not apprehend nor acknowledge that that Birth had any thing of its own nature more than the Birth of any other man which I say it had according to the Revelation of God given me concerning it And this is demonstrable also from Scripture â— But I shall soon put an end to both these reasonings and yet also speak or declare freely that which is given me concerning the same and in plainness so far as the nature of the thing can admit I say then that neither is the God-head it self conceived or born in this Birth nor yet is it a particle or portion thereof For I confess to say either of these two were very unsound and is altogether contrary unto and inconsistent with the dignity and Glory of God And as for the God-head to speak properly it is not discerpible into particles And thus I have plainly cleared my self of the least ground of suspicion of Blasphemy or unsoundness as to the nature and dignity of the God-head that is without all variableness or shadow of change And now to that question viz. If that Birth have in it and that substantially and in its very nature somewhat above the common nature of man what can it be but the God-head it self I answer Yea it hath and yet it is not the Godhead it self but a certain middle nature substance or being betwixt the God-head and mankind that is as far yea and much farther transcendent in Glory above the common nature of man as the nature of man is above the nature of the beasts yea it is even above the nature of the Angels This will be thought the more strange of by many because they have been commonly taught and have commonly received it that there is no middle substance betwixt the God-head and us at least as to the inward for they have supposed that the spirit or mind of a man or an Angel is next unto the God-head which I deny for the Heavenly or Divine Substance or Essence of which the Divine Birth was both conceived in Mary and is inwardly conceived in the Saints is of a middle nature Now this middle Nature I call a Divine Substance or Essence not as if it were the God-head it self or a particle or portion of it but because of its excellency above all other things next unto the God-head as on such an account men do call other things Divine which are very excellent yea some call Holy men Divine and some call these who teach the things of God Divines as Iohn who wrote the Revelation is called Iohn the Divine Also this excellent and intermediate being may be called the Divine Being on such an account as because the God-head is most immediately manifest therein and dwelleth in it as in the most Holy place or Holy of Holies For thus even according unto the manner of men we commonly say such a place in the outward is such a man's being because of his dwelling or abiding there And so it may be called the Divine Essence or Being for that God doth dwell in it though he dwelleth in himself also and so did from everlasting And truly I cannot but in Charity construe this to have been intended by some in some other places who affirmed that Christ as man was born of the Divine Essence or Substance for so say I according to the foresaid explanation that he was not only born of it but of the essence or substance of man also thro' Mary And thus he was both the Son of God and the Son of Man according to his very birth in Mary and therefore even according to that birth he hath a Divine perfection and virtue and that substantial above all other men that ever were are or shall be who is the Heavenly Man by vertue of which Divine Perfection he was united with God in an immediate manner and replenished with such a fullness of the God-head as no other man or men are capable of yea by vertue thereof the fullness dwelt in him bodily as the Scriptures declare And this Divine and Super-eminent perfection of this birth above the common nature of man yea of Angels is that wonderful nexus tie or bond betwixt God and him through which he hath immediate union with him yea it is and may be called the union viz. that by which God and man is made one and such and union as no other Creature hath or ever shall have for that the union of God with all other creatures is but mediate whereas this is immediate Wherefore he and he alone ought to be called Iesus Christ both God and Man and no other And by this Divine Perfection he carrieth the Image of God in his very outward birth as also he carried in the same the true nature and image of Man through his partaking of Marys substance And thus he hath our whole and perfect true nature as man being like us in all things without sin in Soul and Body so he hath also somewhat even as to his Soul and Body much more excellent than all other men and that substanstially so that his body hath not only the perfections of our body but also much more because of its being generate not only of the Seed of Mary but of a Divine Seed and his Soul hath all the perfections and properties which the Soul of man in innocency hath but it hath also much more excellent properties and perfections and that substantially And therefore his body tho it could suffer death yet it could not suffer corruption and his Soul could not sin nor be corrupted with Iniquity but did ever suffer under it and by it which Soul of Christ is the Quickening Spirit as Paul hath declared 1 Cor. 15. Now because of the wonderful and Divine excellencies and perfections of this birth therefore it is ordained and appointed of God to be that Universal Balsam or Medicine to cure and restore not only all these of Mankind in Soul and Body who shall receive him inwardly by Faith and Love but also to cure and restore the whole outward Creation from its Distempers and Corruptions that are come upon it through sin Yea this is the little leaven that shall leaven the whole lump of this visible Creation by its Pure Heavenly and Divine Vertue into most wonderful Sweetness Purity Vertue Beauty and Glory whereby all things shall be made new and that which is but natural shall be as it were spiritual Yea this is indeed that Stone of the Wise-men which by its touch shall in due time change not only the Bodies of the Saints but the Body of the whole Creation and purge it from all its weakness and impurity And truly another Philosophers Stone even in the outward at least to that Latitude as it is commonly defined shall men never find but this even this Holy and Divine Body and Birth which now 1669 years ago was brought forth through the Power of the Holy Ghost in and by the Virgin Mary For what can
the other part may be of the enemy yea the Soul may begin to do something well and in the Spirit and yet end it in the Flesh through its weakness and inadvertency Nevertheless we must not conceive any such mixture possible as if what the Lord doth in the Soul and what the Soul doth with him and by his Power and Spirit could be corrupted and defiled by the Enemy Nay for the work of the Lord is still pure so far as it goeth But now the Soul giving way to the Enemy he enters and so putteth a stop to the Lord's work at that time but he can never defile or corrupt it And thus the Lord's part of the work is still his and the Enemy hath no share in it nor any influence upon it so as to defile it but he may stop it as the Lord permits him and as the Soul gives him way so to do Now one may readily object According to this it would seem that so long as sin hath any life or power in the Soul it being as is said the Devils Kingdom it were impossible for it to do any work unto the Lord and in him from fiâ—st to last but that it should be marred and stand in the mixture as aforesaid for the very state and condition of the Soul being in the mixture as partly the Holy Life and its Powers having place therein and partly the unholy life and its powers How can it be but that the work it self should stand in the mixture also and that proportionally according to the mixture of the Souls own state and condition For while the Soul is working that which is good by the Powers of the Holy Life in and with the Lord will the powers of the unholy life be idle and asleep or rather will they not work in opposition Yea will not the Devil move strongly in them to resist and mar the work of the Lord Answ. This objection indeed doth evince that the things is somewhat difficult but not impossible It 's true the powers of the unholy life do of their own nature incline to work in opposition to the work of the Lord and Satan will never be wanting as much as he can to move and stir them up but this answers it plainly that as the Soul turns unto the Lord and breaths unto him through the Powers of his own Life and Spirit for preservation and continueth thus inwardly turned and converted unto him in fear watchfulness and singleness the Power of the Lord God cometh over the unholy Life and its Powers yea and over the whole power of the enemy therein and doth bind and captivate them that they can no more prevail to hinder the Soul from doing the work of the Lord in purity and perfection in a measure then if they had no such place in it Even as in the outward if I were doing a piece of work and some strong bodied man had a resolution to stop or mar me yet if a stronger than he come and bind him up I may do the work compleatly maugre him he may fret and make a noise like a mad Dog or Lion upon a Chain but he can do no more And truly we have found the truth of this many times in our own experience that as we have kept diligent nigh unto the Lord with our minds towards him in tender breathings and desires that we might be preserved we have found him chained as aforesaid But when we have but a little become remiss and suffered our minds to slide back from that diligence and watchfulness as was requisite then the Lord suffered the enemy somewhat as it were to break loose upon us and use his strength in some measure against us to the end that thereby we might be stirred up unto the more watchfulness And indeed many times we find it so with us in this matter as it was with the Jews at the rebuilding of the City who were so put to it that while they builded with the one hand they behooved to fight against the adversary with the other Thus ye may see that there is a time wherein sin and its powers may be captivated before it be utterly slain and the strong man may be bound before he be utterly cast out CHAP. IX Shewing How that though Works can have no great influence upon the very first beginnings of a Holy Life that being only received through a receptive Faith yet they do greatly conduce unto the growth and continuance thereof also unto the killing and mortification of the sinful and unholy Life with its powers more and more till it be utterly slain where also the distinction of a twofold property of Faith viz. Receptive and operative is somewhat opened WOrk out your Salvation said the Apostle with fear and trembling It is observable he did not bid them begin their Salvation with works but that they should work it out or proceed in it through works which is a manifest proof that works have a great use and service promoting and carrying on the Salvation of the Soul though they cannot begin it and concerning the great use they have unto this effect Paul the same Apostle said again Rom. 8. If ye live after the flâ—sh ye shall die but if ye through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live Wherein these two things are plainly implied 1. That carnal and evil works that is a living after the flesh occasion death upon them who are come to some measure of spiritual life evil and unholy works are deadning and killing they are like a cankeâ— which eat out the life of the Soul 2. That good and holy works serve not only to preserve the measure of the holy life already attained but to increase and improve it And this same the parable of the Talents doth plainly hold forth for he who received but two Talents yet improving the same and putting them to use they became multiplyed into four so he who received the five by using them gained other five Many other Scripture exaâ—mples could be brought to prove the Trâ—â—â— of it but these shall at present suffice Moreover the very nature of the thing doth also demonstrate it for it is here the same as to the spiritual life as it is in the natural for the natural life and the powers thereof become stronger and stronger the more it is upon motion and exercise as we see by dayly experience but there is this difference that the natural Life after it hath come to its heighth doth decay and even spendeth or consumeth it self in its motions or workings for it is but a temporary thing Whereas the spiritual life is eternal and doth never at any time decay or diminish through its workings but is thereby perpetuated It is such a good plant that it ever groweth and flourisheth and bringeth forth twelve manner of fruits every Month where it is well occupyed or improved and never of its own nature decayeth or waxeth barren
sufferings as in a Wine-press to the end that sweet Wine might come forth that hath the vertue in it to cure men of their wounds both in relation to wrath and sin And so when he cryed forth with a loud voice upon the Cross My God c. even therein and there through Vertue went from him in that holy Breath or Spirit which had and hath a most effectual Influence upon both men and the creation for their deliverance as aforesaid for nothing that he ever did or suffered was in vain or without vertue and influence unto mens Salvation And thus having declared the great influence which the very outward coming Birth Life Sufferings and Death c. of Christ hath upon men both for their Justification and Sanctification let us now see how and in what manner we should improve the same effectually in order thereunto For indeed we shall find how the Apostles did greatly improve and make use of it in order unto Mortification or dying unto sin and living unto holiness and making progress therein unto perfection As to instance in some few examples Rom. 6.2 How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein Know ye not that as many of us as were baptized into Iesus Christ were Baptized into his death c. See throughout the whole Chapter 2 Cor. 5.14 For the love of Christ constraineth us Because we thus judge that if one dyed for all then were all dead and that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves buâ— unto him who died for them and rose again 1 Pet. 2.24 Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree but we being dead to sin should live to righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed Vers. 21. Because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that we should follow his steps 1 Pet. 4.1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh arm your selves likewise with the same mind For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men but to the will of God By all which places and many other which could be mentioned we may observe that the Saints made the chifest use and improvements of the Sufferings Death and Resurrection of Christ for the Mortification of Sin and living unto God in holiness and righteousness and that unto perfection and did not sooth or please themselves to live in much sin and unholiness and speaking peace to themselves therein because of what Christ had done and suffered for them And now I shall sum up in a few words the particular uses and benefits which the Saints receive in order to a growing and proceeding in holiness through the improving the Coming Sufferings Death and Resurrection of the Lord in the outward through the Power and Light of his own holy Spirit and Life in and by which only they can improve them aright I. As his Coming Birth Sufferings Death Resurrection c. are presented and set before us in the evidence and vertue of his own Light and Spirit in our hearts so it is made a great occasion to strengthen both our faith in God and our love towards him forasmuch as our Lord God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ hath given by his outward coming c. as aforesaid a very great and large testimony of his love and good will towards all men for their Salvation and of his patience and long-suffering in permitting men so to use his own dear Son which was as if it had been unto himself Yea herein he gave a most convincing Testimony how he had born and suffered with wonderful long-suffering the iniquities of men which struck against his inward Life and Spirit of his Son in all ages and generations before the wounding and crucifying it in them as now they did against him in the outward By which men might be greatly convinced that the will of the Lord was their Salvation in so bearing and suffering them for had he not intended love to them herein he might have eased himself of his adversaries in a Moment and altogether delivered that tender Life and Spirit of his Son from its sufferings in them and brought intolerable sufferings upon the transgressors themselves Also herein the Lord gave a great testimony of his Power to save in as much as tho he delivered up his Son to suffer most deep affliction in and under sinners yet in due time he raised him up again even from death and did manifestly set him over all his adversaries according to the working of which mighty power he is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him And so these things being inwardly presented and set before the Soul in the Spirit and Light of Jesus Christ are indeed very forcible and prevailing to work faith in it both upon the mercy and power of the Lord and so to rest and stay its faith upon him for its full and perfect Salvation as also to work and beget love unto him in the inward sense and feeling of the wonderful love of God as manifesting it self even so in the outward II. And yet more particularly the coming sufferings and death of Christ as presented by his Spirit in the Soul as aforesaid have a very special influence to kindle most ardent love in it towards him in the sense of that love of his so wonderfully manifested in the outward whereby for the Souls saving from sin and wrath he so humbled himself by so many steps and degrees and bore such indignities and sufferings as never any one did and all in love to the Soul and for it and for its deliverance as aforesaid and that he should be manifest in the outward body and suffer so deeply therein even for the delivering our outward bodies also from sin and wrath these things I say as presented and set before the Soul in his own Spirit as it were himself telling it in a particular way how he had humbled himself and what he had done and suffered for it are strong and prevailing occasions to work most ardent and dear love in the Soul towards him and his Spirit and towards the Father also whose free Gift of Love he is III. And they have indeed a great influence when presented in his Spirit as aforesaid to work in our hearts true and real repentance from all our sins yea and a perfect and universal hatred against them as having a sense that our sins were the occasion of his sufferings yea his deepest and heaviest sufferings even in his Soul in the outward was through the burden of our iniquities which he then did bear so that the wounds he got in his blessed Body with the Nails and the Spear and the Thorns and the violent Hands of Men were nothing comparable to these wounds he had in his righteous Soul and
suffered Death for Sin gave us a most convincing Example that we should Die unto it and suffer it no more to live in us Now it is to be observed and remembred that in all these Steps the Sufferings and Death of Christ c. have these Influences upon us not as they are presented unto us barely in our own Spirit or as we do bring them to our remembrance thereby and so make a working upon our selves in our own thoughts and motions for in so doing we shall never profit our own Souls either in Dying unto Sin or Living in Holiness unto God Indeed we may thereby raise sparks of our own kindling in the affectionate part and work some effect in our hearts which may be a shadow or likeness of these things but can never be the things themselves but as they are inwardly presented to the Soul in the Light Life and Spirit of Christ Iesus and applied thereby and that instantly and continually For it is his Light Life and Spirit alone which both gives the true Understanding of the Vse and End of these things and also gives unto the Soul the living sense and feeling of them and in a living and effectual way doth only and can apply them unto the Soul and whole Powers thereof for the Working such suitable Effects and Impressions as are proper thereunto But some may say Seeing the outward Coming Sufferings and Death c. of the Lord Iesus Christ as it is known and improved by the Soul is so effectual to work Faith and Love in it towards God and for its Mortification unto Sin and living in Holiness unto God would it not therefore seem that the knowledg of the outward Coming Sufferings and Death of Christ as aforesaid is of absolute necessity unto every one for the attainment of these things For how can a Soul believe that God will be Gracious unto it or is reconcileable with it but as it looks upon that Testimony of his Mercy and Love in sending his Beloved Son outwardly into the World to Suffer and Die for our Sins in order unto our Reconciliation and Peace with God Also how can it love God with that Purity and Fervency of Love which is according to the Gospel but as it regards and considers that Testimony of his Love in the Coming Sufferings and Death of Christ in the outward ANSW Indeed the knowledg of this outward Coming Sufferings and Death is of very blessed use and advantage and all who have it should be very thankful unto God who hath given us this Testimony of his Love Good-will Long-suffering and Power in the outward coming of Jesus Christ for the more abundant helping and enabling us to believe in him and love him Yet this I say though express knowledg of his outward Coming Sufferings and Death is very profitable to beget Faith and Love in men towards God as aforesaid and ought to be highly valued in its place nevertheless this express knowledg is not of absolute necessity unto Faith and Love forasmuch as the outward Coming Sufferings and Death of Christ may have and hath a real and true Influence upon them who know it not expresly For seeing he hath tasted death for every man and given his Life a Ransom for all it cannot be but that it should have an Influence upon all Yea the Apostle expresly mentions what it is Rom. 5.18 19. how that by the Righteousness and Obedience of Christ the Free Gift is come upon all to Iustification of Life Look then as many of Adam's Posterity suffer disadvantage by his disobedience who never knew it expresly so why may not many receive an advantage by Christ the Second Adam's obedience even in the outward who never knew it expresly Yea certainly they have for how many Thousands have been Saved before Christ's coming in the outward who knew it not expresly And many who knew something of it it was but very darkly and under Vails and Figures yea the very Disciples did not for a good time know of his Death so that when he told them of it they were astonished and yet they had both Faith and Love in some measure seeing then that some had Faith and Love to God and were saved without the express knowledg thereof before he came outwardly why not also after his coming where his coming outwardly hath not been preached nor revealed Yea has not God a way of saving Infants and the Dumb and Deaf who have not that express knowledg For now Christ is inwardly come in a Seed of Life and Light in all which is the Word of Reconciliation by which men may be Reconciled with God as they joyn and apply their minds thereunto and in this the Lord God doth give a sufficient testimony of his love mercy good-will Long suffering and Power unto every man for his Salvation whereby it is possible for him to attain unto the true Faith in God and the true Love towards him even according to the Gospel And in this Holy Seed the Sufferings of Christ and how he bore the Iniquities of the Soul and makes Intercession or Attonement unto God may be learned in some measure with many other things concerning Christ in relation to him and his doings and sufferings in the outward which was an outward and visible Testimony of his inward doings and sufferings in all ages in men and women in the Holy Seed And indeed we find that this is only the true and effectual way of knowing the use and work of his Coming and Sufferings and Death in the outward by turning and having our minds turned inwards unto himself near and in our hearts in the Holy Seed to know by an inward feeling and good experience his doings and sufferings in us by being made conformable thereunto In which Holy Seed as it ariseth in us such a clear Light shineth forth in our hearts as giveth unto us the true knowledg of the Vse of his inward Doings and Sufferings hence also such a precious sweet and powerful Life springeth up from and in the same Holy Seed which doth with much sweetness and comfort enable us to follow his example in the outward in Faith in Obedience in Love in Purity in Patience in Godliness in Righteousness and Temperance and all other things wherein we are required to imitate him And this is the great loss we find people at generally who seek to know the Vertue and Vse of his Coming Doings and Sufferings in the outward by what they can outwardly hear or read of him while as they remain estranged from his Light Life and Spirit in the Holy Seed in their hearts and yet they can never know the same but in this And Oh! at what great pains have many poor Souls been to imitate Christ in his Heavenly Vertues by setting him as their Example before him but meerly as the Letter or History declares of him By which way yet they can never attain unto the true imitation or following of him for
regeneration is but in part it is because the mortification is but in part and where the mortification is become whole there the regeneration becometh whole also for that which hindereth the Image of God to spring up in its whole growth and statuâ—â— readily and speedily is the contrary Image which will let till it be taken out of the way XVI And the Divine Power and Spirit appeareth in the Divine SEED and worketh therein even in the Souls of those who are wholly unholy and unrighteous in whom Satan's Image possesseth the whole place First to mortifie some place in the Soul and to cleanse and purifie it and to expell the Serpents Image out of it that so the Divine Image may begin to be formed and conceived The Divine Seed therefore through the Divine Power which worketh therein must first destroy and consume its contrary before it can take root and plant it self and spring up in the heart which is diligently to be observed and of this the Seed of God in the outward viz. Israel after the Flesh was a type for before they could plant themselves in the Land of Canaan they behoved to destroy their enemies which inhabited the same and gradually as they consumed their enemies they planted themselves in it and took root till they filled it all over like a great tree over-shaddowing the whole Land with its Branches and filling it with its Fruits I shall not add more particulars at present being unwilling to burthen the weak understanding of a beginner with many things at the enâ—rance There are many more Doctrinal Principles but they will come in time enough afterwards These well known and understood will satisfie to begin with of the truth of which things let none imagine they can be sufficiently certified through this declaration or any other that can be outwardly given only it may be an occasion for them to observe the truth of these things sprung up in their own understanding from a measure of the same Spirit from which they are declared CHAP. II. Shewing That the Soul converting it self unto GOD in the Divine Seed within its self through the Influence of the Divine Power upon it for that effect is the very first thing that is requisite unto it in order to its entring into the way of Holiness I Say the very first thing the Soul is to do in order to its entring into the way of Holiness is to convert or turn it self unto the Divine Presence of God and of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Divine Seed for this was the message which Paul received to declare unto the Gentiles to turn them from darkness unto Light and from the power of Satan unto God So he preached God near even unto them who were yet in darkness and unbelief as among the Athenians who were Idolaters Him said he whom ye ignorantly worship I declare unto you c. who is not far from every one of us for in him we live and move and have our being c. Also unto the Lycaonians who were Idolaters he preached after this manner that they should turn from their vanities unto the living God Now it is that which generally passeth among People that men should turn unto God and that conversion is a turning unto God and unto Jesus Christ. But that they are to turn unto him as he doth inwardly manifest and reveal himself by his Holy Spirit in mens hearts this they have not been instructed in for that generally all of them except those called the Mysticks deny that there is such a thing in these daies as the Immediate Revelation of God in mens hearts and as for the Mysticks though they grant that the Divine Presence doth immediately reveal it self in mens hearts and that men are to turn in their minds unto it which they call Introversion yet they deny that men are to do this at first as while they are polluted in their gross abominations and lusts to turn in unto the Divine Presence they judge a thing both presumptuous and vain presumptuous because it is altogether unsuitable and unbecoming that a soul polluted in its gross abominations and lusts should approach and draw near unto God and vain because though they should attempt to do it they will find it as impossible as for a Bird that is tied with a strong Cord to the Earth to flee upward to heaven from Earth Wherefore they require that the Soul have attained unto some qualifications and dispositions which cleanse it from its gross impurities particularly the abnegation of all Creatures and of its own self before it adventure to convert or turn it self inwards unto the Divine Presence But this proceedeth from a great mistake in them for that they do not judge aright of the divers manifestations and workings of God in the Souls of Men according to their different states and conditions for though the Presence of God be one yet it hath its manifestations after different manners in the unholy and unclean and in the holy and clean souls as is somewhat above declared for in the holy he revealeth himself immediately in great love peace joy meekness sweetness and beauty and suffereth the Soul to approach so near unto him as even to join in an union with him after a maâ—ner unconceiveable to unholy Souls And indeed for unholy Souls to approach unto God so as to find him after this manner I confess were both presumptuous and vain as aforesaid But in the unholy and unclean yea even in the worst of men who are most averted from God the Lord is present in them in such a manifestation as is not unsuitable to his Glory nor improper to their present conditions whose merciful and gracious visitation reacheth towards all men in Jesus Christ even the worst in a day or time given them of him for their conversion and turning unto God according to which Paul said that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself Which manifestation of God in them in Jesus Christ is in wrath and judgment yet mixed and qualified with mercy so that the Lord doth appear in them in the Divine Seed as in a Fire not simply to consume and destroy them but to consume and destroy the corruptions and evils â—hat are in them to kill and destroy sin in them even that birth and body or sin and death which is in every unholy man and is the Image of the Serpent and of Satan yea and is that Serpent whom the Seed of the Woman bruiseth in the head and destroyeth For as is formerly said this Serpentine Image and the Image of God cannot live together in one place in the Soul nor can they flourish both in one and the same Soul because of their enmity for they are in continual strife waring against each other and as the one loseth ground the other gaineth and on the contrary The first thing therefore that a man is to do after he is convinced of the Truth that
ministration of the Law by Moses upon Mount Sinai where the appearance of God on the top of a Mountain was dreadful in clouds and darkness and fire and the sound of a Trumpet and a Voice that did shake the earth where the sight was so terrible that Moses said I exceedingly fear and quake For all these things had a signification of the inward ministration of the Spirit in its first workings in mens hearts Hence are these quakings and tremblings which are witnessed to come upon many through the inward dread and terrour which ariseth in them through the workings of the Spirit of God upon them in this state and condition Now the fear and terrour is a most certain and infallible effect in all who do truly convert or turn in their minds unto the appearance of God in them as aforesaid But as for the bodily tremblings some may have them in a great measure others in a less and some have none at all so as to fall under outward observation and yet the work of God in them may be as real and true as in others who have them most For it is much the same with bodily tremblings as tears some will be made to shed tears in abundance others but little and others perhaps none at all where the work may be real even as much as where they are most abundant VIII Also this Heavenly and Divine fire as thou continuest in the application of thy mind and heart unto it will kindle in thee some beginnings of true and real repentance towards God for even as the fire melteth the Wax and softneth it and maketh it to run and flow so will this Divine fire melt and soften thy heart into a true tenderness and thou wilt find a true sorrow and grief in thee to arise because of thy degeneration from God Also thou wilt even loath and abhor thy self in the presence of God and count thy self most unworthy of his mercy and favour yea thou wilt judge and condemn thy self because of thy sins and sinful nature so as to reckon the most grievous afflictions and punishments from the Lord should he inflict them upon thee to be less than thy deservings Also thou wilt become humble in thy own sight and be apt to judge thy self as bad or worse than any yea thou wilt be greatly ashamed of thy self seeing and beholding thy self imbodied in such a monstrous and filthy body as the body of sin is Furthermore thou wilt be made even to hate sin in its body and members root and fruit as a most vile and abominable thing so that an indignation will rise in thee against it and the very sins which have been dear and pleasant unto thee as thy right eye and right hand thou wilt willingly devote them and give them up unto the devouring Flames of this Heavenly fire and sacrifice them before the Lord as a sacrifice of a burnt offering As I remember it is reported of one of the Martyrs who having shrunk from his Testimony and afterwards recovered strength to own it and so was condemned to be burnt he stretched forth his right hand which had subscribed some Paper against the Truth and with a certain holy indignation thrust it into the fire So thou wilt even find to do the same with thy lusts which the Apostle calls the members upon Earth to devote and give them up to the fire that they may be mortified and consumed sparing none of them more than another yea and some tender breathings and desires will arise in thee towards the Lord that he may yet more discover and pursue Iniquity in thy heart and kill it sparing nothing no not a hoof yea thou wilt even desire to be dissolved and freed from the whole body of sin with all its members saying in thy heart Miserable man that I am who shall deliver me c. And thus thou wilt find in thee some beginnings of a true aversion from sin so that thou wilt witness a change both in thy judgment and will in relation to sin so as to have contrary thoughts of it to what thou hadst formerly and thy affections to run and flow in another path and channel than formerly IX Also thou wilt begin to find some true and real beginnings of mortification or of a spiritual death unto sin whereas thy heart was formerly wholly filled with sin which oppressed and burthened the Divine Seed and hindered it to conceive or bud in thee thou wilt now begin to find some little and small emptyness in thy heart even in the most inwards of it called by some the fund of the Soul that is to say the ground or bottom of it and there will be some little room or place in thy heart mortified and purified through the operation of the power of God in the Divine Seed which through its mortification and purification from sin becometh a fit and prepared matrix or womb for the Divine Seed to conceive and bud therein an to receive some formation For as is said the Seed cannot conceive but in a pure matrix and womb Indeed it may be as a fire and is so in that part of the heart which is unclean but it can never grow bud or conceive in it as a plant till it be cleansed Therefore is it that it worketh as a fire in the heart as aforesaid to the end it may prepare some place for it self to take root in and therein to bud and conceive that it may spring up and blossom and bring forth its precious fruit X. And as the heart and mind persisteth in its conversion aforesaid there will be by this time some tender buds of the Divine and Holy Seed appearing so far as way is made for them through the purification or mortification aforesaid and some real and true beginnings not only of some but of all Christian Virtues will appear such as of love joy peace gentleness meekness patience temperance c. and other fruits of the Spirit for even as it is frequently in natural operations so in this spiritual it is also that after the destruction of one thing immediately followeth the generation of another life hastening as swiftly after death as possibly as can be conceived so that no distance or space of time is admitted betwixt them Thus I have briefly pointed at divers good and precious effects which do follow upon the Souls converting unto the Divine Presence and the Light and Power thereof in the Holy Seed and upon its continuing or abiding therein If there be any other not expresly mentioned they may be reduced unto them or implicitly understood in them which are particularly mentioned of all which the Soul must expect at first yea and for some considerable time afterwards but some certain beginnings which will increase and become more and more observable according unto its continuance in the conversion aforesaid And much of all these effects excepting somewhat as to the latter do answer rather unto
its whole body from the place it stands in for that it wants the sensual life and loco-motive power Again among these creatures who are endued with the sensitive and loco-motive powers we find a great difference as to their motions and bodily exercises some are beasts which go upon all four and some creep upon the belly others are Fowls flying in the Air and others are Fishes swimming in the Sea and Rivers Now tho the Beasts such as the Horse and Ass can move upon four and run with a good pace yet they cannot fly as the Fowls of the Air neither can the Fishes move upon dry Land and we would judge it a most unnatural and ridiculous thing to observe a Horse essaying to mount up into the Air and Fly like a Fowl or a Fish to move on dry land the reason of all which is because these motions are of different kinds and proceed from different powers of the sensual life and require different organs for their performing as the Fowl its wings the Fish its fins or scales c. Beasts their four feet or leggs Furthermore a Beast cannot perform the natural operations of Man even as a natural man such as to build plant write speak discourse for these are the operations proceeding from the reasonable power which beasts want Now as to the other part to clear it also by example Suppose I have the locomotive power and organs yet if there be such strong impediments as do universally hinder either the one or the other I cannot move as if the body were in some Lethargy or Swarf or universal Gout which stops the power of motion or if the power were free yet if some external impediment be on the organ as the hands or feet bound with fetters they cannot move c. I have the more fully insisted on these examples because they do very pertinently hold forth the thing in hand for indeed as impossible as it is for a man to perform the works and operations of Holiness without he be endued and cloathed with the life and power of holiness and receive the organs requisite thereunto as it is for a tree to walk or an horse to flie like an eagle or a fish to run upon dry land or for a brute to understand and discourse the things of reason like a man for the life and power of holiness standeth in a region above the life of the natural reason and the natural powers of man-hood as much iâ— not more as the life and power of natural reason and man-hood standeth in a region above the sensual life and powers of brutes Now man in his natural or unrenewed or unregenerate state doth not live the life of holiness is but a natural man and not a Saint Therefore it is as impossible for him to do the works of a Saint as it is for a beast to do the works of a man Indeed a natural and unrenewed man may counterfeit the works of the Saints speak and do something like them as to outward appearance but they cannot truly perform there is as great a difference betwixt the actions and motions of the one and the other as betwixt the flight of a living Dove which comes from a principle of life in her and the flight of that Mechanical dove of Architas which he is reported to have made flie from some inward Mechanick springs and devices very artificially composed The motion of the one being living and natural and that of the other dead and artificial So it is as to the Motions and works of the Saints and those who are not Saints the Saints works and motions are living and do savour of that holy and precious Life which produceth them but the motions and works of the unholy and unrenewed are dead having no savour nor vertue of the holy life in them Every man acteth according to that principle and power of Life with which he is indued â—o the holy man acteth from the power and life of holiness which endueth and cloatheth him and putteth a seal or impression of it self upon every work more or less which proceedeth therefrom that he which hath the spiritual eye can read without any difficulty but the unholy man the life and power of unholiness enduing and cloathing him and being predominant over all in him all his works and operative exercises are unholy and have their seal and impression also VNHOLINESS is written in great letteâ—s upon them all let them Preach Pray Confess or do any other work as to Religion all is unholy and unclean and so are neither accepted of God nor profitable to themselves nor any other Yea they are so far from being profitable unto him or them who use them that they are a great hurt and impediment which will let them from their entrance into a holy life or making progress therein for whatever works of that kind they produce it s from that principle life and spirit which is contrary unto the Principle of God and therefore choaks and burdens it also the Soul being so inwardly converted to this evil principle through its workings thereby and therefrom cannot so convert it self or persist in its conversion till it come to passiveness or forbearance So from all this iâ— is manifest that the Soul ought to be passive and forbear its workings and operative exercises until at least through its conversion unto the Divine Presence in the Divine Seed and iâ—s contâ—nuance therein for some time it come to be endued and cloathed with the power and life of Holiness in some measure which it drinketh in from these Divine touches of God and Christ present in it in the Divine Sâ—â—d as it abideth in its conversion thereuâ—â—o even as the needle by its being touched by the Load-stone and being for some time applied thereunto drinketh in a Magnetick power and vertue whereby it moveth toward the North and tho by some violence it should be moved out of its line it returneth to it again through the innate iâ—clination begot in it by the vertue it hath drunk in from the Load-stone wherewith it was touched Now such is the state of the Soul before it hath drunk in this vertue and power of an holy life from the Divine Presence in the Divine Seed in it that it not only wants altogether these powers whereby it can move in holy actions but it is also cloathed with many powers of a contrary life which in no wise would permit it to move truly in any holy action tho we could suppose it otherwise to have both the powers and organs requisite thereunto There is a body of sin and death with many members which hang upon it and cover it all over and lies so heavy upon it even as so many talents of lead that it cannot move in holy actions more than a body that hath an hundred stone weight of Iron loading it can walk indeed with these weights of sin it can move swiftly and vigorously in unholy actions
unto it the powers of nature and sin so strongly set it upon working Answ. Indeed the difficulty is great because both the powers of nature and sin work strongly and joyn their forces together unto acting and doing and besides nature is so unacquainted with such a thing that it is very impatient of it yet I say it is not impossible and if thou dost rightly perform the simple acts of conversion turning thy mind still nearer and nearer unto the Divine Prefence in the Holy and Divine Seed thou wilt find by degrees thy heart to come into this passiveness and forbearance and to continue or persist therein for a time CHAP. V. Shewing How the Soul after its Conversion unto GOD and continuance therein in passiveness and forbearance for some small time becometh a partaker of the Holy and Divine Life and the Powers thereof in some measure through some beginnings of a Spiritual Death and Regeneration by which it attaineth unto some measure of union with God and Christ and thereby is put in some capacity for operative exercises of Holiness unto which it ought to apply and that any other way of entring upon these exercises is but freigned and hypocritical OPerari sequitur esse that is to say Working followeth being is a maxime in Naturals it holdeth as much in Spirituals So that before a man can do the works of â—olinesâ— he must be a partaker of the Life and Power of Holiness and that not in a notion or imagination but in substance or being And before that a man can work his works in God he must have a being in God in some measure through his attaining an union with him for even as the body cannot co-operate with the Soul in natural actions unless it be a partaker of the Soul's Life and be in union with it so nor can the Soul co-operate with God in spiritual and holy actions till it be a partaker of his Life and attain unto some union with him Now I have shewed above that the Soul through its converting unto God and continuance therein in passiveness and forbearance as aforesaid were it but for a very small time becometh a partaker of some beginnings of a spiritual Death and Regeneration For when the Soul converteth unto God and Christ in the Divine Seed and persisteth were it but for a little therein it beginning to feel the Divine fire to inkindle in it in the Divine Seed which mortifieth and purifieth some place in the heart whereby it becometh a fit matrix or womb for the Divine Seed to take root in and for to spring up and pâ—t forth some tender buds and beginnings of a Holy and Spiritual Life which do no sooner appear but they do impress and endue the Soul in some measure with their powers and vertues by which it is put in some capacity for operative exercises of Holiness unto which it ought to apply It is generally granted that Faith is as it were the Root of all holy and spiritual actions and the Scriptures do hold it forth plainly that Faith or believing is the first step unto a holy life and the very entrance thereinto and that Faâ—â—h by a natural order is to go before Works for for without Faith it is impossible to please God though men should do never so many things for it is Faith which drawing Spirit and Life from God infuseth the same into works which maketh them living and therefore as the Apostle Iames said Faith without works is dead so it is no less true works without faith are dead Faith without works is dead because if it want works it is an infallible sign that it is but a dead and false faith for the true and living faith is operative and working and cannot forbear but it must be breathing forth its life in holy actions Works without â—aith are dead because it is faith which drawing life from God infuseth it into them and as I have shewed above this faith is the Soul 's converting or turning unto God through the Divine and gracious touch and influence of the Spirit of God upon it in the Divine Seed by which a man cometh to be partaker of Holiness and Rightâ—ousness according to which the ungodly are said to be justified not by working but by believing which is to be understood unquestionably of these works which men endeavour and go about to perform in the natural and unconverted state whereby they seek to work themselves into holiness which is impossible for that were to invert the very order of Nature both in Naturals and Spirituals which setteth the being of a thing before its operation but not the operation before the being as who would say The Fruit makes the Tree whereas on the contrary it is the Tree which makes the Fruit. And hereunto will agree these words of Augustin Bona opera non praecedunt justificandum sed sequuntur justificatum that is to say Good works go not before the making of a man righteous but do follow a mans being made righteous Also when the Jews came unto Christ asking what they should do that they might work the works of God he bid them believe This saith he is the work of God that ye believe in him whom he hath sent Furthermore he said unto them While ye have the Light believe in it that ye may become the Children of the Light And thus Peter exhorted them who were come to be partakers of the precious faith Add unto your faith vertue c. Whereby it appears that faith which is the mind 's turning in unto God with both its understanding will and other powers is the first step or entrance into a holy Life And when these Jews Acts 2. inquired of him what they should do to be saved he bid them Repent and be baptized And p. 3.19 he said again unto others Repent and be converted So that Faith which is one and the same with conversion and Repentance aâ—e the two first principles of the Doctrin of Christ and his Apostles and are plainly so called Heb. 6.1 and are said to be the very foundation or first beginning of the Christian Life of which foundation or ground-work Iesus Christ is the foundation for the word foundation signifieth sometimes the ground whereon a House is built and in this sense Christ is the alone foundation other whiles it signifies the ground-work or as it were the first beginnings of the building on the foundation and in this sense Faith and Repentance are the foundation or fundamentals of a Christian Life Now Repentance is the Soul 's entring not only into a sorrow for sin and an aversion therefrom but also into a spiritual death unto sin and a regeneration into a new life and so much doth the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is rendred into English Repentance plainly import for it s as much as to say as a change of the mind which change is nothing else but its dying into sin and becoming
Lord who is the Husband-man requireth not fruit of thee before the season but patiently waiteth for it Yet the time is not so long betwixt the time of the first converting and the season of bearing fruits and producing good works as thou maist think if thou pass truly and faithfully through these few steps thou maist come to bear some fruit that is to say to be able and fit to do some good works in a very short space much less than a year yea much less than a Month yea what if I say than the space of one day Nay I add further it may be possible for thee within an hours space and yet less after thou hast truly converted unto the Lord and touched as it were the hem of his Garment and drunk in vertue therefrom to do some good works in a true measure of acceptance unto the Lord yea the time may be so short wherein after thy conversion thou maist be put into a capacity to do something both inwardly and outwardly that we cannot determine the least bound or limit of it for it is an easie thing for the Lord to raise his holy life in thee in an instant or the twinkling of an eye And indeed the waies of the Lord with men in this respect are very wonderful and past finding out as in many others in some he raiseth life as it were instantly in others he taketh a longer time to do it in others yet a longer c. For he is the unlimitted Holy One of Israel who limiteth us but will not nor ought he to be limited by us And tho he may raise this life sooner in one than another where that other is no more wanting as to the aforesaid steps than his Neighbour yet usually these who with most diligence and faithfulness cleave unto the Lord in his appearing in them in his own Seed do most readily and speedily find the holy life raised in them and the Powers thereof sensibly moving in their inward parts Now I find it with me yet more particularly to point at some advertisements and cautions in relation unto the Souls applying it self unto works and operative exercises after it hath attained unto some measure of life and power whereby it is put in some capacity to perform them which I may not call Rules and Prescriptions as proceeding from me tho herein I know the mind and counsel of God but advertisements being only of use to point the Soul inwards unto the manifestations of Truth in the springings up of life in its own particular where it will see the use and need of these things more than what it can hear or read of them from anothers declaration And truly they are such things that the want of the true knowledg sense and observation of them has been a grievous block in the way of many in their proâ—ress in holiness yea has hindred them from growing up to any considerable pitch or perfection in holiness that they have continued as Weaklings and Babes there-through whereas otherwise they might have been strong men in Christ. I. Having now attained unto a measure of the Holy Life and the Powers thereof so that thou findst the Powers of this Life in thy heart as it were a wheel within a wheel or as a Soul within a Soul yea it is truly so and that also thou findst thy Soul in a measure of pure union with it and every power of thy Soul affected and touched with the powers of this Holy Life in pure embraces every one as it were kissing each other and hereby thou wilt feel thy self strong in some measure to do some things pertaining unto a holy Life yea thou wilt even so find it with thee as if thou wert cured of a bodyly lameness or as if thy tongue were loosed which was formerly bound then thou art to stand in great fear and reverence and be very cautious that thou fall not upon doing any thing or things less or more at all adventures or hand over head as they use to say as to set about any performance in thy own natural and selfish will because thou findest strength in thee as thou conceivest to perform it for if thou so do thou wilt provoke the Lord and grieve that holy life which hath sprung and appeared in thee not at all to be ruled or led into any action by thy will but by the will of the Lord alone And if thou goest about to do any thing in such a manner though thou findst both clearness and strength of mind with thee at first yet afterward thou wilt to thy great loss feel weakness and confusion to enter thee and a thick cloud of darkness will come betwixt the eye of thy Soul and that pure Light of Life which shined in thee yea a vail of death will come over the tender Life in some measure and thou wilt find the pure Life in thee burthened and oppressed which will occasion pain and grief of Soul unto thee which cannot be uttered And of these things we have had experience divers times so that had not the Lord in tender mercy recovered us we had gone down into the grave after some measure of quickening The reason of all this is because of man by his own will usurping and presuming to lead forth the holy life which usurpation it cannot endure so as to yield or consent unto it Therefore it withdraweth its holy powers of Light and Life from the powers of the Soul concentring them within its own particular being And thus the Soul is left in darkness confusion and weakness and the tender Life is both grieved and burthened as aforesaid For whatever seeketh to move it from its perfect unity with the will of God doth hurt it for it standeth for ever incorruptible with the Divine will and that which seeketh to move it to the contrary may well bruise and wound yea kill it while it is but young and tender but it can never draw it to consent When therefore at any time thou findest it well with thy Soul and thy heart is strengthned as with bread or with some strong cordial or liquor by the springings forth and effusions of the streams of this holy Life in thee then thou art to stand in a passiveness and forbearance waiting upon the will and motions of this holy Life which is for every one with the will of God that thou mayst do such or such things which that Life requireth of thee and then whatever thou sets about to do not in thy own natural will but in the will of this which is the will of God thou shalt find thy clearness thy peace and strength which formerly thou hadst not only to be continued with thee but to be multiplyed and abound II. And yet more particularly know or consider it that thou art to do nothing without a clear and infallible knowledge of thy warrant and that from this inward Guide the Holy Life of Christ and his blessed