with his Guilt of Eternall Death into his innocent Death and is dead from the sinnes and wickednesse in himselfe and in this dying of Christ Gods righteousnesse in the Anger requireth a Christian Man to be 47. But if he walke out of this path and not in it then sayth righteousnesse thou art a Theefe and hast wrongfully got this Cup of Christ in thy Sack I will sett thee before my Judgement and Sentence as Joseph did to his brethren when he caused them to be fetched back to the sentence of his Judgement 48. Therefore hath a Christian who walketh under the Banner of Christs Crosse no Excuse when God by his Steward viz. by the Children of this world causeth him to be layd hold on in the righteousnesse of his Anger and chargeth him for a Theefe and an unrighteous person also for a Stranger Innovator * * * Novice Novellist Enthusiast Foole and the like when Men loade him with all his faults and the infirmities of naturall sinfull flesh and without ceasing blame him as wicked and unrighteous and condemne him to the damnation of the temporall and Eternall Death and though he is not in the sight of the world nor as to the world Guilty yet he is lyable to beare the scorne suffering and death of Christ after him as a Christian is lyable to take upon him the whole processe in the footsteps of Christ and to follow Christ therein and to suffer all in Christ and wholly to put on Christ in his derision contempt suffering and death and to beare his Crosse and scorne after him that he may enter into Christs Kingdome as a Member of the body of Christ that hath suffered with him and hath dayly dyed to the Anger of God in the Death of Christ from his actuall sinnes 49. For All Sinnes Blasphemies and untruths which are imputed to him wrongfully from the world which he is not outwardly Guilty of in the fact that he suffereth in the processe of Christ as a Christian and therein drinketh out of the Cup of Christs Crosse who hath innocently suffered for his sinnes 50. For if he be not guilty of them in his Life yet he is guilty of them in the inherited sinne and hath inherited them also in the seede out of which he is proceeded they lye in his * * * Ground of his Nature and Heart Ground he cannot excuse himselfe before God in the processe of Christ he is guilty of all Adamicall sinnes 51. But this is his Comfort that God manifesteth them by the children of his Anger in this world and so as a Curse by the Children of Anger fastneth them to the Crosse of Christ and in this Manifestation drowneth them in him in the Bloud and Death of Christ in that he still cleaveth to God as Christ to his Father and suffered himselfe to be accused of sinnes which he had not committed but had onely inherited them and so they were taken from him and given to the Anger of God in his Judgement that he might condemne them 52. For thus also Joseph in this figure appeased his just Anger towards his Brethren they were all Guilty towards him but he charged them not with their Guilt but charged them onely with his Cup for he had cleerly forgiven them all their Trespasses but onely concerning the Cup he would not hold them Guiltlesse and yet of right they were not Guilty of it but he had layd it in as his bounty and made them guilty of it 53. Thus also hath God given us his Grace of meere Love after that wee were cleerly guilty of Eternall Judgement and hath layd Christ and Grace in the Sack of our Life with his Suffering Death with his Cup of the Crosse concerning which he doth not hold us Guiltlesse wee are all Guilty thereof and have not this by a Naturall right but it is layd into us without our knowledge therefore wee cannot release our selves of it except wee cast Christ wholly from us and give our selves againe to the Anger of God and then Death Hell and the Anger of God make us Guilty and hold us captive in them but at present Man may lay hold on which he will 54. But that Joseph caused the Cup to be thrust into his Brother Benjamins Sack it hath this figure that Christ dwelleth in the inward Man viz. in his Paradisicall brother and hath this Cup of the Crosse in his Hand out of which the guilty soule and the Body must drink he thrusteth it into his brothers sack for that inward ground is his Brother but the other brethren must drink of it this brother of Christ holdeth it in him for he is Christs Member and habitation 55. Therefore sayth Josephs Steward by whomsoever the Cup is found he shall be my servant but ye shall be quitt viz. the inward ground the true Josephs viz. Christs brother hee is Christs servant who serveth his Lord and brother and must hold the Cup in his Sack the other * * * Conditions or qualities formes of Life of Nature are free and cannot hold the Cup for Christ. 56. For they are not the right Sack to put it in but the Ground of the Heavenly Worlds Substance is the Sack to which the Holy Cup of Christ doth belong which powreth the Ground of Nature out of it therefore must Josephs Brother be made guilty of the Cup because he stood in the figure of the inward Man wherein Christ would manifest himselfe with his Cup of the Crosse and so the other brethren viz. the poore soule together with the body be quitt and released from the Guilt 57. Therefore sayth Josephs Steward he is my servant who hath the Cup he shall serve mee but ye shall be quitt that is Christ is in this inward Benjamin Josephs Brother and serveth God with overcoming of Death and the Anger of God in Man and so all the other brethren viz. the Naturall Life shall be quitt from Guilt and Paine and it standeth excellently in the Figure 58. Moses sayth further * * * Gen. 44.11 12 13. And they hastened and layd every one his sack off on to the Earth and every one tooke his Sack off and searched and began at the Eldest and so to the youngest and there they found the Cup in Benjamins Sack and then they rent their Cloaths and loaded every one his Asse and went againe into the Citie 59. When Adam was fallen into sinne then the Law and Command fetched him back againe charged him with the sinne and Theft that he had eaten of the wrong fruit with a wicked mouth therefore must he returne againe into the Citie viz. into the Earth out of which the body was proceeded and there lay downe his Sack into the Earth and there Gods righteousnes searcheth into all the naturall Properties viz. Truth and righteousnes which availeth before God viz. the Image of Heaven and began from the first forme of Nature and so on
not two we understand not herein the grosse beastiall man full of the Serpents Ens which shall not inherit the Kingdome of God John 6. but the true man which God created in his Image 10. Let Master Sophister or wiseling of Babel looke us right in the face and see what spirits child we are we understand not the Beast but the man Christ which dyed in Adam which was againe Regenerated out of Abrahams Seed and deprived death of its might and destroyed Hell in man and slew the Death in us and arose againe from death and liveth for ever the same we meane by a Right Christian and not Calves and Oxen Dogs Adders Serpents Toads and the like who would with their Beasts of vanity be outwardly Adopted and Regenerate children of God no such Beast cometh into heaven onely and alone and none else but a Christ viz. a childe of Christ which is born of Christs flesh and bloud * * * Rev. 22 1â— without are Dogs 11. Therefore Let it be told thee O Babel thou ridest upon the Dragon of thy own contrived halfe devillish and halfe beastiall tongue in thy own words and will and hast not Abrahams faith viz. in the received and formed word which became man but thou howlest with the Dogs and wilt with thy snarling jeering contentious dogs-will in a strange childe be Abrahams heir 12. But God said to Abraham thy servants childe shall not be thy heir but he that is begotten out of thy loynes who is borne of the Faith of Righteousnesse he shall be Gods heir and not the Son of the bond-Woman viz. the Strange introduced grosse beastiall Serpents Ens. 13. And God said to Abraham I am the Lord that hath brought thee out of VR of the Chaldees to give thee this Land to inherit it Genesis XV. v. 7 8. c. to the 17. but Abraham said Lord God whereby shall I know that I shall possesse the same and he said unto him take me an Heifer of three years old and a Shee-Goat of three years old and a Ram of three yeares old and a Turtle-Dove and a young Pigeon and he tooke all these and divided them in the midst and laid each Piece one against another but the Birds he divided not and when the fowls fell upon the Carkases Abraham drove them away and when the Sun was gon down a deep sleep fell upon Abraham and lo an horror of great darknesse fell upon him and he said to Abraham by this thou shalt surely know that thy Seed shall be a stranger in a Land that is not theirs and they shall be compelled to serve and be afflicted 400. yeares but I will judge the Nation whom they must serâ—â—â— and afterwards I will bring them out with great Substance and thou shalt goe to thy fathers in Peace and be buried in a good old Age but they shall come hither againe after foure Generations for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full now when the Sun was gone down and it was darke lo a Smoaking furnace and a fire-flame passed between the pieces Here the right figure of Christs Offering for the humanity is represented and also his suffering and death his persecution and also his victory is deciphered herein and likewise the Man of Sin and vanity intimating how he must fill up his measure and whereunto each is appointed 14. God gave Abraham the Signe how it should goe with his Seed in that Abraham said Lord God! whereby shall I know that I shall possesse the same then God set the figure of the Seed before him for he had comprehended it in his Faith which was made his righteousnesse and shewed it him in a figure for the Offring signifies the Offring of Christ the three sorts of Beasts viz. the Heifer Shee-Goat and Ram each three yeares old betoken the part of the outward humanity of the time viz. out of the limus of the Earth 15. But that they must be three yeares old betokens the whole outward threefold man of the Sulphur Mercury and Salt viz. the three properties of the three Principles which lye in the Earth in one Essence or Substance 16. And that Abraham divided these three beasts and laid one right over against the other Signifieth the twofold limus of the Earth viz. the Grosse property out of the darke worlds property and then Secondly the limus out of the heavenly worlds property which lieth in one Compaction in the Earth whence man was created as to the body 17. But that Abraham divided them signifies that the grossenesse which Adams desire introduced must by death be Separated from the purenesse of the humanity and one must lye right opposite to the other and be divided from one another each into its property as light and darknesse are divided and yet are neer one another 18. The Turtle-Dove betokens the poore Soule captivated in this beastiall property and the young Pigeon signifies the inward disappeared humanity of the poore Soule which shall become young againe in the offring viz. a new birth 19. But that the two Doves were not divided but offered whole Signifieth that nothing shall be taken from the Soule and from the inward man of the heavenly limus they shall remaine whole and entire in their Substance and be offered whole to the Angry fire of God in Christ and be brought quite through the fire of Anger through death viz. through the great darknesse and horrour of death and hell as this was the figure thereof 20. When Abraham had set forth his Offring he fell into a deep sleep and horror and great Darknesse did encompasse him the sleep Signifieth the death of Christ and the horrour the wrath of God viz. the Abysse of Hell and the darknesse the Darke world into this the word which had given in it selfe into Abrahams faith to be a Seed of the children of God should enter with the Offring in the whole humanity both with soule and body and â—esigne it selfe up wholly to the Anger of the father to be devoured 21. And the Enkindling of the fire which passed between the Pieces was now the holy fire of God which came forth out of the holy burning viz. out of the Love-flaming word which gave in it selfe to Abrahams faith in the humanity of Christ in Soul and body when he stood in the fathers Anger in the death and darknesse in Hell and cast the humanity in Soule and body unto the Anger and changed the Anger into Love-fire for the wrath of the father according to the Eternall nature of the darke world which was enkindled in the humanity must in the humanity receive such an holy Ens wherein the Anger might in its fire be changed into a light or Love-fire 22. This holy Ens in the word of faith must enter into the great horrour of Gods Anger for the Soule stood therein essentially in its property it is out of the fathers fire-property out of his Strength and omnipotence viz.
which Babel knoweth nothing nor can know nor will know but climeth up continually in the compacted tongue on the Towre of Babel into an Heaven of humane Selfehood and hath put Christs garment outwardly upon it selfe but it hath not the twofold voice therefore also it doth not hear when God calleth Abraham 26. And Abraham Answered Here am I and he said Lay not thine hand upon the Lad neither do thou any thing unto him Gen. 22.12 for now I know that thou fearest God and hast not spared thy onely Son for my sake That is thus when man hath wholly resigned up his Selfe viz. his own will or Son and put it wholly to the mortification in Christs death then the nature of man falls into Sadness for it hath lost its right its own law and will then saith the Spirit of God by the Soul do nothing to thy nature now I know that it is given up and resigned to me and that the Soul hath now * * * Plerophory an assurance of confidence in God and is fully bold even to leave the outward life for Gods sake and give over its will to mee in Obedience as here Abraham had fully resigned up his will unto God he would now do whatsoever God commanded him 27. And as Abraham did not spare his Son and would have given him up unto death so also God did not spare his Son and gave him to death for us even so should wee also not spare even our own will but rather be willing to leave all whatsoever the own will hath taken possession of and delights in and willingly dye to all Temporalls for Gods sake let it be Principality Dominion or Kingdome Temporall Honor or Goods or whatsoever it may be that is our dearly beloved Son all this a Christian must give over and resigne up in the minde and account and esteem himselfe onely a Servant therein yea esteem his outward life not for his own but in his Minde depart from and forsake every creature and then he lyeth bound upon the wood of the Burnt offerings Altar and waiteth for the Voice of God from Heaven which calleth to him and becomes the Voice and Mouth of his life and this is truly with Abraham to beleeve God where God beleeves in man and then God saith Now I know that thou fearest God and puttest thy trust in him alone for the humane will sincketh into the most pure Being of God 28. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and lo a Ram was hung in a thickett by his hornes Gen. 22.13 14 and he went and took the Ram and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his Son and Abraham called the name of the place * * * Jehovah-jireth The Lord seeth as it is said to this day upon the Mount where the Lord Seeth This is the golden figure which sheweth that the killing death and dying doth not reach the true man but onely the Ram with his Hornes which sticketh in the flesh and bloud in the Thornes of Sin and it chiefly denotes that the true * * * Text. Soules-man humane Soul in Christ and his children shall not dye in this burnt-offering of God but after that it hath resigned up the will of Selfe then God openeth its eyes that it seeth the Ram behinde it viz. it spieth the will of the wilde evill flesh and learnes to know it which will sticketh with its pushing beasts-hornes in the thorny Thickett of the Devill in flesh and bloud viz. in the desire of the vanity of the world in Selfefull Lust This the Resigned Soul seeth and offereth it up for a burnt-offering in the stead of the true Nature for the right nature is delivered in this burnt offering from the Ram of the flesh the Hornes are the injections oppositions and assaults of the Devill and the thickett of Thornes is the Serpents Ens which the lust of Adam hath introduced 29. Thus wee must understand in this figure that the whole man in Christs person should not be given to the Anger of God as if the Adamicall man should be wholly consumed and devoured by it no but the wild Ram onely the Enmity the opposite will the property of Apostacy and Rebellion but the life's Essence should remain forever the same Adam which God created unto Paradise the same shall remain eternally but the division or dissonant disunion of the life's formes in that they are rent asunder and brought into the property of Selfehood whence strife and enmity is arisen in man I say this evill Ram viz. this introduced infection vain desire and adverse will must be offered up in Christ in the fire of Gods Anger This was the Beast for the burnt-offering The Lamb of God in Adam shall not be consumed in the fire but it must onely shed its bloud it must immerse and sinck it selfe wholly with the humane nature into the One viz. into the Eternall Nothing without all nature and then this place is called here the Lord Seeth that is when the Ram is offered then this place is afterwards the Temple of God where the Lord Seeth 30. And the Spirit of Moses speaketh very hiddenly hereof and saith Hence it is said still to this day upon the Mount where the Lord Seeth the Mount is the life's nature where the Lord hath seen not onely in Abraham and Isaac but he seeth in Christs spirit yet at this day upon this Mount in the children of God when the Ram is offered up then the Spirit of God seeth through nature as the Sun through-shineth a Glass or as a fire through-heats an Iron 31. Therefore a man ought not to be so foolish as to torment his whole life in his repentance and conversion and to offer it up in the fire of death without Gods command but he must onely sacrifice the Sin and Selfe-Love of vanity he must offer up onely the Ram and not do any violence or mischief to nature not strike whip and beat it or creep into a corner and suffer the Body to * * * Note starve for hunger no he must not out of his own purpose Give the Image of God to death but the Ram he must he meritts not any thing by plaguing martyring and torturing himselfe for God hath bestowed his heart to that end to redeem us from Pain and Torment 32. When the Soul with the Right nature hath tamed it selfe from the Ram of the flesh then it must Sacrifice the Ram to the death of Christ but it must remain stedfast in great humility in the Resignation in God and not any further afflict and rack it selfe either with doubts or with any other externall inflicted tortures and also give nature its necessary nourishment and not Enfeeble and distemper it selfe for it is the Temple and the Image of God but it must daily and continually mortifie the Ram in the flesh viz. the selfish lust of the evill flesh and
Machpelah for his twofold pitt viz. for the centre of the Fathers nature according to Eternity and for the centre of the Temporall Nature in both which the divine * * * Or Good will and Pleasure lubet hath brought it selfe out of the property of both centres into an Ens and into the creature of the humanity which humane creature hath broken it selfe off from the universall being and put it selfe into a selfishness therefore it must be again rooted into the universall for which end it must be tinctured with the most holy Ens and engrafted in which the Spirit doth here compare to pure Silver and so secretly intimates in the figure 10. When Abraham conversed upon the earth he desired to buy no field for his own possession but now when he was to bury his Sarah he would have the Sepulchre hereditary and peculiar * * * Gen. 23.7 and bowed himselfe before the children of the Land and entreated them for it whereas they would freely have given him the field and bowed themselves before him also but the Spirit of Moses hath its figure here for he hath represented Man to him in a very perfect modell for which cause also he playeth in the Process in the figure shewing that the children which belong unto Christ must bow themselves before God the Father from whom all beings do originally come that he would sell unto them the * * * The Cave of Machpelah the double Valley twofold Pitt viz. the Kingdome of nature and the Kingdome of Grace in Christs bloud for the same with the four centres of humility and the Love-birth the Father takes for Payment 11. And that the children of Heth and Ephron would freely give it to Abraham and yet at last upon the desire of Abraham took money for the same intimates unto us that God the Father hath indeed freely given us the Kingdome of Grace for he gave it freely to Christ his Son in our humanity but Christ would have it for a naturall due right therefore he offereth his humility to his Father that he would be pleased to take his payment for it viz. his humane property of him as here Abraham did in Christs figure although he could have taken the field yet he would not for the cave of Machpelah should not be taken but dearly purchased with the most pretious Substance God took the Earnest or Ransome of Christ for his * * * Twofold Pit cave of Machpelah for Payment therefore Abraham must stand in Christs figure for the body must be buried in the cave of Machpelah in this twofold Pitt viz. in the eternall and temporall nature viz. in the formed Compacted Word if so be it shall arise againe in the motion in the voice of this same word and Subsist in its Image which it first had Gen. 23.2 12. For Moses saith Hebron is scituate in the Land of Canaan which God promised to give unto Abraham and understand by Canaan the holy Christalline world or earth viz. the Citie of God which shall hereafter be manifest wherein Hebron lyeth viz. the head-Citie of the Land whereby externally the outward world with its figure is set forth and internally the holy eternall Land of Canaan 13. And we see very clearly what the spirit of Moses meaneth in its figure for first it representeth by Isaac Christs figure with his offering and death and presently thereupon it sets forth also mans Own death and where man must dye namely in his Citie Hebron the Citie of humane Selfe and whereinto he must be buried and put namely into the twofold Pitt viz. into the Kingdome of God and this world and it is therefore called a twofold Cave because there are two mansions viz. a twofold continent of life in two Principles whence man did originally arise but if he be buried in the will of his selfehood in the Serpents desire then he doth not reach this twofold Cave and though he should be therein yet he liveth onely in the Apostate Essence in the ownhood of the Devill viz. in the introduced Serpents Ens in the dark worlds property which is manifest and predominant in the Serpents Ens. 14. The chiefest piece in this figure is that the Spirit of Moses doth point at the twofold life how this world hath a twofold life and essence which he intimates by the twofold Cave wherein Abraham would have his burying-place to signifie that his twofold humanity viz. One out of the divine Ens out of the eternity and heavenly spirituall essentiality and the other which is out of the time even out of this worlds being and substance should be buried and put into an Eternall Sepulchre where the substance of the twofold body shall lye in its Originall Mother and leave the Own will in this Eternall Grave in death that so the Spirit of God might alone live rule and will in the spirit of the creature viz. in the Soul and the life of man might be onely his Instrument wherewith he might work and will how and what he please 15. For so it must be that the humane will might be brought again into the onely will of the Deity and Eternity for it was in the beginning when God breathed the Soul into the flesh in the Eternall Living Word John 1. Chap. and Gods Spirit did form it into a likeness of the Deity viz. into a creaturall Soul which Soul had turned it selfe away from the onely Eternall Word of God into a Selfehood that so it might be manifest in Evill and Good and Rule in the unlikeness or distemperature 16. This un-likeness or distemperature should be buried or put again into the Likeness or Temperature viz. into the Essence out of which the soul and body did a rise that is each Essence's property should return again into its mother and the mother is a twofold cave viz. the inward spirituall and divine Kingdome and the outward visible sensible palpable Kingdome of the externall world wherein Abraham would have his burying-place 17. For the outward Kingdome remaines for ever for it is produced out of the Eternall as a modell platform or visible Image of the inward spirituall Kingdome but the Dominion in the Stars and four Elements doth not remain for ever in such ownhood or propriety but onely One Element wherein the four are understood but in equall Accord and Harmony in just and equall weight number and measure in One Onely Love will where the ascending domineering stirring Might of the divided figure four Elements doth no longer rule but the soft meek and still humility in a pleasant Lovely delightfull * * * Musicall Aire Aire or still harmonious Sound 18. The Compacted property of the Word in the Soul of the outward world viz. in the Own-hood or selfness of the third Principle doth cease the outward spirit of the world is changed into the inward that the inward might rule and Govern wholly through the outward which at
then Christ divided his Deity and his humanity viz. the heavenly worlds substance which he brought from God in Our humanity and the kingdome of the Naturall humanity from Adam into two severall Principles for the Deity as to the Omnipotency stood yet still therefore sayth the Humanity on the Crosse * * * Mat. 27.46 Mark 15.34 Psal. 22.1 My God why hast thou forsaken mee 5. The two wives of Jacob with their children signifie heere in Christs state and condition the twofold soule viz. that from Time and that from Eternity and the two handmaydes with their children signifi◠heere in this state and condition of his the Heavenly and the Earthly corporeity viz. Lea in her bleereydness signifieth the * * * The spirit of the world in the Dust of the Earth· Spiritus Mundi in Limo terrae wherein the Corruption in Adam was effected wherein God promised the destroyer of the Serpent and wherein Christ should be manifested and therefore in Lea the Line of Christ viz. the destroyer of the Serpent in the type and prefiguration was borne viz. Judah and Rachel signifieth the Extinguished Ens of the heavenly worlds Substance wherein the true soule dwelleth which faded in Adams Fall and became unfruitfull as Rachel till God in the Spirit of Christ made her fruitfull as was done to Rachel 6. And as Jacob set the handmayds with their children formost so was the Earthly Image in the humane Nature set formost in the suffering of Christ which should passe through the sharpnes of Death next after would Lea that is the Body out of the Limus of the Earth wherein the Destroyer of the Serpent lay in the suffering of Christ follow and after that Rachel viz. the heavenly Limus with the Prince Joseph that is with the true Adamicall Image of the Divine worlds Substance and the Name JESUS passed into the suffering of Christ before as Jacob before his wives and childrens 7. And as the Name and power JESU viz. Gods Sweetnesse and Love saw and felt the wrath of God in the humane flesh and soule then the Name JESUS bowed it selfe through all the Seaven Formes of Natures Life wherein the Anger of God was become manifest that is he then pressed Essentially through the Centre of Nature through all the Seaven Formes of Nature quite through the wrathfull fire-source 8. As Jacob bowed himselfe seaven times to the Earth before the Anger of Esaw and appeased Esaw in this humility so also heere the Love in the Name JESU appeaseth the anger of the Fathers property in the fire in soule and body for the Naturall Life from the Spirit of the world viz. the soule from time which was breathed into Adams Nostrills must yeeld up its naturall Right and dye as Jacob yeelded up his riches and also his outward Life to his brother to do what he would with him thus also Christ yeelded up our Life to the anger of God and left it willingly but the Name JESUS went before and brought our Naturall Life quite through death and tooke it to himselfe againe and triumphed with our Naturall Life over and through Death 9. And as Esau his brother in this humility and submission ran to meete him and fell about his neck and kissed him and in great compassion wept upon his neck So also in like manner when the essence of the anger of God kissed and tasted the sweet love in the Name JESU in the bloud of Christ then it was transmuted and converted into such great compassion towards mankinde as Jeremiah in the Spirit declareth where he speaketh in this figure * * * Jer. 31.20 Ephraim my deare childe my heart is troubled I must have compassion on him Where he speaks concerning this compassion 10. And when Esaw wept upon Jacobs neck †††Gen. 33.5 6 7. He lift up his eyes and behold the women with the children and said Whose are these with thee Jacob answered They are the children which God hath bestowed upon thy servant And the handmayds drew neare with their children and bowed themselves before him Lea also drew near with her children and bowed themselves before him afterwards Joseph and Rachel drew neare and bowed themselves before him The inward Figure stands thus When the anger of God held man captive in the darknesse then was he not in the anger known to God's holy Image but when the love in the suffering of Christ in the humanity brake through the anger so that the anger was changed then the onely God looked on it againe in his Image and spake to the Name JESU saying Who are these that are with thee And JESUS answered God and sayd They are the children which God hath vouchsafed and bestowed upon his servant 11. For heere Christ presents himselfe as a Servant of God with his children that are borne in him in the Faith viz with us poore children of Eve and there passed through the death of Christ and were presented before the countenance of God first the handmaids with their children that is man that had been sinfull he sets him first in Gods countenance which Jacobs handmaids doe signifie 12. Afterwards there pressed forward the line of the Covenant with the spiritual Lea viz the first created Image out of the Limus of the earth wherein the * * * The 5 wounds of Christ. five Prints of the Nailes the wounds of Christ stood they should be shewne to the onely God that therein he should receive the handmaids children who all bowed themselves before God 13. Then afterwards came Joseph with his Mother viz. the Image of the heavenly world's substance and bowed before the onely God which had been angry with him 14. Men should not understand this in divided figures types or Images but as the properties of the humanity are manifested before God through the suffering of Christ in one onely Image viz. in Christ's humanity in the kingdome of the Restauration or Redemption viz. in the kingdome of heaven The reader should understand our sence properly for we write heere in the vision of all the Three Principles how it went and still to this day goeth with the new birth Our exposition will not beare any dividing of the figure or Creature wee understand it in one creature 15. Our earnest and hearty consideration is this that we may see and understand how we poore children of Eve were brought through Christ's suffring and death and set before Gods countenance and how first the soule with the body of sin must passe through death and in the Resurrection come againe with the body before God where the body from the Limus of the earth is esteemed strange in the presence of God Therefore it is prefigured in the type in the condition of a handmaid and then presently in that body the Prints of the Nailes the suffering of Christ is sett before God Out of which death of Christ the faire Image created in Adam appeareth
things consist in the Assimulate Every thing may be introduced into its Assimulate and if it comes into its Assimulate it rejoyceth in its Property be it Good or Evill and beginneth effectually to worke as is to be seen both in Good and Evill 14. As for example let a man take downe a little poyson it will presently receive with great desire the poison in the body which before rested and therein strengthen it selfe and begin to worke powerfully and corrupt and destroy the Contrary viz. the Good and that now which the Evill is able to doe in its property that likewise the Good can doe in its property when it is freed from the wrath it may also introduce its Assimulate into the reall true joy 15. The Essence of this world consisteth in Evill and good and the one cannot be without the other but this is the greatest iniquity of this world that the Evill overpowreth the Good that the Anger is stronger therein then the Love and this by reason of the Sin of the devill and men who have disturbed nature by the false desire that it mightily and effectually worketh in the wrath as a poyson in the Body 16. Otherwise if nature in its formes did stand in the Property in Equall weight and in equall Concord and Harmony then one property were not manifest above the other heat and cold would be equally poyzed in the operation and qualification and then Paradise would be still upon the Earth and though it were not without man yet it would be in man if his properties were in equall weight number and measure if they did yet stand in the Temperature then he were incorruptible and immortall 17. This is the Death and misery of man and all creatures that the Properties are divided and each aspiring in it selfe and powerfully working and acting in its own will whence sicknesse and paine ariseth and all this is hence arisen when the one Element did manifest and put forth it selfe into foure properties then each property desired the Assimulate viz. an Essence out of and according to its selfe which the Astringent Fiat did impresse and Coagulate so that Earth and Stones were produced in the properties 18. But now we are to consider of the greatest Mystery of the outward world between the Elements and the Astrum the Elementall Spirit is severized from the Astrall Spirit and yet not parted asunder they dwell in each other as body and Soule but the one is not the other the Astrall Spirit make thits bodies as well as the Elementall and that in all Creatures in Animalls and Vegetables 19. All things of this world have a twofold body viz. an Elementall from the fire aire water and Earth and a Spirituall body from the Astrum and likewise a twofold Spirit viz. one Astrall the other Elementall 20. Man onely among all the Earthly Creatures hath a threefold body and Spirit for he hath also the internall Spirituall world in him which is likewise twofold viz. light and darknesse and also corporally and Spiritually this Spirit is the Soule but this body is from the water of the holy Element which dyed in Adam that is disappeared as to his life when the divine Power departed from him and would not dwell in the awaked vanity 21. Which holy body must be regenerated if his Spirit will see God otherwise he cannot see him except he be againe borne anew of the water of the holy Element in the Spirit of God who hath manifested himselfe in Christ with this same water-Source that his disappeared body may be made alive in the holy water and Spirit else he hath no sense nor sight in the holy life of God 22. This twofold outward body is now punctually to be pondered and considered of if we would understand nature and without this understanding let none call himselfe a master or Learned for in these bodies the dominion of all externall creatures and Essences is couched they oftentimes are contrary one unto another whence Sicknesse Corruption and death ariseth in the body that one severeth from the other 23. The Sydereall body is the highest excepting the divine in man the Elementall body is onely its Servant or dwelling-house as the foure Elements are onely a body or habitation of the dominion of the Stars 24. The Elementall Spirit and body is inanimate and void of understanding it hath onely Lust and desire in it vegetation is its right life for the aire hath no understanding without the Astrum the Astrum giveth the distinct understanding of the knowledge of all Essences in the Elements 25. But the inward light and power of the light giveth in man the right divine understanding but there is no right divine apprehension in the Sydereall Spirit for the Astrum hath another Principle the Sydereall body dwelleth in the Elementall as the light-world in the darknesse it is the true rationall life of all Creatures 26. The whole Astrum is nothing else but the externall expressed Word in the Sound it is the instrument whereby the holy Eternall Speaking Word Speaketh and formeth externally it is as a Great Harmony of unsearchable manifold Voices and Tunes of all manner of instruments which play and melodize before the holy God 27. For they are meere Powers which enter into and mutually embrace each other whence ariseth the Sound in the Essence and the desire viz. the Fiat receiveth this Sound and maketh it Substantiall this Substance is a Spirit of the Stars which the Elements receive into them and Coagulate it in them and hatch it as an Hen her Eggs whence the true rationall life is in the Elements and thus also the Sydereall Spirit is hatched and Coagulated in all Creatures 28. For the Male and Female doe mutually cast a Seed into one another which is onely a Sulphur of the Astrum and foure Elements afterward it is hatched in the Matrix and Coagulated to a living Spirit 29. And when the fire is enkindled in the Seed which is sowne in the Matrix the Spirit severs it selfe againe from the body as a Propriate as the light from the fire according to the right of the Eternall nature and two become manifest in one viz. a Spirituall body from the Astrum and a fleshly body from the foure Elements 30. And this Sydereall Spirit is the Soule of the great world which depends on Punctum Solis and receiveth its light and life from it as all the Stars doe take light and power from the Sun so likewise their Spirit 31. The Sun is the Centre of the Astrum and the Earth the Centre of the foure Elements they are to one another as spirit and body or as man and wife albeit the Astrum hath another wife where it hatcheth its Essence viz. the Moone which is the wife of all the Stars but especilly of the Sun I meane it in the Essence of operation 32. Not that we meane that the Astrum is wholly arisen from the Punctum of Sol in that I call
tooke in the same lust and formed him in his sleep even as the lust was and every member was formed in its place to the Conjunction of the beast-like copulation for each Desire hath obtained its mouth to manifestation Thus the Image of God formed it selfe in the Verbum Fiat into such a beast as vve are still to this day and this same was done in it selfe viz. Mans own Fiat viz. the first forme of nature which is the desire of Gods manifestation did effect it and none other maker from without him 26. We are not to conceive that there was any thing else upon Adam which made his Eve out of him or that formed them both to the outward naturall life save onely the Verbum Fiat in them their own very propriate and not any alienate or any thing strange from vvithout them as the first creation of Adam and all kindes of creatures was so brought to passe the Verbum Fiat Coagulated each Ens and the manifested word Severed it selfe in the Ens according to its property and formed the Creature according to its Astrum and kinde where also in every Ens the Matrix was separated from the limbus and formed into a Male and Female into an He and She. 27. The picturing of God as a man in making Adam and aftervvard standing over Adam as he sleepeth and making a woman out of him is more Idolatrous then reall and God hath earnestly forbidden in Moses to make the likenesse of any God for he is no Image save onely in the Creatures according to the Expressed Formed Word both according to the creatures of Eternity and of time he is no such maker but a former of the properties a creatour and not such a maker 28. The Creating is the Fiat vvhich amasseth or formeth and the Word in the power of the Amassed or conceived being gives the distinction according to the Ens As the Ens is in the generation of the Spirit so a thing is formed for the body or substance of all things is nothing else but a Signature or mansion f f f Or of according to the Spirit as the Birth is in the Ens where the Spirit formeth it selfe so is likewise the body of all kindes of Creatures both in Animalls and vegetables as we plainly see that the first Creatour who hath moved himselfe and brought himselfe into a Creaturall Manifestation hath left in all creatures a Power to their own Multiplication or Encreasing propagation and g g g Text makeing procreation and incorporated the Fiat in them as a Maker for their own propriety or most innate Instinct CHAP. XX. Of the lamentable and miserable fall and Corruption of Man NOw when Adam did awake from sleep he saw his wife Eve standing before him and tooke her unto him for he knew that she was his owne that she was his Matrix and cast the property of his desire upon her as he had done before when he loved himself so now also the Fiery Tincture of Adams soule entered into the Spirits or lights Tincture in Eve 2. But they both stood yet in Paradise in the Garden in Eden and knew neither Evill nor Good for they lived yet in joy and delight in the Kingdome of Heaven and it was Eves first longing to eat of good and evill for Adams desire had introduced and imprinted it into the Magicall Image while it was yet in Adams Essence as a childe receiveth a marke or Impresse in the wombe which the mother imprints on it 3. Thus also Adam did Impress the false desire into his Essence whence the woman was made therefore the woman so soone lusted after the vanity as to this day meer earthly Lust of the flesh is found in most of them so soone as this Sex comes but to any yeares the selvish lust and will doth predominantly appeare in pride and glistering shewes of fleshly desires and they soone long after the forbidden tree contrary to the Virgin-like modesty chastity and angelicall humility 4. The Abomination which Adam introduced into his Matrix is so exceeding strong in them that they are as 't were h h h Or very weake and poore in Naked shame before the Image of God which God himselfe created in Adam therefore they must be subject to the man in that they are the cause that the vanity was enkindled to which the Devill also was a strong i i i Sollicitour promotour 5. For when he saw Eve he then knew his insinuated desire in her which he had introduced into Adam the same did shew forth and discover it selfe in Eves lust therefore the Devill came now in a strange forme viz. in the Serpents Essence which vvas the most suttle Beast and laid himselfe on the tree of temptation towards Eve that the introduced Concupiscence in Eve which the Devill had also infected did k k k Was much taken with amuse it selfe upon the outward Serpent and so one lust tooke another whereupon Eve did strongly Imagine and long after the forbidden fruit which the Devill perswaded her to eat and then her eyes should be opened and she be as God and know Evill and Good 6. Which indeed was true this knowledge did stick in the fruit for the Essences were discordant and un-like therein but he told her not that the enmity would awaken in the Essences of her body and that heat and cold moreover sicknesse and death would force into her Herein he was silent and fairely coloured it over and drew her in by collusion as if God had withheld some great thing from them which she might finde as a treasure so craftily did he deceive Eve 7. And when she yeelded to discourse with the Serpent she was taken in the voice for the Devill infected the same with false delight untill he perswaded her she should be wise if she did eat thereof 8. For the Devill thought that if Eve should bring forth chidren in Paradise then his l l l Text his cause might prove naught Designe would miscarry they might then possesse his Angelicall Kingdome 9. Now the question is wherefore the Devill did deceive Eve by the Serpent onely and not by some other meanes could he not doe it in his owne forme why did he even speake m m m Or in through the Serpent to Eve and wherefore did the Serpent addresse it selfe to the Tree to perswade her against Gods prohibition 10. Heere the vaile lyeth before Moses his cleare eyes for he sets down the Hystory very right but how can an un-illuminated minde understand it in that he writeth of the Serpent saying that the Serpent spake with Eve and deceived her whereas indeed it cannot speak and also is onely a beast without divine understanding and in its selfe cannot know the Image of God much lesse did the Serpent understand the heavenly Powers or the Prohibition 11. But heare what Moses saith the Serpent was more subtill then any beast of the field
at the marriage of the Lambe doe understand what kinde of intire inward great joy and Love-delight is therein and how s s s Excellently with surpassing beauty glory and delight dearly the Bride receiveth her Bridegroome in his pure cleare and bright fires property and how she gives him her Love-kisse unto others this is dumb 16. When Reason heareth one speake of Paradise then it understandeth onely a certaine place apart and it is even so there was a certaine place which was called the Garden in Eden where Adam and Eve were tempted and from which place they were driven after the fall but yet the whole world was such a Paradise before the Curse yet seeing God knew the fall the holy Paradise was onely opened unto them in one certaine place for to what End should the whole world bring forth Paradisicall fruit seeing there was no creature upon the Earth that was capable to enjoy the same 17. But Adam and Eve were however brought into Paradise that although this first Body should fall and come to ruine yet they and their children might by the new Regeneration in the Spirit of Christ enter in again through this fire-Sword this Mystery is exceeding Great 18. For Prince Lucifer before the time of the Created Earth sate in the heavenly Ens in the Angelicall world in the Place of this world wherein the Ens of the Earth was comprehended in the Fiat and brought into a Compaction his false Imagination had t t t Made it subject to infection and pollution tainted the limus before the Compaction it was the place of his Hierarchies now the outward body of man was taken out of the limus of the Earth in the Verbum Fiat and formed according to the property of the humane life which was in the Word the word formed by or through the Fiat the Ens or limus of the Earth according to the forme of the humane soulelike life which was in the word and being God had set himselfe through his word to be judge against the false Infection and desire of the Devill to judge him and his enkindled whickednesse which he had brought to Substance the judiciall u u u Or Sword of execution Sword was already in the limus of the Earth whereof Adam vvas made 19. For when God created the Earth he x x x Certainly appointed and set a time founded its time when he would keep the judgement and sever the evill from the good and give the evill for an habitation to the Apostate Prince but being the Good in the occluse Earth was without heavenly creatures seeing its Prince was cast out God created Adam an other Hierarch out of this good Ens to be a Ruler of this place and hence came the Devills Envy against Man and all good creatures of this world 20. But now we are heere to consider of the Apostacy of man with the Sword of the Cherub for Saint Paul saith we are chosen in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world was laid and even heere this saying of Paul doth belong God knew that this Ens of which Adam was to be created was already somewhat subject to false lust by reason of the Devills introduced desire therefore God y y y foresaw or provided for chose this limus in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world out of which he would make man that he would through the judgement of the flaming Sword bring it through death and through the fire and wholly burne away the false infected desire of Lust and regenerate him anew in Jesus in his deepest Love in his Word in Jehovah that is opened out of Jehovah and introduce a new limus into the tainted one and bring them together quite through the judgement of the fire-Sword and purge and purifie them wholly and throughly 21. And heere also is Christs descention into hell where the Love of God in Christ entered into this fire-sword and changed the wrath into Love and did also destroy the sting of death which was insinuated into the limus of the Earth out of which Adam was created according to the outward humanity and this fire-sword had its raising and Originall in the Corruption of Lucifer 22. For albeit Adam was created as to one part out of the heavenly Essentiality that was in the word of mans life which was inspired and breathed into his outward and inward limus yet this fire-Sword lay hidden as a glimmering incentive in the earthly limus of the outward body which also assaulted Adam so that he lusted against the command of God and the Kingdome of Heaven in which incentive the Devill also introduced his desire into him and provoked him to fall which being God well knew that the poore man would not stand he ordained an help and Saviour in Christ to guide and bring him into that holy Ens whereinto he should be brought viz. into the true Sabbath and Eternall rest 23. Indeed Adam was set wholly perfect in equall harmony and accord and brought into Paradise to try if the soule could have overcome the incentive of vaine lust and therefore the tree of temptation was represented to him to see if it were possible for the soul to over-power this contamination of lust and remaine wholly and fully in the likenesse and harmony 24. But it was not possible therefore Christ must afterward z z z Undergoe this Proba come into this place and be tempted forty dayes in the wildernesse in Adams Ens and in his new introduced heavenly Ens to see whether the fire-soul would stand in perfect purity and being it did now stand in Christ the new intoduced heavenly Ens did destroy the sword in the death of the outward body of Christ and brought the outward body which he in Mary received from her Seed quite through this sword of the Anger of God into the holy Ens and in this Power the outward body did arise from death and got victory over death and this fire-sword and tooke the fire-sword into its power wherewith at the end of the world he will purge his Floar as a judge over Devills and men as well as of the Earth 25. For the maine ambition was about the fire-Sword for King Lucifer had changed it from the pure clear light into fire wherewith he willed to domineere and rule as a God but God sent to him another Prince and King who tooke it from him and thrust him from this Throne and should turne this Sword in the Ens of the Earth againe into the divine property and cast out and judge the Devill with this Sword 26. And there is not such a silly and narrow Meaning of the fire-sword as hitherto hath been generally understood although it hath been hidden by the Counsell of God yet we should now open our eyes and deeply consider what this manifestation importeth that it doth even foretell and signifie the judgement of this sword that he
Mystery and a very Secret hiddennesse to the earthly Man even so also the false Cainicall Church of hypocricie and seeming holinesse whose heart and desire is onely of the outward world hath gotten aloft this whole time and hath the outward dominion and Name as if it offered to God but the true reall Christian Church is hidden under it as a very secret Mystery and is not known of the Cainicall Church 3. Cains Church sets forth it selfe very devoutly and glysters on all sides with specious Ceremonies and pompous ostentation giving forth that it is holy righteous and good that it also offers in the Covenant of Christ but its heart is onely a glozing soothing bravely attired Harlot full of Cainicall murther reviling and blasphemy full of censure and selfe-speculation in pride in covetousnesse and high mindednesse but Abels Church is hidden under it in great plainnesse and with no Respect and Reputation and is accounted but fooâ—ish in reference to the glittering shew of Cain and is continually slain by Cain in its simplicity 4. Now saith Reason what had God any pleasure herein that he suffered Cain to kill Abel and why is it still to this day that the children of God are slaine dispised contemned reproached mocked scorned and cryed down for false by Cain viz. by his posterity one cause hereof is this 5. Prince Lucifer was an Hierarch in the Kingdome or place of this world as Christ even calleth him a Prince of this world viz. in the Kingdome of darkness in the Anger of God and was cast for his pride sake out of the light into the darkness 6. But being God then created another Prince viz. Adam in and for this place with whom he bound himselfe even with his deepest Love before the foundation of the world in the deare and pretious Name JESVS that he would break down and destroy the throne and Kingdome of proud Prince Lucifer in the humane property and overcome and be predominant with Love thence forthwith arose his Envy and wrath against man 7. Secondly the Cause is this In the fall of man the wrath of the Eternall and also of the Temporall and inchoative nature obtained the Superiour Sway and dominion in the humane property for the Kingdome of Heaven did extinguish in Adam and Eve when as they became Earthly and in the roome and stead thereof the Kingdome of the Devill did awake in the Serpents wit and pride in them for the a a a Mans will humane will had broken it selfe off from God and was entered into selfehood and no longer understood any thing of the Mystery of Gods Kingdome 8. But seeing that the Kingdome of God did againe bud and break forth in the ATM of the Covenant in Abel and the children of God the Devills Kingdome and will in the Serpent-Monster could not brooke it Also the Love-Kingdome is a great Enmity against the wrath of the Eternall nature according to the darke property for the humane Essence was become according to the darke worlds property as to the Soule an halfe Devill and as to the outward worlds vanity an halfe Beast in which Beast the false suttle crafty wicked lustfull proud covetous envious and angry Serpents worme did sit infected with the Devills will 9. This wrathfull vile malicious monstrous beast would live in its owne selfe property therefore the Angelicall virgin-childe which should destroy and possesse the Kingdome of this Evill Beast did appeare against him in Abell This was now a Great Enmity for the Anger of God had captivated Man and would worke and rule in him therefore Gods Love brake forth out of the Anger as a light out of the fire and would kill the Anger and change it into Love and help againe poore mans Image and redeeme it from the Eternall Anger and death 10. But being the Anger had got the upper hand and sway in man and yet the virgin-childe of the Angelicall worlds Essence should spring forth and grow out of the Covenant of God out of the disappeared Ens through the Anger as a clear delightfull light shines forth out of the Candle through the wrathfull fire which depriveth the darknesse of its power and prevalency therefore the outward body in Abel and the children of God must suffer it selfe to be slaine and persecuted by the wrath of God for b b b The outward Body it was a strange figure on the virgin childe 11. For Abel in his outward flesh had the Awakened vanity lying in him as well as Cain he was also Sinfull as to the outward man but internally the Angelicall word and Image of Paradise did spring and bud forth againe in the Covenant this was now a great enmity against each other the inward man bruised the Serpent-Monster upon the head of its false desire and the Serpent-Monster stung him on the heel of his Angelicall will and openly mocked the Angelicall Image as it is so still to this day so soon as the virgin-childe is borne in the Spirit of Christ the outward earthly body together with the virgin childe is by the children of Cain persecuted contemned reviled and accounted as a strange childe of the world 12. For the Serpents-Monster is as a foole before God and being the noble and pretious virgin-childe must beare such a Monster on it in the outward flesh to which the Devill hath yet continuall accesse therefore this body is strongly assaulted and struck at by the Devill in the Anger of God and its children they would continually slay it for the virgin-childe worketh through the outward man as a light through the fire and manifesteth it selfe it teacheth and reproveth the wicked Sort and this the Devill cannot endure for it is against his Kingdome as the offring of Abell was against Cains 13. For Cain offered in the proud Serpents desire as an hypocrite and would be an honest demure devout and Godly childe in his Serpents desire but Abel humbled himselfe before God and set his desire into Gods mercy Gods Love-fire tooke his offering and penetrated through the earthly offring and fire and the like also is to be understood in the Body of Abel as the Incorruptible being shall swallow up the corruptible so also the heavenly tooke the earthly captive in it selfe 14. But that Cain slew the outward body of Abel hath this c c c Signification type and figure that the outward body shall be d d d Or mortified slaine in the Anger of God the Anger must devoure and mortifie the outward Image which is grown up in the Anger and out of Death springeth forth the Eternall life 15. Abel was a figure of Christ the children of Gods Anger must execute the Right of Gods Anger upon the outward earthly and also beastiall Image of the children of the holy One even as the Pharisees who before God were onely false Serpent-children as Christ called them must persecute and kill the humanity of Christ so likewise was Cain a type
of these Serpentine wolvish Pharisees and also of the verball Titular Christendome 16. As the false Serpents-child is a monster and fool before the Angelicall world so likewise the children of darknesse doe account and esteeme the children of the light for fooles for there must be a contrary that the one might be manifest in the other if the Anger had not taken hold of the humanity and devoured it into it selfe then the deepest Love of God would not have been manifest in Man 17. But thus the Love taketh Cause by the Anger to overpower and prevaile over the same with its motion and manifestation as the same may be known in Christ the true Son of God gave himselfe into our Image which was awaked in the Anger that so he might be made manifest with his Love in the Anger and change the same into joy 18. Christ gave our humane Image to the Anger of his father to be devoured in death and brought his life into death and yet manifested his Love in the life which death had devoured and brought forth the life in Love through the death as a Grain of corn which is sown into the earth the same must dye in the earth but out of that mortifyed grain growes a fair new body even so the corrupt body of Adam shall and must be offered to death and the Anger and out of the Death and Anger the body of the divine Love shall be manifest 19. It was exactly Typified and prefigured in Cain and Abel how it would be in the Succeeding and future generations being Abel outwardly did beare the Earthly Image and yet in the Spirit he was an Image of heaven his outward body in the Corruption was onely a e e e Text Larva or strange disguâ—sed person visard before the outward world for there was another Spirit hidden therein which was not of the outward worlds Essence and property therefore because he was not wholly a right childe of the earthly world it would not suffer him being as a strange childe in it for the Devill was Prince in the wrathfull Essence in this world who would not that a childe of the light should spring forth through the wrathfull Essence and be in his Garden 20. Thus the Image or person of Cain and Abel is a true figure of the false and then also of the holy and true children of God of the outward Sinfull corrupt and mortall Man and of the inward now regenerate holy man when Christ with his Love-Kingdome ariseth from death out of the disappeared Ens then Adams earthly Image must dye in Christs death and if it now be that the outward body must yet live it is onely a scorne and foole before the Heavens Image and so also before the naturall f f f All naturall men life of this world 21. For so soon as Christ is borne the Sinfull life is condemned to death and standeth in scorne and open shame before all the false children in the Anger of God as an whore in g g g At the house of correction or whipt through the streets Bridewell whom other whores likewise help to deride and scoffe at and yet they doe but onely judge and condemn themselves thereby for if Christ be born then the judgement passeth upon the false beastiall life and that man must stand in the judgement of God as a malefactour and be termed a foole a Heretick and be jeered scoffed and reviled yea even utterly defyed and slaine that the Monster may be judged before Gods Anger but those that doe it are the children of the lusty pampered and well-fatned Anger of God whom the wrath of God useth for its Instrument for God is a Spirit therefore he accomplisheth his judgement by a materiall h h h By some outward substantiall meanes or Persons Image 22. For so soon as Abell did in his Offring put on or attract the Love of God in the Covenant anew into his humane desire and comprehended or amassed the same into his Essence then forthwith the judgement passed upon the externall mortall Man and Gods Sword of Anger tooke him which Cain executed and slew the outward body of Abel and at this time also the judgement passed upon the false Image of the Anger in Cain for he stood there and cryed My Sins are greater then can be forgiven me 23. This doth now hint and point at the figure of Christ how the Anger of the Father must i i i Or swallow up devoure the life of Christ in death and when as the Anger had devoured the life in death then the holy life of the deepest Love of God moved it selfe in the death and the Anger and devoured the death and anger into it selfe whereat the Earth trembled and the Rocks clove asunder and the Graves of the Saints opened 24. And so likewise the Love-fire k k k Good and evill now mixed and in contest one with the other and the Anger-fire in the place of this world which wrathfull fire was enkindled in the Creation when the Apostate Lucifer fell shall at the Last Day be again changed into the Divine joyfulnesse and be Avalled or swallowed up in the Love understand it shall be thus in the third Principle where Love and anger doe strive this Time one with anorher but l l l Lucifer HE remaineth in the darknesse in the first Principle 25. The true Cause wherefore Cain murthered Abel was by reason of their Offrings and worship of God viz. Religion as this Contention continueth still to this day the Cainicall Church is not yet one with the Abelicall 26. Now saith reason I see it well enough that all contention and strife ariseth from Religion but what is the ground and most undoubted cause and reason thereof behold this is the Cause set before thee the false Serpents childe which is Evill and good and then set before thee the virgins-childe borne of Christ and then thou hast the fundamentall Cause exactly drawn to the life before thine eyes 27. The Cainicall Church drives a suttle Trade with externall Ceremonies and will appease God with some externall thing or other it will be outwardly an accepted and adopted child it must down right be called honest godly holy and heavenly it adorneth and trimmeth up it selfe very finely and standeth mightly upon its Calling which it hath it selfe Ordained and Instituted it makes a very specious and Renowned shew in the white sheepes cloathing and therein lodgeth the High Priest of selfehood without Christs Spirit and rules and masters the worke of the outward letters and whosoever learneth to transpose and compose the same boldly and bravely according to their forme of forged opinions he is an high Priest in their Office and Order he putteth Christs garment of innocency on him for his Cloake and Covert 28. The other party of the confused cainicall Church cryeth out and holdeth forth the Goodly glistering childe to m m m
the end of dayes shall purge the floar the Ninth number is the heavenly Tincture of the fire and light and the Tenth number is the Love-fire viz. the Triangle of the holy Trinity in the majesty Signified enough to those that are our school-fellowes The 40. Questions it is explained at large in the Fourty Questions of the Soule even the Philosophick discourse at the beginning and entrance of the same Questions 21. Out of these Ten properties of the Names in the line of the Covenant the Oracle viz. the divine voice was made manifest in Abraham and therefore the Spirit of the Lord commanded him to goe from his own Countrey and from his kindred for the voice of the divine manifestation with the Messiah or Christ should not come forth out of his Kindred viz. out of his owne bloud but out of God but yet in him lay the vessell viz. the Ens in which the divine voice would manifest it selfe and therefore because another Seed should be introduced into his owne feed viz. an heavenly Ens Joh. 3. he commanded him to get out from his kindred and fathers house 22. For the possibility and Ability to the divine manifestation did not stand in mans Ens but in Gods but mans Ens must come thereunto that so Adams heavenly disappeared Ens might be quickned in Christs living Ens and in Christ arise from death therefore God said to Abraham get thee into a Land that I will shew thee here the Spirit signifieth that he should not see God in his fathers Countrey that is in the earthly man but in the Land which the Lord would shew him in his Seed which was another Seed out of the divine Ens in this strange Seed he would blesse his own seed that is tincture it with the divine tincture of the ninth number in the Sacred Ternary even with the Tincture of the holy spirituall world 23. For thus said the Lord to Abraham Gen. XII 1 2. Get thee out of thy Countrey and from thy Kindred and from thy fathers house into a Land that I will shew thee and I will make of thee a great Nation and I will blesse thee and make thy Name great Thou shalt be a blessing I will blesse them that blesse thee and curse them that curse thee The Great Name which he would make him in his seed that was not to be understood onely as to the Kingdome of this world for Abraham was onely a stranger upon the Earth and must wander up and downe from one place to another and possessed no Princedome or Kingdome as the great Names of the Gentiles out of the Sensuall compacted tongues for he was to be a stranger and Pilgrim upon the Earth in the promised Seed and blessing for Christ said also his Kingdome was not of this world 24. But the great Name which should be a blessing wherein God would blesse all Nations was the hierarchy of Christ in the Covenant which would open it self in Abrahams seed This was an Eternall great Name of a Royall Hierarchy of an Enthroned Prince in divine Power and Omnipotence which should rule over the Curse for God said he would curse them that cursed him viz. the apostate revolted Devills and all wicked men who would curse this holy Seed and blessing upon their Head this Seed should tread 25. And here under Abrahams great Name and blessing the person of Christ is wholly to be understood for he said in thee all Nations shall be blessed and thou shalt be a Blessing Now all the families of the Earth could not be blessed in the outward mortall man of Abraham for Abraham dyed and his children and grand-children were a long time strangers Servants and bond-men in strange Countries as in Egypt for three hundred years and upwards and had no Scepter till under Moses who also was no King but a Prince of God which Princedome continued unto King Saul where they would indeed have a King against Gods command and will whom notwithstanding God did afterward reject and set up David to be King out of the propheticall spirit in the compacted Mentall Tongue under Christs person who should bring forth and manifest the geat Name and Eternall Blessing 26. But here now we are rightly to understand what the Person of Christ should be under this Name and Blessing not wholly a stranger or another person which should not be out of Abrahams and Adams Seed as some doe erre concerning it and install or set Christ onely in the promised Seed viz. in Abrahams promised Seed wherewith the poore captive Soul would be little benefited also hereby the * * * The Resurrection of our Earthly Bodies Resurrection of the dead out of these our present bodies would be wholly nullifyed 27. For if Christ were wholy another then also another or wholly a strange person must be borne in us out of Christs seed and flesh which would not be I or my selfe but wholly another man as some doe Erre that we are so borne of Christ as the dew is out of the morning which indeed is true but my I-hood or personality which was created in Adam out of the divine Ens viz. out of the good part of the Ens of the Earth which came forth also out of the heavenly worlds being as to the good Ens into a Coagulation must also be therewith joyned as the like is also to be understood in Abraham 28. For God said in thee all Nations shall be blessed he said not alone in me but he said I will blesse thee and make of thee a great Nation and make thy Name Great and thou shalt be a blessing thou thy Self shalt be it that is Christ should become Abraham and Abraham Christ. 29. For the Seed which disappeared in Adam and dyed to the mentall life into which God engrafted or incorporated the Limit or Aym of his Covenant with the quickning Word the same is that into which God would introduce his Blessing viz. the living divine heavenly Ens and would blesse Abraham and Adam and their children in this re-quickned Ens or disappeared Seed and make them truely alive the living Ens of the word in the Covenant and the Adamicall disappeared Ens in Abraham should become one person and body for the same are one kinde of Ens. 30. But the poysonfull malignant Sensuall desire which the Devill had made monstrous had shut up this holy Ens in Adam in death and covered it with the grosse earthly property like unto a fair piece of Gold which were changed into Lead so that one would say the Gold is dead and gone and t' were truely so indeed if the Artist did not again redeeme it 31. Thus likewise the heavenly Artist would not reject Adams disappeared Gold and make clean another new thing but he tooke his own Tincture and of his own Gold out of which he had made Adams Gold and tinctured Adams Gold with his own Gold even with his Tincture that is
from the inheritance of Abrahams peculiar goods for the figure of Christs kingdome to come was here represented 41. And we may yet see this clearly sufficiently and fully set forth in that Abraham lay with an Aegyptian strange maid and begat a Son of her out of his seed viz. out of the essence of his body and soul and yet afterwards rejected this Son from the inheritance so that we plainly see here the figure of the right childrens inheritance that none can come to the Adoption or true childship of God unless he be born out of this Covenant out of Christs flesh and Spirit Note Predestinate to Condemnation 42. The old Adamicall man as to its own selfe-will out of the Serpents Ens is wholly rejected and cast away he is nothing profitable or wholly unfit for the kingdome of God he is onely an Instrument whereby God proveth and exerciseth his children as a Besom wherewith the house is swept 43. The soul must forsake its own will unto all eternity and must have a new body born or generated in it out of the heavenly Ens which heavenly Ens did disappear in Adam as to God and was introduced again thereinto out of Christs Spirit 44. The gross introduced beastiall property is also * * * Alike rejected or Reprobate alike rejected from the kingdome of God in all men who are born of Adams sinfull Seed as well in Isaac and Abraham as in Ismael but the Ens in the Covenant shall live for ever and at the Last Day it shall again put on the true man created in Adam out of the limus of the earth which is of the kingdome of this worlds essence yet not the grossnesse of the earth but the * * * Note The Resurrection of the Body Ens of the formed word which hath given forth it selfe into a creation 45. The inward Ens of Christ which the soul putteth on it for an heavenly body out of Christs spirit and out of his flesh and bloud is spirituall It is a spirituall body which dyeth not at the death of the outward man yea it is not buried neither doth it arise again but it is dead and buried and risen again in Christ for all and in all and liveth eternally for he is passed from death to life 46. And therefore Ismael came not to the inheritance of his fathers goods for he had not yet put on Christ in the flesh and spirit but Isaac had put him on in the Covenant viz. in the incorporated word and had Christ now in the Covenant from Gods Gift as a naturall Right in himselfe not from his own power and ability but from the power of the Giver even from the power of the Covenant 47. But now Isâ—ael must put on the Covenant from Christ and not from the inherited adoption or childship as Christ who had it from God in a childlike or filial Right and now Ismael must do this for the obtaining of it viz. he must behold himselfe in the fountain of the seing and living as his mother Hagar did and return again with the lost Son to the Father and fall down before Abrahams feet that is his heir Isaac in Christ and pray that he would receive him into his house which is Christs humanity viz. the spirituall world as a servant and Day-Labourer for he hath had no more any Right to his inheritance he hath been begotten and born onely as a Step-Brother or Son in Law of a strange Mother viz. of the Kingdome of Nature 48. And for their sake Christ came that he might have Mercy on them for he himselfe also said when he was in the flesh * * * Or justified one Matth. 9.12 He came not to seek the Righteous but the poor Sinner his brother in Ismael and Adam not his line in Isaac for the * * * Or justified one Matth. 9.12 whole hath no need of the Physitian but the sick wounded poor Sinner 49. And we will not herein conclude so blindly concerning * * * Note Predestination Predestination and Election of Grace as Babel doth which teacheth that God hath ordained a certain number and company to Damnation and the rest to Salvation 50. If this were so then Nature must needs be limitted confined and determined when it should beget and bring forth a child of God and nothing would be in the free condition or liberty yea God must then confine and shut up his unchangeable one infinite will into a beginning and limit and nothing at all could be free in the humane property but whatsoever any one did that must unavoydably so come to passe let him rob steal murther or blasphem God and live as he pleased it must be so if this were true then the Ten Commandements and all Doctrines Teachings and Lawes were to no purpose and none need Repent unless God compelled him threunto 51. I say whosoever teacheth so he useth and * * * Exod. 20.7 taketh the Name of God in vain and horribly prophaneth the holy Name of God which is free from eternity and offereth it selfe to all poor Sinners and * * * Exod. 20.7 bids them all come unto him Matth. 11.28 52. The Covenant was indeed * * * Set forth established in Isaac viz. the divine might and dominion but it was given to no man in the line of the Covenant but onely and alone to the Man Christ so that none came out of a peculiar Right to God but all in the Grace of the one and God did declare his mercy and compassion in Christ unto all and without him there was no Door of grace to the Jewes viz. Abrahams Seed and also to the Gentiles all are onely children received out of Grace and new-born in him and none either of the Jewes or Gentiles without the life of Christ are received to mercy all men who have pressed or earnestly come in to God viz. to his Grace those he hath all received in the Grace which he offereth in Christ. 53. Therefore Christ also prayed for his Enemies which knew him not but crucified him that God would forgive them in him and receive them to favour in which Access all Nations who knew not Christ in the flesh have an open Gate and are taken into Gods Mercy 54. For * * * Without besides Christ no man cometh to the childlike inheritance to him alone the goods do belong viz. the Hierarchie of men as he himselfe also said * * * Joh. 17.6 Father the men were thine but thou hast given them me and I give unto them the life eternall and therefore it belongs unto him because he is Gods Son born of his Essence from eternity 55. Adam was also Gods naturall Son which he created out of his Essence but he lost the childship and the inheritance and was cast out and with him all his children as Ismael was cast out from the childlike or filial inheritance 56.
light from the new-birth of Christ in the heart which comforts it in its forsaken condition and helps to nourish and cherish it and tells it that it shall not dye but become a great Nation but not in its innate and inbred heritage viz. in the evill Selfe-will but in Beer-sheba that is in the true Contrition in the wilderness viz. in the valley of teares in the desertion that is the poor nature must work in this forsakenness and in its present banishment and exile from the sensible and full enjoyment of Paradise bring forth much fruit which fruit the Angel brings again into Abrahams Tent to be a sojourner of Christ. 13. That is we must understand when Christ is born in man he rejecteth the vanity of nature with the will which worketh and desireth vanity and maketh the naturall will to be Servant whereas before it was Lord and Master but Nature standeth in the wilderness in the vanity of death encompassed with Sin and now it must work and bring forth fruit and yet it looketh upon it selfe as wholly impotent and as one wholly cast out from the inward spirituall will of Christ and in it selfe it seems as one foolish and contemned of the world and every way beaten off from its own will and then it begins even to sinck and quail in it selfe and to leave off from its own will and all things are of small esteem with it That which before did rejoyce it that now is against it and it stands allwaies as if it should dye it hopeth and doubteth that is it hopeth amendment that it might yet once be delivered from the scornfull contempt and be set again into the honour of its selfehood but it dryeth up also it s well of water and Gods anger appears in its sight that is all its friends depart from it with whom before in its Temporall goods and prosperity it had pleasure respect and honour so that it looks upon it selfe as continually a dying 14. And when this comes to passe then it is right in the way to Beer-sheba and wandreth in the wilderness for it knowes not what it shall do it is every ones scorn whatsoever it lookes upon rebukes it for a fool in that its power is taken from it that it must now forgo the beauty riches and honour of the world and all whatsoever might advance and preferre it in Temporalls and yet it would fain have them but yet it is drawn from them by the inward man in Christs spirit and * * * Blamed or upbraided reproved in these Temporalls for unrighteous and abominable 15. And then indeed it enters right into Beer-sheba viz. into the Contrition of the heart and setts reason by the empty water-pott of Hagar and goeth a stones cast from its Son Ismael viz. from the own desire of nature and stands and compells also the thoughts of nature and will not give any thing any longer to its own children viz. to the Sences and cogitations of the minde but casteth them away as children that now must dye a stones cast that is a while from it selfe that it might not see the death of its children so wholly doth Hagar viz. the nature with its Son give up it selfe to the minde for the mortification of the selfehood of the own will sits also and mournes in it selfe in Beer-sheba viz. in the broken and contrite heart and wholly despairs of its Reason would fain dye that it might be but freed from the miserable forlorn condition 16. And then when it is thus prepared that it quite despairs of its Selfe gives up it selfe wholly into the death of selfehood then cometh the Angel of God to Hagar that is to the poor forsaken and dying nature and saith What aileth thee Hagar God hath heard the voice of the Lad where he lyeth arise take up the Lad and hold him in thy hand for I will make him a great Nation and then God openeth the eyes of Hagar viz. of nature and shee sees a well of water and then filleth her bottle with water and gives the Lad drink who growes in the desart and is a good Archer and dwels even in the wilderness of Paran and must take an Egyptian wife The inward exceeding pretious and worthy figure of this stands thus 17. When man hath put on Christ in Faith and is entered into right true Repentance and hath in his minde forsaken the whole world even all its honour goods and things temporall then the poor nature of man doth thus stand in the mortification of selfe as is above-mentioned concerning Hagar and her Son for it desireth also to dye even to the Senses and cogitations of the minde and to enter wholly into Resignation 18. And when it stands thus in the thoughts of death having given up its will and cogitations into mortification then the inward Voice of Gods Word manifests it selfe in the Minde and * * * Thoughts meditations Senses and even there the divine word heareth the voyce of the childs crying viz. the troubled disconsolate Minde in its * * * Cogitations meditations thoughts for it soundeth therein in the divine voice and saith in the divine voice to nature viz. to Hagar What aileth thee thou troubled and perplexed nature fear not God hath heard the voice of the Lad viz. of thy thoughts which thou hast offered up in the desire to God Arise that is lift up thy selfe to God in this resignation and stand up in the voice which hath gratiously heard thee and looked upon thee and take thy cogitations viz. thy Son by the hand of faith and guide and govern the powers of the Minde they shall not dye but live and go for I will make them a great Nation that is to a great divine understanding and capacity in divine Mysteries and God openeth unto nature the fountain of living water so that it receiveth into the Bottle of its essence in it selfe of Gods well-spring and therewith it gives the Lad viz. the Sences or powers of the minde drink 19. And then God is with this Lad of the Thoughts and he groweth great in the wilderness that is in the corrupt nature the right discreet and intellectuall child groweth great in the Spirit of the Lord and becomes an Archer that is an Archer of the Lord and his brethren who shootes the Birdes of prey and the wild Beasts understand he shooteth down out of his Spirit the evill beasts and birds in his brethren with the holy Spirit he teacheth them and reproveth them with divine Arrowes 20. But he must dwell in the wilderness of Paran viz. in the corrupt flesh and in the wilderness amongst ungodly People and there he must be an Archer of God and his Mother viz. nature gives him an Egyptian woman that is nature layeth a fleshly woman by the noble Minde born in Christs Spirit with which the noble new-born Minde must sit in wedlock and be plagued with this Idolatrous fleshly
Moses and the Prophets have spoken in the Spirit 30. He must not be so blind as to look upon it as the Jewes and Babel doe who make onely of this History Conclusions of reason in respect of the Election of God as if God had thus onely chosen to himselfe a sundry and peculiar Nation or sort of people to be his children the Election of God passeth upon the figure onely shewing what people should bear the figure of the inward kingdome of Christ in the outward in which people God would set forth and manifest the kingdome of Christ externally the Jewes have had onely a mirror and type hereof externally and so likewise the Christians who looked upon Christ in the flesh as a meer pure man 31. These figures have remained very speechless to the world even to this last time and that from the purpose of God being man is such a piece of meer vanity and flesh and so soon weary of the Pearls and afterwards comes to trample them under-foot Therefore God hath dealt with man in Types and Parables as Christ also did when he came upon the earth He spake all these mysteries in Parables for mans unworthiness sake 32. But now at present there is Great Cause as all the Prophets have prophecied thereof that the same should be made manifest and the Cause is this that in this Last Trumpets Sound the * * * Rev. 10.7 mystery of the kingdome of God shall be finished and the bride of Christ viz. the wise virgins shall be prepared who shall meet the Lord in his Appearance and it betokens the day of Christs Coming when he will appear with the holy Citie the New Jerusalem and bring home his Bride Therefore the mystery of the Kingdome of God must first be unfolded and explained out of its Types and become wholly manifest 33. And this will be the fall of the fleshly Sinfull man in that the man of Sin must be made manifest as Saint Paul plainly prophecieth thereof * * * 2 Thess. 2.3 that the child of perdition shal be revealed to all Nations speeches tongues and the Beast with the whore shall go into the bottomless pit that is when the Kingdome of Christ becomes wholly manifest then the Beast and the whore of flesh viz. the false Bond-woman with her scoffing Son stands in great shame and is Judged of Every one as an whore in the Cage that Every one scornes and scoffs at 34. As indeed hitherto men have reviled Christ in the outward Image of Simplicity in his children and members in which Reason hath seen and known no more then Hagar and Ismael in their miserable banishment under which notwithstanding the voice of the Angel hath been which they have scorned and mocked in the foolish plain simplicity under the vail and have set up the mocker Ismael in Christs stead which hath been onely an Antichrist Now this mocker and Antichrist shall be revealed under this Trumpetts Sound and be cast out * * * Or by of the children of God into the * * * â—â—te Abysse this Babel shall see in a short time Declareth the Spirit of the wonders of God 35. We see all an excellent figure of this in Abimilech that when God will manifest himselfe to a people how he terrifies them in the midst of their Sins and appeareth to them in Anger as to Abimilech in the vision and to Moses in the bush of fire and also to Israel upon the Mount Sinai also in the fire and also to Elias in the fire and winde where allwaies the rebuke of Gods wrath is fore-signified how God doth bruise the hearts of men that they may feare and tremble before him as here Abimilech when the Lord appeared to him by night in a vision and threatned him by reason of Sarah he was astonished and told the same in the eares of his people and the people were sore afraid and Abimilech called Abraham and made a Covenant with him 36. This is an excellent figure and pregnantly intimates how God terrifieth the Enemies and comforts poor dejected nature when it quails for fear and turnes its fear into Joy and how the miserable and afflicted if he be honest is at last drawn out of misery and affliction and how at last his Enemies who before he thought to be his Enemies must serve him and advance him so wonderfully doth God lead his children if they do but endure Temptation and continue under the Cross of Christ in humility and not look upon Selfe-revenge but put on Patience in hope and persevere stedfast in the faith at last all a mans adversaries must see and acknowledge that God is with the man and that the world hath dealt wrongfully and unrighteously with him 37. Also this is an excellent emphaticall figure how Abraham when God would punish Abimilech did pray unto God for Abimilech and made reconciliation that God did bless Abimilech and this whole Hystory stands in the figure of Christ and holds forth how Adam and Christ are together how Christ is come into the Selfe-assumed Kingly own-hood or selfeness of man and terrifieth Sin and Death and how the poor corrupt nature doth turn it selfe in the horror and acknowledgement of Sin to God as here Abimilech turned unto Abraham and how it then giveth the kingdome of nature for a possession unto Christ and the inward figure in the Spirit of Moses who was the Type and figure of Christ who yet pointeth out of the Fathers property upon the Son in the flesh viz. in the humanity can be understood no otherwise then even thus It is the true Ground CHAP. XLVII Of the Covenant of Abimilech and Abraham shewing what the same is in the spirituall figure and what the Spirit in Moses under his vail doth here point at A very pretious and excellent Gate to the Children of God in Beer-sheba 1. COurteous and friendly Reader know that if a man should write many hundred Bookes of the history of Abraham yet he could not sufficiently express the abundant richness which lyeth hid under this figure but we will afford a little Service to the children of God in their weakness and somewhat unvail this figure being otherwise it is not to be understood by the naturall man and yet the Lord doth thus lead us in Grace to the understanding thereof therefore I shall here lend and give him the hand thereto observe it well there is couched under it a peerless matchless Pearl which shall here stand open and yet also continue hidden which cannot be purchased with the goods of the whole world it is hidden unto Reason The outward figure in the Text of Moses stands thus 2. And it came to passe at that time that Abimilech Gen. XXI v. 22. to the last verse being 34. and Pichol the chief Captain of his host spake unto Abraham saying God is with thee in all that thou doest Now therefore Sweare unto me here by God that thou
playeth under the outward figure with the inward which shall remain for ever I will therefore sett down this figure of Abrahams Temptation in respect of his Son Isaac likewise in the spirituall figure and shew what is thereby to be understood for although the learned have expounded it that God tempted Abraham to see if he would continue stedfast in the faith upon him yet it hath far another meaning and interpretation * * * Note for God knows well aforehand what man will do also man cannot without his Grace stand in the Temptation as may be seen here in Abraham when he denyed his wife before King Abimilech as he came in to Gerar. 3. Abraham is here represented in Adams stead and his Son Isaac is represented in Christs humanity and the voice which came to Abraham is God the Fathers these three stand here in the figure of the process of the work of mans redemption shewing how Abraham that is Adam should offer up his * * * Text. Image person in Isaac that is in Christ to the voice of God in the fire of God that so the humanity might be proved in the fire of God Gen. XXII vers 1. 4. Now the voice of God spake to Abraham and said Abraham and he answered here am I that is God called to Adam in Abraham viz to all men Vers. 2. and said take thy Own Son Isaac whom thou lovest and go into the Land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt-offring upon a mountain which I will tell thee of Here the Spirit looketh with Isaac upon Christ for in Isaac lay the Covenant and the Ens of Abrahams faith out of which Christ should come now said the voice of God to Adam in Abraham take thy Son whom thou lovest and offer him for a burnt-offring upon the Mountain which I shall tell the off that is the Jewes viz. Adams children should offer Christ for a burnt-offring that is the divine Ens should give in it selfe into Adams Ens which the children of Adam should offer up one with another in the fire of God and it betokens that every man when he hath received the Ens of faith must offer up himselfe wholly unto God and dye to his own will in the fire of God and in the divine Ens of faith be born anew through the offring in the fire of God 5. For said the Spirit in Moses Thy Son whom thou lovest viz. thy own will which hath brought it selfe into Selfe-love this Selfe-will must be offered up to God that it may leave the own selfish will in the fire of God and wholly give over its ownhood and no more will and live to it selfe but to God and it rightly points out how Christ in our humane will which had broken off or turned it selfe in Adam from God should again wholly offer and give up himselfe in Adams person to God his Father and how the wrath of God should devour the will viz. the will wherein Adam had introduced himselfe into selfehood 6. In which devoration of the fire of anger the Love Ens in the word of faith of divine power viz. the true Man created in Adam must be formed and also preserved in this devouring fire as Gold or Silver in the Crucible where the Copper and all that is impure * * * Evaporates purgeth from it and onely the Gold or Silver subsists in the fire so likewise the humane assumed Own-hood together with the assumed Ens of the Serpent and Beast and all whatsoever subsists not in the divine fire must be consumed in the offring And that we might have again in Christs person an wholly pure entrance and open fountain of Grace Christ must offer up our humane will of Selfe to his Father resigne it up to him wholly and that upon the Mount Moriah that is in his death where he for * * * 2 Cor. 5.15 all and in all should dye to the Humane Selfehood * * * Note How Christs Death was effectuall to All men even as when the Stock of a tree dyeth then also all its branches in it do dye and as the tree doth renew its youthfull growth it also introduceth its new power and strength into its branches which indeed is not possible to the outward nature but in God it is very possible as may be seen in the dry Rod of Aaron which was dead to its sap and life and yet in one Night sprang forth afresh and bare fair Almonds 7. Now said God upon the mountain which I shall shew thee that is it must not be don according to Adams will also it must not be don in us according to our will as if we should prescribe to our selves where and how we would offer up our selves in Christ to the Father as Babel doth no but upon the mountain that is on the place in the property and in the death as the Lord appoints orders and sends it to us we must be onely Obedient with Abraham and give up our selves willingly thereunto when he will have us offer unto himselfe not whip beat and plague our selves but onely sinck with our will into him and wait till the Lord shewes us the place where and how he will have us offer unto him we must give up unto him our whole heart and will with body and soul and commit it to him what he will further do with us where he in the * * * Image or Likeness Type of Jesus Christ will offer us according to the body and when the Lord calleth us to the offring with his Cross or will offer us up to the Temporall death then we should say with Abraham lo here am I Lord do what thou pleasest 8. And Abraham rose up early in the morning and * * * Text gâ—â—t Sadled his Asse Gen. 22.3 and took with him two young men and Isaac his Son and clave wood for the burnt-offring and rose up and went unto the place of which God had told him This figure stands thus When the voice of God calleth us then we should with Abraham go presently for early in the morning signifieth here when the voice breaks forth as the Dawning of the day when God in us calleth us when man hath a Thought come into him saying thou shouldst return amend and truly repent then it is time he must forthwith girt his Asse viz. the Beastiall man with Power although he cryes stay yet a while it is time enough to morrow yet it should be don presently in the first look of the will to God for this is the Hinde which is hunted Early in the morning as the propheticall Spirit prophecieth for Christ must girt this Asse early with the voice of God and go to the Offring 9. And the two young men which Abraham took along with him do betoken the Soul from the first Principle and the Soul of this world viz. the outward Spirit
of the outward life these must go with Isaac that is with Christ in the old Abraham that is Adam to the offering of God and Abraham that is the man Adam in his children must himselfe cleave the wood upon which the offering must be burnt that is when he confesseth Christ then he cleaves the hearts of the wicked who run with him to the death and the Offering of God for Adam in his humanity clave Gods Love and Anger and now also Abraham must cleave the wood for the offering for Christ should also cleave death and life asunder and offer up himselfe upon the cloven wood of death and life unto Gods Anger 10. And on the third day Abraham lift up his eyes Gen. 22.4 and saw the place a far off Heere the Spirit pointeth at the sleep of Adam wherein he slept to the Angelicall world and on the third day after his falling asleep when as now the woman was made out of him and the fall effected he saw Christ viz. the place of God in the Covenant a far off also herein is included the Resurrection of Christ on the third day where he saw his place where he would and should offer and give up man to God his Father viz. the last Judgement and the finall offering a far off also it signifieth that Abraham in the Spirit saw the offering of Christ a far off viz. above 2000 yeares then to come And that the Spirit saith Abraham lifted up his eyes on the third day and saw the place is nothing else but that Christ did again lift up on the third day our humane eyes out of the Grave from the dead unto God and also that it was yet a far off in the dayes of Abraham thus the Spirit doth allude with the outward figure at that which was and is to come Gen. 22.5 11. And Abraham said unto the two young men which he took with him Abide you here with the Asse and I and the Lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you The figure of it internally stands thus The two young men must tarry there with the Ass and not go at this time unto the offering onely Abraham and Isaac must perform that that is we poor children of Eve must abide with the first and third Principle of our life this our time with the Ass viz. with the outward Body here in this world but Christ in Isaac and Abraham in Adam must go forth to the offering that is Christ stood in Abrahams viz. Adams Person and also in his heavenly humanity who should onely go and offer up the offering of his Body to the Anger-fire of his Father and worship for us unto God his Father therefore he said he would go yonder that is when he should offer up his life he would go yonder that is to God and worship for us unto God 12. This points at his Ascention according to the humanity when he had finished the Sacrifice he went * * * Yonder or to that place thither and worshipped in our assumed humanity unto God his Father that is our assumed Soul in divine power and property doth pray and intercede for our weaknesses and ignorances unto and before God Therefore saith Abraham we will go yonder and worship that is we God and Man and when we have worshipped we will come again to you that is we poor children of Eve must in the mean while tarry with the Asâ— untill the time of its offring and Prayer be out and then he comes again unto us when we have finished the course of the outward Asinine life 13. Also it intimates very pregnantly that he when the Time of the Offering in Prayer is out will certainly come again unto us from the place whither he is gon and dwell visibly with the creaturall humanity among us as the two Angels said unto the men of Israel * * * Note Jesuses comming again Act. 1.11 Yee shal see this Jesus come again in like manner as he is ascended which time is now neer and his voice to prepare the bride hath already sounded and therefore hold not this for an uncertain fiction the Morning Star and Messenger of the Annunciation is Appeared Gen. 22.6 14. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it upon Isaac his Son and he took the fire in his hand and the knife and they went both of them together The inward figure stands thus Adam had divided and rent asunder Gods Love and Anger in himselfe and brought himselfe with the creaturall life into the Anger which had amassed the earthly vanity to it selfe now the Spirit of Moses doth here point at this figure how Christ should take our introduced Sin upon himselfe and carry it to the burnt-offering 15. And Abraham took the knife and fire Abraham denoteth Adam who took the fire of Gods Anger into himselfe and the knife signifieth Death that Christ should be killed and offered up in Abrahams that is in Adams Anger-fire to the Father and it clearly denotes that Abraham that is Adam should do it to Christ for Christ should be offered up of man being the man Adam had taken on himselfe the fuell viz. the Sin for the offering therefore also man viz. the Jewes must offer it up to the Anger of God that so man might be Atoned by man understand by the humanity of Christ. 16. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father and said My Father Gen. 22.7 8. and Abraham answered here am I my Son and he said lo here is the fire and the wood but where is the Lamb for the burnt-offring And Abraham said my Son God will provide himselfe a Lamb for the burnt-offring and so they went both of them together The pretious figure is thus The Spirit here playeth in Christs person who was come in great humility into Adams humanity and presents himselfe to his father in Adams essence with his heavenly humanity and saith behold my father here I have taken on me the Sin and death in the humanity here is now the fire of thy Anger viz. the divided life's formes of mans property Selfehood and own will in this now I have the fuell wherein thy fire of Anger burneth here now I have the wood viz. the Sins of all men and also thy fire to the offering where is now the * * * Sheep Lamb viz. the Patient Lamb which shall be offered up in this fire and Abraham answered from his strong faiths Ens God will provide himselfe a Lamb for the burnt-offering and they went both of them together 17. Here Christ doth in Isaac's figure present himselfe in our assumed humanity to his Father and saith where is now the Lamb for the true Peace offering but the faith of Abraham had apprehended the patient Lamb which lay in Isaac viz. the heavenly humanity which God would open in the Ens of faith in our disappeared and also heavenly humanity and said
God would provide himselfe a Lamb for the right burnt-offering and hereby he secretly points at the heavenly humanity which God would introduce into Christs humanity viz. into our humanity which should be the Patient Lamb that God would provide for himselfe which Abraham had already apprehended in faith and hints at 18. And that the Spirit of Moses saith They went both of them together understand unto the offering betokens our Adamicall humanity and Christs heavenly supernaturall humanity of divine essentiality that both these should go together to the offering of God as Christ offered on the Cross his heavenly humanity in our humanity to the Father and with the heavenly reconciled ours captivated in the Anger of God and preserved it in the fire of Gods Anger as the Gold is preserved of the Tincture in the fire 19. And when they came to the place of which God had told him Gen 22.9 10. Abraham built there an Altar and layd the wood in order upon it and bound Isaac his Son and layd him on the Altar upon the wood and Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his Son This is now the right Earnestness viz. the figure how God would binde his Son by Adams children viz. by Abrahams children the Jewes that is he would binde our Sin and lay it upon the wood that is hang it on the Cross viz. on the figure of the holy Trinity which was become in man an woodden earthly Cross whereas before the life's cross viz. the figure of the Deity was spirituall and holy in Adam but in the earthly lust it had made it selfe earthly and as t' were woodden thus also the death viz. the dying of the holy Cross in man must be again offered up to God upon a woodden earthly Cross and be again changed out of the earthly death into the holy spirituall figure 20. Christ should not be slain but hung up on the Cross pierced through in his hands and feet for the Anger of God was awakened in the conversation and workes of our hands and feete and therefore also Isaac in the figure of Christ must not be slain and also burnt for he was not the right one but the figure onely in our humanity for he could not accomplish this offring in its powers and it denotes that we are indeed bound with Christ and laid upon the wood and also must dye for Christs sake but with our death we cannot attain this offering as Isaac also could not effect that but the Ens of faith in Abraham and Isaac out of which Christ arose the same did effect it and can yet now in these dayes effect it in the Christians in Christ in his humanity in us 21. And as Isaac was represented in Christs figure as if he were to be the Sacrifice even so Every true Christian must with Isaac enter into Christs figure he must willingly resigne himselfe into Christs death and binde his Sin with the will in the Spirit of Christ and offer it upon the Altar of Christ and with a full and free will dye wholly to Sin then cometh the voice of God as it came to Abraham and to Hagar in the wilderness of Beer-sheba and saith Do not any thing to nature viz. thy Son now I know thou beleevest God 22. But it must come so far with the penitent Sinner as here it did with Abraham and Isaac where Isaac was layd ready bound upon the wood and Abraham took the knife to slay him There must be a very reall sincere earnestness in this matter the sinfull man must binde the Sin with all his thoughts and minde and give himselfe wholly into the process that he will now dye unto Sin and offer it up in faith and confidence to God in Christs death he must take the knife with Abraham into the hand that is he must wholly take and fasten into his minde to Do the work of earnest Repentance in dying to Sin It must come to the reall and effectuall practice and not onely come before the Altar and say I am a Sinner God hath offered Christ for mee and yet keep the sinfull will but he must binde sin in Christs death and lay himselfe wholly with all power and strength on the burnt-offerings Altar upon the wood 23. The evill earthly will must be bound and resigned up with Earnestness and cast upon Gods Altar in Christs death and be also offered up in Christs dying and not onely comfort the sinfull man and flatter it with Christs death saying God takes away sin from us in Christs satisfaction and merit wee need onely comfort our selves therewith and apply it from without to our selves no no but wee also our selves must dye to sin in Christs death and put on Christs offering in his death and as an obedient Isaac wee must cast our selves on Gods mercy in the spirit and will of Christ and arise in Christ in and with him that God may justifie us from the Altar of sin-offering with Isaac in Christ which is the true offering in the figure of Isaac 24. Not as Babel teacheth There must be an entire and sincere earnestness and not onely a comforting and applying promises of consolation but we must with Abraham obey God and then we put on Christs suffering and death and Christs death avails onely in us and here 't is truly said Yee are saved by grace in Christs merit The will of Selfe attains it not but that which entereth into Christs death and dyeth it must come to the death and mortification of the own selfe-will the Soules will must be an utter destroying enemy to Sin in the flesh viz. to the lust of the flesh there must be an opposite enmity between them else Christs death is * * * Note To whom Christs death is not profitable Gen. 22.11 not at all profitable to any 25. And Moses saith The Angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said Abraham Abraham that is when man resigneth up his will wholly and willingly desireth to obey the voice of the Lord having given himselfe into Christs suffering death and reproach that he now will in the cross and suffering hold still and stedfast to God under Christs Red * * * Ensigne Banner then God calleth man with a * * * Twofold double voice as here he did Abraham where God said unto him Abraham Abraham that is he calleth to him in his own Voice in his word and also in the voice of the humane Essence that is he openeth to him the divine hearing in himselfe so that he heareth God from without in his word of his Servants and also from within in his own life's word viz. in the SensVAll Voice which was divided in Babel by the children of Nimrod and formed into the spirits of letters where the mentall Tongue was then compacted Here it ariseth again in the uncompacted SensVAll Tongue so that man heareth what the Lord speaketh in him of
the will to the Selfehood or ownhood of this world and although the flesh be disquieted being it must forsake what it fain would have yet the true nature and the Soul must not give heed to it Also it must not take care for the sake of the flesh where that should have its maintenance but commit it to God and go on in his calling as a day-labourer in the Service of his Lord and Master and let God take care for the Ram and give it what he please 33. And the Angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of Heaven the second time and said by my selfe have I sworn saith the Lord Gen. 22. v. 15. to the 19. because thou hast don this thing and hast not spared thy onely Son that I will bless and multiply thy Seed as 〈◊〉 â—tars of the Heaven and as the Sand that is upon the Sea-shore and thy Seed shall possesse the Gate of his enemies and through thy Seed shall all the Nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast obeyed my voyce and so Abraham returned to his young men and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba and dwelt there This is now the Seal of Faith when man hath wholly given himselfe up to God then God sweareth unto the humanity by him selfe that he will blesse man that his life's essence shall thence forward spread forth it selfe in his Power and grow unto a great Tree of divine Essence in the wisdome whose fruit and knowledge shall be infinite and innumerable as he sware unto Abraham that out of his body or life's essence many Nations should arise also how his life's essence should possess the Gates of the enemies viz. of the Devill and Death as heere he gives a full and pregnant hint concerning Christ and his Christendome how they should destroy the Devills Kingdome and break down his Gate in man This the faith in Gods children is able to do 34. For so soon as the iudgement of the earthly man hath been held in the penitent man so that the Soul rejecteth the will of the evill flesh viz. the will of the Animal Soul and brings it into judgement to the condemnation of death and resignes it selfe up wholly unto God then God sweareth in Christ Jesus this Oath unto the Soul and setts it to be a Prince over the enemies viz. over the proud and haughty Devills even to judge them and obtains full power over them and drives them out 35. After these things Moses mentioneth how the blessing of Abraham did spread forth it selfe and he maketh a relation of his brother Nahor how Milcah bare unto him eight Sons from whom great Nations did arise viz. the Assyrians who indeed did not spring forth out of the Ens of faith viz. in the line of Christ as Abraham but out of the naturall Adam upon whom also the blessing of Abraham did * * * Passed or went light for the history is so exactly deciphered that a man may see that God hath not onely chosen the naturall line of Christ proceeding from Abraham and Isaac but also the lines of nature in the Adamicall Tree which he would also bring together and manifest himselfe to them and they who would beleeve in God should be engrafted into the line of Christ that is those who should be capable of the divine Ens in the voice of the Lord whose will should direct it selfe to God 36. As wee may see again in this figure how God hath not rejected the Kingdome of nature in man but that he in Christ will deliver it out of the Anguish and Enmity and that a man should and must continue in the Kingdome of nature as Abraham when he had finished this offering he went with his Son and two young men to Beer-sheba and dwelt there by which the Spirit of Moses signifieth that when Abraham had performed this Calling in the figure of Christ before the Lord he returned again unto his naturall affaires viz. unto the doing of this worlds business he went to Beer-sheba that is into the toil and labour whereinto Adam hath brought us where a child of God in the cloven and broken nature viz. in Beer-sheba must work in God with teaching and praying and also in nature with the labour of the hand to maintain the outward man and follow the wonders of the outward world in the formed word and help to form manifest and bring them forth in â—â—â—ure to the Contemplation of the wisdome of God 37. Also hereby is hinted very clearly that a child of God in this worlds being doth not stand daily and hourely in the Operation of the spirituall figure that his Spirit can see and know that onely but also in the naturall where the Spirit of God goes also along working in the work of nature and manifests it selfe in another property in him as it may be seen here in Abraham and all the Saints that God did sometimes manifest himselfe to them in the figure of Christ and sometimes again in the Cross and labour in the Temptation and contrariety of the nature of the corrupt Adam so that they have lived in weakness and infirmities as all Adams children have don and do 38. And we ought not to look upon and consider this figure concerning Abraham in all that the Spirit of Moses and * * * Text. Ezra Note concerning Esdras Esdras hath written down but as a Type of Christ and Adam viz. of the Kingdome of Christ and the Kingdome of nature that hereby God hath represented the figure of Christ and his Christendome how he would again Redeem and deliver them from the Great Toil and Labour 39. Wherewith also the Kingdome of darkness in the Pain and Torment is continually represented and how the same doth pant and reach after man and how man doth stand here in this life as in a field and growes on Whom sometimes the Sun of divine Love doth eglimpse and shine and sometimes again Gods wrath and Anger and how man must be purged tryed and purified and the chiefest and most especiall point herein is this that a man must give up and resigne himselfe to God in faith and full assurance and hold still unto him and let him work in him as he please and how also he must learn to bend and bow his own nature and lead it towards God that it in all things may desire to be Gods instrument and Servant and desire and will to work nothing but what belongs to the divine manifestation in the wonders of nature for the Contemplation of Gods wisdome and on the contrary reject the Own will of the Devill and all desire to Selfehood 40. And we should not look upon the written History of Moses concerning the Patriarchs so blindly as the Jewes and Babel do as if they were onely a meer History no the same is not onely full of the types of Christ and Adam viz. of the old and new man but there are also secret
gave in themselves into the barrenness of the matrix in Rebecca and opened her whereupon she conceived both natures properties from a twofold seed of Isaac 24. Not that we are to think or understand that Jacob was wholly conceived of the Ens of faith but as well of the Adamicall Sinfull nature as Esau onely the kingdome of Grace in the Covenant set forth its figure in the Ens of faith in him and in Esau the kingdome of nature viz. the right corrupt Adamicall nature did set forth its figure not as a separation sundry partition or Rejection but to signifie that Christ should be conceived and born with his holy divine Ens in the Adamicall corrupt nature and destroy death and the strong hold of Sin together with the self-raised desire to ownhood and propriety in selfe and mortifie the same with the Love desire in the divine Ens and ruinate the Devills rampant fort of prey which he hath built up to himselfe therein and change the wrath of God according to the eternall nature in the Centre of the dark fiery worlds property into divine love and joy and Tincture the Adamicall nature with the holy Tincture of the Love-fire 25. Therefore the corrupt Adamicall nature in its Type was represented in the wombe in Esau with the type of Christ in Jacob and they both must be formed of one seed to signifie that Christ should give in himselfe to our corrupt nature and redeem our corrupted right Adamicall nature from corruption and introduce it into his own holy nature in himselfe 26. Also God did represent in Esau the figure of his wrath and the Devills Might who had possessed the kingdome of nature in man and shewes how he would fight and exercise great enmity against the Ens of faith and the kingdome of Grace which should deprive him of his strength 27. Reason saith wherefore should God permit the Devill to fight against the kingdome of his Grace hear and hearken thou very blind and altogether ignorant Reason Learn the A. B. C. in the Centre how Gods Love and the kingdome of Grace and Mercy would not nor could not be manifest without Strife and Enmity and then thou hast here no further Question go forward into the centre of this Book and thou findest the ground 28. And when the strife between the two kingdomes began in these children in the wombe so that they strove or spurned against each other Rebecca became discontented and troubled at it and said * * * Gen. 25 2â— 23. If it should be thus with mee wherefore am I with child and shee went to enquire of the Lord and the Lord said unto her two Nations are in thy wombe and two manner of People shall be separated from thy Bowells and one people shall be stronger then the other and the greater shall serve the lesser 29. These two Nations which were conceived of one seed in Rebecca are on one part the Man of the Adamicall selfish nature in Selfness viz. the Originall of man and on the other part the new spirituall man regenerated of the kingdome of Grace in the Covenant these came out of one seed one out of the Adamicall nature onely and he was the Greater or Elder viz. the first man which God created in his Image which became corrupt and dyed as to God the other came indeed out of the same Adamicall nature but the kingdome of Grace in the Ens of Faith had given in it selfe unto it as a Conquerour and this was as to the Adamicall nature the younger but God was manifest in him therefore the greater should serve and be subject to the lesser who was the Least according to the humane property but the greatest in God 30. And yet we do not see that Esau was subject to Jacob but it is the spirituall figure shewing how the kingdome of nature in man should be broken by the children of God and made subject to the kingdome of Grace viz. to the divine humility and wholly dive it selfe into the divine humility and be born anew of the humility thus the Spirit of God shewed this by the Answer to Rebecca saying that it should be a striving or fighting kingdome where indeed the first corrupt man being the greater or elder in nature should strive against the lesser viz. the Spirit of Christ in his lowliness and humility and persecute him but the Adamicall man must at last be obedient and subject unto the humility of Christ if he will be Abrahams child and heir but if not then he must be so long cast out from Abrahams and Christs goods till he doth humble himselfe and freely yeeld under Christs humility and forsake the own-hood of the greater and elder Selfe and Enmity assumed in Adam 31. By Rebecca's trouble discontent impatience and regrett in that she runneth to enquire of the Lord wherefore the strife was in her that the children did so struggle together is signified thus much unto us that when Christ doth manifest himselfe in the Adamicall nature then begins and ariseth the strife of both these kingdomes viz. the Devils kingdome in Gods Anger in the Serpents Ens and also Christs kingdome when Christ bruiseth the Serpents head then ariseth great disquietness in the mind for the Serpent stingeth Christ viz. the new birth on the heel and then ariseth this kicking and spurning viz. a lamentable and wofull distresse and then saith reason in the minde with Rebecca if it should be thus with me wherefore am I entered into the divine Impregnation into Repentance am not I thereby come onely into disquietness and thereby become a Fool to the world and to my reason also and then ariseth the combate and Sathans bruising in the minde with Anguish and grief and then the minde knowes not whither to betake it selfe but runneth into Penitency and asketh the Lord wherefore it goeth so with it 32. And then the Lord shewes him in his language that Christ now is in him in hell and assaulteth the Devills strong rampant fort of prey whereupon there is such contest and disquietness in him and shewes him how his reason and the Adamicall nature viz. the greater part of his life must be broken and dive it selfe wholly into Resignation into the deepest humility into the process of Christ under his Cross and become a stranger to it selfe yea it s own Enemy and go with the Reason and the Greater Adamicall will into its Nothing 33. And when this is don then Esau viz. the Adamicall nature is indeed born and cometh forth alwayes first but Jacob viz. the spirit of Christ cometh soon after and deprives Esau of the kingdome and power and maketh nature a Servant and then Esau viz. nature must serve Jacob viz. the spirit of Christ then it is even here as the Son said unto the Father * * * John 17.6 Father the men were thine and thou hast given them mee * * * Joh. 10.28 and I give unto them
and V for the S is the character of the holy fire and the V is the character of the efflux issuing forth or Emanation out of the fire 43. Thus the Name Jacob was in the fullness of time in the Ens of Mary changed into the Name Jesus which understanding hath been as dumb and dead both to the Jewes and Christians being no Nation doth any more understand its own language and contend onely about the Compaction of the formed nature of the outward name and understanding the Mentall Tongue none will learn to understand how the same hath formed imprinted and * * * Modelized Ideafied it selfe in the words and Names in the sensuall tongue and yet the whole understanding lyeth therein without opinions if we were not so very blind and shut up in ignorance suffering selfe in pride to rule and govern us we should soon attain to the deepest understanding but the Antichrist beareth the supremacy therefore Esau onely ruleth in the understanding Gen. 25.27 28. 44. And Moses saith further And when the children were grown up Esau was a cunning Hunter and a man of the field and Jacob was a * * * Honest. plain man and dwelt in Tents and Isaac loved Esau and loved to eat of his venison but Rebecca loved Jacob. O thou wonderfull God how very simply and plainly are the greatest Mysteries typifyed and deciphered who can be able to understand without thy Spirit from whence it was that the pretious man Isaac in the Type of Christ loved the naturall man in Adams corrupt Image Esau more then Jacob in the Type of Christ in his figure if thou hadst not in thy knowledge vouchsafed mee to understand the same I must be here even stark blind but it is thy Counsell O Lord that we know thee and thy time is born that thou revealest the Secrets 45. Moses saith that Esau was an hunter and a man of the field and the Father loved to eat of his venison and loved him above Jacob here stands an externall figure as if Isaac loved Esau for his Activeness cunning skill or worldly exercise and loved him more then Jacob so wholly hath the Lord the heart of the wise and of his children in his hand that his children must not in their will doe what they please and oftentimes well understand but what God wills 46. Also we herein see how oftentimes God withdrawes the Mysteries from the most holy that they must be even children in them and although they beare the divine play in their Hands and t is their work and exercise yet they must have a child-like Heart in the understanding thereof as it may be seen here in Isaac 47. He loved Esau more then Jacob why so the Ens of Christ lay in him which ruled him for Christ should love his Enemies viz. the corrupt Esau and his naturall children him he loved more then his divine nature for he brought his divine nature into the death of the corrupt Adam and loved * * * Not his sin in the nature but his poor undon nature by sin which he by death freed from sin and death Adams corrupted nature more then his holy Ens which he for mans corrupt natures sake gave into the fire of Gods Anger that so he might redeem it in his Love of this Isaac was here a figure in the Image of Christ who loved his Hunter in his Evill nature more then Jacob he did not love his iniquity but his child-like nature to which he would do much good as Christ loved us in our Adamicall nature and did us good he did not Love us according to the will of Sin in us as Isaac also did not therein Love his Son Esau but according to the Fathers nature and property according to the child-like filial nature The inward figure stands thus 48. When Isaac intreated the Lord that his Rebecca might conceive his naturall desire with the * * * Earnest longing lubet of the divine Ens of faith entered into Rebecca whereby Rebecca was opened and so the naturall Love of Isaac which was environed with faith was propagated in his seed and opened it selfe in Esau Isaac's love did not open it selfe in Esau as to his corrupt nature I say not according to the kingdome of the nature of this world but according to the Covenant according to the Second Principle viz. according to Gods kingdome which the externall nature in him had not as yet apprehended as the divine Ens in Abraham did open and manifest it selfe according to the Second Principle and not in the mortall corrupt Adamicall nature of the outward world the like also is here to be understood in the figure in Esau. 49. Not that Esau did receive the Ens of Christ in the Covenant as Jacob but his Fathers Love-desire in which the hidden Covenant stood unmoveable now there was thus a Conjunction with his Fathers naturall Love for Every property loveth its own likeness especially if the likeness be proceeded forth from the Essence or thing Loving as Esau was conceived in Rebecca of his Father through his Love-desire 50. And it even denotes that the divine Ens in Gods Love in Isaac loved the miserable humane nature to redeem it therefore God manifested his Love in Abrahams faith and introduced the same into an Ens so that this same Love which God gave to redeem mankinde should Love the humane nature in its shut up abandoned condition as in very truth the true reall Adamicall nature ordained by God was shut up in Esau and on the contrary the kingdome of the wrath had the outward dominion Now to redeem this the spirit in the Covenant through Isaac's nature Loved his Son Esau viz. the filial nature and not onely because that he was an Hunter of the creatures 51. Yet here also by this Hunter we are even to understand the same as is set down before concerning * * * Gen. 10.9 Nimrod who was a mighty Hunter before the Lord for this whole description of the first book of Moses is Gods Spirits figure type or representation where he * * * Or Sets forth as in a Map playeth with the kingdome of nature and then also with Christs kingdome and he hath so pourtrayed delineated and typifyed the Acts of the holy Patriarchs under his figure that we may clearly see in all the histories the glance or allusion of Gods Spirit how he hath delineated and set forth to the life the kingdome of Christ and the kingdome of nature and also the Devills kingdome in the wrath of the Eternall nature and neither the Jewes or Christians hitherto have had a right understanding of the same which among the Patriarchs was rightly understood in its true meaning 52. But afterwards when their children and posterity gave no heed unto the same but disregarded the true understanding and loved their Evill nature more then the spirit in the Covenant then the understanding was
how that he after that he had assumed and anointed our humanity should flee with our humanity out of its fathers Adamicall house again into the first Paradisicall house 2. And it further denotes that the children of Christ after they have received the Vnction and Blessing and the new birth begins to spring forth in them in the blessing shall and must forth-with flee with their thoughts and minde from their father Adams house of the depraved nature and it shews that the Devill and the world do soon hate them and they must forthwith give themselves to the pilgrims-path of Christ and live under the worlds slavish yoke in misery and oppression in disfavour and disrespect for God brings them forth with their thoughts and minde out of their fathers house viz. out of the desire in flesh and bloud so that they do nothing at all regard the pleasure of the world and flee from it as Jacob from his fathers house 3. And then we see how wonderfully God guideth his children and defends them from their Enemies that the Devill in Gods Anger cannot kill them unless it be Gods will as he defended Jacob from the fury of Esau and lead him away from him and we have here an excellent example on Jacob in that he forsook his native home also father and mother for this blessings sake and loved God more then all temporall goods and willingly left all to Esau that so he might but be the blessed of God 4. And we see that when he had left the riches of the world in his fathers house the Lord appeared to him with the Eternall goods and shewed him a Ladder Gen. 28.12 whereupon he could ascend into Gods Eternall Kingdome which ladder was no other then Christ whom he had put on in the line of the Covenant and here now the type was represented to him shewing him what Person Christ should be 5. For this * * * Gen. 28.12 Ladder as to his apprehension was upon the earth and the top of it reached into heaven and thereon the Angels of God did ascend and descend which signifyeth that Gods eternall word with the power of heaven viz. with the Angelicall divine worlds Essence should descend or immerse it selfe into our Essence departed from God and blind as to God and assume our humanity and so unite the heaven with the world in man that the humanity through this entrance of the Deity into the humanity might have a Ladder unto God 6. And it shewes that mankinde should come through Christs humanity into the Society of the Angels Matth. 13. v. 22. And this is clearly signifyed here in that the Angels of God do ascend and descend on this ladder also that the heaven in man should be againe opened through this entrance of the divine essence into the humanity and that the children of God should have the Angels for companions in this world which God shewed to Jacob in that the Angels came up and down to him on this ladder 7. Which shall be a very great comfort to the children of God who turn themselves from their fathers house viz. from this worlds vanity to this Jacobs Ladder for they shall certainly know that Gods Angels do come unto them upon this ladder to which they have turned themselves and are willingly about them to serve them 8. For this ladder signifyeth properly the pilgrims path of Christ through this world into Gods kingdome in that the kingdome of the corrupt Adamicall nature doth alwayes yet cleave unto the children of God and hinders them in flesh and bloud in the spirit of this world and therefore they must according to the inward man in Christs spirit continually ascend up in much crosses and tribulation on this ladder and follow Christ under his Cross and Red-Banner 9. On the contrary the world liveth in the pleasure of their father Adams house in scorn jeering and mocking in envy spite and malice whatsoever they can do to cross and vex these Jacobs children that they joy and take delight in and laugh and fleer at them as we have an example of it in Esau how that he tooke in contempt disdain and spite to his father and mother Ismaelitish wives who were of the Line of mockery or reviling which were meer bitterness of spirit and grief of heart both to Isaac and Rebecca 10. Where we clearly see that the Devill hath his power in the kingdome of this world in the corrupt humane property and doth continually resist Gods children and vexeth and plagueth them and fights with them for his kingdome which he hath lost and doth not willingly beteem it them 11. And we see very finely how the Lord standeth above upon this Ladder of the Pilgrimage of Christ as with Jacob and without ceasing calleth the Children of Christ and comforteth them that they should cheerfully ascend upon it He will not leave them but come to them and blesse them so that their * * * Gen. 28 14. Seede and fruit shall grow encrease and be as the Dust upon the Earth that is that they in their Toyle Labour and Anxiety shall spring up and flourish in the Inward divine Kingdome 12. For so much as the Children of Christ goe out from this world and forsake it in their Minde so much they spring up in the Inward kingdome of Christ where then God standeth above upon this Ladder and continually inspireth or inspeaketh his Blessing power into them so that they grow as * * * Joh. 15.5 Branches on his Vine ‖ ‖ ‖ Psal 80.15 which he hath planted againe in our Humanity in this Jacobs Blessing in Christ. 13. And wee hereby cleerely see that this whole type from Abraham to Jacob containes meere figures of the Kingdome and Person of Christ and his Children for here God reneweth the Promised Covenant of Abraham concerning the seede of the Woman with Jacob also that * * * Gen. 28.14 out of his seede as out of the Line of the Covenant Hee should come who should Blesse all Nations for which cause also Jacob was led from his Fathers House God having set before him outwardly the kingdome of Christ in the figure for whose sake he caused his wrath to cease from the children of unbeleefe and did not destroy them but afforded them time to Repent and so appeased his wrath in this Type which pointed at the fulfilling which was to come 14. Wee have here also a firme Ground and assurance that Christ hath truly taken upon him our Adamicall Soule and Humanity in the Body of Mary and hath destroyed Death Hell and the Anger of God in our Humanity which he assumed and hath set up this Ladder of Jacob for God said to Jacob * * * Gen. 28.14 Through thee and thy seede shall all the Generations of the Earth be Blessed through Thee Jacob through thine owne seede which is God and Man viz. the Heavenly divine Ens and substance and
was astonished at this Warrier viz. the Anger of God as may be seene on the Mount of Olives as Jacob was astonished at the Anger of Esaw 4. And as Jacob divided the Heards into two Parts because of the wrath of Esaw that if Esaw should smite one Company the other might Escape so also was the humanity of Christ divided into two Substances viz. into a Heavenly whereof he speaketh John 3. saying * * * Joh. 13.13 He was come from Heaven and was then in Heaven and also into an Earthly from our flesh and bloud that if the Anger of God did smite the one Part viz. our Humanity with Death yet the Heavenly Part should escape the wrath and penetrate through Death and therein make our humanity living for the Messengers which Jacob sent to Esaw are nothing else but the Prayers of Christ which he sent through the Anger of God into his Love viz. into the Mercy that our humanity might finde Grace and favour with God 5. For as Jacob sent to Esaw saying he had been long abroad with Laban even till this time and had with him Men-servants and women-servants and Camells with other Cattle that he might with all this finde Grace and favour with his Lord Esaw so also Christ sayth to his Father in our Humanity viz. in Adam which he hath assumed he hath been long abroad absent from the kingdome of God and hath †††Borne Generated or begotten brought forth in the kingdome of this world in Gods works of wonder many Images out of the divine wisdome through the formation of Nature that he might with these formations of wonders finde Grace and favour with God seeing these wonders were brought forth through the Nature of his manifested wrath that so they might come to the Eternall divine vision and Contemplation 6. But the Anger went to meete him in the * * * 4 Elements four Elements and would devour the Earthlines and Evill of them for Esawes four hundred Men signifie nothing else but the wrath of Nature in the four Elements of the Body and they went to meete the Humanity of Christ when Christ was bringing the Created Image of Adam in Our Humanity into God viz. into Paradise then would the wrath of God first kill the Adamicall Image that it might no more live in the kingdome of Anger seeing it was to live in God 7. * * * Gen. 32.9 10 11. And as Jacob humbled himselfe before God and sayd O God of my Father Abraham and God of my father Isaack Lord thou who hast sayd unto mee returne againe into thy Country and to thy kindred and I will deale well with thee I am unworthy of the least of all thy Mercy and all thy faithfullnesse and truth which thou hast afforded unto thy servant for I had no more but this Staffe with which I went over this Jordan and now I am become two Bands Deliver mee from the hand of my brother from the hand of Esaw for I am afraid of him least he cone and smite mee with the Mother and the Children so also Christ humbleth himselfe in our assumed humanity before God and though God in the Prophet David in our assumed humanity †††Psal. 110.1 hath bidden him sit at his Right hand untill he hath layd all his Enemies under his footstoole yet he humbleth himselfe even as Jacob did before the Anger of Esaw so also did Christ before the Anger of his Father 8. And as Jacob sayd When I went over this Jordan I had only this staffe but now am become two Bands so also when Christ viz. the Eternall Word of Divine Love came to us in our humanity then it was only the staffe of divine Grace but in our humanity in the servile house of Adam he was enriched with two Bands viz a twofold humanity the Heavenly extinguished in Adam and the Earthly from the Limus of the Earth therfore he sayth in this twofold humanity as Jacob sayd to God O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaack O Lord thou hast sayd unto mee returne againe into thy Country and to thy first kindred I am lesse then the least of all these mercies which thou hast bestowed on thy servant to signifie that it was onely in Divine Mercy that these two Bands viz. the twofold humanity returned home againe into its first Country of Paradise to the Angelicall kindred 9. And when Jacob had humbled himselfe before God and his brother Esaw * * * Gen 32.13 14 15 16 17 18. He stayed there all night and tooke of that which came to his hand for a present to his brother Esaw two hundred Shee-Goates and twenty Hee-Goates two hundred Ewes and twenty Rams and thirty Milch Camells with their foales forty Cowes and ten Bulls twenty Shee-Asses with ten foales and put them under the hand of his servants every heard by it selfe sayd to them goe on before mee and leave roome for one heard after another and he commanded the formost and sayd when my brother Esaw meeteth thee and asketh thee to whom dost thou belong whither goest thou and whose these are that thou drivest thou shalt then say they are thy servant Jacobs who sendeth them for a present to his Lord Esaw and he followeth behinde after us 10. This Type is now the great Earnestnes whereby the Spirit of God in the figure poynteth at the future for this Present of Jacob to his angry Brother Esaw poynteth at the Place and condition of Christ when he should appease the Anger of his Father then he must first send these Beasts in our implanted Humanity for an attonement which should be presented to the Anger of God 11. But these Beasts which Christ sent to the Anger of God before his passion and Death were our implanted Beasts viz. Pride Covetousnesse Envy wickednesse Lying whereby one Man slandereth disparageth disgraceth shamefully censureth with words discourageth suppresseth and exclaimeth against as wicked and ungodly and summarily all abominations of the Devill and the wicked World 12. These Evill Beasts are in Adam in sinne all awakened and become living These very Formes or Conditions of Life wherein Adam generated his Evill Beasts wherein the Temperature of Nature was rent asunder Christ tooke all upon him in our humanity as they are well intimated in the figure of Jacob by five hundred and Eighty 580. and sent them to the Anger of God for an Attonement when he was redeeming the Humanity from these Beasts 13. And these Beasts were as to Christ his being despised scorned spit upon whatsoever the Jewish Priests did to him were all our Beasts which Christ in his Body gave up to the Anger of God as if himselfe were the Transgressour and yet had generated none of these Beasts in his will But Adam had generated them and Christ tooke them on him as a Lamb and presented them to the Anger of God on his body
displaced that is be changed 26. This signifieth especially how the Repentant Man must enter upon this Combate of Jacob and so wrestle with God and Man in the Spirit of Christ in Gods righteousnesse in the Anger And when he overcometh then will the Ham of his fleshly selfe-will be broken that he must goe up and downe in this world as one halfe Lame that cannot well walke in the way of the world but goeth halting as if his limbs were halfe broken with which the wantonnesse and vanity of this world is driven on for the Spirit in the victory of Christ toucheth his Thigh that he is halfe lame in the Pride and Malice of this world and never regardeth it more but goeth up and downe as a despised lame Man who in the Pride of the world in their haile or frolick Jollity little regard but hold him for a lame halting Man who cannot follow the Garb of the Antick tricks conceited jests and lasciviousnesse of this world but he hath wrestled with God and Man and is with this victory touched and Marked 27. This the Pride and wantonnesse of this world understandeth not for it goes up and downe still in Gods severe righteousnesse in the kingdome of Nature in the might of the Fire in selfe-will and thinks it selfe very well till the Judgement possesseth its place then must the poore soule stand in the Eternall Judgement and live in paine and Torment 28. And as Jacob stood in the wrestling and had his Thigh touched that he halted then the Man sayd to him Let mee goe for the Day-breake dawneth but he answered I will not let thee goe except thou blesse mee 29. This is first the figure of Christ when he yeelded himselfe up in the righteousnesse of God in the Fathers Anger so that the Anger according to our humanity slew him then sayd the righteousnesse Now let mee goe for at present the Eternall Morning breaketh forth in mee But Christ had taken hold of the righteousnesse and sayd I will not let thee goe except thou blesse the humanity againe that the Judgement may cease except thou bring the Morning of thy inward power forth through the humanity that the Curse may cease and that Man may wholly stand in the divine working againe in the Blessing 30. Secondly It is the faire Type or Image shewing how it goeth with the Repentant Man when he giveth himselfe up through earnest Repentance into this Combate of Christ in Christs suffering and Death in his victory and in the Spirit of Christ wrestleth with Gods severe righteousnesse which continually assayleth him in his Conscience 31. For Gods righteousnesse in the Conscience sayth let mee goe thou art dead in sinne and hast no part in the divine Grace thou hast purposely and wilfully sinned and set the Grace behinde thy back now thou art mine praying will not availe thee I will not let thee in thy conscience attaine the Grace thou wilt obtaine no comfort more from God the morning will no more rise to thee in thy conscience for thou art a childe of Death Now leave off and let me alone that I may shutt thee up below in the dungeon or chamber of death 32. When this comes to passe then the poore soule wholly immerseth it selfe into the death of Christ and giveth it selfe up to the severe righteousnesse of God into the judgement for the judgement layeth hold on it But the soule catcheth hold of the incorporated Grace in the death of Christ and diveth therewith into the most inward ground of the judgement of God in which ground God's Love is broken forth through the righteousnesse and through the judgement viz. through the eternall night and hath made that same night in man to be day 33. Into this day viz. into the Abysse without all humane possibility or ability it diveth as a childe that neither can nor will doe any more that is too unworthy of all Grace and must indeed give it self up to the judgement but with this diving the soule yeedeth all its utmost will and ability and is in it selfe as it were void of nature and creature and falls againe into the Word wherein it stood in the eternall speaking before it s creaturely nature 34. For Gods righteousnesse and judgement hath no deeper ground then meerly the creaturely life but when the will of the soule yeeldeth it selfe up in going forth from the creature and sinketh into the Abysse then is it again as a new childe for the Abysse in the eternall speaking word out of which the highest Love and Grace of God hath manifested it selfe layeth hold on it and penetrateth into it as the Sun doth into the Ens of an hearb whence the hearb becometh half Solar or of the nature of the Sun Thus in this diving the soule in its will is half divine and then it wrestleth with God's severe righteousnesse in flesh and bloud and will over-power the Anger of God 35. Then saith God's righteousnesse in the conscience let me alone that is leave off and slay me not for thou seest very well that the Divine morning ariseth in mee cease from striving against the judgement of God But in the right combat the soule saith to God's righteousness I will not leave thee except thou blesse mee that is except thou givest mee the promised Grace out of the Death of Christ in his conquest that I may put on my Saviour Christ that he may be mine and I his And then thus saith God's righteousnesse as to Jacob What is thy name And then the poore soule nameth it selfe according to its owne creaturely name As Jacob did heere when he called himselfe Jacob But as the Lord said to Jacob Thou shalt no more be called Jacob but Israel that is a Tree of life Thus also saith God to the soule Thou shalt no more have self-names in mee but thou shalt be called a Christian in Christ viz. A branch in the Tree of Israel * * * Joh. 15.5 A sprout on the vine Christ For thou hast fought with God and man and hast prevailed Thou hast overcome Gods righteousnesse in the wrath of the Anger in thy Combat in the Spirit of Christ and art now an essentiall Christian and no more a titulary and verbal or Mouth-Christian from whom Grace is yet farr off 36. And Moses saith further †††Gen. 32.29 30. And Jacob asked him and said Tell me I pray thee what is thy name But he said wherefore askest thou what is my name And he blessed him there And Jacob called the place Pennel For I have seene God face to face and my soule is * * * Healed preserved The inward holy Figure standeth thus 37. When Jacob with the desire of faith in his wrestling apprehended the morning or Day-breake of God in the Spirit of Christ and †††Joh. 8.56 saw Christ a farr off without the creaturely humanity Then he said What is thy name But Christ said
with their writings and teach the Lay people their unchastity and scorne so that one Christian learneth to scorne another out of the holy Scripture and trim their scorne with the writings of the * * * Holy Men Saints Of this it is rightly sayd Reuben thou art my first strength but thou hast climed up upon my Bed and defiled it with unchastity thou hast used my Concubine viz. my formed Word to thy whoredome and hast made of the Churches of my Children a whore-house and hast defiled my Marriage-Bed which I have in the Churches where I beget my children 43. This the Spirit of God signifieth cleerely by the declaration of the Patriarch Jacob Gen. 49. where he sayth thus concerning these Churches and their sacrifices * * * Gen. 49.3 4. Ruben thou art my first sonne thou art my first power and my first might the chiefe in the Offring and the chiefe in the kingdome he was unstable therein as water thou shalt not be the chiefe for thou hast climed up upen thy fathers bed and there hast thou defiled my bed by thy climing up 44. The Spirit speaketh cleerly in this Text for Ruben signifieth the Ordnance of the first Churches viz. the power out of which it was built that is the first power of the Christian Church or Congregation and is Gods Concubine by which he dwelleth but their Ministers are climed up into Gods Marriage-Bed and have gotten the Concubine to themselves and taken her into their power and have gotten her with childe with humane fictions fleshly honour and voluptuousnesse and it sayth cleerly Thou art the chiefe in the Offering and in the kingdom for so it must needs be when the whoredome is committed but seeing Reuben exerciseth whoredome with the Churches it sayth thus Thou shalt not be the chiefe for he was unstable therein as water and signifieth thereby that he would give himselfe to fleshly Lust and selfe-Love and that in unstability and in that regard is rejected of God 45. Thus the Spirit signifieth under this figure how this Concubine viz. the Church would be reproached with its first power viz. of its owne children so that it will be said by the Churches it is a spirituall whore-house which a Man must distinguish from the Temple of JESUS CHRIST for the Spirit sayth thou shalt not be the chiefe neither in the offring nor in the kingdome and thus shee hath lost the true * * * Jus Divinum Divine power by the whoredome of her Ministers and standeth at present rightly as a deflowred one that is made a whore which is dispised of Israel for her unchastity which is practised by her which is cryed out upon by almost every one each party crying out against the Church of the other for a whore-house as is enough manifest and all Libraries are full of such a Cry and Men at present are ready to storme and fall in upon the whore-house 46. But let this be said to the children of God that the Churches hurt no man and they were instituted out of a Good meaning by the first Christian power and were very good and profitable and they need not be thrown downe and demolished if Ruben would but leave his whoredome whereby he reproacheth them that her Ministers might be renewed and not give forth that they are the Ministers of this Concubine of God without the Vnction of the Holy Ghost as is now done onely for temporary honour and pleasure sake which are as profitable to the Church as a fift wheele is to a Wagon unlesse they goe with five wheeles to their Wagon where the fift moveth in the Aire and entreth with their Contention into the Abysse of Hell 47. The Stone-houses of the Churches have no greater holinesse in them then other houses for they are built of Stone and such Materialls as other houses are and God is no more powerfull in them then in other houses but the Church or Congregation that entereth thereinto and there meeteth together and there binde themselves with their prayer into one body in Christ whose Type and Resemblance the Church is that hath the holy Temple of JESUS Christ in it 48. Their Songs of praise and thanksgiving are the Cradle of the childe JESUS CHRIST in which the childe Jesus is rocked with unanimus consent in the Hearts of Men and not within the bounds of the Church which is a dumb and dead Thing 49. Its Ministers are no more then all other Men but the power and vertue that is powred forth in the Vnction of the Holy Ghost hath the power in the offering and is the Key 50. Whosoever will worthily enter into the Church must bring with him the Temple of Jesus Christ within him or at least he must fully take such a resolution and purpose that he will bring it out with him in his Heart otherwise his going in and coming out is but a committing of Spirituall seeming holy but indeed Hypocriticall whoredome and is no whit the holier when he cometh out and had as good have been standing in the Market shewing his pride in his fine cloathes for the people to see him and then perhaps he had not caused many honest hearts to Erre 51. This wee had a purpose to signifie by the knowing of this Figure that a Christian should not looke upon the shew of Churches but consider that the Church is but a †††Fâ—â—bild Type Resemblance of Christ and that he is not a Christian that entereth into the resemblance and approveth of that but he is a Christian that wholly giveth himselfe up into Christs Incarnation Suffering and Death and dyeth to his hypocrisie in the Death of Christ and riseth from the Death of Christ in a New Will and Obedience and who according to his inward ground is and liveth in Christ who himselfe becometh the Temple of Christ wherein Christ worketh with his power and vertue and thereby killeth sinne in the flesh such a one is a Christian in Christ and may rightly enter into the * * * Or Type Resemblance of Christ and exercise his Christianity therein such a one will heare Gods Word and keepe and ponder it in his heart 52. And though a Cowes Lowing in its sound should declare the Name of God yet Christ preacheth in himselfe but none that is dead can awaken another that is dead nor †††Mat. â—5 14 Luk 6.39 one that is blinde shew the way to another but both will fall into the Pit saith Christ. 53. Further the Spirit of Moses sets downe in its figure the Death of the Patriarch Isaac and sayth * * * Gen. 35.27 28 29. And Jacob came to his Father Isaac to the Head Citie in Mamre called Hebron where Abraham and Isaac were strangers and Isaac was an hundred and eighty yeares old and gave up the Ghost and dyed and was gathered unto his people This is a figure shewing that the children of
it were sinne which all of them one and other understand as much of the Ground of sinne as the Pott doth of the Potter 26. When they should tell how sinne is sinne and how Man doth cause God to be Angry and in wrath then they have no other way to turne themselves to evade it but Images or conceits of Opinions which shutt up the Conscience in such Images and Conceits so that the Conscience is affraid of their Images and the Ground of sinne according to the seaven Properties of Nature how their fatt Kine are made leane and drie they know not 27. O ye Makers of Images how doth the Anger of God in the inward Ground of your owne Nature threaten you with the seaven barren Kine and Eares Joseph is out of Prison and declareth the Councell of God to Pharaoh 28. The time is even at hand wherein the figure of Pharaoh shall be brought to Effect your Images of false and wicked Magick shall be manifested to the whole world by Josephs Exposition of the Vision break off from the Images and pray to God that he would give you the understanding of Pharaohs visions and then you may be partakers of the seaven good Kine and Eares within you 29. If not then must all your Images of false and wicked Magick be turned into such Barren Kine and Eares as they are indeed for the most part already in the inward ground and outwardly at present are devouring and alwayes devoure the Good times and yeares for they have almost quite devoured and swallowed up into the Abysse all Love Faith Truth Righteousnesse Humility and feare of God and at present also they devoure all outward food and sustenance they have devoured the Silver and there is nothing left but meager and base Copper and yet they are so hungry and greedy that they lye gnawing at the Copper as a Dog at a hard Bone and would faine have more to devour and yet there is no more for them 30. Therefore they are so hungry that they themselves worry and devour one another for hunger and bring their Land and Country into dearth and famine But heereby they are made Bondslaves to the Anger of God in the seaven properties of Nature as the whole Land of Aegypt was made King Pharaohs owne in the Deare time of Joseph 31. This Anger of God will heereafter give you seede that you must sow Images and Idolls and devour them againe your selves as you have cleerly done for a long time and must be its boneslave servants as Aegypt was to Pharaoh 32. Let this be told thee O Aegypt of Christendome by Josephs interpretation in the Spirit of Wonder of the sixt Number of the Seales it concernes thee awake and behold the great famine of body and soule is at hand or else thou must be famished 33. Thou standest at present in no other * * * Or Resemblance figure in the sight of God but that of the seaven ill-favoured hungry withered leane Kine and Eares the Blessing of God in Body and Soule is departed from thee that now thou huntest after Good things and temporall sustenance and yet art not satisfied with it and the more that thou dost hunger and suck upon bones thou wilt be still the more hungry till thou hast devoured all thy good Kine in Conscience both in Body and Soule as also Land and People and thy forme and feature is so ill-favoured that the Princes of the inward and the outward Heaven cannot endure to behold thee but helpe to judge thee to the damnation of Death sayth the Spirit of Wonders in Josephs interpretation 34. Behold thy selfe now aright art thou not thus ill-favoured and hungry consider all thy †††Powers vertues and abilities faculties thou art raving blinde with great hunger for thou hast swallowed that up into the Abysse which should blesse thee and make thee happy and set up the Hypocrisie of thy Idoll Ministers in stead thereof Righteousness Truth Love Faith Humility Chastity the feare of God were thy Blessing by which thou wouldest become fatt againe but thou hast swallowed up all these properties and sett thine Idolls in their stead and covered them with Christs purple Mantle and now the Evill hungry forme feature and properties of a Devourer are awakened in thee 35. The first devouring Property Covered with Christs Mantle is Pride viz. a Desire of Selfe-Might under the lowly humble Mantle of Christ resolving to be potent and splendid as Lucifer under his black Hood who yet alwayes supposeth he is the most potent when yet in the presence of God he is but a Lord in Phantasie 36. The second property of thy hunger Covered with Christs Mantle is Covetousnesse viz. the Devourer who devoureth himselfe and getteth from others their sweate and flesh from their bones and devoureth it and yet hath nothing but alwayes lyeth like Poyson sucking out it selfe this hath devoured all Truth Righteousnesse Patience Love Hope Faith and the feare of God and yet is but a meere hunger at present it hath eaten all Silver from the Copper and yet looketh as if it had devoured nothing for nothing is to be seene in it but that it is hungryer then before it hath devoured all good times into it selfe and still alwayes devoureth all provisions which God of his Grace bestoweth and yet is every day hungryer with devouring and though he could devoure Heaven he would devoure Hell also and yet remaineth a meere hunger still 37. The Third property of this Hunger Covered with Christs Mantle is Envy viz. the sonne of Covetousnesse and Pride is his Grand-father this stingeth and pricketh and rageth in the hunger as poyson in the flesh it stingeth in words and works and poysoneth all it lyeth and cheateth and is never quiet the more greedy Covetousness is to devoure the greater is this its sonne Envy it will possesse all alone to it selfe and yet hath no place of rest either in Heaven this world or Hell It can remaine neither in Heaven nor in Hell it standeth onely in the hunger of Covetousnesse and is the life of Covetousnesse 38. The Fourth property of Hunger Covered under Christs Mantle is Anger which is the sonne of Envy and Covetousness is its Grand-father what Envy cannot sting to death that will Anger strike and fell to death It is so evill and wicked that it breaks and shatters the Bones to pieces It alwayes thirsteth after Murther onely that its Father and Grand-father viz. Covetousnesse Envy and Pride may have roome enough it destroyeth body and soule in their kinde of fattnes and wasteth Country and Citie and is further so wicked that it would destroy Heaven and Hell and yet hath no where any rest 39. These are the foure Elements of Hunger which devoure and swallow up the seaven fatt Kine and Eares of Pharaoh and yet are as they were before and at present Joseph hath seene and manifested them in Pharaohs Dreame so that they are become
Kingdome so also God sets him in his Kingdome and ruleth by him and giveth him his Sealeâ—Ring viz. the humanity and Deity in the Love of Jesus Christ to his soule and causeth him to ride in the second Chariott after him that is where Gods Spirit goeth there alwayes goeth such a Man after it and the Devill Death and Hell dare not touch him any more for thus he getteth power over the Devill Death and Hell and also over his mortall flesh and Bloud as Joseph over the Land of Aegypt 51. And as Joseph quickly withdrew and built the King Granaryes to lay up provisions so also such a Man who according to his inward Ground sitteth in the Kingdome of God buildeth for God his Lord many such Humane Houses viz. Mens soules in which he layes up in store the Divine overplus which God giveth him in Christ Jesus viz. the Divine knowledge and wisdome with good Instruction Doctrine and Life so that his Doctrine spreadeth abroad and multiplieth as sands in the Sea so innumerable spreading branches his Pearle-Plant putteth forth that many hundred thousand soules Eate thereof as of Josephs provision in the Famine 52. And then Potiphars Daughter that is the Daughter of the Priest of ON viz the true Christianity is given him for a Spouse which he is to cherish and Love and * * * Gen. 41.50 begetteth of her these Two Sonnes as alwayes travailing in this way and then they walke with washed hearts as Joseph before the time of the Famine in Aegypt begate of his wife Manasseh and Ephraim and so it was represented to him with these Names how God had in the house of his misâ—ry caused him to grow great and gave him much 53. And then also a childe of God sets open his Chists of Treasure when the famine cometh that the Anger of God sifteth the world as Joseph did his Granaryes and imparted to his fellow Twiggs therewith out of his Chists of Treasure that they perish not in that Famine CHAP. LXIX How this Famine went through all Lands and how Jacob sent his sonnes into the Land of Aegypt for Corne and how they came before Joseph and how he shewed himselfe to them What is thereby to be understood Vpon the 42 of Genesis Gen. XLII THis fowrty second Chapter of Genesis concerning Joseph and his brethren is a figure shewing how such a Converted Christian which hath already entered with Christ into his processe and hath now overcome in the end also forgiveth and rewardeth his Enemies with bounty who have brought him into Christs processe with their persecution and wicked devices and Councell and how also their sinnes are set before them and how they are brought into Anxiety and Necessity and how in the End of Meere Grace they are released from paine and punishment and how God is so gracious to them upon their conversion that he not onely releaseth the punishment but blesseth them with his Gifts and Benefitts as heere Joseph did to his Brethren 2. But then next is also represented in this figure how Earnestly and severely God sheweth himselfe against sinne as heere Joseph against his brethren and yet God is not earnest to punish the repenting sinner according to the sharpest severity but he setts himselfe strictly against the soule in its Conscience that sinne may awake and be acknowledged and that Repentance may be the greater that Man in such terrour may be humbled for sinne and quite depart from sinne and be angry with it and utterly hate it when he knoweth that sinne hath so terrible a Judgement in it The Historie sayth thus 3. * * * Gen. 42.1 2 3 4. But when Jacob saw that there was plenty of Corne in Aegypt he sayd to his sonnes Why doe you looke so long about you behold I heare there is plenty of Corne in Aegypt goe downe thither and buy us Corne that wee may live and not dye Then the †††10 Brethren Ten Brethren of Joseph went downe that they might buy Corne in Aegypt But Jacob would not suffer Josephs brother Benjamin to goe for he sayd some mishap may befall him 4. Now this is a figure first shewing that when Man findeth himselfe in the Divine Anger in this Famine that as to Righteousnesse he is in want as Jacob and his children in the Famine then the Father sayth in the Conscience to the Soule why lingâ—rest thou so long looking about thee Goe downe into Repentance where there is plenty of Righteousnesse in the Death of Christ where Christ giveth righteousnes for and instead of thy sinnes if thou heartily turnest to him And thus the Father bestoweth his will and introduceth it in to the Sinners Repentance and Conversation 5. But Benjamin Josephs Brother that is the humanity of Christ he giveth not to it presently therewith Hee first bestoweth upon it its sinfull Brethren that is He giveth it first his terrours into its Conscience and hideth his Comfort in his Grace viz. the true Benjamin Josephs brother from the * * * Sinfull affections properties of sinnes and sendeth the properties of sinnes viz. those wherein sinnes have been wrought and Committed after Grace to buy this Corne of Joseph viz. of Christ. 6. The sinner must himselfe enter upon it and with Earnestnesse enter into the Suffering and Death of Christ and dye from his sinnes in the presence of Grace in the Prison of Gods Anger and cast himselfe upon Josephs viz. Christs Mercy and Grace and not stay without and say with Christ there is plenty of Grace and so tickle and comfort himselfe with Grace No that quickneth not the poore soule thou must goe downe into Aegypt to thy injured brother whom thou hast cast into the Pit by thy sinnes within thee and must in great humility come into his presence though thou wilt not suddenly know it till he in his Mercy shall give thee to know it and then thou must in Christs Power Might and Glory which he gat in his resurrection buy Corne for the poore soule that it may live and not dye as Jacob sayd to his Children 7. And Moses sayth further * * * Gen. 42.5 6 7 8. Thus the Children of Israell and others with them came to buy Corne for the Famine was also in Canaan but Joseph was the Ruler of the Land and sold Corne to all the people in the Land Now when his Brethren came to him they fell downe with their faces to the Earth before him and he saw them and knew them and carried himselfe strangely towards them and spake roughly with them and sayd to them Whence come yee They sayd out of the Land of Canaan to buy foode but though he knew them they knew not him yet 8. This now is the first state and Condition of the poore soule when it turneth to Christ to fetch foode from him then he looketh upon the soule in its will totally in its Essence to see whether the free-will had sett
with you this is called setting all the Twelve sonnes of Jacob before Joseph that is before Jesus and fall at his feete with body and soule inwardly and outwardly with all your faculties and powers and yeeld them up into his Grace 18. For it is not sayd that they can take the Grace but that they should sink downe into Grace that Grace may give it selfe to them for Mans ability to take it is lost selfe-will it rent off from God it must wholly sinck downe into God and leave off willing that God may receive it againe into his Grace 19. O Babell how home doth this hitt thee Thou art by or before the Life of God with thy hypocrisie but a spie of the Grace of God thou dost but seeke for the Gate of Grace and how thou mightest with thy owne will without thy inward Benjamin enter into the Kingdome of Christ yes thou wilt be outwardly an adopted childe of Grace whose sinnes are forgiven through the Merits of Christ and yet continuest to be Babell and a Fable and wilt not be a Christian in Christ thou wilt needes passe into Heaven but that will not avayle thee Joseph that is Christ holdeth thee imprisoned in the Anger of God both in Body and Soule unlesse thou givest him Benjamin viz. thy inward Ground and then Heaven goeth into thee and Christ standeth up in thee out of the Grave so that thy selfe art risen from Death and then thy spying and prying hath an End 20. O yee high Schooles and Universities and all yee that will be accounted the Ministers of God and to teach the way of God and contend and dispute about it what are yee look upon your selves in this Figure you appeare to be no other then Spies you alwayes search and yet you lye still in Prison God will have it so no more for hee himselfe tryeth the Thoughts of Man and is himselfe present in all things his is the understanding his is the knowledge of the Kingdome of God without him yee know nothing 21. Your spying and knowing helps you not into the Kingdome of God you cannot enter therein except that goe forth in your Life that is except it be manifested in your Life that yee are Gods children in Christ in his Sufferings Death and Resurrection in himselfe not through an acquired Historicall seeming Faith but Essentially as a Branch on the Vine yee must be a Twig on the Tree you must have Christs Life flesh Bloud operatively and substantially in the Inward Ground in you and you must become Christ else yee are all one and other but spies searchers and historicall Christians and no better then Jewes Turks and Heathens 22. O ye simple Men let it be made knowne to you goe but forth from the Towre of the Confounded Languages then may you soone come to the right seeke * * * Mat. 26.64 Act. 7·55 56. Col. 3.1 Christ at the right hand of God within you he sitteth there unlock your wills that is give them up to him and he will unlock them well enough your repentance must be earnest or else ye are all one and other but Spies 23. Gaze about no more it is high Time †††Rev. 1.3.22 â—0 the time is truly borne or at hand ‖ ‖ ‖ Luk. 21.28 your Redemption draweth neere * * * Rev. 21. â— The Bridegroom calleth his Bride you must indeed into the Prison of Joseph in this Famine if you will not bring your inward ground of your hearts into Repentance with you Amen be it so Gen. 42.18 19 20. 24. And Moses sayth further But on the Third Day he sayd to them if you will live then doe thus for I feare God if you be honest and true Men let one of your brethren lie captive in your Prison but as for you goe your wayes and carry home what ye have bought for your hunger and bring your youngest brother to mee and so I shall beleeve your words that ye may not die and they did so The Figure standeth thus 25. When the soule draweth neere to God and will work repentance and that its inward Ground is yet wholly shut up in vanity so that the Minde is still hanging to selfe yet if it will not give over Repentance and for all that cannot be free from the Earthly desires but continueth in Prayer then indeed God the Father letteth the Soules Essences out of the Prison of his Anger that the Minde is well eased againe like one that is released out of Prison then sayth the Minde thus I am very well eased in my Prayer in this Repentance 26. For Gods Anger hath released Nature out of its Prison that it should with greater labour and industry presse in to God for in its Prison it cannot doe so for it is in anguish and beholdeth only its committed sinnes which continually drive it back that it is affraid †††Abashed ashamed daunted in the presence of God but when the Anger lets it loose then it gets power and vertue of Prayer and the work of Repentance 27. But the Anger of God holdeth it continually with one Band as Joseph held one Brother in Prison till they brought the last brother also and thus must the poore soule remaine tied with one band of the Prison of Death till it shed forth the last brother viz. the inward ground and come before God and say Lord I will forsake all for Christs and my salvations sake and give up my will wholly to thee cast mee into Death or into Life into derision or scorne into poverty or misery as thou wilt I will cleave to thee I will not play the hypocrite before thee and give thee but halfe my will any more as I have done 28. And then if the Earnestnes proceed to practice that God perceiveth that it is in Earnest then will also the last brother be let loose that is then will also the last Band of the Anger of God be loosed but in the meane time ere it thus come to passe the soule must lye captive in one Band. 29. But neverthelesse God sayth to the other released * * * Or faculties formes of Life Now goe your way with that which you have at present in this Repentance bought or gotten of mee and carry it home that is defile it not againe live of it and partake of this present Grace bestowed and carry it in to the Honour of God that it may come before God with the Operation of it 30. Moses sayth further But they sayd one among another Gen 42 21 22 23 24. wee trespassed against our Brother that wee saw the anguish of his Soule when he wept to us and wee would not heare him therefore now this Trouble cometh upon us Reuben answered them and sayd did I not tell you as much when I sayd Sinne not against the Lad and yee would not heare and now is his bloud required but they knew
bigge as the world is and yet Men will be blinde Enough to those that are Ours 33. And as Jacobs children spake much with their father concerning Benjamin and promised to bring him againe he sayd at last * * * Gen. 43.11 12 13 14. If it must be so let it be so and take of the best fruit of the Country in your Sacks and carry downe a Present to the Man a little Balsam and Honey and Spices and Mirrhe Dates and Almonds take also other Money with you and the Money that was put above in your Sacks againe carry with you it may be it was done by mistake moreover take your brother arise goe againe to the Man and the Almighty God give you Mercy before the Man that he may let your other brother and Benjamin goe but I must be as one quite bereft of his children 34. This now is the figure that is above explained and wee see a very Excellent cleere Type and Image therein shewing that Jacob commanded his sonnes to take with them of the most precious rich and costly fruit of the Land and carry it with them to Joseph in which the Spirit pourtrayeth in the figure how the Christian Church when it seeth it selfe in such Trouble and spirituall Famine hunger and want and now is on the way of Repentance should carry these good fruits with it before God viz. Hope Faith and divine affiance and not wilde fruit as Covetousnesse Selfe-willed Lust and Hypocrisie but a purpose and resolution towards Truth Righteousnesse Chastity Love and Meeknesse 35. Thus must the Old Man take a resolution to goe in such a purpose to Joseph that is to Christ and then hee yeeldeth up all his sonnes for the Journey of this Pilgrimage and sayth Now I am bereaved of all my Sonnes I have nothing more in the desire of fleshly voluptuousnesse I have yeelded them alltogether into the will of God 36. Also wee see in this figure how Jacob commanded them to take with them againe the unrighteous money that they had brought back in their Sacks and restore it againe thus also must a Man who will be or is a Christian put away from him all unrighteous things all that he hath gotten to himselfe by subtilty craft and wrong that he should repay againe or else indeed give it to the Poore 37. For that which he giveth to the needy and miserable that suffer want he giveth to the hungry brethren of Joseph and the heavenly Joseph receiveth it in his hungry brethren and fellow-Members and returneth it to him againe manifold as Josephs Steward gave them againe the Money which they carried home in their Sacks the first time and brought it againe and sayd Peace be to you your fathers God hath bestowed Treasure on you 38. A man must put away all unrighteousnesse from him if he will enter in to the Wedding of Jesus Christ Hypocrisie and flattery in comforting ones selfe avayleth nothing it must be Earnestnes and this is that which keepeth Men back from the wayes of God even their walking upon the wayes of Hypocrisie and flattering themselves whereas they should leave off and forsake unrighteousnesse and Extortion and restore that which is gotten by falshood thus they have cast the Purple Mantle of Christ over the crafty wretch and covered him with the satisfaction and merits onely that the Theefe may live under that Cloake 39. O thou poore Christendome how hath Antichrist deluded thee with this Cloake and Covering O flee away from him it is time The Covering will not avayle any wicked and unrighteous person so long as any is such a one he is the Devills Servant 40. A Christian is a New Creature in the Ground of his Heart his Minde is bent onely to well-doing not to steale Else were Christ by Consequence accounted a Theefe in Man Let but the Mantle of Christ fall off and restore what thou hast stolen and gained and extorted with unrighterusnesse and injury and cast away the old Quarrells strivings and * * * Law-suits Litigations from thy soule and goe naked and empty under the Crosse to which Christ hangeth and looke upon his fresh bleeding wounds and take his bloud into thy hungry soule and then thou wilt be healed and redeemed and released from all want else no comfort of Satisfaction and Merit will helpe thee All true Comfort is but this that a Christian comforteth himselfe that he shall in this Repentance in Christ Jesus obtaine a Gracious God and that shall even be his Comfort that he may not despaire 41. The satisfaction wherewith the unrighteous comforteth himselfe and sayth My works avayle nothing Christ hath done all I can doe nothing and continueth under such Comfort in sinnes that is the Devills fishhooke whereby he catcheth his fish with Christs Mantle 42. Christ had his Purple Mantle on him when he was in his suffering but when he hung on the Crosse he had it no more much lesse in his Resurrection so also should a Man take this Mantle about him onely when he goeth into Christs Suffering and Death in Repentance in Repentance it is onely avaylable and no way else that a soule should wrap it selfe up in it when it is ashamed in its sinnes before the face of God 43. All that is taught and beleeved otherwise is deceipt a fable and Babell All teachers that teach otherwise are but servants and slaves of the Belly and the fishermen and a Deceipt of the world of these let Men beware for he that will be a Teacher must also be a true Christian that so he may also thus live in Christ Else * * * John 10. he is a Theefe and a Murderer that climeth up some other way into the sheepfold of whom Christ speaketh 44. And Moses sayth further Gen. 43.15 16 17. Then they tooke their Present and the double money with them and Benjamin and arose and went into Aegypt and presented themselves before Joseph and when Joseph saw them with Benjamin he sayd to his Steward bring these Men to my House and stay and make ready for they shall eate with mee at Noone and the Man did as Joseph sayd unto him and brought the Men into Josephs house 45. This now signifieth thus that hee that hides himselfe under the Mantle must come forth and bring his unrighteous wrong gotten Goods againe and come before the face of the heavenly Joseph and come naked and empty of his I hood or owne ability and bring the right Benjamin that is in him along with him then Joseph draweth neere him and seeth him and commandeth his Steward viz. the Spirit of Power to bring these Men into his house viz. into his Humanity and then the Lamb of God shall be made ready and these Men or the Lifes Essences of the right soule shall eate at Josephs Table with him at Noone then it is Noone when the high Light of Grace shineth as at Noone or Midday in the soule and heere
it for first Joseph sendeth his Steward after them and bids him tell them they had stolen his Cup and was churlish towards them when as yet they were not Guilty so also when a Christian hath his Sack filled with this food then will Christs Cup be layd in for him These now the wrath of God sifteth in the humane Nature as to their soules and as to the mortall Body and sayth to the Conscience thou hast not rightly gotten this Cup by the right of Nature thou hast stolen it out of Gods house from his Grace and power * * * Mat. 11.12 The Kingdome of Heaven suffereth violence heerin and thou hast done violence and gotten this Cup to thee into thy Sack thou hast not Grace by the right of Nature thou wilt needs walke back with this Cup in peace on these Paths 5. But no it will not avayle thee if thou wilt take Christs Grace in thee along then thou must take on thee also his Suffering Dying Scorne Persecution and Misery and suffer thy selfe to be continually reproached in the world for a false wicked man and to suffer thy selfe to be accounted a * * * Or Knave wicked person by the Pharisaicall Hypocrisie as one that hath stolen their Cup and taken it away by violence in that he will no more kneele downe before the Great Babylonish Whore who hath presented a Cup full of Hypocrisie and Blasphemy and quaffe of their Cup and then reproach they him for a wicked person who hath stolen their Cup and Authority from them and runne after him and would murther him and damne him to temporall and Eternall Death and reproach him without ceasing for a treacherous person who hath stolen their Cup. 6. That is when a true Christian obteineth the Cup of Christ and drinketh out of it then cometh the Anger of God in the fleshly Evill Nature as also the Devill and the Evill world and set upon him on every side because he hath this Cup in his Habitation and Prophesieth or Divineth against them that they have the Cup of Whoredome and Abomination in them and because he revealeth it and will not quaffe with them in their Cup of Hypocrisie and Blasphemy 7. And then must a Christian lay downe his Sack of Gods Grace at their Feete and suffer himselfe to be bound and captivated in their Scorning and Contemning and then they oftentimes bereave him of Body and Life honour and welfare and set him with his Cup before their Judgement and there a Christian must drink out of their Cup the derision Crosse Suffering and Death of Christ and Imitate and follow Christ in this Cup and not goe home againe so in Peace with his filled Sack of the Grace of Christ through this world into his Eternall * * * Or Native Country Country of his Father he must be †††Phil. 3.10 Rom. 8.29 conformable to Christs Image and follow him in his way which he hath walked in this world this is powerfully prefigured in this figure 8. For Josephs Brethren stood now in the figure of a Converted Christian whom God hath cloathed with Christ and also layd in the Cup of the Crosse together with Grace and moreover uppermost in the Sack to signifie that when the Grace of Christ which is bestowed on a Christian shall work and bring forth fruit that it is not done in standing still in peace and quietnesse but in the Strife about this Cup for it lyeth uppermost in the Sack of Grace the Strife about the Cup must alwayes be the forerunner of it 9. For Christ sayth * * * Mat. 10.34 Luk. 12.51 The Sonne of Man is not come to establish peace on the Earth but strife and persecution that one be against another and persecute him Also †††Luk. 12.49 He hath kindled a fire and desireth it should Burne And this is it that a true Christian must alwayes be spoken against even ‖ ‖ ‖ Mich. 7.6 Those of his owne family in flesh and Bloud must be his Enemies that the sowne and planted Tree of Pearle may stirre and bring forth fruit 10. As an Earthly Tree must stand in Heate Cold and Wind and have great Stroakes opposition whereby the sap is drawne out of the Earth into the Tree so that it blossometh and beareth fruit thus also the poore soule in such smitings opposition in scorne and misery must draw power and vertue into it selfe out of the bestowed and entrusted Grace viz. out of the soyle and field of the word of God with earnest prayer and working and thereby beare the fruit of Faith viz. Good Doctrine Instruction and Conversation 11. For thereby the Soule feedeth the Spirit of Christ and Christ feedeth the soule againe out of the Sack of the Substantiall Grace viz. with his flesh of the Substantiall Wisdome of God and thus they give themselves one to another to a perpetuall working 12. And wee see heerby how even the wicked must serve God in the working of his Grace for he is its stormy wind and his Cursing and Blasphemy against Gods Children is the heate cold wherewith God stirreth his little plant of Pearle in his Children so that it hungreth after heavenly Sap and draweth it into it selfe and groweth and this is that which Christ sayd * * * Luk. 12.49 He came to set up Strife on the Earth for Christs Kingdome is a Strife against Hell and the Devill Christ striveth without ceasing in his Children and Members with Sathan about the Kingdome 13. For in the Earthly Man lyeth yet the Ground of the Serpent viz. a Habitation of Sathan wherein Sathan withstandeth the Kingdome of Christ So also on the Contrary the Kingdome of Christ in Grace withstandeth the Kingdome of Sathan with the Cup of Christ this Strife continueth alwayes while the Earthly Body continueth 14. For thus Gods Anger worketh in the Love that the Love viz. the Eternall One and Eternall Good might be distinguishable perceptible and discernible for in Strife and opposite will the Profundity or Abysse viz. the Eternall One which is without Nature and Creature is Manifest 15. And therefore God hath introduced himselfe with his holy Word of Powers into Nature and Creature as also into Paine and Torment into Light and Darknesse that the Eternall power of his Word in the Wisdome together with the Expressed Word might be distinguishable and perceptible that knowledge might be 16. For without this the knowledge of the Eternall One would not be manifest neither would there be any Joy and though it were in being yet it would not be manifest to it selfe thus it manifesteth it selfe through the introduction into Nature through the Seperability or Distinguibility of the Speaking whereby the Speaking bringeth it selfe into properties and the properties into opposition or Contrariety of will and so through the Opposition the Eternall Good which bringeth it selfe along in the Word of the Speaking into
generate the other Men out of himselfe in that likenes but when that was not done God cursed the power that was given to Man so that the will of the Creatures is opposite to him seeing he would have them to misuse them and would no more be a Lord of the Creatures but mingleth his Love also with them whereupon the foure Elements captivated him and made him also a Beast as to the Body and thus now he runneth on in the will of the Curse 32. For he is Gods Image but he * * * Imageth modelleth oâ— figureth fashioneth his will into a beastiall Image and disturbeth the Order of God from what it was in the word of Creation he suppresseth the right true will of God and setteth his own will in the place he is with his will an Enemy to all Creatures and all Creatures are his Enemies 33. And therefore must the divine will in Man be now borne againe in such anguish in the Opposite will and the right divine will of the New Birth must suffer it selfe to have the Enmity of all Creatures and therefore because Man beareth in his Body a Beastiall will wherein the beastiall Opposite will together with the Curse is manifested and so now the Life in the Curse is at Enmity with the Life in the Peace and will not suffer it in it selfe 34. But if the Beastiall will in the flesh could be wholly broken and killed then the Curse would cease and so no Creature could be at Enmitie more 35. But seeing this cannot be therefore must Man stand in Strife and endure much evill to will in him from without and to will much evill out from himselfe in and towards that which is without him and so standeth in strife between evill and good and in evill and good and liveth in the Strife of the Elements and also in the strife of his own willing that God gave him 36. For he complaineth alwayes that wrong is done him and yet himselfe is a wrong will and the right will which he obtaineth in the Regeneration is not his owne naturall willing but it is the willing of the Grace of God which is manifested in his willing which willing dayly killeth his naturall willing and blameth Man by Gods instrument with the children of the Anger openly 37. Moses speaketh further and sayth * * * Gen. 44.7 8 9 10. They answered him and sayd Wherefore speaketh my Lord such words It is far from thy servants to doe such a thing Behold the Money which we found aloft in the Sack wee have brought to thee againe out of the Land of Canaan how should wee then have stolen out of thy Lords house either Silver or Gold Hee with whom it is found among us thy servants let him be put to Death and moreover wee will be the servants of my Lord Hee sayd let it be as ye have spoken He with whom it is found shall be my servant but ye shall be quitt 38. This Figure now sheweth how the Conscience desireth to Justifie it selfe when it is apprehended by the wrath of Gods Anger that either when God with his plagues in Nature also many times in the hiding of his Graces or through the evill World blameth it and representeth it unrighteous then it will alwayes Justifie it selfe that wrong is done it 39. For if it have once turned toward Grace and broken it selfe off from ungodly Courses then it thinketh no Evill at all shall happen God is bound to protect it and the world doth it wrong when it reproacheth it as wicked it ought no more to be subject to plagues and punishments and it accounteth that honesty and Righteousnes whereby it stealeth Grace from God and reckoneth it for its owne as if it were no more Guiltie of Sinnes 40. Also it excuseth it selfe towards the world when the world will impute Sinnes and Blasphemies to it as if it were guilty then it will needs dye or be put to death or the like as Josephs brethren did who knew nothing of the Theft and did not understand neither that all their unrighteousnes and their stealing of Joseph when they stole him from their Father and sold him stood in the Sacks of Josephs gifts viz. were manifest before the Eyes of Joseph so that Joseph knew and understood their Theft and therefore caused them to be held for Theeves and caused them to be pursued as Theeves and fetched them back againe and set them before the Judgement 41. But in stead of their Theevery of their committed Sinnes whereby they had forfeited their Lives Joseph caused his Silver Cup to be layd to the Gift in their Sack and caused them to be blamed for the Cup which they would not confesse The Figure standeth thus 42. When a Man as is above-mentioned becometh a true Christian so that God giveth him his Grace then he layeth his Grace hiddenly in the Sack of his Body in the Essences of Life and moreover layeth therein the Cup of the Crosse and blameth it no more in Conscience in respect of its manifold committed sinnes for he hath utterly destroyed them with the Grace of forgivenesse and filled the Sack of his sinnes with Grace for the hunger of the poore soule but it layeth now the Cup of Christ to its Charge that it is Guilty of that viz. of Christs being scorned also of his Suffering and Death that he hath brought Christ to the Crosse with his sinnes that it is verily Guilty of the Cup of Christs Crosse and not wholly righteous 43. For when God by his Grace forgiveth him the * * * Mortall deadly or killing sinnes sinnes unto Death then he causeth this Cup of Christ to be layd aloft in the Sack seeing Christ himselfe hath the Guilt of these sinnes layd upon him and hath taken them upon him therefore now this Man is guilty of the Cup of Christs Crosse in which Christ must tast and drink out the Anger of God in Man and Gods righteousnesse requires of him to enter into the suffering scorne Death of Christ that he should dye with Christ and give himselfe up to his scorne and suffer with Christ. 44. But seeing he cannot doe that and is too weake to enter into such sufferings in the Anger of God therefore hath Grace put this Cup also into him that he might drink of Christs victory and Prophesie or Divine of Christs suffering and Death and make them knowne 45. But Gods righteousnesse which now requireth Man to be in the processe of Christ viz. in Christs Sufferings and Death and yet findeth him not alwayes in his Conversation and Will therein accuseth him for a Theefe who carrieth the Cup of Christs Crosse but as a Theefe in the Sack of his Lifes Essences and chargeth him of Theft if he walke otherwise then in the Processe and Imitation of Christ. 46. For Christ hath received Man into his Sufferings and Death and turned away the righteousnesse of Gods Anger and introduced him
what he might else stand in neede of or layeth it by for poore people such is the Officers gathering together it should all be gathered together for common benefit else it is a Treasure of the anger of God and must expect Gods Judgement 47. But that the present Potentates doe thus gather together for their owne honour for voluptuousnes and pride and in that regard doe the more hardly oppresse and squeeze that they may only therewith exercise their pride and keepe under the poore as Doggs and say in their hearts they are bound to doe so for mee I have bought or inherited it as a priviledge I have it of right all this one and other is done in the anger of God they all now in this property serve only Sathan viz. in the figure of Gods anger and no better 48. All selfe-owning belongeth to Hell make what thou wilt of it no seeming Rhetorick will avayle before God thou gatherest together into Hell God requireth the Ground of the Heart and will have trusty Officers 49. But the Miserable is to know that in such restraint and service if he endure it without murmuring and grudging in faithfulnes he serveth even his Lord Christ for God thereby draweth him away from this world so that he sets his hope upon that which is to come and in this servility of his hands he gathereth to him with his prayer into this house of Lamentation his heavenly Treasure whereas if he for this time of his restraint stood in the voluptuousnes of the flesh he would gather no good thing therefore †††Rom. 8.28 all things must serve to the best of them that love God 50. Thus a Man ought to understand the figure under the history and acts of Joseph for indeed the history is described with great diligence according to the inward figure according to the * * * Eingebung Inward suggestion inspiration of the Spirit of God which alwayes more respects Christs Kingdome then any Historie of a slight and simple Act. 51. For the Acts of the Bible are not set downe therefore because Men should see the Life and Deeds of the Old Holy Men or Saints as Babell supposeth No the Kingdome of Christ above all is thereby deciphered as also the Kingdome of Hell the visible figure continually pointeth at the invisible which shall be manifested in the Spirituall Man 52. Moses heere finisheth the figure of the New Regeneration under the historie of Joseph and sayth further * * * Gen. 47.27 28. Thus Israell dwelt in Egypt in the Land of Goshen and possessed it and grew and multiplyed very much and Jacob lived seaventeen yeares in Egypt so that his whole age was one hundred forty and seaven yeares 53. †††Vers. 29 30 31. And when the time was come that Israell was to dye he called his son Joseph and sayd to him If I have found Grace before thee then lay thy hand under my Thigh that thou wilt be loving and faithfull to mee and not bury mee in Egypt but I will lye with my fathers and thou shalt carry mee out of the Land of Egypt and bury mee in their burying place Hee sayd I will doe as thou hast sayd but he answered and sayd sweare to mee and he sware to him then Israell bowed himselfe sitting up at the head of the Bed 54. This now is a very Mâ—sticall figure and pointeth at the Resurrection of the Dead when the Soule shall come to the Body againe and the Body will be pure and holy For the Land of Canaan which was also full of the abominations of the Heathen signifieth the Earthly Body and Egypt where Pharaoh dwelt and Joseph was Steward signifieth the Soule which dwelleth in Gods Word viz. by or neere the Eternall King 55. And wee see it very finely pourtrayed in this figure how Adams Soule turned it selfe with Lust into the Earthly Canaan of the Earthly Body and turned away from God therefore now the Soule must goe againe into Egypt into Repentance to Joseph viz. to Christ and to King Pharaoh viz. to God and there it will be received as a childe of Grace to be a Bond servant so that it will be obedient to God and be his servant and Minister and must forsake the Earthly Canaan viz. the Evill body with its will and Contrivances as Israell must leave and forsake Canaan 56. But after he should be dead he would then have his body into the Land of Canaan that it should be buried there which signifieth that the Earthly body must be buryed in its Mother the Earth and come into its first Mother againe and it signifieth that the Soule shall come againe out of Egypt viz. out of the Bondage of the affliction of Repentance to the Body into Rest for the Heathen must be driven out of Canaan when Israell entereth thereinto so also must the Abominations in the propertie and †††Or qualitie condition of the Body be consumed and all false and wicked desires be killed ere the Soule come to the Body againe and dwell therein 57. And it is powerfully represented how the will of the Soule shall and must in this life time breake off from the Earthly Canaan viz. from the Lusts of the Body presse into God againe by earnest Repentance where then the soule must rightly be in Egypt viz. a poore Bond servant in much anxiety and affliction but in the End when the Body shall dye then it also desireth to goe along out of the house of Bondage viz. out of the torment of Repentance and will goe againe into the first Adamicall pure Image which God Created as Jacob would lye by his fathers when as he might have lyen as well in Egypt But the Spirit stood in the figure of the Resurrection shewing how the whole Man should goe againe into the first Image created by God 58. But that Jacob required an Oath from Joseph that he would bury him in Canaan with his Fathers it denoteth the Oath which God in Christ made with Man that God hath with his word of Love incorporated himselfe with Man and engaged as by an Eternall Oath to him Jacob requireth this Oath from Joseph as from the figure of Christ and desireth he should lay his hand under his Thigh and sweare 59. This is a figure signifying how Christ should lay his hand that is his power and might viz. the Eternall Word which is the hand that hath made all things into the humane Essence in Body and Soule and not onely into that but under the Thigh as under the humane power and to give himselfe to Man for his own and sweare therein that is bind himselfe to it that he will bring the whole Man when he is heere dead in the Temporall Death againe into the first Land of Inheritance wherein Adam in Innocency dwelt viz. into Paradise and bury the body and soule with his Oath in God as in the
and Man 42. And he sayth further for thy hand will be upon the Neck of thy enemies by this he understandeth and meaneth not onely the Jewes outward Enemies but that the hand viz. the power of Christs Grace would essentially actually and effectually be upon the Neck of Sathan and the Serpents Poyson and will in flesh and Bloud and evermore trample upon that Serpents head in his children of Faith 43. Also thy Fathers children will bow before thee that is before this Christ of the Stock or Tribe of Judah will all the Children of God stoope bow and pray to as a God-Man and Man-God 44. Also Judah is a young Lyon that is Roaring against the Devill and a destroyer of Death and Hell as a fresh young nimble Lyon mighty in strength and power 45. Also thou art come aloft my sonne and exalted by a Great victory that is after he had the victory over Gods Anger over Death Sinne the Devill and Hell he was placed at the right hand of Gods power as a Man-God and ruleth over all his Enemies 46. Also Hee stooped and couched downe as a Lyon and as a Lyonesse who will set upon him to rouse him up that is he hath so deeply humbled himselfe with his highest Love and rendred himselfe in our assumed humanity into the scorne and contempt of the fallen Man and stooped into Gods anger and suffered the Naturall Life to breake in peices and very patiently given his Strong Lyons might thereinto 47. But that the Text sayth as a Lyon and as a Lyonesse it signifieth the young Lyon of the Divine Word in the soule and the Lyonesse signifieth the Name JESUS in the most inward Ground of the heavenly worlds substance viz. the Noble Lyonesse of Sophia that is the right seede of the Woman from the Adamicall Lights Tincture which faded in Adam and in this Lyon was made living againe in divine power and associated it selfe againe to the Lyon viz. to the Soule 48. Also who will set upon him to rouse him up that is who can set himselfe aganst this Lyon and heavenly holy Lyonesse to rouse them up which are God over all and through all who will take away his power who is the beginner of all power strength and might Where is the Champion that can strive when there is no higher power to be had 49. Also The Scepter shall not be removed from Judah nor a Master from under his feete till the Champion or Saviour come and to him will the people cleave the understanding or meaning of this is twofold viz. outwardly concerning the Kingdome of Judah that the Jewish Scepter of its Kingdome should continue and they be a Kingdome till this Champion or Saviour viz. the Lyon with the Lyonesse viz. Christ that is this Covenant should become Man which is so come to passe that they held their Kingdome though it seemed often as it were quite overthrowne till Christ and then it quite ceased and there was another Master or Governour that ruled it for since that time they must be servile people for the Champion or Saviour hath taken to himselfe their Kingdome and is therewith entred in among the Heathen and hath called them also to himselfe 50. But the inward Ground is this that the Kingdome of Christ and his Dominion over Sinne Death the Devill and Hell will not cease nor any other Ruler or Master come from between his feet that is from the Covenant of God till this Saviour Christ should come againe to Judgement and sever his Enemies then shall he deliver up the Kingdome againe to his Father and then God shall be all in all therefore doe the Jewes in vaine hope for another Master or Ruler although indeed he will come to them also in the Time of his Revelation Manifestation or appearing which time is neere wherein the Kingdome of Christ will be manifested to all people 51. Also to him will the people cleave this is done already according to his humanity and will much more be done in his last manifestation that all people will cleave to him and acknowledge him when Babell taketh its End then will this be first perfectly fullfilled which dependance and cleaving to him at present the Images Imaginations or fictions of Opinions and Sects in Babell doe keepe back in that the strange and forreine People and Nations stumble and are scandalized at the Contentions and Disputations of Confounded * * * Or words of Jarring Contention Speeches and withhold from it 52. But when the Tower of Babell falleth on every side then shall all people cleave to him honour and serve him which dependance and cleaving to him supposed Christendom hath hindered by the Antichrist which hath a long time sate in the seate of Christ as an Earthly God when this ceaseth then will the Kingdome of Christ be wholly manifest which Men at present behold only in †††Or Opinions without certain knowledge Images this is understood by those of our society 53. Also hee will binde his Fole to the Vine and his shee-asses colt to the Noble Branch O thou poore sick old miserable Adam if thou didst understand this rightly then thou wouldest be delivered from all strife What is the fole and the shee-Asses colt The fole is the humane soule for the Young Lyon signifieth the power of the divine Word in the soule but the fole is the naturall soule which Christ should binde to the vine of the sweete tasted divine Love viz. the Eternall Speaking Word would binde this Fole the Creaturely Soules Word of the Soules Essence and Substance to it selfe and be marryed to it and the shee-Asse is the inward Paradisicall Man viz. the Divine Man from the Ens of the inward Ground from the heavenly Worlds Lights Substance viz. the Virgin Sophia 54. This shee-Asse which must beare the outward burthen of the beastiall Man upon it should Christ that is the Word binde to the Name JESUS viz. to Gods owne selfe-subsisting Substance viz. to the most Noble Branch which beareth the sweete wine of the Love of God 55. And this shee-Asse is the Temple of God wherein the Kingdome of God is againe Manifested in us it is †††Coloss. 3.11 1.27 Christ in us which is a shee-Asse in Man himselfe taketh upon him the burthen and sinne of Man and slayeth it through the Young Lyon 56. This Inward new spirituall holy Man is rightly the shee-Asses colt for it must be manifested through the soule as Light is manifested through fire thus a Man is to understand that the light is the fires Colt and is manifested through the fire from the dying of the Candle thus also it is to be understood in the Ground of the soule which is also a fire-Spirit 57. O thou poore Christendome if thou diddest understand this rightly and diddest presse into it so that thou also with this shee-Asse which faded in Adam stoodest bound to the foles Noble Branch what
6. But it hath more respect to the Covenant that the children of the Covenant in their Adamicall Nature would be a neere Cohabitation in Hope and that the Outward Man would not apprehend the Kingdome of Christ but would be a neere co-habitation with it where Christ should dwell in the inward Ground viz. in the Spirituall World and Adam in this * * * World or outward Life Time of the Life and yet be a co-habitation 7. For as the Spirit hath by Judah declared Christ in the flesh so now heere he declareth that the outward Man would not be Christ but be a Co-habitation of Christ Christ would possesse the inward Ground as he also sayth My Kingdome is not of this world Therefore the outward mortall Man should not say of it selfe I am Christ for he is onely a Co-habitation of Christ as the outward world is onely a Co habitation or neere neighbourhood to the Kingdome of Christ for Christ is the inward Spirituall world hidden in the outward visible world as the Day is hidden in the night and yet they dwell one by neere and with the other VI. The Testament of Issachar 8. * * * Gen. 49 14 15. Issachar is a strong boned Asse and he lodgeth in valleys between the Borders or Hills of the Country and he saw Rest that it was Good and the Land that it was pleasant and fruitfull but he hath bowed his shoulders to beare and is become a Tribute servant In this Testament of Issachar the Spirit pointeth first at the outward figure of this Tribe or Stock shewing where they should dwell viz. in the midst of the Land in Good ease and Rest but yet be Tributary but the powerfull figure looketh upon the inward Ground viz. upon the humane Nature 9. For when †††Gen. 30.18 Lea bare Issachar shee sayd God hath rewarded mee in that I gave my Mayde to my husband and shee called him Issachar that is a divine wages or reward for shee had given Rachell her Sonnes Mandrakes that shee suffered Jacob to sleepe with her this night upon which shee conceived this sonne therefore shee called him a recompence from God 10. But the Spirit sayth in this figure he would be a boned strong Asse and lodge between the Borders which outwardly in its habitation was just so but in the inward figure he sayth The man which is obteined from God by prayer is indeed a Gift and wages but his Adamicall Nature is onely a Boned strong Asse for the burthen who beareth the Adamicall Sack but he dwelleth with his Minde between the Borders viz. between God and the Kingdome of this world his Minde presseth into the Borders of God and the Body dwelleth in the World 11. Therefore the Minde must be as a Boned servile slavish Asse which though it sitteth at ease and rest in a good habitation in the Borders of God yet it must beare the burthen of sinnes and of Death in the earthly Sack and there is no buying it off with the Mandrakes before the Death of the Earthly Man also no praying to God for it avayleth that thereby the Boned strong Asse might come to divine Liberty It must remaine an Asse till Christ in himselfe bringeth it into the Eternall Rest The Adamicall hurt and losse is so great that the Asse must leave the Sack in the Death of Christ else he will not be rid of it 12. But he addeth the cause why he must remaine a Boned strong Asse for he sayth He saw the Rest that it was good and the Land that it was pleasant that is that the Minde would alwayes desire to rest in the Lust and pleasure of the flesh and would desire to take care of the Earthly Lust and in that regard the Minde must be a servile Asse and servant of Gods Anger and so seperateth the Naturall Adamicall Man from the Seede of the Covenant viz. from the person of Christ so that the Naturall Adamicall Man in its inbred Nature is but this Asse with the Sack till Christ possesseth his Kingdome in him no Covenant or praying availeth but that Adam must in this world remaine an Asse till the Sack be gone and then he is called a new childe in Christ which new childe in this Life is the inward Ground but the boned strong Asse is the new childes instrument upon which the Sack is carried for the servility of Gods Anger continueth so long as the Sack lasteth VII The Testament of Dan. 13. * * * Gen. 49.16 17 18. Dan will be a Judge among his People as any other Generation in Israell Dan will be a Serpent in the way and an Adder on the path and will bite the horse in the Heeles that his rider shall fall back O Lord I waite for thy Salvation This is a powerfull figure of the outward power and authority of humane Officers in the Kingdome of this World and is so strongly prefigured that it is terrible to reade if a man rightly discerne the figure and yet in the presence of God it standeth in its own proper figure thus The Spirit sayth Dan will be a Judge among his people as one of the Generations or Tribes in Israell In the Figure it standeth thus 14. Dan standeth in the figure of all outward Officers from those of highest authority and power even to the * * * Ordering of a Mans own private affaires or employment◠Government of the humane Life it selfe therefore the Spirit fayth of him he shall be in his owne might and power as one Man is to another In the presence of God he is not esteemed greater in his owne Nature then a Servant or Minister for he serveth God in his Office as another servant doth his Lord and Master the Office is Gods wherein he sitteth as a Judge The Office is the Authority and power and he himselfe is before God as another Man 15. But the Spirit sayth Dan will be a Serpent on the way and an Adder on the path that is this Judge in Gods Office would draw poyson out of the power and authority viz. selfe-will and say of himselfe the authority is mine the Office is mine that is called on the way for the way which they should goe is Gods viz. true righteousnes then sayth Dan that Land and Country this Citty that Village those Goods that Money is mine it is my owne I will use it to my owne profit advantage and honour and live in this Office as I will 16. And this very selfehood is the Serpent and venomous Adder on the way for it walketh very dangerous steps upon the paths of righteousnesse it turneth righteousnesse into Selfehood to doe what it will it sayth I am a Lord the Citty Land and Country the Village or Authority and power is mine I may doe with the people what I will they are mine and so sucketh poyson out of Gods Office of a Judge and thereby afflicteth the miserable and
againe the unfolded Nature in the Strife of Time into himselfe and draw it together into the Temperature and then would this Time have an End and Strife cease This wee desired a little to delineate for the Lover of Truth let him search further in the Spirit of God which searcheth all things even the deepe things of the Deity and then he will see our Ground in the Truth CHAP. LXXVIII Of the Holy Patriarch Jacobs Buriall in the Land of Canaan What is thereby to be understood Vpon the 50 Chapter of Genesis 1. THe Buriall of Jacob Genesis L. that Joseph should carry him againe into the Land of Candan after his Death and bury him with his Fathers and that Joseph went thither with a Great Company with all the children of Israell and many Egyptians it prefigureth to us Christs powerfull exit out of this world when the Adamicall Man after its death should againe be carried from this Egypt and house of torment into its fathers first Country into Paradise into which Christ will bring it 2. But that also many Egyptians went along with Joseph thither and accompanied him signifieth that Christ when he shall bring home his Bride into Paradise will have many strangers with him who in the time of this Life knew him not as to his person or Office and yet are sprung up in him in his Love which will all goe with Christ into Paradise and dwell and co-habite with him 3. Their weeping and Mourning signifieth the Eternall Joy which they should receive in Paradise as the Magi alwayes by weeping and Mourning prefigure Joy This funerall solemnity and what is to be understood thereby is declared * * * Gen 23. and the 50 Chap. of Mysterium Magnum before concerning Abraham 4. Moses sayth further in this Chapter †††Gen 50.15 16 17 18 19 20 21. Josephs brethren feared after their father was dead and sayd Joseph surely is wrath with us and will requite all the Evill which wee have done unto him therefore they caused it to be told him thy father Commanded before his Death and sayd thus shall yee say to Joseph forgive I pray thee now the Misdeeds of thy Brethren and their sinne that they have done so evill to thee therefore forgive the Misdeeds of us the servants of the God of thy Father but Joseph wept when it was told him and his brethren went in and fell downe before him and sayd behold wee are thy servants but Joseph sayd to them feare not for I am under the presence of God you thought to doe evill by mee but God turned it unto Good so that he hath done as it is at this Day to prâ—sâ—rve much people therefore be not afraid I will provide for you and your children so hee comforted them and spake friendly to them 5. This figure is a Mighty Comfort to the brethren of Joseph but seeing Joseph standeth in the Image and Type of Christ and his brethren in the figure of a poore Converted sinner therefore wee must expound this figure thus that is when poore sinfull Man who hath committed great sinnes and hath turned to Repentance and attained Grace and committed some fauâ—t againe then he is alwayes in feare and trembling before the Grace of God and thinketh God will impute his first committed sinnes to him againe and take an occasion against him by this fault and in that regard standeth in great anguish and beginneth to confesse his first committed sinnes againe and falleth a new at the Lords feeâ—e and entereth againe into earnest siâ—cere Repentance and bewayleth his first misdeeds as David did when he sayd †††Psal. 25.7 Lord impute not to mee the sinnes of my youth 6. But by this New Repentance and earnest Lamentation when the poore Man appeareth so very earnestly and humbly before God againe the heavenly Joseph is brought into such Great pitty and Compassion as heere Joseph was that he comforteth the poore soule in its Conscience saying it should not be afrayd all its committed sinnes should not only not be imputed but they shall also turne to the Best as Joseph sayd ye thought to doe mee evill but God entended good thereby thus God in Christ not only forgiveth the by past sinnes to the humble converted Man but he also addeth to him provision for him and his children with Temporall blessing and maintenance and turneth all to the Best as Joseph did to his brethren 7. In the End ‖ ‖ ‖ Gen. 50.24 Joseph desireth an Oath that when he shall dye that they will carry his bones along with them out of Egypt to his fathers which signifieth to us the Oath of God in Paradise that Christ God and Man would come againe to his brethren and stay for Ever with them and be their High Priest and King and nourish them with his power of Love and dwell by and in them as Joseph by his brethren and provide for them as his branches and Members Eternally with his power and sapp Amen 8. This is a briefe summary Exposition of the * * * Genesis first Booke of Moses from a right true Ground and divine Gift which wee have very faithfully imparted in a Co-operating Member-like Love and Care to our Deare fellow Brethren that shall reade and understand this 9. And wee admonish the Reader of this that when he findeth somewhat in any place of our deepe sence to be obscure that he doe not contemne it according to the manner of the Evill world but diligently reade and pray to God who will surely open the doore of his heart so that he will apprehend and be able to make use of it to the profit and salvation of his soule which wee wish to the Reader and hearer in the Love of Christ from the Gift of this Talent in the Ground of the soule and commit him into the Working Meeke Love of JESUS CHRIST Dated 11 September 1623. and then finished Praise the LORD in Sion and praise him all people for his might and power goeth through and is over Heaven and Earth Ha le lu-jah A Brief Abstract of the Sublime Consideration and deep understanding of the Mysterium Magnum Shewing how the visible World is a Streame and Reflexion of the Divine Knowledge and Will and how the Life of Every Creature hath taken its Originall and how the Divine Introitus going in and Exitus Out as to the Creature is EVery sensible and perceptible Life and Beeing or Essence Substance is come ex Mysterio Magno from the Great Mystery as from the streame and reflexion of Divine knowledge in which two things are to be understood viz. the Free will of the Abysse and the Substantiall One in the Will and how these two are a reflexion of the Abysse viz. a ground of the Divine Manifestation also how they are two and yet but one out of which Time and the visible World and all Creatures did flow forth and are become
Jerusalem the overthrow thereof and the earnest judgement draweth neare the measure is full the anger burneth Sin hath killed the understanding that they * * * Have no more sense or understanding no more perceive or feel the understanding these children are blinde concerning it and alwayes say this is a golden Time it will be good for us and not so come to passe thy Prophets among thee are esteemed fools and mad men till that be done unto thee and till thou thy self doest what they have said unto thee 12. Beware now and leave off to warr about the whore that the Lord may call thee with Jacob and bring thee againe to his holy Altar in Christ Jesus Put away the Idols viz. the opinions and build thine heart to be an Altar in the Temple of Jesus Christ then wilt thou be brought away from the murthers and the feare of God will come upon those men who would pursue thee as is to be seene by Jacob. But if thou wilt not leave off to make warr about the whore then wilt thou together with the whore come to shame and desolation 13. But learne to know her shee giveth Sichem occasion to uncleanness for shee runs out of her house and seeketh lovers Behold her Pride tear her Ear-rings from her neck wherewith shee boasteth and then shee will no more thus shew her folly bereave her of her Idols bury them with Jacob build thy self an Altar in thee and bring thy children to the offering Bid them not strive for Dinah but leave Dinah to the man with whom shee hath bedded else it is in vain to make warr for her virginity for it is manifest to all people that shee hath play'd the whore 14. Marke what is told thee it is high-time her shame can no more be covered for shee hath brought forth the Bastard doest thou not see it and doest thou not know the whore with her child then thou art blinde 15. Shee sitteth in high honour among men and cries all haile to her self This is shee to whom thou prostitutest thy self and forsakest thy God and his Altar Jesus Christ in thee take pity on thy self and behold the misery how this whore hath sate in stead of the Altar of God in thy soule and hath taken thy body and soule in possession and rideth upon thee as upon her Beast shee leadeth thee with her Reignes and thou seest it not thou say'st likewise it is right O thou evill beast full of thy whores Pride how will the Lord throw thee together with the whore to the ground as is to be seene in the * * * Apocalyps Revelations 16. The Spirit heere further setteth downe an excellent faire figure shewing how God manifested himself to Jacob after he made the Altar in Bethel and called the place El-Bethel viz. an Angelicall Engelische dwelling Gen. 35.7 where God conversed with Jacob in the forme of an Angel Engel as the high tongue renders it that God spake with him in vision in an Angels forme viz. in the Angells forme of the future humanity of Christ and signified to him that †††Gen. 35 10 11 12. he should no more be called Jacob but Israel that is a Great Tree or company of Nations him hath God thus blessed that he should possesse all this Country and he shall be so great that even Kings should proceed out of his Loynes whereby he signifieth concerning the future Kingdome of Israel and of Christ how it would come to passe 17. * * * Gen· 35.14 And when the Lord had spoken with Jacob in that very place Jacob set up a Pillar of Stone which signifieth the Temple of Christ as also the Temple at Jerusalem in a Type prefiguring Christ also the true Christian Church among the Christians that from the word of the Lord Men would build a Place and Pillar where they would assemble and declare the Wonders of the Great God and call upon him there and offer up the drink offering of Prayer there 18. And the Spirit sayth further * * * Gen. 35.13 So God went up from him when he had spoken with him that is when he had appeared in a visible Forme in the Image and Type of Christ he with-drew and hid himselfe againe in that Royall place from whence afterwards he would manifest and make himself visible in his Seede in this Figure in the Humanity 19. †††Gen. 35.15 And Jacob called the place Bethel viz. an ‖ ‖ ‖ Or Condiscention humiliation of the Deity in the Humanity so that the Divine Altar becomes manifest where a Man offers praise and thankesgiving to God And the Spirit by Jacob concerning this Bethel pointeth at the future Bethlehem where Christ should be borne Man as this place Bethel was exceeding highly esteemed by the Patriarchs which all pointeth at the Future Bethlehem where the true Altar Christ should be erected and built upon which Jacob and his Fathers and Children had offered in the Faith and prefiguring Type and under it God led them in the visible Type from thenceforth till the appointed Time that this Altar was erected at Bethlehem by the Birth of Christ. 20. And the Spirit in Moses speaketh instantly very darkly thereof in this Figure and sayth * * * Gen. 35.16 And they went from Bethel whereby he pointeth at the going forth from the figure of Christ that Men should goe forth from this figure to the Birth of Christ and sayth * * * Gen. 35.16 And it was a field breadth from Ephrath where Rachel brought forth and shee was in hard Labour at the Birth 21. This Field breadth signifieth the time that is between that and the Altar of Christ as Adam was gone a field breadth from the Altar of God that is out of the Spirituall world into the Earthly where it goeth very hard with Rachel viz. with the humane Nature as to the Patriarch Benjamin that is to bring forth a Christian that even the Old Adam must dye and perish in this Birth as Rachel dyed when shee bare Benjamin 22. Which Benjamin signifieth that when wee erect Gods Altar in us so that Christ dwelleth in us then is Benjamin that is our Last Man or second Adam borne then dieth the Old Mother who hath generated the kingdome of Nature in Man and the New Spirituall Man is manifested 23. This Benjamin is borne after Jacob is first gone out of Mesopotamia as the Spirit hath prefigured the Type of Christs Passion and Victory by Esaw and Jacob in their Meeting and it was a figure of the Apostle Mathias who was Elected to be an Apostle in the stead of Judas after Christ had first consummated his Passion and Ascention into Heaven 24. And it is a figure shewing how Man must first enter into Christs Passion Death that the Altar of Christ must first be erected in him before the Humane Nature from Christ can be borne for
†††Matth. 27.5 Judas must first in his falshood and Treachery in the old Adam with sorrow for his committed sinne hang himselfe and as to his owne ability despaire and dye and then will Benjamin viz. the new Creature in Christ first be borne and * * * Acts 1.26 Mathias viz. the first Created Adam be Elected an Apostle 25. For Mathias was indeed borne before the Passion of Christ and was with Christ but he was then first an Apostle when Christ in him was dead from sinne and Judas had hanged himselfe thus also the Adamicall Man which shall be an Apostle or Christian is indeed borne aforehand before Christ suffereth in him but Christ must first arise from the Dead in him and Judas viz. the Serpents will must hang himselfe and dye to his owne evill will in the Death of Christ and then first is the ‖ ‖ ‖ Adams Man a Christ. Adamicall Man a Christian It is not the Historicall Man by an imputed Grace wherein Judas still liveth under the Purple Mantle of Christ that is a Christian as Babell playeth finely under the vayle concerning the virginity of her Daughter Dinah that the faire dainty Damsell may play the whore and finely sleepe with her Pandor Judas and lye with her Lovers in the Bed of Fornication 26. Great things are prefigured in this Text for the Text sayth †††Gen 35.17 18. When shee was in sore Labour in the Birth of Benjamin the Midwife sayd to her Feare not for thou shalt have this sonne also But her soule being ready to depart that shee must die shee called him Benoni that is shee looked upon the inward ground upon the New Birth what he would be in Christ and regarded not the Name of the outward Creature 27. For Benoni is altogether a Spirituall Name after an Angelicall kinde and manner for shee sayd in Spirit when the Midwife comforted her concerning it that shee should have this sonne also I have him no more in the world the outward passeth away and it pointeth at the Angelicall New Name * * * Gen. 35.18 but his Father called him Benjamin as with the Name of this world that he should represent how a Christian must be borne under the Crosse of Christ in smart paine at which also his Mother looked as if shee should say through smart paine and sorrow wee come to Life as this sonne of my smart and sorrow 28. Then sayth the Spirit †††Gen. 35.19 20. Thus Rachel dyed and was buried in the way towards Ephrath which is now called Bethlehem And Jacob set up a Pillar upon her Grave and that is the Pillar of Rachels Grave unto this Day This is a secret mysticall Figure that Rachel dyed and is buried at the Citie Bethlehem and it signifieth that shee shall there rise againe through the Birth of Christ for Christ should there be borne 29. And it is signified that when wee shall flie to Bethlehem to the Birth of Christ then shall Benjamin viz. the New spirituall Man be borne of Rachell viz. of the Mother of the Old Adamicall Man in the Spirit of Christ and then presently will the Mother yeeld up her birth-right to the Spirit of Christ and die to her right of Nature and then will the Spirituall Eternall Birth begin and Eve passe away for there Jacob setteth up the Grave-stone or Pillar and the Spirit sayth it is her Grave-stone unto this Day to signifie that it poynteth at the future and that this Grave-stone should continue and Christ be borne there where Rachel died 30. In this Historie of the Acts of Jacob wee see cleerly that the Spirit hath in this description a figure under which it signifieth For Rachel was big with Benjamin when Jacob departed from Laban when * * * Gen. 31·34 35. shee sat upon the Idol-Gods when her Father sought for them and shee sayd it is with mee after the manner of Women so that I cannot rise up before thee But now the Text relateth how Jacob first pitched his Tents before Sichem and dwelt there and afterwards went first to Bethel and then Rachel brought forth so that it appeareth that the Spirit speaketh wholly in the figure for the Acts doe all follow very Orderly one after another in the figure of Christ as it hath come to passe with Christ which ought well to be Observed 31. The Spirit of Moses sayth further * * * Gen. 35.20 21 22. And Israel went forth and spread his Tents on the otherside of the Tower of Edar And it came to passe when Israell dwelt in that Land that Reuben went and slept with Bilha his Fathers Concubine and it came before Israel What manner of figure is this which is very deeply hidden but the Circumstances make it as cleare as the Sun 32. Israel went on the other side of the Great Babylonicall Towre and dwelt there with the Children of that People which may well be a pretty way from Ephrath Bethlehem but the Spirit hath heere its figure under which it signifieth that is when Jacob had taken away the strange Gods from his people and also their Ear-rings and buried them and built the Altar of the Lord Converting to God and were sitting in Rest and Ease then the naturall fleshly Man turned againe to the Lust of the children of Babel even as the Text sayth 33. Jacob went and dwelt there and then Reuben lay with his fathers Concubine viz. with Bilha Rachels handmayd the Mother of Dan and Naphthali and committed * * * Blutschande Incest which was worse then that of Sichem with Dinah but the Spirit hath thus with this action presented a figure pointing at the future how it would come to passe how Israel would turne away from the Divine Ordinance from the Altar of their God and mixe their fathers Worship and service of God with Naturall whoredome viz. with heathenish Sacrificing to Idolls as is to be seene by Jeroboam and the Spirit signifieth thereby that the first Adamicall Man would have onely fleshly desires and Lusts. 34. For Reuben was the first sonne of Jacob by Lea viz. by her of whom also sprang the Line of Christ to signifie that every one that would be called Jewes or Christians and are Generated out of those stocks would forsake God and lye with their fathers Concubines viz. commit fornication with the Idolatry humane Inventions and bablings of the Pharisees and Scribes and with their Lawes and Cannons and forget the Truth of God and of his Commandements in their Hearts and †††Einbilden make to themselves Images of these imprint those whoredomes in their Hearts Lusts. 35. For Reuben was indeed Jacobs first sonne as Adam also was the first Man but the Line of Christ was not manifested in Reuben as also not in Adam but it was manifested in Abel and in Judah and as Adam in Spiritu Mundi in the spirit of the