yet they may feel more of the love of God then others that have that gift in the way towards perfect feeling in as much as the feeling sheweth more outwardly by their fervour in bodily tokens as in weeping praying speaking and other bodily stirrings and strivings that some others would think them ravished with love c. Yet still consider that these stirrings and strivings are of God to stay them from the worldly love and lusts of the flesh that have so long been rooted in their hearts from which worldly love they may not be drawn out by such feeble stirrings of great fervour and outward strength which is no true token of much love but of weakness and little love in their souls that cannot bear a little touching of God for it is yet fleshly and fastened thereto and not mortified there from by the work of the Spirit of God For the touch seems so quick and also delectable over all things felt before in fleshly love of earthly things that it is over-taken with it for that it is so new sudden and strange that the body cannot well bear it but breaketh out into weepings bodily stirrings and other actions as Christ said the old bottles would break and not hold the new wine but that God keepeth it whole in mercy letteth it break out into tears and words through weakness and feebleness of soul and not because of much love as some may suppose but afterwards when through love the uncleanness is melted out of the soul by such fervour then is the love clear and standeth still and then perfect love casteth out fear then is the soul in peace and much more in love then before though it shew less outward for it is now all whole at rest within and little appearing outwardly For in the first state such feelings come to the soul suddainly before it be well aware and as it comes before the soul knows it so it oft returneth or departeth without its knowledge neither can the soul tell how to come to that state again no know where to find it for the thought are not yet kept within in the light with a firm longing desire to Jesus Christ nor the eye of the soul kept open and neer to the spiritual beholding of heavenly things and so the heart is not sixed and then what weakness and unsuitableness is in all without stedfasness firm faith and full intent to God to know his secrets and obey his will And it is always to be diligently minded that there are two manner of feelings the one inward according to mans bodily wit and skill and the other more inward or within that being of spiritual light wisdom and skill which the holy Ghost teacheth and planteth in