Therefore my mind is in good will to mankind having received knowledge and understanding of the means God hath ordained for the good and salvation of mankind And being something acquainted with the two great mysteries of Godliness Iniquity and the way and working of each to impart and signifie something of the same in a few words to instruct and inform those to whom this my testimony may come how they may attain thereunto and how they may come to be rid of those troublesome companions viz. Evil Thoughts and Imaginations that do may or shall arise in their hearts whila corrupted and how the same may be purified and made a holy habitation for God as it was before sin entred before Innocency was lost before the Serpent deceived the weaker vessel when all was good yea very good The way that leadeth thereto I affirm and declare to be as followeth and whoever thou art that hast a mind or desire to find that which is lost observe believe and receive what I say or write as Truth not received or learned by Tradition but by the experimental powerful work and operation of the Spirit of Truth in my own Heart Mind and Conscience and what I have said or shall say is and shall be according to the Holy Scriptures and witnessed to by them for I cannot write contrary to them being in unity with them with the just mens spirits that wrote them First then know thou O man whoever thou art and whatever thy thoughts and imaginations are how far soever thou art run into corruption darkness and degeneration from the state of innocency purity and holiness yet there is a measure of Divine Light attends thee though thou art darkness it-shines in thee in order to show thee thy way out of it though thou art degenerated and run from God into the earth yet this pure light Spirit of God follows thee and calls thee back again and thou mayst in this state hear it as a voice behind thee saying Return return this is the way come and walk in it this is the kindness and love of God to thee in his Son who is the light of the world and lighteth every one that cometh thereinto If men would hear and obey the voice of the Son of God Death Hell nor the Grave could not hinder them from Salvation if thou hear and obey this voice of the light of the Son of God though thou wert dead in sin and buried as in a grave thou shalt arise and come forth and live before him the bars and gates of Hell shall not be able to retain thee But if thou slight and despise the Light of God that visits thee and shut'st thy ear against its voice it will be as a thousand witnesses against thee while thou rebellest against it and art found following thy own thoughts and imaginations and doing the thing that is evil for this Light I speak of is the eye of the Lord that runs too and fro through the earth beholding the evil and the good and that discerneth the thoughts and intents of the heart 't is the word that 's nigh in mouth and in the heart which is quick and powerful sharper than any two-edged sword piereing even to the dividing asunder of Soul and Spirit and of the joynts and marrow this is the candle of the Lord that searcheth Jerusalem and gives light to the sides of the earth and corners of the world from whom the shadow of death cannot hide nor the Rocks and Mountains cover or defend for be that formeth the Mountains and createth the winds and declareth or sheweth unto man what is his thought that maketh the morning darkness and treadeth upon the high places of the earth the Lord the God of Hosts is his name This is the Spirit of truth that convinceth the world of sin and that sets mens sins in order before them and reproves and smites in secret for evil and that brings to judgment the hidden things of Esau from this eye or light of the Lord thou canst not hide thy self no more than Adam and Cain could though thou shouldest hate the light which sheweth thee thy thoughts and love the darkness so as to dwell in it No hiding from the eye of God yet the light or eye of God will pursue thee and find thee out Hell nor the utmost parts of the earth and darkness cannot secure thee from the * Mans condemnation is just because he hates the light the way and means of Salvation just condemnation of God because thou hatest the shining of his light and stopest thy ear against the voice and teaching of it and lovest the darkness and dwellost in it while thou doest so thou choosest the way of death and neglectest the means of salvation that God hath ordained for this is the condemnation of the world that light is come into it and men love darkness rather because their deeds are evil Now as the first step towards restoration and everlasting happiness thou art required †The first step in the way to life or towards everlasting happiness to turn thy mind from the darkness in which thou dwellest to the light Eye or Spirit of God and to decline the power of Satan that works in the darkness and embrace the power of God and when thou dost but begin to do so thou wilt find the scales to fall from thy eyes by degrees and the veil to be taken off thy heart and the setters and chains of darkness to be loosed and the prison doors opened so when thy candle is lighted and thy eye opened thou wilt discern thy way out and see the Angel of the Lord go before thee and guide thee in the same And thou wilt also perceive what is in thy house and clearly understand what hath lodged in the dark room of thy heart and when thou comest to see things as they are †Mistake in the understanding concerning the nature of things that do present themselves before mankind is the cause of error Thence it is that some call darkness light and light darkness thou wilt receive wisdom to give them names according to their nature and to judge righteously concerning them and as thou lovest this light thou wilt be enabled by it to divide betwixt thought and thought and begin to make conscience of a thought and to hate every vain thought and when thou canst not be easily rid of them nor remove them from their old lodging-place thou wilt breath and cry to the Lord in the Spirit as one of old did who was burthened and oppressed with their company Search me and try me O God and know my heart try me and know my thougts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting This is the cry which the Lord hears and will answer in due and needful time And Jeremiah's cry to Jerusalem was Wash thy heart from wickedness that thou
of the coming of it and do enjoy Righteousness Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost in which the Kingdom stands And God is Omnipresent and those that enjoy the Light of his Countenance dwell in Heaven and are within the Gates thereof which though they stand open no unclean thing can enter W. S. A Small TREATISE Concerning Thoughts and Imaginations EVil Thoughts and Imaginations are great troublers of the World of Mankind and it is a great plague and misery which man is accompanied and surrounded with who is given up to follow and obey his own evil Thoughts and Imaginations or to walk according to them It was a fore judgment pronounced against the disobedient rebellious Jews in the Word of the Lord by Jeremy saying Hear O earth behold I will bring evil upon this people even the fruit of their thoughts And the Lord by the Prophet Isaiah saith I have stretched out my hand all day to a rebellious people which walked in a way that was not good after their own thoughts which are thoughts of iniquity and the act of violence is in their hands Also 't is written Every thought and imagination of mans heart are only evil and that continually And very great is the misery bondage and slavery of mankind in this estate he is an enemy to God and to himself and to his Neighbour and Brother Wasting and destruction are in their paths who have not God in all their thoughts Now reader that which is principally on my mind is to set before thee a certain infallible way how thou mayest come to be saved from following or obeying thy own thoughts and to gain strength against and get victory over all thy imaginations that are evil and also how thou mayest attain to good thoughts and heavenly Meditations in the room thereof and how thou mayest come to know every good thought and desire brought into the obedience of Christ and every evil thought and imagination destroyed and consumed with the breath of his mouth and the brightness of his appearing And when thou art restored and brought into the same estate mankind was in before transgression Evil thoughts must be consumed and good thoughts must be subject and obedient to Christ even into the Garden of God how thou must then dress and keep the Garden Thou must then watch over and in the Wisdom and Power of God govern thy thoughts lest the Serpent beguile thee as he did Eve First Thou must understand that * Many in their carnal thoughts and imaginations conceive and affirm that it was the outward Earth God cursed and that it would have brought forth no bryars thorns nor thistles which are good Creatures in their places if man had not sinned such thoughts are vain and foolish for all Creatures of God are good the Fire and Air Earth and Water Sun Moon and Stars and all the product of them and they all stand and remain in the blessing and keep their place state and order according to the will of God and are obedient unto him and he is the upholder thereof by the word of his power the ground evil thoughts and imaginations arise from is now that which God in the beginning cursed from this ground spring all the Bryars Thorns and Thistles and other hurtful Weeds in the world of mankind in whose heart they began to spring grow and increase even so soon as he began to lose his Faith in God his Maker incline to hearken to the voice of the Serpent and give credit to his lyes which begot a vain thought from whence a false hope sprung that they should by eating the forbidden fruit better their conditions be as Gods according as the Serpent told the Woman the weaker Vessel and by this false hope grounded upon the thoughts and imaginations entered the first transgression then when the temptation was entred into and sin committed thoughts and imaginations began to multiply and fill the disobedient earthly heart of mankind who having now turned his back upon the heavenly slighten the voice and command of God who was his Teacher and Lawgiver and * How man lost his state at first Let those that are restored thereto again take warning thereby for the same temptation danger attends lent his ear to the wicked one and gave up his mind and heart to obey him even with thoughts it was all for the best Thus poor mankind being deceived with vain thoughts and false hope lost his habitation and dwelling-place in Paradice which after he had transgress'd he still thought to keep for he was soon convinced he had done amiss in cating the forbidden Fruit and fear possest his heart when he heard the voice of God in the cool of the day and therefore sought means to cover and hide himself from the sight of God but herein his thoughts were vain and his endeavours to no purpose the Woman Man and Serpent all received the fruits of their own doings nothing but life good and blessing were known before now death evil and cursing the fruit and effect of disobedience which as I have said entred first by giving place to a vain thought and desire in * Wicked men and sinners of these times and ages of the world propose not that end to themselves the Devil needs not lay such baits snares to win them to his obedience being such vassals to him that his motions and commands are sufficient hope to gain and better their estate become the daily companions of mankind who found and finds by woful experience that saying true When sin is finished it brings forth death So man having lost his place in the Garden which God planted through neglecting his work which God appointed him to do which was to dress it and to keep it for the Garden needed dressing and keeping before the sorbidden Fruit was eaten before Innocency was lost before sin was committed hefore the Serpent became a Tempter Devil and Destroyer And this ariseth in my mind to teslifie to all the wise in heart that after they are come to find that which was lost to witness a Restoration and Regeneration and a returning into Eden again into Innocency again they have work there to do Dressing and Keeping are two very significant words this was the business of mankind in the beginning in the state of Innocency if he had not neglected this work slighted the Light Power Wisdom and Glory of God with which he was replenished he had never fell when the temptation got into a thought if he had watched in the Light and Wisdom of God he would have seen and discovered the tendency of it and have prevented its coming to a desire and act But first giving * The beginning increase and progress of sin and how to stop and prevent it place to a selfish thought it soon sprang to a hunger or desire thence into act this is the beginning and progress of sin at this day which mankind in
by it and their minds exercised in it their thoughts and meditations guided by it they * Let the professors of Christianity try themselves hereby are come to the mystery of the fellowship of the Gospel to the blessed unity wherein is no strife no wrangling disputing or contention no treachery wars cruelty or violence because they are all minding one thing learning of one teacher following of one guide viz. the Grace and Spirit of God and though they have diversity of gifts and are attained to different degrees of Faith Different states and growths in the Truth no cause of dis unity of Grace of Knowledge Growth and Salvation in the same and are some as a foot some as a hand eye ear and mouth yet are all as members of one body and the meanest hath unity with the more noble the greatest with the least the lowest with the highest the strongest with the weakest nor is there any Jar or Schism in this well framed Body of which Christ the Vnction the Annointing is the Head and Teacher c. This heavenly unity is the antitype of the Seamless-Coat of Christ wove from top to bottom which the Souldiers did not rend tear or divide but cast lots for and of that Law that forbade weaving linnen and woollen together and sowing mingled seed Now there is no unity no agreement no concord betwixt light and darkness sin and righteousness Christ and Belial these things of a different and contrary nature cannot unite cannot agree though they are nigh to each other sowen in one field God hath sowen a good seed in the field of mankind the enemy hath sown an evil seed and in many it hath taken root and sprang up above the good seed Before there can be true unity in and among mankind the seed of the Serpent must be bruised and rooted out of the heart even among those professing Christianity it self and from hence ariseth and groweth all the evil will envy hatred strife cruelty violence blood-shed wars and murthers in whole Christendom and till the head of this evil seed be not only bruised by the promised seed which God hath sowed but rooted out also of the heart of man all these things will grow up these evil effects can never cease till the cause be removed and taken away as the true Christian knoweth right well by experience Now the Christians indeed as they live and abide in this pure external principle of Light Life Spirit and Truth they have unity one with another and fellowship with God they are the brethren whose living together in unity is comely to behold who have the one mind one heart one soul and have their minds hearts and souls always governed ruled and ordered by the good Spirit of God as every one lives and keeps this order ank undor this heavenly government they cannot chuse but live together in unity in love in good will in peace heavenly concord and agreement every one within himself with God and with each other and in love to all mankind here is the end of strife wars and fightings come unto The end of Wars c. both within and without and this is the time and state wherein instruments of War and Cruelty are turned into instruments of necessary use and as they abide herein they can learn war no more according to the blessed sight and Prophesie of Isaiah that Evangelical Prophet Here Jerusalem is known a quiet habitotion the inhabitants thereof being established in peace and righteousness far from oppression the cause of War and Oppression being taken away which is evil thicking evil speaking and evil doing and this every one must know and experience before they can be established in peace before they can know the peace of God which passeth all understanding to keep their hearts and minds and to rule in their hearts and to know the aboundings of it and to delight therein as it is * The enjoyment of those things men do and may witness are on this side the Grave written the meek shall inherit the earth and delight themselves in the abundance of peace the earth nor earthly things shall not inherit them they tread upon the high places of it and reign like Kings and Princes over all the glory thereof Oh! Read the 25th and 35th Chapter of Isaiah's Prophesie and wait in the precious Faith thou hast received till thou enjoy the fulfilling thereof this is a blessed state indeed wait all to possess and enjoy it more and more this is the blessed end of the Gospel of petce and of the Christian Religion My breathing is that all that profess it may come to inherit Peace Righteousness and Joy in the inward man even to lie down in that peace where none can make afraid and to dwell on that holy Mountain where no destroyer is and to inhabit that City whose Builder and Maker is God to whom be praise and glory for evermore W. S. A few Words added to the sensible Reader THou who art awakened out of the sleep of death and risen out of the grave of sin and sea of corruption and art come to the exercise of thy spiritual senses so that thou canst hear see taste and handle the things of God thou well knowest that the blessed end of all holy mens words and writings testimonies and declarations proceeding from the love of God is that others that are yet unholy wandering about in and after the vanity of their own minds thoughts and imaginations upon the barren Mountains even as sheep without a Shepherd may come to be gathered and brought home to the fold of rest where safety peace and satisfaction is to be found for their weary souls who have long wandered in desolate places seeking rest but finding none spending their time labour and money for that which doth not profit feed and nourish up unto eternal life I say to direct these strangers wanderers labourers and unsatisfied travellers into the way of rest and peace is the blessed end of all Words and holy Writings even that such may come to possess enjoy and inherit the things spoken and written of without which all hearing reading seeking enquiring toiling labouring spending time and money is to no purpose Now it is the mind the soul the spirit of man that wants rest that is gone from its center that hath lost it stay habitation and dwelling-place in God and innumerable are the thoughts imaginations devices and inventions willings and runnings that poor mankind in this estate is exercised in and carried away with both Jew and Gentile Professor and Prophane upon the face of the whole earth For in all Sects and sorts of Religions those who are sincere and devout therein propose this end to themselves in the exercise thereof viz. to attain a state of happiness and felicity at last Many are the ways means and precepts prescriptions directions and observations that men give and receive from one the other enjoyn