thee shall be called the Son of God This answer Mary could only receive by Faith and Intellectual Light And to strengthen her Faith he further tells her With God all things are possible What our Belief commonly called the Apostles Creed saith of this Mystery is very Excellent that he was conceived by the Power of the holy Ghost in the Womb of the Virgin Mary Doubtless the Substance of the Virgins own Body was the purer for her being a Virgin and a holy Woman yet it was much purer when the holy Ghost came upon her the Spirit of the living and Eternal God the Virgin Wisdom the true Virgin Mother did not as in the Birth of the World produce the Substance purely from her self this would have been Creation but the holy Ghost did penetrate the Substance of the Virgin and did purify and rarisy it that it was a holy Thing indeed that was born of her It was a great Honour and Priviledge the Virgin Mary was made Partaker of and doubtless a good measure of the Spirit of God did abide upon her but this power of the Spirit did not rest upon her but it did abide upon that holy thing which was born of her our blessed Lord Jesus Now this miraculous Work the Conception of our Lord is the second time the Spirit of God the holy Ghost performed the Office of a Mother in such an immediate and extraordinary manner and as the Conception was wonderful so doubtless the Thing conceived was extraordinary the Body of our Lord was a very pure and in a great measure a spiritual Body and yet a true Body for no Substance is the less true but the more so for being Spiritual The World and all things in it as it came immediately from the Spirit of God in its first Creation was very good and therefore true and substantial for nothing can be Good but what is True And now I see how Truth Being and Goodness are One Words I have before heard but never understood till now After the Fall Man and the whole Creation sunk more deep into Materiality but thereby did not become a more real and substantial Being but a more shadowy one as it went farther from the Light Now Matter when it is most dark shadowy and at a distance is capable of being reduc'd to a spiritual state by the Power of God through the Merits of Christ by the Operation of his Spirit for he shall change our vile Bodies and make them like his glorious Body Wonderful changes do pass upon Matter in this lower World by Natural Productions and Alterations and also by Artificial ways As I my self have seen and handled Matter changed from putrified vile stinking to beautiful sweet and in a degree rarified and refined and I believe far greater things of this kind may be performed than I have yet seen And I know Substances freed in any degree from the clogs of Materiality may perform extraordinary things How much more might the Body of our Saviour that never was so strongly fettered perform Wonders while he was on Earth in the Body after his Resurrection and now since his Ascension especially being in all these various states united to his Divinity The Body of our blessed Saviour is now in the blessed State of Glorification and I will not dispute what he can do but I do not at all believe he will change this most glorious bright shining Body of his into Flesh Blood and Bone and give it us to eat and to drink raw whole with I know not how many Absurdities that some profest Christians dare to mention but I hope this is far from any to believe there is no need of this the Flesh profits nothing the Spirit quickens and except we do eat the Spiritual Flesh and drink the Spiritual Blood of Christ we have no part in him Not Flesh and Blood in a more gross sence than our Saviour ever had to give us but in such a sence as a spiritual Man by a spiritual Discerning may receive Lord evermore give me this Bread not only two or three times a year once a month or once a week or only in a piece of Bread so qualified and blest do I desire it but that it may be my daily Food that I may live upon it I can no more spiritually live without it a day than I can live without my daily Bread I desire continually to feed upon the hidden Manna and to drink the Wine of the Kingdom and to feel more of that blessed Promise made good in me that our blessed Jesus gave forth to those that believe on him That out of their Bellies shall flow Fountains of Living Waters I would have my spiritual Sences always exercised about spiritual Objects my Eye stedfastly fix'd on my blessed Jesus Here I must set down a Love-Desire and Breathing after Him Ah blessed Jesus Let me see thy Face Let me draw near to thy most Holy Place With Wings of Eagles let me mount on High There to behold thy Bright Divinity Tho' I am here encompassed with Clay Let me behold the Dawning of thy Day Shine forth O Lord from the Center of my Heart Let Light Divine fill me in every part O fill my Soul with thy Celestial Fire With thy pure Spirit do thou me now inspire That I may sing and bless thy Holy Name And may return to thee thy own pure Flame I will return to thee my Love my All Be always ready to obey thy Call Write in my Heart the Royal Law of Love That whilst Below I may be like those Above Whose blest Employment is to love and sing Hallelujahs to their Heavenly King Now I will joyn with this most blessed Quire With them I 'll Praise with them I will Admire O Holy Holy is the Lord for he Gives Life from Death he sets the Pris'ner free Vnbind my fetter'd Soul that it may be Above the Earth and Materiality c. Let all the People praise thee O God let all the People praise thee thy Saints shall bless thee While I have a being my Soul shall magnify thy Name thou hast done for me great things and that my Soul knows right well Tho' I am nothing nor can do nothing nor know nothing but in thee and by thee I cannot praise thee without thee thou art my Life thou hast begotten me again to a lively hope and through the Riches and free Grace of my God to a poor sinful Creature a worthless Worm to me is this Grace given to become the Child of God and to know this third and last Work of the Spirit of God in performing the Office of a Mother in making me partaker of the New Birth and to know what it is to be born again not of Water nor of Blood but of the Spirit of the living and true God Words are empty things and perish in their own sound but it is a blessed thing to be enabled with the holy Apostles to say What we
heavy laden Soul to feel something of it in himself when we die in the Lord and rest from our Labours When we die into the Lord out of all things besides we shall know what it is to Rest and to rejoyce with Joy unspeakable and glorious To rest from our Labours and to have our Works follow us this is not a working for Life by Legal Performances it is rather a working from a Principle of Life where the Works follow and go not before the Life But there is something more than this there is a State of Rest and Joy wherein the Works of the Spirit that are wrought in us when the Lord works in us to Will and to Do follow us and are set before us to cause in us Joy and Rejoycing To look back upon our own Works which are performed from a Legal Selfish Princiciple causeth no true Joy nor Rest but rather lifting up in Pride and Self-will But in the true Work of the Spirit tho' we may go forth weeping bearing precious seed we shall return rejoycing bringing our Sheaves with us These Fruits of the Spirit Love Joy Peace follow such a Soul into the Rest and sweet Repose it attains here and also into the Rest which remains for the People of God Lord Let me know such a lasting permanent sixt Rest as may not have Evening nor Morning but may be a Day without a Cloud that I may have thy Light shining in me brighter and brighter to the perfect Day when thou wilt be my Light for ever The Wise Men whom God himself hath Enlightned are the only Wise Men and the most Happy having the inward Repose which the World cannot give nor take away Wisdom enables them to work and when their Work is come to the Seventh Day of Perfection they rest from their Labours their Work which was bulky and laborious comes to be easily portable pleasant Employment which they account rather Rest than Labour and the effects of their Works and the Work it self follows them where-ever they go and so mighty Works shew forth themselves in them as in their glorious Lord and Master who promised that the Works that he did they should do also Now these Works shew forth themselves in them more in their Patience Stillness and Rest than in all their busie Working 'T is but little Man hath to do in inward or outward Working when he hath committed himself and all his ways to the Lord. Now it is a blessed thing to feel any beginnings of this sweet Day this holy happy state of Rest within tho' it may not be brought forth thro' the whole Person But the Lord is the Rock and his Work is perfect He will perfect what concerns those that trust in him Wait patiently on the Lord O my Soul for he will give thee Rest for the Days wherein he hath afflicted thee O that the Peace of God that passeth all Vnderstanding may guard my Heart and Mind that no Storm nor Tempest may break in that I could retire into my strong Hold as a Prisoner of Hope waiting for the Redemption of my Body and not mine only but of the whole groaning Creation that the Year of Jubilee may be known to them when there shall be proclaimed Liberty for the Captives that the Creation may be brought forth into the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God O happy time when Jerusalem shall become the Praise of the whole Earth when the Lord shall set his King upon the holy Hill of Sion when our King shall be exalted by and upon a People who are as a barren Mountain nothing in themselves that so our King and our God the blessed JESUS may Reign to whom all Power in Heaven and Earth is given and of whose Dominion there is no End To whom be Glory and Honour and Blessing and Praise for ever and for ever Amen Hallelujah Great Lord of Lords and King of Kings Thou mak'st my dry and thirsty Earth to sing And in the Desart causeth a New Spring Awake my Soul and sing Jehovah's Praise Who giveth Life and from the Dead doth raise Mercy and Goodness are in all his Ways Hymns IN lowly Meekness I will dwell The Lilly of the Vale is sweet Ofttimes the loftiest Cedars fall And then alas their fall is great The Sp'rit that in the Myrtles moved Is a pure breath of holy Air Sometimes these Shrubs are visited Whilst higher Trees neglected are Come my Beloved o're Mountain top Come skipping o're the highest Hill Let thy Winds on my Garden blow Do thou with sweets my Spices fill When thou bright Sun vouchsaf'st to shine On my Beloved Sharon Rose It hath its sweetness all from thee And with thee takes a sweet Repose It opens as the Morning fair When thou bright Sun art pleas'd to appear Then shuts up all its hidden store Till thy Sight does again draw near Thus I 'm a Garden clos'd to all A Fountain seal'd to all but thee Lest little Foxes should spoil my Vine The tender Grape planted by thee And lest the Silver-running Stream That is pure as it comes from thee Should mingle with the muddy Earth Partake of its impurity Hymns OH how shall I the praises sing Of our great God and glorious King Vnless his Spirit doth indite What I should sing what I should write His Spirit doth Secrets Reveal He opens the Mystick seventh Seal The seventh Seal the seventh Thunder Opens in me a sacred Wonder He leads me to the Centre deep Where Spirits dark their Prison keep Yet in this doleful Night does dwell A Light that Conquers Death and Hell For from the dark and hidden Ground The Light arising may be found I have seen a darksome gloomy shade Aweful and Majestick made But at Sun-rising with his light Hath been more pleasing to the sight With the sweet and lovely Green Guilded with the Sun between So have I seen a Picture fair Made by Artists Hand more rare When from darkest shades I see The Light arising to a degree Most perfect pleasing and most sweet Made from Variety so great So have I heard a pleasing sound Arising from deep Gamuts ground But Oh my spirits how they fail When I in this vast Ocean sail Now I 've a deep and hidden sense From the Centre to the Circumference Most holy Spirit keep me still I may be guided by thy will Oh how can I describe the fall My self so great a Criminal Darker than night darker than shade Or all things else that have been made More sad than Musicks deepest ground I must my Lamentation sound And from this doleful dismal Cry I would call all the standers by To see this sad and tragiâ—k sight Which may the hardest Spirits fright Here you may see a Lamb lye slain With the deepest sharpest pain There you see Spirits Captive led Sure they are free amongst the dead Here are Spirits led in Chains Vnder cruel torturing pains There lye dry and ghastly Bones With hearts more
Love of Money is the root of all Evil now let all Christians especially such as profess to be Prophets desire that the Ax may be laid to this Root of the Tree I greatly Value the Sage Advice Counsel Blessing of such a Person I expect their Blessing should convey fome real Advantage as the Patriarchs of old did if such should deliver a Person up to Satan he may expect to feel the Effects of it but when Sentence is pronounced by such as have Word without Power upon a mistaken ground a Person against whom such a Sentence is pronounced feels not the sad Effect but it may be the contrary more of the Spirit of God then ever But if I am overtaken with a fault I hope one that is Spiritual may Restore me again in the Spirit of Meekness if a Spiritual Man who hath a Discerning desire me to Speak or Write it hath a great Authority with me if such an one say to me forbear it hath great Power however I have not Consulted any in the begining of these Writings nor had either Counsel or Assistance of any Man yet when I have written I submit them to the Judgment of such if such a one gives me a piece of Bread a Cup of Wine or of Cold Water I believe he will have a Disciples Reward and I a Disciples Blessing if such an one goes about to instruct me in Sacred Mysteries I hearken with great Attention knowing he hath a deep sight into the Wonders of God manifested in the Creatures for by the things that are made are seen his Eternal Power and Godhead Such Persons live not in this World so full of Wisdom and Beauty only to look on the outsides of things and only to reason about them why this is so and that so this Hot and that Cold only for Discourse sake no they Live in the World as Priests in a Temple and Praise God for the things that are as Hermes speaks they have an Eye opened by the Spirit of God by which they have an Intellectual Sight into the Creatures and thereby have a power given also to alter and change them and to turn their Insides Out to make the Light which was hid in the Center appear through its outward Shell the dark Vail and Shadowy Covering it hath upon it and thereby regain the Honourable Authority Man had given him at first of Subjecting the Creatures to his Rule and making them serve his Necessities tho at present Persons thus Highly Endowed with Wisdom Divine Natural if I may use that distinction at all both coming from one root are obscure and not much known in the World yet I firmly believe the time is very near when the World shall be Blest with the knowledge of their Persons and the opening the Treasures Wisdom hath furnished them with Now to the Honourable Fathers and Worthy Brothers of this Happy Society who are thus Led and Taught wherever you are through the whole World I send greeting you are all my Fathers you are all my Masters and Brothers particularly my Master T. S. I humbly desire to be received by you as a Pupil as a Servant to Wash your feet however suffer this Word of Exhortation from me at present let us all sing the Hymn of Silence within our selves till we are permitted to utter the Praise of the Great Jehovah in the Great Congregation so that our Voice may be heard through the whole earth for the whole World is our Temple our Church and we desire to joyn with every Creature things in Heaven things on Earth and under the Earth to praise the All-glorious GOD that created all things by whom and through whom are all things To whom be all Glory World without End Amen My Soul shall sing Jehovah's Praise Let that Great Name my Spirit raise That I may with the Angels joyn To sing a Hymn that is Divine That I may reach the Seraphick Quire Being quickned with the same pure Fire That makes them sing and makes them love In their Harmonious Orbs above Let such high Praise in Heaven abound May make Earth eccho to the sound That all the Creatures her below The Mighty Power of Love may know Good Will to Man so doth appear As makes him know his GOD is near To save poor Mankind'd fallen Race And bring him to his Native Place The Second Part. SOME Discoveries of the Mysteries of the Creation in the Six Days Work and the Seventh Days Rest O Eternal Father of Life and Power how sweet a Sabbath hast thou made this to me in giving my Soul Rest and Repose in thy self Blessed God of Sabaoth I find Rest in thee is sweet since thou hast made that blessed Promise good to such as are weary and heavy laden that in coming to thee they find rest to their Souls Dear and blessed JESUS thou Shepherd and Bishop of my Soul lead me in thy green Pastures by the still Waters of Quietness till thou dost make me to know where thou makest thy Flocks to rest at Noon that the hottest Affliction the most fiery Tryal may not interrupt my sweet Repose in thee Let me no more seek Rest and Satisfaction in the Creature where it is not to be had let me no more seek the Living amongst the Dead but as the World is crucified unto me let me be crucified unto the World Lord help me to dye daily to live continually in holy Resignation that when thou shalt call me to lay down this house of Clay this Earthly Tabernacle I may be enabled to say with my blessed Saviour No man takes away my Life if it is by the hand of Man or whatever other way I may freely lay down my Life and be willing to be Uncloathed that I may be Cloathed upon with my House from Heaven that being Cloathed upon I may not be found Naked but may be ready to enter into the Rest that remains for the People of God into that good Land the heavenly Canaan where sorrow and sighing shall flee away where I may sing the Song of Moses and of the Lamb who is worthy of Praise and Adoration for ever The 29th of July 1688. I may say with the holy St. John I was in the Spirit on the Sabbath Day on the Lords Day he was pleased to show me as before I had seen how Stillness and Rest is the true ground of Motion in God himself and of all true good regular Motion of the Creature so all such Motion is in order to Rest God himself after the six Days Work rested on the Seventh Day so the Lord blessed the Seventh Day And it is a blessed thing indeed when we come in any degree to this perfect Number Seven The Number of the Beast is Six hundred Sixty Six and if you add more Sixes it is but the Number of the Beast or at most but the Number of a Man it cannot be a perfect Number no it is the Number Seven is the perfect
a Woman in Governing a Family which is usually allowed them is Honourable and Comfortable if it is faithfully and prudently managed But Women are capable of other Employments than these Their Mother Wisdom who hath builded her House and hewn out her seven Pillars hath called simple ones to come in hither and she doth not exclude Females but they may receive the Law from her Mouth she will open her hid Treasures to them and shew them that Wisdom is better than Gold yea than much fine Gold better than Rubies that the Merchandise is better than Silver and the gain thereof than much fine Gold If Man did but know himself he would soon find Wisdom's Golden Mine If Man did but know and would consider his Divine Original his admirable Make in his Paradisical state that his outward Form was so lovely his Noble Soul was easily seen through it surely he would not behave himself unseemly towards his own Body which is a Temple for the holy Ghost to dwell in as the blessed Apostle tells us And did Man and Woman consider though now they are in a distinct Existence they were once One and when they are United in Marriage come to be so again surely they would behave themselves well in that Relation each in love and honour esteeming the other especially let the Woman be careful to perform her Duty for she was first in the Transgression she hath the more need to watch and pray that she enter not into Temptation When this Relation is thus lived in with this regard to themselves and one towards another it is a holy happy state and if ye be holy the Apostle tells us then are your Children also holy Jacob Behm that enlightened man saith Endeavour to get your Children good Souls This state so lived in is not unbecoming a Paradisical state and certainly entails a great Blessing upon Posterity But notwithstanding there is an Excellency in the Paradisical state yet the Heavenly is most Excellent wherein there is neither Male nor Female Bond nor Free but we are all one in Christ Jesus Our blessed Saviour tells us In Heaven there is neither Marrying nor giving in Marriage but we shall be like the Angels in Heaven And as all Variety proceeds from Unity so they must return to Unity again Christ himself shall deliver up the Kingdom to the Father and God shall be all in all Unity is the Beginning and End of all things and Rest is the Beginning and End of all things which leads me to the Seventh Day 's Rest The Evening and the Morning was the Sixth Day Now let all Creatures praise the Lord my Soul shall bless him while I have a being Glory to him that sits upon the Throne for ever and ever Amen Hallelujah The Lord Omnipotent reigns Let the Earth rejoyce and the multitude of Isles be glad Rejoyce O my Soul Rejoyce in the Lord evermore The Wise Mans Sixth Day is When his Work comes to Animality shall I say It hath then a Paradisical Body and rather more then so for it can penetrate Bodies and it is not the Property of Bodies to have Penetration of Dimensions But draw a Vail here lest Unhallowed Hands Touch or their Eyes See Whoever is a thirst let him come If he is not athirst for Gold but for Wisdom he will find Wisdom's House Open to Receive the Hungry and Thirsty And for such she hath prepared a Feast she hath mingled her Wine and made ready her Delicacies The Internal Sixth Day 's Work is When we come to the state of Manhood To be a Man in Christ Jesus is a blessed happy state nay to be a Babe in Christ is so but much more to be a strong Man There is Food prepared for all these states Milk for Babes Meat for Men strong Meat for strong Men when we grow up to the measure of the stature appointed to us in Christ Jesus All true Life and growth is from our being united to Jesus Christ our Head who will perfect and compleat his Body Now to our blessed and glorious JESUS who is able to perfect what concerns us and to sanctifie us wholly in Soul Body and Spirit To Him be Glory Honour and Praise for ever He will in his own time bring us to the Day of Rest the perfect Number Seven And God Rested the Seventh Day So God blessed the Seventh Day and hallowed it This Seventh Day was a Day without Clouds It is not said of the Seventh Day The Evening and the Morning were that Day as it was said of the First and so on to the Sixth Indeed the Natural Day that appears to this lower World is as other Days and to those who dwell in the mixtures of Light and Darkness Good and Evil nay they love Darkness rather than Light to them this Day hath not much more in it than other Days But the All-glorious God tho' he condescended to work and operate in this Principle wherein is some mixture of Darkness and we cannot but say God was in the Darkness yet he dwells not in the Darkness he dwells in the Light he Rests there he entred into his own Light Principle and Rests there God is Light and in him is no Darkness at all He is Love Anger is his strange Work so it should be with his Children Anger rests in the Bosom of Fools If a Prophet or Prophetess have a Command from God to go forth with a Message of Wrath a Denuntiation of Threatning they must be obedient but they must not rest in it they must not stir up the Wrath they must rather qualifie it with the Meek Love of JESUS there they may Rest in him they find Rest to their Souls I did in the beginning of my Writings say something as I was enabled of the Rest and Repose of the glorious Deity before his going forth into Manifestation or Operation It was then and is now an harmonious Stillness a sweet Repose only now there is an Additional Joy The Lord saw his Works and they were all very good He was pleased to behold his Works having so much of his own Image of Goodness in them this causeth Joy in God himself And tho' Sin did Cloud and Vail this Image yet the Lord in infinite Mercy and Wisdom did by Jesus Christ restore the faln Creation of Man break down the middle Wall of Partition not only between Jew and Gentile but between God and Man And our blessed Lord Jesus himself is the New and Living Way by which we enter in within the Vail now When one Sinner returns there is Joy in Heaven over one Sinner that repents and the Father receives the Prodigal with Joy till at last the whole Work shall be accomplished and every Creature of things in Heaven things on Earth and under the Earth shall bless and praise the Lord for ever O what a blessed Sabbath will that be But who can express any thing of it Only the Lord makes a poor weary
thereby put it into its right order of moving and established the Laws of its Motion in which course of moving it remains to this Day only to show that he is a Wise and Free Agent that moved it at first and continues present with it to direct all its Motions the usual Course of it hath sometimes been a little altered and new Workmanship hath been made to appear to show the Soveraignty Wisdom and Power of the Maker and Mover of all things Some have compared this World to a Clock-work that kind of Work may a little explain to us the Matter and Motion of this great Machine or Engine the great World but in this they greatly differ the little Clocks and Watches are made and put into Motion but left by the Maker to move a determinate time without him or he leaves it to some other Agent to carry on the Motions But if by Accident or some Ignorant Hand something should come in between the Wheels it would wholly stop or disorder the whole Frame but if the Wise Artist brings in any new Movements they may be for Ornament and Use in the Work this hath been done in the upper Wheels of the great Clock-work our Visible Heavens which proves what I before asserted the presence of an Omniscient Mover And as the Visible Heavens may be discours'd of as the upper Wheels of a Clock for their Circular Motion so may the Earth and its Motion be a little explained by comparing it with the Pendulum that ponderates and gravitates the Motion of the Earth being somewhat like this not as some have supposed whirling about its Axis but moving as we call it forward and backward Eastward and Westward which causes the Ebbing and Flowing of the Sea which whirls not about like a Whirlpool but moves constantly East and West the cause of which I shall by and by intimate a little more fully that the Visible Heavens are kept in their Beauty Order Motion by the Power of Attraction of Divine Energy Power Virtue from the upper Light World I am well assured but how this is performed I shall not more largely express at present such Knowledge is too wonderful for me yet sometimes such a little Living Engine as my self in its moving up and down this great World feels something of the Divine Magnetism and Attraction in such a manner as no words can express fully yet it is such as gives a little Knowledge of such Powers and Virtues in their various Degrees and Measures through the whole Universe But to speak of Motion as it is performed by Second Causes it is performed in the great World by the Attraction or Magnetism of Light and Fire that Fire draws Fiery Substances is obvious to common Understanding and Experience The Lights and Fires of the Visible Heavens are placed quite round the Earth and so draw and Attract strongly the Internal Heat and Fire contain'd in the Earth drawing thus every way as a Second Cause keeps the Earth and Water whereof the whole Globe consists in equalibrio but at the Rising of the Sun which is a large Aggregate of Light and Fire the Earth enclines that way and at the Setting the other but that it Constantly keeps not this Motion and no other is from the interveening of the Moon and other Heavenly Bodies which also have the strong Power of Attraction And there is also in the Earth some large Orifices 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which more strongly may attract and so move and encline the Earth but in what part of the Globe these are placed I either have not read in my little Knowledge of Geography or have forgot these hints if worthy consideration may put some more fit Person upon the Enquiry and they may express their Thoughts in a better Method Some may say these indeed are some Theoretical Discourses Particular Opinions or Apprehensions of Things but of what use we know not either to the Minds of Men or their outward Condition Whether these Considerations may be useful in the Mechanicks I know not to such as have been long Studying to make some Engine with a Perpetual Motion what they mean 〈◊〉 â—â—â—petual I know not I suppose only a long Duration I am apt to think something of this kind may be made that by the Power of Magnetism may continue longer moving than any thing else hath been found But though I see something how this may be done yet not so as to give a perfect Model to any Body nor can I at present work it with my own Hands I know not what time may produce of this kind I am not yet any good Mathematician Secondly These two Principles of Philosophy Matter and Motion simply considered may if made use of produce things useful to the Health of Mankind and may cause strange Changes in many Substances I will instance only in an Experiment I think call'd the Torecellian Experiment performed in the King of Denmark's Laboratory where the Compact Body of Gold being for a considerable time ground in a Gold or Steel Mill was so opened and changed as to become a high useful Medicine for the Bodies of Mankind and I know not but in this way it may be made capable of penetrating Mineral Substances and thereby become useful many ways wherein the Consideration of what hath been said may be useful to the Minds of Men I shall say a little and so Conclude this Discourse The Great and Good God did make all things and put them into motion for great and wise Ends nothing moves that it may move but that it may be of some use and service while it moves and in order to Perfection and Rest hardly any Man moves but he intends Health or Business and in a little time Rest The motion of the whole Creation is in order to Perfection and Rest and this is only by terminating in the Blessed Fountain of Being Some Creatures do wander and seem to go out of their way but he that guides all their motions knows how to reduce them to their true end his Glory and their Happiness There is a Line in the Heavens called the Zodiack through which all the Planets move some of them seem to wander up and down this Line transverse up and down but all come to the same end with those that keep a direct Line that runs through this great Circle The Sun keeps its constant Course through a Line called the Ecliptick Line we may imitate this Heavenly Body in a constant even motion some other Lights do move in the same Circle but by their wandrings are longer e're they perfect it I find my self liable to wander and stray but I often pray seek the â—oul of thy Servant O Lord and I beseech thee seek all thy straying Sheep gather them into one Sheepfold that every Creatâ—re of Things in Heaven and Earth and under the Earth may praise thee Alpha and Omega Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Amen Bless the Lord O my Soul FINIS
away In thy Light let me see Light Strengthen my Optick Faculty that I may look within the Vail and behold Thee Thou Sun of Suns the Brightness of the Fathers Glory I can see but little of Thee I can know but little of Thee I cannot Comprehend Thee do thou Comprehend me Surround me with thy Brightness Gather me up into thy Self that Inferiour Lights may be under my feet that I may no longer be governed by their Influences but may be under the immediate Conduct of thy Light World where they need not the Light of the Sun for thy Self is the Light thereof When shall it be said to thy Church Arise and shine for thy Light is come Even so come Lord JESUS come quickly And God said Let there be Lights in the Firmament of the Heaven to separate the Day from the Night and let them be for Signs and for Seasons c. and let them give Light on the Earth And God made two great Lights the greater Light to rule the Day the lesser Light to rule the Night He made also the Stars and God set them in the Firmament to shine upon the Earth and to rule the Night and the Day and separate the Light from the Darkness And God saw that it was good God by his Spirit made the Heavens and by his Spirit he garnished and embellished the Heavens The Firmament was before a beautiful Looking-Glass it was an admirable one indeed when the lovely Forms of Bodies of Light were to be seen in it God said Let there be Lights in the Firmament This was not only to Adorn but for many admirable Uses for Signs and for Seasons They sign and signify out much to the Inhabitants of this lower World they have a Voice to us if we could understand it there is no Tongue nor Language where their Voice is not heard but how few understand the Language They were to give Light on the Earth Light is one of the most comfortable Blessings we have it is one of the good Gifts that comes from the Father of Lights If it were ask'd Hath the Light a Father As Job was ask'd concerning the Rain We might answer It hath a Divine Original For the Firmament is a Mirror as it shews to us the Births and Representations of the upper Light World the Supercelestial Sun and Moon and Stars the seven Spirits of God the seven Golden Lamps shew themselves in their various Lights and put forth their Influences in the visible Heavens from thence they are conveyed down to our lower World and we have our Sun and Moon and Stars in the Earth we have our Sun Centralis as some Philosopher calls it I think Sandivogius Some other Enlightned Person saith There is Heaven above and Heaven beneath know this and be happy I mention this in this place because the Mineral Kingdom hath some share in this Fourth Days Work for when the Lights of the Firmament were made to shine forth being a Reflection from the most glorious Upper Light World they did not rest there so but that they put forth Themselves into a Birth into a Reflection or Mirror in this Lower World but here the Christal is so thick it is hard seeing through it the Fall hath so much mudded this Principle this Lower Earth Besides our Sun and Moon are but the Reflection of a Reflection the Shadow of a Shadow Therefore we must dig deep for this Wisdom as for hid Treasures and we shall see Wisdom hath builded her House so as to lay her seven Pillars deep in the very Foundation in the very Center of all things I was ready to wonder that the Mineral Kingdom was not described as well as the Creation of the Vegetable and Animal in this first Chapter of Genesis till my Eyes were opened to see it did belong to this Fourth Day 's Work And now I see more clearly the deep Significancy of Joseph's Blessing which hath contained in it the Sweetness of Heaven above and the Deep lying beneath the sweet Increase of the Sun and of the Moon Lord after this sight let me no more think any of thy Creatures mean or little let me be always thankful for the least of thy Favours Nothing can be little that comes from Thee thou Being of all Beings Thou hast nothing little to give All thy Works are wonderful in Wisdom hast thou made them all Thy Footsteps are glorious thy Footstool is richly adorned All thy Ways are Pleasantness all thy Paths are Peace I desire to be in Subjection to Thee thou Father of my Spirit that I may live that I may live to praise live to love and to adore thee for ever The lower Sun Moon and Stars that inhabit our Earth are for the use of Man especially a wise Man who knows their Original Nature and Use and when he intends to improve them for the health of his Body or benefit of his Estate he makes them to shine in his Firmament and they are to him for Signs and Seasons by which to govern his Work they are to enlighten his Earth to make it fruitful to bring forth their own bright Forms till his véry Earth is throughout enlightned and comes to be it self a bright shining Sun This Fourth Day 's Work is figured out in Man who is the Little World in the Frame of his outward Body as is said in the 12th of the Ecclesiastes Whilst the Sun is not dark nor the Light nor the Moon nor the Stars The Fall of Man Eclipsed the Lights and laid them liable to Darkness It entied into the very Soul and Spirit and darkned the Light there But when the Spirit of the Lord comes to work the New Birth the New Creation this Fourth Day 's Work comes to be known in the Soul O who can express the glorious Splendor if it When the Lord himself comes to be a Sun and a Shield When the Sun of Righteousness doth arise with Healing in his Wings The Dawning of this Day the Morning Redness the Sun Rising Who can express the unutterable Sweetness and Strength that is felt in the happy Soul that is thus shined upon But to have this Sun shine brighter and brighter to the perfect Day to increase into the Light of seven Days O may a poor low humble Soul that feels a little Refreshment from the Beams of this Sun lie prostrate till it feels that it is throughout penetrated and filled till it is cloathed with the Sun and hath the Moon under its Feet that it may go forth in the power of this Sun as a Giant refreshed with Wine and as a strong Man to run a Race O my Soul lie low prostrate thy self at the Feet of thy JESVS in silence wait his pleasure stir not up thy Beloved till he please He hath sometimes visited a Soul with such Favours as hath made it sing silent Waiting I do find A Treasure opens in my Mind Turn in my Soul turn in and see The fulness of
this Treasury 'T was placed here by thee O Lord 'T is opened by thy Living Word 'T is he himself doth keep the Key Of all thâ— hidden Mystery He is my Sun of Righteousness Who my whole Person doth possess He is my Gold tried in the Fire He is my Cloathing my Attire He is my Food on him I feed And find him to be Meat indeed Now prostrate Soul do thou arise For thou hast won the glorious Prize Do not sit sighing here alone Since thou this happy Day hast known The Lovely Garland thou hast won Thy Head is wreathed with the Sun The Fifth Day 's Work of Creation was The Lord 's calling forth the Prolifick Virtue of the Water and Air which was immediately obeyed and they brought forth abundantly And God said Let the Waters bring forth abundantly the moving Creature that hath life and Fowl that may fly above the Earth in the open Firmament of Heaven And God created great Whales c. This word abundantly is twice used in the account of the Fifth Day 's Work this shews the abundant quantity of Water that there was to bring forth and the abundance of Creatures that were brought forth of Fish and Fowl which are innumerable and wonderfully various in their size shape and other qualities their Number being so wonderful and beyond comprehension their disproportion of size was wisely made the most vastly disproportionate of any of the other Creatures the Whale being of the largest Bulk of all living Creatures and therefore may be called the Chief of all the ways and works of God and as Mr. Boyle observes in his Excellent Book of Natural Philosophy There is bred in a liquid substance in Vinegar the smallest Creature so that there is room left for wonderful Variety to come between which is admirably filled up with great Variety O blessed Eternity that will give Time and Capacity to see the Wonders of the Ways and Works of God! To see them in their Original not only in a Glass in shadowy Representations the great quantity and prolifick Virtue of the Waters is seen in their wonderful Encrease which is seen now in their Spawning and bringing forth Multitudes at once one Fish bringing forth a greater Number at one time than any other Creature doth produce in many years The Fowls those curious Aerial Inhabitants are very admirable they also were the Fifth Day 's Work and tho' they inhabit the Air the Water is only mentioned as the cause of their Production by the power of God which proves what I have before said of the affinity between the Water and Air and there were some of these Creatures made as it were of a Middle Nature as Fish that fly and Fowl that swim These Inhabitants of the Aerial Region are very worthy Contemplation their excellent Situation curious Make variety of Colour pleasant Employment admirable Oeconomy or Government are all cause of much Wonder There is no sort of sublunary Creatures I would so soon change my Make with as these Their Aerial Bodies are so light their motion is swift David was ready to envy their getting so near the Altars he desired the Wings of a Dove to fly away and be at rest Their Employment is pleasant chearfully singing their Creators praise They are immediately under their Creator's bountiful Care and Provision they sow not nor reap yet are taken care of and have their Meat in due season I cannot but particularly admire the Bee that pretty little Chymist that knows how to separate the Substances We may learn Natural and Moral Philosophy from this little Insect It industriously works and wisely improves the matter that it works upon by separating the Precious from the Vile Their Government is Excellent there is Superiority for Orders sake and yet love makes an Equality they dwell in their little Houses one by another without encroaching and yet communicating tho' there is something of particularity it hath one Foundation and is closely joyned so that it encreases into a common stock I cannot but much admire this Order of Beings the winged Choristers If I could understand the Language of Nature they would all teach me much to know the God of Nature who hath made them and taught them and takes care of them continually In the Philosophers Fifth Day 's Work there is the Exaltation of Eagles the Doves of Diana whose meek Natures might teach their Masters Patience their Phaenix is their most Noble Bird for out of its Ashes is produced and doth arise a young One more Noble In the Inword Work upon the Minds of Men there is a great Advance of the Work towards a finishing the New Creation the New Birth and may be called the Fifth Day 's Work when we are made to mount up with Wings as Eagles It is a blessed thing to know this Fifth Number to be accomplished in us when we come to be above the perturbation of the Elements when we dwell in the Upper Region in Serenity and Stillness in the One pure Element If we have Faith as a grain of Mustard-seed it will grow up till at last it will become a great Tree that the Fowls of the Air shall lodge in the Branches our own Spirits will come to dwell in this beautiful Tree of Faith which is another Life than we knew before and other good Spirits will inhabit with us that we shall say with the Spouse The time of the singing of Birds is come and the Voice of the Turtle is heard in our Land We shall joyn with Quires of Angels to sing Hymns of Praise to our God and King Hallelujah Hallelujah Some Souls are redeemed and brought to this state but O when shall the Church be brought from amongst the Pots from amongst the soil and impurity that cleaves to them When shall she arise like a Bird of Paradise with her Wings of yellow Gold O my Soul wrestle in secret with thy God that this may be accomplished that there may be a going on to the Sixth Day 's Work Moreover the Lord said Let the Earth bring forth the living thing after its kind Cattel and every creeping thing c. And it was so Furthermore God said Let us make Man in our Image c. Read to the end of the Chapter The Lord may open more to thee whoever thou art than to me who know nothing but am a little Child I am become a Fool that I may be made Wise I desire that my blessed Jesus may be made of God to me Wisdom 'T is the Fools and simple Ones to whom Wisdom cries She lifts up her Voice and saith Whoso is simple turn in hither And to a poor simple One as I am she may shew the Excellency of the Six Day 's Work of Creation And the Lord said Let the Earth bring forth This was a pure Earth as it came forth immediately from the Lord as it was the immediate Product or Birth of his Spirit And when the dry Land did appear
at the Command of God the Lord saw that it was good And tho' at the first appearance the dry Earth had not so great a Lustre as afterwards when it was beautified and adorned but was partly like a calcined Earth the Fire and Water and Air being in a great degree separated from it yet when the Lord by his powerful Word call'd forth its Virtue it shew'd it self to have an admirable Life in it And indeed the Earth it self was exceedingly more pure beautiful lovely than since the Curse It did far excel in Colour Virtue Clarity and Brightness that all the Creatures that were then the immediate product of this Earth were like it self very good very lovely and transparent such were then the Plants the Beasts and the Man whose Name signifies the Red Earth of which he was made Whosoever hath his Eyes opened by the Lord to see the Paradisical State of things they will see the Plants to appear Christaline like precious Stones and all other things proportionably advanced to a most Noble Excellent state which I doubt not some Persons have seen while in the Body more clearly than my self Could we see or else believe that the Beasts were ever such Excellent Creatures and capable of being made so again there would not be such cruelty used towards our fellow-Creatures as there is when we see they are part of the same Day 's Work with our selves of the Sixth Day 's Work and that they were very Excellent in their Make and that by the Fall of Mankind who was made the Lord of them the poor Creatures came to sink with him into a low deplorable state of Misery sure we shall commiserate them we shall gain the true Empire over them by behaving our selves towards them with much love and some respect tho' as to inferiour Creatures yet this love will gain our true Empire over the Creatures When this Spirit of Love goes forth that Promise shall be made good That the Lion shall lie down with the Lamb and a little Child shall lead them While we are wrathful toward the Creatures it stirs up wrath and enmity in them but when we rule them in love with wisdom they easily subject themselves to us when we rule more from a Spirit given us of God to govern than from a desire in us or a will to have Superiority over our fellow-Creatures Lord Let not my Sins my Struggle with thy Will any longer hinder thy great Blessings from going forth in the Earth to the Release of the poor groaning Creatures Man and Beast but help me to groan with them for the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God And if an evening must go before this morning help me to submit to it and help all thy People to submit in holy Resignation to thy Divine Will thou Soveraign Lord of Lords and King of Kings to whom be ascribed all Power Might and Dominion for ever Thus have I been enabled to say something of the first part of the Sixth Day 's Work Now the Lord help me to know my self such Knowledge it too wonderful for me So God created Man in his own Image O that the Vail might be more perfectly drawn away that clouds this Image in me that I may see its brightness so clearly shine forth in me that what I see and feel I may declare Surely this Image doth consist in Rectitude and Order in the Union of Truth Being and Goodness God made Man upright he was made sincere in simplicity and integrity the uprightness of Man is the Image of God as he is a pure Unity the One from whom all Variety flows and this Image of God is most admirable most lovely thus God himself characterizeth Job Hast thou considered my Servant Job a Perfect Man and Vpright When the Lord had thus described Job presently he was set up as a Mark for the Enemy of Mankind to shoot at Also Job's Friends and others try their Skill upon the good Man being stirred up by the Evil One. There is nothing so much hated by the Evil One nor wicked Men as Integrity and Uprightness There is nothing to which they are so much contrary because all sin is a breach of the Unity It dwells in Contrariety Disorder Confusion but when we once gain the blessed Image again of Uprightness there is nothing so secures a Soul from evil Spirits and Men and from the strife of Tongues as this There is a passage in the Scriptures Integrity and Vprightness shall preserve me or to that purpose Mark the Perfect man and behold the Vpright for the end of that man is Peace from this Root an Admirable Variety doth flow God made Man Upright upon this Tree in the midst of the Garden did grow Twelve manner of Fruits Righteousness Holiness Love Peace Joy Humility Patience and other excellent Fruits here grows forth a numerous variety but all in a Beautiful Order and Harmony in the Tree of Mixture of Good and Evil there is Contrariety and Disorder there is Breaking in pieces and Confusion but where there is Integrity we shall be as Mount-Sion that cannot be moved Man was made in this blessed state of Rectitude and and Order Uprightness and Integrity of Spirit and Soul and also his very Body was of an Excellent Proportion Transparent Brightness Admirable Colours to set out this Curious Structure we shall know more of this when we shall be made to return into the Paradisical State more fully that the very Body may partake of it and the Youth be Renewed like the Eagles it is but few yet know any thing of this some there are though I am but waiting for the Redemption of the Body In the Image of God Created he him Male and Female Created he them Man was in every respect made after the Image of God the Female as well as the Male. I do not see that Adam sinned in desiring to bring forth his Female Self It was before the Fall and was no part of the Fall it was a Variety but not Contrariety it was a Pattern of things in the Heavenly Distinction is consistent with Unity Marriage is Honourable and the Bed Vndefiled True Marriage is very Honourable The Apostle saith it represents Christ and the Church who when the Spirit of God hath made ready she will be the Bride the Lambs Wife After these Considerations methinks none should dare to profane that State And the Lord blessed them and said Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the Earth and subdue it and have Dominion c. This Authority was given to the Female as well as to the Male therefore it is unjust in any to say they are not capable to Rule they are in most cases certainly to give Man the Superiority yet the Woman is capable to receive a Spirit of Government when the Lord pleases to give it But it is certainly more happy to be Governed than to Govern unless God calls for such a Service The subordinate Station of