first-covenant righteous wise strong and honourable in Christ come to for refusing to part with all that for Christ in the spirit of the second as risen out of the death of the first Rom. 7. 1 -4. These Sons of Men whose heart is full of evil and madness in this World while they live go after this life to the dead remain for ever in the Congregation of the dead Prov. 21. 16. in eternal darkness and never see Light This come they to with their Predecessours in the same obstinate madness and folly whose false doctrine or sayings they have prais'd own'd and follow'd against God and his Spirit of Truth Psal. 49. 13 19. Vers. 4. For to him that is joyned to all the living there is hope for a living Dog is better then a dead Lion The living Dog that being joyn'd to all the living has hope is the natural man of the spiritual Saint under the Cross rendered a fool weak and despicable as to all first-creation Wisdom Power and Glory with Paul 1 Cor. 4. 10. but is in an unchangeable union with all living for ever in the Spirit of Grace and so rich wise strong and honourable in God Tho' the Saint then in his broken impoverish'd natural man the barren disconsolate state of his desolate crucified 〈◊〉 be counted a Dog the filth of the world the off-scouring of all things by the Rich Full Wise Strong and Honourable in Christ 1 Cor. 4. 8 10 13. as to first-covenant attainments in and from him thro' a new and better life springing up in him however hid from them is he in a better condition then the dead Lion Who is this Man in all the riches wisdom and glory of a restor'd first-Covenant life figur'd by Dives as the crucified Saint's natural man by Lazarus All this Lion-like strength and power of nature fix'd in enmity renders Man but a dead Lion Fix'd enmity to God is everlasting death to Man This will all Lions in the boistrous blustering spirit and unbroken strength of nature find to be their condition as highly as they think of themselves Nothing of true spiritual everlasting life or strength have they about them This dead Lion scorns the living Dog as not seeing him in another spirit joyned to all the truly living Christ and all spiritual Saints and Angels The natural Man as a fleshly mystical Tree in the fruitful exercise of a restor'd first-Covenant righteous life when cut down spoil d and marr'd by the spiritual-Sword or Gospel-Cross Tree and Fruit Leaf Root and Branch yet is there hope thro' the scent of water even of Christ's Spiritual Water of Life that it will sprout up again in another life bud and bring forth boughs like a plant Job 14. 7 8. of God's right-hand planting by a new-creation the fruits and leaves whereof shall never wither or fade Psal. 1. 3. And so is the living Dog living with Christ in God better in himself and therefore in God's infallible sight then the said dead Lion ruffling in all the unbroken life and power of that restor'd natural state that 's crucified in the true Saint Such Lions have but a name to live They are dead Rev. 3. 1. as being the very mystical Law-Widows left by Christ in the first-Covenant and waxing wanton against him in the second chusing rather to be married again in the first to that other Man 1 Tim. 5. 6 11 12. Rom. 7. 3. the Man of Sin and Son of Perdition the Devil This brings Damnation or unchangeable Death upon them Ver. 5. For the Living know that they shall die but the Dead know not any thing neither have they any more a reward for the memory of them is forgotten Living spiritual Saints know their whole natural Man must die in conformity to Christ and the Will of God But the said dead Lion knows nothing has no right knowledge of the mind of God in obedience to his Will as to the appointed Death-pass out of his crucified nature into God's Spirit of Grace He sees not or knows this spiritual life in which risen Angels and Saints are everlastingly blessed The dead Lion in all his flourish being in a state of unchangeable Death will have no more any reward to his comfort only the meet recompence of his error madness and folly eternal darkness and death under which his memory will for ever be forgotten He knows nothing that 's truly good or desireable unchangeably good and he shall have nothing that 's changably or unchangeably good or desireable but only unchangeable evil for his everlasting portion Thro' the impassable Gulf 〈◊〉 between them and blessed Angels and Saints will such see those they unchangeably hate to be the objects of God's unchangeable Love and themselves of his unchangable Wrath. They 'l know nothing but what will aggravate their boundless misery and unexpressible torment for ever On the contrary the truly living know every thing 1 Cor. 2. 15. to the encrease of their unspeakable Joy They know that by the obedient death of nature they shall live for ever in God's spirit of Grace as the method of God's Wisdom whose whole Counsel about Salvation they fully comply with They glory with Paul in the Cross of Christ by which all worldly life and desire in them is crucified to all worldly vanities or desirables without them Gal. 6. 14. And so are they made alive to the World to come and have a new spiritual belly desire or appetite and palate springing up in their newness of life to savour relish desire and feed on things divine spiritual heavenly and eternal things of God only the peculiar delights of the Sons of God The said dead know none of these things in their dead state of unchangeable Union with the Prince of death the Devil wherein they are cast out of God's favourable Remembrance or regard for ever into outer darkness where will be weeping and gnashing of Teeth Vers. 6. Also their Love and their Hatred and their Envy is now perish'd neither have they any more a Portion for ever in any thing that is done under the Sun Here 's a lively description of the deplorable state of the mystical dead whose Love Hatred and Envy perish All delight and satisfaction in the restor'd fading life and good things of their own nature evilly chosen and rested in by them for happiness shall perish Belly and meats desires and desirables all will be gone And then the Wrath of God will be upon them for ever All the goodly dainties they lusted after will depart from them and never be found more Rev. 18. 8 14. For chusing their perishing things of Man not only in a preference but unchangeable enmity to the things of God in his new-Creation Life fall they under his unchangeable Wrath. So all their false evil destructive Love of any the best things in this World the Righteousness Wisdom and Glory of their own restor'd nature with the Fruits or Works thereof in enmity to
thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the ways of thy heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment Solomon here farther confirms his needful Caution for duly remembring the many days of darkness that will succeed in the room of all fading first-creation light literal or mystical and all delight or rejoycing therein Know that for all this God will bring thee into judgment This word is directed to two sorts of People such as live wholly in the corrupt spirit of nature gratifying only their bodily life lust eye and other senses with the visible objects and comforts of this world represented by the light of the literal Sun After the largest experience hereof he bids them at their peril go on but be sure God will bring them into judgment for all such things And his judgment on them will bring those days of darkness upon them which will be many even eternal darkness and death But the young man here chiefly meant is Man in the youthful flourish of his own restor'd nature and fruitful exercise of it in a first-Covenant life If he refuse to part with all this under the Cross to live and walk with God under the yet more excellent new-creation Spirit of Christ or mystical Sun of everlasting Righteousness eternal darkness and death will come upon him also in conclusion as well as on the other When such provoke God to give them up to their own self-chosen way so that he 'l no longer deal with them in Mercy or wait to be gracious to them but swear in Wrath they shall never enter into his rest they have nothing certain to expect but fiery indignation for ever Heb. 10. 26 27 which will turn all their light life and comforts into unchangeable darkness and death Vers. 10. Therefore remove Sorrow Heb. anger from thy heart and put away evil from thy flesh for Child-hood and Youth are vanity To prevent the said sad Judgment Solomon advises Man to remove Sorrow or Anger from his heart under and against the death-work of the Cross upon nature Be not offended or griev'd at this dispensation of God which is the only way in the methods of his Wisdom for Salvation Put away such Sorrow or Anger and be quietly yea gladly with Paul Gal. 16. 14. obedient thereto as the only way to everlasting Joy Joh. 16. 21 22. The pangs of Death to the natural Spirit figur'd by the Woman in travel will vanish on the birth of the spiritual Man-child in it and its quickning up into the new life of the said Child the true manly new-Creation life of Christ and God Our natural man under the Cross ought to put away Sorrow and Anger not reckoning its present sufferings fit to be compar'd with the joy of spiritual life set before us the exceeding weight of Glory that is to follow Thus did Christ himself and Paul reckon Heb. 12. 2. Rom. 8. 18. 2 Cor. 4. 17. All struggling Sorrow and Anger under the Cross makes it more uneasie Obediently submit to Christ herein and his Yoke will be found easie and Burthen light Mat. 11. 28 30. Those that learn of him will be meek lowly and quietly submit to his Cross and Father's Will and Command therein as he did 'T is the rebellious 〈◊〉 mind that 's troubled cries out and is angry and offended at this dispensation as unwilling to submit to this spiritual Law of the Cross is ready to say to Christ for this spiritual as Zipporah to Moses for the literal circumcision a bloody Husband art thou unto me Exod. 4. 25 26. t. For Childhood and Youth are vanity All the time of Man's non-age in first-Creation life at best the mind is carnal or 〈◊〉 which is enmity to God Rom. 8. 7. as found in a contrariety to the spiritual Law and mind of Christ. Hence man's whole work desire thought design and counsels therein are nothing but folly and vanity In the but restor'd first-Covenant righteous life of the Law and utmost youthful Vigour Activity Flourish and Fruitfulness thereof is even the true Saint but as a Servant in Child-hood non-age and minority ignorant of any such life he has the incorruptible seed of in him wherein to be Heir of all Gal. 4. 1. All Job Paul or any Saint has had but in that restor'd Spirit of bondage or of the Law has bin found Vanity and they themselves at best therein altogether vanity Psal. 39. 5. Such Childhood and Youth are vanity it self has nothing but vanity in it It s Life Works Fruits Wisdom Righteousness are nothing but vanishing shadows of the Creature-life Wisdom Righteousness and things of God CHAP. XII V. 1. Remember now thy Creatour in the days of thy Youth while the evil days come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them HEre 's a farther reason for Man's remembring his Creatour in the youthful season of his bodily life and as figur'd by that the youthful vigor and flourish of his Spirit in the restor'd righteous first-Covenant life thereof Christ is a twofold Creatour of blessed Angels and Saints by a first and second-Creation-workmanship upon them of all other Men Angels and things a single Creatour by a first-Creation-workmanship only The former Eph. 2. 10. Col. 1. 18. the latter 16. As first-born of every Creature ver 15. fountain of all creature-being and life did he comprehend the immortal Spirits of all Angels and Men as radically existing in him v. 17. which are 〈◊〉 forth by him into a personal subsisting at their appointed seasons He that created all things is God God the Mediator in his conjunctive divine and creature-nature Joh. 1. 1 3. Heb. 1. 2. 3. 4. His creature-spirit is the fountain of all other creature-beings and the immediate hand by which brought forth in their distinct subsistencies and visibilities In all does he fulfil the will of the infinite Divinity who said Let there be this that and t'other and accordingly were all things created visible and invisible answering the existing beings given them in the Womb of the Mediator's vast original creature-being And as Angels and Men have their natural beings so that natural first-covenant light and life from Christ which fits them for the right exercise of their beings As perfect natural beings with a perfect natural life breath'd into and set up in their 〈◊〉 were they the product of Christ's 〈◊〉 creation-workmanship upon them They receiv'd their Beings Light and Life from him Saints over and above all this receive from him a spiritual everlasting righteous life and are made spiritual Vessels or sitted receptions thereof by his second or new-Creation-workmanship The fountain of this being and life is also in himself as head of the Church Col. 1. 18. The incorruptible seed 1 Pet. 1. 23. of this new life was cast into their Spirits from the date of their radical existing in the
corrupt nature is seen of all But enmity to God and the power of Godliness in that spirit of grace wherein alone any can be saved is seen of none in the highest wisdom of restored nature And this is the root of all spiritual Wickednesses Uncleanesses Idolatries and Murders These all lurk under fair shews in holy flesh form of Godliness and righteousness of Man in the restored Image of the earthy All natural excellencies in Man or Angel are but a fading flower All the mystical Gold Silver and Rubies thereof perishing nothings to the new-creation Wisdom and things of God And what then to the infinite divine Wisdom and things of God lesse then nothing Isa. 40. 17. Christ offers his durable Life Riches and Substance his Heavenly treasures for Man's fading Earthly shadows and is refused Mat. 19. 21 22. Wisdom of nature in corrupt or moral Heathen and in first covenant Saints excells the folly contrary thereunto as Light Darkness But this reaches not the intended mystery and truth of this scripture Vers. XIIII The wise Man's Eyes are in his head but the fool walketh in darkness and I my self perceived also that one event happeneth to them all The truly wise sees with the Eyes of Christ his spiritual Lord and Head in his light he sees light Psal. 36. 9. in the spiritual light of Christ the infinite divine Light and Glory Man and all he does in this light this spirit has the praise of God but not at all of men wise righteous Men. Paul was of high account with such when a persecuting first-covenant Saint in his holy flesh of no account with them when a suffering spiritual Saint in God's Holy Spirit 1 Cor. 4. 8-13 2 Cor. 10. 12. He was contented to be a no-body with men when such a one as the Lord commendeth passed not for Man's day or judgment of him The righteousness of Man kept up in enmity to God's is highly esteemed of men but abominable to God And the righteousness of God in the spiritual Saint is highly esteemed of God but abominable to man with all the words thereof Man's Soul established in his own Righteousness loath's God's soul or spirit and God's his Zec. 11. 8. Man's loathing God is the greatest wickedness God's loathing him and dealing with him accordingly the just punishment thereof In the spiritual Eyes of their Head do true Saints fix their eyes on Christ their Lord and Head receive his counsells and obey him amid'st all uncertainties darknesses and miscarriages of their natural Man They walk in his spirit of light fools in their own spirit of darkness Paul when wise in God seemed a fool to men men wise in Christ by his first-covenant communications Christ marred that visage wisdom and image of the earthy in his own person which they trust in for Salvation Paul cast away all they trust in as dung for the spirit and wisdom of God the life and image of the Heavenly No being wise in God without being fools to Men 1 Cor. 3. 18. and 4. 10. Man in the highest Light and Wisdom of his own nature is indeed the Fool tossed up and down by the various Winds of Satan's divers and strang doctrines walking in darkness not knowing whither he goes or what he does who or what he worship's He reckons he is making safe steps toward Salvation when making swift steps to destruction Man that finally trust's in his own Wisdom for directing his steps sides and hold's with the Devil as his Head true Saints with Christ for directing their Steps in his spirit But how does one event happen to them all Wise and Fools This one event is a twofold death incident to both in the twofold mortal Life of their Body and Spirit 'T is appointed to all men good and bad Once to Die Heb. 9. 27. as to both these lives in their natural state By such Death are all first or last cut off from and for ever deprived of all outward or inward litteral or mystical riches and comforts of this World The whole Life of the natural state in the love or wrath of God will be taken from every Man and Angel Mortality and Death is legibly written out upon all in the perishing nature of all they are possessed of however obstinately kept up and trusted in by most The event that happens or falls to the Lot of the obedient surrenderer of his natural Life under the Cross or rebellious refuser so to do which brings him under the same Cross or Gospel-sword in final wrath after the said one event that happens to both and all will be found exceedingly differing even a state of eternal Life or Death God rejects mens false confidences but approves of their distrust and despair in themselves or best things in their own Nature as vers 20. Vers. XV. Then said I in my heart as it happeneth to the fool so it happeneth even to me and why was I then more wise Then I said in my heart that this also is vanity Here is the bottom thought of Solomon's heart in this matter In the Wisdom of God he reflects upon and reviews himself in all his former glory and wisdom of a man and then compares himfelf and any other in like case made wise strong and honourable in Christ by his renewalls of their old natural state and fresh quickening them up into the life thereof out of their fallen state of death in trespasses and sins with the fool and finds one Chance or Lot happen to all that are but such wise men never proceeding farther and the fool even a state of eternal darkness and death The Fool in the lowest sense is what we call a meer Natural destitute in a manner of any use of his rational Powers through indisposition of Body Again a man weak and shallow in his natural Powers and uncultivated by Education Reading and Converse with better Understandings is a Fool to a man of deep Natural Judgement quickness of Mind of a soaring searching Capacity and great Reach advanced also by Learning and Converse This Fool and wise Man may both be found and oft are in the but heathenish spirit of nature and that in the corrupt rebellious state thereof walking contrary to such and to all light and wisdom natural and spiritual The moral righteous Heathen that endeavours to obey such light of nature as Christ a-fresh sets up in every man that comes into the world though of less light and speculative wisdom or capacity then the former is a wiser and better man The first-covenant Saint with his holy flesh wise strong and honourable in Christ though of less speculative wisdom then either is wiser and better then both and then the spiritual new-covenant Believer and Saint that seems a fool to them all as having quitted all Wisdom of man for God's is not only wiser then them all but the only truly wise and they all fools as to the whole of their eternal concerns In general all are fools
and Fire of God's High Priest is our only way of being delivered from all evil of sin or punishment for ever And on such obedience we shall certainly receive the promise of the Father the everlasting creature-life and spirit of the Son which will fill us with all good for ever above wonder Is not here great Gain on all hands to encourage us to bear such loss the spiritual Law of the Cross and ordinances of God's new-creation sanctuary call for as undispensably necessary for our admission or entrance thereinto This exchang-traffique of Law for Gospel Life of Nature for Grace Earthly for Heavenly the natural life of the Creature for the spiritual life of the Creator is the highest and best market man can make of all his first-creation vanities Truth or the Gospel-spirit of truth can never be bought but to Man 's unspeakable advantage never sold or parted with from love to what 's to be parted with for it but to Man 's unspeakable loss Buy the Truth therefore at any rate but Sell it at no rate though all the kingdom's of this World and glory of them all natural humane or Angelical excellencies be bidden for it Paul when eminent in first-covenant holines parted with all as dung for this Truth All that have tried this most gainfull traffique have found it so No active obedience performable in Man 's own nature ever does his work for salvation but passive a right ceasing from that life with all its activity and labours Should a Man live a thousand years twice told in the utmost fruitfulnes of his rectified naturals he will still find Solomon's account true all vanity All that 's but Earthly in Man or Angel all first-creation Life and fruits or works thereof will be burnt up by the fire of the second 2 Pet. 3. 10. Christ's new-creature spirit will try by its al-discovering light all principles and works whether natural or spiritual earthly or Heavenly and then all the former that 's changable and perishable will most certainly perish or be burnt up by the fire of this trying spirit All that obediently submit not to this fiery triall fall inevitably under its everlasting burnings in and upon them in final Wrath. All changable goodnes earthly first-creation Life and Fruits first or last must passe away from obedient Saints and incorrigible sinners in God's Love or Wrath. This fiery triall seem's grievous at present to nature in Saints Heb. 12. 11. Our nature in Christ himself was sorrowfull to death cast out a word for scaping the Death-Cup but he instantly called it back His living Soul of the same kind with the first Adam's was sorely put to 't made exceeding sorrowful under the death-work of his second-Adam's quickning-spirit or gospel-sword and fire upon it Mat. 26. 38 39. Obedient submission to God's present temporary Wrath in this case is the only possible way of deliverance from his Eternal the Wrath to come All willful refusers of the former are sure to meet with the latter Those that with Paul received Gods just sentence of Death within them On their naturals at best have unspeakably the best on 't Those that please themselves a-while in resisting and scaping it fall under it for ever The sufferings and shame brought on the natural man of the Saint are not to be compared with the joy and glory of spiritual life that follows Nor does the present false joy stiffnecked resisters of the Cross or holy Ghost in its demolishing operation upon their naturals please themselves with signify any thing in comparision of the griefs torments and vexation of spirit this crosse will bring upon them in Eternal Death The demolishing-work of the Cross is grievous to nature in Saints at present but in no comparison so grievous as 't wil be to it in rebellious resisters and that for ever True Saints soon find the benefit of their obediently sacrificed nature by a resurrection out of the death of that into the everlasting righteous life of the sacrificing high Priest of their Gospel-profession Melchisedeck So have they eternal life abiding in them the Kingdom of Heaven within them live and walk in Christ's kingdom-spirit the Gospel-principle of everlasting righteousness Thus by submitting to the temporary wrath at present brought upon them in God's everlasting kindness do they scape the wrath to come But what mean's Solomon in saying that all his wise labours in his own restored nature must be left to a man that has not laboured therein Who is this Christ in his originally unchangable creature-spirit of everlasting righteousness and truth Himself surrendred the earthly first-covenant righteous life and labours thereof in our flesh to the flames of his own eternal Heb. 9. 14. everlasting righteous creature spirit in sacrifice to his own divine spirit and God most high The sacrifice he offred the sacrificing Priest that offered it and God to whom offered all are comprehended in the worderful person of the Mediatour as the divine and twofold creature form of God originally spiritual and spiritualiz'd transformed regenerate natural baptized into the death and assimilated in the resurrection life of it to the originally spiritual This divine and twofold creature-being image or form of God in Christ is all called God even the spiritualiz'd man Christ Jo. 1. 1. All are the living Word and Oracle of God's infinite divine mind his Wonderfull Counsellor to Angels and Men. And in all stands he in a distinction for ever from God most high in the single and uncompounded divine essence in which the Father to this divine and creature-Son begotten from eternity as the divine and from everlasting Prov. 8 23 as creature-Son of God Hence is it said the Mediatour is not of one nature but God is one Gal. 3. 20. This sacrificing Priestly Gospel-spirit of Christ reapes or gather's cut 's down burns up and utterly consumes all the life and labours or workings of Angel or Man in their natural first-creation make and life as he served our fleshly nature in his own person By his Cross or Gospel-sword he gathers all for sacrifice to God as his due required Tithes and Offerings the mystical truth of the litteral that never laboured or did any thing in that natural state of life but was originally spiritual This also is vanity sayes Solomon or shewes the insignificancy of man's or angel's labours in their earthly first-creation Life of vanity about salvation All must go life and all or they never can be saved And this is a great evil or grieving consideration to man that his life at best and all done in it are but perishing vanities vanishing shadows of things to come or to be brought a-float in men by a new-creation 'T is also Man's great evil his unpardonable Sin if he rob God or withold his Mystical Tithes and Offrings Mal. 3. 8. the most high and criminal Spiritual sacriledg many first-covenant Professours are guilty of in holy flesh Rom. 2. 22. the best fruits or works
with false hopes and confidences here and come what will think they hereafter At length they must leave their false present rest and lie down in everlasting sorrow Who can help Satan's twofold party corrupt and righteous men fixed in nature with him will on in their fools Paradise in their various pathes under Satan's counsel and steerage to the same Tophet Saints ought to do their best in all meekness to recover any out of the snares of the Devil till evidently fix'd in Enmity God's method with men is that none should usually have two Heavens or two Hells All Good is the Saints all Evil the incorrigible sinners in the world to come All Saints tears are put into God's bottle of remembrance to requite all hereafter as Enemies oppressive madnesses shall also be paid off with such recompence of their Errors as is meet the vengeance of Eternal Fire Jude 7. All will come to their rights at last Friends and Foes This very Argument does Paul comfort oppressed Saints with 2 Thes. 1. 4 -- 10. At Christ's second coming will Saints ride in their Triumphal Chariots as more then final Conquerors over the Heads of their Oppressors Devils and Men who have had their turn to ride over their heads Ps. 66. 12. The Lord regards every sigh and groan of his Prisoners appointed to death under worldly Powers Psal. 12. 5. and 69. 33. and 79. 11. 146. 7. He will make his despised oppressed ones a praise in the Earth in the sight of all that have scorn'd and trampled on them Psal. 102. 13. 16. 19. 20. The true Saint pants after final deliverance from all Enemies within him Rom. 7. 24. as well as without All will be 〈◊〉 at last in Answer to their Prayer Psal. 74. 10. and ver 〈◊〉 Saints groan after deliverance from their mortal righteous earthly life of Enmity as well as from that of the Body 2 Cor. 5. 1 2. All in nature within and without them is in a universal confederacy against them What matter If God be for them who can be against them Or who can hurt them Rom. 8. 31. Here 's enough The whole first-creation world lies in wickedness litteral and mystical filth of flesh or spirit 1 Joh. 5. 19. and so in a universal daring affront and contradiction to all words and things of God in the next Jer. 44. 16 17. But God will hear or deliver Saints from the horns of the Unicorns Psal. 22. 21. That is from all oppressive Powers of this World visible and invisible without and within So have we in some small measure the meaning of these words Vers. II. Wherefore I praised the Dead which are already Dead more than the living which are yet alive The weight of these words lies not in the Litteral Sense For no miseries or oppressions incident to bodily Life in this world are comparable to the sad condition of the wicked after death under final wrath The spiritual truth here relates to Saints Saints departed are in a far better condition than those left behind them in the Body that have not fully passed through the twofold inward and outward oppression or suffering-work that 's to be undergon by them Saints departed out of the Body or while in the Body out of the Law-life of their own spirit are those A voyce from Heaven command's John to write as a most certain Truth blessed Blessed are the dead in the Lord Rev. 14. 13. All so dead with Christ will live with him for ever in his Immortal Gospel-life All others will perish in their own corruption or corruptible Law-life and state which they have rebelliously chosen and trusted in for blessedness against the Lord's known commands and warnings to the contrary By keeping up what Paul cast away as dung for Christ's spiritual Life will they perish as their own dung for ever Job 20. 7. A perfect death of the natural Spirit and Principle of Life and Action in man an everlasting cessation and rest from all the desire thought and unprofitable labour thereof and so the honourable burial of it in the mystical grave of Christ is true conformity to his death Christ came not to do his own Will nor speak his own words the Dictat's of his own understanding though spotlessly perfect in our fleshly nature but Crucified and ceas'd from all We must follow his suffering steps through the same fire of his eternal Spirit Heb. 9. 14. kindled by him on us as on himself Luk. 12. 49. Spiritual Circumcision and fire-Baptism put nature corrupt or righteous to death cut off and burn up all flesh even Holy Flesh Col. 2. 11 12. Man in the restor'd righteous Life of his own nature has nothing but a Body of Sin and Death about him which Paul pray'd for deliverance from Ro. 7. 24. Phil. 3. 6-8 Since the fall filth of Spirit Enmity to God is inseperable from the Life of nature corrupt or righteous Nature in whatever condition and Enmity to God Live or Die breath or expire together Paul when eminent in Holy Flesh breath'd out Enmity Threatnings and Slaughter against God's Holy Gospel-Spirit Saints and Truths Act. 9. 1. From the time this Spirit of Enmity was Death-struck by Christ in his way to Damascus he lived and brought forth Fruits unto God in a newness of Life In the restor'd Life of nature the great Sin of Enmity revives gather's Strength Credit and Authority By the death of it under the Cross that and all other Sins are pluck'd up by the Roots He that is so Slain and dead is freed from all Sin for ever Ro. 6. 7. When Planted together in the likeness of Christ's Death and Resurrection the Old Man is Crucisied the Body of Sin destroy'd v. 5 6. Man's natural Body or whole natural Man at best as a Righteous Living Soul 1 Cor. 15. 44 45. is by the twofold death and Life-work of Christ's quickning Spirit Transformable into the likeness of his Glorious Body or the glorified Body Soul and Spirit of our nature in his person Phil. 3. 21. On such death of nature Man ceases from sin for ever 1 Pet. 4. 1. If Obedient to the Slaughter-work of Christ's Gospel-Spirit on our Lawless or Law-Spirit in corrupt or righteous nature shall we by the second operation of it be quick'ned up into the Life of his Gospel-Spirit All dead with Christ shall after their season of dwelling in Dust arise with his dead Body into a newness of Life and Sing for ever Isai. 26. 19. Paul's argument in this case looks both way's If the Dead rise not Christ is not Risen 1 Cor. 15. 12-19 implying if Christ be Risen the Dead with him shall be Rais'd into that 〈◊〉 of Life our Crucisied nature in him Lives in for evermore Rev. 1. 18. Our nature in Christ is rais'd also into and possess'd of the very Divine Life So the fulness of the very Godhead dwells in him bodily in personal Union with his Manhood This is his peculiar Prerogative
Heir This. Man's whole Immortal being in a Resurrection of Damnation Jo. 5. 29. will have nothing of good to Inherit This second Child that shall stand up for ever in his stead v. 15. in an Immortality of being which in the true Saint will have everlasting Life Joy and Blessedness even God himself for his Inheritance will for ever be laid down in Sorrow under the Positive Inflictions of Wrath in unutterable Torment and Vexation of Spirit Inheriting Everlasting Darkness and Death So will this Covetous worldling doting wholly upon Vain False Deceitful Worldly Riches Litteral or Mystical and as wholly Neglecting Hating and Rejecting the true find no Heir to Inherit no Child Brother or Second that will have any of that fading good to Relieve or Comfort him for ever Whoever has no second no younger Spiritual Brother in his person no true Heir of Salvation that will help and fetch up his natural elder first-Covenant Law-Brother into his newness of Life Gospel-Life will find himself undone to all Intents and Purposes for ever The Old Man or Elder-Brother left alone by his own choice and Gods Righteous Judgment to shift for himself will find himself in a Resurrection of Damnation and Immortality of his whole being Body Soul and Spirit an Heir only of God's final Wrath a Dismal Inheritance But in the true Saint Holy as God is Holy Pure as Christ is Pure that is unchangably as Partaker of Christ's of God's Everlasting Righteousness and true Holiness is found a younger Spiritual Brother that will fetch up the Elder into the same Everlasting Righteous Life with it self And so will Crown all the Righteous Labours of the natural Elder Brother or Old Man in his Law-Life and nature with a Glory never to be done away in an Immortal Gospel-Life with Christ in God a Life suted to his Immortal being He that spares and saves his Old Law-Life of Enmity to God from the Death of the Cross will lose it in Eternal Death He that obediently delivers it up to a Temporal Death will find it again with Usury in Eternal Life These are of the true and faithful Sayings of Christ's Spiritual Law of Liberty Mat. 16. 25. This is the one thing necessary for the rendring Man truly acceptable to God or profitable to himself a true and right Heir of the Kingdom even the true Second Child or Brother Son and Heir The Old Man or Man in his old natural Spirit Life and State in whatever Variety of Condition found is under an absolute impossibility of ever finding true Rest Food or Satisfaction after which he has bin all along his day in this World Coveting and Labouring In a wilfull blindness Inadvertency and Stupidity he will not allow his own Heart or Understanding any fair Play by reflecting upon himself and considering his own Folly He does not so much as say in his Heart for whom do I Labour and to what end do I bereave my Soul of good And all this under a self-Condemning Light which tell 's me all I am Treasuring up and Labouring about is but a heap of Perishing Vanities From inordinate love to and evil Concupiscence after this shall I turn from hate and so bereave my Soul of that blessed new-Creation-Life convincingly shew'd and offered me by God that would render me everlastingly blessed Unexpressible Madness Shall I chuse and Steal my own Eternal Death Torment Vexation Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth by Stealing from and Robbing God of his Mystical Tith's and Offrings withholding my nature from Sacrifice and Death Shall I with Esau greedily chuse and dote upon my own first-Creation Morsel and lose the new-Creation Birth-right while the true Spiritual Jacob's get and go away with all It highly concerns Man thus to commune with his own Heart and alter his vain Course for so great Salvation as is offer'd him Vers. IX Two are better then one because they have a good reward for their Labour The Birth of new-Creature Life in the true Saint makes with his natural Man the two that are better then one or then the natural Man single and alone however Perfect Wise Strong Honourable and Glorious The natural Man of the Saint is by his Spiritual under and with the Fountain-Spirit of Life in Christ fetch'd up by way of Death and Resurrection into the everlasting Life of the Spiritual in lieu of its fading natural This compleated the whole person is Spiritual I live yet not I but Christ in me say's Paul Gal. 2. 20. He had the two better then one He and the spirit of Christ. By the death of nature as to its own law-Law-Life and quickning of it up into Christ's gospel-Gospel-Life the Spirit of Christ lives in the whole Saint and he in it as his Ruler Lord and King But Man alone in his own nature however Wise and Righteous will find himself at length not only destitute of but in unchangable Enmity to that spirit of Christ in which alone any can be saved The natural Man in his own Uncrucified Will and self-chosen course therein remain's single and alone to his final ruine The reason why the said two are better then one is because they have a good Reward for their Labour Man fixed in his own Life and way and so in Enmity to God what reward can he expect but final Wrath as the meet Recompence of his Errour On the Obedient death of nature in which 't is impossible to please God in any thing is man rais'd into that Life of Grace in which 't is as impossible not to please him in every thing The Reward of this will be the full enjoyment and cleer Vision of God for ever Vers. X. For if they fall the one will lift up his Fellow but Wo to him that is alone when he falleth For he hath not another to help him up The Gospel-Spirit of Christ in the Saint takes his whole natural Man partly Crucified and partly not into its care and Protection And so the Fountain Gospel-Spirit in Christ himself takes the whole Man of the Saint into its Protection under the covering Shadow and Cherishing Influence of its twofold Cherubin-Wings as also under the joynt regard and care of his Infinite and Almighty Divinity The Saint is deeply concern'd in this case when Christ has committed to him set up in him and intrusted him with his unspeakable Spiritual Gift or Life that unchangable good thing to recommit that and himself back again to Christ for the Nourishing Strengthning and Encouraging it against all the Counterworkings of his Rebellious and in part uncrucified natural Mind or Man which will to its last Gasp without any Interruption fight against God and his Spiritual Till all the Mystical Nervs and Bones thereof be cut asunder and broken all the Life and Strength thereof utterly Extinguish'd and Abolish'd is it a perpetual Warrier against the Spirit of Christ in himself and Saints Paul found this fleshly Foe of his own House this Carnal Mind of Enmity
have worse on 't then the Litteral Sodomite in filth of flesh His greater advance and 〈◊〉 advantages toward Salvation neglected and abused do highly aggravate his evil of Sin and accordingly will be his evil of punishment for ever After all Exaltation with Capernaum in first-Covenant-Life and second Covenant or Gospel-Light even up to Heaven so as 〈◊〉 to see and then obstinately refuse God's only appointed way of entrance the death of their earthly spirit of nature for the life of his Heavenly Spirit of Grace will all such Mystical Sodomit's be tumbled or thrust down to Hell where it shall be more tolerable for Litteral Sodom then for them Mat. 11. 20-24 Luk. 10. 12-15 Christ himself gives the reasons for this difference in Punishment v. 21. 23. and Luk. 12. 47 48. He that cleerly know's his Master's will and does it not shall be beaten with many Stripes He that does not so cleerly know it shall be beaten with fewer For to whom much is given of him shall be much requir'd as the case is with Men to whom they have committed much of him they will ask or expect the more Man in the dark State of his corrupted nature know's not his Master's will at that rate as the old foolish King in the restor'd Life of the first and light of the second Covenant does By abusing the Life of the first in Rebelliously keeping it up and himself therein against the second when discover'd by its own light to him to be that which cannot be receiv'd by him but on his obedient surrender of the Life of the first does he deserve a sorer Punishment then the common Sinner against the Law Heb. 10. 28 29. For he Sinn 's more immediately and knowingly against the Holy Ghost or Gospel Life of the Son of God in Heaven even the Man Christ as risen from the dead into that Life wherein he lives for evermore The other against the Son of Man on Earth or that Law-Life of nature the highest Edition of the Law which Christ took and was found in as made Flesh and which he Crucified and abolish'd out of our nature in his own person in order to bring it forth again in the new Gospel-Edition of it by a new-Creation in unchangable Harmony with his Originally everlasting righteous spiritual new-Creation Gospel-Life So only can or ever could first-Covenant Law-Life come in him or in us to dwell for ever with new-Covenant Gospel-Life as Brethren in Unity This unchangable Union of the natural and spiritual Man in Christ and true Zion-Saints is pleasant in God's sight and of everlasting advantage to Man Psal. 133. 1. For so and so only by the death of the natural and Resurrection of it into the Life of the Spiritual Man in the Saint and the Spiritual Man in Christ's person come the poor but truly wise Crucified dead Children to live for ever in unchangable Union and Harmony of Mind with the infinite Divine Spirit of God most high Christ enlighten's every Man that cometh into the World Jo. 1. 9. None then are absolutely in the dark stark blind wholly ignorant of his will Even the Gentil's all Heathens have the light or Law of nature within them accusing or excusing their thoughts Words and Actions as found compliant with or contrary thereunto Ro. 2. 15. God's rule given in the Scriptur's of truth in reference to all Men is this If any be unfaithful in and to their little Dimme rational Candle-Light in some degree set up a fresh by the Redeemer in all men If they do allow themselvs in a constant course of Rebelling against the same without any remorse or chang of mind they 'd not be true to higher natural Light in the actual Priviledges of a first-Covenant Life and less yet to the higher Spiritual new-Covenant Gospel-Light if not only offer'd but actually receiv'd by them Luk. 16. 10 11. He that 's unjust in the least is or will be unjust also in much Those that are not faithful in the unrighteous Mammon the fading Light or also Life and inward Riches of their own restor'd Nature which yet is but a Spirit or State of Bondage to them and Enmity to God at best as in Paul before Gospel-Conversion who will commit to their Trust the true Riches Those that do not rightly use any fading Light Wisdom Life Riches in their own Spirit of Nature by such active Obedience as is performable therein and with while that is God's Dispensation to them and then by such passive Obedience in despising surrendring and giving all up as Dung with Paul when God requires it in order to receive his more excellent spiritual heavenly Gospel-Life in a Resurrection-state Phil. 3. 6-10 how should they ever come at or be possessed of the true durable Riches and everlasting Life The only possible undispensable way and means for this in the declar'd Methods of God's Wisdom is the obediently surrend'red natural State as to all the fading Life Glory Wisdom Righteousness and Riches thereof even the Death and Loss of all in Sacrifice to God as Christ himself did when he had taken our fleshly nature in the full Glory and unspotted Purity thereof Eternal Gospel-Life is by the Wisdom of God or Gospel-spirit of Christ freely proclaim'd and offer'd to all men Prov. 1. 20-23 and 8. 1-9 The old foolish Kings the highest and most criminal provoking Sinners that receive and abuse the Life of the first and Light of the second Covenant will fare worst under final Wrath. All others fix'd common Sinners of the Gentil's litteral Sodom will have bad enough on 't under their fewer wrathful Stripes or lesser Torments in Eternal Death But the hottest fiery Indignation and Mystical Flames of Wrath in the lowest Hell will be for ever upon the old foolish Kings Sore amazing Tydings for such self-confident presumptuous Sinners as reckon their Plea good for entrance into the Kingdom of God Yet thus it will be For the mouth of the Lord himself hath spoken it Mat. 7. 21-23 and 11. 23 24. Mar. 6. 11. Luk. 10. 12. All first-Covenant Saints in Holy Flesh that finally refuse the whole new-Covenant Gospel-Testimony the Words of God's Holy Spirit and Life thereof this will most certainly be theircase Easier will it be for Litteral 〈◊〉 Profane Brutisied Sinners in the corrupt Spirit of nature then for them It had bin better for them never to have known the way of everlasting truth and righteousness then after they have known the truth or Gospel-Life of Christ in its own Light and Beamings forth upon them to turn from the Holy 〈◊〉 of God therein and wilfully Rebel against it 2 Pet. 2. 21. Heb. 10. 26 27. Isai. 1. 20. Much sorer Punishment belongs to fix'd Sinners against the Holy Ghost than 〈◊〉 sinners against the Son of Man for ever v. 29. Such recompence of both their errours as is meet will they all receive both Litteral and Mystical Sodom even the Vengeance of Eternal Fire Ro. 1. 27.
'T is too painful yea 't is impossible for man Save in sanctuary-life and light Ps. 73. 16 17 to discern the spiritual new-Creation things of God's House and less yet the deep things of his very infinite Divinity The truly Spiritual Man Judges or discern's and sees all things 1 Cor. 2. 15. Divine Spiritual and natural The highest first-Covenant-Saint in Holy Flesh Righteousness of Man is a Fool a Stranger an unreasonable Man a Profane Infidel as to all Gospel-Things and Truths Such troublesome self-confidents Paul desir'd to be delivered from 2 Thes. 3. 2. and 2 Tim. 4. 14 15. as most impertinent irreconcileable Babblers and Disputers against all those Gospel-Truths or Sanctuary-things they bid at and pretend to the knowledg of That contradicting Wisdom and very Understanding they use in the dispute is to be abolish'd by the Cross as the Blasphemous Enemy of God and all his Gospel-Truths Thus Paul found it in himself till Christ knock'd down that earthly Wisdom and caused him to turn from that fleshly Mind Understanding or Principle of reasoning in obedience to his heavenly Act. 9. 3-6 Gal. 1. 16. Christ himself in the flesh turn'd away his foot or feet his own fleshly or natural understanding and will the two Feet of the Living Soul on which it walks abroad to View Desire and feed upon worldly Vanities Perishing Meats refusing to think the thoughts do the will or speak the words thereof but the will and words of him that sent him by Crucifying that Will and Understanding utterly Abolishing all the Life Desire Thought and Motion thereof And such death is the only Consecrated Living way into the new-Creation sanctuary-Sanctuary-Life Heb. 9. 12. and 10. 19 20. The natural man even in Christ's person however perfect was a prohibited Stranger amongst the rest that might not enter into his own new-creation Sanctuary House or Temple in the single changable first-covenant law-life in and under which made 'T was impossible even for him as so to enter By Death he ascended into it and set it open to his followers in the like Death of nature Such obedient Death is the only way to eternal life Never was there any other way to it for any Angel or Man That law-life that was but a changable shadow in him and in us must pass by the death of nature in both and all under the cross-work of the Gospel-spirit that the life which is true in him may be true in us also 1 Joh. 2. 8. and 5. 20. In Scripture sense all 's true in the new-creation all shadow in the old True Life Light Wisdom Righteousness is found in the new only All things eternal things of God are there All the Wisdom Life Light Righteousness Glory things of Man or Angel in the old are but shadows of the substantial things of God in the new The changable earthy Image of God and righteous first-covenant Life of the Law Man was at first created and set up in is but shadow of the new-creature life and Image of the heavenly or second Adam All in the former are things of man Life Wisdom Righteousness of Man all in the latter things of God Life Wisdom Righteousness of God A zeal for God's heavenly Spiritual things must eat up our earthly or natural The fire of his heavenly Sanctuary-Spirit must consume our Earthly Life and state eat up all mortal desire and thought root and all By such destruction of our flesh or natural state can we come to be Saved in that Spirit We must put off the old Man the Image of the earthy or can never put on the new and Image of the heavenly The Earthly House and Life of this present tabernacle must be dissolved that we may have that Building of God not made with hands eternal in the heavens 2 Cor. 5. 1. Think any to enter into that House any otherwise then Christ himself could to go whole and unmaimed into it in that Life or natural state he crucified Gal. 3. 1. Nature in all men is an enemy to God and his Sanctuary-Spirit Paul in righteous nature was in union of mind with the Devil an enemy to the Spirit of Grace to God Christ all Gospel-Saints and truths a stranger to all things divine and Spiritual God the Mediator in his changable Angelical nature from the beginning and humane toward the latter end of this world did cease by a Holy death from all the works of both in the activity of the changable principle of first-covenant Life Angels and Men must do and suffer likewise or never enter into his rest Heb. 4. 4. 10. The mystical Sabbath-Law of the Cross upon the works and and working Spirit of nature is expressed by turning away our foot from the Lord's Sabbath from delighting in our own will and way 〈◊〉 our own Pleasure and speaking our own Words Isai. 58. 13 14. This is the very same Death-doctrine and work of the Cross on the whole natural Spirit at best The Obedient submitting thereto is the keeping our foot from the Lord's house and turning it away from his Sabbath Those that honour God herein he will put everlasting honour upon lifting them up over the heads of all earthly powers humane or angelical called the high places of the earth He will cause them to ride upon these high places that have had their turns to ride over their heads Psal. 66. 12. But those that from a fond love to their own vain life despise the Lord's sanctuary life shal be lightly esteemed 1 Sam. 2. 30 yea made vessels of dishonour and everlasting contempt The Spiritual Heavenly Original Gospel-Light of Christ's Sabbath or Sanctuary-Spirit is the day the Lord hath made in which Saints will rejoyce and be glad for evermore Psa. 118. 24. This heavenly Sanctuary and Sabbath that 's the Lords doing his own immediate divine Workmanship from everlasting Prov. 8. 22 23. is marvellous in our eyes The earthly Wisdom of man at best despises and wonders at this heavenly creature-wisdom of God The Orthodox humane builders of a first-covenant Church which their Wisdom Judges asserts and warns firm and safe for Salvation reject and refuse the corner-stone of the second and so the whole new-creation building on the rock the true church or house of God Man's wisdom won't believe or receive the words of God's though plainly declared to it Act. 13. 41. Abundance of professing wise first-covenant Saints believe not any such thing as that creature-Wisdom of God in the Mediator from everlasting by which the Worlds were made How can ye believe says Christ to the professing Jews who receive honour one of another and seek not the honour that cometh from God only Joh. 5. 44. A mercenary self-seeking trade in the first-covenant exceedingly indisposes and hinders any listning to one right word of the second None so highly Prejudic'd and offended at the least Word of Christ's Gospel in the second as the engaged ministers of Satan's in the first Such Gospel-Teachers are
themselves 〈◊〉 or Unbelievers as to every tittle of Christ's Gospel No first-coven 〈◊〉 Saints ought to trust in themselves that selfish fleshly life or natural state however righteous but in God that raises men from the Dead or out of the obedient Death of that into his life and righteousness in the second 2 Cor. 1. 9. They ought with Paul gladly to receive God's Sentence of Death in themselves or on their Spirit in the first that they may be raised into his life in the second And as none are to trust in themselves in the first so are no men there sit to be trusted by Christ or 〈◊〉 Saints being yet but in an unsteddy starting Principle Joh. 2. 23-25 For they know in the alsearching Spiritual light of God what is in man all men in their highest restored Life Light 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The best of them is as a brier the most upright 〈◊〉 than a thorn hedge Mic. 7. 4. As found in enmity to God and all his Saints and Truths Paul himself while but there though eminent breathed out slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. What such temporary first-covenant believers came to under Christ's own personal ministry when he came closs upon them with the cross doctrin of the second upon all that we find Joh. 6. 66. A way they go walk no more with him regard not him or his doctrine Let not the true followers of the Lamb whither soever he goes not onely into the Law-life of the first-covenant but through the death of that into the gospel-Gospel-life of the second in which he lives for evermore Rev. 1. 18. expect other doings from such false hollow-hearted apostatizing professors who are presently upon the turning point to Satan and drawing back to Perdition when clossly plied and follow'd with the true full doctrin of the Gospel-Cross on the Law-Life of nature at best which they are willingly and therefore easily perswaded by the words of Man's Wisdom is a true Gospel-state of Salvation and Eternal Life Such drawers back and those that go on to the saving of the Soul grow dayly farther and farther asunder more and more strang and contrary to each other in Thoughts Words and Deeds One is Marching on with a swift Foot towards the Chambers of Eternal Death The other 〈◊〉 towards the Kingdom of God Their Bodies meet and touch Elbows still in these dayly encreasing Distances and Elongations of their minds hearts or spirits till they find one another at Length in fixed irreconcileable distances and contrarieties of Mind Will whole course and way towards eternal life or death Apostat's from Gospel Light turn from the hot fiery Doctrin of the Cross when they find it touch nature at best to the quick at the very root bringing a flaming sword upon the very principle into the cool shade of a worldly Church-doctrin where Satan's pleasing-Gospel is preach'd nature specially righteous restor'd nature tickled and gratified with words after its own heart 'T is the language or thought and Desire of all natural Hearts Prophesy to us smooth things Prophesy Deceits Isai. 30. 10. We have heard enough and too much of the right things of God's Seers and true Prophets Their Doctrin is too hot for us We like it not Let them that bring such strang and sad Tydings to our Ears sit and speak to themselvs or stools if they will which indeed may be to neer as much purpose as to any good such regardless hearers of Gospel-words have gotten 'T is a dreadful Season in which 't is rare to find any that are in earnest about Salvation or at all inquisitive after it Who with the noble Bereans search the Scriptures about their eternal concerns Who regard any more then Pagans that Command of Christ for seeking first or chiefly the Kingdom and Righteousness of God Mat. 6. 33. or to lay up Treasure for themselvs in Heaven v. 20. Even the but Shadowy Mystical Laodicean Treasur's heap'd up in an earthly first-Covenant Life are now as 't were under God's Blasting and Professors negligence therein almost in the Dust as Conclamated Wither'd Unregarded things Profanes and a regard of and inquisitiveness after meer bodily concerns and Ornaments steal away the Heart and in a manner all the time of Professors How too generally are they laying about them wholly to fetch in Provisions for the lowest and basest fleshly Life and Lusts of confounded fallen nature common with Brute Beasts But if any yet are conscientious Walkers in first-Covenant Principles and reckon they have whereof to trust in the flesh Holy flesh restor'd righteous cleansed nature Paul more Phil. 3. 4. Christ most But Christ Crucified it in himself and Paul rejoyc'd or gloried to find him Crucifying it in him also Gal. 6. 14. as the only way of delivering him from that Body of Sin and Death he before took to be a state of Eternal Life Rom. 7. 24. 8. 2. The kindly death of nature under the Cross brought upon it in love from God and submitted to by Man in Obedience to God is the only means and way of his deliverance from all evil by the death of the guilty Sinner and of being furnish'd with and Possessed of all good in God's Gospel-spirit of everlasting righteousness that never sin's 1 Jo. 3. 9. All Sabbath-keeping and other Litteral Performances in Man's Spirit of Enmity to God and his true Sabbath-Spirit Sanctuary and place of his rest that he delights in when known so to be are with their Persons an Abomination to God and so their Solemn Meeting on his Sabbath that was his own Appointment what 's ours Isai. 1. 13 14. All their Incense and Sacrifices all our Praying Preaching c. in a known Spirit of Enmity to God are Mystical Murder Idolatry Sacriledg the highest and most criminal wickednesses in God's sight Why Hands full of Blood a bloody mind of Persecuting Enmity against his Gospel Saints and Truth 's spoil's all I 'le therefore hide mine Eyes from you and not hear your Prayers Ye are a Mystical most Criminal Sodom and Gomorrha to me v. 10-15 and Isai. 66. 3. Ye do all in your own self-chosen way after your own Heart in your own spirit not mine but in perfect contrariety thereunto None of you hear's and answer's 〈◊〉 Heavenly Call in true Wisdom's Words or Preachings I 'le therefore not hear or answer your Prayers and pretended Callings upon me v. 4. If you 'l not hear my cry to you 〈◊〉 not hear your's to me saith the Lord of Hosts Zec. 7. 13. Is man in Enmity to the whole Mind Counsel true Sabbath and Sanctuary of God like to be a faithful and able Minister of his Gospel-Truths Yet who else is heard or regarded Who but the Woman or private natural spirit that 's Enmity to God and all his right Words of Counsel and Instruction for Eternal Life Be more ready to hear then to give the sacrifice of fools Man in the best wisdom the most righteous life and activity of
comes to worse than nothing unspeakable misery and confusion without the least relief for ever under unquenchable wrath Man is born in a naked condition of Body and dead in Sin as to his Soul When reviv'd and Cloath'd again by Christ as to some measure of his restor'd lost Life and Righteousness in the first-covenant by keeping up that in enmity to an everlasting Life and Righteousness offer'd him by Christ in the second and so sinning after the similitude of Adam's first transgression he is worse than ever his latter end worse than his beginning a state of unchangable incurable evil sorrow nakedness poverty and death His whole man after all possible revival comsort flourish or fruitfulness in the mortal first-covenant Life of his Spirit or sensual Life of his Body goes destitute of all good or comfort naked out of the World as he came into 't He takes nothing of the fading Glory of his reviv'd Spirit any more than outward riches and comforts relating to his Body away with him at the death of the Body All goes In all points on all accounts he goes as he came stark naked strip'd of all comfort or goodness All fruits and labours of his Spirit and Body go together all vanish They that obediently part with all such fading Life and but things of man in their Spirit before the death of their Body find their own again with usury for ever in the everlasting Life Wisdom Righteousness and things of God in the Gospel-Spirit or Principle of the new and everlasting Covenant This is the unspeakable Gift of God offer'd all on obedient surrender of their fading Life and things in the first-covenant for his everlasting in the second They that refuse this surrender as most do lose all good in both Covenants for ever and fall under the positive inflictions of wrath for ever This for the evill use of all their things and labours in the first against God and the second When charg'd for all before the Judgment-seat of Christ they 'l be found in a silencing self-condemning consciousness as to all charg'd with will have nothing to say When their evil consciences are open'd all their mouths of iniquity will be stopp'd No disputing pleading apologizing but e'ne take their charge and sentence and so lie down for ever in sorrow shame and confusion under the wrath of their most righteous all-seeing Judg. Then will they find nothing of all their evil travel left in their hand The wrath of God will be upon them and the awak'ned spiritual convictions afforded them in mercy on earth will be set up in them for ever in hel as a never-dying ever-gnawing worm Mark 9. 44. 46. 48 to torment them within by the perpetually forc'd sight of their madness and folly on earth against the universal experience of all mankind and all faithfull warnings from God All their fading beauty will be consum'd in that Grave from their dwelling Psal. 49. 14. or that earthly state of their whole persons which they have chosen for their final habitation They have rendred themselvs fit fewel for the wrath of God eternally to flame forth upon When Christ awak's or comes forth in his heavenly he will despise or destroy their earthly Image Psal. 73. 20. or state burn up all the fading Glory perishing Life Riches Fruits and meats thereof or works therein 2 Pet. 3. 10. Their fleshly principle or root with the branch tree with the fruit as Grass at best a fading flower will wither and perish for ever Isai. 40. 6. These things and life then chosen by them when known to be so and Christ's everlasting Life and Things as knowingly and wilfully rejected when convincingly shew'd and fairly offer'd them will cause their unutterable confusion for ever in eternal darkness and death They 'l have nothing but wrath to feed on for ever in a resurrection of damnation Much sorrow and wrath will they have in and with their sickness unexpressible wrath rage and madness within them as the Septuagint render in their languishing incurable sickness or unchangable enmity to God under the final wrath of God This will befall them after all patience of God and favourable offers while 't was called to day with them in this world all which they abus'd and refus'd to their sorer condemnation and punishment So become they most desolate for ever O Jerusalem Jerusalem c. Mat. 23. 37 38. As vessels of dishonour will they be forc'd to eat the fruit of their own way 〈◊〉 be filled with the fruit of their own devices the wrath of God Prov. 1. 31. 'T will be sorely ill with them when that just reward of their hands shall be given them Isai. 3. 11. Had they 〈◊〉 to his Counsel they might have dwelt safely for ever and have been quiet from fear of evil Prov. 1. 33. Their simple turning from his offers and their prosperous flourish in their own nature will and way destroy'd these incorrigible Fools V. 32. Vers. XVIII Behold that which I have seen it is good and comly for one to eat and to drink and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh vnder the Sun all the days of his Life which God giveth him for it is his portion Having in some former Verses finish'd the Character of the incorrigibly wicked as to their dreadfull condition Solomon proceed's here to declare the blessed condition of all that are of a perfectly contrary temper of Spirit to that of unchangable enmity above-said of another Spirit with Caleb and Joshuah who wholly followed the Lord Numb 32. 12. 'T is the Spirit of Faith only the law of the Spirit of Life and true Liberty the Gospel-Spirit of Truth in which the Lord can be rightly own'd fully follow'd and acceptably worship'd in Spirit and Truth Sure none of these things can ever be done in man's own spirit will and way that at best is enmity to God True Saints bring forth all the fruits of their labours unto God the Father in this Spirit of the Son which makes them free indeed in this newness of Life and Law of true Liberty the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God And they reap the benefit or fruit of all their such labours in the Lord which never are in vain 1 Cor. 15. 58. All labours in our own Spirit of nature uncircumcis'd or circumcis'd that is corrupt or righteous are in vain as to eternal Life Gal. 6. 15. Nothing but the new creature and its actions are conducible or of any tendency towards that There God work 's all our works for us and we all our works in him as co-workers with God in his own Spirit Isai. 26. 12. Joh. 3. 21. Without me or my Gospel-Spirit 〈◊〉 can do nothing in the way towards true Life say's Christ to all Joh. 15. 5. These Gospel-works of the Spirit of Faith in Abraham justified him Jam. 22. 21 not law-works in his own Spirit of nature or principle of the covenant of
such blind followers neither of whom know what they are doing whither a going or whom they worship all in a manner doing they know not what The Objections here made have I oft heard from the unanimous defenders of the Doctrine of Devils who with hearts believe or obey and with their mouths make confession of Satan's Gospel calling it Christ's unto damnation Holy Men a first-Covenant People of God blasphem'd said of Christ he had a Devil and was mad why hear ye him Joh. 1. 11. 10. 20. Do any wise knowing righteous Men believe on him Joh. 7. 48. But to return from this requisit digression A Man restor'd and made by Christ rich 〈◊〉 wise strong honourable fat fruitful and 〈◊〉 in his own nature again in the same kind of life Adam was at first set up in has with the literal rich Man in his case no power to eat thereof so as to receive the comfort that 's to be found in the right use of his fading mystical riches The right using and eating them to true advantage is in the zeal of God's House Psal. 69. 9. the mystical fire of his Sanctuary-Spirit to eat consume devour and burn all up in Sacrifice to God as Christ handled our spotless nature in himself If not eaten thus in and by the true Priestly Spirit of God in an obedient friendly union of mind with the Cross or Spirit of Christ the same Spirit or Gospel-sword will come as a stranger yea a downright enemy and devour eat all up and destroy the Rebel for ever Isa. 1. 19 20. Ps. 69. 9. Joh. 2. 17. The single Spirit of 〈◊〉 in its highest renewals and most righteous restor'd life since the fall is a continual sinner and an enemy of God The Gospel-Spirit of Grace that 's on its death to succeed and become the sole and single principle of life and operation in the Saint never sins The true Saint therein joyns with Christ to destroy the former that he may live for ever with him in the latter Such suffering and dying is God's appointed method for living and reigning with him for evermore 2 Tim. 2. 11 12. A right death of Nature is a ceasing and a being freed from Sin for ever 1 Pet. 4. 1. Rom. 6. 7. They that feed on perishing lying vanities and gratify that fleshly belly or desire and life that 's to be destroy'd will be destroy'd for such rebellious feeding in a forbidden life and way on such forbidden fruits 1 Cor. 6. 13. They gratify but that carnal earthly mind that minds only earthly things first-creation vanities So sin they after the similitude of Adam's first transgression This great Sin Solomon observes to be a vanity and an evil disease common among men Multitudes of first-covenant Professors call themselves what they will will be found guilty of this unpardonable Sin unchangeable enmity to God and his Gospel-spirit at the final determination of Zion-controversies They are strangers and enemies to the Cross of Christ Phil. 3. 18 19 and that as a stranger and enemy to them will eat up or consume and destroy their fading life and goodness in final Wrath. It also eats up all the same kind of fading life riches beauty or glory in Saints themselves in a way of everlasting kindness love and faithfulness for their eternal good Away then will all first-creation life riches and glory go for ever as to any goodness comliness or comfort therein from all Saints or Sinners in love or wrath In wrath will he come upon incorrigible enemies that by chusing their own first-Covenant-life before his second have forfeited the benefit of all his dispensations of Love and Mercy towards them as well as all their large great mystical earthly riches and possessions for ever Vers. 3. If a Man beget an hundred Children and live many years so that the days of his years be many and his soul be not filled with good and also that he have no burial I say that an untimely birth is better than he In Mystery Man in the top-excellency and most abundant fruitfulness of his restor'd Nature though he live long and be fill'd with the utmost joy and comfort all riches fruits and honours there amount unto he is but an old doting sinner against God and his Spirit of Grace all along throughout his whole race or course in this mortal world and state He is an old rich accursed Sinner as to any durable life or riches dead miserable wretched poor blind and naked Rev. 3. 17. He is such a covetous Sinner that however he has blessed himself in his own way or reckoned himself blessed of God as giving him more than heart can wish there though he be an hundred years old live never so long in this fools Paradise he will find himself accursed for ever under the wrath to come after all Isa. 65. 20. The reasons hereof are here given his soul is not filled with good and he hath no 〈◊〉 The truly satisfying new-creation goodness that 's only to be attain'd by an honourable burial in Christ's mystical Grave or through-conformity to his death of Nature is not found with or in him He has nothing of that about him Satan has 〈◊〉 ' d his heart with unchangeable enmity to God and all his durable riches Diotrephes-like loving to have the preeminence do such prate against true Gospel-Saints with malicious words and all the durable Gospel-Riches yea the unsearchable Riches of Christ's Wonderful Divine and Creature-person that they preach Eph. 3. 8. as a meer blasphemous fiction a nullity 'T is but a lump of corruptible vanities they at best are fill'd with They and all this earthly trumpery will be found but the Earth and works thereof that are the 〈◊〉 fewel by the fire of Christ's day to be burnt up 2. Pet. 3. 10. Man's immortal Spirit can never be fill'd with true good but in an immortal Gospel-Life never in a mortal fading Law-Life He must be emptied of the former to be fill'd with the latter This is done by the twofold Death and Life-work of the Gospel-Spirit of the Cross on his Law-Spirit of Nature slaying his Nature and raising him if passively obedient to the death of that into the life of the sacrificing Gospel High-Priest of our Profession Heb. 3. 1. the active Gospel-Principle of everlasting Obedience to God most high Without this an abortive or untimely birth is better than the said rich and flourishing long-liv'd first-creation sinner This abortive is either a literal that has not known any thing or received any sort of good 〈◊〉 God and so is free from the guilt of neglecting or abusing it or mystical abortive that has never receiv'd the actual birth and life of a First-Covenant State from Christ nor experienc'd a fruitfulness of his own Nature therein and so has not been possess'd of such choicer First-Creation riches to abuse in enmity to the second Vers. 4. For he cometh in with Vanity and departeth in darkness
and Torment Else how comes self-exalting Capernaum any first-Covenant People exalted or lifted up to Heaven in second-Covenant Light so as to taste and see how good the Lord is in his new-Covenant life 1 Pet. 2. 3. and Heb 6. 4 -- 6. to be tumbled down to the lowest hottest Hell under the most fierce and fiery indignation of God for ever Their greater punishment carries with and in it a character that 's clap'd upon their backs as greater sinners by the abuse of such utmost advantages for their good then those of literal Sodom and Gomorrha Mat. 11. 23. figuring the general rout of all common Sinners of the Gentiles in the corrupt spirit of Nature under what ever outward nominal distinction by the title Mahumetan Pagan or Christian. Names vary not the case one jot where there 's nothing of Christianity in a first or second Covenant a Law or Gospel-life righteousness of Man or God They are enemies of all righteousness with Elymas the Sorcerer Act. 13. 8 -10. Vers. 6. Yea though he live a thousand years twice told yet hath he seen no good do not all go to one place Nothing but Vanity in the largest measures highest degrees and most fruitful exercise of a single first-Covenant or natural first-Creation life with the longest continuance therein is to be found by Man Let him live a thousand years twice told in the largest possessions thereof he sees not or enjoys any true unchangeable good therein from first to last All the goodness thereof comes to the same end and pass with his bodily life and the concerns or good things of that The death of both and all is the same end of all to the longest liv'd Methuselah and to an Infant that dies at an hour old The same period is put to the mortal first-Covenant life of the Spirit as to that of the body If therefore a Man have no other life to trust to beyond both these he will be cover'd with unchangeable darkness in eternal Death the mystical Tophet state or place of Torment for ever prepar'd for all self-confident first-Covenant Kings Princes of this World in the but fading glory of a first-Covenant life Such Princes crucified Christ for his Doctrine of the second They despise and wonder at it and so perish or come to nought with all they chuse and please themselves with 1 Cor. 2. 6. 8. Acts 13. 41. Do not all go to one place All these eminent long-liv'd vanity-mongers go to the same place or state of unchangeable enmity to God and darkness to themselves with those that had shorter continuance in and smaller enjoyments of the said righteous life of vanity in holy flesh or with them that never had any thing at all of it polluted Heathen's fix'd in the vile affections and lusts of literal Sodom All comes to one at last wise first-Covenant Saints and foolish common sinners of the Gentiles Yea their greater and higher advantages wilfully abus'd gain them only a deeper cup or measure of Wrath for ever than those of less attainments and standing therein or of none at all After all their enjoyment of and flourish in a but changable good rejecting God's everlasting as recompence of their most foolish choice to walk in the light of their own fire the warmth light zeal of and for their own enliven'd enlighten'd nature and compassing themselves about with sparks of their own kindling duties fruits works producible or performable therein must they lie down in sorrow darkness and death for ever This will they have from God's hand Isa. 50. 11. Vers. 7. All the labour of Man is for his mouth and yet the appetite Heb. Soul is not fill'd No satisfying answer to all the needs of Man's Immortal spirit in all first-Creation Vanities is ever to be found No literal or mystical riches that are all but perishing Vanities can do 't Let Man lay about him while he will do what he can in the activity of bodily or but first-Covenant righteous life he never finds or gets any such thing as will stop the craving mouth or fill the appetite of either so as to give any thing of true rest or satisfaction to him All Man 's trading in a vain life where Belly and Meats desires and desirables are perishing vanities and to be destroy'd 1 Cor. 6. 13. is with himself altogether vanity Psal. 39. 5. fleshly tree and fruit root and branch mouth appetite and meat Unprofitable is all man's labour then for fetching in Provisions for his flesh even holy flesh righteous cleans'd nature to gratify or fulfill the lusts thereof Rom. 13. 14. The very meats of Christ's first-Covenant earthly Table afforded man for a season in that state will with that renew'd holy life and appetite come to nought A Plea therefrom will stand Man in no stead at the last day as having eaten and drunk thereat for entrance into his Kingdom Luk. 13. 24 -- 30. Mat. 7. 21 -- 23. He will not know or own them but hid them depart from him as incorrigible workers of mystical iniquity the highest and most criminal rank of unpardonable sinners Out of Heathen Countries from East West North and South the four winds of Heaven shall an Elect Seed be wakened up signally by the preparatory dispensation of Angels in association with the risen Witnesses from among Men to preach the 〈◊〉 Gospel into the spiritual Kingdom-life of the 〈◊〉 and sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God and such high but hypocritical pretenders to it be thrust out Luke 13. 28 29. Mat. 24. 14 31. All this will be preparatory to Christ's second coming Abundance of Christ's Spouses and Children in the 〈◊〉 Covenant become incorrigible Rebels against him and his Spirit of the second and consequently the siercest Persecutors and haters of all his Gospel-Saints and Truths Then he most justly turns from being a Saviour to them as for a season he was in the 〈◊〉 to be their unchangeable enemy and 〈◊〉 against them Isa. 63. 8 10. or pour upon them his unchangeable wrath in and by that very spirit of the second they 〈◊〉 with a perfect 〈◊〉 and it them Zec. 11. 8. Sure the unchangeable wrath of God must needs light and rest for ever on the guilty heads of the unchangeable enemies of God The stated Case for Salvation from the beginning is the surrender of and passing out of all first-creation life and vanities into the second The rebellious keeping up the first against the second loses all and excludes from the second that 's God's and the Saint's true Rest for 〈◊〉 Solomon lamenting the folly of Man in his own vain self-chosen life will and way puts these two following Questions to him Ver. 8. For what hath the Wise more than the Fool What hath the Poor that knoweth to walk before the Living What or who is the Wise the Fool the Poor and his knowledg to walk before the Living what Living who
God and death to it self a Body a Law of Sin and Death as Paul found Rom. 7. 24. 8. 2. into the marvelous Palace or Paradisical Light and glorious Liberty of the Sons of God cannot forbear to go tell their 〈◊〉 how they fare They give them an account or true report of the new-creation Land of Promise or state of Life with the fruits and peculiar enjoyments therein above all other Countries Lands or States as far as the Heavens are above the Earth How is this News resented by these two sorts of Sodomites the Prophane in silth of 〈◊〉 or Legal-spirited Professor in filth of spirit enmity to God and all spiritual Truths that 's brought to both their ears by the Gospel-spirited Saint They all hiss at and deride his pretension to such Sun-light as the most presumtuous conceit and phanatical delusion in the World They sit them still won't budg an inch from their opinionated happiness in Rational Light and Moral Heathenism or first-covenant life also in Legal Christianity just as the case was in Plato's Apologue or fabulous Cave-students in their demeanour towards him that had ventur'd up a rocky Precipice with great difficulty and danger into the open Air and Sun-light on his return and tydings thereof to them What of all this The Saint is not to regard these contradicting Blasphemers misregarding him or his words nor be weary nor faint in his mind or Spirit Heb. 12. 3. They are to look wholly to God Christ blessed Angels and Saints that know and own them for what they know themselves to be What matters it for Man's day or judgment in which nothing of their spiritual life or doctrine is rightly seen felt heard or understood Saints by spiritual senses do all this natural never can do They hear see look upon and handle the Word of life even the original new-creature life in the living Word Wisdom of God Christ's Person 1 〈◊〉 1. 1. And they 〈◊〉 such life also in the derived streams of the living waters thereof in true Saints When their own Spirit is dead in Man's sight and judgement 't is most of all alive in God's Sight in his Spirit of Grace And those that live and spend their Widow-hood on Christ's death and departure from them as a 〈◊〉 first-Covenant Bridegoom in the pleasures of that life he has forsaken them in however alive in Man's sight are dead in God's while they so live 1 Tim. 5. 6. Incorrigible sinners in filth of Flesh or Spirit pass along this mortal World and Life jollily in the broad way to an eternal house of mourning Job 21. 13. Psal. 39. 5 6 11. Psal. 49. 10 -- 20. while true Saints through much tribulation and mourning are passing into an eternal house of feasting Those that will on in their various temporary houses or states of feasting literal or mystical making large and swift steps towards the Chambers of death seem to have much the better on 't in this World Who can help them Who can lift them up out of these drowning self-chosen lustful goatish ways of Vanity that will most certainly set them among the left hand 〈◊〉 Goats at last day Mat. 25. 33. Will ye hear a Wonder Spiritual Saints have the best on 't even in this World as thus They have the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come True Godliness the power of Godliness is profitable to all things The form of it and bodily exercise or the fruitful exercise of Man 's cleans'd natural Spirit therein profits little The truely pure sinless use of worldly enjoyments without any sinful love to or delight in them and spending the strength of all in a serviceableness to the designs and interests of Christ upon and in Men belongs to the true Spiritual Saint only And they have a daily encrease with the encreases of God in the promised life of the World to come So have they the best on 't indeed and in truth even in their mortal day and state on earth All their Tribulations Persecutions and seeming worst things are wholly and exactly calculated for their good by him who cannot miss of accomplishing his design upon them therein and by There are three sorts of Men on the stage of this Earth together in a confused jumble as a mix'd heap in mortal bodies Profane inhabitants of the Sea in the corrupt Spirit of nature of the Earth in the righteous cleans'd earthy state or spirit of nature and dwellers in Heaven or in God's heavenly Spirit of Grace Rev. 12. 12. All People upon Earth are living and walking in the corrupt or changeably righteous Spirit of Nature or in God's unchangeably righteous Spirit of Grace No state in changeable nature is unchangeable or everlasting Salvation but a state of Grace only Eph. 2. 8 9. Not our working Spirit of Nature but God's working all in us and for us by his Gospel-Spirit of Grace will give us entrance into his Kingdom 'T is the unspeakable new-creation gift of God and workmanship of Christ fits any for the Kingdom And 't is then the unspeakable folly and madness of Man to refuse the receiving that Gift on any terms seem they never so hard to his nature Wo to Laughers they shall weep and mourn eternally Blessed are the mourners they shall rejoyce and laugh eternally These were Christ's spiritual sayings and warnings to all when in our flesh And he will be the Judge of all in that Spirit wherein himself is justified for ever in our nature before God most high 1 Tim. 3. 16. An innumerable multitude that have thought it so brave to have their wills in this World will meet with unimaginable amazing surprizing disappointments in the next An irresistible blast an irrecoverable death-blow will they be fore'd to receive on all first-creation delights desires and desirables belly and meats 1 Cor. 6. 13. All these dreadful things the living spiritual Saint lays to heart and as knowing the terrors of the Lord what a fearful thing 't is to fall into the hands of the living God and be torn in pieces without any possibility of deliverance Heb. 10. 31. Psal. 50. 22. endeavours to perswade Men while call'd to day to desist from their jovial march and swift posting it in their several sensual and intellectual paths of delight and present pleasure to their mis-judging nature which do all tend to meet and center in one and the same point a state of everlasting darkness and death under the triumphs of divine Justice and final Wrath. Solomon bewail's the unhappy choice most Men make of the merry self-pleasing-paths to eternal mourning But to allay the compassionating grief of this undeniably true observation he discovers an opposite party of happy People that in a new life and spiritual understanding do lay all these errors follies and madnesses of their fellow-mortals to heart though they can have little or no hearing with them and that find it their unspeakable concern
under this tryal they make a right or a wrong choice find eternal life or death the better or worse end than their beginning All that make the right choice have the praise of God but lie under the utmost dispraise and malice of Man all along this World under Satan's reign and the day of Man's orthodox judgment or Wisdom This is the great and main controversy between God and his creatures 〈◊〉 and Men. 〈◊〉 the very turning point to 〈◊〉 life or death the obedient submitting to the death of nature or the rebellious keeping up the life thereof The Saint sinds the end that 's better than the beginning others an end that 's worse The Saint sinds that blessed end of the Lord that the Lord Christ himself and his Servant Job found to be the happy issue and result of all their sufferings in the flesh or natural Man Jam. 5. 11. The truly patient in spirit here meant that submits to the death of his own nature finds the life of God's new-creature spirit of Grace in the room thereof So is he transcendently better than the proud in spirit that contradicts blasphemes and does despite to the Spirit of Grace with all its words and followers to his own everlasting destruction By sparing saving and keeping up his own life in enmity to the Cross he loses all life and comfort for ever The over-value and love of his own freedom or free-will brings him into everlasting bondage The quitting it for God's Free-will to good only and that unchangeably is everlasting deliverance or Salvation from all captivities oppressions enemies dangers or deaths The Saints new-creation life of God swallow's up all death's and enemies into victory renders them more than conquerors over all for ever The proud lifters up of themselves against God will be made vessels of dishonour under everlasting contempt and lie down in sorrow for ever This will they have of his hand Ver. 9. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry for anger resteth in the bosom of fools The spirit of Man rich full wise strong and honourable in the fruitful 〈◊〉 of a first-covenant life is apt to be hasty angry and offended at what comes to run down all this in him marre his 〈◊〉 and lay all this his fading glory and honour in the dust The wise spiritual Saint in Seed may be found in this hasty angry demeanour against the Cross or any words or Doctrine thereof ignorantly for a season with Paul but such anger resteth or abides for ever only in the bosom heart or spirit of fools that obstinately persist in such wilful madness and folly as to their grand concern and utterly perish in their own corruption Will Man justifie himself herein saying I do well to be angry at the Doctrine and work of the Cross He that contends with the Almighty reproves God's declar'd method and way of saving his own creatur's let him answer it Job 40. 2. Why what Says Man's wrangling disputing wisdom Shall I suffer my house to be set on fire the Gospel Fire-Baptism and death thereby to be brought on my righteous natural state Christ did on his more righteous Shall I suffer the comely visage beauty and glory the wisdom and righteousness of my own nature ' twice set up in and put upon me by God himself once at creation and again by redemption to be all spoil'd and marr'd Shall I suffer all my mystical riches herein to be seiz'd and like a tame fool make no resistance The Man-Christ himself did not He opened not his mouth against this dispensation He suffer'd that fleece to be shorn off all that riches to be taken away as the dumb Sheep her literal fleece yea that life and all as the Lamb brought to the slaughter without noise or struggle Isa. 53. 7. And Paul was forthwith obedient to the Heavenly Vision and discovery of the Lord's mind herein without struggle or dispute He gave not way to the fleshly disputer of this world in himself or others against the known Command of God and method of his Wisdom for Salvation He became a tame fool in this case as Man's wisdom reckon's an obedient wise spiritual Man as God's Wisdom reckon's 1 Cor. 4. 10. Here 's the clash of two distinct opposite Wisdoms They that reckon themselves wise are not wise in God's account 2 Cor. 10. 12. And those they reckon fools the Lord commendeth v. 18. Those that finally refuse to be offer'd up in the fire of the same Heavenly eternal priestly Gospel-spirit of Grace in which Christ offer'd up our nature at best in himself without spot unto God Heb. 9. 14. Joh. 10. 17 18. will offer up themselves in the false fire of Satan's spirit unto him will give their body or natural state to be burnt by him not in love but unchangeable enmity to God This is the state they chuse to pass into as set on fire of Hell Jam. 3. 6. They are back'd and encourag'd by Satan's lie to set up their own nature with him in unchangeable enmity to God So come these mystical proud in spirit by their false self-preserving reasonings to be guilty of remediless folly and madness to their own destruction All this proceeds from a 〈◊〉 up thought of the wisdom and glory of their own nature above what is written of it They take and assert it to be everlasting But no such thing was ever written of it in the Oracles of God's Wisdom but the contrary 'T is therein abundantly and frequently asserted to be but a fading flower a perishing vanity and Man at best therein altogether vanity lighter than vanity less than nothing It had bin better for him never to have bin at all than never to be better He will find himself worse then nothing Annihilation-death will be desireable a reduction to his primitive nothing rather than a being exquisitly sensible under eternal torment and vexation of spirit When thus gull'd by Satan do men carry his lie in their right hand teach it as the only way of Salvation to their own and deceived blind-followers eternal damnation To prevent this great danger Solomon advises not to be hasty in our spirit to be angry in this grand concern and case as knowing it a fault Saints themselves are too inclinable to through a readiness to listen to the voice of their own spirit the words of their own Wisdom which go forth out of their own mouth Jer. 44. 17. with Satan's strong delusions and reasonings at the back of their own humane arguings to beget in them a rash hasty angry temper against the Cross or spirit of Christ and all the words thereof A stiff-necked resisting the cross-work of the Holy Ghost Act. 7. 51. upon them is the unpardonable sin the great the presumptuous transgression the sin unto eternal death They that thus do reject so great Salvation as in God's way and Wisdom is offer'd to them and 〈◊〉 what proves damnation in their own will and way as the
Spirit are after a peculiar manner in the hand of God or under his peculiar regard care and approbation as obedient to him in all things Yet by any outward dispensations his Love to them or Hatred to his and their implacable Enemies can't be known For the natural Man or State is gratified in Enemies with more then heart can wish and in Saints or Friends under continual Chastisements Crosses and Disappointments In this cryptick Method or mysterious Course of God's dealing with Friends as Foes and Foes as Friends in all discernable appearances to Man's Wisdom will Man judg enemies the only Favorites of God and Friends rejected cast-aways hated by him for ever as Job's enlighten'd Friends did seem to reckon him when under the Cross Job 4. 7 -9. Psal. 73. 7 -14. Heb. 12. 6 -8. Solomon in the Wisdom of God and true Spirit of Prophecy farther declares Vers. 2. All things come alike to all there is one Event to the righteous and to the wicked to the good and to the clean and to the unclean to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not as is the good so is the sinner and he that sweareth as he that feareth an Oath In God's dispensations to the outward Man of Saints and Sinners all things come alike to all righteous and wicked good and bad clean and unclean So God's Love or Hatred cannot thereby be known God causes his Sun to shine and Rain to fall on the evil and good just and unjust Mat. 5. 45. From the afflicting or gratifying dispensations of God to the whole natural Man is the Wisdom of Man apt to take the measures of God's Anger or Love God affords invisible as well as visible good things of this World to the inner as well as outer natural Man the Spirit as well as Body of the rebellious as also of those who will prove obedient Saints This as one fruit of Christ's Redemption-work Psal. 68. 18. As to a first-covenant Benefit ' of Christ's death the common or general Salvation all Men are capable of may they be made wise strong and honourable in Christ yea by new or second-Covenant Light also shew'd offer'd and brought to tast and see how good and gracious the Lord is in his new-Covenant-life and after all irrecoverably apostatize and perish for ever 1 Cor. 4. 10. Heb. 6. 4 -6. If man finally keep up his restor'd first-creation changeable righteous Life in enmity to God and his second he perishes for ever If he prefer the Knowledg of Christ after the flesh in the restor'd righteous Life of the Law or conformity to him as born of a Woman under the Law to Christ after the Spirit or in his spiritual resurrection-Life he perishes for ever In this evil self-chosen life and way does God in Judgment gratify Men with invisible fading or natural good things beyond all they can wish Psal. 73. 7. The literal wicked in the corrupt and mystically wicked in the resin'd spirit of Nature may be gratified with all worldly desirables outward or inward to their bodies or spirits and perish for ever after all under the Wrath to come All this Solomon understood and declar'd The natural Understanding even in the spiritual Saint can't reach these mysteries of Providence in the promiscuous dispensations of God to good and bad as to all worldly desirables visible or invisible Psal. 73. The truly righteous good and clean 〈◊〉 his natural Life to God as fearing an Oath or the swearing an everlasting Covenant with the Devil in the first-creation state against God and the second So comes his heart in a newness of life to be set in him to do good in God's sight for ever He that swears that Covenant with the Devil is fully set to do Evil for ever Eccl. 8. 11. However undiscern'd the Saint's condition be to his Enemies under the love of God in this life God will at last manifest the difference between them that serve him and those that serve him not but swear everlasting Allegiance to the Devil Mal. 3. 18. whose Servants they are Rom. 6. 16. Vers. 3. This is an evil among all things that are done under the Sun ' that there is one Event unto all yea also the heart of the Sons of Men is full of evil and madness is in their Heart while they live and after that they go to the dead The death of Nature as to the mortal life of Body and Soul is the one Event to all Men. This fatal Period comes nature to in the wise and fool righteous and wicked The spiritual wise Man only is an unspeakeable gainer by all such losses as befals his nature with his fellows Out of the darkness and death brought on his natural state is he raised into the spiritual light and life of God The same darkness and death brought upon others in Wrath for refusing it in Love becomes their dreadful condition and portion for ever under Wrath. This exceedingly differing Event of the said same event the Death of nature in all Men is not consider'd or discern'd by Man's Wisdom Hence Solomon says how dies the wise Man As the Fool there 's no remembrance of the one more then of the other for ever Eccles 2. 16. in Man's day or Judgment The differing event of the Cross in Love or Wrath turning all first-creation Wisdom Light and Life into foolishness darkness and death Man's Wisdom sees not All wisdom beauty or desirableness in nature will perish and be forgotten in all Men for ever On this account as to any thing in nature the truely wise dies as the Fool. For both by death lose all the changeable Life and fading Glory of their own nature But the said wise 〈◊〉 obedient surrender of all receive a more excellent Life and Glory for ever and those that rebelliously keep it lose all for ever under Wrath in everlasting darkness So though the same Event happen to all as to the death of nature the event of that event is exceedingly different eternal life or death Those that do not obediently part with their own first-creation Life and Wisdom for God's in the second seem charact'red here by a heart full of evil and madness while they live and after that they go to the dead Yea they are dead while they live as 〈◊〉 in enmity to God which must needs be eternal death to them The best Works of righteous Nature fix'd in enmity to the Righteousness of God in his Spirit of Grace are but dead Works perform'd in a spirit of Enmity and Death True Repentance from dead Works Heb. 6. 1. imports Law-Conversion from nature dead in Trespasses and Sins Eph. 2. 1. to the righteous life of a Man But this second death of righteous nature by a fixure in enmity is worse then the former and exposes to the second death as the due punishment thereof the vengeance of eternal fire Rev. 20. 14. This is the latter end worse then any beginning which many self-confident
God and his spiritual heavenly eternal life and things with all the things by them loved perish for ever nor have they any more a Portion in any thing under the Sun any fading good thing done or found in the whole first-creation World of vanities And as their Love their Hatred and Envy shall also perish All their Envy and Hatred express'd by them in all ways imaginable against God and his everlasting creature-life the object of his divine Love and Delight in Christ blessed Angels and Saints shall perish It remains in them for ever for the encrease of their Torment under Wrath but they 'l be depriv'd of all power of expressing it for ever The life and things of their own nature which they have chosen to be the object of their fixed Love in preference to God's render them the objects of God's final Wrath. Vers. 7. Go thy way eat thy Bread with joy and drink thy Wine with a merry Heart for God now accepteth thy Works To the Saint as passing through the House of mourning and death to his spirit of nature under the Cross into the life of God's spirit of Grace wherein joyn'd to all truly living is this message of Life and Peace sent from God Eat thy Bread with joy c. Bread and Wine here are the hidden Manna and Wine of the Kingdom in Christ's Person even his divine and creatures-Glories his never-perishing meats Saints are to feed on in their spiritual when their natural Man or Spirit under the sharp discipline and death-work of the Cross is reduc'd to the utmost straits eating no pleasant Food or finding any more delight in the forbidden perishing first-creation life works or fruits and meats thereof Their spiritual hidden Man feeds on what 's incorruptible which renders them more beautiful in God's sight with Daniel and the three Children then any that feed on the choicest perishing Dainties of the mystical evil King's Table They feed on the never-perishing meats at their heavenly King's Table which nourish them up in his communicated never-perishing Life So do they eat and drink with a merry heart Joy unspeakable and glorious in the Holy Ghost The reason For God now accepteth thy Works This shews in what Spirit and on what Bread they feed and what Wine they drink with such a merry Heart All 's done in a spirit a newness of life all the Works or Fruits whereof are accepted of God Their feeding on Christ's heavenly meats renders them abundantly more glad then the utmost fruits and encrease of Corn and Wine figures of the choicest mystical first-creation diet can render the natural feeders on them Ps. 4. 7. True Saints dwell between Christ's Shoulders in absolute safety Deut. 33. 12. Peace and Comfort above all Enemies reach all evil or danger They have a Joy no Stranger or Enemy can intermeddle with or interrupt Prov. 14. 10. 'T is a Joy a Peace the World can't give nor take from them Joh. 16. 22 33. Vers. 8. Let thy Garments be always white and let thy head lack no ointment Saints waiting for Christ's clear manifesting or revealing himself in his Divine and Spritual Glories as object of their Faith and Hope are here call'd on to keep their Garments white and clean from all filth of flesh and spirit 2 Cor. 7. 1. that they may be fit to meet Christ at his coming as grown up into a compleatness and full purity of spiritual life in him purified as he is pure 1 Joh. 3. 3. in all holy Conversation and Godliness 〈◊〉 2 Pet. 3. 11 12. 1 Pet. 1. 15 16. And let thy head lack no oyntment Let thy Spiritual Man that 's head to thy natural be found in such a diligent performing its ruling authority over the natural and keeping thy whole person in obedience to Christ as not to provoke him to withdraw but more abundantly pour forth his holy anointing upon thee the most precious ointment of his new-creature spirit 1 Joh. 2. 20 27. Vers. 9. Live joyfully with the Wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy Vanity which he hath given thee under the Sun all the days thy Vanity for that is thy portion in this life and in thy labour which thou takest under the Sun Solomon continues his advice to the spiritual man of the Saint as Husband Head and Guide to his natural By reducing it to and keeping it in a universal obedience to Christ the Lord Husband and Head to the whole Man can he live joyfully in a loving union of mind with it David Paul and other Saints have found the natural spirit in its untransform'd unsubjected uncrucified state life will and way a prison an enemy a perpetual disturber of the spiritual mind of Christ in them through a universal contrary-mindedness thereto Psal. 120. 5 -- 7. Rom. 7. 18 23. Sarah's obedience to Abraham calling him Lord types out this twofold Truth the obedience of the whole Church to Christ and of the natural to the spiritual Man in every Saint The natural when by way of death and resurrection brought into Union of mind with the spiritual and so the whole person of the Saint with Christ then as Heirs together of the Grace of life their Prayers won't be hindred 1 Pet. 3. 6 7. as they must needs be while the natural mind is contrary instead of being subject to the spiritual in every thing Hence arise all discords inconsistencies and confusions found in Saints most of the days of the life of their Vanity under the Sun The nearer their natural is brought into a conformity with Christ in his death and resurrection Phil. 3. 10. the more pleasing grows their life and service to God and the more comfortable to themselves 〈◊〉 with the Wife of thy Youth Prov. 5. 18. This in mystery cannot be but so far as the said mystical Wife in the Saint is by suffering taught obedience Heb. 5. 8. to the spiritual ' The natural Spirit corrupt or righteous in its own earthy Life Will and Way is a like prison to the spiritual mind or man in the Saint as the fleshly body to his natural spirit So his whole natural Man in the uncrucified spirit of it is an uneasie irksome habitation to his spiritual directly contrary to the mind and interest thereof in every thing desire and thought Vers. 10. Whatsoever thine Hand findeth to do do it with thy might for there is no Work nor Device nor Knowledg nor Wisdom in the Grave whither thou goest Solomon advises not man here to do his own will that 's found in enmity to God in both the corrupt and righteous Life thereof but as by death and resurrection brought into that newness of Life in which as a 〈◊〉 yoke-fellow to his spiritual to be serviceable to his Generation Act. 13. 36. as to their eternal concerns by using all ways and means for laying before them the whole Counsel of God about their Salvation and discovering the whole counsel devices and
he saith to every one that he is a fool Man 's own Wisdom is Folly not able to direct his steps in or so much as into the way everlasting Jer. 10. 23. Trusting therein and to renders him an enemy to true spiritual Wisdom that can do all And this manifests him to every one to be fool God will set up that Light in all that they and all others shall see them Fools as having wilfully chosen that Life and Wisdom they knew would fail them and consequently excluded themselves for ever from that which would have done their Work Thus become they everlasting monuments of their own madness and folly in eternal darkness and death under Wrath. Vers. 4 If the spirit of the Ruler rise up against thee leave not thy place for yielding pacifieth great offences The acknowledg'd literal gives aim at the mystical sence In letter Man ought not to leave his place of subjection to worldly Rulers but acknowledg the ruling Power by God's Providence permitted any to exercise over him however ill us'd This may and ought to be without any sinful compliance with such abused Power Even Saints must suffer as a passive owning that power so ill manag'd they can't actively obey All ought to keep their place of subjection to it so as not to rise up against dispute or deny the Rulers place and office however abus'd Such demeanour is the only safe way to pacify the Ruler's unjust wrath against them t. For yielding pacifieth great offences Yea Devils are not to be denied their invisible evil Angelical Principality and Power permissively given them in and over this World Luk. 4. 5 6. The Devil 's evil place of Rule and Power is not to be denied Even Michael the Arch-Angel Christ himself contending or disputing with the Devil about the body of Moses durst not bring against him a railing Accusation but said the Lord rebuke thee Jud. 9. So Zec. 3. 2. About Joshua another Type of himself The Devil contends or disputes by himself and Apostles for the body of Moses or life of the Law as eternal Life and Salvation according to his first short comprehensive lying Sermon to Eve ye shall not die This is eternal Life ye are already possess'd of by the first Creation A due demeanour towards the very evil Angels is an owning our place of inferiority to them in the life of but humane nature or our natural state at best 'T is acknowledg'd so in Christ himself Heb. 2. 7. The leaving our place of Subjection or Inferiority to evil visible or invisible Powers of this World is a leaving our place of right subjection and obedience to God and a giving advantage to the Devil to make us pay it him And so come we to the mystery here Christ of right is always the chief Magistrate and Supream Ruler over all in his very passive season and Satan's active Reign If his Spirit rise up against the guilty natural spirit of Man if he come with his spiritual Sword and Gospel-fire to slay and sacrifice it to God Obedience ought to be given to him herein by yielding subjection to this Supream Ruler over all as our true interest and safety This is the way to pacify God's provoked Wrath against us even the delivering up that spirit to death that 's found guilty of all sorts of offences against him and this undeniably evidenc'd by the all-discovering light of the two-edged flaming Sword that slays us Heb. 4. 12 13. No absolute reconciliation but by the death of the guilty Sinner in us the foe of our own house We ought to agree with this true Ruler in the way of his Cross the only way to Salvation when his Spirit rises against and he comes in the posture of an Adversary upon his and our enemy in us Mat. 5. 25. Such yielding up the perpetual Offender to death in order to be brought to live under the peaceable Rule of that Spirit of Life and Love that slays our spirit of Enmity and Death pacifies the Wrath of our most righteous Judg and brings this wonder to pass that we who in our own spirits have bin guilty of innumerable and unutterably aggravated follies and madnesses shall have no Iniquity found in us by Friends or Foes The guilty Sinner our natural spirit that always rebell'd in its life has obediently suffer'd death and there 's an end of all Iniquity By this means come we to be fill'd with a spirit of Life that 's in eternal union of mind will desire thought love and hatred with the infinite divine spirit Then let enemies that love nothing but such Iniquities they would charge us with search and accuse us while they will yea and let God that infinitely hates all Iniquity search us to the bottom by the joynt beamings forth of his infinite divine and all-searching infallible new-Creation Sun-lights still still no Iniquity will be found in us when fill'd with his own Spirit of everlasting Righteousness and Truth Vers. 5. There is an evil which I have seen under the Sun as an errour which proceedeth from the ruler Vers. 6. Folly is set in great dignity and the rich sit in low place Here 's just matter of complaint relating to the invisible or visible Magistrates of this World evil Angels or Men. Nothing more familiar to observation in the visible then their encouraging and advancing folly it self or grossly wicked and unworthy persons and thrusting down the rich in true wisdom the truly worthy into low place or no place out of all place yea and out of the World as not fit or worthy to live by reason of his unalterably contrary principle temper and spirit to such wicked Gamsters as resolve to make a prey of the People All discouragements injuries and oppressions imaginable are on this ground exercis'd on the most worthy Patriots whose Consciences permit them not to gratify and serve their corrupt wills interests and unruly lusts These are the things practis'd by wicked visible Rulers in a flat contrariety to their duty Rom. 13. 3 4. The invisible Rulers of this World evil Angels prefer the rich wise-fools in a first-Covenant righteous life as their choicest and most useful subjects before above and against the mystical poor or impoverish'd there in order to become wise rich strong and honourable in God or in a spiritual new-Covenant life hid with Christ in God Christ pronounceth Wo to the former and says Blessed are the latter Luke 6. 20 24. That that 's highly esteemed of Men in the first Covenant is abominable to God Luk. 16. 15. as set up in a fixed enmity to him and the second And the broken contrite impoverish'd natural Spirit of the Saint as to all others trust and glory in seems abominable and contemptible to them the fat full rich wise strong and honourable in the first 1 Cor. 4. 8 10. The rich in the first-Covenant are sigur'd by the Man with a gold Ring and goodly apparel whereas the poor and
1. Cast thy Bread upon the Waters for thou shalt find it after many days HEre 's an Admonition to the universal practice of Charity in doing good to all but specially to the houshold of Faith Gal. 6. 10. As having a compassionate fellow-feeling with our fellow-Creatures and Brethren in the same nature by a free-hearted distribution of this World's goods As contriving opportunities for the practice of this duty has God given some a super-abounding over-flow of such things while others are destitute of the very necessaries of Life To a faithful answering his design and our duty herein a Blessing is promised He that hath pity on the Poor lendeth to the Lord and that which he gives will he repay Prov. 19. 17. See also the contrary threat'ned Prov. 21. 13. Whoso stoppeth his Ears at the cry of the Poor he also shall cry himself and not be heard As for the peculiar charity to the houshold of Faith Christ's little ones as his spiritual Disciples this will not miss of the great reward Mat. 10. 42. 25. 34 40. But we should extend our charity also to all which though it seem but as a casting our Bread upon the Waters 't will through God's promised Blessing be found again Deut. 15. 10. Vers. 2. Give a portion to seven and also to eight for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the Earth The practice of the said duty towards others is oft made a seeds-time to ones-self in such an unfore-known time of evil wherein we may be reduc'd to the like want Give and it shall be given you The same measure ye mete with shall it be measur'd to you again Luk. 6. 38. Such retaliation in distress will be comfortable when the said duty has bin well perform'd in prosperity So much of the literal sence of these two Verses In the spiritual or mystical what 's casting Bread upon the Waters Obedience to the Cross the spiritual Law whereof calls for mystical charity even the free giving up of all the Life Riches and fading Glory Wisdom and Strength of our own Spirit so as to become poor and dead with Christ there in order to live and reign with 〈◊〉 in that life he has rais'd our Nature into Here 's the recompence of such Love Obedience and Conformity to Christ a quitting our perishing life meats and riches for his never-perishing Christ himself was made poor in our Nature as to the mortal first-Creation 〈◊〉 and State thereof that thro' his exemplary poverty he might make many all followers of his suffering steps rich in God or in the everlasting righteous life of the second 2 Cor. 8. 9. The kindly suffering of the natural is the mystical seeds-time that will bring in a blessed harvest to the spiritual Man thro' an abounding fruitfulness in a newness of life Psal. 126. 5 6. Gal. 6. 7 8. He that sow's to the flesh builds his Faith hope and expectation for Blessedness on the corruptible life and fruitfulness of his but restor'd earthy natural state will reap corruption and eternal death He that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap Life everlasting All in spiritual life principle and fruits the mystical Births and Children therein have Holiness to the Lord written in all their fore-heads The spirit of bondage and her Sons all Fruits Births or Works producible or performable in the most restor'd righteous natural state or life of the Law have all of them vanity and vexation to the Worker enmity and rebellion against the Lord writ out upon them All the Children there then are Children of death Except the 〈◊〉 seed of God's left-hand planting by a first-creation die in us 1 Cor. 15. 36 38. 1 Pet. 1. 23 25. as obedient to the husbandry and plough of Christ's spiritual Cross the incorruptible seed of an everlasting righteous life of God's right-hand planting in us has no room or way made for a springing up into its own life activity and fruitfulness under the powerful quickning influence of the same Spirit of Christ that destroys all our earthly life and fruit the mystical 〈◊〉 tree of good and evil root and branch tree and fruit This spiritual Love or Charity is the Saint to shew to Christ as the full and right payment of all mystical tithes and offerings to the true Melchisedec or high-Priest of God in a universal surrender of all changeable good things in his nature for all unchangeable good things in his Spirit of Grace as rais'd out of the death of his slain sacrific'd Nature into the life of the very Priest that slay's him But why should he be thus charitable and obedient to Christ Because he know's not what evil may be or come upon the earth even on all that rebelliously remain in their earthly life under final Wrath in everlasting poverty want and nakedness as to any goodness changeable or unchangeable A being willingly made poor there intitles to the true durable Riches and secures from all want for evermore in eternal life Vers. 3. If the Clouds be full of Rain they empty themselves upon the Earth and if the Tree fall towards the South or toward the North in the place where the Tree falleth there it shall be Man's natural spirit how everfill'd with the fading life riches fruits and products thereof at best must be emptied of and lose all again or never receives an everlasting life with the never-perishing meats fruits riches and clothing thereof Mat. 16. 25. North and South here may signifie the first and second or old and new-creation state Man in the first corrupt or righteous fall's toward the North into a cold barren desolate starveling condition for ever In the second toward the South has everlasting warmth and blessedness under the joynt shinings forth of the Divine and Creature-Sun of 〈◊〉 and everlasting Righteousness As the Tree fall's or Man dies in a six'd enmity to God as establish'd in his own life corrupt or righteous or in a spiritual life of everlasting union with and obedience to God there he shall be in Hell or Heaven Cold comfort in the former none at all under the scorching flames of unquenchable Wrath which will be found to make up to incorrigibly wicked Angels and Men a state of eternal darkness and death Vers. 4. He that observeth the Wind shall not sowe and he that regardeth the Clouds shall not reap The slothful Man that looks upon Winds and Clouds that are nothing but uncertainty it-self in their motions omit's the diligent husbanding his Ground and will not so sow as to reap any true profit or advantage to himself In the mystical sense he that neglect's Christ's voice and convincing discoveries not submitting to the spiritual husbandry of his Cross on his earthy natural state to make way for the springing up of a spiritual Seed and listen's to the stranger's voice the uncertain words or reasonings of Nature in himself or others signified here by Winds and Clouds for sparing that
invisible creature-womb of himself the parent of Spirits in pursuance of the free thought and purpose of the divine mind The actual quickning up this Seed or giving them eternal Life is what Christ purchas'd for them by the obedient death and sacrifice of his own assumed perfect spotless but changeable first-creation state and is the builder of them up in So in all things hath 〈◊〉 an everlasting pre-eminence over them In reference to both these Creations or Worlds first and second natural and spiritual Heb. 1. 2. Solomon says remember Christ as both thy natural and spiritual Creatour bringing thee forth according to the methods of God's Wisdom first in a natural state by a first-creation and afterwards in a spiritual by a second 1 Cor. 15. 46. This twofold Creation David acknowledg'd too wonderful and oversetting to his understanding as to the taking any right measures thereof or putting any meet value upon When he consider'd the thoughts of God in reference to the single first-creation of all and then his twofold-creation of Saints he concludes the sum of them to be too great to take or give a distinct and full account of They are moe in number then the sand Psal. 139. 14 -18. Man's due remembring his Creatour that has done such wonderful things for him imports an obedient submitting to his dispensations for the accomplishing his designs and rendring him truly blessed in a state of unchangeable union with him and wel-pleasing obedience to him Since the fall has Christ as Redeemer laid a yet farther and greater Weight of obligation upon Men to remember him as their Creatour so as to yield a ready universal obedience to his spiritual Law which always was the undispensable duty of Angel and Man before the fall as well as since By that Law is the life of Nature at best or in whatever condition to be given up in sacrifice to God by his priestly hand that has from all the said rights and obligations a title thereunto Since our fall we receive our lost righteous natural Life or State afresh by his Redemption-Work as a first benefit of his death So are we bound to use our whole beings bodies and spirits in such restor'd Life and then death and loss of it for a better in obedience to his command and conformity to his example We must not live in or do our own will but his that died for us by the death of ours 1 Cor. 6. 19 20. 2 Cor. 5. 14 15. Christ now is to be remembred as Redeemer as well as Creatour 2 Tim. 2. 8. By the death of nature in himself he has purchas'd the lost righteous life of it for us Hereby are we a-new put on the trial for obedient surrender thereof for his spiritual Resurrection-life as the full benefit and principal design of his death Man then is so to remember his Creatour and Redeemer as to make the right use of his restor'd natural State by yeilding up his old for Christ's newness of Life This is the only way of putting away all evil from his flesh or rooting out all enmity to God's Spirit that 's now inseparable from the life of nature at best t. While the evil day's come not c. That is before God in Wrath blast the most fruitful youthful vigorous joyful state of thy natural spirit bringing mystical decays gray hairs and old age upon it so as to make thee find or take no longer any pleasure therein All the beauty and desirableness thereof shall fade away and be consumed as all the goodliness or desirableness of the body in the literal grave See both as one is the figure of the other Psal. 49. 14. And then also as fix'd in enmity will men find themselves not only strip'd and depriv'd of all good or comfort but under the positive inflictions of unchangeable wrath Of this most sad condition and God's most 〈◊〉 proceedings towards them therein have we a full account in the following-words Vers. 2. While the Sun or the Light or the Moon or the Stars be not darkned nor the Clouds return after the Rain Ver. 3. In the day when the Keepers of the House shall tremble and the strong Men shall bow themselves and the Grinders cease because they are few and those that look out of the windows be darkned Ver. 4. And the Doors shall be shut in the Streets when the sound of the grinding is low and he shall rise up at the voice of the Bird and all the Daughters of ' Musick shall be brought low These expressions do represent the weak decay'd state of Man in old age which brings sorrow and darkness upon him and at length a period to his bodily life and all sensual delights And this figuratively points at the like mystical decay gray hairs old age and death brought as God's displeasure on the most righteous fruitful life of Man's spirit under the Cross. But all these marks of God's displeasure on our natural body and spirit as found in enmity to him are the effects of his everlasting kindness to obedient Saints as the very means and way of translating them into his everlasting righteous spiritual creature life For a season Saints rejoyce in their enlighten'd nature as Law-servants finding delight in the literal and mystical Sun Moon and Stars of this World But they are made obedient to God's dispensation of turning the light of this mystical Sun Moon and Stars as well as literal into darkness to their spirits as well as bodies in both which there 's a time appointed for all Men once to die Heb. 9. 27. The mystical death of the spirit and all decays of a tendency thereunto does Solomon figure out here by the decays of the body in the declining age thereof The keepers of the House that will tremble and the strong Men that shall bow themselves outward limbs and parts of the Body sigure out the inward Senses and intellectual Powers of the natural spirit as operating by the Organs of the Body The decays of bodily life in all the parts and powers thereof are felt and experienc'd also by the inward faculties and powers of the Spirit that are exercis'd by them Hence old Men grow weak feeble and imperfect in the operations thereof and so are brought back again into the condition of Children Inward and outward Powers and Senses of body and spirit tremble and bow themselves in the literal and mystical old age of both The Grinders will cease and those that look out of the Windows be darkn'd The outward and inward senses and instruments by which man has taken in the supplies of Light and Comfort from the sutable objects of both in the visible and invible parts of this World will fail and become altogether unfit for such use and service Then the Doors shall be shut in the Streets c. ver 4. And all the Daughters of Musick shall be brought low All the joy and delight of Man's youthful flourish in mind and body
or Make. For by this the guilty Sinner the Belial-Party the Enemy of God is slain and all Power of Sinning abolish'd for ever Ro. 6. 7. 1 Pet. 4. 1. The obedient death of the guilty and continually sinning natural Spirit is more pleasing to God and profitable to Man then any Obedience or Duty performable in its kind in the Life and Activity thereof The House of Mourning or Death as to the first-Covenant Principle of Life is better than the House of Feasting in the utmost Flourish Prosperity Wisdom Glory and Fruitfulness thereof or Joy therein The death of the natural State at best from which since the fall Enmity to God is inseperable obediently yielded to must needs be more acceptable to God then the Life thereof or any thing performable therein From Love to God's Mercy or the unspeakable gift of new Creation Life to submit to yea and joyn with God in doing justly or Executing his righteous Judgment and Sentence of Death on our fleshly natural law-state in the awak'ned Life and Power of his Gospel-Spirit in us this is the Sum of all God requir's of us as the terms and condition of our full entring into and striking the new and everlasting Covenant with him Establish'd in all things and sure This doing justly in humbling our guilty natural Man or Spirit the Enemy of God even to the death thereof and living wholly to him in our never-sinning Spiritual Man or his never-sinning Spirit 1 To. 3. 9. is all he requir's of us Mic. 6. 8. Man must quit his own cieled Hag. 1. 4. adorn'd House or natural State to enter into God's Spiritual House or new-Creation Sanctuary His own House or nature is not ought not to be reckon'd his dwelling place or state of true rest for him Men will find all their Labour to keep up that building with the fading glory and riches thereof but a wearying themselvs for very Vanity Hab. 2. 13 a disquieting themselvs in Vain by heaping up Treasur's Ps. 39. 6. for their own destruction in the day of wrath This will Man get by coveting an evil covetousness to his own House or natural State and setting his Nest on high as vainly puffed up in his self-confident fleshly mind and thinking to secure himself from the Power of evil the Wrath of God Hab. 2. 9. He say's in his Heart Who shall bring me down to the Ground Obad. 3. I will saith the Lord v. 4. We must depart out of our own Countrey and Fathers House the Life and State of our own nature at best in but the restor'd Image of the earthy or first Adam form of godliness righteousness of Man a glory a wisdom to be Crucified Defac'd Obliterated and done away a Visage a Beauty to be Marr'd and Spoild in order to enter into God's own Countrey the far Countrey the Man Christ is gone into before us to prepare Places or Mansions of Glory for us Luk. 19. 12. To. 14. 2 3. We must depart from or out of our own House or nature however Ciel'd Adorn'd Swept Cleansed from the filth of flesh and Garnished with Spiritual Light or best enlightning Gifts short of the more excellent Spiritual Life and way 1 Cor. 12. 31. call'd Love 1 Cor. 13. in order to our right and worthy entring or going into God's Spiritual Sanctuary or House to Worship Our own Countrey Father's House Image of the earthy first-Covenant Life of our nature righteousness of Man Spiritual Conviction-Light c. All these make up but the Foot the whole Life and State of nature at best that's to be cut off and cast away as loss and dung to enter in a Resurrection-Life with the Man Christ into his Father's House where are many Mansions And so come we to the second thing here the House Man is to keep his Foot from or out of when he goes into it 2. This House is the Supream original new-creature Spirit of Christ the Living Creature-Book Word or Wisdom of God in which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Written out the whole Counsel of his Divine Mind And the Man Christ is the Supream Prophet Mouth and Infallible Declarer thereof to Angels and Men. Christ's whole Creature-nature is the immediate Temple and Sanctuary of his own Divinity set up by his Divine Hand or Workmanship from everlasting in Personal Union with the Divinity Prov. 8. 22 23. This was Typed out by the Litteral Sanctuary under the Law No Strangers no nor 〈◊〉 while unclean might Approach or enter into it The polluted Heathen-Stranger and the unclean 〈◊〉 in Mystery and Truth signify the natural Man corrupt or righteous This is the stranger and Fool here meant that being altogether ignorant of this new-creation Sanctuary of God's own pitching not Man's Heb. 8. 2. is ready with Paul to think he does God service in denying and opposing this his own house and himself the Divine Inhabitant thereof in personal Union with it as also in Persecuting to the death true Saints that own and assert such a House as Partakers of living walking and speaking in the spirit of it The new-Creation Sanctuary-Spirit the Creature-word Wisdom or Hand of God set up from everlasting by God's own very Divine hand was the immediate hand by which the whole old or first-Creation World was made Isai. 66. 1 2. Men Angels c. which therefore are all to be roll'd up and laid aside by God as an old Garment Heb. 1. 10-12 and in Harmony of Mind with him and obedience to him are the life and all the best and most glittering things thereof to be laid aside and parted with by Angel and Man to partake of his Heavenly Sanctuary-Spirit and Live with him in that place of his and their true rest for evermore All the Heavenly Eternal things of his Sanctuary seem Foolish Idle Dreams which Men conspire to kill them for Gen. 37. 19 20. and all right Words concerning them Vain or Lying Words as Pharaoh call'd Moses his Messages from God to the most enlight'ned natural Man who is wholly ignorant and in the dark as to all Divine and Spiritual Creature-things of Christ and God 1 Cor. 2. 14. 'T is a vain imagination when Man thinks to Prie into and View the most Holy things of God's Spiritual Sanctuary in the highest Wisdom and best Light of his but restor'd natural state If he finally persist in such a Presumptuous mistake he will meet with a final Blasting upon him to Eternal Death figured by the fifty Thousand Presumptuous Peepers into the Ark of the Lord who were smitten by him to a Temporal death of their bodies 2 Sam. 6. 19. All the best things in the first-Creation-make and life of Angel and Man are of no neerer kin to God's new-Creation Sanctuary and Holy things thereof then as figures and shadows of them The rational powers and things of man are not more hid from the brute beast then the Spiritual things of-God from the wisest and most rational man 1 Cor. 2. 10 11. 14.
admitted into our Closet of prayer and consulting with Christ about it's own Death so as to have a vote in the case it will pray plead and vote against it alway's and reckon Christ and the Saints Spiritual Man it 's unreasonable enemies It will reckon all the prayers of the Spiritual man against it cursing and all his endeavors in union with Christ to crucify it murder 'T wil cry out to the Devil Oh! Murder murder and call for assistance against its and his enemies All that it will agree to pray for will be but an asking amiss such things as may gratify its own lusts in enmity to God It is the perpetual disputer wrangler and quarreller against the only way of Salvation under the Cross against its own Death which is God's declared undispensable way in the appointed methods of his wisdom for man's Salvation This secret faithfully kept according to Christ's counsel by the Spiritual man of the Saint from his own natural when the sacrificing Death-work on the natural is over and finished Christ will reward him openly Mat. 6. 6. at the manifestation of the Sons of God in the visibility of his before hidden Spiritual Life hidden till Christ's second coming and manifestation in Spirit in himself and Saints The Saint is deeply concern'd to check his own hasty rash forward Spirit as a most dangerous foe in his own house or Person God is in his heavenly Spirit thou in thy earthly therefore let thy words be few indeed none at all If that foe be the speaker or chuser all will go wrong All its prayers will run for and be calculated to its own interest Life and livelihood the belly and meats the desires and desirables that will all be destroy'd and perish It will hate Christ the fountain of Life and chuse its own eternal Death in the causes of it and ready way to it Pro. 8. 36. Vers. III. For a Dream cometh through the multitude of business and a fool's voice is known by a multitude of words Man at best in his own nature is altogether vanity walks in a vain shew Heb. an Image lead's but an Imaginary Life in the Image of the Earthly the Law-Spirit of nature shadow of the heavenly the Gospel-Spirit of Grace and Truth All man's concerns and labours relating to such a Life all his disquietings of himself about it must needs be in vain The very life to which all relate is very vanity In all the noise trouble stir and din man makes about himself herein can he never please God or profit himself as to true blesedness Vain are all his solicitudes in getting heaping up and keeping such litteral or mystical riches of his own nature as will all make themselvs wings and fly way do what he can when all 's done All such riches are but a vanity tossed to and fro by them that love Death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but a tumbling cast in which men are tossed up and down by providence like balls as the Poet say's never at any certainty Many rich in outward litteral wealth live to see all gone and themselvs run down into poverty And so as to mystical many rich for a season in 〈◊〉 treasures and fruits of a first-covenant righteous Life roll back again with the Dog to the vomit and Sow to the mire of their old sins brutish vilenesses and so come again to be as poor and tattered there as other beggerly brutish sinners of the Genti'l's Yea in a worse condition then they if unfix'd there because now come to their latter end worse then that beginning as born dead in trespasses and sins 2 Pet. 2. 20-22 For but these two sorts of 〈◊〉 deceitful riches especially the mystical do men turn their backs on Christ's true riches heavenly treasures eternal Life with the Young Man in the Gospel not regarding them at all any more then a bruit beast does And this renders man's whole Life and labour in this World from his Cradle to his Grave a very dream In the multitude of his buisiness cumbring himself as Martha with the many things of this World that Satan is called Prince and God of he wholly neglects Maries better choice of the one thing necessary which comprehends all things relating to true blessedness in the World to come The full sum of all man labours but for some little particle of the god of this World offer'd Christ and was refused even all the Kingdoms of this World and Glory of them that is all humane and angelical excellencies sound in the first creation yea and all these by his transforming art gilded over with the nearest resemblance of all the things of God the spiritual Life Wisdom and Righteousness of God in the second What madness is it for Men to trade in seed and wholly dote upon but such perishing vanities or meats Satan is the known permitted Master and dispenser of Mean while all eternal things and concerns are as wholly neglected despised and hated even that spirit of Christ that one thing comprehending all things necessary to salvation This Gospel-spirit of God with all its words the only right do-all and say-all to God's well-pleasing and Man's salvation Man will not reckon worth his thought regard looking after or listening to But on he goes in his dreamish Life of Vanity to try what work he can make on 't there for true happiness under an absolute known impossibility of ever finding it He sondly seeks for it in perishing vanities which God reckon's things that are not and never 〈◊〉 things spiritual heavenly and 〈◊〉 which God call's the only things that are Thus cross and contrary is the judgement are the conceptions and words of Man's wisdom at best to God's Man will own nothing above his fading natural things first-creation vanities but infinite divinity He will not believe there are any middle sort of things of a spiritual everlasting righteous new-creation nature between natural and purely divine things Thus does Man leave no room for his advance in creature-ship above his natural first-creation state of vanity but only a being swallowed up into infinite divinity wholly losing his creaturality by annihilation and so indeed getting just nothing Infinite Divinity will be where 't was and what it was from Eternity to Eternity beyond and above all possibility of addition and all Creatur's Men and Angels where they were before Creation a meer absolute nullity vanished Shadows If there be no other creature-state but what they both and all receiv'd by the first creation what else imaginable can become of them but a reduction of them all into their primitive nothing The towring presumtuous thought of being godded with God is at bottom when well examin'd a being downright nothing'd and no better God will not only confute but destroy all this wisdom of man in which he presumtuously rambles about for happiness in his own will and way against his makers known mind and counsel about him pitching upon his own fading natural creature things
of the Rulers or Pharisees 〈◊〉 on him But this People that knoweth not the Law are Cursed None but a sort of ignorant simple People Women and unlearn'd Fisher-Men So they reckon'd Peter and John Act. 4. 13. follow him or regard his doctrin At this rate did the signally enlight'ned ring-leaders of the then only Professing People of God in the World say of Christ and his Doctrin What will convince Are we blind also Said the Pharisees Jesus said if ye were blind ye should have no Sin or would not be guilty of the unpardonable Sin against Spiritual Light and so the Holy Ghost But ye say we see Therefore your Sin remain's for ever upon you that is is unpardonable Ye wilfully and knowingly Sin against my Gospel-Spirit of truth the Holy Ghost so remain's to you nothing but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery Indignation for ever Heb. 10. 26 27. Ye are of your Father the Devil Jo. 8. 44. Ye Serpents ye Generation of 〈◊〉 how can ye escape the Damnation of Hell Mat. 23. 33. This is the language on both hands that passed between Christ and the enlight'ned Professors and Teachers of that day What will warn or induce self-confidents to a suspition of their rotten Principles and Sandy Foundation If any think he has whereof to boast there Paul and other enlight'ned Pharisees of that day more And as confident was Paul all was right with him and he doing God Service in Persecuting the Gospel as any now can be in like case and Principles The case of blind Leaders and their blind followers all of them stark blind or worse wilfully blind as shutting their eyes against and turning away their understandings from Christ's to Satan's Gospel is the same now as then And the punishment of both and all will be the same They 'l all fall into the Ditch the Bottomless Pit the very Spirit of the Devil the unchangable enemy of God They said of Christ he hath a Devil and is Mad when convinc'd of his Doctrin as the truth they had nothing to say against but in a way of railing against a Witness for him and against themselvs in their own Consciences The true followers of Christ in all ages have the same lot and handling are call'd Fools and Mad-men at a venture in despite and scorn by those whose own Consciences flie in their Faces and condemn them for their folly and madness therein These are the Fools whose Voice is known by a multitude of Words Brutified Sinners at this day Litteral Sodom Egypt and Babylon destroy or make void the Law Psal. 119. 126. And then a sort of righteous mystical Sinners Spiritually call'd Sodom Egypt and Babylon such as Crucified Christ Rev. 11. 8. what in them lies destroy the Gospel make void the Grace of God Yet in all this combined interest of Litteral and Mystical Sodom against the Gospel and yet clash amongst themselvs in their practical pro and con as to the Life righteousness and Doctrin of the Law with their multitude of words and many things on all hands remain's a hopefulness that Christ may find his seven Thousands or seventy-times seven thousand amongst us that have not willfully but ignorantly bow'd the knee to Baal or follow'd and own'd the first-Covenant-Doctrin of his Priests and righteousness of Man for the Power of Godliness the grace and righteousness of God in the second Vers. IV. When thou vowest a Vow unto God deferr not to pay it For he hath no pleasure in Fools pay that which thou hast vowed His Father David did Ps. 66. 13 14. as requir'd Deut. 23. 21. 23. The Vow and Engagement of Men in the first-Covenant on God's bringing them out of Egypt Bondage in the corrupt nature death in Trespasses and Sins contracted by the first Sin of Man is faithfully to walk there in suppressing the vile affections and lusts of their degenerate nature and to pay such Worship Service and Obedience as is performable to God therein So do they live unto God in that state for a season This do Men often fail in and so break that Covenant with God after enter'd into it and forfeit all the benefits and advantages thereof For then God breaks with them the promises of it being but conditional Numb 14. 34. Jer. 31. 32. Levit. 26. 15 25. Deut. 29. 30. and 31 Chapters Man in his first Covenant Law-Principle his restor'd enlight'ned spirit of nature is alway's in danger of breaking this Vow Covenant or undertake by contract with God God therefore promises to make another Covenant with them in another Spirit his unspeakable gift to them a steddy right constant Spirit of everlasting righteousness Psal. 51. 10. the Gospel new and everlasting Covenant-Principle of Life Jer. 31. 31. 33. This God engages to do by quick'ning up the incorruptible Seed thereof into Life motion and prevailing activity if they obediently submit to his declared terms in giving up their clensed nature to him in Sacrifice by a holy Death Their polluted nature was no meet sacrifice for him neither is it slain but somewhat disabled only by Law-Conversion and is continually striving to fetch them back to their old Sins with the Dog to the Vomit often prevailing so as to recover its former Dominion over them and ride in Triumph again with its uncontroll'd vile affections and lusts The first-Covenant natural or Law-principle fail'd of its duty in the first Man when at best and more liable sure is it to fail in but some gradual renewals thereof God therefore finds a fault or defect in that first-Covenant-state of Life as to Mans steddy well-pleasing obedience to him or true happiness to himself So offers a second Heb. 8. 6-13 This is the better the new and everlasting Covenant The Gospel-spirit of God undertakes the performance of all obedience in Men when it becomes the principle of life desire thought and action in them which can never sin err or miscarry deceive or be deceived In this new-Covenant Spirit or Principle God becomes their God and they his people for ever He will never depart from them nor they from him Jer. 32. 38-41 The undispensable condition on man's part for entring into the second covenant with God is the obedient giving up in Sacrifice to him all the fading life and things received from his own hand in the first When convinc'd of this twofold differing covenant-principle with the methods of God's Wisdom and his requirings from them as also with the unspeakable advantages of quitting the first for the second then are they bound to vow the sacrifice of their Life in the former and not to be slack in performing the said vow If we be not slack in that our part for entring into the new or second Covenant with God he will not be slack concerning his promise the promise of the father even the Spirit of the Son will by the Son be set up in our hearts which is the Gospel-principle the Apostles were
on his murdering work on the Prince of Life and Author of Salvation and at same time procur'd by them a pardon for a convicted murderer Act. 3. 14 15. That Men get by such fighting against the only spirit wherein and by they can be saved is their own everlasting destruction by the same hand they oppose executed upon them And what get they in their own way amongst a heap of delusive vanities nothing save an encrease of vanity and of their sin and guilt for their wilful rebellion therein against all the faithful warnings advice and commands of God's spiritual Law to the contrary for their good So will they find at length that by encreasing their heap of vanities they have bin heaping or treasuring up wrath to themselves against the last day They will be in such sense fill'd with their own devices and reap the sad fruits of their many inventions Prov. 1. 31. Eccles. 7. 29. under wrath and a total disappointment of all their vain opinions and labours about and for rest and happiness Abundantly the worse will they be for all they have bin done or had Vers. 12. For who knoweth what is good for Man in this life all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow For who can tell a Man what shall be after him under the Sun There 's great cause for these two pertinent queries concerning Man For in his natural state at best is he wholly ignorant of both these things viz. What 's best for him to do in this World or what will be after him under the Sun when he is departed out of it What 's truly good for him in order to true Blessedness here or hereafter he knows not But when convincingly shew'd all wherein from what hand on what terms or by what way and means 't is attainable if he refuse so great Salvation as is offer'd in God's Spirit and chuse the life of his own before and against it he spends all his days and labours in and about a shadow and so chuses his own damnation He is possess'd of no good but what will vanish and leave him for ever Psal. 39. 5. 49. 12. when he is stripp'd of all his fading good and finds himself unchangeably evil under unchangeable Wrath he will too late be forc'd to see the Truth here declar'd by way of question that he spent all his days in and all his hours about a shadow But To the second Query These are the sad things that will be after a Man has spent his days here in a shadowy state of Vanity as amus'd and diverted all along his vain life with variety of perishing Vanities under the influence of the God of this World Amidst a flush and confluence of these delusive entertainments he seems little concern'd what shall be after him or what will become of him for ever He obstinately deafens himself to all counsels and instructions about what indeed is eternal life or the way towards it the death of a fading natural one as meer aery notion fiction and enthusiastical delusion He strikes in with the God of this World as willing to be blinded by him against all Gospel-Light and things He desires not to be troubled with such matters but to live in 〈◊〉 perfect inadvertency and unconcernedness as to such good things as can't be lost and as in no danger of losing what he has which most certainly will be lost for ever Man's days in this World are but as a hand-breadth nothing to his endless sorrowful State hereafter Yet all his sollicitude is about his concerns here scarce a thought about his eternal concerns hereafter All duties and performances in a life of vanity do but add to and encrease vanity and what 's he the better as to true happiness or any thing towards it In every respect worse in none better For what he sinfully heaps up against conviction he more and more sinfully delights in As the heap of vanities encreases his evil love to and delight therein encreases So in all his labour he adds iniquity to iniquity on all hands His heap of vanities and his vain love to it encreases all in a known rebellion against God Here 's Man's destructive trade in vanities wilfully neglecting all God's Counsel and durable riches He neither lay's to heart the desperate consequents of his evil choice and dotage on his own perishing life and riches or the unspeakable happiness that would have come after and befallen him had he obediently exchang'd and parted with all for God's everlasting Solomon bewail's this twofold ignorance of unhappy Man as to the everlasting good things that would have fallen to his lot after this life above all conception or thought of his natural heart on a right choice or sorrows and torment for ever on a wrong in a state of everlasting darkness and death This is the unknown or unconsider'd state that will come after all his jollity and deceitful pleasure in his vain life under the Sun CHAP. VII V. 1. A good Name is better then precious Ointment and the day of death then the day of one's birth NOthing is properly good in God's sight but what 's unchangably so Christ would not suffer our nature in the changeable first-covenant life of the Law to be call'd good in his 〈◊〉 person Mat. 19. 17. The good name then here is the new name Rev. 2. 17. which imports and belongs to that newness of life in which only 't is possible to bring forth fruit unto God or be saved Rom. 6. 4. 7. 4. This is here asserted to be better then all the precious Ointment in its kind of first covenant Life Light Wisdom with all variety of Gifts and Abilities therein as also all spiritual enlightning Gifts receiv'd upon that foot or in that Law-state short of the very Gospel-life and more excellent way 1 Cor. 12. 31. call'd Love 1 Cor. 13. To this only belongs the new or unchangeably good name here This is the unspeakably more excellent Gift then the said precious Ointment All first-creation-Life and Goodness being corruptible God that sees all futurities and possibilities knowing it will change or be chang'd and lost calls it Corruption in or with which no man or Angel can enter into or inherit Incorruption the incorruptible Inheritance 1 Pet. 1. 4. the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 15. 50. That incorruptible new-creation Life is convincingly shew'd and offer'd Men in lieu of their obediently surrendred natural and corruptible in which alone any can enter into and inherit it And this is imported in the new or good name here All old or first-creation life at best in Angel or Man is character'd by 〈◊〉 grass flower of grass Vanity a Dream and they therein said to be altogether Vanity Isa. 40. 6 -8. 1 Pet. 1. 24. Psal. 39. 5. Thus is the corruptible seed of a first-covenant life set up in both by the first-creation or restor'd in Man since lost by the fall which in
bondage and death in trespasses and sins These under the self-polluting practices of their unbridled brutish lusts carry folly and madness written in their foreheads to be seen and read of all men in and by the restor'd common light of Nature They hate the righteous life of their own nature with all reproofs and instructions towards their recovery into it They abuse what light of Reason they have rendring it a slave to those brutish powers of life it ought to direct and rule over so as to prog about and fetch in provisions for them The consequent hereof Solomon declares to be a dying before or not in their time saying Why shouldst thou die before thy time In a literal sence how oft do men hasten the death of their body by 〈◊〉 riot and luxury These are bloody-minded men that shall not live out half their days Psal. 55. 23. They wholly delight in the brutish lusts and pleasures of their degenerate nature polluted in its own blood Ezek. 16. 6. dead in trespasses and sins Eph. 2. 1. Solomon advises men not to be over-wicked or stay over-long in the brutified polluted state of fallen nature out of which the first-covenant 〈◊〉 of Christ do break forth by a being born of and knowing him 〈◊〉 the flesh into the righteous fleshly-life of the Law who also 〈◊〉 to break forth out of that fading righteous state with the spiritual new-Covenant Children of Christ when warn'd of and call'd thereunto become guilty of more criminal 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and abominable Idolatries then they that remain wholly in their polluted Nature A being born but of the flesh or will of 〈◊〉 in Christ is vastly short of a being born of the spirit or will of God in him Joh. 3. 6. and 1. 13. That that 's born of his flesh is but flesh holy flesh righteous Nature makes but a first-Covenant Saint Spouse and Child of Christ which Paul wholly quitted as dung for the knowledge of 〈◊〉 after 〈◊〉 Spirit or in his Spiritual Resurrection-life This turn'd the Law-Saint in holy 〈◊〉 into a Gospel-Saint in God's holy new-creature Spirit of everlasting Righteousness 2 Cor. 5. 16. Phil. 3. 6 10. So became he a fool weak despicable as a crucified dead Man to them that were yet wise strong and honorable in Christ by the knowledge of him only after the flesh 1 Cor. 4. 10. or in but the first-Covenant But to the wicked here Christ has restor'd the first-Covenant Light of Rational Nature in every Man that comes into the World By this he shews or gives them a fair prospect into this first mystical Canaan or earthly Jerusalem-state and so a call into it even into the righteous cleans'd Life and State of their own Nature Those that refuse deliverance out of their polluted dead state of Nature do by this additional evil to their Hereditary Disease and Pollution from Adam pull the just charge of that original Sin upon their own guilty heads as delighting in it and chusing it in preference to any thing of the righteous life of Nature Adam had before his fall They render themselves literal Sodom incorrigibly and therefore unpardonably wicked to whom belongs the vengeance of eternal fire Jude7 as the meet recompence of such errour Rom. 1. 26 27. Will they reckon it too hard eternal punishment should be brought upon them in Hell for a little short brutish pleasure upon Earth In this also they greatly err not considering that their unchangeable enmity to God deserv's his unchangeable Wrath upon them Thus Man dies before his time chuses his state of death and pollution when he might receive the fairly offer'd Righteous Life of his own Law-Spirit of Nature again after which yet he may die eternally if he refuse by the right death and sacrifice of that to receive eternal Life in God's Gospel-Spirit of Grace But as an enemy of all Righteousness or Righteous Life God's and Man's too does he turn that but changeably dead state of Nature he was born in into a state of unchangeable eternal death a latter end worse then his beginning worse then that changeable curable recoverable state of death he was born in Such brutified monsters will not admit any thing of the least 〈◊〉 towards their Deliverance or Salvation not any thing towards 〈◊〉 rendring them clean sacrifices to God in a restor'd first-Covenant Life in order to receive his life in the second By this over-plus of wickedness does man hasten his own eternal ruine If he hate the Righteousness of man that he has seen much more does he hate the more excellent spiritual new-Creature everlasting Righteousness of God and much more yet the infinite and eternal Righteousness of the very Divinity that he has not seen 1 Joh. 4. 20. As still more and more above and contrary to the vile affections and lusts of his brutified self-polluting Nature Eternal death is the undeniably just recompence of all that finally refuse to submit to the Lord 's declared terms for their receiving eternal life whether they be found in corrupt or righteous Nature whether Publicans and Harlots common 〈◊〉 of the Gentiles or Righteous Scribes and Pharisees professing first-Covenant Jews or Christian Gentiles So have we the sence in which these two verses 16 th 17 th are spoken to two sorts of Men professors and profane one perishing by being over-much righteous the other by being over-much wicked The former will needs have his Righteousness and Wisdom to be everlasting and unchangeable above and beyond all that God has ever written or spoken of it crying Peace peace to himself and others therein as entitled thereby to eternal life and peace in and with God All this in a perfect contrariety to all God's Declarations Counsels and Warnings about it So they love and delight in what Christ makes the hating parting with and death of undispensably necessary to their being saved Eternal death is the meet recompence of such errour finally persisted in As for the overmuch-wicked ver 17. he sinks himself into a far worse condition then left in by his first Parents So come they both to a latter end worse than their beginning eternal darkness and death These two sorts of incorrigible sinners mystical and literal Sodomites bring upon themselves swift destruction by denying the Lord that bought them 2 Pet. 2. 1. One denying or refusing to receive him so much as in his first the other in his second or new-Covenant life And of the two the mystical Sodomite will have the worst on 't for ever under the wrath to come Mat. 11. 24. Vers. 18. It is good that thou should'st take hold of this yea also from this withdraw not thine hand for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all The good we should take hold or lay hands on is Christ's new-creation life of Truth the absolute unchangeable good thing that 's to be sought and pure as'd at any rate sold or parted with at no rate Prov. 23. 23.
〈◊〉 bad his highest all the Kingdoms of this World and Glory of them all first-creation excellencies humane and angelical and that as transform'd into the gilded likeness of the second to purchase the life of Truth out of Christ's own hands How Christ handled him we find Mat. 4. Luk. 4. But he prevails with a World of professors that have put their hand to the Gospel-Plough as brought by Gospel conviction-Light to see their concern in running down Nature at best to look back Luk. 9. 62. to his first-creation offers withdraw their hands from and turn their backs upon Christ and his Kingdom-Spirit with the bewitch'd Galatians Gal. 3. 1 3. 5. 7 8. which alone could secure them from the destruction the over-much righteous or wicked come to That dungy-life Paul quitted which many hold fast unto damnation are we to withdraw our hand from and let go our hold of in order to lay hold on that unchangeably good thing that is eternal Salvation Those that having begun in the Gospel-spirit withdraw their hand from that Gospel-plough or cross upon their cleans'd enlightn'd natural Spirit and return to the love of and self-deceiving 〈◊〉 in their holy flesh or righteous Law-life of their restor'd Nature are in a dangerous way towards final Apostacy and Damnation Paul found the bewitch'd Galatians not so absolutely gone as to 〈◊〉 no room for his Gospel-endeavours and intercessions towards their recovery Gal. 4. 19. But many 〈◊〉 Gospel-convictions owning and following Gospel-Truths for a 〈◊〉 play false and turn final Apostates sell Christ's Gospel-spirit for their holy 〈◊〉 take off their hand and let go their hold 〈◊〉 Christ's Spirit of Truth for Satan's Spirit of lies on his engaging to advance them in their own nature will and way after their own heart Such oft become his most pregnant eminently accomplish'd Instruments to oppose those very Gospel-Truths that for a season they profess'd and own'd They knowingly part with or sell Christ his Gospel Spirit of Truth and his great Salvation therein offer'd them for themselves or their holy flesh restor'd Nature the Devil and Damnation They part with Christ's great Spiritual Gospel-Pearl for their lesser natural after they had agreed to and vow'd the parting with all for that one thing necessary They 'l not stand to their new-covenant bargain not go through as to the cost for a new building the utter demolition of their old They 'l not part with all their old things for Christ's new They like them not so well So hold fast what they have and lose all whereas they that obediently lose all they have find all again with usury in what the others refuse Mat. 16. 25. After all fair warning of this thus they do What help To begin in the Spirit and finally apostatize to a false confidence for Salvation in the flesh fits Men for the hottest Hell the greatest portion of Wrath for evermore This exposes such bidders at the new-building to everlasting derision and contempt Luk. 14. 28 30. When Men have yielded a little to cross-work suffer'd something of the old building to be pull'd down Gal. 3. 4. Stood the shock of some reproach from scorners for it and then are offer'd by Satan not only to be repair'd and made whole again as ever but also to have their old natural first-creation building rais'd higher and made larger and wider by the super-additions of superiour angelical excellencies and brightnesses of the same first-creation sort with their humane they are willing to take this for the right new-building for the Kingdom of God the true Gospel-state When Satan has them at this lock in this snare he lays his confirming paws upon them fixing them in unchangeable enmity to the very Gospel-Life and Spirit in which any can be saved or ever could They are then fully engaged in the sin against the holy Ghost or Gospel-Spirit of Truth beyond retreat leaving no place for repentance Heb. 6. 4 -- 6. 10. 26 27. This get all such Esau's by greedily catching at Satan's first-creation morsel in preference to Christ's offer'd new-creation birth-right Heb. 12. 16 17. They let go Christ's new-creation all things for Satan's glittering gilded first-creation nothings perishing vanities Christ's heavenly for his earthly things dust the old Serpent's diet Gen. 3. 14. This trade many thousands have driven and do drive in this World to their eternal ruine in the next There 's no helping them that will not be help'd Finally to refuse the things of God for the things of Man and Devil deliberately on a fair view of both is unpardonable folly They see how matters go on all hands see what they refuse and for what so their sin remains upon them for ever as Christ told the Pharisees Joh. 9. 40 41. They that refuse to part with their earthly life as dung Phil. 3. 8. for Christ's heavenly will perish as their own dung for ever Job 20. 7. All fading first-creation Vanities are dung to Chrst's heavenly spiritual things things of God offer'd by a new-Creation The best services in their own life on this fatal miscarriage will he spread as dung upon their faces Mal. 2. 3. To withdraw their hand from Christ's offers to comply with and accept Satan's is a drawing back to perdition Heb. 10. 39. This Solomon warns against farther declaring he that fears God shall come forth of them all shall escape out of all sin all evil company and ways every evil path that mystical Sodomites are in ver 16. or literal ver 17. He shall be delivered from the presumptuous unpardonable sin of both and all a sixture in their differing evil ways of death and be finally deliver'd and acquitted as to all his other sins on the death of the guilty sinner the evil-doer in him He shall surmount all sins and sinners come out of all literal or mystical Sodomies and Sodomites in corrupt or righteous Nature and so partake of none of their plagues under final Wrath Rev. 18. 4. 2 Cor. 6. 17. The Saint is highly concern'd to watch and fight against the Belial-party in him flesh or nature corrupt or righteous with the affections and lusts that war against his own Soul Gal. 5. 24. 1 Pet. 2. 11. What Satan backs and 〈◊〉 to gratify support and cherish in Saints are they constantly to fight against oppose cross impoverish and run down to death If they not only live but walk in Christ's Gospel Spirit wherein he will judg the World and they with him thus will they do They 'l judg the World within them their worldly natural Spirit now pass sentence of death upon it in harmony of their spiritual mind with Christ and as workers with him joyn in the speedy carrying on the 〈◊〉 of it lest Satan set or fix their heart in them to do evil Eccl. 8. 11. in unchangeable union with him All that by Christ's Spirit in them mortify the lusts and deeds of their body or natural state will live for ever with