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
needy natural man of the Saint causes him as a poor man in vile raiment to be bidden by man to sit here under his footstool importing the very height of contempt towards him while there 's a huge bussle for the giving the other a high place in honour and respect to him or rather to his mystical gay clothing kept on in enmity to the Cross but put off by the Spiritual Saint and refus'd ever to be put on again let men take it how they will Jam. 2. 1 -3. Cant. 5. 3. God requir's the putting off those first-Covenant Ornaments Devils and Men put such a preferring value upon that he may know what to do with us by setting up the life and clothing us with the everlasting Righteousness Beauty Glory and ornaments of the second Exod. 33. 5. Wise Holy first-Covenant righteous Men and God are of a directly contrary judgment in this case Rom. 2. 29. Those God highly esteems and loves they scorn and hate as the filth of the World the off-scouring of all things 1 Cor. 4. 13. Thus are they found in harmony with the invisible Principalities and Powers of this world the evil Angels They both and all center in this point a resolution in the earthly principle or natural spirit to despise and contend against the impoverish'd natural man of the truly wise rich strong and honourable spiritual Saint They shoot all their malicious revengeful arrows at him So are true Saints by their true Gospel-life Conversation words and way rendred with Jeremy Men of contention with the whole earth or whole earthy party of evil Angels and Men. This evil Solomon saw practis'd under the first-creation Sun or in the first-Covenant spirit the Law-principle of life and action as an errour both visible and invisible Rulers of this world are ioyntly guilty of in using their utmost power for discouraging persecuting and suppressing the truly wise and rich spiritual Saint the only sort of men in this world that God highly esteem's and loves On all these accounts as to the errours of the visible and invisible Rulers of this World he farther says Vers. 7. I have seen Servants upon Horses and Princes walking as Servants upon the Earth The chief sense of these words is that evil Angels are permitted the exercise of a ruling power over this World fulfilling their pleasure both in the corrupt and refin'd spirit and principles of Nature in men Both evil Angels and Men in the said spirit of Bondage are but servants and slaves in God's sight objects of his everlasting contempt and wrath When Christ whose Right it is takes to himself his great Power and reign 's he will take away all their power and tread them under his and his Saints feet for ever But all along this World are these evil Angelical Principalities and Powers in with and by evil visible ones jointly riding over Saints heads Psal. 66. 12. under Christ's overtopping spiritual Power ordering all for the carrying on his designed work of the Cross on the natural spirit of the Saint that 's a spirit of Bondage in them For this reason are the true Princes or spiritual heaven born Sons walking on the Earth in an inferiority and subjection to these slavish servile-spirited Rulers that in their true Princely life they may come to ride over all those Servants heads that have bin their Masters All along this World the said Servants are on Horseback and true Princes a-foot At entrance of the Reign of Christ or beginning of the next such Princes will tread all such Servants for ever under their feet and ride in triumph with their Lord and Master the great Captain of their Salvation over all their heads Col. 2. 15. Heb. 2. 10 14. The very Prince of Life when he had taken our slesh suffer'd death therein under the visible and invisible Princes of this world Act. 3. 15. True Saints following his suffering steps will be found on their mystical white Horses with their Lord at last Rev. 19. 11 -14. Christ refused any ruling Power as a Judge or King in that earthly life of the Law wherein he was to suffer and did in obedience to his Father under the hors'd Princes of this World in the said earthly life and worldly power He walk'd as a Servant on the earth under them and so must Saints in obedience to the will of God and conformity to his example Joh. 10. 17 18. They must lay down their natural wherein they are Servants that they may take up his spiritual life wherein Sons of God and to be Princes on 〈◊〉 Saints are spiritual chast Doves that know not where to set their foot or sind any visible relief or support in this World Gen. 8. 8 9. As kept for their Heavenly Country are they not suffer'd to find any rest short of it They are hunted out of all false rests by their evil Rulers who intend their utter destruction But they find the new Name of the Lord a strong Tower and Ark of safety both from enemies and the flood of God's final Wrath that will overflow the whole first-creation Land of the living all fix'd in their earthly life of enmity to his Heavenly Vers. 8. He that diggeth a Pit shall fall into it and whoso breaketh an Hedg a Serpent shall bite him The pit here is the same blind Leaders with their followers fall into Mat. 15. 14. Psal. 7. 15. Many that are reckon'd to dig deep in Scripture all their interpreting thereof amounts to no more then the digging this dangerous and destructive pit an opening the very bottomless pit of the Devil and asserting it to be the Kingdom of God a teaching unchangeable union with the evil one as God sitting in the Temple of God and shewing himself that he is God And in all their Ministry to this purpose seeing nothing but vanity and lying 〈◊〉 they say The Lord saith and make others hope they 'l confirm the word that they have true peace with God when indeed in unchangable union with the Devil Thus do evil Men giving heed to seducing Spirits and Doctrines of Devils cry up a fixure and establishment in the first-creation state of enlighten'd Righteous Nature in unchangeable opposition to God and his new-creation Spirit of Grace They prefer their Law-Spirit to his Gospel-Spirit which renders it the very bottomless pit they fall into under the final Wrath of God a deep ditch of stinking mire and silth for evermore Out of it there is no redemption 'T is very Hell Evil Angels Man's conclusive choice of that state makes it a pit of their own digging David found his own nature a deep mire where there 's no standing crying for deliverance out of it by a lifting him up out of his earthy spirit of nature into God's heavenly Spirit of Grace Psal. 69. 1 -- 3. The death of Nature under the Cross is our only way out of this miry pit of corruption into the life Christ will reign in t. And
Angels This say's the Preacher Solomon as turning from his own Wisdom or Understanding and owning the Holy Ghost or New-creature Gospel-spirit of Christ in him the sole dictating Author of this Book Vanity of Vanities in the Hebrew manner of expressing signifies most vain in the superlative degree Man at his best estate and so Angel at his best before the Fall of either were altogether Vanity Psal. 39. 5. and since the Fall are they worse lighter then Vanity it self less then nothing Psal. 62. 9. Isa. 40. 17. Neither of them had at first any durable Life Wisdom 〈◊〉 Glory nothing but what was mortal perishable and vanishing All was but a fading Flower of the first-creation Field or World The utmost growth beauty flourish and fruitfulness of the corruptible seed of God's left-hand planting in them by a first-creation is no more or better And all their best desires births fruits thoughts or actions therein are vanity can never exceed the fading nature and title of the root whence they spring the fleshly Tree of good and evil on which they grow All visible things Glory Riches Power together with the litteral Sun that produces and renders the rest visible are but Vanity of vanities shadows of shadows to wit of the intellectuall 〈◊〉 Sun the first-covenant Spirit with all the inward mystical riches 〈◊〉 wisdom righteousness glories and excellencies produced thereby in the natural first-creation state of Man or Angel at best The most excellent births fruits performances or works of Righteousness brought forth and done but under the impregnating and fructifying influence of the first-covenant Spirit and so of Christ therein as a fleshly Bridegroom to them all these still are but Vanity or vanishing shadows of spiritual heavenly eternal substantial things or truths durable riches everlasting life food and clothing the glory that excells and remains for ever in the New-creation state of Man or Angel All 's but the Life and Image of the earthly in the Spirit of Nature not of the heavenly in the new-creature Spirit of Grace The life wisdom form of godliness righteousness of Man or Angel in their own nature as at first created were real but not true in a Scripture-sense All are but shadows of the everlasting Life power of Godliness wisdom and righteousness of God in the New-creation or Second Covenant Holy flesh cleansed righteous nature and so the common or general Salvation all men are capable since the Fall of being restored into by the Redeemer is but a shadow of true holiness special everlasting salvation in God's holy New-creature spirit of Grace and Truth True godliness the mystery the power of godliness true or everlasting Life Salvation and blessedness the Life Wisdom and Righteousness of God in his New-covenant spirit of Grace none of these true things were possessed by any Angel or Man in the Primitive unstained purity of their 〈◊〉 by the first-creation All these true things of God were represented to them all in the Tree of true Life by way of Object as what God had in reserve to bestow upon them by a new-creation on their obedient surrender and parting with that mortal Life and State they received by the first God calls what he gave them by the first-creation their own their life wisdom righteousness c. What he offers them by a new-creation he calls his own his life wisdom righteousness c. All men that Satan can bring to savour only the natural things of Man or Angel and never at all the spiritual new-creature things of Christ and God Mat. 16. 23. are fixed with him in unchangable enmity to God The New-creature Life and things God calls his own are transcendently superiour to Man's own as the Litteral Heavens are above the Earth The duplication of this Hebrew superlative the double Out-cry or Proclamation here implies the absolute certainty and great importance of the assertion as also that Solomon would have the thing here proclaim'd understood as the sum or compend of this whole Book which he explains by degrees in the various parts thereof What he indistinctly and as in a transport cries out of as Vanity of vanities he begins to lodg and fix his meaning in saying All is vanity And this All yet as somewhat indistinct is after limited within its due bounds yet allowed its full extent and circumference over and over in this first Chapter All things under heaven under the sun all earthly mortal life and goodness received by Man or Angel in their first-creation all below what is heavenly spiritual and everlasting in and by the second are vanity or vanishing perishing things however good in their kind and useful in their place This fixes and compleats this leading Proposition and Foundation of the ensuing Discourse All visible things under the litteral Sun depending on its influence as a concurring second Cause of their Production and Preservation and rendred visible by its light and then all the invisible things of Man and Angel all the Life Wisdom Righteousness Excellencies Glories and all the Desires Thoughts and Operations of their invisible immortal spirits under the mystical first-creation Sun or first-covenant spirit of nature in the Mediator all these things are comprehended under the title Vanity All their counsels studies purposes and contrivances for true happiness within the compass and in the single activity of that natural state or life life and all all is Vanity Vanity is written out upon Tree and Fruit Root and Branch Principle and Operations throughout in that state of both The infallible new-creature spirit of true Prophecy declares this concerning all the goodness life or 〈◊〉 found in the old natural first-creation state of Angel and Man This Spirit in Christ and awakened spiritual Saints can prophesy or certainly fore-tell what will become of any man as finally rejecting or complying with its reproofs of Death on his own spirit of Nature and instructions of Life in God's Spirit of Grace in Eternal Life or Death This New-creature spirit of Life and true Prophesy is below the infinite Divinity but transcendently above all natural first-creation Life and Things in Man or Angel Paul in all the Light Wisdom and Righteousness of his restor'd naturalls Phil. 3. 4 6. Was exceedingly mad against Christ's Gospel Truths and Saints Acts 26. 11. What work then is Man though wise strong and honourable in Christ 1 Cor. 4. 10. as to 〈◊〉 covenant attainments like to make of it at Gospel or shewing the true way of Salvation God knows all the Thoughts of man in his highest wisdom to be 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 3. 20. All purely divine things the deep things of God and all spiritual heavenly new-creation things lye clear out of the reach of all single natural understanding of man or angel 1 Cor. 2. 9-14 Their vain wisdom has nothing but Vanity for its immediately discernable Object If we extend this all is Vanity beyond the sphere of natural to divine or spiritual creature-things we blaspheme If we
the worldly Life of their own Nature can never be satisfied or find any durable good for its portion Unhappy man in all possible variety of his own nature corrupt or righteous foolish or wise wholly eyes doats upon chuses delights in and hunts after perishing vanities which God calls things that are not and turns his back upon all things spiritual and eternal as Chimaerical nothings which God calls the only things that are Vers. IX The thing that hath been is that which shall be and that which is done is that which shall be done and there is no new thing under the Sun There 's no new thing to be found in the first-creation worldly spirit of nature under the mystical Sun or first-covenant spirit nothing of the new-creature spirit of everlasting righteousness no things of God or his kingdom things spiritual heavenly eternal things ever new fresh green and flourishing Man and Angels as soon as made were old that is had no life or goodness but what was subject to mystical gray hairs decayes old age and death These are the several steps by which the mortal life and best things put into or set up in Angel or man come to expire and vanish All vanity All their fading goodness when they flourish therein as a green Bay-tree Psal. 37. 35. 36 carries mortality and vanity written out in its forehead has a day of adversity set over against their utmost prosperity therein The thing that hath bin is that which shall be The sinless Innocent state of man at first is that which shall be generally experienc'd on earth under the reign of Christ again At entrance thereof he will give a restitution of all to their primitive natural purity Act. 3. 21. Some gradual restorations of the first-covenant light or also life man was created in under Law and Gospel and before either were put into written oracles have bin experienced more or less by all men from the redeemers hand the light that lighteth every man that comes into the world What all such light life wisdom righteousness or 〈◊〉 works duties and performances thereof and in amount unto has bin sufficiently experienced This spirit or state is so far at best from being any security to man for salvation that a false confidence and resting therein is his sore and remediless destruction Mic. 2. 10. Men bring forth fruit but to themselves in all this at best are empty vines to God Hos. 10. 1. They never bring forth fruit unto God but in his newness of life as born of living and walking in his spirit of grace All in nature best or worst Root and Branch the fleshly Tree of good and evil with the fruit all 's but a perishing vanity There is nothing new to be done or found therein as the innumerable multitude of mankind have experienced generation after generation For Vers. X. Is there any thing whereof it may be said see this is new it hath bin already of Old time which was before us Satan is ready to suggest and man as ready to believe there is some new thing in the but renewed old nature of man beyond what at first was in it All men are experimental witnesses of Satan's first lie to Eve that the life of nature given in the first-creation was eternal and that they should not Die at all No such thing as Death incident to it But this life renewed and confirmed by the second Adam sayes Satan and Man joynes in it is Eternal But this confirming and warranting man safe in the established life and righteousness of restored nature is Satans doctrine and Man 's accursed other Gospel Christ restores mans lost first-covenant law-life Satan asserts this to be a Gospel state and man agrees to take it so and look no farther for salvation As soon as any are renewed by Christ into some degree of the lost righteous life of nature Satan is at their Elbow with the same lying Suggestion as to Eve this is Eternal Life ye shall not Die at all Paul not without a cause was afraid and Jealous of the Serpents thus beguiling the Corinthians through his subtilty as he did Eve 2 Cor. 11. 2 3. This is his other Gospel in a perfect contrariety to every tittle of Christ's v. 4 another Jesus another spirit and state of life for salvation in direct contradiction to all Paul preached which nor Paul nor any true Gospel-preacher ought to let passe undiscovered and uncontrolled Fixing in nature at best for salvation is union with the Devil in unchangable enmity to God and his new-creature spirit in which ever any could be saved Under Satans reign nature is seldom fully restored in man from filth of flesh And filth of spirit or enmity to God and his spirit of truth is inseperable from the highest restorations of it till the Reign of Christ. Yet under all these disadvantages and shortnesses of primitive purity is it when restored asserted to be better and safer then that for Salvation This Satan most wickedly suggests and Man most foolishly believes to his own destruction as he will find at winding up Thus Satan and his Apostles transformed into the likeness of Christ and his in word and language preach up restored nature a-fresh for a currant Gospel-state of absolute salvation in which men are under an absolute impossibility of ever finding it All the inticing and perswasive words of Satan's and Man 's serpentine and humane wisdom look and run this way Scripture interrogatories are the strongest assertions Is there anything new any newnes of life in mans restored Old nothing of it whatever can be found in this restored state has bin already of Old time before us in the unstained purity of it in Adam who yet was not fence-proof against Satans charming wiles and power T was then perfect in its kind rarely yet so since T was but a corruptible perfection of a loseable goodness And lost it was Most vain mad and unprofitable then is all Man's labour since the fall in seeking for asserting or undertaking to prove eternal spiritual life to be found in fading natural Man now in his best restored naturals is tainted with a treasonable Enmity to God and that spirit in which alone any can be saved Paul in his restored righteous law-life of nature was a fierce enemy to the spirit of grace and all the Gospel-truths or things thereof After the universal experience of man-kind and universal warnings of true wisdom to the contrary to preach up Salvation in the but restored first-covenant righteous life of nature is unexcusable madnes True Wisdome calls out to these simple stragglers and wanderers after Vanity with their backs willfully turned upon him and all his Reproofs of death upon Nature and instructions of Life in his Spirit of Grace How long re simple ones will ye love simplicity delight in scorning my counsel and hate true knowledge Prov. 1. 22. Turn from your own Understanding at my reproof and I 'le pour my
God Joh. 3. 21. and God works all our works in us and for us We therein are co-workers with God All such works are ever acceptable to him and most easy delightful and profitable to man What all works in man's earthly Life and Nature under Heaven amount unto we find yet farther Vers. 14. I have seen all the works that are done under the Sun and behold all is vanity and vexation of spirit Solomon in the new light and wisdom of God positively concludes the most rectified Principles of nature and man's utmost fruitfulness exactest walking best works designs counsels thoughts and purposes therein to be but vanity in themselves and vexation of spirit to himself The more rich and full Man is in the righteousness wisdom and glory of his own nature the more apt to grow offended at the Cross that comes to seize and set fire on all and hereby the more is God offended at him A confidence in such encreasing riches as are but vanity encreases vexation of spirit every way Vers. 15. That which is crooked cannot be made straight and that which is wanting cannot be numbred Humane nature at best in innocency as liable to wax old decay and die in all the Wisdom Life and Glory of it and as liable to corrupt and be depraved through Man's evil use of all in preference and opposition to what 's more excellent might be called old and crooked But since the fall 't is actually and apparently so A glory it had which was no glory to the glory that excells and remains for ever in new-creation Life The Life Wisdom Righteousnes of man in his first created state was no Life Wisdom Righteousnes in respect of what is given to and set up in him by the second is admitted no comparison looked upon as nothing to it is to be folded up and laid aside as an old garment for it God himself thus handles all the first-creation works of his own hands Isa. 34. 4. 66. 1 2. Heb. 1. 10-12 Man though made perfect and upright at first all the life and goodness he was possessed of was corruptible and changable though not corrupt So not to be compared with the incorruptible unchangable everlasting Life Wisdom Righteousnes and Glory of God set up in and put upon man by a new-creation Man's and Angels attempts and designs for holding fast making straight and establishing themselves in their natural first-creation Life which God hath made crooked 〈◊〉 7. 13. in opposition to his offered straight and incorruptibly perfect new-creation life is peerless madness and inexcusable folly God requires them both and all to part with their own crooked life how ever straight in their Eye for his own absolutly straight and incorruptibly perfect new-creation life which only is straight in his Eye But farther what God made 〈◊〉 to crookednes and in that sense crooked fallen Angels and Man have made actually perverse crooked and tortuous In evil Angels t is made unchangably so in rebellion against God and a justling competition with his unchangably straight new-creation life In fallen man enmity to God and his everlasting righteous creature-life is inseperable from his natural state and life however restored But both that enmity and his life are seperable from him by his obedient death in sacrifice to God on which he receives thepromise of the Father the unchangably straight new-creature life of the Son Evil Angels are continually at it with Men follow them closs with this lying suggestion that their but restored righteous natural state is the straight thing in God's sight as well as theirs which will give them entrance into the kingdom of God Multitudes multitudes all along this World under Satan's reign have drunk in this serpentine venom to their eternal ruin as will appear in the valley of decision Fixure in the life of nature corrupt or righteous renders men litteral or mystical Sodomites both most Crooked perverse and abominable in God's sight and thoughts be what they will in their own Such establishment in the righteousnes of Man as is highly esteemed amongst men is abomination in the sight of God Such an evil concupiscence lust or covetousnes after and delight in the mysticall riches fruits wisdom glory and righteousness of their own nature or house as makes them finally to despise the durable riches wisdom life and glory of God in that spirit of grace which is his house and to refuse the required exchang of all their fading vanities for them is death without mercy Thus do men by an evil covetousnes to their own house consult shame to themselves and get everlasting contempt as vessels of dishonour Hab. 2. 9 10. This did the Pharises who were thus covetous Luk. 16. 14 15. This fixes man in an unchangable bloody mind of enmity to the constant steady right Psa. 51. 10. unchangably straight creature-spirit of everlasting righteousness and truth and to God most high The defects of man or what is wanting to him for eternal Life in his own nature corrupt or righteous from which since the fall filth of flesh or spirit are inseperable cannot be numbred For he wants every thing all things Spiritual Heavenly and Eternall and must part with every thing he has for them Till poor desolate and undone in himself he cannot be rich and strong in God till impoverished even to death in his own spirit not rich in God's but wretched poor blind and naked destitute of and wanting all things for eternal Life Enmity to God and that Spirit of Grace in which alone any can be saved is as inseperable from man in the corrupt or righteous Life of his own spirit of nature as the Ethiopian hiew or Leopards spots from them Jer. 13. 23. Till the said exchang by death be obediently yielded to the terms God's wisdom put 's on man as his part in order to an entrance into his new and everlasting covenant-covenant-life on which he will certainly perform his part of that covenant in giving him that life the things man wants for salvation cannot be numbered All the numberless spiritual new-creation things the everlasting creature-Life Wisdom and Righteousness of God with the innumerable fruits to be brought forth by men therein to God and the innumerable fruits of Gods love therein 〈◊〉 man Love Joy Peace c. Gal. 5. 22 23. All these things are wanting that is every thing Vers. XVI I communed with mine own heart saying Lo I am come to great estate and have gotten more wisdom then all they that have bin before me in Jerusalem yea my heart had great experience Heb. seen much of wisdom and knowledg Solomon was eminent in mystical earthly-Jerusalem life and in the Ornaments or excellent best and most spiritual inlightning gifts of the Heavenly In this super-eminent wisdom and understanding the vain thought and pussing up Imagination of his own heart was that he now wanted nothing for the rendring him compleatly happy His wisdom and largeness of heart was as the
For he can deceive all Men short of the Spirit of Grace and Truth to Worship him as so above and against God himself 2 Thes. 2. 4. Vers. 2. A time to be Born and a time to Die A time to Plant and a time to pluck up that which is Planted Vers. 3. A time to Kill and a time to Heal a time to break down and a time to Build up Vers. 4. A time to Weep and a time to Laugh A time to Mourn and a time to Dance There 's an appointed time for every Man to be Born in a Fleshly Body which is his personal appearance or Manifestation The Body is an Essential Ingredient into the compleat Constitution of every Man which under all Temporary Vicissitudes Alterations and Changes by Decay's Death and Resurrection remain's for ever the distinguishing part of Man from other Created beings in Heaven and Hell Angels are compleated in their personal Constitution without any such thing as Man's Earthly Body or Life The Spirit of Man before it enters the Body or after departed out of it is not the Compleat Person of a Man For Man consists of Spirit Soul and Body as distinct Essential parts of his being which Paul distinctly Pray's may in Saints be Preserved blameless unto the comming of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Thes. 5. 23. The whole Spirit of Man Comprehends in its make a Dormant Souly Animalish Life So has a Natural tendency of desire to a Union with its fitly Organized Body in order to bring its Latent Soul or Souly Life into actual Exercise and Operation At the death of the Body this Soul or Souly Life ceases as to exercise lies dormant again in the Spirit as before it's entrance thereinto So till the Resurrection of the whole Man the Spirits even of Just Men made perfect in Spiritual New-Creation Life Act and Converse as pure Intellectual Powers Intuitively after the manner of Angels only Now as there 's a time for the Birth of Man's Body so from the frail materials and constituting Ingredients of it is there an appointed time for its dissolution and so for the Death of the Man by a Seperation of his essential parts This is a truth universally experienc'd and known by all And the like Vicissitudes and Seasons are appointed for other parts of this greater Visible World without Man as well as lesser World the Sum and Abridgment of all within him From the Moment of his Bodily Birth may be Dated the Building Planting Laughing Dancing Rejoycing and Embracing season during the growth and Flourishing State of his Bodily Life When this is at its height Approaches God's appointed Season from the perishing Materials thereof for plucking it up breaking it down and Slaying it This Season is attended with Man's Weeping and Mourning as the Consequents thereof These litteral truths are Experienc'd by Man in the Decay's Gray Hairs Old Age and Death inevitably incident to his body In the declining state thereof is he reduced to a kind of equality with Childhood as debilitated in the exercise of his rational Powers in and by bodily Organs or Instruments Brain Animal spirits c. So if he come to 70 or 80 years his decayed strength affords him little but labour and sorrow Psal. 90. 10. as finding himself to have out-lived the brisk and vigorous exercise of that Reason by which distinguished from brute Beasts In this case 't is man's duty and wisest course to fall in and comply with God's twofold dispensation upon his fleshly body by willingly owning and submitting to the decay's thereof in God's latter demolishing work upon it for pulling it down as well as to be found rejoycing and delighting in his former planting and building up of the same 'T is man's gross folly to struggle and contend for an impossibillity even the keeping up of that which he sees by an inevitable Law of necessity must be laid down He is as sure to die as he was born yea to go strip'd and naked out of the World as he came into it Job 1. 21. God has determined the time for both Death comes as an armed man on man's Body and on all that sort of understanding that 's exercised in and by it There 's no discharg in this War The decay's of it all along from the turning declining point preach the death of it and of that organical Understanding exercised in and by it Come we now to the Mystery of all this All the methods of God's wisdom in his dealings with man's body or bodily life the outward part of his natural man are typical to the like methods and dispensations to his immortal spirit considered in the but mortal first-covenant natural righteous Life thereof planted in it by the first creation A birth life death and buriall are incident to this also as God's appointments to it At the birth of the Body the Spirit or inner natural man is dead as to the mortal first-covenant life of the Law of Works it was at first created in But a fresh birth of or quickning up into this shadowy Life and Image of the Earthy wherein the first Adam was created is offered to all and may be actually received and experienced by all as the common or general salvation if they will The far greater part of mankind refuse to part with the corrupt life of their nature for the righteous And many that receive the righteous as the common salvation Jude 3. from the general Saviour of all men 1 Tim. 4. 10. refuse the special or eternal Salvation receivable only by and in a spiritual Faith This cannot be received without the obedient surrender and death of all received twice from Christ's own hand by his first-creation and general-redemption-workmanship Such death according to the declared methods of God's wisdom must undispensably be yielded to and we become as fools and little Children as to all the restored wisdom life and glory of our own Nature as the undispensable way to our receiving the Life Wisdom and Righteousness of God in his Gospel-spirit of Grace and Image of the Heavenly which alone is Eternal The former is but reformation-Reformation-Life in restor'd enliven'd naturals This latter a true Regeneration into spirituals by the Birth of such a new Life in us springing up from the quickned incorruptible seed thereof as plants us together in the likeness of Christ's resurrection on our obedient likness to his death Rom. 6. 5. Nor Angel nor Man had any thing of this Life in the Innocency of both by creation but only as objctivetly presented to their understanding in the Mediator As God at first gave Man that that 's natural and call'd his own offering him that which is spiritual God's own So he first restores something of the first-covenant-Light or also Life that 's natural and after that that 's spiritual Paul when eminent in restored naturals holy flesh by knowledg of or conformity to Christ in the flesh or righteous life of the Law quitted such
of God Ye never find it else or enter it 〈◊〉 from your own understanding Consult not or conferr with flesh and blood in your selvs or others what ye shall do to be saved That principle will never own one right word towards eternal life T' is a flat enemy to every word of God's Wisdom about it They that despise and wonder at such words will everlastingly perish Acts. 13. 41. Those that gad abroad in a spirit of vanity enmity and death to chang their way from form to form in Religion toss'd and Tumbled up and down by every Wind of Satan's and Man's Doctrin or other Gospel who can help them That that dieth say's God let it die and that that is to be cut off let it be 〈◊〉 off Zec. 11. 9. Litteral and Mystical Sodom do seem to carry all before them in this most Antichristian-day and Perillous Season A Gospel-Testimony is almost universally rejected When Christ himself Preach'd he met with Multitudes of Wilfull Proud Heady Traiterous Contradicting and Blaspheming first-covenant Saints Wise Righteous Holy Men in the form of godliness in the first denying the Power of it in the second-Covenant Spirit the Gospel-Principle This was alway's the case And even so is it now 2 Tim. 3. 1-5 Gal. 4. 29. Who but Professours in Holy Flesh urg'd Christ's Crucifixion when Pilate and his Heathen Party would have freed him They 'd rather a Robber a Murderer any Malefactor should scape then he Wise Righteous Holy Men and a Currupt Dark Profane Grosly Idolatrous Party are in a contesting Scramble But both have had their season to speak Lies at one Table against the Saints of the most High Are we at a loss for an instance The Vizard will flie off The guilty Shedders of Innocent Blood will be unpalliated at last and forc'd to appear in their more then Ethopian hiew that yet lies hid under the form of Godliness God exercises long-suffering towards them and lets them think him such a one as themselvs till he set their Sins in order before their Eyes and so tear them in pieces that none can deliver Psal. 50. 20-22 His long-suffering towards Enemies is with design to compleat and fulfill the Patience or Sufferings of his Saints by their hand for their unspeakable advantage and their Enemies final Destruction A Comfortable Consideration True Saints ought to Comfort themselvs and one another with such right Words and Thoughts In conclusion Christ will appear to their Joy and their Enemies shall be asham'd Isai. 66. 5. Yea lie down in Sorrow and Everlasting Contempt as Vessels of Dishonour Eternity will be a long day to pay their full reckoning in God in the exercise of his infinite Justice and Mercy will bring all to rights give every one their due recompence for Obedience to or Rebellion against him New-covenant Gospel-Saints are more odious to the legal first-covenant professour then is the common sinner of the Gentiles in the corrupt spirit of nature The wisdom of this world in the most enlightned first-covenant Saint Wise strong and Honourable in Christ there is 〈◊〉 to God's and God's in his new-covenant Saints to theirs Was not Paul a fool weak and despicable in Christ's Gospel-spirit to but such wise strong and honourable ones in Christ 1 Cor. 4. 10. Flesh and Spirit or Man's spirit and God's are directly contrary to each other in all their designs desires and thoughts about true Salvation The former fixed in is the carnal mind of enmity to God Rom. 8. 6 7. that will prove eternal death to man The latter becomming the principle of life desire thought and action in Man is eternal life to him and in him The carnal mind of enmity was not found in Man or Angel the day they were created Ezek. 28. 15. Neither of them as they came out of their Creator's hands were found in enmity to God or the life of his spirit of Grace though they had it not till they both sinn'd and fell The voluntary evil rebellious use of their own mind introduced this enmity to God's Changable enmity in man is now inseperable from his life Unless therefore life and all at best be parted with he will become unchangable therein as Devils are and so be found in a state of eternal death No wonder then if in the place of Judgment and Righteousness or in the most enlight'ned Righteous state of the natural spirit in fallen Man and Angel be found by the al-searching spirit of Christ in himself and Saints the deepest and most Criminal Mystical Wickedness and Iniquity hidden works of Darkness rendring them most abominable to God unchangable Enemies to the Saints of the most high and to ths most High himself But what Have Gospel-Saints all truth and First-Covenant Saints none Can any believe this Yet most true Let but the Scripture-sense of truth be duly considered as the Character of the Gospel Spirit and words thereof in distinction from the Law-Spirit of this World in all its variety and words thereof the Wonder at and unbelief of this would cease But does the wise first-Covenant Holy Man receive nothing of a Gospel-Testimony Not one word No man in the Spirit of nature corrupt or righteous rightly receives such Testimony in any point That Spirit is a Spirit of total darkness and Universal Errour an absolute Heretick as to all Gospel-Life and truths This seem's hard What then The Jews were for Moses who but they Christ found they took not the Mystical truth of one word of Moses So told them they were Infidels as to the principal intendment and main scope of all his Writings For says he had ye believed Moses ye would have believed me But if ye believe not his Writings how shall ye believe my Words Jo. 5. 46 47. The Scriptures are own'd as the Words of God by all under the name of Christians but how do they read hear or understand them In the litteral Shadow only or Mystical truth also As teaching and preferring the Righteousness and Wisdom of Man to the dark ignorant State and Vile Affections of the corrupt Spirit of nature only or as also farther declaring the everlasting Life Wisdom and Righteousness of God in his Gospel-Spirit of Grace and Truth For this latter nature at best is to suffer death the right way Viz by the death of the guilty Sinner and so death of Sin in Men whereas by the fall Men became dead in Sin Sin alive in them and they dead now they alive and Sin dead and that for ever This by the death-work of the Cross or Gospel-Spirit on the natural Men in their own confused Spirit of Darkness as to all Gospel-Truths have much variety of thought and Opinion But all as one Man are against every tittle of Gospel-truth words of God's Wisdom which the Holy Ghost teaches Though they all read all the Words of God's Wisdom in the Letter they do not read them in the sense of Christ's Question to the Lawyer or teaching
charg'd with hiding his Talent in the Earth Not using it at all to Suppress and Resist the vile affections of his corrupt Spirit of nature or evilly using it in Preference and Opposition to the spirit of Grace and Everlasting Righteous Life of God brings him to the same point From both or either of these Follies comes his whole person to be a Mystical Field or Vineyard all over-grown with Thorns and Nettles and to have the stone-wall or Fence thereof broken down God puts it to such a fleshly Israel themselvs to judg what they can desire he should do for them that he has not done Isai. 5. 1-7 God spared not his own Son but delivered him up to Death for us all That Son spared not his own natural Life at best but laid it down of himself for us What unpardonable folly then must it be for any to keep up the shat-ter'd Sinning Life of their own Spirit in preference to the everlasting righteous Life of God's But so far are they after all done and said from yielding to the Exchang-Traffick of old for new-Creation Principles that they signally hate and Oppress those that do Christ gathers out the Stones Thorns and Weeds found in Man's Barren Wilderness-State of Polluted fallen nature cleanses him from filth of Flesh the Pollutions of his worldly State and then requires and warns him not to return to his Old Sins therein with the Dog to the Vomit Nor commit new and more dangerous ones under all the righteousness thereof in despite to his Spirit of Grace the only infallible Principle of every truly right work which would secure men from an unpardonable return to their old or being guilty of the said new Sins On returning to their old or committing the said new Sins the stone-Wall is broken down and they become a ruinated heap a Barren Desolate Howling Wilderness a Habitation of Dragons Devils and Wild Beasts or Bestial Lusts worse then before cleans'd and restor'd as now unchangably so 2 Pet. 2. 20-22 By observing what other Sluggards and Apostat's have thus come to ought they with Solomon to receive Instruction and avoid the like evils of Sin and Punishment Christ's restoring them into the righteous cleansed nature of Man does cleer them for a season and in degree from Thorns Nettles and Brambles But they are yet but Fallow Field bring forth no Fruits to God till the Plow of the Cross go so deep as to fetch up that very Life and Tree of good and evil by the Roots to make way for quickning up in them the incorruptible Seed of a new Life in which only they can so do When by following Spiritual Conviction Light for a season they ran well Gal. 5. 7. putting their hand with God's to the Plow of the Cross to carry on such mortifying-work on their renewed Earth or Earthly State by looking back and turning from such Husbandry on themselvs become they Apostat's unfit for the Kingdom of God Such looking back is a Repentance or chang of mind unto death which they can never truly Repent of or chang back again from This turns them into a Mystical Sodom As Bewitch'd with their Holy Flesh a Glory to be done away they Recant fly back from and quit Christ's Holy Spirit Gal. 3. 1-3 Such perswasion comes not of God that call's them forward toward Salvation but of Satan that call's them back again to Destruction Gal. 5. 8. So a Spirit of unchangable Enmity to God becom's the principle of all their Desire Thought Life Word and Action a Root of bitterness against God Christ all Spiritual Saints and Truths This renders their Earth or earthly natural State not only nigh unto Cursing but for ever Accursed without Remedy or Chang. Obedient yielding to the declar'd Methods of God's Wisdom 〈◊〉 Salvation is the only way to prevent all this mischief From a contrary demeanour all the good benefit or comfort of their restor'd natural Talent is taken from them which the right Users and Improvers of Receive again with Usury and great gain in another a new-Creation Life In this sense is the Talent taken from the Wicked Slothful Servant and given to the true Spiritual Sons of God These go into Lise Eternal and the other into outer Darkness where shall be Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth Thus Eternal Poverty Wo and Misery comes upon such Sluggards as an Armed Man They lose all the fading good they once had and are for ever excluded from the unchangable goodness once offer'd them This come Sluggards to They fold their Hands together and Eat their own Flesh. In love to their own Flesh or sleshly natural State and Food or things thereof and Hatred to God and his Spirit they chuse it as turn'd into unchangable Enmity to God So become they sit Fewel for his Unquenchable Wrath. God in just Judgment gives them up to Satan's strong Delusion and their own mad and wilful choice So all concurr on one account or other to destroy them for ever All this because they refus'd to submit to such a Temporary Destruction of their Flesh or fleshly nature and life under the kindlings of the same Mystical Fire of the eternal Gospel-Spirit Heb. 9. 14. Christ kindled upon it at best in himself Luk. 12. 49. as their influencing and Meritorious Pattern They pitty spare and save their Fleshly Life of nature in their own will and way after their own Heart as Satan by Peter would have perswaded Christ himself and so lose it and Perish for ever Mat. 16. 21-26 By refusing to have it rightly and most advantageously Destroy'd by the 〈◊〉 of the Cross in Sacrifice to God they do Destroy it and so themselvs for ever They lose their own Soul for ever after all their conceited worldly gain in Rebelliously keeping up their Fading life with the Perishing Food Moth-eaten Clothing or Filthy Raggs their best Righteousnesses are no better Isai. 64. 6. and Canker'd Rusty Riches Mystical Gold and Silver their Laodicean Treasures heap'd up in the Fruitful Exercise of their restor'd nature in a Righteous first-Covenant Life For this most Criminal Sacrilegious robbing God of his Mystical Tithes and Offrings Mal. 3. 8. by keeping up the Life and Activity of nature as the fit Sacrificing Priest that God requires by Passive Obedience to become the Sacrifice to him do they Provoke him to kindle a sire within as well as upon them He will set up his Spiritual-Conviction-Light in their Spirits Hearts and Conscicnces by which they shall everlastingly be kept in the forced sight of what they had bin fairly warn'd about Mat. 6. 19 20. Luk. 12. 33. in their Mortal day and State on Earth that all they trusted in was liable to Moth-eating Cankers Rust and Thievs and so in conclusion would as to all the Goodness and Comfort thereof Vanish and Perish for ever as Dung. This very Corruption Rust and Canker comming upon their Riches all they are or have will be a Witness against them for their
Madness and Folly and Eat their Flesh as Fire Jam. 5. 1-3 They refuse the kindly kindlings of the Fire of the Spirit or Cross of Christ upon them to eat up their Flesh as Fire eat 's Wood by Consuming it in Sacrifice to God He therefore kindles it in as well as upon them in Final Wrath as a never dying Worm in their Conscience a Fire that never shall be quenched Mark 9. 44. 46. 48. Thus shall Incorrigible Sinners or Fools find that in and about them in which they 'l become Eaters of their own Flesh or fleshly nature without ever such a Consuming it as Annihilation would amount unto the only death they 'l ever seek but never find Vers. VI. Better is a handful with quietness than both the hands full with travel and Vexation of spirit Here 's the opposite state to the mystical Fool. In effect of the same significancy are these words of spiritual counsel from or by Solomon as those of Christ himself Mat. 5. 29 30. 18. 8 9. Mar. 9. 43. 47. The right 〈◊〉 Hand and Foot of Man offend themselves oppose their own true intorest in being offended at the Cross that comes to cut them off and cast them away as dung and loss for a more excellent life and way The best light wisdom or understanding the most righteous practice or walking signified by the right Eye Hand and Foot of Man in his own nature restored by Law-conversion to the first-covenant or first-creation sort of righteous Life Discerning Action and Walking are to be cut off and cast away by the kindly death-work of the Cross or the demolishing crucifying mortifying operation of Christ's heavenly Gospel-spirit upon Man's righteous natural spirit in the said Law-life as Paul found and yielded to Phil. 3. 6 -- 11. He counted and parted with all as loss and dung to win Christ in his spiritual Resurrection-Life So only can any be truly acceptable to God or bring forth fruits unto him in a newness of Life All the former state to be quitted is called in Scripture but oldness of Letter In the best Life thereof Man brings forth fruit but to himself for the enriching and adorning his own deceitful nature not unto God in his Gospel-spirit of Grace and Truth in which only he can be rightly worshipped to his wel-pleasing acceptation and man's true advantage All others worship they know not what Joh. 4. 22 -- 24. They know not what they do or whither they go The divine spirit of the Father can be rightly worshipped in the Gospel-spirit of his Son only All that finally refuse to part with their natural Law-spirit and Life by a holy death under the spiritual Cross never receive or partake of Christ's Gospel-spirit of Life in which only 't is possible to worship God aright or do any thing well in his sight The natural man by Legal conversion made wise strong and honourable in Christ by his first-covenant communications of Life and Light to him hates Christ's Gospel-spirit with all the crucifying work and Cross-doctrine of death upon nature corrupt or righteous as Paul once did Man hates that which he undispensably needs must submit to and pass thorow or never be saved His restor'd natural right Eye Hand Foot must off and be cast away This Man stumbles and is highly offended at He is ready to reckon such doctrin the damnablest 〈◊〉 heresy madness and blasphemy that ever was broach'd or utter'd by man The enlightned professing Jews reckon'd it so when Christ himself preach'd it Yea his very Disciples stumbled sorely at it and took it heavily Mat. 16. 21 22. Mar. 10. 23 -- 26. John 16. 6. 20. Though he Preached his Resurrection in the same breath with his Death Mat. 17. 23. still they were exceeding sorry This would not do no not so much as allay their grief They knew not clearly what he said or meant by Death or by Resurrection Mar. 9. 31 32. and were afraid to ask him What he Preach'd the Death and loss of in himself and them even of a first-covenant Life they somewhat perceived to their sorrow But as to the more excellent Life and Glory he declar'd was to follow to him and them by way of Resurrection out of the Death of their fading this they understood not and so got little or no relief yet by the bare tydings of it But enough when they came to experience it Act. 2. The Cross is a stumbling block to the righteous first-covenant Law-Jew or Gentile under the outward dispensation of Law and Gospel and before either were written by the Pen-men thereof in the Bible and foolishness to the wise Greek with all his moral Righteousness and obedience to the common Light or Law of rational Nature in Mankind 1 Cor. 1. 23. Both these sorts of Wise and Righteous Men bidding at and fondly pleasing themselves with a hope of true Salvation in their several way 's do stand as with Drawn Swords in the Armour of Man on Satan's side to bid defiance to this seemingly Bug-bear Doctrin of the Cross upon all they are Possess'd of and trust in They decry it as the highest Blasphemy and Folly Imaginable They warn others by no means to regard a word of it in Preaching or Books As for the Brutified Immorral Heathens the far greater party of Mankind walking and allowing themselvs in the Abominations of Litteral Sodom Egypt and Babylon hating all Righteousness God's and Man's too Man 's in Moral Heathenism or legal Christianity they little regard the Doctrin of the Cross on one or ' tother The hopeful Party of Mankind in Moral or Legal first-Covenant Righteousness that have something considerable as they reckon to lose by the Cross these are ready to fight against it as Paul found and told the Philippians even Weeping Phil. 3. 18. But Jews or Gentiles that answer Christ's Heavenly call into the death of their fading earthly State however good in its kind in Obedience to the Cross as the only pass into the Everlasting Life of the Crucifying High-Priest of their Gospel-Profession Heb. 3. 1. they find the said Cross the Power and Wisdom of God to and in them 1. Cor. 1. 24. This they receive in lieu of the form of Godliness and Wisdom of Man as made Wise Strong and Honourable in Christ by First-Covenant Artainments in him and Union with him 1 Cor. 4. 10. Others chuse rather to keep their first-Covenant-State Whole Unmaim'd Unbroken or Uncrucified and so to go with their whole Body or 〈◊〉 their own two Eyes Hands and Feet to Hell then 〈◊〉 and Crucisied in Conformity to the Lamb Slain and his true Saints that suffer with him to Heaven What if one Man had all the single first-Creation Glories Excellencies Riches Wisdom and Power of all Men and Angels and lose his own Soul what 's he the better Where 's his gain Mat. 16. 26. All Man gets by pitying and sparing himself in this case is the loss of all his own fading goodness
about him long after his Gospel-Conversion and true Spiritual Saint-ship Ro. 7. 15-23 On this he Cries out O Wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death v. 24. This Enemy within the Saint till fully run down into Death exposes him to frequent Slipps and sore Miscarriages as in David Solomon and other Saints has bin evident But that that 's Born of God in them and never Sin 's recovers their falling Miscarrying natural Man or Spirit by a gradual and at length total death-work thereof upon it into Harmony with it self Christ and God most high in a newness of Life for evermore This War of Spirit against Flesh Gal. 5. 17. is not finish'd but by the total death of the fleshly Mind Flesh will not leave fighting till dead and therefore ought not Spirit or the Spiritual Man in the Saint leave off Fighting while any thing of Life is left in it The continually sinning natural Spirit till fully Crucified will in the course of its own will need dayly forgiveness as well as an offending Brother even to Seventy-times seven Mat. 18. 21 22. Through the Propitiatory covering-Mercy-Seat which Spiritual Life brings the Saint under God so looks on his Obedient Spiritual Man as not to Impute to him the daily Sins of his natural Ro. 4. 7 8. Thus is the Spiritual Man also under Christ as a covering Shadow to the natural in the same person and qualified to help up or recover it out of all its failings and Back-sliding-Steps The Spiritual Man under the Holy Anointing is to the Decay'd Old Gray-headed Crucified natural the fresh Oyl David Pray'd for Psal. 71. 9. 18. that gives a new Verdure and fresh Lustre to the whole person of the Saint a Glory that excells and remains for ever Thus on all accounts to wit the Sins of the guilty natural Spirit or the Mystical Gray Hairs decay's Old Age and Death brought upon it by the demolishing Crucifying-work of Christ and the Spiritual as its only cure the spiritual is ready at hand to help it up out of all falls in his life-time and out of that grave or death that extinguishes all power of sinning or falling in him Christ and the spiritual man fetch him up into an everlasting harmony with them in their newness of Life T. But wo to him that is alone when he falleth for he hath not another to help him up Here 's the deplorable condition of all fixed in the life of nature and so in unchangable enmity to the spirit of grace that 's the only meet helper and lifter up of the natural spirit out of all its falls Submitting to the death of the natural Man is the only way by which the Saint receives that spiritual Life that can help it at all dead lifts out of its falls and out of that death that 's the only Cure of all evil in it into its never-sinning Life When Man chooses his fading creature-life before God's and God in judgement on him gives him his choice or chuses his delusions Isa. 66. 4. Who can help him up If God be against him who can be for him Himself he cannot help He is gone then on all hands All that finally refuse the terms of receiving the spirit of Grace reject it And all that wilfully reject it God will reject with all their false confidences in their own He will swear in wrath they shall never enter into his rest What then can they say or do or any other for them who will or can help them up when fallen under the final wrath of God Vers. XI Again if two lie together then they have heat but how can one be warm alone The natural man of the Saint receives light and warmth from the spiritual as fast as baptiz'd transform'd and rais'd into a marriage-union with it in its Life and so made an equal yoke-fellow to it under Christ's most easy and delightful yoke or government over both As fast as the natural and spiritual man of the Saint come to a right conjugal union as of twain made one new man the whole Saint and Christ do lye in the intimate imbraces of conjugal love with mutual delight and satisfaction in one another for ever A most comfortable spiritual warmth and cherishing influence from Christ does the Saint find in this mystical marriage-union with him figured by the litteral Eph. 5. 22-32 Christ and the Saint are one spirit as man and wife one flesh 1 Cor. 6. 16 17. Christ is head to all saints and every saint They members of his mystical body slesh and 〈◊〉 So is Christ's spiritual state of life and headship and saints relation to him therein expressed in the very words of the figurative litteral headship and relation of the man to the woman The marriage-union of the saint with Christ and their mutual love therein is indissoluble and everlasting because founded in a spirit of everlasting righteousness and love Saints are everlastingly subject and most delightfully obedient to him and he most delightfully kind to them beyond all words for ever God having from Everlasting set up his Creature-Son the Spiritual or second Adam Creator of the first the natural state was first in Creatures Angels and Men afterward that which is spiritual in the Life of the Creator he judg'd meet he should have a Wife as is figured in what he saw meet for the first Adam who had a litteral Woman taken and form'd out of his own Body Gen. 2. 20 -- 24. This Wife taken out of Christ Spirit of his Spirit is from the borrowed Language of the Litteral said to be Bone of his bone and slesh of his slesh The insinite divine King that set up his Creature-Son from Everlasting did from the said everlasting appoint a Marriage for him and a Wedding-feast to which all Men and Angels have been invited But abundance of both refuse to come For through their willful folly are they found unchangable haters of the Bridegroom Bride and Feast all the diet the never perishing meats at the heavenly Table and Marriage Supper of the Lamb in the Kingdom of his Father All the proud huffing self-exalting party of Angels and Men drive another Trade are at their worldly Farming and Merchandise labouring for feeding on and wholly delighting themselvs in a Life a Belly and Meats desires and desirables that will all perish and be destroy'd in God's final wrath upon such wicked wilfull abusers of all given them in the first-creation against God and all his things in the second But all such Men and Angels as submit to the death of the first for the Life of God in the second will be admitted in their true Wedding Garment the everclean Linnen the everlasting Righteousness of true Saint-ship to the Marriage-Supper Rev. 19. 7-9 Those Men that gladly answer the Lord 's Heavenly Call of them to the said marriage Supper out of the Life of their own nature the Mystical Land of their Nativity and
Powers of this World comming with a swift and full Torrent upon them to run them down have this to say by what the Spiritual Man or true Prophet and Seer in them sees their Rock is not as our Rock even our Enemies themselvs being Judges Deut. 32. 51. Be the present awak'ned Spiritual 〈◊〉 of Christ in any Generation never so few yea if there be but one single Jeremy amongst the only professing people of God in the whole world and all against him even there King Princes Priests and People he 'l be too hard for them all Moe and greater still are they that are with and for him then against him They shall 〈◊〉 but not prevail against thee for I am with thee saith the Lord to deliver thee Sure he or they that have God on their side will have the best on 't though all the World be against them as indeed they always are All Inhabitants of the Earth and Sea 〈◊〉 in their own earthly Life of nature corrupt or 〈◊〉 Inhabitants of the Mystical foaming Sea and Land All worldly force by Sea and Land is full against the Saints of the most High dwellers in Heaven that have their affections and Hearts set on things above their Conversation in Heaven while Bodies still on Earth The Saints Rock is the new-Creature Gospel-Spirit the new name or Life of Christ into which they run and are safe from all that pusse at them and swell in an implacable mind of enmity against them What Spirit then is the Enemies Rock The Devil's He has made choice of and set up for himself and followers in all the sading Glory Wisdom Strength and excellency of the first-Creation all the Life and Power of Humane and Angelical nature as six'd in unchangable Enmity and used in a perpetual War against God Christ Blessed Angels and Saints so long as they can by God's Permission for most Wise and Holy ends known to himself hold it and make a Vain Tumultuous 〈◊〉 against them The Saints Rock will be found at winding up of all to be too hard for all their Inhumane Enemies Rocks viz. all evil Angelical Principalities and Powers Their Rock will dash 〈◊〉 these Rocks to 〈◊〉 Their Mountain or Kingdom with Christ will be establish'd in the top of their Mystical Angelical Mountains and exalted above all their Humane Hills or visible worldly Principalities and Powers When wicked Men shall flee to their Angelical Confederates and Masters higher Subtler and Stronger then they in their first-Creation make and nature and so the Supream first-creation Mystical Rocks and Mountains to shelter hide or Protect them from the Wrath of the Lamb the Saints Rock all won't do They 'l not be able to bear up stand or keep upon their Feet before the Lamb when the great day of his great Wrath is come Rev. 6. 15-17 All such Rocks and Mountains with all runners to them for safety all will to wrack under the irresistible Power and Wrath of the Saints Rock upon them all Mountains and Hills or Angels and Men. Then all Proud evil Angelical helpers with all their Proud helped self-exalting Subjects amongst Men must all stoop bow and lie down under his and his Saints Feet for ever Christ will not withdraw his anger but cause it to rest on them all for ever as a Fire never to be quench'd and therefore thus it will be with them look as big and be as confident as they will now Job 9. 13. Kings of the Earth both Humane and Angelical in their earthly first-Creation make and life again humane or visible Kings of the said Earth and that of two sorts in corrupt and Righteous earthly nature and life Heathens and a professing first-Covenant People who are all ready to lay their Heads together and joyn Heart and Hand against true Saints all these Litteral and Mystical Kings can agree and consult at one Table how they may both and all rid their hands of and weare out the Saints of the most high by changing times and laws perverting good or establishing evil ones and so mischief by a Law Dan. 11. 27. and 7. 25. These Crafty Consulters shall all be at a loss when Christ comes to set up his and his Saints Kingdom in the World or upon the earth His and his Saints Mountain or Kingdom set up on the top or over the heads of all their Mountainous worldly Rocks and Powers will crush them all to pieces yea grind them to Powder When he takes to himself his great Power and Reign 's will this most certainly be And then will he have the Universal Praises Hosannah's Hallelujah's and most joyful Acclamations of all that dwell in Heaven all his Saints whom he 'l bring and cause to Reign 〈◊〉 him Jude 14. as we find Rev. 11. 17. But even now during Christ's and his Saints suffering season under Man's and Satan's domineering Reign he suffer's neither of these visible or invisible Powers without to do any thing to his Saints but what 's exactly conducible to their true good the destruction of their Flesh or slaying all Enemies within them the Foes of their own House the desires thoughts affections and lusts of their natural Man Life and all at best which Fight and War against God and the true interest of their own Souls These combin'd Enemies Devils and Men are the wicked Christ uses as his Hand and Sword Psal. 17. 13 14. against the natural Man of his Saints in a pure serviceableness to their everlasting advantage in all their most malicious designings and practicings against them with intent to destroy them for ever The Prince of this World strik's at Gospel-Life and Spirit in Saints nor he nor his Instruments can ever hit or touch They hit only their own party in them flesh and Blood or their natural Man in the full comprehensiveness thereof corrupt or righteous on the perfect destruction whereof under the Cross by their own obedient consent and submitting thereto are they filled with his Spirit and Life in the irresistible Power whereof they will break all their Heads and trample them under their Feet This is the pass they bring their matters to in all their despite to Saints and the Spirit of Grace they are of A most comfortable consideration in all their Sufferings This is abundantly evident in Job's case All he had in the righteous Life and Wisdom of his own nature was by the Lord put into Satan's Hand or Power Job 1. 12. And to 't he goes bestirring himself with all his Malice and Power to destroy him What was the Result Job's Arriving by way of Death and Resurrection to his spirit at that all-powerful spiritual Life in which to break the Serpent's Head the latter end better then his beginning Flesh or the natural Man at best till Crucified and subdued Hurries even true Saints with an Impetuous Violent Torrent of Desire or Lust after Satan's Perishing Meats and so into many Rebellious Practices against God Christ and
Appetite the Belly that 's but for such Meats as will perish with it 1 Cor. 6. 13. They that sate in the Gate spoke against him Was not the great Lord and Master Christ himself thus handled Despised and Rejected of Men even his own People in the first-Covenant for Witnessing and Practicing the Doctrin of the second Isai. 52. 14. and 53. 2 3. Jo. 1. 11. Was not Job the next signal instance for suffering to his Lord thus handled on the self-same account by his first-Covenant Friends when brought under the sharp Disciplin of the Cross in order to the second They vex'd 〈◊〉 broke him in pieces with reiterated frequent and continued 〈◊〉 Words They made themselvs 〈◊〉 to him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 themselvs against him in pleading his Reproach when God was Stripping him by his Cross-work on that State of the fading Glory 〈◊〉 that State and taking that Crown from his Head Job 19. 2-19 which he had long worn and enjoy'd as a first-Covenant Prince or King in the Army Job 29. 25. of that sort of Pseudo-Fift-Monarchist's Thus was Poor Job destroy'd and gone on every side forsaken and abandon'd on all hands by God and Men as to any more or farther Comfort in that state he had king'd it in over his fellow-Mortals His very inward Bosome-Friends abhorr'd him And was not Paul so handled by his Friends presently after his quitting their Law-Principle and House on the Sand for Christ's Gospel-Principle and House on the Rock The next news we hear of him is he signally beyond other Gospel-Saints and Apostles Persecuted by Law-spirited Jews at Damascus Act. 9. 19-25 2 Cor. 11. 32 33. What cleer plain undeniable instances are here Who would think any sober Man whose obstinate will does not bribe off Pervert Obstruct and deafen his understanding could withstand such undeniable demonstration in this case I would For who believ's the report Who takes any spiritual Gospel-Testimony with whatever undeniable Demonstration attended and Ratified No Man in the single Wisdom of humane nature at best when made Wise Strong and Honourable in Christ but there Jo. 3. 32. 1 Cor. 4. 10. The natural Man even in awak'ned Spiritual Saints is ready and apt to wonder at this But retreating to the Sanctuary-Light of their Spiritual Man they see how matters go and the wonderment ceases The Spiritual Man the true Watchman Prophet and Seer of God is a Fool Mad a Snare Hatred it self Where With whom With a first-Covenant People and House of his God Hos. 9. 7 8. Was this alway's so Is it so even now Gal. 4. 29. will it be so to the end of this World and Satan's Reign E'ne cease wondring then at it O Saints of the most High What Wonder at what has bin the constant course and Practice of Humane nature in all mankind corrupt or righteous Popish or Reform'd true Saints themselvs not excepted till unwoman'd by the Cross as to their mutable fickle Womanish Spirit of nature and made actual Partakers of Christ's manly Life in his Gospel-Spirit of Grace springing up from the quick'ned Incorruptible Seed thereof 1 Pet. 1. 23. Be not dismay'd to see the Law-Church of God your Brethren in the first-covenant Children Spouses of Christ as a sleshly Bridegroom in their Holy Flesh turning themselvs into a Synagogue of Satan and serving his designs in persecuting Christ's Gospel-Church in his Holy Spirit sitting and speaking Blasphemies against them Psal. 50. 20 21. Paul when a new-Covenant Gospel-Saint was a Fool weak and despicable to Law-Saints in the renew'd old or first These were still Wise Strong and Honourable in Christ after the flesh as to both Inherent and Imputed Righteousness from him Sanctifying and justifying them according to the Tenour of that changable first-Covenant Life and State True Saints when with Paul Job and others they find all that to be but a fading flower altogether Vanity or a vanishing Shadow however good in its kind and beautiful in its day and season a Glory to be done away away they sling it as Dung for Christ in his Spiritual Resurrection-Life and Gospel-State Paul also advises others to become Fools with him as to the Law-Wisdom of Man in the first-Covenant for the Gospel-Wisdom of God in the second 1 Cor. 3. 18. In short Paul was a Poor Wise Child in Christ's newness of Life or second Covenant that had with the doting first-Covenant Law-spirited Corinthians bin for a season an old Foolish King in the 〈◊〉 of letter his restor'd old first-Creation spirit of nature But with this difference not a fix'd knowing wilful one that would no more be admonish'd For as discover'd therein what he amounted to and convincingly shew'd and offer'd a more excellent life and way immediatly he conferr'd not with Flesh and Blood consulted not with or listned to the reasonings of the first-Covenant Wisdom of Man in himself or others but was Obedient to the Heavenly Vision Trembling and astonish'd he said Lord what wilt thou have me to do Act. 9. 6. Had he after such convincing discovery of his folly and Madness in Persecuting the Gospel-Spirit and Truths of Christ in his Saints obstinately persisted therein he had bin absolutely unpardonable But he did it ignorantly 1 Tim. 1. 13. For as soon as he knew a better a Gospel-Life and more excellent way of obeying and Worshipping God he instantly yielded to God's terms the death of his Law-principled Persecuting nature as 〈◊〉 for Christ's gospel-Gospel-Life He found the Corinthians after all this confident in that State he was in when a Persecutor Full Rich and Reigning as Kings Wise Strong and Honourable in first-Covenant Attainments from Christ himself after the flesh They were brought out of the corrupt into the righteous Life of theirnature and so into some good degree of Conformity to the Life of Christ that first Covenant Life of the Law under which he was Born of a Woman But were in no degree of Conformity to Christ in the obedient death of that state in Sacrifice to God So if they finally refused Paul's Counsel Example and Admonitions for becoming Fools Weak Poor and Despicable there as he had done in following Christ's own example and Counsel they proved themselvs with thousands of others in all Ages and Generations the very Old Foolish doting Kings here meant and Paul with his true Gospel-Disciples and Followers proved themselvs the Poor Wise Children of God in a newness of Life a Wisdom a Glory never to be done away He was content with Christ to have his Visage Marr'd his fading Law-Life and Glory in the restor'd Image of the earthy or first Adam done away as the undispensible means of receiving the Life and Image of the Heavenly or second Adam 1 Cor. 15. 49. Job with other first-Covenant Saints or Holy Men in their own restor'd nature while in the dark and in great measure if not altogether ignorant for a season as to the spiritual Life and Glory that was to follow and fall to his lot was sorely
will both come to in Eternal Life or Death Vers. XIV For out of Prison he cometh to Reign Heb. Out of the House of Bond-Men or Bondage he goes forth to Reign Whereas also he that is Born in his Kingdom becometh Poor The true Saint finding the Land of his Nativity a narrow strait'ned place the Life of his own nature in the Image of the earthy at best to be but a State of Enmity Bondage and death come's out of this his own Mystical Countrey and Father Adam's House or natural State by a Holy death to reign in another Spiritual more excellent Life He find's his own Spirit of nature in whatever variety of condition a State of Bondage or House of Bond-Men a Prison a deep dark Dungeon a miery Pit of filth and corruption filth of flesh or spirit litteral or Mystical Sodomy or both out of which by the death thereof he find's it his unspeakable advantage to Ascend come or be brought forth into a larg place in a Life above all death to Reign whereas the old foolish King who will no more be admonish'd hear of the Cross or death-Doctrin of Christ's Gospel-Spirit on the restor'd law-Law-Life of his own wherein he sets up his Kingdom becometh Poor He is even now in this World by Christ and awak'ned Saints seen to be Miserable Poor Blind and Naked as Happy Rich Cleer-sighted and Well-cloathed as he think 's himself He will find this too true at last in eternal Poverty Darkness Nakedness and Death Here are the exceeding different Conclusions they come to even the old foolish King in the birth of a first-Covenant Life fixing himself there in unchangable Enmity to God and the second the incorrigible first-Creation sinner and the poor wise Child broken and undone as to all the fading Life Riches Wisdom and Glory of his own nature and so becoming a truly reigning new-Creation Saint in the spirit of Grace the reigning Gospel-Principle That restor'd natural State which the old foolish King sets up in as his Palace the House of his Kingdom to reign in the poor wise child find's to be a Prison and hasten's out of it as a Spirit of Bondage and Enmity into the true Palace-Light and Glorious Liberty of the Sons of God whom the Son mak's free indeed Where the Spirit of the Lord becom's the principle of Life and action there is true liberty Man's freedom or freewill at best is but a Liberty in Word Figure Letter Shadow not in deed and in truth No true freedom sure in a Spirit of Bondage and Enmity to God a Spirit that 's in Union with World and Devil as the spirit of nature is in all mankind corrupt or righteous Yea so far as uncrucifi'd even in the awak'ned Spiritual Saint himself Ro. 7. and Gal. 5. 17. That renew'd natural State the old foolish King make's his Palace will prove his everlasting prison and dungeon of darkness and death in which he will be shut up for ever as the evil Angels in their narrow Angelical nature All of them shall be dealt with as unchangable Enemies of God and that Heavenly Sanctuary-Spirit that 's his true resting place and the everlasting habitation of blessed Angels and Saints in Chains of everlasting darkness in which reserv'd to the Judgment of the great day The unpardonable sin of Men and Angels is the self-same even a fix'd Enmity against the Holy Ghost God's Gospel-spirit or Heavenly Sanctuary convincingly shewed and offered to them all They were all Created perfect in their own natures Humane and Angelical Ezek. 28. 15. and in Obedient Subjection to the Gospel-Spirit in the Light of it But they soon hated that Life turned from the Light that shew'd it them and this was their Apostasy All this from an evil self-love to the fading Life Wisdom and Glory of their own nature which they chose to set up in in a known contrariety to the reveal'd mind of God and unchangable Enmity to his Spirit of Grace the very Gospel-High-Priest of God the true Melchisedec by whose hand they ought all to have given up that selfish life in Sacrifice to God So become they all Mystical Sodomit's guilty of all the highest and most Criminal Mystical Spiritual Wickednesses Uncleanesses and abominable Idolatries God in Faithfulness Favour and Love to his Saints Plagu's and Chasten's this Rebellious Spirit of nature this Carnal mind of Enmity in them while he gives more then Heart can wish to it in-Enemies to their final ruin Heb. 12. 5-8 Psal. 73. 7. 14. God's giving the old doting Kings their Hearts desire and more is a sore and heavy Judgment on them though they take it for a great favour and Token of his Love to them Desolation and an utter consuming of them with Terrors the true Saint certainly foresees to be the eternal issue of all their Temporal flourish and Prosperity v. 18 19. All the old foolish King dotes on the poor wise Child cast's away as Dung So foolish are the old Mystical Kings and also litteral Heathen Kings of this World as to bandy together against the Lord and his anointed as if hopeful to prevail against the infinite Divine Lord and his Anointed King Jesus with his Saints and Followers Their design is to break their Bands a sunder and cast away from them all their Cords of restraint upon them He that sits in Heaven laugh's at all these foolish Kings He will speak to them in his Wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure Ps. 2. 1-5 Have they an arm like God Can they thunder with a Voice like him What madness to think of prevailing in this Rebellious Insurrection and Contest against the Almighty Divine and Irresistibly Mighty New-Creation Power of Christ These old foolish Humane Kings will all fare as their evil Angelical King the King of all such Kings or Rebellious Children of Pride Job 41. 34. They 'l all 〈◊〉 into the same Condemnation with him will all have their Portion in the same Lake of Fire and Brimstone the Tophet prepar'd of old for them all They 'l be all finally stripp'd of all Power of resisting the Will of God and forc'd to suffer the same to be done upon them in 〈◊〉 Wrath. Then with their everlasting Poverty will they have unutterable Shame and Confusion of Face All they refus'd obediently to part with will be forcibly torn from them in final Wrath. All their fading goodness or beauty 〈◊〉 Consume in their eternal Grave from their dwelling their whole Mystical Houses earthly Habitations or persons all the goodness of that natural State they chose for their dwelling Ps. 49. 14. There 's no middle State for ever between the poor wise Child that will be eternally rich in Heaven and the old rich foolish King that will be eternally poor in Hell The poor wise Child believ's and follow 's the Faithful Sayings of Christ's Spiritual Law or Gospel-spirit the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus He is content willing yea glad
to suffer and die with Christ as to his short Law-liv'd nature that he may Reign with him in his long-liv'd Spirit of Grace 2 Tim. 2. 11 12. 〈◊〉 we be dead and 〈◊〉 with Christ we shall live and reign with him There 's for the poor wise Child If we deny him he will also deny us Ther 's for the old foolish King The 〈◊〉 by death com's out of his Prison-State or natural Spirit of Bondage to Reign The latter King's it like an old doting Fool in his Prison-Spirit of Bondage and Death These old foolish Kings the Mystical Princes of this World under the Devil by God's Permission have bin the self-confident Persecutors and Murderers of Christ and his Spiritual Saints in all Ages Cain a first-Covenant Worshipper of God began this work on Abel a second 〈◊〉 winding up of all true Abel-Saints will be the Fowls of Heaven that are to feed upon or delight themselvs in a Union of Mind with God in the final Slaughter of all such Mystical and Litteral Kings and People of the Earth as are found in unchangable Enmity to God and them Rev. 19. 17-21 Vers. XV. I considered all the living which walk under the Sun with the second Child that shall stand up in his stead Here 's Solomon's confirmation of what has bin said his judgment upon the whole matter in sanctuary-light In this he considered all the living under the mystical first-creation-Sun walking under the Conduct or in the Light of the first-covenant spirit as therein made alive again in some degree by the Redeemer By the unlawful use of this restor'd Life or Light of the Law in enmity to God and his Gospel-spirit of Grace do they bring themselvs into everlasting poverty and nakedness Their immortal spirit as thus pleasing themselvs by taking up their rest for salvation in the restor'd natural righteous Life thereof he considers with their whole man in that state they shall be caused to stand up in for ever in the stead of what they were in this mortal World and Body This second Child or state of Man in the Resurrection will to the Old foolish King be found a state of everlasting darkness and death in a Resurrection of damnation under final and unquenchable wrath The full infliction of wrath is reserved for this second Child in the said Resurrection-state of the whole Man This second Child or state of Man is that in which he must answer by way of suffering for all the evil done by him in his natural body or slate on earth through a willful abuse of the first-covenant Life of the Law in unchangable enmity to God and the Gospel This comes the said old foolish King to Vers. XVI There is no end of all the People even of all that have been before them they also that come after shall not rejoyce in him surely this also is vanity and vexation of Spirit Solomon having consider'd the present generation of old foolish kings in his own day upon earth tells us the case was alway's the same in former and will so be in all after-times of this world So these two last Verses of this Chapter are a farther enlargment as to the Character and future condition of the Old foolish King to Eternity As to the poor wise Child he asserted him in general to be better than the Old foolish King vers 13. Then vers 14. gives his reason for it because he comes out of his Prison to reign with Christ in a state of eternal Life absolute freedom and true blessedness There 's enough for him all that need be said of him But the Old foolish King vers 13. declar'd in general vers 14. amidst all his conceited riches to be poor he farther signifies vers 15. that he will so be found to all eternity And then vers 16. that this is the Case of all the like old foolish Kings in former generations from the beginning of the World and will be found the Case of all of the like spirit in after-Generations to the World's end To the first of these he speaks in the former part of this Verse There is no end of all the People even of all that have been before them There 's no end of their immortal beings and exquisite sensibleness of their whole Persons Body Soul and Spirit in a Resurrection-State of Damnation Annihilation-death they 'l ever desire but never find Such death will ever flee from them And Eternal Life they can never have For though in a general confused random-guess at happiness every one would be happy that Life in which true happiness ever can be found are and wil they be found in a Spirit of unchangeable enmity to Such life then can they never have nor such death as annihilation of their beings or insensibleness in their beings amounts unto however hotly pursued desired or sought by them There 's no end of their being nor yet of their most exquisite sensiblenes therein under the tormenting wrath and fiery indignation of God for ever The immortality of their whole being in a resurrection of damnation will hold them close to 't under punishment for ever in hell for the ill Use they made of their immortal Spirits and mortal first-covenant righteous life thereof while in their mortal Body's upon earth The second Child or whole man body Soul and Spirit put together again in a resurrection-state of immortality as to being is to answer for all done in the mortal body or natural state and life of all 2 Cor. 5. 10. and Ec. 12. 14. Thus will it be with the Old foolish King for ever as to being But as to that Mortal changable first-Covenant righteous Life which he pleased and flatt'red himself with as an endless Life of true blessedness that will come to an end He will find himself rid of all the fading good and comfort of that which he would fain keep and will be kept up for ever in a most desolate wretched State of being under wrath which he would fain be rid of So is he gone every way All he would not have he must have and that for ever and all he would have he will for ever be deprived of without the least relief when Tormented in the flames of God's Wrath so much as by a drop of Water to cool his Tongue Luk. 16. 24. The mortal first-Covenant Life of his immortal Spirit Exspires and Vanishes dies away and ceases with the mortal Life of his Body So such wise old foolish Kings wise in Christ 1 Cor. 4. 10. as to first-Covenant attainments and fixing there in Enmity to the second will die and perish for ever as the Fool or Brutish Sinner of the Gentil's Yea worse will be his final Doom of the two The righteous Mystical Sodomite in the form of Godliness righteousness of Man in his own restor'd nature but Enmity to the Power of it and righteousness of God in his Gospel Life and Spirit of Grace which is filth of Spirit will
latter If they 'l not follow his suffering steps they never come where he is They prefer the earthy life and Countrey of the Creature to the heavenly life of the Creatour Blessed for ever The issue of and for this disobedience matters come to is this God will strip them of and take from them all the fading good they are possess'd of in the mystical earthly Countrey or land of their own restor'd enlighten'd nature as wilfully retain'd in a known rebellion against him The very same Mystical Sword or new-Creation Spirit of Christ and God will be drawn against them in final wrath to destroy them for ever which they so fear'd startl'd at and turn'd from when offer'd to be brought upon them in love to give them a kindly and right death-pass into the true land of promise Had they willingly obey'd it they had enter'd and eaten the good of the true land of promise But having absolutely and conclusively refused it and rebell'd against it they 'l be devour'd by the same sword or Spiritual cross upon them for ever The mouth of the Lord the living word of God Christ himself hath spoken it Isa. 1. 19 20. Obediently lose the fading life of nature and enter Rebelliously save pitty spare your own life and ye lose all for ever in eternal death under final wrath This is Christ's doctrin Mat. 16. 25. And this Christ presently deliver'd on Satan's contrary doctrin by an Apostle with the perswasive and seeming friendly words of his wisdom When he had spoken of his sufferings Peter rebuk'd him and preach'd the self-same doctrin to him the Old Serpent preach'd to Eve and by her to Adam Be it far from thee Lord this shall not be unto thee that is thou shalt not suffer or die at all This Spotless righteous law-law-life in holy flesh is eternal life no danger of death The Gospel-Riddle uninterpretable by Man's Wisdom is this die must nature or all 's lost nature and grace too all good in first or second covenant changable or unchangable And what succeeds unchangable evil of sin and punishment The obedient death of nature under the cross the full sevenfold purifying of it in the fiery furnace thereof from all dross tin and reprobate silver all filth of flesh and Spirit too renders man clean every whit Jo. 13. 10. This delivers him for ever from all captivities bondages enemies dangers and death's litteral and mystical Sodom Egypt and Babylon the life of nature corrupt or righteous both of which are a state of enmity to God and death to man if fix'd in Thou shalt never wash my feet said Peter No say's Christ then thou wilt have no part in me Oh then not my feet only but hands and head said Peter If feet be wash'd 't is enough say's Christ there need 's no more to make perfectly clean every whit whole and spiritually sound If the feet the will and understanding the two mystical feet on which man walks in his esteem judgment thought of and desire after things if these be Spiritual Heavenly Gospel-feet the discerning and desiring powers of the Gospel-Spirit and principle all will go right Heavenly things never-perishing meats will be wholly and only esteem'd desir'd and fed upon in this bottom-principle All will be right a-top in all Holy Gospel-Conversation when all 's right at bottom A Spirit greater then he that 's in the World the Devil in which 't is impossible to displease God Sin erre miscarry deceive or be deceived must needs ever do all things well and man be truly blessed in the deeds thereof The extream folly then of man in not only deferring but finally refusing to pay his engaged commanded vow for giving up his whole nature or Spirit the devoted thing in sacrifice by death unto God is unpardonable And then God will be extream and that most justly in marking all done amiss by him in his self-chosen nature and life He will call him to an account for every thing done therein from first to last This great transgression the presumptuous unpardonable sin unto eternal death will bring all other sin 's at its heels to be answer'd for as creditors come upon a man for lesser debts when clapt up in prison for a great one And then will every Spiritual conviction offered men in the day of their trial and God's patience towards them be reviv'd in them and stare them in the face to witness against them judg and condemn them in harmony with God himself When man's trial is over and sentence of death irrevocably past upon him God will not repent or change from his dispensation of wrath and man cannot repent or change from his rebellious mind of enmity against God Repentance will be hid from God's eyes and man's on all hands Unchangable enmity to God lay's man under the unchangable wrath of God thrust's him out of all distance as to any favour for ever or benefit by Christ's sacrifice or intercession Christ died not nor will intercede for the pardon of unchangable enmity to God and him And God will revive his formerly given Spiritual light to testify for him against them in their own consciences the evidence whereof can never be silenc'd extinguish'd or denied by them The irresistible testimony of it will be a perpetual condemner of them and justifier of God in his most wrathfull proceedings against them This is the worm never dies witnessing the fire of that wrath to be undeniably just which can never be quench'd Mark 9. 44. 46. 48. Vers. 6. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to Sin neither say thou before the Angel 70. before God that it was an errour wherefore should God be angry at thy voice and destroy the work of thine hands The Spirit of man at best in its own life is but flesh The life mind will desire thought wisdom righteousness glory all the things thereof are but sleshly earthly perishing vanities Man in all altogether vanity is possess'd of no goodness but what 's a fading flower no beauty no glory but what will be consumed and done away Ps. 39. 5. and 49. 14. Isa. 40. 6. Man in all this is the slesh his mouth should not cause to sin Mouth as said signifies all manner of expression of this slesh 〈◊〉 mind or natural Spirit inward or outward in desire thought word or action If the inmost mouth bottom desire and thought of man be found approving of and consenting unto the entering into a firm unchangable union with the Devil the striking up an everlasting covenant with him then does it cause his flesh or natural Spirit to sin unpardonably against the Spirit of Grace the Gospel-Spirit or Holy Ghost in which convincingly shew'd he ought to enter into or strike a new and everlasting covenant with God His knowing wilful choice is rather to comply with the Devil in a fond self-destroying love to himself or his own life and nature to be by his most destructive workmanship Baptized into
Capacity and lawfull Calling in this World diligently performing his Duty and referring the issue and success of his labours to Providence without any carking solicitud's or murmuring repining thoughts against God when cross'd in his expectations and disappointed of his hopes has rest and quiet to himself therein Such a one however low in outward Riches Solomon preferr's as to outward worldly Happiness before the litteral covetous rich man that from excessive inordinate Love to such Wealth robb's and deprives himself of all right comfort therein His solicitous self-tormenting thoughtfulness for getting and keeping such Wealth and then fear of losing all again all which the other is freed from render him a very 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 His abundance of Riches fills his Heart with abundance of trouble and disquiet as well as his Coffers with Silver which will not suffer him to rest or sleep Through this vanity under the litteral first-creation Sun Solomon saw such Riches downright hurtfull to the Owners thereof instead of being of any benefit or advantage to them Semblably the inward Riches of man's Spirit under the mystical first-creation Sun the enlightning enlivening fructifying influence of Christ as a fleshly Bride-groom in his first-covenant Spirit Single upon man's nature Laodicean Treasures heaped up and trusted in and to by man for true Happiness produce the same restlesness and disquiet to him Full of solicitud's is he in getting and keeping and of Fears about losing all again as the litteral covetous rich man is Is there not a cause for such Jealousies and Fears All 's but a vain shew in Holy Flesh a first-covenant Spirit of bondage and fear about his known perishing vanities refusing Christ's convincingly shew'd and offer'd durable Riches and true Freedom even the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God in his Gospel-Spirit or perfect Law of Liberty to good only and that good unchangable That 's Freedom indeed to purpose Heb. 2. 15. 2 Cor. 3. 17. Joh. 8. 32. 36. Jam. 1. 25. and 2. 12. The Truth Christ's Gospel-Spirit of Truth makes us Christ's true freemen though in letter man's Servants 1 Cor. 7. 22. And the Master that 's free in letter if effectually call'd by Christ into his heavenly Life of true freedom is his Servant Christ's new-covenant Law or Gospel-Spirit of Life by its death-work on our old or first-covenant law-Spirit of Sin Bondage Enmity and Death sets us free from Sin and Death Rom. 8. 2. all vain Trouble Bondage and Fear He that 's so dead is freed from Sin Rom. 6. 7. ceases for ever from it 1 Pet. 4. 1. Vers. XIII There is a sore Evil which I have seen under the Sun namely Riches kept for the Owners thereof to their hurt This with the Verse before and four following joyntly Character the folly and misery of the litteral and mystical covetous rich Man the former as a Type of the latter One of them is fill'd with cares and solicitud's about making provision for his bodily ease the other is as busy about provisions for his Soul's ease Luk. 12. 16-19 Both of them trade but in perishing vanities 'T is but for perishing meats that gratify the evill Lust's the Belly Desire or Appetite of a mortal perishable Life of Body and Soul these two sorts of foolish Labourers Toil and fill their Heads and Hearts with vain self-tormenting cares and solicitud's All 's but to compass and finger the vain Delights of the Sons of men Nothing of the never-perishing Life and Meats of the Son of God delights of the Sons of God are admitted into their regard God is not in all or any of their thoughts Psal. 10. 4. Nothing of God's Christ's new-creature Life is sought after They 'l not come to him for it nor regard it when he comes and offers it to them Ioh. 5. 40. How oft would I have gather'd you together unto me under my divine and Creature-wings in this Life and ye would not Mat. 23. 37. Ye are all for your selves your own Life will have none of me or mine Then take your course ye shall never have mine at all never enter into my rest So will be left to your own desolate house for ever V. 38. The mystical rich man delightfully contemplat's the Beauty Fruitfulness and Riches of his own enlight'ned nature and too oft arrivesat this highest point of Spiritual wickedness as the result of his own wisdom to strike up an everlasting-covenant-union with the Devil He agrees to receive by his transforming Hel-fire-Baptism an advance of his own nature out of a narrower changably evil humane capacity into a wider and unchangably evil angelical This by suffering Satan to fill his Heart with his Spirit of unchangable enmity to God This is the making man's mystical House or Barns greater Luk. 12. 18 the enlarging and heightning his natural capacity by a kind of mystical death through Satan's false cross-work or counterfeit mortification for the death of man's Spirit of nature on his engagement by covenant and satisfying assurance that he will raise and catch him up out of that mystical Grave into his higher wiser stronger more excellent and capacious angelical nature Thus by bargain does he touch man's Spirit with the transforming alterative assimilating touch of his and translate him out of his narrower humane into his larger angelical capacity of the first-creation sort Man rather chooses this heightning and enlargment in his own way and after his own heart in the first-creation state of nature which renders him a man after the Devil 's own Heart in unchangable enmity to God then such destruction of his fleshly nature or whole natural state and life at best as leaves him no hopes of ever finding himself in a single natural first-creation-life more for ever but in a spiritual and heavenly by a new-creation in the new everlasting covenant Gospel-principle God's Spirit of Grace and Truth The assimilating transformingwork of Christ's Spiritual Cross or heavenly fire-baptism upon man would translate him if obediently submitting thereto and compliant therewith into the life of God's sacrificing Gospel high-Priest of our Profession or of that very Spirit and fiery law of liberty Deut. 33. 2. Jam. 1. 25 that puts his Law or lawless Spirit of bondage enmity and Death to Death with engagement by Covenant to raise it into the everlasting Life and Glorious liberty of the Sons of God Satan will Personate this very high Priest of God and God himself 2 Thes. 2. 4. And he will transform his higher Angelical excellencies and capacity into the likeness or neerest possible resemblance of Christ's new-creation Glories This is the top-stone of his mystery of iniquity the strongest delusion by which this most subtle old Serpent Dragon and roaring Lion deceives and devours men when and where God permitt's for his own most wise and holy ends Think what this choice of man under Gospel-conviction-Light to joyn unchangably with the Devil rather than with God deservs In order to secure their
under the mystical first-creation Sun the first covenant Spirit as to all their fruits and Laodicean riches heap'd up there as in the litteral Rich man under that Sun that produces the litteral riches and fruits of this Earth we tread upon The influence rain anointings gifts enlightnings and comforting warmth of Christ 〈◊〉 his single distributions of first-covenant light and life as a fleshly Bridegroom and Comforter makes men first-covenant Saints in holy cleans'd flesh or a righteous natural State freed in degree from the pollutions of their sormer polluted worldly nature This makes them 〈◊〉 fruitful rich full flourishing wise strong and honourable there in holy flesh by such knowledg and experience of Christ after the flesh Christ's mystical husbandry and husbandly influence upon them there has these real effects upon them brings them a-fresh into the 〈◊〉 of godliness and real righteousness of man in the image of the earthy or first Adam restored and put upon them as a comeliness and beauty all which yet is but a 〈◊〉 flower a perishing 〈◊〉 as at first in Adam And now also filth of spirit or enmity to God's divine and new-creature Gospel-spirit of grace is inseparable from this restor'd life of holy flesh This disease therefore is curable only by the obedient death and loss of all this again for Christ's spiritual Gospel everlasting righteous new-creation life by which to become one with him there as married to him in that life into which he is risen out of the Death of that Law-life of holy-flesh in his own person Rom. 7. 1-4 These first-covenant Brethren Children and Spouses of Christ in the first-covenant finally refusing the terms of being Married to him in the second which is the death and loss of all their fading vanities come to be Married to the Devil for ever and so of a changable spouse and people become not only no spouse children or people of God but a very Synagogue of Satan 〈◊〉 the mystery and power of Godliness they are finally catch'd and for ever swallowed up in Satan's mystery of 〈◊〉 Such righteous first-covenanters in Law-life thus joyning unchangably with the Devil in an everlasting Marriage-Union with him hated all Christ's spiritual Gospel-Doctrine and Crucified the Lord of Glory put to a temporal Death the very Prince of everlasting life These drive a more dangerous trade with their vanities then the litteral Rich man with his Paul and all spiritual Saints follow Christ's suffering steps out of the Glory and Life to be done away into the Glory that excell's and Life that remain's for ever This is the rendring any man truly blessed And this in great variety of Scripture-language and Figurative Parabolical instruction is signified to men by the voice of the true Shepherd and wisdom of God the words of his heavenly Gospel-spirit in himself and Saints But man notwithstanding all that can be said pitches his foot resolutely in harmony with Satan for Salvation in the but restor'd earthy first-covenant life of his own nature in his own will and way after his own heart which in fine render's him a man after Satan's own heart They so interpret all Scripture by the words of their own wisdom and in their lying spirit of divination as to warrant this a state of true and everlasting blessedness This Doctrin in all its variety is the Doctrin of Devils and no better the self same the Serpent Preach'd to Eve and prevail'd in Gen. 3. 4. Ezek. 13. 6. So have ye Satan's and his Apostles accursed other Gospel-Ministry in flat contrariety to every word of Christ's If ye follow it ye must take what follow 's for ever the wrath to come be as jocund and confident as ye will now This has been Satan's and Man 's delusive cursed other Gospel that 's no. Gospel from the beginning and will be to the end of this world under all variety of dispensation from God before and under written Law or Gospel the Oracles of God in a sound of words which make up the Scriptures of Truth the holy Bible or Book of God a transcript of the living Oracles of God in the person of Christ the living creature-wisdom word and book of God's whole very Divine mind and counsels about the Salvation of his Creatures Angels and Men and the supream Prophet and declarer thereof Prov. 1. 20-23 and 8. 1-9 Man and Angel must die as to first-creation 〈◊〉 at best that 's but vanity and a fading flower say's 〈◊〉 No such matter says the Devil and say his Gospel-ministries in all their tosses variety of thought and clashing language of their wisdoms Ye shall not die at all No danger or death is incident to you to be suspected or feared by you in your righteous cleans'd natural State Here 's the universal clash and contrariety of Satans lying and Christs true Gospel which will ye choose O simple ones Object 1. The willingly deluded followers of Satan's object against Christ's that 't is but one and the same thing whereas that they call Satan's has great variety Hear you say they or turn your books while we will open them at any leaf we find still one and the same thing insisted on 'T is all one where we open or what we read 〈◊〉 What amounts this objection to That Christ's Gospel-words are in exact harmony thorow-out and Man's and Satan's Babel-gospel has great confusion of Language and contradicting words proceeding from contrary Opinions Thoughts or Apprehensions larded with a world of fine stories similies and perswasive words of man's eloquent wisdom But all uniformly against and contrary to all Christ's 〈◊〉 Gospel to a Tittle This variety tickles the itching Ear 2 Tim. 4. 3. and gratifies that Palate in man which with Satans savour's only the many natural things of Man or Angel in the first creation and not at all the one thing necessary that 's comprehensive of all the things of Christ and God communicable to Men in the second Object 2. We deny say Satan's Gospellers there 's any creature-life or spirit distinct from what God set up men and Angels in by the 〈◊〉 creation above that or between that and the infinite divine life 〈◊〉 spirit And this is that fill's all your Books and is the substance of your pretended-gospel And this higher creature life you call the life of God and the wisdom righteousness and all the things of it the wisdom righteousness and things of God What can you mean by all this save the very 〈◊〉 life the eternal righteousness and wisdom And we hold a swallowing up of creatur's beings and wills at last into the Divine life and will of God Answ. What 's this at bottom but annihilation of Man and Angel and then God is where and what he was from Eternity and nothing of the Creature in any sense or capacity remain's at all Here 's the sum of the controversie between hypocritical Sinners in Zion pretending to right saving Saintship in renew'd naturals first-covenant
its utmost growth flourish and fruitfulness is but a fading flower the mystical natural tree of God's left-hand-planting distinguish'd from the incorruptible seed 1 Pet. 1. 23. of his right-hand-planting by a new-creation which springs up in spiritual Saints prospers into an everlasting Kingdom-state rendring them mystical Gospel-trees the fruits whereof are incorruptible and the very leaves such as never wither or 〈◊〉 away Psal. 1. 3. This spiritual tree of Life will be known by its fruits in distinction from the natural fleshly tree all the fruits whereof are as the root and tree they grow upon perishing Vanities The new Name or Life of the new-Creature Gospel-spirit or living Word of God set up in man can never be turn'd into a lie Man's old name and fading first-covenant Law-life at best when asserted to be a spiritual Gospel-state of everlasting Life and Salvation is turn'd into a flat lie and falshood and all the things births works fruits and products thereof and in though good in their kind when call'd spiritual and confidently rested in for Salvation are all lies and enmity to God and his Gospel-Spirit of Truth Renew'd nature call'd Grace the renew'd old or natural Man with his first Covenant righteous Life and Name call'd the new-creature the spiritual Saint with the new covenant-Covenant-Life and Gospel-Name all these are dangerous destructive lies In sum the good Name and precious Oyntment here are the differing characters of first and second-Covenant Life The former through the said mistake Paul found to be a body a law a state of sin and death Rom. 7. 24. 8. 2. which the new-covenant law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus freed him from by putting his nature therein to death The Spirit of life is the death of death when it puts the law-spirit of Enmity and Death to death in the Saint utterly abolishing all the Anointings or said precious Ointment receiv'd in the natural state and giving all again with usury in the unchangeable life and transcendently more precious anointing of the spiritual Man Man in restor'd first-Covenant Law-life is apt as Paul once to despise and reject all Gospel-Tydings or witness of the second The good Name imports a transcendently higher and better anointing then the precious Oyntment here can signify For then the spiritual there is no better kind of precious ointment receivable by or communicable to Man This true meaning of the Holy Ghost in Solomon as to this former will much conduce to and facilitate the opening of the latter clause of this verse And the day of Death then the day of one's Birth The stress of these words can't lie in the literal sence which cannot hold generally nor mostly true For the literal death of the vast number of wicked men is abundantly worse then the day of their litteral birth and life in this World Man though born dead in Sin is capable of a restauration-birth of a first-Covenant life in his Spirit which puts him under hopeful advantages and possibilities of a new-creation-birth of an everlasting righteous Life These hopes are utterly cut off from all that die in their Sins as all that die in a state of enmity to God and his Spirit of Grace and everlasting Life do This necessitates the allowing a mystical meaning to these Words which is this The death of Man's Spirit as to all natural first-creation life 〈◊〉 or first-Covenant righteous obediently submitted to with certain hope of a Resurrection into the life of Christ's Gospel-Spirit that slay's and offers it up in sacrifice to God as he serv'd our nature at best in his own person is transcendently better then the Birth and utmost flourish thereof in him For now is he much forwarder on his way in the right method and death-pass towards an everlasting righteous new-Covenant life Paul counted the former dung to the latter and suffer'd the loss of all therein for it Phil. 3. 7 8. If Man submit not to the terms and ways of arriving at this new birth for a newness of life he will come to a latter end worse then his beginning in either of his two former Births litteral or mystical of bodily or first-Covenant life eternal death By obediently losing and quitting the former natural or Law-life for a spiritual Gospel-one he comes to a latter end better then any of his beginnings in Adam before the fall or since in his own said twofold personal birth eternal life A rebellious pitying and sparing our own nature in the first-covenant life thereof loses all for ever An obedient giving it up to death and right losing it saves all Matth. 16. 25. The Spirit or inner natural Man when crucified and raised into Christ's spiritual life the death or dissolution of the body is not fear'd but desir'd as by Paul He earnestly long'd and groan'd after the shaking off and being perfectly rid of the dusty mortal perishing earthly life and state of his whole natural Man body and spirit 2 Cor. 5. 1 4. and so to be wholly at home with the Lord ver 6. in the intire single uninterrupted exercise of spiritual life amongst the best company the pure unchangeable Friends of that life blessed Angels and Saints departed In this World the Saint is surrounded with innumerable Enemies thereof very burdensome ill unpleasing company to him In the birth and utmost flourish of a first-covenant Law-life we are still under Satan's power and delusive influence He can deceive us into the same perdition with himself by that very righteous life By inducing Men to over-value and and rest in it and on it for Salvation he brings them into unchangeable Union with himself in Enmity to God When perfectly crucified as to the life of the Law raised into the life of the Gospel we are not under the Law but under Grace Then Sin and Satan have lost their dominion over us for ever We wholly cease and are freed from both and all all enemies and dangers whatsoever Rom. 6. 7 -14. 1 Pet. 4. 1. The birth of a first-Covenant life gives not full victory over Satan the right death of Nature and loss of it does Therefore better on all hands as the only way to free us from death and set us up in eternal life The right full death of Man's Law-spirit of bondage delivers him from all bondage and fear of death for ever which all their first-Covenant life-time Men are continually subject to Heb. 2. 15. Vers. 2. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting for that is the end of all Men and the living will lay it to his heart The house of mourning or state of sorrow to the natural Man under the death-blows of the Gospel-Sword or spiritual cross of Christ is better for him to go into and be in then the house of feasting in the most joyful fruitful life and exercise thereof in a first-Covenant state For therein draws he nearer to a heavenly
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
The broken-spirited Saint as to all that has the praise of God Luk. 16. 15. Rom. 2. 29. One such contrite-spirited Man God value's more than all Angels and Men in the unbroken excellencies of the whole first-creation Isa. 66. 2. How vastly distant are God's thoughts and Man's in this matter Again the more sad and marr'd the Countenance or visage of the natural or old Man in the Saint under the dispensation and discipline of the Cross the better is his heart the more thriving prosperous and fruitful in spiritual life The Spiritual Man rises as the natural decays and falls The decay and sorrow of the old Man is abundantly over-answer'd by the encreasing joy of the new To the full death of the old does immediatly succeed a compleatness of spiritual life in the new As the outer or natural Man perishes the inner or spiritual is renew'd day by day 2 Cor. 4. 16 -18. The light and short affliction of the former work 's for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory in the latter and Rom. 8. 18. Hereby comes Man to be rid of all bondage and regard of ensnaring vanities things temporal delights of the Sons of Men and to be advanc'd into the glorious liberty of the Sons of God so as to look at and set his affections upon things eternal only ver 21. Lo then the plentiful harvest-sheaves they that sow in the Tear's of their natural Man shall reap in the Joy of their spiritual Psal. 126. 6. The decay of the life and glory of Man in the first-Covenant attended with an encrease of the never-fading creature-life glory wisdom and righteousness of God in the second render's his heart less after Man's but more after God's own heart with David and so better The unchangeable good new-creature life only with all the things and never-perishing meats thereof in the Man-Christ or his Saints and followers have God's approbation-Seal as is implied John 6. 27. Vers. 4. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth Here are the contrary places or states in which the mystical wise and fools are found as the certain evidence of their wisdom or folly The latter take up for happiness in the flourishing fruitful life of their own restor'd nature This in a known wilful contrariety to the spiritual Law and Example of Christ himself In such place or state by them chosen will they be chain'd up as a Prison of everlasting darkness and death under wrath So will their house of feasting be turned into a house of everlasting mourning torment and vexation of spirit And this will they as a signal aggravation thereof be forc'd by God's awakn'd convictions in them to own as the fruit of their own device invention and wilful choice against all fair warning In a perfect contrariety to these merry travellers to the Chambers of death and their own everlasting confusion are the truly wise in the house of mourning under the cross as their secret Chamber of safety shutting their doors Isa. 26. 20. window's or natural senses outward and inward from all first-creation desireables visible or invisible Satan's perishing meats the dust himself feeds on By this means are they not exposed as all not under the Cross are to be catch'd in and with the ensnaring vanities of this world At winding up out come the reputed fools under the cross into an everlasting house of feasting and down sink their scoffing blasphemous enemies heathen or people Psal. 2. 1. fix'd in nature corrupt or righteous and so in unchangeable enmity to God and them into a house or state of eternal mourning Saints are content to pass thro' all sorts of reproach shame and much tribulation without and within knowing whither they are going even to the Kingdom of God Act. 14. 22. Joh. 16. 33. In the world ye shall have tribulation The world is full of enemies round about them corrupt and righteous Men are all enemies to the Life and Righteousness of God in the spiritual Saint Thus does Solomon distinguish and character by the marks of wisdom and folly the contarry-minded inhabitants of the two houses on the Sand and on the Rock Vers. 5. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a Man to hear the song of fools Here 's the cause and ground whence the said wisdom and folly come to be practis'd The wise obediently hearken to the voice and rebuk's of Wisdom Christ his death-reproofs upon their spirit of nature that they may receive his Spirit of Grace Prov. 1. 20 -23. They receive and submit to the chastning Discipline of the Cross according to the reveal'd and known methods of God's Wisdom for Salvation On the other hand fools listen to the pleasing voice and charming song of folly it-self in Devils and Men their accursed other Gospel for Salvation in the restor'd life of nature Man's quiet submitting to wisdom's sentence of death within him upon that life they preach up and warrant for Salvation is unspeakably better for him then to regard the delusive destructive song and flattering voice of fools that set up the first-covenant law-life and righteousness of Man most falsely calling it a Gospel-state and righteousness of God This Gospel or glad Tydings if true Satan preached to Eve Ye shall not die at all Ye have eternal life in this first-creation state or life of your own nature The righteous life of nature in Man or Angel is Eternal This is Man's and Satan's other Gospel in perfect contradiction to Christ's and the only way of Salvation He that hear's the reproof of the spirit of life on his spirit of enmity and death get's true understanding and abideth among the wise Prov. 15. 31 32. He that refuses it destroy's his own Soul Here are the infallible characters of Wisdom and Folly The only way to get true Wisdom and Life is to quit and lose our shadowy under the Cross. To be fools with Paul as to all Men do have delight in or feed upon in the first-Covenant that we may find the Life and Wisdom of God in the second 1 Cor. 3. 18. 4. 10. God declares that all who refuse the chastisments of his Cross to the death of their continually sinning spirit of Nature are Bastards and not Sons in his never-sinning spirit of Grace Heb. 12. 8. 1 Joh. 3. 9. So shall not be provided for in his house In short the rebuke of the wise leads to eternal life the song of fools to eternal death Vers. 6. For as the crackling Voice or Sound of thorns under a pa so is the laughter of the Fool this also is Vanity Here 's a true character of the short-liv'd joy song and laughter 〈◊〉 fools All mirth in first-creation life is but as the crackling of thorns under a pot a short blaze and away This is all the delights of the Sons 〈◊〉 Men amount unto All the fine song or
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
Christ's new and heavenly his natural for Christ's spiritual creature-life and possessions A conclusive refusal to part with all we have is a final parting-blow between God and Man Paul found Corinthian Professors bewitch'd Galatians and belly-God Philippians dangerously engag'd towards a sixure in this most presumptuous Sin and Error 1 Cor. 4. 8. 2 Cor. 11. 2 3. Gal. 3. 1 -4. Phil. 3. 18 19. And Christ found a first-Covenant party in enmity to the second in most or all the seven Churches Rev. 2. 3. In Laodicea scarce any other and all this under the outward dispensation and ministry of the Gospel owning themselves as Gospel-Professors And what or who else in a manner at this day can we find but such anti-Gospel-Gospellers in all variety of opinion form and way All the highly pretending and conceited Children of the Kingdom in the most sublimated Church-forms or purest Churches in but restor'd first-covenant Law-principles without advance by exchange and Gospel-conversion will be found at a loss and cast or kept out of the Kingdom of Christ as not at all of his new-Covenant Gospel-spirit of Grace and Truth 'T is in the heavenly Wisdom of this only Men can attain the sight and inheritance of the most glorious divine Sun and of the new-creation Sun of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mal. 4. 2. in the Mediator's person which is the greatest gain the highest prosit and advantage Man or Angel can receive or enjoy to all eternity This 〈◊〉 proves ver 12. Vers. 12. For Wisdom is a defence Heb. shadow and mony is a desence but the excellency of knowledg is that Wisdom giveth life to them that have it Here 's a distinguishing character of the first and second covenant spirits Lives Wisdoms with or by the effects riches and priviledges of each The Wisdom and mystical mony or riches of the first are a defence against the rude assaults the unruly brutish motions of the corrupt state of nature and do make up to Man all he thinks he needs for eternal life 1 Cor. 4. 8. Rev. 3. 17. But through the fading nature of all that life and riches and evil use of it in preference and opposition to the durable life and true riches in the Gospel-spirit of God all 's spoil'd Man's inordinate love to the former is that love of mony that 's the root of all evil against God and to himself evil of sin and punishment It renders all the mammon of unrighteousness as preferr'd to the 〈◊〉 riches of Christ in his infinite divine and everlasting righteous new-creation Life First-creation Life with the riches thereof is to be allow'd its due as good in its kind and lawful use for suppressing the unruly desires thoughts and motions of the corrupt state of Nature Man so using it is faithful to the Light afforded him by Christ in the first Covenant as a fleshly Bridegroom But then farther is he to follow this Bridegroom in the death and loss of all this fading life and riches Wisdom and Mony for what in spiritual conviction-Light is shew'd and offer'd him by Christ as a better Bridegroom and Comforter in the second This second and principal thing done as the passive part of obedience requir'd in the right and lawful use of all in the first Covenant law-state God is well-pleased and Man saved But be Man never so faithful in the active obedience performable in his law-life if he refuse to perform or yield to the requir'd passive obedience all his active turns in conclusion to no account at all Himself is turn'd out of God's house for ever as but that servant in his own law-spirit of bondage that refus'd to become a Son of God in his Gospel-spirit of glorious liberty that makes free indeed Jo. 8. 35 36. The truth the Gospel-spirit of Truth makes Man truly free ver 32. Where or in whomsoever that Spirit is is liberty 2 Cor. 3. 17. The Gospel-law of the Spirit of life is the perfect law of liberty It renders Man free not to but from all sin and death at last Rom. 8. 2. Jam. 1. 25. Man's spirit of bondage chosen before and against God's spirit of true freedom becom's a house a prison a state of eternal death to him If Man use his law-life aright as to the first end for which restor'd and miss the appointed and declared second all comes to worse then nothing for ever He misses that true Wisdom that gives and is eternal life to them that have it This the Law-life and best Wisdom of Man can never give or be to him Gal. 3. 21. Vers. 13. Consider the work of God for who can make that straight which he hath made crooked Consider well the life and state of Men and Angels as the first-creation Workmanship of God's hand and you 'l find it crooked first comparatively To the second make of them by his new-creating Workmanship all the fading goodness Life Wisdom Glory and Righteousness of the first are as nothing no Glory 2 Cor. 3. 10. If the Glory and other things of Man in the first be not only presumptuously compared with but preferr'd and exalted into a jusling competition with and opposition to the Life Glory Wisdom Righteousness Works Fruits and things of God offer'd them by a new and second Creation this renders all such things worse then nothing Yea if this be finally wilfully and conclusively done the Glory Wisdom Light Life Righteousness all things of Man are turn'd into unspeakable shame utmost folly and highest wickedness to which belong utter Darkness and eternal Death The corruptible seed 1 Pet. 1. 23. of God's left-hand planting in Man's or Angel's natural first-creation-make and state at its utmost growth flourish and fruitfulness amounts but to a fading flower Man in all at best is altogether Vanity This fleshly state of Life was figur'd by the tree of good and evil before the fall Since the fall 't is always evil root and branch tree and fruit silth of 〈◊〉 or spirit are found in all its operations fruits products or performances root and branch When Paul was eminent in the restor'd righteous law-life of Man how fiercely did he persecute the Gospel or new-Creature life of Christ in himself and Saints That was filth of Spirit enmity and despite to the very Gospel spirit of Grace in which any can be saved 't was a sinning against the holy Ghost but ignorantly When done knowingly and so wilfully t is the presumptuous unpardonable Sin unto Death God made Man upright set up in him a first-Covenant-life perfect in its kind but fallible corruptible changeable loseable as all mankind have sadly experienc'd by the first error of humane nature at best in the first Man Now what is corruptible God calls corruption The natural seed of a first-Covenant life cast into Man in his natural first-creation make and fashion of being was sown in corruption dishonour weakness By the obedient death of Man therein 't is rais'd in Incorruption Glory Power a spiritual
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.
him in his spiritual Rom. 8. 13. The right death of what 's expos'd to all snares deaths and enemies attacks delivers out of and from them all from all snares of Satan on the right and left hand calculated to the self-interest palate and desire of Nature in the corrupt or righteous life and principles thereof in order to lodg all he can in unchangeable enmity to God with himself God warns all sorts of Sinners as to Satan's various snares if therefore caught therein 't is at their own peril Their destruction is singly of themselves by their own choice Ezek. 3. 17 21. Prov. 8. 36. Vers. 19. Wisdom strength'neth the wise more then ten mighty Men which are in the City The Wisdom or living Word of God the Gospel-Spirit of Christ makes all the truly wise partakers thereof Spiritual Saints stronger and wiser too then all that 's found in the first-creation-state of Men and Angels 1 Joh. 4. 4. This new-creature-wisdom of God by which the Worlds were made Gen. 1. 1. Jo. 1. 1 3. Col. 1. 15 -- 19. Heb. 1. 2. Wheresoever it is or in whomsoever admits no comparison of any first-Creation Power Glory or Excellencies with it Prov. 3. 13 19. 2 Cor. 3. 10. The evil Angels with their Luciferian head as the supream invisible Principalities Powers and Rulers of this dark World may fitly be represented by the ten mighty Men in the universal City Province or Dominion thereof The truly wise Saint in the Life Light Strength Power and Armour of God can discover all the devices and vanquish all the power the mystical Goliah and his Philistine Army can come forth against him with True Spiritual Davids in the new name and power of the Lord will be too hard for them all will be more then conquerours over the whole incorporated first-creation City of evil Angels and Men. Their weapons are spiritual and mighty through God to beat down the City and strongest forts thereof about the ears of the rebellious defendants that have fortified themselves against the new Jerusalem City of God The enemy has none but carnal weapons fleshly Wisdom Power Strength and Arms perishing Vanities Saints with spiritual will tumble down all their strong holds and every high thing that exalts it self against God and them They have in a readiness Power to revenge all such disobedience of Man and Angel when their own Gospel-life and obedience is compleated 2 Cor. 10. 4 6. Vers. 20. For there is not a just man upon earth that doth good and sinneth not This confirm's what is said v. 19. There 's not one man amongst all men in their earthy first-creation life and wisdom at best without sin in God's sight Yea their highest righteousness and wisdom oppos'd to God's are the most criminal wickedness and folly There 's none truly righteous among them all no not one None in their earthly spirit or natural state corrupt or righteous understands or seeks after God in his spiritual new-creation life So are they all unprofitable to themselves as to true blessedness because not one of them does that good in God's sight that 's of any conducibleness or tendency thereunto They rebel against swell with indignation and despite to his offer'd Spirit of Grace wherein alone any can ever please him or be saved Their throat is an open Sepulcher to belch out blasphemies threatnings and slaughter against it or any that own or talk of it in its own words and wisdom 〈◊〉 tongues are deceitful the poison of Asps is under their lips their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness against it their feet are swift to shed the blood of any that declare it From Cain downwards to the end of this World Satan's reign and man's day all 's of a piece one uniform spirit of contradiction to and rebellion against the Spirit of God and all its words Destruction and misery are in their way 's and the way of peace have they not known They have no fear of God before their eyes Yet flatter they themselves as true fearers of God at peace with him and in the very way to Salvation If good words fair speeches and most 〈◊〉 self-pleasing imaginations will do 't they are in a fair way to blessedness while they are serving their own belly gratifying their own lust and desire in direct enmity to God Christ all Gospel-Saints and Truths Rom. 16. 18. They 〈◊〉 peace peace to themselves and others where there 's no peace and say the Lord saith when 't is Satan and their own lying spirit of divination saith so Ezek. 13. 6 -- 10. They have not known or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 foot in the way of peace with God but Satan's way of enmity to him And in all this with their leader are they bold confident and fearless behave themselves as Satans Children of pride without fear Rom. 3. 9 -- 18. Job 41. 33 34. There 's not a just man upon Earth in the restor'd righteous life and image of the earthy that sinneth not There 's not a man perfectly free from filth of flesh the vile affections of the corrupt spirit of nature and filth of spirit or enmity to God and his Spirit of Grace is inseparable from the most restor'd righteous life of Nature since the Fall Only by the perfect death of the spirit of Nature under the Cross can this enmity be slain and utterly abolish'd out of any man So there 's a very great mixture of sin in any possible fading good found in or performable by man in his highest renewal Enmity to God lurks under all their fair shews in holy flesh form of Godliness righteousness of man This spoil's all The perpetually sinning life of Nature utterly abolish'd by death and the never-sinning-never-sinning-life of God's Spirit of Grace set up in the room thereof can render any man truly and fully just in God's sight He that 's so dead ceases or is freed from all sin justified before God for ever in a newness of life that 's above all death 1 Pet. 4. 1. Rom. 6. 7. Vers. 21. Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken lest thou hear thy Servant curse thee In letter here 's a prudent walking requir'd by not troubling ones self with regarding or harbouring any revengeful thoughts against others for their injurious words But as the chief intendment is advice here given to the spiritual wise Man as to his deportment towards the natural in his own person made clean wise aud righteous in first-creation principles The spiritual is to take heed to any words or doctrine proceeding from this natural so as to follow the direction or counsel of its fallible wisdom and judgment about things pertaining to God and his own Salvation lest he hear this natural Servant that would fain be dictating and ruling as a Master curse the spiritual Heaven-born Son in him Paul on his Gospel-conversion immediately conferr'd not with flesh and blood Gal. 1. 16. lean'd not to but turn'd from his own understanding
was glorified and exalted by the Father into a life wherein he can do all the Father doth Joh. 5. 19 27. So Saints can do nothing of themselves or in their own Law-life towards Salvation but on the obedient surrender of that in Christ's Gospel-life can they do all things Phil. 4. 13. God then works all in or for them and they work all their works in him Isa. 26. 12 Phil. 2. 13. Joh. 3. 21. But consider how great this Man the King of Saints Ruler of all is He is anointed above all his fellow-Brethren that are Co-heirs with him of God in the transcendent prerogative of his fountain-creature-life of everlasting righteousness and also of his infinite divine life Psal. 45. 7. Rom. 8. 17 Saints that are Kings Priests to God will ever own him as their 〈◊〉 King of Kings Lord of Lords and High-Priest in a transcendent supremacy over and superiority to the highest Saints and all Saints and Angels put together All are to honour him as they honour the Father Jo. 5. 23. See then the weight of Solomon's Counsel here for keeping this King's Commandment to whom God has given all Rule and Authority over both Worlds as Heir of all things Psal. 2. 6 -- 9. Heb. 1. 2. The Reason he gives for this Counsel is in regard of the Oath of God This Oath implies the terms between God and the Man Christ on which he is to possess all God's Authority over his creatures The surrender of the pure and spotless natural Life of the Law for that spiritual Gospel-Creature Life that 's in unchangeable personal union with the divine entitles him to the exercise of all conjunctive divine and creature-power over all Christ's own Priestly Gospel-Spirit offer'd up his Law-spirit in Sacrifice to his Father as his part of the Covenant of the Oath the new and everlasting Covenant Then the Father perform'd his part made the Man Christ Ruler over all as advanced into the life of his original priestly Gospel-spirit and so made a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec or in the life of his creature-root the original 〈◊〉 And on the same account has he made him King over all Psal. 2. 6 7. All this hath God confirm'd by Oath to our mystical Lord Abraham figur'd by the literal on offering up his mystical Isaac or spotless natural Life to him God sware by Himself he would perform his promis'd part for advancing the Man Christ and Saints in their degree on the like obedient Sacrifice of their natural State So have they two immutable things for their strong consolation his immutable Counsel or living Creature-word and his immutable infinite Divinity Heb. 6. 13 18. Here 's the safe anchor-ground for Saints sure and certain hopes of eternal Life and Blessedness on surrender of their fading natural Saints by following Christ's suffering-steps into a conformity with him in his death are assur'd by him they shall reign with him in that life he is risen and ascended into 2 Tim. 2. 11 12. No other way can any come to reign with him Saints must keep his Command as he his Father's that has made him King Joh. 14. 15. 10. 18. These are the true and faithful sayings of his spiritual Law all yea and amen of absolute infallible certainty The same way our changeable nature comes to reign in him can it in us a change by death for his unchangeable creature-Life that 's spiritual and eternal The Man Christ the King of Kings in infinite divine and irresistible Creature-power exercises a universal kingly and priestly Authority in Love or Wrath over all Angels and Men good or bad He will sacrifice changeable nature as to any goodness thereof in them all in the incorrigibly wicked to God's revenging Justice No being saved but as with Christ obediently yeilding to the terms of the Covenant by Oath the new and everlasting Covenant even the sacrifice of all receiv'd by us in the first Psal. 50. 5. This must be done in regard of the Oath of God to Christ as our duty in obedience to this King's command to us who requires nothing of us herein but what himself has done Father and Son are herein obey'd or disobey'd together He that hath the Son hath the Father also and he that obeys the Son obeys the Father 2 Joh. v. 9. Mat. 10. 40. Luk. 10. 16. Joh. 15. 10. ver 23 24. 16. 15 27. Vers. 3. Be not hasty to go out of his sight stand not in an evil thing for he doth whatsoever pleaseth him Here 's a farther reason for obeying this great King He has full commission to do whatever he pleases in both Worlds to foes that set up in the first or natural and Friends that obediently quit that for the second or spiritual Be not hasty then to go out of his sight by wilful turning from that light by which he shews and offer 's that Life to you wherein he is King Think not to get out of his sight or reach of his Power He sees you whether you 'l see him or no. And his Power will reach you for your wickedness in refusing to see own and become willingly subject to him There 's no fleeing from his presence His presence in Wrath will reach you in Hell it self Psal. 139. 7 8. Yet will Enemies labour to shuffle themselves out of his presence They will bid him depart from them as not desiring the Knowledg of his Ways of saving them Job 21. 14 15. Even first-covenant holy Men desire not to hear of his Counsels for the saving them by the destruction of their fleshly life or natural state at best Yea true Saints for a season are found amongst these refusers of God's Reproofs and Counsels for their Salvation ignorantly with Paul And Job while frighted at the Death-discipline of the Cross upon his righteous natural state went a-while in company with the workers of Iniquitie pleading against the equity of it with strong reasonings and arguings as an injurious proceeding of God towards his Creatures thus 〈◊〉 charges him Job 34. 5 -- 9. Yea the natural Man even in awaken'd spiritual Saints will be at such work as offended and amaz'd at a being daily plagu'd and chast'ned notwithstanding all their 〈◊〉 circumspect walking while wicked Men have more then heart canwish See what strange conclusions an impetous hurry of carnal reasonings is ready to run them into Psal. 73. 1 -14. Jer. 12. 1 2. 20. 14 -- 18. But the spiritual Principle in the Saint lifts up the natural Eccle. 4. 10. into Sanctuary-light to see the design of God in these cryptick Methods of his wonderful Wisdom dealing with them as Sons Heb. 12. 7. while those that refuse such Chastisements perish by their very Prosperity as gratified in their self-chosen way to their everlasting Destruction Psal. 73. 15 -20. But thousands depart from Christ for ever and walk no more with him or look after him as coming with his Cross-doctrin
of life and operation in his whole person This when the Death of Nature and Life of Grace are compleated will be found the true Saints case How else should men out of polluted Nature come to be spotless before the Throne of God and chast Virgins to Christ The wise Man duly considering these things and discerning time and judgment rightly uses and obey's every of God's Gists and Dispensations to him in their orderly succession one after another first a restoring the changeable righteous law-Law-life of Nature and then calling it back again by a holy Death in exchange for a gospel-Gospel-life of everlasting Righteousness in his Spirit of Grace When this transcendently better life is convincingly shew'd and offer'd man's chusing his former in preference thereunto tho' good in its kind season and right use turns it into unchangeable evil and renders him guilty of unpardonable folly If Man wilfully sight against the known will of God in any of his Dispensations to him and finally persist therein his misery will be great upon him as Solomon further argues Vers. 6. Because to every purpose there is time and judgment therefore the misery of man is great upon him There 's an appointed time and judgment to all natural things which therefore are not to be rested in Enlightned Heathens and first-Covenant Jews or Christians reckon their various natural attainments an undoubted and impregnable security for their happiness that none can deprive them of But all visible and invisible outward or inward first-creation goodnesses or excellencies have that vanity writ out in the fading nature thereof which necessitat's their being brought to a period as is undeniably clear from the Scriptures of Truth All Man 's disquieting himself in heaping up riches literal or mystical there is but a 〈◊〉 in and pleasing himself with a vain shew Psal. 39. 6. This folly is reproved by Christ himself Mat. 6. 25 -32. and all Men counsell'd by him to seek the Kingdom of God and his 〈◊〉 in his Gospel-spirit of everlasting Righteousness and Truth If Man submit to God's Judgment of death on his natural state he enters into and is possess'd of the everlasting Righteousness of his Kingdom-spirit if not is he found in unchangeable enmity to God and then great will his misery be upon him When men by spiritual light shew'd and offer'd God's excellent heavenly things do turn from that light in hatred to those things and love to their own God harden's blind's and deafen's such self-hardning enemies and refusers of his gracious offers Isa. 6. 9 10. By such just judgment on them come they to have their hearts eyes and understandings perfectly closed up from any regard of God or his offer'd new-creation life and things for ever He sends them strong delusion that they should believe Satan's self-pleasing lie and so go headlong in a delusive satisfaction to the Chambers of Death God gives them their hearts desire as to the fatness riches and flourish of their own nature as the beginning of his unchangeable Dispensation of wrath upon them fitting them thereby for destruction And thenceforth are they under an impossibility of ever finding out God's time and Judgment in this thing or relating to that natural state of vanity they take up in for happiness Vers. 7. For he knoweth not that which shall be for who can tell him when or how it shall be This great misery comes upon Man on his wilful turning from God's declar'd way and means of doing him good God excludes him by oath from true Blessedness swears in his Wrath he shall never enter into his rest Heb. 3. 11. And then is he concluded under an unchangeable curse the grievous nature whereof can't be known till felt or experienc'd The terrible things in final Wrath provided by God for Enemies as well as the things in Love provided for Saints are such as Eye hath not seen Ear heard nor have entred into the Heart of Man 1 Cor. 2. 9. Christ's mystery of Godliness Satans mystery of Iniquity and the differing recompences of the Followers of Christ into the former or being willingly caught by Satan in the latter all these most concerning things to be diligently sought after or most heedfully avoided lie clear out of the reach of Man's Understanding or Wisdom And how then shall he know what Misery shall at last befal him or when how and by what Hand it shall be brought upon him Vers. 8. There is no Man hath Power over the Spirit to retain the Spirit neither hath he Power in the day of Death and there is no discharge in that War neither shall Wickedness deliver those that are given to it Here 's the reason of what is said in the former Verses the great Misery Man brings upon himself by not observing and submitting to Time and Judgment No Man hath Power over his Spirit to secure it from the Wrath and just Judgment of God He that made it challenges all obedience from it which disputed and not performed by Man renders God's Judgment of Wrath on him undeniably just and from this can no Man free himself For he can neither retain the fading Life and Goodness of his own Spirit nor reduce it to nothing nor render it an insensible something It will ever be kept up by its Creatour in an exquisite sensibleness of all evil and perfect deprivation of all the fading good it can ever remember the enjoyment of for the increase and aggravation of its Torment God has given it an immortality of being and 't is not able to bear up in its rebellion against him to secure it self from the Power of evil or that just Punishment he will bring upon it Man has no Power in the day of Death either of his Body or Spirit Neither of these lives that of his body or the fading first-covenant Righteous Life of his Spirit can he secure from Death when God's time is come for giving Judgment and pouring forth his Wrath upon him When God comes in hostility upon him as a provok'd Enemy there 's no discharge from either of these wars he cannot run away get out of the field and so scape the avenging Justice of God nor yet stand or bear up against it but must certainly fall and perish under it There 's an appointed time of Death and Judgment on all fading perishing mortal life of Man's body and spirit his whole natural being and person be he good or bad The good by an obedient surrender of all thereto in a dutiful compliance with the declar'd Methods of God's Wisdom for saving them are rais'd into and receive 〈◊〉 everlasting Gospel-life which is not diminish'd but marvelously enlarg'd and perfected at the death of the Body clear'd from all disturbances and interruptions by any Enemies without or within them as intirely at home with Lord when quite absent or deliver'd from the mortal Body and State They groan therefore after a full deliverance from their whole earthly Tabernacle and mortal Life
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
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
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
who so breaketh an hedg a Serpent shall bite him First-Covenant Life and second-Covenant Light are a twofold hedg of defence to secure Man from all dangers on his right hand and left The restor'd life of the Law is a hedg of defence for a season against the vile affections and lusts of corrupt nature dangers on the left hand Spiritual Light by which Christ in his spiritual Life is shew'd aud offer'd Men as their absolute Salvation is a hedg of defence to secure Men from the most dangerous sinning against that Supream Right-hand Mercy and gracious offer of it from God The first mystical hedg or fence against the workings of corrupt nature kept up in opposition to the second so as finally to turn from and reject the second which would secure from all sin in corrupt or righteous nature filth of flesh or spirit for ever this is Man's wilful breaking down the chief hedg for his security And then Satan the old poysonous Serpent breaks in upon him and bites or mortally wounds him to eternal death This by perswading Men to set up nature with him in an eternal opposition to God and his Grace Vers. 9. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith and he that cleaveth Wood shall be endangered thereby Stones here are the same with the hedg in the former Verse figuring the new-Creation Spirit and Light thereof This rocky-spirit of Christ in Saints renders them Rocks or living Stones in his spiritual house Mat. 16. 18. 1 Pet. 2. 5. Man's wilful refusing hating and turning from this rocky life shew'd and offer'd him is a removing these stones decrying and what in him lies pulling down this spiritual Temple and persecuting or scattering Christ and spiritual Saints the living Stone and lively Stones thereof This will bring the greatest hurt upon himself For this Stone or Spirit in Christ and Saints will fall upon him in wrath and grind him to powder Mat. 21. 44. t. And he that cleaveth wood shall be endanger'd thereby By cleaving wood is meant a separating the first benefit of the Cross or death of Christ a restor'd first-Covenant life from the second and consequently a setting up the first in unchangeable opposition to the second a Gospel-life of everlasting Righteousness and true Holiness God's Wisdom has found a way by the death of the former to join these two together in the new life of the latter By the obedient death of Nature corrupt or righteous is the changeableness and enmity of the former done away and so is it brought into unchangeable union with the latter and harmony of mind and will with God most high These that God requires a yeilding to his way of putting together as 〈◊〉 in Unity Psal. 133. 1. let no man presume to keep or put asunder as first-covenant Brethren do when they sit and speak against the second in despite to them and that spirit of Grace they are of and in Psal. 50. 20. Ezek. 33. 30 -- 32. Heb. 10. 29. Such cleavers or dividers of Wood the first benefit of the Cross from the second after a clear discovery of the whole design of the Cross to them will not only be endanger'd thereby but bring final destruction upon their own heads Vers. 10. If the Iron be blunt and he do not whet the edg then must he put to more Strength but Wisdom is profitable to direct Man's natural spirit fallen into sin and enmity whether in the corrupt or restor'd righteous Life thereof is the mystical blunt Iron here heavy and dull as to any right understanding of or obedience to the commands of God's spiritual Law 'T is more difficult to yield any obedience thereto then before the fall For now there 's positive enmity in it then not It therefore greatly needs the sharpning work of Christ's spiritual convictions to bring the blunted dull nature thereof so much as to see its unspeakeable concern in listning and submitting to the hard sayings and sharp discipline of his spiritual Law Those that finding themselves weary and heavy laden or overset as to such important concerns come to Christ for his spiritual life and senses for which willing to take up or submit to the death of their natural under his Cross will find all easie and plain both to understand and do Mat. 11. 28 30. His yoke is easie and burthen light Yea such yoke and burthen amounting only to our unchangeable subjection to his will that 's unchangeably subject to the divine is the very glorious liberty of the Sons of God And so also their sufferings in submitting to the yoke and burthen of his Cross on their natural will and spirit will in the prospect and certain sight of such glorious advantages not be reckon'd upon in any comparison therewith Rom. 8. 18. Scripture is a Parable or sharp saying and requires a sharp Wit that is spiritual understanding to discover the mysterious Things Truths or meaning of God's Spirit therein 'T is too painful yea impossible for Man's natural understanding to interpret and rightly understand so much as the providential dispensations of God to friends as foes and foes as friends Psal. 73. 3 -16. Spiritual understanding or Sanctuary-light discover's all v. 17. the voice of all Providences and the dark sayings or parables of all Scripture It can interpret oraculous dreams shew hard sentences dissolve doubts Dan. 5. 12. Take the total sum of its objects It discern's or judges all things 1 Cor. 2. 15. divine and twofold creaturely natural and spiritual the deep things of God's Infinite Divinity v. 10. his whole Counsel about the Salvation of his Creatures Act. 20. 27. and the whole counsel of the Devil for their Damnation the whole mystery of Godliness the whole mystery of Iniquity the mysteries of Christ's Spiritual Kingdom of marvelous light in his Gospel-Spirit the mysteries of Satan's accursed kingdom of marvelous darkness in his Law-Spirit 2 Cor. 2. 11. As God gradually more and more runs down the wisdom or understanding of the natural Man in the Saint into darkness by the demolishing operation of the Spirit of the Cross he raises it up more and more into the new all-discovering light or discerning of his spiritual which James calls his giving more Grace Jam. 4. 6. So the natural man or spiritual Prophets Servant in the Saint comes to see what the Prophet sees as in type 2 King 6. 17. Thus is man's understanding or spirit as more brought by way of Death and Resurrection into union of mind with the spiritual more and more whetted sharpn'd and enabled more clearly to discern the whole mind and do the whole will of God Paul found even Gospel-profelling Jews so dull of hearing or understanding so defective as to the right hearing ear reception or capacity for spiritual mysteries that he 〈◊〉 to have forborn the declaration of many things he otherwise would have said to them Heb. 5. 11. He clearly saw their darkness and incapacity as to spiritual Gospel-matters The most
life the true Shepherd call's for the surrender of by death in Sacrifice he and all that so do will find no harvest of true joy and comfort to be reap'd by them at last Vers. 5. As thou knowest not what is the way of the Spirit nor how the bones do grow in the Womb of her that is with Child even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all In explaining his former words Solomon here uses the hidden ways of God in forming the fleshly body of Man and uniting his immortal Spirit with it in the Womb. These common things in the first creation over-setting Man's understanding as to the discerning or giving any certain account of are but typical to the yet far more mysterious and hidden things of Christ's new-creation-workmanship in Saints None know by the utmost improvement and skill of their own understanding how the Body is form'd in the Womb of the literal Mother or how the Spirit that had its radical creation and existence from the beginning in the mystical Womb of the Parent of Spirits comes in its appointed time to be united with its Body in the Womb. And how much shorter must Men come of discerning the yet more undiscernable mysterious works of God who maketh all things in both Creations or Worlds Heb. 1. 2. as forming and setting up his Spiritual Heavenly Eternal things in Man by his new-creation-workmanship The effects of the literal Wind are seen tho' not known whence it comes or whither it goes so are the effects of the new-creating Spirit of Christ in and upon all born of it Joh. 3. 8. As an irresistible Whirlwind it tear's down the earthly building and blow's up by the roots the fleshly tree of a perishing life in Saints andthen by the second new-building-operation of it does it make them new Vessels fill them with new-Wine even it s own Spiritual Kingdom-Life of everlasting Righteousness thro' which they become meet habitations of God Ephes. 2. 22. Now if Man be ignorant of his natural make or how the distinct parts of his being are brought together into a personal union in him by a first-creation much more is he of the abundantly more mysterious way and things of his new-creation birth Vers. 6. In the morning sowe thy Seed and in the evening withhold not thine hand for thou knowest not whether shall prosper either this or that or whether they both shall be a like good Here 's a confirmation of the said spiritual Truth In the morning or under Christ's first and earliest spiritual Convictions and Revelations or Discoveries of himself to thee in his spiritual Life sow thy Seed or readily use all diligence to make way for Christ's speedy influencing and quickning up his own Incorruptible Seed of Spiritual Life in thee Let not thy earthy natural carnal mind be hard'ned against Christ but break and kindly melt away under him that what hinders being removed his spiritual Seed may spring up in thee This done by us is call'd our sowing that spiritual Seed as the works wrought in the quickned up life thereof are called our works in God and God's in us Isa. 26. 12. Joh. 3. 31. works of Grace in the second-Covenant life not of Nature in the first And in the evening withhold not thine hand or natural spirit from sacrifice For this is it hinders the spiritual Seed from springing up towards an hopeful Harvest And so will the evening state of darkness and death to Nature be turn'd into an everlasting morning-light and life in the spirit of Grace For thou knowest not c. Man's receiving spiritual Light by which Christ in his spiritual life is shew'd and offer'd him is call'd a beginning in the Spirit a partaking of the Holy Ghost and tasting of the good living Word of God Gal. 3. 3. Heb. 6. 4 5. Then is he upon his trial for Eternal Life or Death as obedient or disobedient to the said spiritual Light And accordingly will he be evil or good barren or fruitful to God Delivering up the natural spirit to death is the only way to its becoming fruitful to God in a newness of life Rom. 6. 4. 7. 4. So as rais'd into the life of the spiritual Man do both the natural and spiritual become a like good in a life of everlasting Righteousness While Man is doubtful under the darkning demolishing death-work of the Spirit or Cross of Christ on his Nature what will be the issue as Job for some time was whether everlasting blessedness or misery the Light or Voice of the Spirit listen'd to will inform that both will prosper and be a like good both natural and spiritual Man thro' the death and resurrection of the former into the quicken'd up life of the latter So there will be a joynt birth of life springing up in the whole person of the Saint from the quickned spiritual Seed and both crucified and quicken'd earthly But spiritual Light resisted and life rejected Man's earthly state however righteous becomes that cursed mystical Earth whose end is to be burn'd Heb. 6. 7 8. Vers. 7. Truly the Light is sweet and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the Sun The light of the literal Sun is pleasant to the bodily eye But the days of darkness will be many after Man is cut off by the death of the body from such sight and pleasure The certain foresight of this can't but much allay his present delight In mystery Christ is the Sun or original of all 〈◊〉 creation intellectual light and life By his shining into Man does he render him wise strong and honourable in his own restor'd nature So becomes Man joyful and fruitful therein Yet all this light life and joy therein will pass away also as well as that of the bodily state And the succeeding days of darkness will be many even to all eternity as to those that never submit to the way of coming to experience Christ in an higher and better light and life shew'd and offer'd them The cross of Christ in love or wrath seizes and takes away all fading first-creation light or goodness from every Angel and Man good or bad This Solomon farther declares Vers. 8. But if a Man live many years and rejoyce in them all yet let him remember the days of darkness for they shall be many All that cometh is vanity Let a Man live never so long in the light and joy of a first-Covenant state under the mystical first-creation Sun or first-Covenant spirit and communications from Christ or shinings forth upon his Tabernacle there Job 29. 2 -4. he must consider and remember that all this will be gone and everlasting darkness succeed if Christ be not receiv'd in that spiritual life which will scituate him under his beamings forth as a Divine and spiritual new-creation Sun of infinite eternal and everlasting Righteousness Light Brightness and Glory Vers. 9. Rejoyce O young Man in thy youth and let thy heart cheer
and with the everlasting righteous Gospel-life of his spirit of Grace Joh. 10. 17 18. Joh. 14. 15 21 23. From the true Sonly fear of God and love to his Mercy or unspeakable Gospel-gift of eternal Life must we hate and do judgment or receive and also execute God's righteous Sentence of Death 2 Cor. 1. 9. on our most restor'd Law-state of Nature By such humbling our selves to the death of our Nature at best can we come to walk as Enoch with God in his Spirit of Grace that 's in unchangeable harmony of mind and will with his infinite divine Spirit Mic. 6. 8. How can two Men walk together and how much less God and man except they be agreed This is the concluding sum of all God requir's of us That we obediently keep and do all his Commands in his never-sinning or erring Spirit of everlasting Righteousness and infallible Truth The best works or fruits done or brought forth in our Law-life of enmity to God can never answer his requirings of us Can we love him with all our heart soul mind and strength in a spirit of direct enmity to him Luk. 10. 27. Direct contradiction The Gospel-spirit of Grace call'd Love is the fulfiller of the whole Law mind and will of God Rom. 13. 8 -10. Vers. 14. For God shall bring every work into Judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it in be evil Rom. 2. 16. 2 Cor. 5. 10. The Man Christ will be found able to do all this Heb. 4. 〈◊〉 13. The sad consequents of rejecting the advice given v. 13. will be eternal misery torment and vexation of spirit on the irrecoverable loss of all the fading goodness or comforts of the natural state and an eternal exclusion from the once fairly shew'd and offer'd never-fading goodness and glory of a spiritual eternal life of everlasting righteousness This will be concluded by God's infallible Spirit of Truth whose Authority when Christ appears Judg himself on his Throne shall no longer be questioned or disputed as all along this World in Satan's reign and man's day it has but every tongue shall confess it as of right belonging to the Man Christ Joh. 5. 22 27. Phil. 2. 11. The undeniable truth of his 〈◊〉 Judgment will have a universal acknowledgement from all good and evil Angels and Men. By the irresistible beamings-forth of the light of that Spirit wherein he will judge and pronounce the Sentence of God's infinitely just and righteous mind and will shall the Books of all hearts and consciences be forc'd open or unlock'd so as to make enemies themselves witnesses for him against themselves on their amazing forc'd remembrance of and his setting all their innumerable sins and abominations naked and open in the view of themselves and all others And then will Christ also open his own infallible Book of Records in which he has registred and set down in indeleble characters from first to last according to the divine sight and judgment of God all done by or found in every Angel and Man good or bad Rev. 20. 12 13. The Books of all Men's and Angel's Consciences will be opened and then Christ's own Book the Book of Life out of which all Men shall be judged according to their works Out of and by all these Books will God's Judgement pronounc'd on Men be found clearly and undeniably righteous For the Records in the hearts and consciences of men will be found in exact harmony with what 's written in God's own Book which will lay the evil creaturé under undeniable guilt and just condemnation to the silencing and stopping every blasphemous mouth of iniquity And then also shall the secret hidden spiritual Life of Saints with the well-pleasing right works and fruits thereof unobserv'd and un-own'd yea blasphem'd by enemies be open'd and manifested to all for their eternal justification All secret evils that have lain hid in enemies under all fair shews in holy 〈◊〉 and all 〈◊〉 secret good works of spiritual Saints that have lain hid under the marr'd visage of their crucified natural man shall be brought into publick and general view So will the incorrigibly wicked be sent as justly condemned persons into everlasting punishment and the unchangeably Righteous into Life eternal Mat. 25. 31 -- 46. FINIS ERRATA PAge 102. line 21. for the in read in the. P. 176. l. 1. 〈◊〉 dul r. duly P. 323. l. 16. f. cammon r. common P. 380. l. last f. creation r Cretian Some 〈◊〉 mistakes and in stopping are left to the ingenuous Reader
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-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-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
Men in the corrupt spirit of nature unfix'd Mat. 12. 43 45. Luk. 11. 24 26. So come such feasters to a latter end in restor'd worse then their 〈◊〉 in corrupt nature a state of unchangeable enmity to God and his Gospel-spirit of Grace Man chuses rather to follow the Devil 's pleasing false counsel through a house of temporary feasting into everlasting mourning then God's true and faithful through a house of 〈◊〉 and death into everlasting rejoycing and life ' t. For that is the end of all Men and the living will lay it to his heart All Men good and bad must come sooner or later for a season or for ever to the house of mourning by the death and loss of all the 〈◊〉 goodness in their natural state or house of feasting That house or state of mourning is the end all men come to on the said differing accounts specified Such an end they must all experience after the most fruitful flourish in their fading Law-life even the death and loss of all Here 's then a character of the natural heart in all Men Their inward thought and design is to establish themselves in their own righteousness when they have it and in the riches and fruitfulness thereof and so to have the mystical Land of their own nature call'd after their own old name in their old first-covenant life or restor'd first-creation state figur'd by Men's calling their outward possessions so relating to bodily life only Psal. 49. 11. Conviction-light of the new-covenant Spirit they 'l receive as an ornament to prank up adorn and advance their nature to puff it more up with spiritual pride not by obedience to and compliance with it to let it fall down and be humbled to the death of that state as they ought So turn they all spiritual inlightning Gifts upon as well as fresh enlivenings of their nature into their disadvantage and sorer condemnation for ever Satan offers to advance them in their own way after their own heart into his superiour angelical perfections and excellencies of the first-creation sort gilding them also by his sinful transforming arts with the appearance of Christ's spiritual new-creation excellencies and then has he them fast in his fools-paradise which they take for the Kingdom of Heaven He wants not for Men-Apostles to carry on this work Moral Heathens are bidding towards Salvation by obedience to first-Covenant light only Temporary Believers by the knowledg of Christ after the flesh are bidding at it in a righteous first-Covenant life under the perfect righteousness of that sort from Christ imputed to them or that comliness put upon them Ezek. 16. 14. The moral Heathen with the Quaker aim's at a perfection in his own perpersonal Life and operations of the same sort Adam at first had not regarding imputed righteousness in either Covenant or at all the everlasting righteous life of the second This is not and so nor God in all or any of his thoughts Psal. 10. 4. The legal-Christian-Believer and Professor tho' advanc'd beyond the highest pretender to Heathen morality yea and furnish'd with spiritual light also is yet but the supernaturally adorn'd natural Man that oft with the 〈◊〉 Galatians retreats from Christ in spirit shew'd and offer'd him to a resting in holy flesh or his own restor'd naturals in a first-Covenant-life for salvation Gal. 3. 1 3. This finally and absolutely done is the unpardonable refusal of and sinning against the Holy Ghost God's holy new-Creature Spirit of everlasting Righteousness The Morally righteous Heathen is not so resolutely fierce against first-Covenant life in the professing legally righteous and Gospel-convinc'd Christian as he is against the second in the true Gospel-believing Christian. Wot ye why First-Covenant life advances nature in its own way above and beyond Heathen Morality But in order to true Gospel or second-Covenant life Christ comes with fire and sword to pull down and destroy the Wisdom of the Greek or Moral Heathen and the first-Covenant righteous life of the Jew or legal Christian. For this is the Preacher of the Cross and work of it a fool foolishness and a stumbling-block to both 1 Cor. 1. 23. Thus comes the spiritual Saint tho' transcendently advanc'd over both their guilty heads as far as the Heavens are above the Earth into the life and Image of the Heavenly that 's out of the sight and reach of both their Wisdoms or Understandings to be judg'd the veriest fool and mad man in the world by them both They are agreed against him to call and reckon him so in their several gradual advances in Naturals The highest rank of Naturalists in 〈◊〉 Covenant life and second-covenant light call'd Christ 〈◊〉 So Joh. 10. 20. for his Gospel-Doctrine 〈◊〉 the Cross on their Pharisaical Law-life and Righteousness leaven'd sowr'd into unchangable enmity to God's Gospel-life and everlasting righteousness Awaken'd Saints and true Prophets have bin so handled by such legal-professors in all Ages Hos. 9. 7 8. Cain a 〈◊〉 Covenant worshipper kill'd his own Brother Abel a second on this very single account Paul himself when a righteous wise first-Covenant Law-Pharisee in holy 〈◊〉 fiercely persecuted the Gospel-spirit in 〈◊〉 Covenant Saints 〈◊〉 he was despis'd as a contemptible 〈◊〉 by such as he had bin when a signal Friend and Preacher of the Gospel 1 Cor. 4. 10 -13. But in his transcendently superiour Life Wisdom and Righteousnes of God he pass'd not for Man's day or dark-spirited judgment whose wisdom reach'd not such Spiritual Heavenly Mysteries Things or Truths 1 Cor. 4. 3. He regarded not their disregards mistakes contradictions blasphemies or evil-speakings and most unjust cenfurings of him As elevated by Satan into natural angelical excellencies and tongues or language of Men and Angels intuitive and by a sound of words and all 〈◊〉 things gilded with appearances of spirituality do first-Covenanteers feed at the Serpent's table with such delight as to find extasies and raptur's of false delusive joy in a way after their own hearts and despise the crucisied abas'd natural Man in the Saint as the filth and off-scouring of all things Satan thus all along this World and his Reign by his undiscern'd or wilfully unconsider'd pranks plays his game upon Man so as to carry it clear with abundantly the far greater number of professors high pretenders to Gospel and bidders at Salvation and the Kingdom of God as the only reputed Orthodox or right-thinking heirs thereof But the truly living spiritual Saint lay's all these things to heart as having escap'd out of the dark mistaking spirit of bondage and death others keep in He sees the house of mourning or loss of all fading goodness or life in the natural spirit will be the end of all Men and Angels good and bad Those that obediently surrender and lose it find eternal life others eternal darkness and death True Saints and incorrigible sinners all must come to 't at last even to experience the loss of all good in their
's made after the Supream new-creature image or similitude of God in Christ's Person the image of the Heavenly Adam The restor'd natural man may and ought to bless God for his mercifully restor'd righteous Law-life as effectually call'd out of his corrupt state but when by God's second voice or 〈◊〉 call summon'd to deliver up all that back again for a spiritual and more excellent life he curses rebell's against and 〈◊〉 this Gospel-voice 〈◊〉 heavenly Call all the words and things or truths of God's Gospel-spirit and Wisdom On these various accounts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Cursing for a time out of the same mouth of the Saint But others in their restor'd Nature fixing themselves in enmity to God's Spirit of Grace go on cursing and 〈◊〉 to eternal death With Gospel-Brethren these things ought not so to be nor will always be so When the envious spiteful Curser and Blasphemer the Belial-party the Insidel or unbelieving Rebel in the Saint the natural man or spirit is fully crucisied dead and buried and then rais'd into unchangeable harmony of mind with his spiritual and so with Christ and God most high then all such cursing-work will cease for ever But till all old things with Man's old life of nature are pass'd away from the Saint and all God's new things fully compleated in him has even he need enough of this advice not to heed the Counsels per verse thoughts reasonings cursings or evil-speakings of the natural spirit in himself or others against the whole Gospel-Doctrine of the Cross and only way of Salvation Let it bark and make what noise it will they should regard none of its thoughts lusts words or ways so as sinfully to comply with or follow it but slight turn from and avoid as much as in them lies this troubler opposer and hinderer of their spiritual mind till wholly cut off and taken out of the way Vers. 23. All this have I proved by Wisdom I said I will be wise but it was far from me The Wisdom by which Solomon examin'd found out and proved the truth of all things could be no less then the spiritual new-creature Wisdom of God In this he saw all things divine spiritual and natural in their distinct differing excellencies and perfections So could he call all things by their right names and give their true discriminating characters This is the peculiar priviledg of the spiritual Man's understanding 1 Cor. 2. 10 15. Solomon in this did with his Father David see all natural first-creation things of Man and Angel at last to be altogether vanity Psal. 39. 5 6. The wisdom of Man at best is the wrangling disputer of this World about and against all things of God in the next 'T is the contradicting blasphemer of all such things absolutely denying the very Gospel-spirit life and principle of the next 'T is the wisdom from beneath earthly sensual or natural and if fix'd in devilish Jam. 3. 15. the unchangeable enemy and opposer of God's Wisdom and all the words thereof in true Saints The natural undertaker in such Wisdom to debate matters of Salvation things of God is the untreatable unreasonable man Paul desir'd to be delivered from 2 Thes. 3. 2. A self-confident Man utterly denying the very Gospel-Principle or Spirit of Christ the Saints rocky foundation in defence of his sandy is unreasonably burthensome to the Saint when intruding to discourse Gospel-matters which he knows nothing of Envying strife confusion tumult or unquietness and every mischievous evil thing or work what else can come on 't 〈◊〉 3. 16. 2 Tim. 2. 16 17. Here 's the result of all such discourse and engagement The quarrelling worldly Disputant discourses in choler 〈◊〉 goes away full of Wrath meditating revenge on the spiritual Saint for his cross-doctrine Such Swine ravenous Wolves and poisonous vipers Christ advises Saints not to cast Gospel-Pearls or Truths before But where the wise man suspect's and question 's his fitness in such wisdom to judg of such matters the case is altered He may hopefully be dealt with in such affairs In the latter clause of this verse Solomon speaks of another state and wisdom he had bin eminent in the wisdom of Man distinct from that wherein he had proved all things What he happily at last found in the Spiritual Wisdom of God he had bin successlessly and vainly seeking long before in the wisdom of man tho' taller then his fellows there I said I will be wise but it was far from me True Wisdom was far from me as wise as I thought my self All eternal divine spiritual heavenly most excellent concerning things and truths lay clear out the reach and comprehension of that earthly wisdom as far as the Heavens are above the Earth Vers. 24. That which is far off and exceeding deep who can find it out How should the shallow weak-sighted low earthly wisdom of Man ever find out the exceeding deep high remote divine and creature-things of the wisdom of God that are all spiritual heavenly and from above Gospel-things and Truths mysteries of the Kingdom of God lie in a depth unfathomable at a distance never to be reach'd by the utmost line of natural first-creation understanding They are spiritually 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 2. 14. Or by new-creation understanding only Man in his best wisdom bid's at an absolute impossibility Brute beasts in meer sensual life may as well if not better bid at the rational things of Man as of nearer kin to their things all of the first-creation sort natural then the spiritual things of God are to the natural Man and his rational intellectual things And when Man has thus presumptuously pitch'd upon things beyond the reach of his own wisdom he is ready to complain of and dispute against God that he has reserv'd things of highest concern to him out of his sight all spiritual heavenly new-creation things Wisdom Life and all in which found Rom. 10. 6 7. This does Man in stead of yielding to the terms of receiving that wisdom wherein he might reach see or know all things the loss of his own Life and all All spiritual things or truths are hidden seal'd up mysteries from the most soaring searching capacity of man in first-creation wisdom The Scriptures are a Book seal'd as to all the spiritual truths thereof from the highest wisdom of Man Isa. 29. 11. The professing learned Jews yea the very Apostles knew not what to make of Christ's Gospel-words New-covenant doctrine while they were but in old or first-Covenant Wisdom The Bread I give is my flesh says Christ. How can this be say the Jews Joh. 6. 51 52. A hard saying who can hear or understand it say his very Disciples ver 60. So when he spoke of his Sufferings and Resurrection a little while and ye shall not see me viz. as a fleshly Bridegroom again a little while and ye shall see and know me viz. as a spiritual one in my Resurrection-Life Act. 2. 1 4. which was the promise of the
God and the true Spiritual New-creation Man or Heavenly creature-Life and Image of God in Christ blessed Angels and Saints The ring-leading Head of all thus fix'd is the Devil This Head as representative of the whole party of incorrigible wicked Angels and Men and comprehending them all is the Woman here the mystical Babylonish-strumpet guilty of unpardonable Adulteries and spiritual wickednesses against Christ the true Spiritual Lord and Husband of Angels and Men whom they ought all to obey and be eternally subject to in every thing The very person of the Devil as possess'd of the highest natural glories and excellencies by the first creation was therein the supream first-Covenant Spouse of Christ. But this Spouse soon apostatiz'd and became the grand mystical strange Woman and Adulteress that did from the date of her first sin and fall set herself to draw as many Angels and Men as she could into the same adulterous and murderous mind of enmity against Christ that spiritual Lord and Husband they all ought to submit to his terms of being married to for ever in the new and everlasting Covenant All that rebelliously keep up their own life and beauty in the first against him and the second will be judg'd as mystical Wedlock-breakers Murderers and most criminal Idolaters Ezek. 16. 15 38. The Devil by this practice in the top-excellency of first-creation life has render'd himself a bottomless pit of deceits and all sorts of spiritual wickedness endeavouring and abundantly prevailing through God's permission and Men's wilful folly to corrupt their spirits and fill their hearts with the same unchangeable enmity to Christ and God with himself By the Workmanship of this mystical Woman are Men rendered temples of her unchangeable evil Spirit The mouth of this strange woman is a deep pit he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein This have we from Solomon also Prov. 22. 14. But whoso pleases God shall escape her Thus gives he a true account of the said bottomless pit with the sad condition of all that fall therein and the blessed priviledges of them that escape her All blind leaders with their followers in the first-creation-state excluding Christ and the second tumble together into this deep ditch or bottomless pit of unchangeable wickedness Mat. 15. 14. Luk. 6. 39. The very spirit of the Devil is this ditch or bottomless pit the mother of all mystical Whoredoms and spiritual abominations of the Earth Rev. 17. 5. Or in the earthly natural state lying in wait as a robber for a prey and encreasing the transgressors among Men Prov. 23. 27 28. All that in their renew'd spirit of Nature righteousness of Man or Form of Godliness in the first-Covenant finally deny and reject the Power of Godliness the New-creature-life Wisdom and Righteousness of God in the second are fallen into this bottomless pit of deceits All fix'd first-creation builders on the Sand absolutely reject exclude and deny that Spirit of Grace that 's the corner-stone and rocky foundation of the true Church The Woman here is indeed that strong powerful Man of Sin or Son of Perdition that by his superiour angelical strength and subtilty when faln was too hard for Man at best in innocency By the obedient death only of Man's spirit at best can he receive the life of that new-creation spirit of Christ that 's greater stronger and wiser then he 1 Joh. 4. 4. Then he is an over-match for the Devil able to fight and run down all evil angelical principalities and powers those wicked spirits with all their spiritual wickednesses in high places or counterfeit heavenly appearances Ephes. 6. 10 -13. When strong in the Lord and in the power of his might in the life armour or clothing of God's Spirit of Grace set up in and put upon him then is man able to still the said enemy and avenger Psal. 8. 2. This spirit in man is stronger then the strong man of sin who therefore cannot enter that House or Person it possesses nor spoil his house or goods Mat. 12. 29. Man wise strong and honourable in Christ but by first-covenant communications 1 Cor. 4. 10. Satan is too strong for and can spoil all he has or is All that is in his power Job 1. 12. So let Man want the Spirit stronger than Satan he 'l fall under him and be led captive at his will in and by that very first-covenant life he reckons to be saved in 2 Tim. 2. 26. The wisdom of it cannot discover his snares nor the strength of it withstand his power All 's but as straw and rotten wood to his superiour Angelical Wisdom Strength and Armour Job 41. 27. Flesh and Blood Man at best is so far from being fit to wrestle against evil Angels that they can make all that in Man serviceable to their designs for destroying him as on their side their friend in him In Christ's Spirit of life are Saints only fit to fight down both both Flesh and Blood the natural spirit at best and evil Angels at the back of it to strengthen that Foe of their own house that with them in all its affections and lusts fights and warrs against God and the true interest of their own souls The compleat death of this home-bred Foe but pretending Womanish Friend and Counseller in the Saint's own bosom Mic. 7. 5. is his full deliverance from all Satan's nets and snares For then he finds no part in him that he can tempt or touch please or hurt John 14. 30. When the Saint is crucified as to all worldly desires in him to all worldly desirables without him the God of this World finds nothing in him his Belial-party the enemy of God is extinguish'd and abolish'd The literal Woman by her snares and alluring Arts makes literal the mystical by her's spiritual and more criminal Sodomites T will be easier in the day of Judgment for the former then for the latter Mat. 11. 23 24. The light of Reason in all men may fence against the literal but the best Wisdom and Strength of first-Covenant holy Men is no defence against this mystical Woman's practices upon them Yea she turn's that very Wisdom and Strength with the perishing meats they feed on therein at Christ's earthly table and fruits they bring forth under Christ's Husbandly influence as a fleshly Bridegroom into so many Snares by which she catches them While she keeps them confident in holy flesh or knowledg of Christ after the flesh she renders them wholly regardless of his holy Gospel-spirit and words thereof save to oppose contradict and blaspheme all When Men give up themselves with Christ's first-Covenant gift of life and second-Covenant enlightning gifts and thereby a taste-of his new-Wine Hos. 2. 8. Heb. 6. 4 5. of the the Kingdom to Baal the Devil they become his most Gigantick opposers and strenuous fighters against all Gospel Kingdom-Truths and all that bring such things to their ears When men wilfully deafen themselves to the voice of
the true Shepherd the said strange Woman fill's her mouth with the most inticing perswasive words of her serpentine wisdom to furnish them for the serving all her mischievous designs upon themselves and others The words of Man's and Satan's wisdom's joyntly hand forth another pretended Gospel in flat opposition to every word of Christ's clothing all their falshoods with the misapplied letter of his words of truth This Woman's words are smoother than Butter softer then Oil but are drawn Swords wounding Men to eternal death Psal. 55. 21. Many strong Men Wise Strong and honourable in Christ by first-Covenant attainments have bin So slain by her Prov. 7. 26. The palate and temper of humane Nature in general is what Ahab discover'd in hating the one true Prophet Micaiah that counsell'd him contrary to his own will for his good and rewarding the four hundred false ones that gratified his will to his own destruction 1 Kin. 22. The language or thought of all natural hearts God declar's to be this Prophesie not unto us right things speak unto us smooth things prophesie deceits Isa. 30. 10. and Satan finds false Prophets enow in a readiness to gratify them so as to keep true Seers out of all hearing or regard all whose words lie cross to the will palat and desire of humane nature corrupt or righteous in all mankind They preach the Cross and death to it in all as necessary to the Salvation of any This Satan represents as the greatest loss and prejudice imaginable to them indeed their utter ruine He advises them to hold fast their own decrying the pretended advantages of suffering and dying even a living and reigning with Christ as meer delusive fictions All men in their natural principles corrupt or righteous stand ready for receiving Satan's doctrin the doctrine of Devils pleasing to Nature in all variety of condition it can be found in No man in that worldly nature and spirit receives Christ's Gospel-Testimony Joh. 3. 22. 14. 17. This must needs make a vast difference between the numberless flockers after Satan's Gospel and the few or next to no listners after Christ's When Satan has lock'd up men in a double prison the will of their own fixed spirit of bondage and his will upon that in this firm union of these self-embondaging spirits and wills are they invincibly hardned against all the words of God's Wisdom And then the whole counsel of the Devil in his Mystery of Iniquity passes currant with them for the whole Counsel of God in his mystery of Godliness Solomon Paul and other awaken'd spiritual Saints can find out all these depths wiles devices snares and nets of this Woman that they see their fellow mortals even the professing party so generally involv'd entangled and caught in This Woman is more bitter than death her heart being full of snares and nets So subtilly contriv'd and methodiz'd as most certainly to catch all that refuse and so are destitute of the new-creation wisdom of God which alone can enable to number and find out the name and nature of this first-creation Beast Rev. 13. 18 with all her natural perfections disguis'd and gilded over by her whorish paint and transforming skil with counterfeit resemblances of spiritual in order to give the utmost shock of opposition to what is so For this end does she vent her Gospel-lies in hypocrisy or feigned resemblances of Christ's Gospel-Truths 1 Tim. 4. 1 2. Thus accoutred and furnish'd with gilded painted snares and nets from the date of her first sin and fall is she the Captain-General of all her hosts of evil Angels and Men fix'd with her in a spirit of unchangeable darkness and falshood against God and his new-creature-spirit of marvellous Light and infallible Truth Under her powerful witchcrafts and alluring charm's fell Man at best And what can he do that comes after the King Adam in the unstain'd purity of all natural perfections and excellencies of humane nature Remember this first battel in which all mankind with the first fell dead at the Serpent's feet dead in trespasses and sins and do so no more Job 41. 8. Never think of undertaking him with success in but the gradually restor'd Righteous Life Wisdom and Armour of Man In the most restor'd righteous natural Man is now found actual enmity to God but changeable pardonable curable by the cross not otherwise If Satan render this unchangeable and unpardonable his work is finish'd Christ comes with Fire and Sword speaks War and Death to Nature at best Satan with flattering kisses and pleasing Words Who is like to be best liked by Man The wounds of the true Friend and Saviour submitted to will be Salvation The kisses and smooth words of the enemy complied with Damnation Prov. 27. 6. Satan finds in man a natural inclination to resist the Cross as his enemy and he leaves no meanes unattempted conducible to the fixing him in such resistance Then is he his own true subject in his kingdom of darkness and God swears in wrath he shall never enter into his Kingdom of Light This Woman will not fail to lay her snares and nets before Saints every step they are making under the cross towards the Kingdom of God while any thing of his natural friend in them is yet about them He was at it with Christ himself again and again while he had any thing of our pure fleshly Nature and changeable life of the Law in him Mat. 4. 16. 22 23. Luk. 4. Man establish'd in his own Righteousness thinks all safe for Salvation when fast lodg'd in the very arms of this grand mystical Adulteress the Devil irrecoverably wrap'd and bound up in the bundle of death caught and held fast in her nets and snares while pleasing himself with hopeful thoughts that his soul is bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord as David's 1 Sam. 25. 29. The perswasive words of Man's and Satan's wisdom are exactly calculated to gratify the desires of humane Nature in order to fix men in enmity to the unpleasing doctrine of the cross upon it and so perfectly deafen them to the voice of the true Shepherd all the words of God's Wisdom in himself and Saints to all spiritual charmers charm they never so wisely Psal. 58. 4 5. Man by willingly giving himself up in obedience to and compliance with Satan's known lie against God's known truth Heb. 10. 26. is abhorred of the Lord and given up by him to such strong delusion as holds him fast in the snares of this bottomless pit the very spirit of the Devil that he be damn'd with him 2 Thes. 2. 10 -12. When men are thus caught in the Snares of this Woman her hands are as bands upon them powerful cords and chains they can never break or get loose from never get out of this deep Dungeon and bottomless pit into which they have plung'd themselves Who so pleaseth or is good before God shall escape her but the Sinner shall be taken
God This is the strange method of God's Wisdom for his despis'd little ones to be found more than Conquerers of all their proud self-exalting despisers and enemies The abolishing the worldly life of Nature out of Christ and his Army is the way to their being all found in that life and power of the World to come in which they overcome all that obstinatly set up in this This way the Man Christ triumph'd over all evil angelical and humane Principalities and Powers the Princes of this World Col. 2. 14 15. 1 Cor. 2. 6. All Men that finally take up in the first-creation are Satan's Subjects all that pass out of that by death into the life of the second are God's The poor wise Man that does all these wonderful things for his little City has infinite divine and infallible creature-wisdom and power in him And what can all the visible and invisible Powers of this World with all their Strength Devices and Bulwarks be before him He was made a poor Man by the death of our nature that he might make many rich in his spirit of Grace on the like obedient death of nature in them 2 Cor. 6. 10. 8. 9. Phil. 2. 6 8. Yet no Man remembers this poor wise Man No man in his own Wisdom receives his Gospel-Testimony Joh. 3. 32. takes his Counsel follows his Example Under the sinking weight of this charge will evil Men and Angels lie for ever They 'l not remember hearken to or follow this poor Man under his Cross into the like poverty and death of nature in them the only way into his everlasting Rest. Vers. 16. Then said I Wisdom is better than strength nevertheless the poor Man's wisdom is despis'd and his words are not heard The everlasting Wisdom of God's New-creation Gospel-Spirit is better then all the fading strength wisdom and power of Man and Angel in the first or old But the voice and words of this Wisdom from the impoverish'd natural man in Christ and his followers is not heard heeded or regarded by those that resolve to set up in that state of Nature for happiness which they preach death to as the only 〈◊〉 way and means for their being truly happy All such reproofs of death on the spirit of Nature and instructions of life in God's Spirit of Grace are despis'd and rejected by the wisdom of Man in first-Covenant Righteousness Even such are found all along this world a disobedient gain-saying People Isa. 65. 2. Rom. 10. 21. See the dismal and blessed consequents of not hearkning or hearkning to this poor wise Man's Counsels reproofs and instructions Prov. 1. 20 -33. Somethere are amongst the vast multitude of self-confident righteous men and also profane who at last are brought to regard this poor wise man's voice and his only the voice of his Spirit in himself and Saints 〈◊〉 still God has a little flock that are content to be made his little ones in Nature that he may make them his great ones and worthies too big and too many for all his and their enemies in his Wisdom and Spirit of Grace All do not finally provoke him Heb. 3. 16. Rom. 11. 1 -5. Christ then and his followers are not without all hearing from Men. For Vers. 17. The words of wise Men are heard in quiet more then the cry of him that ruleth among fools The words of Christ and his awaken'd Spiritual Saints the words of God's Wisdom which the Holy Ghost teaches and utters in both and all will be heard or obey'd by a spiritual Seed of Christ in meek broken-spirited quiet peaceable men Sons of Peace Their meek broken silenc'd natural spirit is of great price with God 1 Pet. 3. 4. as quitting its own vain corruptible life for that which is not corruptible but everlasting They instruct those that oppose them in meekness of Wisdom not returning railing for railing in the wrathful wrangling spirit and earthly wisdom of Nature that 's from beneath waiting with patience if God peradventure will give them Repentance or change of mind from Satan's lie to his Gospel-Truth 2 Tim. 2. 24 -26. See the different demeanour conversation and fruits of Saints in God's Heavenly Spiritual wisdom communicated to them and of incorrigible sinners in Man's and Satan's earthly devilish wisdom from beneath Jam. 3. 13 -18. Men in their wisdom render'd devilish by fixure in enmity to God's are the loud clamorous boasting self-exalting undertakers at teaching the way of Salvation who by their great cry and confused noise of their 〈◊〉 Cymbals their uncertain-sounding false Trumpet gain a ruling power amongst fools to the final destruction of blind foolish rulers and ruled leaders and followers All fall into the ditch or bottomless pit of deceits and destruction nets snares and death together Eccle. 7. 26. Mat. 15. 14. Such Rulers or Teachers and Leaders as a demonstration of their utmost folly and madness despise are offended at and absolutely reject all the words of God's Wisdom as folly and madness ver 12. Hos. 9. 7 8. 1 Cor. 1. 23. Joh. 10. 20. 7. 45 49. The quiet-spirited Saint in whom this self-confident spirit of enmity to God and all his Words of Counsel is broken down and silenc'd by the Cross listen to the Words of the true Shepherd or Teacher in himself and messengers and follow not but flee from the Stranger 's voice Joh. 10. 4 5. The spiritual Feet or Principles on which Christ's true Messengers or Apostles come to them are beautiful and all their right Words of reproof and instruction most welcome and desireable They esteem hear and obey the words of the truly wise as incomparably beyond all the cry and noise of Rulers among fools that presumptuously undertake an absolute impossibility even to declare the Mysteries of God's Wisdom in that wisdom of Man that 's foolishness to God's and all the words of God's to it Yet is their voice and cry readily heard and follow'd by Fools to the everlasting destruction of both and all Vers. 18. Wisdom is better then Weapons of War but one sinner destroyeth much good True Wisdom or the Spirit of Christ in Man is better then all the Wisdom Srength Power and Armour of Man or Angel in the first creation and yet more when all these are turn'd into and used in enmity to God For so became they the one sinner that from first to last 〈◊〉 against God Christ and Saints who must needs be unspeakably too hard for them All wicked Angels and Men in the finally abused first-creation state or spirit and life of nature make up and are the one sinner or uniform fighter against God in and with their first-creation Strength Armour and weapons of War And thus does this one comprehensive Sinner or perverted first-creation Spirit in all evil Angels and Men destroy much good even all the changeable goodness in that state which had they obediently return'd it back in sacrifice to God they might have receiv'd much good
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
own mortal life of Nature 'T is appointed to all once to die Heb. 9. 27. or lose all mortal life or good in Body Soul or spirit Is it short of a wonder that when Saints discover the devices of Satan all his serpentine crafts thorow-out his mystery of iniquity first-covenant professors jovial and frolick in his mystical spiritual Snares and a profane party in his brutish Snares or Fetters of a contemptible strumpet should both and all despise and hate him for his Gospel-news and discoveries of their madness and desperate consequence of finally persisting therein Yet thus it always was and now is more then ever in these latter and worse then all former times 2 Tim. 3. 1. The great peril to true Saints in the power of Godliness is from 〈◊〉 Brethren in the form thereof the life of the Law righteousness of Man Psal. 50. 20. Isa. 66. 5. In them is the highest strain of self-love For they have the most plausible beautiful self to love the mystical visage or clean face of a cleans'd enlightned Spirit The literal Beauty or outward Glory found in a profane party lies but in bodily complexion Skin and glittering outward Circumstances Pomp and Ornament The true Saint that brings tydings in his new Light of a spiritual Life Beauty and Glory demonstrating all these two sorts of mad People are pleasing and sporting themselves with to be but shadows a dream a vain shew kick-shows lighter then Vanity and themselves also Psal. 39. 5 6. 62. 9. spoils all their sport gives a damp to all their delusive pleasure and delight yea vexes and torments them all specially the dwellers upon Earth Rev. 11. 10. inhabitants of the earthly Jerusalem in first-covenant-life holy flesh The brutish inhabitants of the Sea a profane party are more gravel'd with and vex'd at such reproof and condemnation as is reflected upon them by the doctrine and conversation of strict-walking righteous legal-spirited Teachers and Professors They little mind or are able to take any cognizance of the spiritual Gospel-Saint or his doctrine And what need the Law-pretender to Gospel gilding all his Law-things with Gospel-words and appearances fear the Gospel-Saint's Testimony as to true Gospel-things What Why this spoils all their mystical Babylonish sport and trading Ministry with their false Wares It discovers all to be but Pictures or Idols pourtrai'd on the Walls of their house or Church on the Sand and on the mystical whited Sepulchers themselves who personate and would pass currant in such disguise paint and gildings for the true Gospel-Heirs of the Kingdom and so jussle out the true spiritual Heirs as blasphemous wranglers about it and groundless unwarranted pretenders to it Mean while the true Heir's invisible Saintship on which his title and claim to the Kingdom of Heaven depends consist's in a life 〈◊〉 with Christ in God hid under a vail of not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Law-life But when this vail wear's off and grow's daily thinner under the continual batteries and macerating-work of the Saint's spiritual on his natural Man the spiritual begins to shine thro' the vail look out at the windows or holes made in his natural spirit by the Gospel-Sword and Cross and flourish or 〈◊〉 himself thorow the 〈◊〉 thereof So thro' his impoverish'd 〈◊〉 mind or earthly nature comes his spiritual Man to shine forth in a right Gospel-conversation to and with other awakn'd spiritual Saints Cant. 2. 9. in such Gospel-works and fruits by which he 〈◊〉 his Father which is in Heaven Mat. 5. 16. But in converse with unawakn'd Saints and the generality of the two other sorts of sinners and 〈◊〉 of God and them that the world is full of must they with Moses pull the 〈◊〉 vail again over their spiritual faces lustre and beauty that they may appear to and talk with them in their own guise dress and language They must in this sense become all things to all Men with design to gain some to their spiritual Life and Doctrine yea turn many to the everlasting Righteousness of God by a true Gospel-conversion which Paul wholly wanted when an eminent Law-Saint 1 Cor. 9. 22. They must thus with Paul please all Men in all things 1 〈◊〉 10. 33. How In a serviceableness only to their true interest and the interest of Christ therein by gaining the opportunity to insinuate Gospel-Truths into them and jussle out 〈◊〉 lies As to a soothing Men up into a considence in Man's and Satan's Law-Gospel he say's do I seek to please Men then I should not be the Servant of Christ Gal. 1. 9 10. but indeed an enemy to him and his Gospel as I too long was thro' a confidence in my own Law-life or holy flesh But if no compliance in any sense might be lawfully used by spiritual Saints with otherwise-minded people common sinners or first-Covenant-Professors of Christ all opportunity of gaining them to a Gospel-state would be lost There 's no dealing with them at first dash without some-thing of condescention from a pure spirituality of conversation To grate on them with forc'd spiritual discourse and high mysteries of the Kingdom of God where there 's nothing preparatory towards the reception of such matters or hopefulness to give them any advantage thereby would render the most pertinent things impertinently as well as unsupportably troublesome and tormenting to any earthy fleshly-minded company corrupt or righteous holy or profane Such too generally is the guise dress and temper of in a manner all sorts of People in common conversation at this day that should they see or hear the inmost thoughts of spiritual Saints they 'd not endure their company Self the Anagram of Flesh backward rejecting h that 's no letter holy or unholy Nature professing or profane People are all of a knot in confederacy with World and Devil against the spiritual Saint and all his right words to a tittle about Salvation special 1 Tim. 4. 10. Yet enough has he to bear him up and maintain in him an undaunted spirit and invincible courage against all the despisings and misjudgings of these two sorts of blind dark-spirited confounded haters and rejecters of all Gospel-light and truth They both sit as in Plato's feigned Cave admiring their little glimmering Moon or Candle-light their intellectual rational Lamps in a Night-state or at best and highest but such Day-light as the mystical first-creation Sun or first-covenant Spirit gives and makes out to them In these various states postures accoutrements and enjoyments of Nature sit they both in a readiness to deride and scoff at the true Saint pretending to a yet transcendently higher Day-light under the beamings forth of the New-Creation Sun of infallible everlasting Light Life Righteousness and Wisdom the Gospel-new-Covenant-Spirit of Grace and Truth Those that are lifted up from amongst their fellow-mortals out of themselves or their own deep dark dungeon-spirit of Nature corrupt or righteous a miery pit of Corruption and 〈◊〉 filth of flesh or spirit enmity to
incident to Men under the wonder-working Power and Grace of God in the King of Saints Hos. 1. 6 10. God requir'd Israel to own him King submit to the Government of his Spirit in Samuel the same Spirit in which Christ is universal King All in that Spirit are his true obedient Subjects Any Person or any People that will not have this spiritual heavenly King reign over them and in them though his earthly Jerusalem Citizens or first-covenant People see how they 'l be handled by him Luk. 19. 14 27. This great universal King lately offer'd to set up his Theocratical Fifth-Monarchy amongst us His earthly-Jerusalem-Citizens in a first-covenant spirit pretended to it as the Corinthian 〈◊〉 in Paul's Gospel-time in a spirit nor Christ nor he could own for a reigning principle 1 Cor. 4. 8. and a huge noise they made of owning the King Jesus in but a knowledg of him after the flesh in a restor'd Law-life the very principle and state the Jews would have 〈◊〉 him King in Joh. 6. 15. Such first-Covenant first-Monarchists Kings or Princes of this World crucified the true King Jesus 1 Cor. 2. 8. They blasphem'd and crucified him for owning a Kingship and Kingdom not of this World in his Gospel-spirit of Grace and Truth that would have made him a King in that Law-life and spirit they were of and in They cry up their Heathen Cesar for their King rather then such a King Jesus Shall I crucify your King says Pilate We have no King but Cesar say they Joh. 18. 36 37. 19. 12 15. A plain case and our's just He that was for the right King Jesus in his true reigning Spirit must be shuffled out of the World with his great Master as an Enemy both 〈◊〉 Cesar and them 〈◊〉 and a first-covenant People are joyntly for the rooting Christ and his true spiritual Anointed Ones out of the World as not sit to live in it Psal. 2. 1 -- 3. Act. 22. 22. And what got Israel by refusing the King Jesus or Government of God in the said Spirit of true Prophecy grievances enow What help none to remove them God would not as he fore-threatned them when busie about their new choice of Government Ye shall cry because of your King ye have chosen but the Lord will not hear you says Samuel Fair warning See all this 1 Sam. 8. 6 18. The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus comes to strike down the ruling Power of that spirit in Man that 's but a Law of Sin and of Death and so by setting up his own kingly Rule and Power in him frees him from all evil and bondage Those that willingly submit to this death-blow of Christ on their ruling Law-spirit cast down their Crowns or ruling Power at his Feet and set the Crown on his Head in the day of their new-covenant Espousals to him owning his true Kingly-Spirit for their Ruler Cant. 3. 11. Christ struck down the earthy Law-king in Paul to the Earth and instantly set up his Gospel-spirit King and Ruler in and over him Act. 9. 3 4. The Law-spirit at best in fallen man is but the Amalekite-Ruler the Agag which tho' Saul spared in favour to it in himself as was implied in his unpardonable sin Samuel in the true Kingly Spirit of Jesus hewed in pieces when he said or thought as Man when the corrupt spirit of Nature is subdued and a Righteous Law-spirit set up in ruling authority in him surely the bitterness of Death is past here 's no Cross or Death-work by a Spiritual Gospel-Sword behind to be brought upon this Righteous Law-life 1 Sam 15. 32 33. Spiritual Friends of Christ have the whole counsel and mind of God made known by him to them First-covenant Servants in their Law-spirit of bondage holy flesh form of Godliness Righteousness of Man tho' as busy as may be in reading hearing preaching and obeying the letter of their Lord's Command in the Scripture are wholly strangers to the spiritual design sense or meaning of their Lord in all They know not what he does Joh. 15. 15. or has now done himself with our nature at best in his own Person nor will consider their duty in following him therein by giving it up at best in whatever state in their persons as God's requir'd Sacrifice He that keeps the spiritual Command of Christ believes or obediently submits to the Law of his Cross shall feel hear see or know no evil thing or word against him from Christ at last day when on his Judgment-Seat But he that believeth not quits not his Law-spirit or principle of life and action under the Gospel-Cross or spiritual Sword of Christ for the Gospel-Life of that very Sword or living Word of God will be damn'd Mark 16. 16. t. And a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment The spiritual wise man discerns an appointed time for the right use of a changeable first-Covenant Law-life and then as an antiquated Law-ceremony with the fading things and glory of it to be done away by a holy death as the Judgment and Command of God in Sacrifice to himself This Gospel-Sacrifice of Man at best was figured by the Law-Sacrifices of clean Beasts and Birds Spiritual Saints under the Law obediently gave up this Gospel-Sacrifice to God And all save a spiritual Seed refuse to give it under the Gospel When restor'd Law-life has serv'd its turn in man by his faithful performing Law-service to God therein suppressing the vile affections of the corrupt spirit of Nature 't is to give way to a better guide Christ's Gospel-Spirit or quicken'd up life thereof A Sentence or Judgment of Death upon the restor'd righteous Law-life of man must be submitted to by him with Paul 2 Cor. 1. 9. Law-life and the things thereof the Wisdom Righteousness Beauty Glory Fruits Works Duties Desires Thoughts Words Actions and all manner of performances therein kept up and finally preferr'd to Christ's Gospel-Life and things of God therein is the highest and most criminal Adultery and Murder Ezek. 16. 15 38. There 's an appointed time for Man and Angel too to die Heb. 9. 27. or lose that first-Covenant Law-life which was set up in them by creation The obedient loss of it under the Cross frees man from all guilt contracted by Sins past and all power of sinning any more for ever He thereby ceases from Sin and comes to be justified before God in a newness of life wherein he can never sin 1 Pet. 4. 1. Rom. 6. 7. 1 Joh. 3. 9. A change by the death of Nature of Law-life for Gospel under the working power of the Grace of God brings Men's matters to that blessed pass that no enemies will find any iniquity in them to charge them with nor will God himself Rom. 8. 33 34. Jer. 50. 20. The guilty sinner in the Saint that has committed innumerable 〈◊〉 is dead and gone and a spirit of everlasting Righteousness is become the single and sole principle