with the precious blood of Christ in that by the death of his flesh he imparted the Word of the living God which remaineth for ever according to the Worke of God in the resurrection of Jesus 〈◊〉 1 Pet. 1.18 to 25. So as now he must give his body which is thus bought from the earth and from earthly men to follow the holy Spirit of Christ whithersoever it shall guide his body till death Ioh. 16.13 with Revel. 14.3.4 The sixth day of the week IN my sleepe by night I was instructed in the righteous judgements of our God by comparing them with the judgements of men thus There are diverse States of governement in the world and these all have their Religion severall under their owne authority If any of these Kingdomes doe send forth their spirituall authority to condemne and execute all within their Dominion which as they terme them are Heretickes Schismatickes and Rebells against the present religion or worship of God constituted by their Authority at the publishing of this judgement all that are guilty in their Consciences doe flee and hide themselves as from men whereas all that are faithfull in that Religion and devour in that will-worship doe not scare but are more bold and confident under the power of that God knowing that every man shall be examined by name whether he be Hereticke if he be so found it is examined whether hee will repent and conforme to their will and not one shall perish without good tryall Such is the estate of the Kingdome of God our Creator in the authority of his Christ those of the world whose hearts condemne them of rebellion against the World and will of Majestistie and doe feare and shift to put off his excention whereas all that repent and are reconciled to him in all things and know the reason of his judgement are safe from feare of the evill which is sent against those which are from their Maker For if men be so just as nor to condemne one that is no rebell or that will repent how shall we thinke that the executioners of the judgement of God in the plague warre or famine are carelesse to destroy any one without great cause The first day of the weeke I Have grieved to consider how men are deceived by the authority or God of this world in that they bring all both God and Christ Spirit and Word subject to their judgement a Thes. 2.4 So that whosoever pray in spirit subject to their spirituall authority they pray but to what they are servants unto which cannot helpe because it is the feare and authority of mortall man to whom such spirituall service is done the onely true God and his Christ is despised the power and wisdome of man is exalted in their hearts therefore if man doe not heare and helpe there is not God to heare except it bee to require vengeance for the abuse of his name and word 2 I have considered that they which use the word of the holy Scriptures translated or preached in worldly glory under morall authority their estate is farre more inexecusable then they which never use that word in way of prayer praise thankesgiving or spirituall worship because these doe not so blaspheme God in Christ as to give that honour unto man the creature which is due to the Creator as the professors doe 3. I have observed how the wise men of this world doe destroy their wisdome by thir authority For in any doctrine of Religion they will propose the holy Scriptures to be then wisdom and ground of truth but if their doctrine be opposed by any then they leave their wisdome and slee to their auâ—hority for helpe which sheweth that their wisdome is but a pretence and that their authority is the pillar and ground of their Church 4. I have noted also the deceit of mans mind that not what he professes or pretendeth in word to be his God and Christ is so to him but what he mindeth in his heart under such a pretence As if a man professâ— the onely true God or preach the Lord Jesus Christ and indeed doe minde another word or authority then of God or doe seeke meat for his belly under the name of Jesus Christ in these cases it is not what hee speaketh but what he imagineth mindeth and seeketh indeed which is his God and for the obtayning of the desire of his minde he denyeth God in deed and all power of godlinesse 5. Whatsoever spirituall service or worship men performe as to God their reading prayers cryings howlings teares and assembling in Idoll Churches are all turned into sinne while they know not God but give that service to the World or Authority of men which is onely due unto God the Creator of all men according to his Word and Will manifested from the beginning in Christ The fifth day of the week THe building and maintaining of the heathen Idol Temples hath been in enmity of the Temple of our God in Israel but now they are in contempt of the Temple of Christ which is his body endued with the holy Spirit Therefore all that partake of I doll-temples doe seeke their life and honour in the flesh under the Persecutor and thereby turns the backe in contempt of the reproach of Christ they all deceive themselves in the flesh they seeke to save themselves by the authority of the Devill to kill whereas to deny their service is to deny ones selfe for they will spoile one of all FJNJS
their kinde as 2 Pet. 2.22 Or evill trees cannot but bring forth evill fruit whatsoever they shew at first Whereas good simple and perfect of heart that hath received the good seed will bring forth fruit to perfection When the tree is of a good nature it cannot but bring forth good fruit Math. 7.16 c. The branch that is in Christ is fruitfull to the Father and it is more fruitfull Ioh. 15.1 c. The new man that is once borne againe from above is renewed dayly 2 Cor. 5.17 with 4.16 Men that are imperfect and wavering minded will looke forward and then backward Luk. 9.62 Iam. 1.8 Whereas perfect men forgetting the things behinde doe stretch forward to the things before they presse hard to the marke c. Phil. 3.13.14.15 All that are perfect in love mercy towards the Brethren the grace of God and his love and mercy remaineth firme to them 6. There is great difference betweene the repentance under the Law of works and the repentance under the Law of faith They after the Leviticall Law were borne holy according to the carnall Commandement and were instructed in the Law of God from the breasts and whensoever they sinned they repented and were justified by the works of the Law and because their conscience was never freed from the weaknesse of the flesh they fell commonly into sinne and repented and this was the course of the obedient men such as of David till they came to know the free justification of God by faith whereas the true repentance after the Priesthood of Christ doth clense the Conscience from the guilt of all sinnes past and doth perfect them from that minde of the flesh so as sin doth no looger raigne in their mortall body but in this justification by faith in Christ they present themselves to God as living from the dead and their members weapons of righteousnesse to God Hebr. 9.9 14. Rom. 6.2 12.13 The third day of the VVeeke THe mysteries of the Kingdome are shewed by the Parable of a Sower Luk. 8.10 c. with 5. The Sower is the Sonne of man and the seed is the word of God inlightening to immortality The Deceiver is the Devill both as hee is a spirit and as he hath the authority in men of this world which as vessell or a bed do cover and darken the light of immortality in this world under mortality The men that heare the word are of foure sorts The first sort of hearers are onely hearers and no doers these deceive themselves in the vaine knowledge of the word for the Devill and the World take away the word from the heart that they cannot beleeve the truth of it in such sort as to reforme their lives and to fulfill it in their obedience that so they should be saved but as an hard way hath seed and sheweth it as to allure the fowles of the ayre So aâ— hardâ—â—d heart and worldly minde as Matth. 13.15 May have knowledge by the word but they onely boast of it in a common profession after the mortall life whereby they may be made the better instruments for the Devill to possesse such hearts commonly to serve every lust as turne and to be subject even as for a man to walk in a hard way at his pleasure these are such as know but beleeve not 2 The second sort are such as receive the seed in stony ground These doe both know and beleeve the Word so as with joy to doe it very hastely for as the stony ground doth make the seed to spring forth soonest so these take the Word quickly with joy as Mat. 17.13.5.20 Matt. 4.5 but have no strength of heart to hold the word constantly in the faith hope and love of immortality but when the mortall Authorities come upon them and afflict them with the Sun beames of their torments and chastise them as a Father for that they would forsake them and their mortall glory to embrace a vaine base word as it seemeth to them without any wordly society honour or pleasure And thus wordly men being offended at the Word do rage against these sort of people that with such joy received it whose hearts also being not prepared for these tryals doe faint under the burthen and all their knowledge faith and obedience to the word is by force of the hard persecution disdained to bee any longer beleeved in their heart and as stony ground it is able to bring the fruit of the word to no further perfection therefore they now submit their heart to the power that oppresseth from without them by which all their former light is concluded in darkenesse 3. The third sort are such as receive the seed amongst thornes These also are such as know and believe for a time but they nourish an enemy to the word within them namely worldly cares desire of riches and the pleasures of this mortall life which may seeme to sustain and to give honour and credit to the word but in the end it will quite chocke the faith hope and love to immortality as that such will fall away of themselves wholly to imbrace this present world the reason is because these were never perfect in love nor sound in the faith but having a heart and a heart the deceits of sin which are in the world through lust growing naturally in the hart will soone exalt such men in pride of knowledge to fall into the condemnation of the Devill secretly For thus much doth the parable import to them which know it that the seede which fulleth among thornes doth by helpe of the thornes in some part of the seede spring up to be taller and longer yet at length the thornes take away the naturall being of the corne so as it perisheth as a man whose breath is stopped if the thornes riches and pleasures of life be cut down and fall from him he is seen to fall of himself as a tree that being decayed at the roote is overswayed of the top and the fall thereof is greater by how much the weight of the branches is heavier This is the estate of those which receive the word of Christ with the glory of the world pleasures of sâ—â—s the greater shew it maketh the greater shame it bringeth in the end the greater condemnation in the word and none of these can bring forth fruit to perfection 4. The last sort of men are like good ground These receive the word as the Children of wisdom and the Children of light they know believe the word with reverence they prepare the heart that it be gentle perfect and simple as worthy to receive it being carefull that what they know and believe they may hold both in profession and practice constantly and with increase wherefore this good ground bringeth forth fruit in patience Luke 8.15 The reason is because of the contrariety of the evill one either in worldly authorities or in the lusts of the flesh which hate the word
and Gospel of immortality for he that receiveth the word of truth withall his heart and full resolution to suffer with Christ the saver thereof this man can never fayle In persecution of the word he hath prepared his heart to suffer and so he continuath constant unto death and he winneth by holding the word the Crown of an immortal life In all other temptations which are in himselfe together with the world he denyeth himself after the honour of this world he hateth his own soule to satisfie it with the lusts thereof he suffereth in the flesh and so ceaseth from sin 1 Pet. 4.1 c. patience maketh his heart soft to give rooting to the word the harder the persecution of men the softer the heart is to nourish the immortall seed and to bring forth the fruit thereof in the perishing and death of the mortall flesh chusing rather to lose his life then lose the word of God patience maketh his heart heard to resist the Devill and all his deceits and temptations he is open hearted faithfull and perfect in love to the Lord by whose word he holdeth the assurance of immortality with him but he is close shut to obey the worldly vanities he hateth to think of their wicked courses in mortality This is the estate of those which are able to endure the try all and to walls perfectly in the love of Christ the more their oppression is from without the greater is their obedience from the heart the more their temptations are the greater is the tryall of their faith which worketh the more patience The more patience they possesse their soules with the more perfect the work of wisdom is untill they be perfect and entire defective in nothing Iam 1.2.3 4 5. Of all sorts of Christians that have heard the word of Christ these only that suffer as Christians in patience of the good word are able to bring forth the fruit thereof unto perfection 2. This is the miserable estate of the men of this age that while they think to fly from death they fall into it for flying from the patience of the word of life they run after their own thoughts to save their life in mortality when they in so doing lay themselves open to all miseries in this world and do even feele the terrours of the second and immortall death while they are yet living and yet are forced to run into it The fifth day of the Week THere is great opposition of Christians in this world all which in may dream I divided into 2. sorts the one terrence humain and baptised under the authority of men to live according to their severall Lawes and Corporations after the power of a mortall life The other Christians are coelestical divine and baptized under the annointing and authority of the only true God to live according to his holy law in their mind looking through the resurrection of Jesus unto that glorious life in immortality 2. Having observed how such as professe themselves preachers of light are darkened in the world by leaving the expresse word and wisdom of Christ to follow mortall vanities I am drawn to discover their folly that they can no more helpe a man to go the way of immortality then a natural blind man can direct a man in the way of a mortall life And therefore being in themselves so blinded with the God of this world it is mischievous madnesse for them to presume to speak what they know not thereby to deceive others or else by their authority of blindnesse to hinder them which being ignorant of their blindnesse do enquire of them the good old way but it is safe for blind men to confesle they are blind that all that erre and have eyes may enquire of others that do see It yet thay will make themselves Preachers of light and immortality they must be discouraged to the false Preachers that instead thereof do indeed preach darknesse and mortality as to deceive others of the wayes of life 3. I understand that the Christians are not Ministers of the letter as 2 Cor. 3.6 because that were to take upon them the carnall authority of the Scribes and Pharisees who are charged with that Mat. 23.2.23 yet to deliver the spirit and truth contained therein The sixth day of the VVeeke I Had a sight of the love of God in man and the sencible understanding thereof was wonderfull In mine eyes Man being by sinne deprived the glory of God wherein Adam wa created is now by the evill spirit become subject to the bodie of the sinnes of the flesh to sow to the flesh and of the flesh to reape mortality And to restraine man from sinne God gave his Law and gave power to condemne accordingly to the chastisement of the flesh and to death Yet the heart of man is naturally so evill that this authority in evill minded mens hands cannot reforme the minde that so man should yet please God in mortality Therefore lest mankind should bee swallowed up in death for the sinnes of the flesh the Sonne of God by whom the world and man was made became flesh that in the love of God he might teach us in the flesh by the mediation and direction of his spirit manifested in the flesh the truth of salvation in suffering death in the resurrection of the flesh and in the full restoring to glory yet flesh and blood is weake and cannot follow him in this hard and strait way Wherefore the Lord of glory condescending to mans weaknesse hath given his holy spirit into the world which being Gods spirit might redeeme men from the earth in the death of Christ who being departed in sight hath sent his owne spirit to teach men and to guid them into all truth how they should learne obedience in the sinnefull flesh how to put off the carnall man of mortality and to put on the spirituall man of immortality how to mortifie the carnall actions of the body to the holy spirit of Christ for to perfect the mystery of suffering in the flesh this word and spirit of Christ Jesus doth give his Christian menwisdom how to suffer under the evill authorities of the world to death and so to passe on in the way of Christ to immortall life And as in the course of nature our minde was catyed wholly to live after the lusts of uncleannessse so being converted to God by the power of this spirit which worketh in our hearts mightily our minde is caryed wholly to live after the will of that holy spirit so that in this way we have no more to doe but to discharge our selves of cares and pleasures of this world and to be delivered from the body of death which is after the old man that we may be presented in the new man to him that is now invisible and that onely hath immortality 2. The word of the holy Scriptures is more perfect then the inspiration without a plaine word therefore who so resisteth the