Therefore my mind is in good will to mankind having received knowledge and understanding of the means God hath ordained for the good and salvation of mankind And being something acquainted with the two great mysteries of Godliness Iniquity and the way and working of each to impart and signifie something of the same in a few words to instruct and inform those to whom this my testimony may come how they may attain thereunto and how they may come to be rid of those troublesome companions viz. Evil Thoughts and Imaginations that do may or shall arise in their hearts whila corrupted and how the same may be purified and made a holy habitation for God as it was before sin entred before Innocency was lost before the Serpent deceived the weaker vessel when all was good yea very good The way that leadeth thereto I affirm and declare to be as followeth and whoever thou art that hast a mind or desire to find that which is lost observe believe and receive what I say or write as Truth not received or learned by Tradition but by the experimental powerful work and operation of the Spirit of Truth in my own Heart Mind and Conscience and what I have said or shall say is and shall be according to the Holy Scriptures and witnessed to by them for I cannot write contrary to them being in unity with them with the just mens spirits that wrote them First then know thou O man whoever thou art and whatever thy thoughts and imaginations are how far soever thou art run into corruption darkness and degeneration from the state of innocency purity and holiness yet there is a measure of Divine Light attends thee though thou art darkness it-shines in thee in order to show thee thy way out of it though thou art degenerated and run from God into the earth yet this pure light Spirit of God follows thee and calls thee back again and thou mayst in this state hear it as a voice behind thee saying Return return this is the way come and walk in it this is the kindness and love of God to thee in his Son who is the light of the world and lighteth every one that cometh thereinto If men would hear and obey the voice of the Son of God Death Hell nor the Grave could not hinder them from Salvation if thou hear and obey this voice of the light of the Son of God though thou wert dead in sin and buried as in a grave thou shalt arise and come forth and live before him the bars and gates of Hell shall not be able to retain thee But if thou slight and despise the Light of God that visits thee and shut'st thy ear against its voice it will be as a thousand witnesses against thee while thou rebellest against it and art found following thy own thoughts and imaginations and doing the thing that is evil for this Light I speak of is the eye of the Lord that runs too and fro through the earth beholding the evil and the good and that discerneth the thoughts and intents of the heart 't is the word that 's nigh in mouth and in the heart which is quick and powerful sharper than any two-edged sword piereing even to the dividing asunder of Soul and Spirit and of the joynts and marrow this is the candle of the Lord that searcheth Jerusalem and gives light to the sides of the earth and corners of the world from whom the shadow of death cannot hide nor the Rocks and Mountains cover or defend for be that formeth the Mountains and createth the winds and declareth or sheweth unto man what is his thought that maketh the morning darkness and treadeth upon the high places of the earth the Lord the God of Hosts is his name This is the Spirit of truth that convinceth the world of sin and that sets mens sins in order before them and reproves and smites in secret for evil and that brings to judgment the hidden things of Esau from this eye or light of the Lord thou canst not hide thy self no more than Adam and Cain could though thou shouldest hate the light which sheweth thee thy thoughts and love the darkness so as to dwell in it No hiding from the eye of God yet the light or eye of God will pursue thee and find thee out Hell nor the utmost parts of the earth and darkness cannot secure thee from the * Mans condemnation is just because he hates the light the way and means of Salvation just condemnation of God because thou hatest the shining of his light and stopest thy ear against the voice and teaching of it and lovest the darkness and dwellost in it while thou doest so thou choosest the way of death and neglectest the means of salvation that God hath ordained for this is the condemnation of the world that light is come into it and men love darkness rather because their deeds are evil Now as the first step towards restoration and everlasting happiness thou art required †The first step in the way to life or towards everlasting happiness to turn thy mind from the darkness in which thou dwellest to the light Eye or Spirit of God and to decline the power of Satan that works in the darkness and embrace the power of God and when thou dost but begin to do so thou wilt find the scales to fall from thy eyes by degrees and the veil to be taken off thy heart and the setters and chains of darkness to be loosed and the prison doors opened so when thy candle is lighted and thy eye opened thou wilt discern thy way out and see the Angel of the Lord go before thee and guide thee in the same And thou wilt also perceive what is in thy house and clearly understand what hath lodged in the dark room of thy heart and when thou comest to see things as they are †Mistake in the understanding concerning the nature of things that do present themselves before mankind is the cause of error Thence it is that some call darkness light and light darkness thou wilt receive wisdom to give them names according to their nature and to judge righteously concerning them and as thou lovest this light thou wilt be enabled by it to divide betwixt thought and thought and begin to make conscience of a thought and to hate every vain thought and when thou canst not be easily rid of them nor remove them from their old lodging-place thou wilt breath and cry to the Lord in the Spirit as one of old did who was burthened and oppressed with their company Search me and try me O God and know my heart try me and know my thougts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting This is the cry which the Lord hears and will answer in due and needful time And Jeremiah's cry to Jerusalem was Wash thy heart from wickedness that thou
A Small TREATISE Concerning Evil Thoughts and Imaginations And concerning Good Thoughts and Heavenly MEDITATIONS SHEWING How every true Christian must know the one consumed by the brightness of the appearance of Christ and the other subjected and brought into the Obedience of Christ ALSO A few words concerning the Life State and enjoyment of a true Christian and of the true Christian Worship what it stands in and how performed Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it Gen. 1.27 28. By W. S. Printed in the Year 1679. TO THE READER Friend MY chief end and aim in this small Treatise concerning Thoughts c. is that thou mayest be informed how to attain unto that Primitive * As thou comest into the Image of God again thou wilt subdue the earthly image have dominion over thy own thoughts government over thy will desire and affections This is the Primitive power Mankind was endued withal for the nature of the whole Creation is in Man and he that hath perfect dominion or rule over himself all things else are under his feet where this is wanting disorder and confusion abounds being subject to that Spirit that leads even nature it self out of course Gen. 1.27 28. Wisdom Power and Dominion which Mankind had before Transgression entred the World wherein he did and could subdue the Earth have Dominion over it and over all the Creatures God had made moving upon the face of the Earth in the Air and Water also and and give them all Names according to their Nature and to dress and keep the Garden according to the Command of God for God never commanded any thing as Man's Duty that was impossible he had Wisdom and Power given to him to observe and obey whatsoever was enjoyned him the Serpent could not force or compel though he could entice and allure yet till he was yielded to till consent through deceiveableness of the Bait begot a vain hope to better his estate till he gave way to foolish Thoughts and Consultations he kept his Innocency Place and Habitation in Paradice But when he entered into the Temptation he went forward into a multitude of Thoughts and Inventions till he was driven to the greatest distance from God in which state he doth and will remain till he come to embrace the hand that smites him and obey that voice that calls unto him in the cool of the day To believe and obey the Spirit of God which he hath sent into the world placed in mens hearts which convinceth and reproveth for Sin is the only way means which God hath ordained for the restauration life and salvation of Mankind and is indeed the Christ of God which in Scripture hath many names but is but one pure eternal holy thing and to learn of that Spirit that reproveth him and convinceth him of Sin and maketh him afraid to see the face of God because he hath Transgressed his Law and broken his Holy Commandments and until he comes to believe that he that wounds must heal he that calls to account for evil doing must save from it and that the Reproofs of Instruction is the way to life and that to be slain with the Flaming Sword that turns every way to guard the Tree of Life is the way to live again And that through the Spirit of Judgment and burning Redemption Salvation Restauration and Everlasting Felicity is again to be come unto and the Spirit of DisObedience that took Life by obeying the Serpent must come to Death must be Mortified Slain and Buried out of sight also in all his Thoughts Imaginations Inventions Willing Running Comprehending in all his Wisdom Knowledge Prudence and Vnderstanding also these must all be stopped bowed under and confounded or brought to nought before he can enter into rest again or know what the Sabbath of the Lord is which the outward Sabbath was a sign of Mankind is never safe while he is his own keeper while he is willing running and working for himself while he is guided and led by his own Will Mind Knowledge Wisdom Prudence and Vnderstanding he is never at quiet never content and satisfied never at rest being gone from the Fountain of Living Water though he labours and toils to hew out Cisterns that he thinks may supply his want yet they prove so broken that they will hold no water no refreshment for his Soul no satisfaction nor content for his mind though he toil and dig in the earth and search the dark corners thereof And though in his thoughts and imaginations he ascends up into Heaven and makes his Nests among the Stars his labour is all vain and fruitless when the day of shaking comes when the melting of the Elements come all proves but as a bed too short and as a covering too narrow and as one that walks by the light of his own sparks and warms himself by the fire of his own kindling but in the end lies down in sorrow All these things thou who art a Child of Light and of the day understandest right well therefore art thou made willing in the day of God's power to die to thy self daily to give up and resign thy self to the daily Cross * While men live in the flesh they cannot please God but its possible to be dead thereto and live in the Spirit on this side the Grave till thou dost become dead crucified and buried also till which thou cannot avoid thinking thy own thoughts speaking thy own words and doing thy own works and following thy own will thoughts and inventions from which sprang thy misery and in which it continues so long as thou art alive in thy self and at home in the body thou art really dead and absent from the Lord. For it is only those that are dead and suffer with Christ that come to know a living and reigning with him over all worldly Rudiments over all carnal Ordinances over all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit over all Principalities and Powers and Spiritual Wickednesses in high places over all Thoughts and Imaginations over all Desire Will and Affection these are they that arise and ascend with him up unto the Father and that sits down in heavenly places with him at the right hand of God and that have converse in Heaven talks with God as a man talks with his Friend he holds his Face with Joy and great Delight As thou comest hither thou art come into the Restauration indeed thou hast found that which was lost indeed thou art come from the East West North and South and sate down in the Kingdom with Abraham Isaac and Jacob indeed and art ceased from thy own works as God did from his and art entred into the blessed rest that God hath prepared all which is possible to him that believes Therefore let none put the good and evil day afar off for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and many are living witnesses
of the coming of it and do enjoy Righteousness Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost in which the Kingdom stands And God is Omnipresent and those that enjoy the Light of his Countenance dwell in Heaven and are within the Gates thereof which though they stand open no unclean thing can enter W. S. A Small TREATISE Concerning Thoughts and Imaginations EVil Thoughts and Imaginations are great troublers of the World of Mankind and it is a great plague and misery which man is accompanied and surrounded with who is given up to follow and obey his own evil Thoughts and Imaginations or to walk according to them It was a fore judgment pronounced against the disobedient rebellious Jews in the Word of the Lord by Jeremy saying Hear O earth behold I will bring evil upon this people even the fruit of their thoughts And the Lord by the Prophet Isaiah saith I have stretched out my hand all day to a rebellious people which walked in a way that was not good after their own thoughts which are thoughts of iniquity and the act of violence is in their hands Also 't is written Every thought and imagination of mans heart are only evil and that continually And very great is the misery bondage and slavery of mankind in this estate he is an enemy to God and to himself and to his Neighbour and Brother Wasting and destruction are in their paths who have not God in all their thoughts Now reader that which is principally on my mind is to set before thee a certain infallible way how thou mayest come to be saved from following or obeying thy own thoughts and to gain strength against and get victory over all thy imaginations that are evil and also how thou mayest attain to good thoughts and heavenly Meditations in the room thereof and how thou mayest come to know every good thought and desire brought into the obedience of Christ and every evil thought and imagination destroyed and consumed with the breath of his mouth and the brightness of his appearing And when thou art restored and brought into the same estate mankind was in before transgression Evil thoughts must be consumed and good thoughts must be subject and obedient to Christ even into the Garden of God how thou must then dress and keep the Garden Thou must then watch over and in the Wisdom and Power of God govern thy thoughts lest the Serpent beguile thee as he did Eve First Thou must understand that * Many in their carnal thoughts and imaginations conceive and affirm that it was the outward Earth God cursed and that it would have brought forth no bryars thorns nor thistles which are good Creatures in their places if man had not sinned such thoughts are vain and foolish for all Creatures of God are good the Fire and Air Earth and Water Sun Moon and Stars and all the product of them and they all stand and remain in the blessing and keep their place state and order according to the will of God and are obedient unto him and he is the upholder thereof by the word of his power the ground evil thoughts and imaginations arise from is now that which God in the beginning cursed from this ground spring all the Bryars Thorns and Thistles and other hurtful Weeds in the world of mankind in whose heart they began to spring grow and increase even so soon as he began to lose his Faith in God his Maker incline to hearken to the voice of the Serpent and give credit to his lyes which begot a vain thought from whence a false hope sprung that they should by eating the forbidden fruit better their conditions be as Gods according as the Serpent told the Woman the weaker Vessel and by this false hope grounded upon the thoughts and imaginations entered the first transgression then when the temptation was entred into and sin committed thoughts and imaginations began to multiply and fill the disobedient earthly heart of mankind who having now turned his back upon the heavenly slighten the voice and command of God who was his Teacher and Lawgiver and * How man lost his state at first Let those that are restored thereto again take warning thereby for the same temptation danger attends lent his ear to the wicked one and gave up his mind and heart to obey him even with thoughts it was all for the best Thus poor mankind being deceived with vain thoughts and false hope lost his habitation and dwelling-place in Paradice which after he had transgress'd he still thought to keep for he was soon convinced he had done amiss in cating the forbidden Fruit and fear possest his heart when he heard the voice of God in the cool of the day and therefore sought means to cover and hide himself from the sight of God but herein his thoughts were vain and his endeavours to no purpose the Woman Man and Serpent all received the fruits of their own doings nothing but life good and blessing were known before now death evil and cursing the fruit and effect of disobedience which as I have said entred first by giving place to a vain thought and desire in * Wicked men and sinners of these times and ages of the world propose not that end to themselves the Devil needs not lay such baits snares to win them to his obedience being such vassals to him that his motions and commands are sufficient hope to gain and better their estate become the daily companions of mankind who found and finds by woful experience that saying true When sin is finished it brings forth death So man having lost his place in the Garden which God planted through neglecting his work which God appointed him to do which was to dress it and to keep it for the Garden needed dressing and keeping before the sorbidden Fruit was eaten before Innocency was lost before sin was committed hefore the Serpent became a Tempter Devil and Destroyer And this ariseth in my mind to teslifie to all the wise in heart that after they are come to find that which was lost to witness a Restoration and Regeneration and a returning into Eden again into Innocency again they have work there to do Dressing and Keeping are two very significant words this was the business of mankind in the beginning in the state of Innocency if he had not neglected this work slighted the Light Power Wisdom and Glory of God with which he was replenished he had never fell when the temptation got into a thought if he had watched in the Light and Wisdom of God he would have seen and discovered the tendency of it and have prevented its coming to a desire and act But first giving * The beginning increase and progress of sin and how to stop and prevent it place to a selfish thought it soon sprang to a hunger or desire thence into act this is the beginning and progress of sin at this day which mankind in
Innocency had and hath power and wisdom from God to prevent if he abide in it and keep in his watch-tower the light and strength of God which is as near him as the temptation can be and sufficient to preserve him and where this work is neglected men yea holy men fall and sin after the similitude of Adam's Trangression and are beguiled as the Serpent did Eve drawn out of Innocency and a sinless estate after they have attained unto it therefore let none be high-minded but fear and take the second Adam for example who when he was tempted did not hunger or desire after the things presented though very spacious in appearance and accompanied with very large promises even as the first Adam had but 't is written while the temptation lasted he eat nothing he let nothing in gave no place to selfish thoughts and enticements of the enemy so when the temptation was over Angels ministred unto him Let this be the example of all the Children of Light and as they do thereafter the powerful salvation of God shall surround them and neither heights nor depths Angels Principalities nor Powers things presen or things to come shall be able to separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus This is as a word by the way Now evil thoughts and * They are as the wings of the great red Dragon who troubles Heaven Earth Angels and Men. imaginations are of a multiplying nature and do mainly increase and take root in the generality of mankind who through evil works are estranged from the life of God remaining a degenerate plant sprang from the seed of the evil doer and dwells and labours in that ground which God hath cursed and knows not the seed of the Woman to bruise the Serpents head and to redeem and preserve him from following and obeying his own thoughts and imaginations which are evil and that continually And indeed in that state can be no otherwise whether they lead into self-sinning or self-righteousness both are an abomination to the Lord and destructive to the well-being of mankind both temporal and eternal for all the wickedness that hath been brought forth and acted in the world since the beginning began or appeared first in the thought and the thought being cherished and joyned to by the mind will and understanding it increased and increaseth into words and actions That which is clean cannot proceed from that which is unclean the heart of mankind in the fall is universally corrupted and desperate wicked and as hath been said the thoughts and imaginations thereof are evil and that continually And before it can be otherwise there is an absolute necessity that every particular man and woman must know and experience for and in themselves their hearts cleansed purged and purified and created anew the ground must be made good before the seed the heavenly plant can grow increase and flourish therein before good thoughts heavenly thoughts and meditations can arise spring and remain therein And when this estate is known witnessed and enjoyed then to abide with him dwell and walk with him who hath wrought these mighty things in thee and for thee and in his wisdom and power to dress and keep the Garden the Heart with all diligence that that which would defile enter not again creep in again as it did in the beginning which is possible Therefore what the Spirit of God put man upon in the beginning when he was a noble plant in Eden Man was to dress and keep the Garden before Transgression entred and when he comes to know sin and transgression finished or restoration into Innocency again he must be exercised in the same work wholly a right Seed viz. to dress and keep the Garden so the Spirit of God now in this age saith to the Disciples thereof Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation take heed lest as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty so your minds should be corrupted from the simplieity that is in Christ Now this I testifie from certain knowledge that God hath ordained means whereby mankind whose heart is so corrupted that nothing that is good proceeds out of it neither any thing that is heavenly and of God springs up in it that can live a moment being so foul and so dark even like a foul dark piece of earth outwardly on which the Sun never shines nor the rain falls that man in this miserable state may come to know and experienye his foul heart cleansed purged and sanctified as the Christians in the Primitive times did Though mankind may be in a state like unto dry bones scattered in a Valley without marrow and life yet such may come to unit eagain and finews and flesh to come upon them and to receive the breath of life and to know God also whose work it is who works marvellous things in the Earth and in the Heavens as those who go down into the deeps behold Such were some of you but now are you washed cleansed and sanctified c. the fallow ground may be plowed up and bear seed and the wilderness may become a fruitful field and streams may break forth in the desare and the desart may come to rejoyce and to blossom as a Rose crooked things may be made streight and rough places smooth great heavy dark high Mountains may be brought down and removed yea melted at the presence of God and the low valleys may be ezalted yea the wilderness may become like Eden and the desart like the garden of the Lord. All these mighty works and wonders hath the Lord wrought in this age in and for a remnant who are come to the fulfilling of the Prophesies are living witnesses of the same and do in his Holy Spirit and Power proclaim that the love and mercy of God towards lost man is universal and that his hand is stretched * Fallen man cannot help himself therefore the eye of God pittieth him and his hand is stretched out to help him he is only required to lay hold and depend upon the same and it will bring falvation to his house forth to help him out of the snare pit and deep dark dungeon wherein he is fallen out of which he cannot by all his strength wisdom and invention help himself and so set him at liberty that he may run the ways of his Commandments with delight and that he may come again to stand upright as God made man in the beginning and lay aside all his thoughts and inventions wherein he corrupted himself and to bring him into such a state and condition that he may be able to do all things that are good to think good thoughts speak good words and do good works and to eschew and avoid the contrary this to know and be able to do is the one thing needful wihtout which all men are miserable let their knowledge wildom and profession of Religion Opinion and Invention be what it will
multitude of thoughts do arise in thee and troops thereof attend thee which are in themselves sinful yet if thou joyn not with them in thy mind will and understanding they are not thy thoughts neither shall the evil thereof be imputed unto thee if thou lovest the light and keepest thy mind joyned to the Spirit of God or appearance of Christ in thee that discovereth all temptations unto thee in the very thought and first appearance of them then thou art helping the Lord against the mighty being joyned unto him art become one with him in thy mind and spirit though in thy members there is a law a power that wars against thee and as thou abidest with the Lord waiting upon him even as the eye of a Maid waits upon the hand of her Mistress he will save and deliver thee and subdue all thy enemies even those of thy own house which are the greatest enemies Though temptations may and will attend thee yet it is no sin to be tempted It is no sin to be tempted though with inward temptations neither art thou to account thy self nor to be accounted a sinner because sin and vain thoughts may present themselves in thee in thy warfare estate yet thou mayest say as Paul did It is no more I but sin that dwelleth in me and that in me that is in my stesh dwells no good thing which flesh thou art now in the way to know withers as the grass Flesh and sin that dwells in it may be destroved and the earthen vessel cleansed and the creature delivered from bondage even on this side the grave and the glory of it become as the saded flower of the field and sin that dwelleth therein destroyed and the creature of Gods making preserved the earthen vessel that holds the heavenly treasure sanctified and saved and delivered from the yoak of bondage the whole Creation of God groans under And this thou shalt certainly arrive at as thou keepest thy eye upon thy Saviour thy light thy way thy Captain whom thou wilt see go before thee conquering and to conquer till all his and thy enemies are subdued brought under and destroyed and thou made as a King as a Priest to God * Lest thou shouldst stumble at those sayings consider that John was the greatest Prophet that was born of a woman yet the least in the Kingdom was greater than he meeker than Moses stronger than Sampson wiser than Solomon and more patient than Job as thy elder brother was and as the Primitive Christians were who could say as he is so are we in this present world pure as he is pure holy as he is holy righteous as he is righteous harmless and innocent as he was and in all resigned up unto the will of God not my will said the second Adam but thine though his will was as innocent and harmless as the first Adams was before the fall and did excel when thou comest up hither thou wilt understand and receive what I say till then it will be as a mystery and hard saying to thee And in thy way take heed of thinking willing and running that obtains not the prize stand still and see the salvation of God mind above all the arm of his power in thee which is able to suppress thy thoughts mortifie thy will stop thy running and give thee perfect strength to resist the Devil and make him flee and to furnish thee to every good word and work and give thee dominion over thy own spirit whose property is to be swift in thoughts eager in desire and restless in the accomplishment thereof Now it is written he that hath rule over his own spirit is stronger than he that rules a City Consider the simily and in the light try and compare thy self therewith and thou wilt find the truth thereof and he that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a City broken down and without walls when the righteous bears rule the land rejoyceth but when the wicked the land mourneth These things are infallibly true while the usurper keeps the throne the Prince of Peace and his peaceable government is not known Tribulation and anguish comes upon every soul of man that doth evil No opinion nor profession of Religion c. where evil thoughts and evil doings stands avails any thing that thinketh and imagineth evil and that yields his members servants to unrighteousness let his opinion profession and talk of Religion be what it will he that commits sin is of the Devil and without returning from it a finishing or ending of it and righteousness set up in the room thereof will with the Devil have the wages and reward of the same and possess the fruit of their own thoughts and doings Now it is a heavenly estate to live under the government of Christ to know and experience him swaying the Scepter in the heart and established in the throne thereof but this none comes to enjoy till they have first known him to sit as a Refiner with fire and as a Fuller with soap and as a Spirit of judgment and burning and as the stronger man to dispossess the strong man spoil all his goods sweep and cleanse the house and to furnish it again with heavenly goods with heavenly thoughts with heavenly desires and meditations and all things else that becomes the house of the Lord Holiness to the Lord was written or engraven upon the Crown and Plate of Gold and all the furniture of the outward Temple was sanctified of which this is the anti-tipe or substance as he that enjoys it well knows And now it is the duty of a Christian to watch in the light against evil thoughts and to use the axe of God which is laid to the root of them that their springing again may be hindered and the end of them prevented so also it is the duty of every one when good thoughts and desires springs in the room thereof to cherish them to joyn with them and to keep their eye unto the Lord that begat them or raised them up in the heart and so they may be called Gods thoughts being of his own bringing forth of his own begetting being thoughts of purity thoughts of peace and righteousness thoughts of holiness and joy in the inward man which thoughts thou of thy self cannot think Good thoughts are of Gods own be getting and very comfortable to a Christian and are the fruit and effect of keeping and obeying the Law of God within the heart Rom. 2.14 15 these are comfortable thoughts justifying and excusing thoughts thoughts that will stand approved in the light and the end and tendency of them is good even as pleasant fruit to the soul so that such can say as David once did How precious are thy thoughts unto me O Grd how great is the sum of them if I should count them they are more in number than the sand when I awake I am still with thee As thot lovest the
Christian Religion Now the true Christians Worship is in the Spirit and in the Truth not in the Letter nor in the Form barely but was before all Letters and outward Laws and Prescriptions were before all inventions were before all errors and the spirit of them was This was the Worship in Paradice when mankind neglected this worship he fell into evil into invention into error Sin was the occasion or cause of the Law the labour of the Prophets and the coming and suffering of Christ which was the cause of the outward Law and all other dispensations of God for the recovery of lost man And before he can witness a return out of his lost estate he must come again to the same Worship in the Spirit and in the Truth even the Truth in the inward parts for that is it which God loves to the word in the mouth to the law in the heart and the fear in the inward parts from all fear towards God taught by the precepts of men from all traditions of men of corrupt minds from all devices and inventions of men This is the blessed estate the true Christian is come into and is the end sum and substance of all holy Writings Forms and holy Traditions Ministrations and Dispensations before the Law under the Law and the Prophets Wilderness Jerusalem and Temple-Worship which stood in divers bodily exercises outward works and services variety of Offerings observing of Times Days Months and Years Meats Drinks outward Washings and Purifications New Moons Fasts Feasts solemn Meetings and general Assemblies once a Year at Jerusalem all these things were but shadows and typical And this is the antitipe and †The substance of all shadowy Services under the Law substance shadowed forth by them all To come to the Worship in the Spirit in the Truth to Mount Sion the City of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem and to come to the general Assembly and Church of the first-born written in Heaven and to God the Judge of all and the spirits of just men made perfect c. and to know the heavenly City that comes down from God out of Heaven even Jerusalem the Mother of all the living Citizens thereof whose Law and Covenant is spiritual and writ in their hearts whose love fear and obedience to God is engraven in their inward parts and from hence ariseth the true Worship in the Spirit and in the Truth And this is the Worship the Primitive Christians came to and were exercised in they prayed in the Spirit not at any set time or appointed place only but at all times and in all places according to the Exhortations pray always pray continually pray without ceasing I will that men pray every where lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting always breathing to the Lord in Spirit though never a word be uttered in the closet when the door is shut the Lord heareth and answereth this Prayer and many times they were and are also led forth to pray in words publickly but mostly for the sake of others and in the behalf of others as Christ Jesus did The true Christian is also a preacher of Righteousness not only in Words Sentences and long Sermons at set times and appointed places but in life and conversation †A true Christian is always preaching in this he is always a Preacher a Teacher of that which is good always as a candle burning and set in the right place his lamp trimmed and his light shining always as a City upon a hill as the salt of the earth and light of the world to season and give light to others by holy example which preacheth lowder than words The true Christians singing or rejoycing is also in the Spirit and in the Truth and not in iniquity and with a good understanding he needs no art not invention to bring words into Meeter or Rhime that they may make a pleasant sound and a joyful noise The Christian Musick is not made by Art and Air. his Musick doth not stand in outward sounds made by Art and Air but his melody is in his heart in the spirit in the inward man in the hidden man of the heart which is the antitipe and substance of all outward musick used in the time of the Law under the first Covenant in the Worship and Service of God and as far exceeds it as the substance of a thing doth the shadow thereof And he that hath this heavenly inward rejoycing and pleasant melody in the heart will never invent to himself instruments of Musick like David nor delight in the sounds thereof Where this heart-melody is lost the outward invented musick is set up among Jews Gentiles and Apostate Christians for the true Christian is come to know Christ Jesus as a Prince of Peace as a peaceable Saviour as the Consolation of Israel and joy of generations as a giver of peace which the world cannot give nor take away which far surpasseth all the delights of the sons of men which by nature art and invention they can attain unto Now the Spirit of God is universal and the Truth is universal and the true Christian Worship that stands in it is also to be universal that is at all times and in all places not only when people meet together in a solemn manner to wait together upon God and to he or his word preach and be preached and to hear a Prayer Psalm Song or Hymn even from his own pure motion and Spirit one hour in seven The true Worship of God stands not in any outward observation of time or place or any bodily exercise therein but in doing the will of God bowing in his Spirit and obeying the voice thereof or one day in seven which is good and profitable in its place but every hour and every day bowing in spirit worshiping in the Truth which makes free from all error from all evil from all vain observations literal traditions and humane inventions about the Worship of God from all carnal Ordinances as Musicks Meats Drinks Washings Feasts Fasts Days and Times which ends vanisheth or perisheth with the using though holy and significant in their first institution these things are not to be touched nor tasted no nor so much as handled by the true Christian these things are but beggerly elements and worldly rudiments which had a beginning and must have an end And the root or cause of a Christian which is Christ is the end of the Law and all the types and shadows of it and fulfils all the righteousness of it of the Prophets and of John also and is a bringer in of a better hope a better Law a better Covenant a better Worship which Hope Law Covenant and Worship is inward and spiritual and not outward and carnal formal nor traditional and all that are come to this worship in the Spirit and in the Truth which is one pure eternal principle of light life and power and have their hearts tendred
by it and their minds exercised in it their thoughts and meditations guided by it they * Let the professors of Christianity try themselves hereby are come to the mystery of the fellowship of the Gospel to the blessed unity wherein is no strife no wrangling disputing or contention no treachery wars cruelty or violence because they are all minding one thing learning of one teacher following of one guide viz. the Grace and Spirit of God and though they have diversity of gifts and are attained to different degrees of Faith Different states and growths in the Truth no cause of dis unity of Grace of Knowledge Growth and Salvation in the same and are some as a foot some as a hand eye ear and mouth yet are all as members of one body and the meanest hath unity with the more noble the greatest with the least the lowest with the highest the strongest with the weakest nor is there any Jar or Schism in this well framed Body of which Christ the Vnction the Annointing is the Head and Teacher c. This heavenly unity is the antitype of the Seamless-Coat of Christ wove from top to bottom which the Souldiers did not rend tear or divide but cast lots for and of that Law that forbade weaving linnen and woollen together and sowing mingled seed Now there is no unity no agreement no concord betwixt light and darkness sin and righteousness Christ and Belial these things of a different and contrary nature cannot unite cannot agree though they are nigh to each other sowen in one field God hath sowen a good seed in the field of mankind the enemy hath sown an evil seed and in many it hath taken root and sprang up above the good seed Before there can be true unity in and among mankind the seed of the Serpent must be bruised and rooted out of the heart even among those professing Christianity it self and from hence ariseth and groweth all the evil will envy hatred strife cruelty violence blood-shed wars and murthers in whole Christendom and till the head of this evil seed be not only bruised by the promised seed which God hath sowed but rooted out also of the heart of man all these things will grow up these evil effects can never cease till the cause be removed and taken away as the true Christian knoweth right well by experience Now the Christians indeed as they live and abide in this pure external principle of Light Life Spirit and Truth they have unity one with another and fellowship with God they are the brethren whose living together in unity is comely to behold who have the one mind one heart one soul and have their minds hearts and souls always governed ruled and ordered by the good Spirit of God as every one lives and keeps this order ank undor this heavenly government they cannot chuse but live together in unity in love in good will in peace heavenly concord and agreement every one within himself with God and with each other and in love to all mankind here is the end of strife wars and fightings come unto The end of Wars c. both within and without and this is the time and state wherein instruments of War and Cruelty are turned into instruments of necessary use and as they abide herein they can learn war no more according to the blessed sight and Prophesie of Isaiah that Evangelical Prophet Here Jerusalem is known a quiet habitotion the inhabitants thereof being established in peace and righteousness far from oppression the cause of War and Oppression being taken away which is evil thicking evil speaking and evil doing and this every one must know and experience before they can be established in peace before they can know the peace of God which passeth all understanding to keep their hearts and minds and to rule in their hearts and to know the aboundings of it and to delight therein as it is * The enjoyment of those things men do and may witness are on this side the Grave written the meek shall inherit the earth and delight themselves in the abundance of peace the earth nor earthly things shall not inherit them they tread upon the high places of it and reign like Kings and Princes over all the glory thereof Oh! Read the 25th and 35th Chapter of Isaiah's Prophesie and wait in the precious Faith thou hast received till thou enjoy the fulfilling thereof this is a blessed state indeed wait all to possess and enjoy it more and more this is the blessed end of the Gospel of petce and of the Christian Religion My breathing is that all that profess it may come to inherit Peace Righteousness and Joy in the inward man even to lie down in that peace where none can make afraid and to dwell on that holy Mountain where no destroyer is and to inhabit that City whose Builder and Maker is God to whom be praise and glory for evermore W. S. A few Words added to the sensible Reader THou who art awakened out of the sleep of death and risen out of the grave of sin and sea of corruption and art come to the exercise of thy spiritual senses so that thou canst hear see taste and handle the things of God thou well knowest that the blessed end of all holy mens words and writings testimonies and declarations proceeding from the love of God is that others that are yet unholy wandering about in and after the vanity of their own minds thoughts and imaginations upon the barren Mountains even as sheep without a Shepherd may come to be gathered and brought home to the fold of rest where safety peace and satisfaction is to be found for their weary souls who have long wandered in desolate places seeking rest but finding none spending their time labour and money for that which doth not profit feed and nourish up unto eternal life I say to direct these strangers wanderers labourers and unsatisfied travellers into the way of rest and peace is the blessed end of all Words and holy Writings even that such may come to possess enjoy and inherit the things spoken and written of without which all hearing reading seeking enquiring toiling labouring spending time and money is to no purpose Now it is the mind the soul the spirit of man that wants rest that is gone from its center that hath lost it stay habitation and dwelling-place in God and innumerable are the thoughts imaginations devices and inventions willings and runnings that poor mankind in this estate is exercised in and carried away with both Jew and Gentile Professor and Prophane upon the face of the whole earth For in all Sects and sorts of Religions those who are sincere and devout therein propose this end to themselves in the exercise thereof viz. to attain a state of happiness and felicity at last Many are the ways means and precepts prescriptions directions and observations that men give and receive from one the other enjoyn
and perswade one the other and sometimes compel one another by violence to walk in and make use of in order to arrive thereto as they think and imagine but it is in this age as of old the guides and teachers of the people cause them to err cause them to go astray and wander from the right way of the Lord they were in vision judgment and understanding themselves and cause all that follow and obey them to do the same being unskilful guides and blind watchmen are but as the blind leading the blind and so both fall into the ditch together Now the way to everlasting happiness is but one both to Jew and Gentile which way is Christ who is the wisdom and Power of God the Truth and the Life and the appearance of this Christ of God is within men in their hearts its first appearance is as a light shining in darkness and as a pure spotless Spirit that consenteth to no evil but reproveth and convinceth all that are found in it and to this Light or Spirit all who write or speak for God and the good of mankind do turn and direct the minds of men and endeavour to perswade them to give regard unto its reproofs of instruction as being the way to life and to obey its counsel and teaching as the only means of salvation and way of returning to the rock from whence they were hewen and to the hole of the pit from whence they were digged to their habitation and dwelling-place in God again and many thousands in this Island and other places can give testimony that this is the only way and means God hath ordained for the recovery return and restoration of lost man and that all other ways and means which they had been wearying themselves in availed nothing but walking in this heavenly way the Light the Spirit and Grace of God within and learning of the annointing within they come to witness salvation came to their house and to surround them as walls and bulwarks and to witness the fulfilling of that Divine Prophesie My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation and in sure dwellings Isa 30.3 4.32.18 and in quiet resting-places The eye of them that see shall not be dim the ear of them that hear shall bearken the heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge and the tongue of the stammerer shall be ready to speak plainly These are the blessed effects of walking in the way and paths of righteousness which a remnant are living witnesses of and can praise and magnifie the name of the Lord in the sense thereof But none comes to enjoy this blessed estate nor inhabit this heavenly dwelling-place but as their minds comes truly to be exercised by and in the Light of the Lord and that by walking and abiding therein come to have their minds established settled and stayed upon him who is indeed the alone stay of his people and rock of his inheritance And nothing can be found in the heavens above nor in the earth beneath that is able to satisfie or stay the mind of man but the Lord the mind or soul of man is more noble more excellent than all visible things so they are not all capable to fill or satisfie his soul or stay his mind though he might possess or have the whole world to himself yet in the end will be made to cry out and confess with the Preacher of old Vanity of vanity all is vanity and vexation of spirit c. Eccles 1. But to have the mind stayed upon the Lord there is pleasure peace and content truly found and enjoyed according to the testimony of that Divine Prophet Isaiab who said speaking in the name of the Lord Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid upon thee This is such a truth that none knoweth but he that hath it it may be soon writ read or spoken but to enjoy that estate is more than words it is the end sum and substance of all that can be said or done and is the reward of the righteous from the immediate hand of God viz. to be kept in perfect peace It 's the end of all holy breathings and desires it s the end of the Preaching the Gospel of Peace and Sal-Salvation even to know and feel and experience the peace of God to keep the heart and to keep the mind and to rule there This is a blessed state indeed worthy to be waited for and pressed after by all that have a sight and sence thereof and are in the way that leadeth thereto though not yet arrived thereat go forward in the name of the Lord even in that name Light by which he hath made himself known unto us in this age by which Light thou sawest the wandering and unstableness of thy mind and the multitude of thy thoughts imaginatious and inventions persevere in the same and thou wilt become not only a child of it but also grow from a Childs estate to the state of a young Man Elder and Father keeping the Faith and firmly believing that which sheweth thee the wandering and unstableness of thy mind will be as a Shepherds Crook unto thee and in due time will bring thee back into the fold of rest and that that holy Light that discovers and sheweth unto thee thy thoughts and inward enemies will also by the brightness of its arising disperse and destroy them for thee and bring thee into that estate thy soul descrieth panteth and looketh after even into the presence of the Lord where the fulness of Joy is and where the rivers of pleasures run where the reaping and returning with joy is where the singing for joy of heart is and the joy of Gods salvation felt the blessed Light of God or Son of Righteousness in whom thou hast belleved is the only way to possess and inherit those things And thy walking ablding and persevering in it is the means and there is not any other way or means appointed of God to bring man back into that Paradisical state of felicity he lost by Transgression and to the establishing him in it But all that walk not nor ablde and persevere therein after they are come into it never attain to that blessed end of its appearing and shining to them for a bare knowledge of the Truth and a profession of the Light and Spirit of God within if they walk not in it and are not guided and lead by it it avails nothing but rather draws down fierce wrath and vengeance upon the head of such who know their Masters will and do it not who talk and profess well but are found doing evil and thereby lay a stumbling-block in the way of the blind and cause the way of Truth to be evil spoken of and the Name of the Lord by which he hath made himself known in this Age to be blasphemed by reason of their ungedly deeds under a Profession of Godliness and Cloak of Righteousness such their damnation slumbreth not And this I testifie and declare to all people to whom this may come which may serve also as a caution and warning to them that if they meet with any under the Name Form and Profession of a Christian in contempt called a Quaker who in his Converse Trade and Dealing Commerce and Affairs doth not let his Yea be Yea and his Nay Nay but breaketh his word and promises there is need to have a special care of that man and look upon him as one false and deceitful to the holy Principle of Truth and as a Hypocrite under the Profession of it He that is false to God cannot be true to men thou hadst better trust and give credit to a Heathen or Infidel than to such a one No wickedness beyond that which is acted under a peculiar Cloak of Religion Such who gain Credit and Repute by wearing this Cloak and get Widows and Orphans Monies into their hands to create great Trades by Sea and Land and then break are some of the worser sort of Robbers and Cheats and the cry of the poor Fatherless and Widows cries lowd against them This is a short Testimony arising in my heart against this sort of Wickedness wherein I have a little eased my mind and in the Truth remain a Friend to all men W. S. THE END