death which was the tree of life till thou be killed by it as thou hast killed as it is said I have been dead but now am alive for evermore for this tree of life is the Lambe of God that is slaine in the beginning of our first world and so hee lyeth dead to us till our wicked world is at an end and this our wicked world shall bring forth nothing but thornes and thistles which is sins that shall prick thee to the heart and thou shalt eat of thy owne fruits with the sweat of thy browes that is the labour of thy sinnes that toyleth thee with their laboriousnesse and this toyle shalt thou have with thy sinnes till thou returnest to thy dust againe or to thy old silence wherein thou wert before and thy serpent or sleshly wisdome shall goe creeping on thy earthly beeing of sin and shall live on their dust or first originall which is lies and is thy subtle serpents food and thy husband which is thy lie or unreasonablenesse that thou hast united thy self to shall rule and domineere over thee and thou shalt be subject to his will and all thy children or sinnes that he begetteth of thee thou shalt bring forth in sorrow and they shall be a pain unto thee for what is said to Adam is said to both for she or he is one and is the female of God for man or woman signifies both and this sword of justice which standeth in the death of Christ is the enmity the seed of the woman or humaine nature that shall breake the serpents head and destroy his seed and this enmity shall bruise the humanities heele or foot that he shall never walke any more in false wayes so this enmity or sword standeth in the death of Christ crying vengeance and saith that this world or Adam Edom or Esau is the childe of wrath and he hath prepared or ordained himself to destruction and so this whole world of Man is destroyed damned and utterly lost and Man shall never bee happy in his first birth because of his fall for he must be dead buried and borne againe or else hee shall never enter into the Kingdome of heaven for his owne nature is wrath but God did not make him so but his nature was so for ever for according to Scripture we are the children of wrath by nature and at the first wee appeare so and God did make him appeare to himselfe what he was and gave himselfe and all things into his power that he might not complaine and that the Man might see how he would use God himselfe and all things in him and so he destroyes himselfe God and all things within him and hath ordained himselfe and all to be lost so the first creation in Man is lost and God shewes Man his miserable condition in this death and losse of God and goodnesse and the power of God that lyeth in this death is called the death of Christ or the two edged sword that standeth to divide the soule asunder or that flesh of Christ that is the curtaine that stands before the most holy place or Sanctum Sanctorum and this power of Christ is in hell under our earthly beeing and Man of sinne till we and all ours is turned to dust againe and this power or death stayes with patience and long sufferance under us in hell till we are weary of our selves and sins for we grieve the Spirit of God by whom we are sealed and he daily shews us our owne misery and toyle and sorrow sinne doth make in us and this toyl we shall have for ever till we are weary of our selves and desire to be ended with all our hearts and to forsake our selves and our owne wicked world and all that is within us that is wicked then doth this holy power Man himselfe in us and destroyes us and all within us and turns us to our dust againe and when we are in silence with God againe then doth he create us anew and make us a new world and prepares us a bride for himselfe a heavenly Jerusalem a City and house for God and he is our Lord and husband and he is a holy and righteous ruler and doth governe all the faculties of our soule in peace and love with all orderlinesse and union for then the Lion our strongest passions is in peace with the lambe or innocencie and all our other beasts birds and fishes which is our phantasies is orderly and in peace then shall the childe or innocencie lay his hand on the Cockatrice hole and the Wolves Beares and Lions shall be together and one shall not sting or hurt the other for God is King and ruler in man which orders all things well and in peace in him and the Son of glory or God shines seven times more brighter then hee did in the former world and this glorious world or Man of God shall last for ever and ever in his glorious transcendent brightnesse and there is no sorrow or paine in this world but everlasting ravishing joyes and sweet content of minde for this holy God doth ravish the soule continually with his delectable pleasures so the soule is ever satisfied for God when he is our Lord and we have given our selves to him hee uses us thus sweetly and doth give us all pleasure and content but when he gave himselfe to us in our first creation and first world we were ashamed of him and hid and destroyed him from us but he is not ashamed of us but uses us with all love for nature appeared first and in that Adam all dyed for God and Christ was Sonne and borne there and he became mortall in this nature for God appeared there in weaknesse which weaknesse is humility and lowlines of spirit with all gentlenesse and love and when the wisdome of the flesh the serpents subtilty had opened natures eyes to pride and high mindednesse and to wrath covetousnesse and envie which eyes is the serpents eyes which is the evill eyes or the Devils which the nature or man lookt through which made him thinke that this high mindednesse and pride with selfe-will was a glorious tree and that there was glorious fruit on it and that it would elevate him highly and that he should be his owne God and ruler and that he should know good and evill which he did by wofull experience taste of its good which had the evill in it for it was full of confusion as was said before and was the mans toyle but he thought it was a glorious fruit and much to be desired and so doe all men that are in the first creation and first world so when Man had tasted of pride high mindednesse and selfe-will the forbidden fruit he despised God which is humility and lowlinesse of spirit and meeknesse and was a shamed of this and thought it foolishnesse to bee humble meeke and lowly for hee thought this to bee poore beggarly nakednesse and was ashamed of such a lowly
and beggarly minde as he thought it to be so he covered this meek and lowly spirit with his lofty high mindednesse and so the divine gentle and holy nature is in hell under this filthy covering and this is the covering upon God and Man and is the partition wall betwixt them and so man hath made the Devill god and lord of all and hath given all that was given him into his hands so God in man is in the Devils power and he reigns as King and Lord of all in this first world or creation that is fallen into the Devills hards by mans will that gave it him for God gave man himself and all and man delivered and gave or sold him to the Devill for nature in the first creation is a Judas that is raised up to destruction and is the son of perdition that sells the innocent life in him and afterward he hangs and destroyes himselfe and puts himselfe wholly into the Devils hands and in the end of time when the man is weary of this wicked world with all his soule and minde and will wholly returne all into the hands of God againe hee takes all upon him with his mighty power and sword that stands in justice hands and redeems himselfe and the man out of the Devils hands for he comes to redeem himselfe the lost sheep of the house of Israel which was lost and hid in man and covered with mans sinnes Now this holy and mighty power taketh all upon him for he becomes our first borne Esau Adam or Edome and will bee our first world that is fallen and will suffer with us and for us as if he had dore all out sinnes for when be hath our man of sinne on him he gives the humanity power to indure this justice of the death of God for his sinnes and this sword of justice and Gods death doth destroy death and this death or sword of God that frights and feares the man is the beginning of the wisdome of God in him to destroy sinne for the man in his first appearance destroyed the Lambe of God or good and then he and the Devill the wisdome of the flesh rule all in all in him till the man is weary of himselfe and desires this death of God to helpe him and this death of God is his backe parts that made Moses face to shine for the wrath anger and frownes of God which is his backe parts is better for the man then the Devills face or smiles and Gods death is better for the man then the Devills life and his hell better then his heaven for it is better to be in the house of mourning then to heare the song of fools though man in his off fallen estate thinks it not so but this death and mortality of God which is his backe parts doth make our face shine for no man shall see his face live nor shall or can we see his face glorious countenance and cheerfull smiles till our man of sinne is destroyed and rooted out and we returne to our dust as we were before and in silence with God againe and so this death and mortality of God which iâ— his angry frowns and the wrath of the Lambe that takes away the sinnes of our wicked world is entered into our Esau or Adam which is the vessells of wrath prepared for destruction and is become our flesh which is dead in sinnes and trespasses and this death of God doth destroy us which is death for this Esau with the death and wrath of God is a hunter and doth kill meat or venison for his fathers supper which venison is the wilde and heathenish brutiall man whose death shall reconcile us to God againe for in the fifth of the Rom. he saith that we are reconciled to God by the death of Christ which death hath mortified us and killed our man of sinne so this death hath given us power by his death to destroy kill and mortifie ourselves for this Christ after the flesh or death was it that lay under our earthly beeing and said that he was a worme and no man and that the great Bulls of Bashan gaped upon him to devoure him which was our sinnes and that the great water floods and seas of our sinnes run over him and he lay still and the man of sin thought that he had been asleepe or dead and did not see their evill workes but he made this darknesse or darke man his hiding place and so he saw and heard all his evill workes for he saith I create light and I create darknesse that is that I set forth my selfe which is light and I set forth man which is darknesse and he regards not me nor my light because his deeds are evill and so I am hid in his darknesse but when the man is weary of himselfe then he seeketh for mee and hath need of mee though he thought I did not heare nor see him before then he runs to me and cryeth and saith arise O Lord in mee and thy enemies which is my sinnes shall be scattered and rooted out in me so this death or flesh of God which is death destroyesman which is death in God in becomming his death or his flesh for in becomming the man of sinne he destroyes man which is sinne and evill of himselfe without this power of the holy Godhead which holy power he hath given to the man to arraigne himselfe before himselfe and to condemne himselfe in himselfe and to execute himselfe and so make an end of the whole man of sinne and so he becomes dead and buried with this power of the holy Godhead for it is better be dead with God and to be at rest with him then to be alive with the Devill and to be in torment in his hell for this death of God is death to the sinne which sinne is death and shall raise us up into everlasting immortality and ravishing joyes of minde for hee saith that that which never eye saw nor care heard nor ever entred into the heart of wicked man in his first creation is now revealed to them that love him and those that are of the new borne creature and the second creation that love him and are the men of God who are ruled and governed by him for he saith that the troubles and sufferings which wee endure in the crucifying the man of sin in the former world is not worthy of that joy and sweet consolation that we shall receive and shall be given to us that hath tasted of the death of Christ and hath gone through his sufferings with him into the second world that is full of joy for this end of Esau or Edom is the end of the first creation and the vessell of wrath that hath ordained himselfe to destruction and God foreknew that he would doe all these things to himselfe and gave him all in his hand that hee should not complaine and say he was tyed from any thing so that he was
eyes for that Christ that seemed to have a body to be nailed on a cosse was a spirit and shewed to thee how he is nailed with thy sins to patience and long sufferance in thee which is death to him for he grieveth and mourneth for thee for we grieve the holy Spirit by whom we are sealed and made the sons of God and we quench and put out the Spirit of God from us and this is death or griefe and paine to God for us for there is no death to any but grief and pain and no life but joy and pleasure and sweet content for the soule is an eye and is composed of joy and harmony and desires to flye into harmony which is God and sorrow and paine is a living death and dying life nor know I any other life and death but these though there is some other things that is called life as stirring and motion and the leaving the body is called death and in forsaking any thing I am said to be dead to that and that dead to me The Sonne of God Jesus Christ was and is a Spirit God and man which now doth live and walke amongst us and we doe really kill and crucifie him every day to ourselves and the flesh and bloud of Christ which he would have us eat and drinke was not such flesh and bloud as ours is but there were then some that followed Christ as foolish as we are now that when Christ spoke these words they did leave him for they thought he meant they should eat this sigure or organ that he seemed to be in when he was a Spirit The flesh of Christ which he would have us eat is his bloud and passion which is the death and mortifying of our sinfull flesh which St. Paul saith so long as he lived in he could not please God so Christ would have us eat his flesh and drinke his bloud and joyne our sinfull flesh to his flesh so his death or flesh doth destroy our death or sinfull flesh and so that death of Christ doth save us and reconcile us to God again Now I know no other flesh of Christ but this flesh which is the new and living way is the curtaine and vaile before the most holy place and all that will be saved must enter through this vaile and when this vaile or flesh or death hath done the worke he came for hee must be taken out of the way for no flesh and bloud that is death can enter into the Kingdome of Heaven therefore when we enter into the most holy place the vaile or flesh of Christ is rent in twaine from the top to the bottome and so the death and flesh of Christ is finished and ceaseth and he is taken out of the way for there is no mourning nor wayling in the most holy place for all teares are wiped from our eyes Now he saith that he Christ after the flesh must be taken out of the way or else the comforter will not come which is the life and ravishing joy of Christ And Paul saith though he knew Christ after the flesh now hee knew him so no more as I shall speake of all these things more at large in this booke Now when Melchisedeck appeared on the earth hee was without father and mother and he seemed to Abraham to be a man a Priest and King and blessed him when he came from the slaughter of the Kings which are the seven deadly sinnes This Melchisedeck is that Christ that was before Abraham as it is said Before Abraham was I am and this Christ that appeared in the end of time is that Melchisedeck that was before Abraham and that Elias that was carried up into Heaven in a fiery chariot with fiery horses which was a Spirit and the power of God though he seemed to be a man of flesh and bloud for Elias is said to be the power of God in man and I beleeve that all mankinde when they have put off this lower elementary body that is dead clay without Spirit shall be like Christ Melchisedeck and Elias which are spirits and may assume any bodily likenesse as they were and did appeare in these lower elements my reason is this because Samuell assumed the likenesse of his owne body and came to the witch at Endor and Moses and Elias appeared to Peter and Christ on the Mount so I beleeve any one may appear to their friends as many have for there have many appeared that have beene killed in secret to discover their murthers and many of the Saints appeared when Christ was crucified certainly it was not their lower elementary bodies of clay that appeared but some aireall and spirituall body they assumed which was the likenesse of their former and lower elementary bodies and like unto Christs spirituall body that appeared like flesh and was not flesh but to our appearance and that it might discover to us and tell us what we do internally and in our intellectuall mau and Christ called Lazarus his spirit and made him appeare as if he had been in his former flesh and blood sure these things must be so or what did become of Lazarus and where did hee recide before Christ opened Heaven gates for it is said that he is the first that riseth from the dead and openeth heaven gates to all beleevers we read that Elias raised a childe from death and another when the Prophets dead body did touch his dead body the dead body of the Prophet did raise the dead so the dead did raise the dead which is a miracle therefore there is some greater and further consideration in it for certainly they could not be dead but this elementary body seemed to be dead which was dead before never being alive although it seemed to be alive whilst the spirit of man lived in it as I have spoken more at large in this booke therefore let us consider well how all these things can stand together with reason or else wee shall make a confusion of the holy written word of God that is given to lead us into all truth for there must be a reason given where Lazarus and all the Saints were that appeared whether they did dye againe or where they now be for wee never read of any thing they did on earth since for it seemes they have seen the last day before it comes to us and before it came to Christ as the childe that was raised by Elias and the dead man raised by the dead Prophet and Lazarus that was raised by Christ as also a maid where did they recide with their corporeall body of clay and elements till Christ did open heaven gates â— sure therefore the man must be a spirit and hath assumed and taken this body out of the foure elements and casting it off againe as a borrowed garment and may assume a more rarified and aircall body to appeare in as Christ Melchisedeck Samuell and Moses for nothing is impossible only that may appeare
and three nights in hell under the earthly man of sinne and in the heart of his earthly being and the first day he sheweth and discovereth unto man his sins and the night of the day doth terrifie and wound the conscience and doth feare the man which is the law of sin or the wrath of God upon the man that sinneth And the second day is the grace and power of God which giveth the true sorrow and repentance for thy sins and the night of that day is that bloudy fight in which is the sweat and agony of death in thee that crucifies and kills thee for thy sins And the third day is the power of Christ that gives thee victory over death devill hell and sins so that thou art dead unto sin and the night of this day is the patience and long sufferance of Christ in thee till thou hast overcome the evill one for in this day and night is the whole mystery of Christ finished and the Son of God is darkned in thee and thou becommest dead and buried in him and he in thee so the last day is comming on to thee which is the resurrection of Christ in thee and with thee which is the new creature or man of God Jesus Christ which was dead in thee and with thee and when you have suffered together you shall reigne together in perpetuall joyes with him in God for ever and for ever I beleeve that this Jesus or our Saviour is ascended up to his Father and doth carry them up that have suffered with him and hath cleansed them and prepared them a Kingdome for his Father that God may be all in all in us for he Christ after the flesh which is death and mortification must reigne in us till all sin be subdued and then he delivers us up to his Father for he saith except we eat his flesh and drinke his bloud there is no life in us therefore let us eat this flesh and drinke this blood of mortification and killing and crucifying our sins This was the flesh of Christ that St. Paul spake of saying though he knew Christ after the flesh yet now he knew him so no more O that we had all eaten this supper of Christ then were we happy but till then most unhappy for we must drinke this cup or passion and shew the Lords death till he come in his life and glory 7. I beleeve that Iesus shall come from the strength or right hand of God with all his Saints or Angels or the good motions which are thousands of them and they with Christ shall judge the quick and dead in us which quick is himselfe and all his Saints and holy Angells to live reigne and dwell in us and judge the dead sins never to live any more in us but be damned and lost for ever out of us so this is the last day or light or day of righteous judgement that shall last for ever in us O that it were so come to passe in all and that they might see this last and everlasting day or new day which shall last for ever and for ever 8. I beleeve in the Holy Ghost and that he is the ancient of dayes and is the love of the Father and of the Son which is the reciprocall love of singing one to one and this holy love or Holy Ghost hath joyned God and man together and hath pulled downe all partition walls that hindered their comming together and hath baptized or dipt or dyed the man in this his most holy life or holy spirit and hath made him a holy house Church or Temple for God to live and dwell in and Christ is the head stone or foundation of this most holy house O that all men were become this Temple or house of God to dwell in 9. I beleeve that there is one holy Church and this Church are all holy men that are without sinne spot or wrinckle for all holy men are the body of our Lord Iesus Christ that is cleansed by him and made pure for hee is the head of a pure body and there is no sin in his body or Church nor is he head of a sinfull body therefore looke to it you that are sinfull men for you are not the members of Christs body or Church of Christ as you may see in the fifth of the Ephesians where it is evident that he saith that his body or Church is without sin 10. I beleeve that all sinnes are forgiven in this Church for Christ hath forgiven them the sinnes that are past and hath covered them with his holy life so that those evills shall never rise against us more but wee shall live and reigne over devill death and hell with Christ for evermore and sit with him at Gods right hand for ever and for ever 11. I beleeve the resurrection of the flesh of Christ that is joyned to the humanity and this flesh or death of Christ with the humane nature shall arise into immortality and for this mortality of theirs shall put on immortality and all death shall be swallowed in victoriousnesse so happy art thou O man that hast put on the flesh or mortality of Christ for this flesh or mortality shall carry thee into everlasting immortality and into everlasting life and joy of holy minds 12. I beleeve that there is but this one holy and everlasting life and this life is the holy life of God and he hath chosen the man to live in it and to her one with him for ever Take it to heart for this is the reall truth and surely thou shalt finde it so if thou seekest for it thou shalt finde it and it shall bee so unto thee CHAP. II. A description of one spirit acting in all which some affirme is God NOw what a spirit is is to be considered for all things appearing to the man he gave them severall names according to their natures and as they appeared unto him for in Gen. it is said that Adam the man gave every thing and creature his name according as his nature was to the man and it was so and could bee no otherwayes for the genius and wisdome of God in man gave these severall names by his inspirations and lights which hee discovered to the man how the natures and qualities of things were and they are really so for they be named by the Spirit of God in man but there are many cavellers that dispute about it and would destroy all order and bring all into confusion for they say they cannot tell what a spirit is nor what man or beast is nor what fire water earth or aire is yet they themselves see all these severall things and their severall natures and operations in them and to them so that if these things had no name they must of necessity give them some name or else all the world would be dumbe and have no discourse for they could not discourse of these severall things and their natures unlesse they
Godhead that is one is of a more pure and excellent nature then these lower changeable elements of earth water ayre and fire of which this lower world is composed off for this lower world bringeth forth nothing but his owne nature as earth water aire and its spirit of fire from which all spirits have borrowed a body which they cannot keep for ever because its nature is changeable and runneth or whirling round never standing at one certaine stay for the Sunne which is soule fire or life of this world never standeth still but every yeare runneth his race round and in his running he melts hardens congeales withers and makes grow green so that there is a continuall death and resurrection every yeare of things under the Sunne for nothing stands at one stay but is in continuall motion and change and in this change is was and shall be one and the same for ever for no man can consume diminish or annihilate the least atom or dust or bring any thing that is to nothing neither can any man finde the beginning or end of things but thou hast borrowed a garment or body which did lye potentially in that matter and when thou makest it appeare it is said to be a beginning to thee and when thou leavest it as it was it is called an ending to thee As for the world whereof Moses speaketh that the most holy God made certaine it is some more excellent better or purer world for man to live in then this for hee hath no true content here in this world or body of clay for this world is the visible God or good that is in continuall change but in the invisible world or invisible God is no change nor shadow of turning but is one and the same for ever if thou borrow a body or garment of this internall and invisible world he never looketh for it again for he is the righteous that lendeth never looking for it againe O that all soules did keep this body or garment that was given them out of this internall world that they might see with those eyes the Sun Moon and all the glorious orders of Starres which glorious world is for thee O man therefore look for thy internall garment that is given thee for ever for the eyes or lights of this body shall never wax dimne but in those lights or eyes we shall see and behold the eternall eye or light from whence those our eyes or lights came which shall be our everlasting body that wee need not feare losing or changing for it continues one and the same for ever being the free gift of the internall God There is a time wherein it seemeth to us that we had a beginning to this internall and invisible body although indeed and in truth this body hath neither beginning nor ending because it lay potentially hid in God and in his essence for its beginning to us is its ending because the beginning reacheth unto eternity and we shall for ever have this body if we doe not lose and disregard it as I feare we all have done for wee have not remembred our Creator in these dayes of our youth before our evill dayes came wherein we have had no pleasure for our evill dayes is this when we disregrad this holy body and then those eyes begin to wax dim in us though in themselves they are one and the same for ever and those grinders cease from eating the internall life the food of our soules and the mourners shall carry this dead body about the streets and walks of our hearts mourning and grieving for us and for our great losse and this is the grieving of the holy Spirit by whom we are sealed made sonnes of God for we have quenched crucified and killed this holy body of the Lord which he gave us for a garment for ever to cover our nakednesse and so he returnes to that holy divine earth from whence he came and the soule spirit or life of that body returnes to him that gave it And now O man what shall we doe for our great losse for we see nothing but death on every side for this externall world is but a living death to us for wee are in continuall expectation to be called out of it and besides there is one that is worse then death that followes us to cloath us with his mortall garments or body of wickednesse for he prepareth a body which is a lie or delusion and shews us a body which is a lie or vanity to cloath us with so that this body is worse then death for it is a living death and dying life and we were better to bee dead and and if possible to be annihilated quite then to live in such a wicked body of sinne and death and it had beene better we had never beene borne or brought forth in it as Job saith cursing the houre of his birth and the day wherein he was borne and wisheth that he had dyed in the birth and that he had never been seen in this wicked world therefore we see many worlds yet cannot see what reason man hath to believe that this externall world was ever made as he imagineth seeing there will follow so many absurdities on it for what reason can be given that there was but one man and one woman at first seeing there is blackmores or men and white and it is contrary to nature and impossible for a man naturally black or blackmore to bring forth a white or a white to bring forth a blacke and we see it so by experience and when Cain killed Abel the Lord being angry with him said that he should be a vagabond and runnagate Cain answered that his punishment was greater then he could beare and if any man should meet him he should kill him when there was none to kill him for if there was but one man and woman created at first there was but his father and he in the world and afterward it is said that hee went into the land of Nod and tooke him a wife who did inhabit that land and what man was the father of his wife how can all these things bee made good by the letter of the Scripture or doe you thinke that there was a materiall garden or a tree whereon did grow the fruit of good and evill or that a Serpent did goe up in the same to speake to the woman sure it cannot stand with reason that it could be so for it is said that all the creatures did come to Adam and he gave them names according to their natures now it is contrary to the Serpents nature to speake after the manner of men unlesse you will alleadge that she understood the language of the beasts and thought them wiser then God and resolved to be ruled by them which to me seems altogether against reason that the woman should be so ignorant and irrationall who was created rationall after the image of God to be ruler of all creatures
hell death and Devill But the hinder part of the ship which is the humanity must be broken because of our sinnes and transgressions and must taste of death for sinnes cause but nothing in the ship that stayes in it to indure this storme of death shall perish and all the prisoners that are bound in it shall be saved and swimme to shoare on the broken peeces of this ship the true sence and consummation of all is that when we have indured the battle till sin be destroyed then do we enter into the most holy life and are saved Now to read the history of Christs last supper how that the same was kept in an upper Chamber and that he did eat bread and drinke wine and give of the same unto his disciples and that he was whipt scourged and crowned with thornes and how Judas sold him and how that he was afraid to die insomuch that hee did sweate drops of blood and that hee was nailed upon a Crosse and was pierced through with a Spearel so that there came forth of his side blood and water and that at his death the sunne was darkened and the moone was put out and that hee had gall and vinegar to drinke and that he was crucified betweene two theeves This is the most holy and sacred mystery which is acted in the soule of every man that is saved and this upper chamber is thy inmost selfe and this bread and wine is the bitter cup of Gods wrath and indignation whereof thy soul must drinke for the sinnes cause and thou art not able of thy selfe to beare or drink this cup without some mighty power come to assist thee to doe it now thy Judas or man of sinne that is raised up to destruction hath sold the most innocent life into the hands of the wicked to suffer for thy sinnes for the most innocent life commeth to thee in fearfulnesse and trembling and thou being in him in this feare and trembling preparest thy selfe to suffer with him and thy Judas Devill or wicked nature commeth to thee as if he were thy friend and now seeing that thou wilt leave him hee fawneth on thee as if hee loved thee and were thy friend saluting thee as if it were with a kisse of love but he selleth thee to the blinde Jewes to be killed and crucified of them which Jewes are thy blinde selfe will that now crucifies thy selfe and Saviour within thee and thy selfe will carries thy selfe and Saviour into condemnation with thy condemning conscience into the judgement hall of condemnation where all thy sinnes riseth up against thee taunting mocking and scourging thee and crowning thee with the thornes of thy sinfull life which pricketh and woundeth thee and thy Saviour with griefe for what thou hast done so that thou and he art in a bitter agony and sweat of death insomuch that thou desirest and wouldst faine have this bitter cup to passe from thee but thou must indure it if thou wilt be saved for Gods will must be done and not thine for it is he that raiseth up all thy sinnes against thee to condemne thee crowning whipping and scourging thee with what thou hast done so that thou must now taste of the death of thy sinnes or otherwise thou shalt never taste of the life of God for the life of thy sinnes is the death of God in thee and the life of God is the death to sinne and thou and thy sinnes must be nailed to this crosse which crosse is the patience and long suffering of Jesus Christ in thee unto which thou and thy sinnes art nailed till thou art dead to thy sinnes and thy sinnes to thee for thy sinnes hath nailed thee and thy Saviour together and hath pricked him and thee to the very heart so that he and thou dost dye of those wounds and he and thou cryest out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me and in the time of thy sufferings or Iesus that makes thee indure this curse or shamefull reproach of thy sinnes according to thy due desert the Son of glory the life and brightnesse of the Godhead is darkened or put out so that there is all darknesse death and hell over the internall divine and most holy world till thy sinnes and thou art dead one unto another so thou seest that the divine and most holy world is in hell under thy earthly being till thy sinnes be destroyed and being in hell under thy body of sinne and death he raiseth up all thy sins against thee to condemne and shame thee and shews thee what a partition wall is betwixt thee and him which is the law of sinne and death that condemneth thee alwaies rising against thee till sinne be destroyed so the love of God to thee offers thee his power which is Iesus Christ that enters into thee to destroy the body of sinne in thee which body of sinne is the workes of the Devill that hath destroyed the body or works of God in thee It is not the divine and holy God that is against thee but it is thy sinnes that standeth in judgement against thee to condemne and arraigne thee so that thou must goe under their judgement condemnation and execution for what thou hast done against God and goodnesse for he it is not that is angry with thee nor condemneth thee for he is that righteous and holy one that can indure all and is one and the same for ever nor can he be any other for he cannot be moved to wrath or fury for then were he changeable but he is the unchangeable and one and the same for ever but the deeds that thou hast done against that holy One that is so good to thee slyeth in thy face crying vengeance against thee and telling thee that thou must dye for what thou hast killed and cast away from thee so till the law of sinne hath done his office and killed thee for killing and laid thee under the earth in hell where thou hast laid the holy One thou shalt never be at rest for thou hast killed but art loath to be killed but thou must cast off this death or â—â—p otherwise thou shalt be ignorant of justice for justice is to reward every one according to his workes and as he hath done to another whether good or evill so the most holy One by his mighty power inlightens thee and shews thee all thy sinnes how they slye in thy face against thee and shews the justice of the law of sinne and that thou must dye for thy evill deeds the which worketh feare and trembling in thy heart and then doest thou cry and morne for helpe and can finde none till the goodnesse of God commeth to thee taking pity and compassion on thee and helpeth thee to indure the death of sinne for sinne in thee so that now thou lyest on the patience of God till thou art freed from sinne and the Devill lyeth upon the other side of the patience or crosse and is that
bringeth forth their owne kinde in Man for every affection thought and inclination hath its owne seed in it selfe and doth produce its own fruit out of us which is good in their owne kinde and the appearance of these things in us is the third day in man with its evening and morning for the evening and morning maketh the whole day And God said let there be light in the firmament which light is the Son and glory of God and Man Christ Jesus and is the light which distinguishes or discovers the mindes both of God and Man to each other and the Moon that is in this distinction that rules the night or the darke Man is the instruction and the good advises that the Sunne or true day light shineth through them to the Man and all the starres in this firmament are the lights of Gods graces that is severall to the Man to enlighten his darke heart that hee might see the glorious Son through these gimmering lights for his dark eyes is not able at the first to behold the glorious Sonne but by degrees the holy God brings him to it so these holy lights in the Man are the fourth day with his evening and morning And God said let the waters bring forth fowle and fishes which waters are the flowing sea of thy minde and the fowle or birds are the flying fantasies that flye about the heaven of our souls and the fishes are thy delightfull thoughts that swim up and downe in thy minde and all these are proper selves with their seeds and are very good in their owne kinde and are usefull for the Man and for his pleasure and delight and this is the fifth day in man with its evening and morning And God said let the Earth bring forth all beasts and creeping things which beasts is the passions of thy minde some of which thou maiest use and eat of and some thou must keep under and not eat of as the Hare which is thy fearfull passions and the Swine which is thy voluptuous appetite and the birds and fishes which will not be orderly thou must keep under and not taste of for we must reigne and keep our phantasies that is the ravenous and destructive birds hood winkt that they may not see nor goe beyond their limits to disturbe the soule with their disorderlinesse for David did kill a Lion and a Bear and fought with Goliah and killed him which Lion is thy strong unruly appetite and the Beare is thy unorderly and bloody selfe will and the Goliah is that evill or divell that is thy unreasonablenesse that raileth against thy God or good which is thy reasonablenesse Now these thoughts and phantasies unruly passions appetites and unreasonablenesse must be kept under and ruled or else they will disturbe and destroy thy soul but kept under ruled and ordered are usefull to the Man but this keeping them under is death to them for they are mad and cruell let loose and keeps the soule and reason in all subjection so that no good shall appeare in the soule but they will destroy it for these beasts birds and fishes will destroy and devoure all the rest of the peaceable beasts birds and fishes as the dove or thy innocencie or meek lambe or peaceablenesse and all those peaceable creatures that would be at rest in thee and please thee and give thee rest for Sampson killed that Lion that came roaring upon him that was his strong and ravening appetite that would have devoured him so he saith afterward when he had overcome his ravening appetite there came sweetnes out thereof where with he was refreshed for he saith out of the eater came meat and out of the strong came sweetnesse so that appetite that would have devoured him keepst under and set upon the love or desire of goodnesse was meat and sweetnesse to him And God and Man said let us make or set forth our image which is male and female that is true righteousnesse holinesse and purenesse that should rule over these birds beasts fishes and all creeping things that moveth in the world of Man and they give them names according to their natures and qualities that they see in them so this is the sixth day in Man with its evening and morning and all things is good in their kinde So the rest of Gods discovering or creating things is that holy rest and dwelling of God and good in the Man for he hath shewed Man all things and he discovers himselfe the last which is the best and holy rest and peace of things and is the Sabbath or seventh day with its evening and morning the holy rest in man which hee should have kept for ever and never have lost or broken this rest is the holy Godhead or breath of life that is given to the Man and is light of his light and the life of his life or breath of his breath for Man without God is dead and his life and breath is death without the life and breath of God So God gave himselfe into the hands of Man to see what he would doe with him for he loveth the Man as himselfe Now when the Man seeth that God hath given all things in his owne power then comes the subtilest beast that is in the earth of Man to intice or allure the Man and to be master of all in him and to rule all things and this beast is the wisdome of the flesh or the wisdome of the darke man which is sensuall and devillish and now the Man or female having her will and beeing free having all things in her possession by the free gift love of God to her desires to rule by her will and wisdome and to let God alone and forsake his counsell and wisdom rule by herself and wisdome which is blind sensuall and evill and this is her guide and she will be her own God to do her will lusts and desires and she in blindenesse wil distinguish between good and evill who knowes nothing at all but by the light of Gods grace and goodnesse in her which she hath forsaken and is ruled by her owne selfe and wisdome that calls good evill and evill good and so it is all lies and falshood which the Man is ruled by and so he is lost and damned from God and goodnesse and is joyned to a lie and deceitfulnesse and hath made God taste of her deceitfulnesse by her forsaking him for shee that is his wife hath forsaken him which is her mate and yoak fellow and so he is lost and hidden from her and is under her earthly man of sin which is in hell for that which should be uppermost is undermost which is God and that which should bee undermost is uppermost for all thy brutiall passions and beastly appetites which should bee keept undermost and ruled is uppermost and they rule and governe thee and all things in thee for they keep God and goodnesse under them and will not let them appeare
all his riches that he hath gotten is lost and taken from him then hee mournes and grieves because this deceiveable god hath left him and is fled leaving him comfortlesse and the glutton and drunkard that lives in luxury and voluptuousnesse which is his heaven or god when penury want and grievous diseases commeth upon him then cries he out against himselfe and grieves at his folly which is a hell to him now when it is too late yet so soon as he recovers health and means againe he returnes as bad as he was before like the dog to his own vomit and the sowe that is washed to her wallowing in the mire and the murtherer that in his wrath and choller doth kill a man which murder in his passion is the heaven or god of lies that pleased him afterwards when the law of sin or justice of man comes to execute him then justice or the law of sin executing its office proves a hell unto him therefore if thou desirest no harme to be done to thee thou oughtest not to doe any to another but if thou dost this revenge or justice in him whom thou wrongest and does to him as thou wouldest not he should do to thee retortâ— backe upon thy selfe and thy owne conscience cannot deny but that it is just and good although it be death and hell to thee and that thou canst not abide to suffer it for thy justice and law of sin saith an eye for eye tooth for tooth and life for life the morall Law and ten Commandements is in thy selfe and it is thy own naturall desires to them for thou lovest God or good with all thy soule minde and strength to be done to thee and thou dost naturally love thy neighbour as thy selfe because he is thy Samaritane and doth good to thee for thou dost naturally love those that doe thee good and that is reasonable thou dost love the Sabbath day for naturally thou dost love rest and naturally thou dost love and honour the place from which thou camest which is thy father and mother thou dost not naturally desire to be killed therefore thou saiest I must not kill thou dost not desire any should take thy naturall propriety from thee nor falshood to be done to thee therefore thou sayest I must not wrong another man by enjoying his wife and propriety or rob or steale from him his right or what he hath laboured for for the labourer is worthy of his hire thou doest naturally hate to have a false accusation on thee therefore thou dost say I must not beare false witnesse against any one and so the rest is what thou wouldest not have done to thee that thou must not doe to another for S. Paul cryed out against himselfe and said that he did the thing he hated and did disallow and did not the thing that he did allow and love but sold himself under the law of sin which he hated for this law and curse is added because of the transgression which is just to reward every man according to his works for this law of workes saves no man but condemnes all because all men have sinned and as long as man lives in the fleshly lusts of sin and concupiscence he is under this law of sin and curse and cannot please God but the world is mistaken of Paul and thinks that he meant and said that as long as he lived in the flesh or in this organicall creature of the foure elements of clay hee should sin if this were the meaning of St. Paul sure he must kill himselfe and advise all men to doe the like or else they could not please God for that which hinders us from pleasing of God must be taken out of the way but Paul saith that Christ hath taken him away from the curse and law of sin by faith which faith is the power of perswasion and convincing the heart of sin and unrighteousnesse and the workes of faith is to crucifie the sinfull flesh and lusts and to be obedient to God and goodnesse and that faith of Christ saves thee and Paul saith that he thanks God he is dead and that Christ is now his life and that he lives now by the faith of the Son of God which is by his loving perswasions and that confidence and reality of truth which he found by the obedience of Christ in him to God and goodnesse and so that flesh of Paul is dead and crucified to him so that it is evident by the sense of Scripture that Paul meant that flesh of sin and not the organicall creature that he then lived in for we know nothing of God nor of the divell but what we see in our selves for St. John saith what we have heard and seen and tasted that declare we unto you for we must not imagine the powerfull and mighty Godhead to be any Idea Image or likenesse of any thing but what he hath declared himselfe to be to us for it is said that Christ is in us and God is in Christ so that the Godhead lives bodily in us that hath ceased from sin for of that omnipotent and mighty power that upholdeth and discovereth all things wee know nothing neither of our selves or any thing else but what he pleaseth to discover unto us therefore in thy first creation or first birth God discovers thy selfe to thee which is Esau or Adam and thou hast all things in thy possession and thou art the God and Lord of all for thou art the God of this first world that hath blinded thine owne eyes with thy serpent subtilty and wisdome of the flesh and thou art ashamed of the naked truth that is the light of Gods grace to discover and lay all things naked and bare before thee but thou coverest and hides the truth with the leaves of thy owne fruits for thou art ashamed of the truth and when God calls thee in the coole of his day and that his light and fire begins to wax cold in thee thou hidest thy selfe from him and art ashamed of him as thy nakednesse for thy wisdome hath opened thine eyes to thy selfe will and hath shut them up to the naked truth and so thou art lost and damned from God and goodnesse for thou hast deprived thy selfe of him and hath hid God in thy selfe as thy shame for thou art ashamed to come before him and therefore thou hidest him with thy partition walls of sinne and now thou art cloathed with thy owne death that is the law of sin and thy owne justice in thee for the skinnes of thy innocency that thou hast lulled within thee which is the death of God and Christ is thy cloathing and so thou art cloathed with the death of God in thee and God now never appeares to thee but in this death with terror and feare which terrifies thee and this justice of terror and feare lyeth in the death of God which thou hast slaine and dis-regarded and is that slickering sword that keeps this
to our darke eyes to be flesh which is not as the three Angells to Abraham and to Lot for we beleeve appearances to be that which they are not in deed and in truth which we finde by wofull experience the which makes such contention and cutting of throats about Religion the cause of this distraction is that we doe not see things with a righteous eye I desire all friends and readers who doe read this booke and all to whose hands it shall come that you will looke into it rightly and not construe it amisse but as it is really intended for the good of all and where I speak of the death of God and Christ in man I doe not meane that the Almighty and powerfull Godhead can dye or be lost but as he is dead and lost to the man that despises truth and treads it under foot and so I meane that God is dead and lost and the truth lyeth in the streets of his heart which is God who is that truth and the two witnesses lye dead in the street of his heart unregarded which is mercy and righteous judgement and is God which we should have shewed forth to all the world even mercy and righteous judgement but we have hid these witnesses So I desire that the most holy and righteous God may be your guide and director to lead you into all truth The true Articles of the Christian Faith 1. I Beleeve in God the Father Almighty maker of the holy Heaven and earth in the man I confesse and acknowledge that the same is a true holy living God or good and that he is a mighty Spirit and a perfect clear light that discovers to the man the reall truth of things and how all things are in their places and in or to the Man and he is the reall beeing the truth light life and love to the Man and this is his name light life and love for he is all this to the man for the love of God to the man was such that he brought him under the law of discipline and correction instructing him what to doe for his good and convincing his conscience for what hee hath done to himselfe and against God or goodnesse so he raiseth up all our sinnes as judges to condemne us for what we have done and they correct or punish us for God or goodnesse hath put it in them to doe it and God hath opened our eyes with his power to see it which makes us hate and condemne our selves for what we have done his holy power or light hath perswaded our hearts to have true sorrow and reall repentance for our sins with a broken and a contrite heart and sorrowfull spirit and so we begin to hate our selves and our sins and doe really forsake them and doe confesse that we doe deserve to bee for ever lost and damned and be deprived of God and goodnesse for ever because we have chosen hell death and devill and joyned our selves unto it but Gods mercy and goodnesse hath inlightned our hearts with his law and hath really corrected 〈◊〉 for our sin and hath brought us to the beleefe of Jesus Christ by his law or fatherly correction for he receiveth no sonne but whom he correcteth and none comes to Jesus Christ but whom the Father drawea to him and this drawing to Jesus Christ is by the law of discipline and this law is the river Jordan or judgement and Iohn the Baptist or the light of Gods grace that doth dip or dye us in the river Iordan or Iudgement of Gods glacious goodnesse and this his judgement doth cleanse us from all our sinnes that were as red as searled and we come out as white as snow and this is the first Baptisme in the Fathers Name 2. I beleeve in Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God or good and that he is the reall substance of God and that he is the goodnesse that proceedeth from God or good And I beleeve that all good things are made in the man by him and through him and that all goodnesse doth consist in him and proceedeth forth of him into the man for his goodnesse in us beareth in us our sinnes by his mighty power of patience and long sufferance with grievous sufferings and agonies which hee hath for our sinnes and there hee lyes or reignes in us till our sinnes bee vanquished or rooted out by this mighty power of patience and long sufferance and when all our evill is overcome by this power of his goodnesse then he delivers us which is the Kingdome of God to his Father that God may be all in all 3. I beleeve the Son of God or Righteousnesse is borne of the holy virgin Mary which virgine is the pure humanity and this pure humanity is overshadowed by the Angell Gabriell or the power of the most highest God and this Son or righteousnesse of God is begotten upon the humanity and is the promised seed to the man which is borne for a blessing to all generations of man as was promised 4. I beleeve that this holy seed of blessing the Sonne of God Jesus Christ the Saviour of us hath suffered death under Pontius Pilate the law of sinne in us and that he dyeth for and to sinne in us and is dead and buried and in hell under our earthly beeing and man of sin and he suffers for our sin in this hell for they be all upon him and he is nailed to the crosse of patience to endure all the reproaches and blasphemies contempts and false defamations or accusations for our sinnes cause on him and for the love of God and to us hath taken us upon him that we should suffer with him all our own reproaches contempts and sinnes to condemne us for doing them and that wee should condemne and forsake them and be dead to them and they to us by the power of Iesus Christ that saveth us in us and this is the baptisme of the Sonne and is the fiery tryalls or the baptisme of fire with which he saveth his owne body or us which is the humane nature that he hath taken on him to suffer for and with and that it might be saved through him and by his power in us and whosoever doth not suffer this death with Christ for their sinnes that is to suffer under the law of sinne death for sinne and to sinne the death of the crosse which is the patience and long sufferance of Christ to the killing of sinne in us he is no Christian let him brag how much he will of his Christianity till he hath tasted the death and life of Christ and that all this is come to passe in him for they must all taste of this cup or passion and be baptised with his baptisme for if we doe not suffer and dye with him we shall never rise and reigne with him 5. I beleeve that the holy God hath raised up his Sonne Jesus from the dead and that he was three dayes
the most holy life is given thee to sound sweet harmony to thy harmonious soule for if thou sound on the evill instrument of ten strings which instrument is that which was founded in Daniel before the Image and made him be cast into the Lions den it raised up the most horrible sound of thunder lightning and violent fire so that if thy brutiall passions touch the mount where this sound comes forth he shall be shot through with a dart for thy touching of this evill ten stringed instrument hath raised up the most furious God that is a consuming fire who turnes thy joyes into sorrow and pain so that thy life is now a living death and a dying life which thou shalt finde by wofull experience for thou thinkest thou knowest not what of thy selfe that thou art something and that thou camest from nothing then by consequence thou art nothing and to nothing must returne so that thou art like a mad man that can give no reason of thy selfe from whence thou camest and whither thou goest and so doest what thou list and what seemeth best in thy owne eyes although it bee never so much hurt to another man O dost not thou thinke that he that is the cause of thy appearance will take account of thy life and of thy stewardship and what thou hast done here whether good or bad thy owne conscience tells thee he will therefore doe not deceive thy selfe with thy fallacies and deceits Thou art that one spirit that is or may be acted in all and thy spirit or eye is the great Abyss of eternity and thy eye doth or may looke in or through all eyes or worlds whether good or evill and if thou be joyned or looke through the evill eye and art guided by that evill instrument thou art most unhappy and all that evill that is said before falleth upon thee and thou shalt or mayest for ever be with that evill eye or world unlesse thou desire with all thy heart soule and minde to be changed and delivered out of this evill and wicked world for it is thy will that hath damned thee by the evill instrument and thy will saves thee by the good instrument for thou art passive and mayest be carried by thy will to give thy selfe to what thou pleasest to bee carried or ruled by the good or by the evill and thou canst not be joyned to both at once therefore thou must be dead to the evill and the evill to thee before thou canst be joyned to the good to bee moved thereby Now when thou art acted by the evill instrument thou callest evill good and good evill so that when thou thinkest it good and takest pleasure in doing wrong or mischiefe to another thou takest pleasure in a lie and thinkest that evill to be good because thou art not sensible nor feelest the truth of the thing acted but the fallacie lie and deceit which deceiveth all mankinde therefore all things are not to man as hee imagineth for many imagine themselves to be better then other men as Kings Lords and all others who thinke themselves great taking pleasure in the same although indeed and truth there is no such matter for all men are alike and made of one mould so that it may evidently appeare that they who doth thinke so take pleasure in a lie and this seemeth to them to be good this lie transformeth himselfe into an Angell of light to be like the reall God or good when indeed and truth it is but a delusion and a joy or pleasure which perisheth with the using for the reall God or good is one and the same for ever and no man or thing can take away that joy for it continueth still the same being no change but thou takest pleasure in that which is nothing to thee and grievest at that which is nothing to thee so thy griefe and joy is lies for when thou thinkest that to be to thee which is not reall indeed and in truth thou deceivest thy owne soule and none shall suffer for it but thy owne selfe when thou a busest any man the action falleth upon him and he it is that feeleth it and if the like action falleth upon thee thou feelest it in the same manner for all actions of one kinde falleth alike to all that are passive or suffers therefore deceive not thy selfe for thou that actest is one and he that suffers is another and thou that acteth is not the other that suffereth for that which is felt by the one is nothing to the other that feeleth not for the passive and active are two therefore doe not thou deceive thy selfe and take pleasure in that which is paine to another for in doing so thou joyest whereas thou wouldest grieve if it did fall upon thy selfe and if harme fall to any man we should participate of his griefe as if it did befall us and not rejoyce at anothers harme for this is the delusion of the Devill to rejoyce where is no cause of joy but is his own imagined joy which is a lie and perisheth with the using and to grieve where is no cause of griefe is a delusion and lie to torment our selves withall as some doe torment themselves that they have not so much means and riches as they would have and such honour and estimation as they would have or to be so well or better thought of then others and they grieve that they cannot doe as much mischiefe as they intended to doe and they grieve when any shews mercy or charity to another whom they hate although they see that other stand in need of his charity and doth say that this action of charity is a Devill to that man that hated him and God to him that received it so making an action to be God or the Devill canst not thou discerne the fallacie and the lie here is this charity any thing to thee seeing thou didst not receive it if it had been to thee and thou hadst received the same it had beene as good to thee as to him for all things fall alike to all as was said before therefore thou rejoycest at thou knowest not what till thou feelest the same and seest where the fallacie lyes wherefore when thou discernest the fallacie thou mayest see that thou oughtest to be glad when any good commeth to another as if it had come to thy selfe for nature tells us that we should make every mans case our owne and the Scripture speaketh without exception saying Rejoyce with them that rejoyce and receive good and grieve with them that grieve or receive hurt or harme but to grieve at another mans joy or good is the Devill that grieveth where no cause of griefe is for in grieving at the other mans joy hee imagineth a lie which is not the truth of that joy in the other man so tormenting himselfe with that which is not for if that joy of the other were in thee it could not be griefe but thou
and consuming of things that they starve and dye for hunger and are forced many times to eat one another as may be seen and heard of where these practises are If this be God or good that acteth those things and tells me that it is pleasure I will abandon such a god as the most abominable and hatefull thing that is and desire to have nothing to doe with such and abominable and wicked god that blindes my eye and makes me thinke good to be evill and evill good for the Scripture faith Woe to him that calleth evill good and good evill and light darknesse and darknesse light for wee are all ready to mistake but our nature and quallities cannot be altered for we use our quallities and natures upon what object we light on whether good or evill For the cholericke man whieh is most composed of fire if he light upon the evill instrument he hath so many severall temptations to wrath and anger that his soule or himselfe is never at quiet for one disturbance or other and many times in his wrath the Devill tempts him to kill a man and he is in continuall vexations so that he is in a living death and dying life although he see it not but loves this living death more then the everlasting life which hath no bitternesse therein but is full of all sweet content and all the workes that this life or spirit animates thee to doe breeds thee no sting discontent or any thing to be repented off but this evill instrument animates thee unto horrid and cruell things full of mischiefe which cruelties riseth up in thy conscience and flyeth in thy face making thee condemne thy selfe saying what a wicked man and beastlike wretched creature am I that doth such wicked actions I would not have such things done to me why would I doe thus to another sure there shall some heavy judgement fall upon mee and I shall have the same measure met to me againe and so still the law of sinne flyeth in the wicked mans face and is called the law of God or the wrath of God that moveth man to repent for the wickednesse he hath committed and to condemne and arraigne himself at this barre of Gods judgement within himselfe which shews him all his sins and wicked life and so hee kills and crucifies himselfe with these horrible wounds of conscience in him and is never at quiet nor never shall till the cause is taken out of the way which cause is the Devill and sinne and there must a greater power take away this death with another death that is by the death of Christ being a death unto Devill and sinne which death is called the death of Christ in us that sighteth against our sinnes and all our lusts and affections and crucifieth all our sin and sinfull life so that there is no more sin death and devill in us for it is this death of Christ that destroyes the death for sin and the cause of sin which death of sin was done by the law for sin executed upon sinne so taking away the cause and the effect which cause was the devill and sin and the effect was the law of sinne so that when the cause is taken away of necessity the effect must cease and this death or mortality of Christ shall raise us up into immortality so that we may say O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory for the strength of our sins was the law of sinne which law or wounds of conscience was our grave wherein we were dead and buried so this death of Christ hath freed us from all deaths and mortallities and his death and mortallity will bring us into the true sweet and everlasting life which I desire all soules may come into and injoy Now he whose spirit is most composed of spirituall fire as was said before when he was ruled by the evill instrument doing such wrathfull and cruell things when he is turned to God and goodnesse his quallity and nature of fire is turned into burning zeale so that he is on fire of love to doe all goodnesse and is never well but when he can doe some deeds of charity and love to others so that his minde is swallowed up in God and this his nature and quallity of fire is turned to all God or goodnesse for the Divine Nature is wholly incorporated in him the which I desire all fiery and choloricke men may attain unto As for the spirituall ayreall or sanguine man if he sets his nature or quallity upon the evill instrument hee is very lascivious and given to leachery gluttony and drunkennesse and to all vaine pleasure which doth besot the minde for nothing doth besot the minde so much as leachery and drunkennesse and all these his follies doe flye in his face calling him foole and sot and it doth so besot them to all good that it makes them careles of wife children and all other friends and makes them apt only to devise a thousand plots and mischiefes to maintaine their beastly brutiall and sensuall life so that they spend all their owne estates and other mens and in the end goe a begging or live upon others and they defile and spoyle their owne bodies with the pox and other diseases so spoyling both body and minde with their sensuall living for they are in an extasio below themselves and ravished with a brutiall and sensuall life and this their evill instrument the Devill or unreasonablenesse hath brought them to and when they have lost their organicall man then commeth in their greater griefe or hell because they cannot execute their beastly and sensuall life so they are tormented in that they cannot doe as they formerly did when they had a body here for their minoe is upon nothing else but on their beastly brutiall and sensuall life which perisheth with the using leaving them in great discontents and the Devill sets alwaies this joy and pleasure before their eyes and the want of their bodies to execute their former fooleries which want torments them to the death so that they are in a living death and dying life and the law of sinne still rising out of their conscience condemneth them for what they have done and for what they desire and so they are with death and hell except they could returne but the Scripture speaketh of time and of a day and whilst time doth last and he saith there is an appointed time and after that time there is no time more for in that time the death of Christ should have taken away death and the cause of death which is the Devill and sinne who hath brought them into this miserable condition under the law of sinne and condemnation which is the second death for he saith in dying thou shalt dye the death so then all men of all quallities and complexions shall be in this condition for ever except they bee amended by the death of Christ for he is that innocent Lambe
perfection with the crowne of glory which is holinesse to God and be cloathed in white linnen which is a most pure and innocent life and now you see that Priest people and sacrifice must be pure and unspotted without sinne having all perfection As for the holy Arke which was builded by the free will offering of the people and Moses going up into the mountaine to the Lord for a paterne to shew the people that it might be builded with all their pretious stones and fine silks for curtaines and the drinking pots of gold with the candlesticks snuffers and snuffing dishes and the mercy seat with the Cherubins that holdeth up the mercy seat and the holy and most holy place with the curtaine betwixt the holy and most holy and the Altar and hookes the table and shew-bread with Arons rod that budded and the pot of manna which to understand as a history that such a glorious building was made to look upon is nothing to me for to looke or judge of it so is to looke according to the outward appearance which is not righteous judgement for in this is to be seene the whole mystery of the Godhead and the humanity for in the holy place is the whole worke of the law with the death and sacrifices for sinne for a reconciliation which death and sacrifices is the Godhead and manhoed which lyeth upon the holy Alter fire wrath crosse or patience till the man of sinne be destroyed and rooted out of us And the golden candlesticks with the lights in the holy place is the law or grace that shineth from the morning till the evening or till sinne is extinguished and done away in us and is the lights of Gods grace which is true repentance for sinne with a broken and contrite heart and sorrowfull spirit which shineth till all things are finished and then giveth up the ghost unto the Father from whence he came and then the vaile or curtaine which standeth in the most holy place is rent in twaine from the top to the bottome which vaile is the flesh and death of Christ and is the new and living way through which all must enter or else they cannot be saved nor enter into the most holy or Sanctum Sanctorum where the mercy seat is held up by the Angells and Cherubins Now when the Priesthood which is the holy humanity hath fulfilled the whole worke of the Law the sacrifice for sinne in the holy place then they put on all their holy garments and attires and so enter into the most holy place with their bells or hymns that soundeth forth the praise of God internally to God and externally all good to men for in this holy attire must he enter in the most holy place with odours and sweet perfumes of a holy life and the smoke of these odours and perfumes of a holy life ascendeth to the mercies seat and ravisheth the most holy Godhead and then he imbraceth him in his armes saying Thou art my beloved Sonne in whom I am well pleased and this is he that maketh us Kings and Priests to God and giveth us himselfe to be offered up for a sacrifice to God his Father for us O man how great is the love of God to thee that hee becommeth thee to save thee and makes thee himselfe for the great love he hath to thee for in thy first appearance he created himselfe in thee and then there appeared unto thee foure worlds first this externall world whereof thou hast borrowed a body or garment and knowest not how foone it shall be called for againe for the world whitleth about and calleth for her owne againe and there can be no certainty of any thing here because here is nothing but change and mortality for this world of it selfe is death but that the spirits that are in it is its life so that this world is not worthy so much as to bee thought off for it perisheth with the using as doth a garment only it is good in this respect because wee could not know light but by darknesse nor life but by death nor immortallity but by mortallity and the reason we were in obscurity or in silence before wee could come here is this that there is one eternall increase of the seed of man and they can but appeare in time here for this externall world is time and time is a running round and there is no new thing here but as it is to me for this materiall world doth neither increase nor decrease but is one and the same for ever in its turning round only it seemeth to me to increase and diminish and so it is finite and because the seed of man is an eternall increase and this world being one and the same may be called finite in this respect because there is not matter enough for all spirits to have bodies or garments of at one time and therefore some must goe before others can come for the spirits to come are infinite and this world is finite because of its materiall confine not increasing but running round so that which is called the body of one to day may be called the body of another to morrow for there is no certainty here and all soules must stay their time till they can come here and in their comming and being here is the time to see distinctions and all worlds and if thou doe not looke about thee and see them here in this world of time but be neglective of the time thou hadst better never have been born or brought forth in time for this time vanisheth away to thee and thou shalt bee seen no more for when man is in honour and knows it not he is like the brute beast that perisheth being without God in the world therefore whilst time doth last to us let us looke about us and redeeme our mispent time and seek the everlasting good or reall true world that is beyond all time or change and this is the divine world which God hath placed in thy heart as is said in Ecclesiastes the 3. and the world whereof Moses speaketh Gen. 1. and is the Angelicall world or paradise out of which the man had an Angelicall body which is but a part of Gods house for God shewed himselfe but in part and this part he lost and in that part he was that great Lucifer or Angell that was the Sunne of the morning or starre that fell and in falling fought against his Maker or him that gave him that Angelicall body or world in which the most holy world stood as a tree of life unseen or untouched by the man for he had more minde of the diabolicall world for all worlds being opened to the man he desires the evill and worst of worlds desiring to be free before his time because he could not abide the servanthood to till and dresse the garden of the Lord which servanthood is the angelicall body or world which is the servant of the Lord but desired to
stones are joyned to him and made a spirituall house and an holy Priesthood to offer up spirituall sacrifices to God by this holy Iesus Christ our Lord and only Saviour that hath called us from death to life and hath made us sit with him in his holy place that is in the most holy Father therefore O man seeke after this holy building and let it be built in thee for all the hystories of the Scripture is concerning thy selfe thy falling rising or something that concerns thee or the holy Godhead therefore thou oughtest to looke into the scripture with a vigilant eye and with due respect for it is the true looking glasse which showes thee in what condition thou art and therefore read it not as thou dost other hystories but read it and take it to heart and esteeme it as it is the most holy and sacred mysteries concerning the great and most powerfull Godhead and thy selfe O man And as for the Hystory of Iesus Christ that he was borne in an Inn and in a stable betwixt an Oxe and an Asse and laid in a Crach and that the Inn was full and no roome in it but the stable is a great mystery for this Inn is thy selfe O man and the chambers of thy heart is full of thy sinnes the great Kings of thy earthly being which is pride vaine glory hypocrisie lust vanitie wrath and selfe will so that the chambers and roomes of thy heart are full of such guests as these and there was nor is no roome for the most holy life but in the worst place of thy house and thy Herod or bloody mind will not let him ly there but seeketh to destroy and kill him and so hee is carried away and hid in thee till those be dead that seeke his life Now when Christ the holy divine nature comes into our earthly Man of sinne hee hath not a place to lay or rest his head on but is sought for by our sinnes to bee destroyed for he sayeth the foxes that are our worldly Passions have holes and the birds that are our vain Phantasies have nests but bee hath not whereon to lay his head Doest thou not see O vain man that the most holy and divine world or divine life is neglected of thee and kept under thy earthly being and he is in the most lowest parts of thy earth and under thy sinfull manhood hee is that most glorious and holy light that commeth into thy wicked world of sinne but thou art ashamed of him because hee discovers thy deeds of darkenesse so thou putst out this light and quenchest this spirit for thou lovest the deeds of darknesse more then the works of light therefore this light or holy life is carryed away by Ioseph and Marie the perfection and fountaine of Love to the holy light from whence he came till all thy sinne and iniquity which sought his life is dead in thee for the holy life cannot live in thee till sinne be dead and rooted out of thee Now to looke upon Christ comming into this externall world in such a mean manner his birth so low and his condition so poore and dispised and sought out by the Kings of the earth to bee destroyed was because they thought scorne that one of so poore and mean birth should bee King of all the earth And thou mayest see the mystery of his comming into this world in so poore and dispised manner which is to shew thee how hee is in thy selfe and in thy internall world dispised and sought for to bee destroyed by thy finnes the great Kings of thy earthly being therefore O man if thou readst the history of the birth of Christ and not look into the mystery how much it concerns thee thou art never the better for his comming for his externall comming to the sight of the world shall vanish away like a tale that is told or a dreame that is seene no more therefore O man looke into the Scripture and into the holy writ with a diligent and circumspect eye and into thy selfe where is written the holy word to thy condemnation or to thy salvation compare thy selfe and the scripture together and thou shalt see thy selfe there for it is the true reall lookeing glasse wherein thou mayest behold thy selfe and thy owne soule or spirit is a witnesse to thee that it relates to thee thy selfe and it speaks the reall truth to thee in condemning or justifying thee wherefore O man take it to heart for thou needst not no other witnesse of the truth thereof but thy selfe As for Christs being led aside by the spirit into the Wildernesse to bee tempted of the Devill and that he fasted fourty dayes and fourty nights and that he was set upon a Pinacle of the Temple shewing him from thence all the Kingdoms of the earth in the twinckling of an eye and that hee told him all the Kingdoms of the earth were his for they were given him and if hee would fall down and worship him they should bee his certainly this cannot be meant of the externall for no mortall creature taking on this elementary body of clay can subsist without foode so long nor could it be that all the Kingdomes of the world were the Devills for who did give them to him nor can there bee any reason given why or how hee could possible see all the Kingdomes of this world with his externall eyes at one time for this world being imagined round high and low it is impossible that any externall eye should see it at once therefore O man looke to the mystery thereof for when this holy Jesus is borne into us this wicked spirit commeth to him and seeing him cloathed with our fraile and weake nature thinking to overcome him shewing him our barren and wildernessed nature wherein is no good thing for foode for him so that hee must bee starved if hee lived in it therefore hee would have him obedient unto him and hee should have all his honour kingdome and riches but he did forsake them all as abhominable and brought his owne foode or kingdome with him for he liveth by the power and life of the Godhead from whence he came and by this mighty power he makes this stony and barren ground of mans nature food for him to live of and with for hee participates and liveth of both natures the Godhead and the manhoode and this Godhead and manhood being joyned together by a conjunction or reciprocall union have betwixt them both brought forth Jesus Christ the Sonne of God and Sonne of man who is both God and man and being in the wombe of the humanity is nourished and fed by the same as of his mother for all children live of the mothers life and nature and are fed by it so this Iesus Christ comes into our barren ground and by his mighty power maketh it fertill and fruitfull bringing forth himselfe in us to live of us and we by him for our barren ground is plowed
up by the law of God and all the thornes and thistles which is our sinnes is plucked up and throwne away that this holy seed may be sowed in our hearts in place of our sinnes and this seed is a tender plant wherefore O man look diligently to it and weed up all things that is like to destroy the same in thee And as for the Devill carrying Christ up into the holy City and setting him upon a pinacle of the Temple and shewing him all the Kingdomes of the Earth in the twinkling of an eye and saying that those Kingdoms were given to him this holy City is thy selfe O man and thou hast given it to the Devill and he hath begot many wicked generations and kingdomes in thee which is his and Christ taking thy sinfull nature upon him to destroy it the Devill being in that nature of sin thinks to exalt Jesus shewing him what kingdomes he had got in that nature for which he would have him worship him and hee would give him them all but he reproves him and cares not for his wicked kingdomes but crucifies him and them and casts him out of this nature and makes this his humanity to worship God and saith Get thee from me Sathan for I will worship my Lord and God so Christ the divine power of God taking upon him the sinfull nature had upon him the power of the Devill who thought to destroy him in it so the Devill and hee being in one nature strove for victory who should have this nature for his possession and dwelling place the divinity hath the victory when the humanity consenteth thereto and then there is two against one but if thou consentest to the devill there is no fighting for thee nor art thou worthy the fighting for therefore if thou hast a minde to stay with the Devill still thou mayest for hee will not pull thee out of his clawes against thy will wherefore looke to it O man for there stands before thee life and death chuse life and live for ever but if thou lovest death thou hast death for ever As concerning the Asse that Christ tooke away and his cursing the fig-tree it seemeth strange in the letter because it contradicteth the truth for the truth saith that we should use no violence nor take any mans goods from him and that we should not curse but blesse but we see here that Christ hath taken away the Asse that was bound and cursed the fig-tree against reason for the time of figs was not yet come therefore certainly there is another mystery in it for it cannot bee true according to the history that Christ should doe such unjust things for no falshood nor guile was found in his hands therefore this Asse is that simple innocencie that is tyed in thee with the cords of iniquity and cannot stir for the humanity never did ride thereon till Christ came in our humanity to make it free and then he rideth into Jerusalem the City of God meekly sitting upon this Asse which Asse is now the simple innocencie of God on which before Christ came into thy humanity Balams did ride upon and did kicke and spurne this innocencie without a cause therefore bee thou O man this simple innocent Asse that the King of Sion may ride meekly upon thee to Jerusalem the holy City of God And for the fig-tree that had no time to bring forth its fruits but was cursed is the humanity that Christ did take upon him induring therein the curse of the law for the sins cause nor could it bring forth fruit till Christ came in it and made it indure the curse of the law which made it seem to dye and vanish away for this fig-tree or humanity could not bring forth fruit till Christ came againe in spirit to vivifie and renue the same for he is the life of the true fig-tree that bringeth forth fruit in due season so this first fig-tree that was accursed shews unto us the first creation in man how that it could not bring forth fruit being lyable to the curse for sins cause and this tree is the humanity of Christ according to the flesh that indureth the judgement and curse of God with us for firs cause without cause in himselfe save only his love to us And as for that certaine man that fell amongst the theeves and was hurt many passing by and would not helpe him till the Samaritane came O man this certaine man is thy selfe that is gone out of Ierusalem the City of God to travell and hath met with the Devill and all his company which is pride vaine-glory hypocrisie lust intemperance wrath envy malice bitternesse of spirit covetcusnesse evill censuring murtherous mindes and all the wickednesse that is and these are the theeves that hath robbed thee of all goodnesse wounding thy soule and leaving thee for dead so the Priest and Levit that passeth by thee is the law wrath and curse of God that is upon thee and leaves thee alone to thy selfe for thy condemnation because thou bast left the city and house of God to travell thou knowest not whither to lose and damne thy selfe with the Devill and all his Angells and wicked spirits that hath killed and spoyled thy soule for thy wounds of sinne stinke and are puttified within thee as David saith my wounds are festred and stinke within me and so we lye as dead in trespasses and sinnes till the good Samaritane which is Iesus Christ come and have mercy on us and take us up and set us upon his Asse which is his most innocent and harmlesse life whereon he carries thee as halfe dead and after poureth in the oyle of his gracious goodnesse into thy wounds to heale them so that hee becommeth a plaister for thy sores to heale thee and indures all thy stinking filthinesse upon him for hee hath thy sores in his salve which is himselfe and is that most innocent and harmlesse life and hee it is that beares the iniquities of us all for all our sinnes and transgressions is upon him so this holy Christ is in hell in us till wee are cured of sinne for he is a salve for our stinking sores that is a hell to him and he indures thee and the wrath of God upon thee which is upon him in thee till thou art perfectly cured and made whole from all blemish or spot O how great is the love of God to thee O man why doth not thy heart melt in love to him againe seeing he is so good to thee Where O man canst thou finde such a love and lover or such goodnesse as he is to thee without any cause of thine but for his owne goodnesse sake whereby he takes pity on thee to helpe and save thee therefore O man whosoever thou art that is dead in trespasses and sinnes if thou dost not feele this power of God Jesus Christ in thee who is a salve for all sores which doth draw scoure and wash them within thee and
theefe that cannot repent and thou art the other theefe that art repentant for what thou hast done and so findest mercy and in that day or light of mercy thou shalt enter into Paradise thy Masters joy for now you have suffered together you shall also rise and relgne together and enter into the joy together which joy lyes into thy inmost self in the cave of thy earth even there lyeth the most still and soft voice which was not in the great windes that did blow downe the rocks of sinne nor in that carthquake for sinne nor in that fire that consumeth sinne in which God is lost to the man for in that the man casteth the holy God from him is the very thing that doth condemne him and rise against him so that he can never be at rest nor quiet till he hath found God againe and even thus doth God appeare to the man that which he is not in himselfe even a consuming fire as he saith in Thessalon God sendeth them strong delusions that they should believe lies because they will not receive the love of the truth for man thinketh that God is angry with him and he neither can nor shall believe otherwise untill sinne be destroyed out of him for God doth seem to appeare in thy sinnes as an angry judge condemning thee till thou hast suffered under them and for them and so worketh feare in thy heart and all these angers that he seemeth to have against thee and those feares that he worketh in thy heart is for thy future good and for the great love he hath to thee recalling thee from thy sinfull life and when thou hast forsaken sinne then he doth appeare to thee in his glorious amiable and bright rayes full of sweet ravishing contents and then thy Judas Devill or sinnes hath condemned themselves in thee and with thee and hath arraigned themselves at the barre of Gods justice and then they hang themselves in thee and breake their owne necks and brust their bowells asunder and so there is an end of them to thee and an end of thee to them and then thou cryest to thy Father or God It is finished and so yeeldest up thy ghost or spirit into him and the vaile that is the flesh of Christ that divided betwixt the holy and most holy place is rent in twaine from the top to the bottome which vaile death or flesh is the long-sufferance and patience of Christ that rasteth in us till our sinnes are extinguished and blotted out and this standeth betwixt the holy place and the Sanctum Sanctorum and all that will be saved must taste of this flesh death patience long-sufferance bitter cup agony or bloudy sweat which stands before the holy of holies and when wee have tasted this bitter death or cup wee enter through this vaile flesh or death of Christ which is the new and living way into the holy of holies or Sanctum Sanctorum which is the Kingdome of Heaven that is within you and is peace righteousnesse and joy in the Holy Ghost Now when the flesh of Christ hath finished his course then is he taken out of the way and then cometh hee againe to thee the second time and is thy holy Ghost or Spirit which leadeth thee into all truth which truth is meekenesse lowsinesse of Spirit gentlenesse lovingnesse rejoycing in mind ravishing thoughts sweet contemplations singing Hymnes and Halelujahs praise and thanksgiving to the Holy Ghost for their victoriousnesse and this is thy ravishing joy and comfort eternally so that all the externall losses in this present world doth not trouble thee for thy mind is not below on these perishable things for thou art dead to them and livest here as if thou livedst not and useth all things here as if thou used them not and if thou had all the honours and riches of this world thou wouldest dispise them and think them but dung and drosse for thou hast farre more excellent honour and riches then this world can affoorde but if by chance the Godly have the riches of this world as it is but a chance seeing the Godly and ungodly oftentimes injoy them alike here he accounteth not the same his but distributeth as he seeth need or necessity as a faithfull steward but the ungodly thinketh all that hee getteth here is his and will suffer another to starve and perish by him and in this thou may perceive a difference betwixt the Godly and ungodly let them brag of their Christianity as much as they will their workes show what they bee but wee see what a Christian is and what a difficult thing it is to be one and how many difficulties he must runne through before he attain to the perfection to be a Christian Now to understand and read the history of the crucifying of Christ of his condemnation death and buriall what is this to thee or me if we feele not the mystery of his condemnation death and buriall his resurrection ascention and comming to judgement in me and with me for if we doe not suffer with him we shall not reigne with him therefore let us dye and bee buried with him that we may arise and ascend into the heaven with him and from thence come to judge the quick and the dead which dead is the sinnes that is dead and lost for ever out of us and the quicke is the living righteousnesse to raign in us for ever therefore unlesse I see the mystery of these things wrought in me the history thereof can do me no good for in the history of the death of Christ is shewed a great deale of weakenesse for it is said that hee was so mightily afraid of death that he did sweat drops of blood and all the wrath of his Father did but extend to the death of the externall manhood upon the Crosse but it seemeth strange to me that hee that had the power of heaven and earth should be so much afraid of an externall and bodily death when there hath beene many since that have dyed for their religion and for his sake more terrible deaths being drawn to peeces with wild horses fleyed burned alive broyled roasted boyled in lead and all the terrible deaths that could be devised by wicked and devillish men to put them to as is made mention of in the booke of Martyrs yet there was seene no such weaknesse in them but they went to their deaths cheerfully thinking themselves happy to suffer for his sake Wherefore you may easily perceive that there is a greater mystery in the same which few doe see or discerne For my part I do not deny the history of the Scripture but doe beleeve that those things were acted upon the Theater of this externall world to shew to us what is acted upon the Theater of our internall world but if we looke upon the hystory of Scripture as things acted by other men and take no more notice of it we deceive our selves for all the hystories points upon