us and we are the man intended for when Nathan the Prophet came to David he seemed to speake to him of another when as hee meant himselfe and David did conclude what the action represented to him in the person of another by Nathan was unjust not thinking that the Prophet intended himself but another and so judged him to death but when the Prophet said it was himself and that he was the man hee was sorry and loth to dye himselfe although he did judge the other to death and thought he deserved death justly but in condemning the other he judged himselfe Therefore wee are the men that are to be condemned or saved according as our deservings are and the Scripture is the reall truth and is our true Nathan the Prophet that tells us what we have done but he tells us our selves in histories and in the person of others to try how farre we condemne others and justifie our selves but when wee condemne others we condemne our selves for wee are the guiltie and that wicked man therefore looke into the scripture as if it were thy owne soule for all that is written there is written in thy selfe and there is the two tables the table of stone thy stony heart that is ingraven with a rough penne and with a thundering voice which is the whole worke and curse of the law for thy sinnes and the other table is the heart of flesh which is soft and melteth at the word that is written in thee and is ready to obey all the words of the commandements that speaketh in thee but the table of stone thy disobedient and stony heart must be broken for thy sinne and disobedience cause and for thy Idolatries and all thy sinnes riseing up against thee crying vengeance so that thy God or goodnesse in his great zeale throweth downe thy stony heart breaking it to peeces and burneth up all thy Idoll Gods to powder makeing thee drinke up their ashes which is to make thee taste of the death and losse of them and still his zeale is so great towards thee that hee maketh thee sheath thy sword into thy brothers belly which brother is thy nearest selfe will or thy darling sinnes so when thou hast fulfilled the will of thy Jelous God he returneth to his place where hee was before and the tables of stone or stony heart is turned to flesh and is obedient to the will of God and keepeth his commandements the which I wish all Soules may do for their soules health and safety There be many at this time that looke externally for an infallible spirit when as the infallible spirit is internall in the soule of every man for the same spirit is Jesus Christ the word of life that is neare thee even in thy heart and mouth to do it and to be obedient unto the same and he is that pearle hid in the field of thy heart for which thou must sell all that thou hast to purchase this field that thou mayest injoy that pearle And there are others that thinke that the externall body is the soule and that it must dye and must answer for sinne by that death and that it must rise againe at the last day by Christ therefore God cannot be their God whilst their body is dead for he is not the God of the dead but of the living then whilst they live here they may live as they list and commit what sinnes they will for their body dying which they take for the soul doth make satisfaction for their sinne which of necessity must draw this consequence that if one man kill another he doth but the will of God for he saith the soul that sinneth must dye I wonder much what those people that hold such opinions can say or think of little children that dye in the wombe or as soon as they are borne certainly no man in reason can say that their soule hath sinned but you will alleadge their parents have sinned for them as others have said if it be so the sinne of one condemneth a great many that of themselves hath not sinned the which to me appeareth to be altogether against reason and justice and is against the nature of God to condemne the children for the sinne of the parents for Ezkiel saith 18. that this proverb should be no more in israel that the fathers had eaten four grapes and the childrens teeth are set on edge at he saith that every soule standeth upon his owne bottome or its owne selfe and the fourâ— that sinneth shall dye also there are many creatures or bodies which they call soules that are drowned in the sea and divers fishes have fed upon that body or that which they call the soul and these fishes have concocted or digested the soule of this man and it is turned into the flesh of a fish and afterwards this fish is taken and another man or soule eats this fish which is the concocted soule of the other man so that his soule is made fat and increased thereby the one soule by eating the other and Caniballs which are men eat other men and are fed thereby now when the soules of all these men are dead and concocted in those that have eat them how shall every one have his own proper soule at the last day when all the soules shall arise I would willingly hear it proved by good reason how every one can have his owne soule againe seeing they are all concocted and digested one in another but perhaps you will say we must believe against reason which is consequently that we must believe an absurdity and the Apostle St. Paul desireth to be delivered from unreasonable men which were absurd and did believe against reason for all men have not faith whose foundation is grounded upon reason this body which they call the soule is dead without the spirit as St. James witnesseth in the second Chap. where he saith that as the body without the spirit is dead even so is faith without workes by which Scripture it is manifest that the body without the soul or spirit is dead and as is said before God cannot be their God because their body which they tearm the soul is dead so as he ceaseth to be their God while they are dead all which is contrary to sense reason and Scripture where it is said that he is the living God and the God of the living and not of the dead also it is contrary to sense and reason in this that that which is the God good felicity or chiefe happinesse of those that live and are rationall and sensible of the same cannot in sense reason or Scripture be said to be the joy happinesse or God of the dead because he is not sensible or capable of any joy felicity or happinesse at all THe summe of all and the whole discourse of this Book is that we should feare to disobey the holy God but keep all his Commandements which is the whole duty of man and to live a pure exact just and holy life not doing to any man what we would not have done to us but doing all the good to another that we would have done to us and this is the infallible Spirit Jesus Christ the power of God in us which directs corrects instructs perswades and makes us wise unto salvation for he is the holy word of life unto us and he is the Father Elder true Bishop and high Priest of our soules so that we need no other Father Elder Bishop nor high Priest but this holy Iesus Christ in us for he is the holy unction that we have from above and the holy One that teacheth us all things and discovers all mysteries unto us leading us into all truth if so be that we are obedient unto him but if we are not obedient unto this infallible Spirit Iesus Christ in us then wee shall know nothing of God or of the Scripture but it shall be a sealed book a dead letter and seeming contradiction unto us but I hope we shall all learne and bee taught of him and declare every one to his friend and neighbour what the Lord the infallible Spirit hath done for his poore soule saying What we have learned heard felt and tasted of the good word of life that will we declare unto you FINIS
in thee but kills and crucifies them as soone as they appeare in thee to give thee counsell for thy good and so the Lambe of God is slaine in the beginning of our first world or at the first appearance discovering and distinctions of things in us for in one infancie or nonage all things is in silence and we are a Chaos and God is in this silence and with us in this Chaos and in his time and when hee saw the ripenesse of this Chaos he set forth all things in us and made them appeare in their order and places to us and gave all things to us as our owne and in our owne power because we should be free to binde our selves or stand free according to our pleasure for there was life and death set before us so that we might binde our selves to either or stand free as we were and binde our selves to neither because that Man should not complaine nor grieve in his spirit that he should be tyed against his will to any thing therefore all men appear free to stand or fall or binde themselves to what they please but Man tyes himselfe to the brutiall passions of his mind and leaves God and goodnesse and so they be hidden and lost in him so thy passions rules domineers over thee and thy blinde wisdome or subtle serpent carries thee into all misthiefe and lies and deceives thee and makes thee have a hellish mind which is a cage of all unclean and hatefull birds for thou art the kingdome of hell and thou art full of hell-hounds dogs and swine wolfes and Tygers Lions and Beares Serpents and Cockatrices and all venomous things so that there is no good thing in thee in thy off-fallen estate for if God or goodnesse should appeare in thee thy beastly and divilish crew would destroy him out of thee so that thy God or goodnesse doth lye under thy earth or under thy hellish beeing which a mighty power holding forth a slickering sword which is the law of sin that cries vengeance and saith I will repay and saith thou must dye and all thy hellish crew for this law requires death for death eye for eye and tooth for tooth for thou hast killed God and goodnesse and these murthers flyeth in thy face by this mighty power with the sword of justice in his hand that stands to execute thee and kill thee for killing and this is the patience of the Saints which saith that they that killeth by the sword must dye by the sword for this is justice that the blood-thirsty might drinke blood and so Man thou shalt never bee happy till this justice is executed upon thee and upon all thy hellish crew and that thou art dead buried damned and lost with Christ and God and that thou and thy wicked crew is seen no more and thou art turned to thy dust and into thy old silence with God againe and art as if thou wert not and then God in his time will create thee a new world and renue all things againe in thee for there shall bee new heavens and a new earth wherein shall dwell righteousnesse in thee David saith Create in me a new heart O Lord and renue a right spirit within mee that is when thy old world or Adam is destroyed in thee that Man of sinne or that vessell of wrath that was borne for destruction or to be damned for our old world is to shew the glory and justice of God and his mighty power in the Man and to the Man and that the Man should see himselfe lost and damned and when he is come to this passe then shall he see his mighty power in saving him and creating him a new creature or new world for the first world was to shew the manhood and all her glory what she is and that all things were given into her hands to doe what seemed good in her own eyes and she let all things run disorderly and spoyled all things and that which she should have governed did governe her so that all things is turned upside down and Man sees his owne strength and wisdome is foolishnesse for God lets man alone with his first creation to shew him what he is in his own freedome and if man had not been left alone and free and had not had all things in his owne power he would have repined therefore he was left free to see his owne weaknesse and inability so he desired to be his owne God and ruler therefore God gave man all things in his power yea even himselfe also to see how he would use him for God saw mans covetous desires and so God put himselfe and all things else into his hands to do what seemed good in his own eyes and so nature or man appeared for that that is naturall is first and is the first Adam and that which is spirituall is last and last Adam or God for the first man Adam is earthly and the last Man or Adam is the heavenly or Godhead Man so man if he desres not to be changed or become the last Adam shall remain for ever in his first estate creation or first world for his first world is his misery because he desires to be his owne guide and his blinde wisdome is his owne destruction and because he disregards all good so hee shall bee with himselfe and his hellish crew till he is weary of himselfe for he hath given himselfe to pride which makes him thinke he is better then other men which is a lie and a deceit and he is given to covetousnesse of the riches of this world which all perish with the using and he is given to luxury gluttony and drunkennesse which makes him ready to starve another time for mispending the goods he getteth to maintaine his livelihood and he is given to seek honour and worldly estimation to wrath and furiousnesse about these things which are all lies and vanities and perish with the using and to backbyting and evill surmising one another to murder in secret and openly to hatred malice and hypocrisie with all uncharitablenesse about these lies which all perish with the using for here is nothing but howling crying sighing and mourning about these lies and deceiveable things for when pride hath exalted a man to honour and great estimation then he rejoyees and that is his heaven or God to him and straight envy in another man is troubled at this his honour and greatnesse and devises some plot to throw him downe and when he is throwne downe that is hell and death to him then hee sighs mourns and grieves for this deceiveable lie and the covetous man he covets the riches of this world and will cosen lie and cheat any man to make himself rich thereby and many times comes fire and destroyes his riches or one backbyter or slanderer or other devises some mischiefe against him and bringeth him under the penalty of some law of men that he pretendeth he hath broken whereby
and consuming of things that they starve and dye for hunger and are forced many times to eat one another as may be seen and heard of where these practises are If this be God or good that acteth those things and tells me that it is pleasure I will abandon such a god as the most abominable and hatefull thing that is and desire to have nothing to doe with such and abominable and wicked god that blindes my eye and makes me thinke good to be evill and evill good for the Scripture faith Woe to him that calleth evill good and good evill and light darknesse and darknesse light for wee are all ready to mistake but our nature and quallities cannot be altered for we use our quallities and natures upon what object we light on whether good or evill For the cholericke man whieh is most composed of fire if he light upon the evill instrument he hath so many severall temptations to wrath and anger that his soule or himselfe is never at quiet for one disturbance or other and many times in his wrath the Devill tempts him to kill a man and he is in continuall vexations so that he is in a living death and dying life although he see it not but loves this living death more then the everlasting life which hath no bitternesse therein but is full of all sweet content and all the workes that this life or spirit animates thee to doe breeds thee no sting discontent or any thing to be repented off but this evill instrument animates thee unto horrid and cruell things full of mischiefe which cruelties riseth up in thy conscience and flyeth in thy face making thee condemne thy selfe saying what a wicked man and beastlike wretched creature am I that doth such wicked actions I would not have such things done to me why would I doe thus to another sure there shall some heavy judgement fall upon mee and I shall have the same measure met to me againe and so still the law of sinne flyeth in the wicked mans face and is called the law of God or the wrath of God that moveth man to repent for the wickednesse he hath committed and to condemne and arraigne himself at this barre of Gods judgement within himselfe which shews him all his sins and wicked life and so hee kills and crucifies himselfe with these horrible wounds of conscience in him and is never at quiet nor never shall till the cause is taken out of the way which cause is the Devill and sinne and there must a greater power take away this death with another death that is by the death of Christ being a death unto Devill and sinne which death is called the death of Christ in us that sighteth against our sinnes and all our lusts and affections and crucifieth all our sin and sinfull life so that there is no more sin death and devill in us for it is this death of Christ that destroyes the death for sin and the cause of sin which death of sin was done by the law for sin executed upon sinne so taking away the cause and the effect which cause was the devill and sin and the effect was the law of sinne so that when the cause is taken away of necessity the effect must cease and this death or mortality of Christ shall raise us up into immortality so that we may say O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory for the strength of our sins was the law of sinne which law or wounds of conscience was our grave wherein we were dead and buried so this death of Christ hath freed us from all deaths and mortallities and his death and mortallity will bring us into the true sweet and everlasting life which I desire all soules may come into and injoy Now he whose spirit is most composed of spirituall fire as was said before when he was ruled by the evill instrument doing such wrathfull and cruell things when he is turned to God and goodnesse his quallity and nature of fire is turned into burning zeale so that he is on fire of love to doe all goodnesse and is never well but when he can doe some deeds of charity and love to others so that his minde is swallowed up in God and this his nature and quallity of fire is turned to all God or goodnesse for the Divine Nature is wholly incorporated in him the which I desire all fiery and choloricke men may attain unto As for the spirituall ayreall or sanguine man if he sets his nature or quallity upon the evill instrument hee is very lascivious and given to leachery gluttony and drunkennesse and to all vaine pleasure which doth besot the minde for nothing doth besot the minde so much as leachery and drunkennesse and all these his follies doe flye in his face calling him foole and sot and it doth so besot them to all good that it makes them careles of wife children and all other friends and makes them apt only to devise a thousand plots and mischiefes to maintaine their beastly brutiall and sensuall life so that they spend all their owne estates and other mens and in the end goe a begging or live upon others and they defile and spoyle their owne bodies with the pox and other diseases so spoyling both body and minde with their sensuall living for they are in an extasio below themselves and ravished with a brutiall and sensuall life and this their evill instrument the Devill or unreasonablenesse hath brought them to and when they have lost their organicall man then commeth in their greater griefe or hell because they cannot execute their beastly and sensuall life so they are tormented in that they cannot doe as they formerly did when they had a body here for their minoe is upon nothing else but on their beastly brutiall and sensuall life which perisheth with the using leaving them in great discontents and the Devill sets alwaies this joy and pleasure before their eyes and the want of their bodies to execute their former fooleries which want torments them to the death so that they are in a living death and dying life and the law of sinne still rising out of their conscience condemneth them for what they have done and for what they desire and so they are with death and hell except they could returne but the Scripture speaketh of time and of a day and whilst time doth last and he saith there is an appointed time and after that time there is no time more for in that time the death of Christ should have taken away death and the cause of death which is the Devill and sinne who hath brought them into this miserable condition under the law of sinne and condemnation which is the second death for he saith in dying thou shalt dye the death so then all men of all quallities and complexions shall be in this condition for ever except they bee amended by the death of Christ for he is that innocent Lambe
hell death and Devill But the hinder part of the ship which is the humanity must be broken because of our sinnes and transgressions and must taste of death for sinnes cause but nothing in the ship that stayes in it to indure this storme of death shall perish and all the prisoners that are bound in it shall be saved and swimme to shoare on the broken peeces of this ship the true sence and consummation of all is that when we have indured the battle till sin be destroyed then do we enter into the most holy life and are saved Now to read the history of Christs last supper how that the same was kept in an upper Chamber and that he did eat bread and drinke wine and give of the same unto his disciples and that he was whipt scourged and crowned with thornes and how Judas sold him and how that he was afraid to die insomuch that hee did sweate drops of blood and that hee was nailed upon a Crosse and was pierced through with a Spearel so that there came forth of his side blood and water and that at his death the sunne was darkened and the moone was put out and that hee had gall and vinegar to drinke and that he was crucified betweene two theeves This is the most holy and sacred mystery which is acted in the soule of every man that is saved and this upper chamber is thy inmost selfe and this bread and wine is the bitter cup of Gods wrath and indignation whereof thy soul must drinke for the sinnes cause and thou art not able of thy selfe to beare or drink this cup without some mighty power come to assist thee to doe it now thy Judas or man of sinne that is raised up to destruction hath sold the most innocent life into the hands of the wicked to suffer for thy sinnes for the most innocent life commeth to thee in fearfulnesse and trembling and thou being in him in this feare and trembling preparest thy selfe to suffer with him and thy Judas Devill or wicked nature commeth to thee as if he were thy friend and now seeing that thou wilt leave him hee fawneth on thee as if hee loved thee and were thy friend saluting thee as if it were with a kisse of love but he selleth thee to the blinde Jewes to be killed and crucified of them which Jewes are thy blinde selfe will that now crucifies thy selfe and Saviour within thee and thy selfe will carries thy selfe and Saviour into condemnation with thy condemning conscience into the judgement hall of condemnation where all thy sinnes riseth up against thee taunting mocking and scourging thee and crowning thee with the thornes of thy sinfull life which pricketh and woundeth thee and thy Saviour with griefe for what thou hast done so that thou and he art in a bitter agony and sweat of death insomuch that thou desirest and wouldst faine have this bitter cup to passe from thee but thou must indure it if thou wilt be saved for Gods will must be done and not thine for it is he that raiseth up all thy sinnes against thee to condemne thee crowning whipping and scourging thee with what thou hast done so that thou must now taste of the death of thy sinnes or otherwise thou shalt never taste of the life of God for the life of thy sinnes is the death of God in thee and the life of God is the death to sinne and thou and thy sinnes must be nailed to this crosse which crosse is the patience and long suffering of Jesus Christ in thee unto which thou and thy sinnes art nailed till thou art dead to thy sinnes and thy sinnes to thee for thy sinnes hath nailed thee and thy Saviour together and hath pricked him and thee to the very heart so that he and thou dost dye of those wounds and he and thou cryest out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me and in the time of thy sufferings or Iesus that makes thee indure this curse or shamefull reproach of thy sinnes according to thy due desert the Son of glory the life and brightnesse of the Godhead is darkened or put out so that there is all darknesse death and hell over the internall divine and most holy world till thy sinnes and thou art dead one unto another so thou seest that the divine and most holy world is in hell under thy earthly being till thy sinnes be destroyed and being in hell under thy body of sinne and death he raiseth up all thy sins against thee to condemne and shame thee and shews thee what a partition wall is betwixt thee and him which is the law of sinne and death that condemneth thee alwaies rising against thee till sinne be destroyed so the love of God to thee offers thee his power which is Iesus Christ that enters into thee to destroy the body of sinne in thee which body of sinne is the workes of the Devill that hath destroyed the body or works of God in thee It is not the divine and holy God that is against thee but it is thy sinnes that standeth in judgement against thee to condemne and arraigne thee so that thou must goe under their judgement condemnation and execution for what thou hast done against God and goodnesse for he it is not that is angry with thee nor condemneth thee for he is that righteous and holy one that can indure all and is one and the same for ever nor can he be any other for he cannot be moved to wrath or fury for then were he changeable but he is the unchangeable and one and the same for ever but the deeds that thou hast done against that holy One that is so good to thee slyeth in thy face crying vengeance against thee and telling thee that thou must dye for what thou hast killed and cast away from thee so till the law of sinne hath done his office and killed thee for killing and laid thee under the earth in hell where thou hast laid the holy One thou shalt never be at rest for thou hast killed but art loath to be killed but thou must cast off this death or â—â—p otherwise thou shalt be ignorant of justice for justice is to reward every one according to his workes and as he hath done to another whether good or evill so the most holy One by his mighty power inlightens thee and shews thee all thy sinnes how they slye in thy face against thee and shews the justice of the law of sinne and that thou must dye for thy evill deeds the which worketh feare and trembling in thy heart and then doest thou cry and morne for helpe and can finde none till the goodnesse of God commeth to thee taking pity and compassion on thee and helpeth thee to indure the death of sinne for sinne in thee so that now thou lyest on the patience of God till thou art freed from sinne and the Devill lyeth upon the other side of the patience or crosse and is that
free and might have stood or fell but he fell and all Adams knows this their owne conscience accusing them for hee made man upright and shewed himselfe to bee good but he sought out many inventions to destroy himselfe yet God hath mercy on him and hath brought forth his elected seed to save him which was Isaac or Jacob that wrastled with God in this darke night of man to save and blesse him for this Esau was faine to sell his birthright and was so hungry with hunting and killing the man of sinne that he had almost lost himselfe but his brothers pottage which is love and mercy and power was given him to strengthen him to overcome the man of sinne in himselfe yet he thought this pottage should not have taken away his birthright and destroyed his first creation which he wept for although it was too late for it was for his further good which is hid from his eyes for a time and whilst he is a hunting for Jacob puts on Esaus rough garment or flesh which is the law of sin which made the man of sin mad and hee thought to destroy this Jacob or this second creation which appeared in the man but in the end when sinne is destroyed they will be loving brothers and one man of God for this Jesus Christ or seed of promise the destroyer of sin will make all peace and quietnesse for this holy God is in Christ reconciling the world to himselfe in mortifying and cleansing this man and burnning up all the chaffe of sin with unquenshable fire that there might bee great love betwixt God and man againe for this Jesus was three dayes and three nights in the man of sinne and in the heart of the earth and was carried into his wildernessed land and was tempted of him the manner whereof shall afterwards be expressed for he shewed Man all his filthinesse and how wicked he was and regardlesse of God and goodnesse and this was the first day in him and the night of that day was the death and wrath of God that appeared in the Man which did teâ—rifie and feare him and was the wounds of conscience that told him what he deserved and he threw downe himselfe at Gods mercy and the second day or light God gave him true grace and sorrow for his sinnes and the night of that day is that bloody fight in heaven betweene the Man of sinne and God and that terrible agony and sweat of death was on the humanity and the third day or reigne of Christ is that day that Christ shall reigne a thousand yeares in Man with death which day is that power of patience and long sufferance that lasts till the Man of sinne is rooted out for a thousand yeares is but as one day with the Lord and one day in this suffering and reigne of Christ is as a thousand years to the man for he must reigne till all sinne is subdued and the night of that day all hell is broke loose to torment the Man for a short time but this Almighty power gives the Man a strong and victorious power that he fights with himselfe and overcomes himselfe and all his devillish crew and so the wicked world is ended and Man shall come into a happy condition There are many that think that Christ will come and reigne a thousand yeares here on earth personally but they will be deceived for they look and judge of the Scripture after the outward appearance which is not righteous judgement for we are to looke on it with a spirituall eye and then shall we see it as it is for the looking on it as a history and not as it is a sacred and holy mystery makes so many false Religions for the birth of Christ in this elementary world was after a extraordinary manner and not after the ordinary manner of men for he was not as the seed of man nor did the Virgin Mary feele any manner of paine in bringing him forth as the wise and learned hold nor doth the Scripture make mention of her paine as they doe of others as Rebeckah Isaacs wife and Rachel Jacobs wife for the Divinity is a spirit and the humanity is a spirit and the Divinity and the humanity joyned together in conjunction as man and wife is but one spirit and spirits bring forth a spirit and can doe no otherwise for this Jesus Christ is a Spirit and is the Spirit and life of God that is sowne in our hearts and spirits which makes us cry Abba Father for he was and is a Spirit comming forth of God and man that were and is spirits and that organicall body or figure that he seemed to be in and to eat and drinke and that he was like flesh and blood was as three Angells that appeared to Abraham which he did dresse a kid for who seemed to be men and did eat and drinke with them as they thought â— so Christ seemed to be in that figure and flesh of the man but he was a reall spirit for with that body he walked on the sea the which Peter could not doe with his heavy body but did sinke and Christ did hide himselfe many times and could not be found for he did walke in visibly and when they did leek him to destroy him they could not finde him till he pleased to give himself into their hands and he could come with his body into any roome the doores being shut as he did after the resurrection come to his Disciples saying Peace be unto you and he did eat a broyled fish and they knew him by eating and breaking of bread and there is surely some secret mystery in that for when hee walked like a gardener they knew him not but by breaking of bread and Thomas would not beleeve that it was the body that was crucified because he could come through a chinke of the doore as he thought till Christ shewed him the print of his nailes after which he said he beleeved because hee saw those things but Christ said to him they were more blessed that beleeved and saw not but beleeved and trusted in God without the death of Christ for if we had beleeved and trusted in God wee should not have fallen and sinned but have been more blessed for the whole had not had need of the Physitian but we all have fallen and need the death of Christ to make us whole againe and we cannot beleeve till wee see the print of his death and nailes in our hearts and spirits which he hath taken on him and is now his humane nature for his Godhead and humanity is in us if Christ be in us for he is whole Christ in us God and man nor can he be divided and be in part in us and if he had a corporall body of clay consisting of foure clements made up of flesh and blood as ours is it were impossible and against reason that he could be in us therefore looke into the Scripture with spirituall
of Noahs Arke so many cubits high and broad as the Scripture speaketh it could not containe all the creatures in the world by couples and sevens and all their meats so long time also it might be thought that God did inspire move all the creatures to come to Noahs Ark to be saved the which I desire you to consider of and the many absurdities that would fall upon it to be understood according to the letter which cannot be agreeable to reason but that there must be some higher mystery in it for the Scripture saith that there was but eight persons in the Ark and that all the world was drowned save these eight and presently after he speaketh of Kings and Kingdomes I pray tell mee from whence these Kings and Kingdomes came from in so short a time for we read how many of the children of Israell went into Egypt and were there foure hundred yeares marke their increase during that space and compare the times and you shall see how many eight persons could bring forth in so short a time for the Egyptian Kingdome and all the rest of the Kingdomes must come from those eight persons which they can never prove to have increased so many in so short a time for we read but of sixty six persons that came of Shem betwixt his comming forth of the Arke and their entring into Egypt and their abode in Egypt was foure hundred and thirty yeares the which in all that time did but increase to six hundred thousand till the time they came out of Egypt again to go into the land of Canaan therefore if you will compare those things and exactly calculate the times you will finde strange contradictions in them wherefore you must not look to the history of the Scripture but to the mystery for the deluge of Gods wrath must needs fall upon some other world then this externall even the world of sinne and iniquity and drowns all their delightfull pleasures and marriages by his heavy judgement and law of sinne that he executeth upon them many and divers wayes but the holy and divine manhood with all the beasts which are the passions and phantasies of his minde and the eight persons which are the five senses with the will reason and understanding which is to rule and governe all these beasts are shut up in the Arke Chest or Divinity of God while this deluge runs over the wicked world and are preserved in the same to bee brought forth as a new and heavenly Jerusalem to a better and more divine world which is the humanity to live in the Godhead or the holy divine life Likewise the history of Joseph his brethren is to be understood spiritually for the twelve sonnes of Jacob with their father and mother is the whole divinity and humanity joyned together and Joseph signifies the highest perfection or divinity which was sold into the hands of the wicked by his brethren which is the humanity with his affections and the wickednesse sold him unto the lust of the flesh which was Potiphars wife so that the lusts of the flesh desired to injoy the perfection to her lust will and desires as the Devill did to Christ which this doth presigurate and he left this garment of flesh which hee seemed to be cloathed with into her hands for a witnesse against him that hee was with her so the wicked lusts of the flesh put this perfection or Joseph in prison because he would not consent to her and helyeth in this dungeon or hell under the fleshly lusts of sinne till our Pharaoh King of ignorance and servitude begin to dream of all the miseries and famines that is to come upon us then Ioseph or our perfection is sent for in haste to provide food for us in this our famished land of servitude and ignorance where wee must sell our selves under this perfection who is as King and Lord in this land for a time otherwise we cannot be saved nor preserved and after a small time this Joseph dyeth in the land of servitude and ignorance after whose death comes a cruell Pharaoh to reigne over thee who doth impose such cruell and hard burdens and taskes on thee which makes thee long and cry out for a Saviour then comes the most powerfull God with his mighty signes and wonders to helpe thee plaguing thy wicked king of wickednesse in thee and when all those wonders and plagues are fulfilled upon thy king of servitude thou must enter into a wildernessed land where is no comfort carrying the dead bones of Joseph or thy dead perfection and in thy going thou must eat the pascall lambe or the supper of our Lord which wildernessed land is the whole passion and death of our Lord Jesus whereby thou must forsake the onions garlike flesh pots and all the pleasant meats which thou catest of in the land of Egypt and in walking through this wildernesse or this death and passion of our Lord Iesus we are brought to the heavenly Ierusalem or City of God wherein we shall rest in all peace and sweet content I doe not deny the history or litterall sense of the Scripture but there is nothing therein profitable for me save only the mystery and spirituall sense As for the sacrifice in the old law where mention is made of killing of bulls rams goats and lambs sure it cannot bee that the killing of these creatures could ever make satisfaction for sinne nor could the speech of a Priest speaking over the head of a goat carry away sinne into the wildernesse as it is said of the seape goat but these are holy mysteries and must be understood otherwise and the chusing of the Priests as that they should have no impediment as a lame leg or one arme or but one eye and that their attire should bee most glorious with the breastplate of Urim and Thummim and the Crown with writing upon it and the pure white linnen which to understand according to the history seemeth strange for the Priests to weare such babling things but that all those are mysteries As for the sacrifices which should be without blemish as the lambs and innocent doves with the sweet odours and perfumes is this to offer up a most holy and upright life without spot or blemish of sinne which is his holy Son Iesus in us a sacrifice most pleasing in his sight for he careth not for the sacrifice of bulls and rams but this most holy body hath he chosen O therefore let us offer up this most holy body and pure life for an acceptable sacrifies most pleasing in his sight this holy life is the odours and sweet perfumes which sweet savor deligh eth his nostrills and ravisheth his minde with most sweet contents and the divine humanity is the Priest that must offer up this most pure sacrifice for he must be a perfect man without the blemish of sinne and must wear the breastplate of judgement with Urim and Thummim which is light and