God in Iesus Christ is so near him as to be in him in a Seed as in fire for his cleansing and delivering of him from this woful Image and from the impressions and dispositions it hath wrought in him through Satan is to turn his Soul and mind inwards unto God and Christ as he doth there manifest himself Even as the Father of the Child which was bodily possessed with the Devil brought him unto Christ that he might cast him out so the Soul is to come unto Christ who is spiritually present in it that he may cast out this Devil out of it for this woful Image is a very Devil and by it the Devil possesseth the Souls of the unholy The Soul must not bethink with it self that because it is so unclean and sinful that therefore it ought not to come unto Christ for indeed one main end of Christ his coming into the world is to do good unto such to cleanse the unclean and to save the sinful from their sins Therefore let not the consideration of thy uncleanness and naughtiness prevail to let or hinder thee from coming or turning inwards to him Perhaps the Soul may say I do not find God or Christ in me how then can I turn unto him whom I cannot find If I could once but plainly find him I would think it a great step Answ. Dost not thou find somewhat in thy very heart discovering the evils and pollutions thereof in some measure Is there nothing in thee that in some measure manifests thy condition to be evil and naught and gives thee some knowledg of it upon which thou art made at times to say Oh! I am unclean unclean and evil Yea further dost not thou find somewhat secretly stirring in thy heart and moving in thee against particular evils which are under thy observation and in some measure pricking and smiting thee And yet further hast thou never observed it drawing thy heart inward unto it self though faintly and weakly Also are there not times wherein thou canst observe this to manifest it self more strongly then at other times Yea are there not times that thou find'st it lie as a burden and load upon thy very heart Yea wouldst thou not think thou feltst something in thy heart cutting it and making gashes therein yea and that as a fire burning in it which greatly paineth and afflicteth thee so that at such times no outward pleasures can comfort or ease thee Furthermore dost thou not find at times somewhat arising as it were in the midst of thy heart and sending forth a secret vertue whereby it seeketh to pierce thy whole heart and so far as it pierceth or entreth it somewhat softeneth thy heart and worketh some little relenting in thee but because of the badness of thy heart it is hindered from entring so far as it essayed to do Sure I am there is no man however bad but hath had some experience more or less of these and such like workings in him Thou may'st say I find indeed somewhat working in my heart after the manner as is declared and that frequently but most especially when I am most quiet and still in mind but I never apprehended this to be any other thing then the light of nature checking me in my conscience as I have been alwaies informed by my Teachers But I say unto thee therein thou hast been mis-informed as in many other particulars for this thing that worketh in thee after the aforesaid manner is the very Seed of God or the Divine Seed in which God in Iesus Christ is really present in thee and in and through the Seed worketh in this manner in thee for the Salvation of thy Soul neither ought'st thou to think it so strange that he worketh in thee in such a small and weak manner of manifestation for this is in great part because of thy weakness for thou art not able to bear great and powerful workings and manifestations in this state And seeing that the way which the Lord taketh for the saving of Souls is after the sort of a real generation such as regeneration is it is most proper to begin it from a Seed and it were an easie thing for the Lord to appear in this Seed by such manifestation of power as on a sudden to remove all impediments and instantly to cause it to spring up into its full stature growth and proportion But it hath pleased him to do otherwaies for he can bring Glory to himself the more in the Creatures Salvation that he beginneth it yea and carrieth it on in a weak and foolish appearance to the natural eye Now this is it which Christ himself taught that the Kingdom of God in man at first is like unto a grain of Mustard-seed the least of all Seeds but after it is grown up it becometh the greatest of all Herbs Wherefore despise it not though it be a very little thing in thee for as little as it is it is the Kingdom of God for God and Christ is present in it and manifesteth his Power therein as a King doth in his Kingdom And because the Seed is little therefore the Power of God worketh but in little and small manifestations to bear a proportion unto the Seed and according to the growth and increase of the Seed by the same proportion the Divine Power becometh greater and greater in its manifestation But how small and mean soever the working of the Divine Power in this little Seed doth appear yet it is abundantly sufficient to begin the work of thy Salvation and still where more power and more powerful working from God is needful to carry on this work it will be seasonably afforded But a man may readily object that he doth essay to convert or turn himself unto God but cannot get it done because of his weakness and impotency finding himself bound as with a strong Iron Chain yea with many Chains which doth so avert and hold him back that he cannot convert himself Answ. To require any man to convert himself as by himself without power given him from God for that effect were to lay a burden upon the Soul too grievous to be born but indeed the Lord who is present in this little Seed sendeth forth at times yea very frequently some secret Divine influence and vertue upon the Soul through the Seed to enable it to convert or turn unto him and he toucheth the bonds and fetters in which it is bound at times and shaketh them off so far that the Soul may turn unto God yea the Lord is the chief and principal Worker here and man but the instrumental So that the Soul its converting it self is through the Lord's converting it that is to say inclining it by a Divine and gracious touch and influence upon its will to convert and in a manner I may call it upon the Souls part rather a suffering it self to be turned by the Lord according to these words in the Scripture Turn thou me and
the ministration of the Law than of the Gospel yet we must not too nicely or subtilly distinguish them far less divide them for the ministration of the Law in the Spirit is never administred in that rigour or severity by the Lord unto men in order to their Salvation but it hath somewhat more or less of the Gospel mixed with it even as in the midst of wrath he remembreth mercy and so as Law and Gospel Iudgment and Mercy are mixed and complicated together in like manner the effects are mixed also partaking of both but most of the former at first and for some considerable time following Now these and such like effects as do follow upon the Souls first converting unto God in the Divine Seed we do usually comprehend under this term the work of Iudgment And as the Spirit of the LORD hath its divers names according to its divers workings so in this it is called the Spirit of Iudgment and of Burning as in Isa. 4.4 Others also not unfitly if rightly understood have called it the work of the Law and Legal ministration in Spirit also it may be called Repentance or the baptism of repentance in Spirit and by Fire And tho I have mostly insisted upon comparing the operation of the Spirit in this administration unto fire which similitude is most used in Scripture yet it is not to exclude other resemblances as that of Water and of Soap mentioned also in Scripture and it is also likened unto that of a Hammer and Sword and that also of a Cross very significantly in relation to which term the work of the Spirit here is fitly called a crucifiction or being crucified oft also used in Scripture and Mortification which tho it taketh its beginning from the Law yet is consummated or perfected by the Gospel As touching the inward trials or troubles the Soul usually meeteth with in this state they are divers proceeding partly from its own weakness partly from its corruptions and partly from Satan First from its own Weakness for the Soul entring into a new way it knew nothing of formerly and meeting with many strange and wonderful things with which it was never acquainted heretofore cannot but occasion great inward trials and troubles unto it even as if in the outward a man should be brought unto some violent bodily death as Burning or Crucifying c. Yea it is represented in the Scripture under such terms as of the Suns losing his light the Moons becoming black the Stars falling from Heaven the Earth shaking and such like dreadful and astonishing things 2. From its corruptions which beginning to be assaulted and set upon for their destruction will combine all their forces to avert and turn back the Soul from its progress in this new way also they will call in for the aid and assistance of flesh and blood which in its corrupt state is a very great impediment to the poor Soul in this way whereof flesh and blood has no liking at all for it perceiveth it will be greatly straitned and restrained from its wonted liberty it rrceived by sin and corruption and put to endure great and many hardships through the Souls entring into the way of mortification and holiness 3. From Satan who as the strong man has formerly kept the house in peace and now another coming to cast him out he will use many methods and waies with the Soul to turn it aside and divert it from it's new way that he may keep his place in it for it is as torment to him to be cast out and lose his usurped possession He will suggest unto the Soul the novelty of its way the difficulty of it and how few take such a course Also he will alledge unto it that it may get to Heaven by easier means yea he will endeavour to perswade the poor Soul that the Light within is but some fancy or Imagination or at best some insufficient thing and that the very works the Soul feels begun in it by and through the Power of that Light are but melancholick imaginations and that the fire the Soul finds kindled in it is but the heat of the fancy or sparks of its own kindling or if he cannot prevail that way but that the Soul still persists in its conversion unto this Sacred and Divine fire then especially when he perceives that the Souls feels it great force he will be tempting to despair telling it that God has kindled this fire in it for its utter destruction and torment And if he cannot prevail thus then he will tempt it with hard thoughts of God as if the Lord were too severe and rigid in using such waies with it Also he will endeavour to stir up in it impatience grudging and fretting weariness and discontent and a longing to return unto the flesh-pots of Aegypt even to its former evil and licentious way of life in sin These and many such like troubles and trials will the poor Soul meet with besides many outward occasions from the World both of pleasures and afflictions to divert it and turn it aside from its persisting in its conversion unto God in the Divine Seed By reason of these and such like inward trials and troubles divers after some measure of a real and true application and conversion of their minds unto God and Christ in the Divine Seed have turned back again and not continued in their begun conversion even like some unwise and cowardly patients who at first give themselves up unto the Physian to be lanced and tented and scarrified but afterwards finding the pain and anxiety thereof shrink back and chuse rather to remain in their wounds and distempers though it should cost them the losing of their life then indure a little trouble and pain for their cure Therefore it 's said in relation to this Mal. c. 3. v. 2. Who may abide the day of his coming and who shall stand when he appeareth for he shall be as the refiners fire and fullers Soap Which words do import that some may receive his first appearance but not abide it nor stand it out nor indure unto the end of the fiery trial which comes by it for to abide and to stand are words signifying continuance and persisting But notwithstanding all these things thou must persist and continue therein with a stout and bold resolution which will be given thee of the Lord if thou be not wanting on thy part to receive it and if thou persist not the work of thy Salvation will be stopt It is much better for thee to indure these inward trials and difficulties then to lose thy own Soul and be cast into endless torment hereafter for thy negligence and carnal ease better thou go maimed into Heaven losing a right eye a right hand then that thy whole body should go into Hell fire The cure is worthy all the pain and much more A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow and pain but after she hath brought forth
as thus God is the Life of our Souls as an efficient câ—use of Life and that originally and immediately but not as the informing or formal cause thereof such as the Holy Life begot of the Holy Seed is which is even the formal cause of it CHAP. VII Shewing How the Soul is to reflect upon it self and enter into Trial and Examination of it self whether it hath truly passed through the aforesaid steps of Conversion and continuance therein in passiveness and forbearance and whether it hath attained unto any beginnings of the Divine and Holy Life and the powers thereof before it enter upon other operative Exercises and how or by what Rule or Touch-stone it may infallibly know the same THe service which the Lord requireth of us and which we ought to perform unto him is our reasonable service as the Scriptures declare and expresly call it which beside other things which might be mentioned doth import this especially that whatsoever service or work we go about to do unto the Lord we do it with a true and certain knowledge that we are indeed serving him and not our selves nor any other For if I do any work and yet do not know certainly to whom I am working my work cannot be called reasonable for to do a thing reasonably is to do it with a certain knowledg and judgment and herein is man's excellency above the other Creatures which are unreasonable that whereas they work only according to that which either inwardly or outwardly moves them not knowing what they do so as to make a judgment of discretion betwixt causes and cauâ—es man is to do all his works with such a discretive judgment and understanding that he certainly knoweth both the end unto which he worketh and also the principle from which otherwise his work is rather brutal than rational And so as we are required to praise the Lord with understanding as the Scriptures declare so we ought to serve the Lord in every particular step with understanding also so as to be able to give a rational account of our service that it is indeed unto the Lord and this we cannot do unless we certainly know that what we do is by the Power of his Holy Life and Spirit assisting us for it is the Lord who giveth us both to will and to do and without him we can do nothing not so much as say that IESVS is the LORD but by the Holy Ghost divinely and supernaturally assisting us indeed we may repeat the bare words without any supernatural assistance but here they are no wise regarded of the Lord for if they be not expressed with the supernatural assistance of his Spirit as aforesaid they are but dead and empty of that Life and Vertue which renders them acceptable unto him And so any other work if we do not work it in him and by him supernaturally assisting we do it not to him and if we know not that we do so it is not our reasonable service which he requires Moreover whatever we do as a service unto the Lord we ought to do it in faith but if we do not certainly know from what principle or power we do any thing we are left in a suspense and doubtfulness and have nothing but conjecture at best to build upon which is far from faith Also he that doth a thing doubtfully doth both displease the Lord who forbids it and brings weakness and confusion upon himself for he that doubteth is damned as saith the Scripture Now to the end that a man may know whether the work or works which he is about to do be indeed unto the Lord he is to reflect upon himself and to enter upon an impartial examination and trial of his own Soul whether he hath passed truly through the aforesaid steps of conversion and continuance therein in passiveness and forbearance and so whether he hath attained unto any true beginnings of the Divine and Holy Life and the Powers thereof and that before he enter upon other operative exercises because that unless in some measure he hath truly passed through these steps he cannot perform any work rightly and acceptably unto God And this examination and reflexion is the more needful for that even these steps may be counterfeited no less then other things A Soul may even seem to it self to have converted or turned it self inwards unto the Divine Presence c. and yet not have truly converted thereunto Yea I will say a great word but that which is a very certain truth Many do inwardly convert as unto God but it 's not to the true God but a false even an Image of their own framing and deviseing and as unto Christ but indeed it is unto Anti-Christ And surely this is as it were the very beginning of the working of the Mystery of iniquity when Satan putteth on the appearance of God and Anti-Christ of Christ sitting down in the Temple of God and being axalted above every thing that is called God Now to open this a little more we are to consider that all men have some notion or image of God in their minds by which when they speak hear or read of him they some way think and form their thoughts and conceptions of him according to that objective notion or Idea with which they are acquainted Now though it is also certain that there is in some measure a true objective concept or Idea of God put or planted by God himself in every man's mind which is in and of the Divine Seed sown in every man yet the usual knowledg that men commonly have of God doth not proceed from this true Idea in the Divine Seed nor is it the pattern or example according to which they usually frame the thoughts and conceptions of their minds when they usually speak read hear or consider of him in their minds forasmuch as the Divine Seed in and through which the true Idea is received in most men yea in all wicked men and unconverted is greatly burthened and oppressed through the lusts and iniquities which prevail in them whereby it comes to pass that frequently that true object concept or Idea or manifestation of God in the Divine Seed which in Scripture is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. that which may be known of God is vailed and clouded in them so that the Soul doth no more apprehend it then if it were not And when by the Power of the Lord in his Visitation upon the Soul this objective concept as aforesaid is brought into some measure of manifestation yet the Soul is so intently taken up with its sinful lusts and pleasures that it doth little observe it and many times not at all even as if some friend passed by before me in my view yet I being much taken up with looking at some other persons or things should know nothing of his being so near And indeed it is even so as to this matter the Lord doth often visit the Soul and passeth
and unto this that maxime in Naturals doth well answer Esse est propter operari Being is for working for to that end hath every thing received its being and powers of a Natural Life that it may reduce them into act and perform the operations which are proper unto them So if we shall take a survey of the whole Creation and of all things in it in the Heavens the earth and the other elements we shall find them all upon motion and working the works which belong unto the powers of their natural being And thus the creaâ—ures do in some sort resemble their Maker who not only wrought the creatures into a being by creation but continueth still working to preserve uphold and govern them according to which the Lord said My Father worketh hitherto and I work Now if thou hast in any measure passed through the aforesaid steps of Conversion and continuance therein in passiveness and forbearance were it but for a very small time thou art by this time become a partaker of the holy Life and its Powers in some measure and so art entred at â—east into the way and path of holiness and art come unto a true and sound beginning being come unto Chriâ—t who is the Beginning and the End both the Alpha and the Omega the Way the Truth and the Life the Door into the Sheep-fold and House of God So having entred by him thou art no Intruder no Thief nor Robber but a true Servant of the House of God wherein thou art to work the works of God and having received Christ so must thou walk in him being now planted into him as the branch into the Vine-tree and made a real partaker of the vertue of the Root and hereby joyned to the tree as a natural branch thou must now bring â—orth the fruit of good works and being come to live in the Spirit thou must also walk in the Spirit and work and do all thy works in him and through him But some may say According to this method and way of proceeding a man is kept long off from working for it may be a long time ere he pass through these steps and so during this time suppose it were a years time or more shall he proceed to no operative exercises of Religion but remain as a cypher or blank till he has got through these steps May it not be said unto him Why standst thou so long idle Answ. This is an Objection which is much with many and hath deep place in the minds of some newly convinced ones and who are but beginning they would fain be a doing and working as others yea and the hypocritical part and spirit which hath its life in dead performances and works will still be dogging and pricking them forward unto the doing of things before the time Now learn a Parable of a Fruit-tree be it an Apple-tree or the like into which a graft is imped being cut off from another Tree where it did grow as a natural branch and did bud green and flourish and bring forth Fruit but such Fruit as was naught Now suppose that such is the good nature of the Tree into which it is grafted that it makes the graft bring forth other sort of fruit than formerly even good fruit and that in abundance it 's true it is not so with the common Trees in the outward for they do not change the grafts imped on them into their own nature but rather the imp changeth the sap and vertue of spirit of the Tree that it causeth the Tree to bring forth fruit according to the kind of the graft it self But it is otherwise betwixt Châ—ist and us men for we being planted or grafted into him he changeth the nature of our Fruit from evil to good otherwise the comparison holds very well Now when the graft is cut off from its natural stock it was very gâ—â—en and full of life yea suppose it was full of blossoms or fruit yet when by the hand of the Husband-man it is cut off from its natural stock and grafted into another it doth not instantly spring and green and flourish as before far less bear new fruit but first of all dyeth its greenness and flourish withereth and its fruits fall off so that it remaineth very bare and empty-like for some time yet the powers of nature are not altogether idle in it for by little and little the power of life in the Tree into which it is ingrafted doth infuse and insinuate it self into it by which it uniteth and knitteth the graft to the Tree by a natural union and then in process of time the graft beginneth to green and flourish again and bring forth fruit both much better and more abundant as is said And here we may observe somewhat of all these steps in a similitude which the graft passeth through before it cometh to bear fruit as 1. The power of the life in the Tree insinuating it self into the graft taketh hold of the faint and dead powers of nature in the graft and conveâ—teth or turneth them into it self 2. The graft being thus turned or joined to the Tree not by any outward bonds but by the influence of the Tree continueth and persisteth therein which if it did not it could not receive life from the Tree 3. In this continuance it remaineth very passive doing nothing but secretly drinking in the vertue and power of life from the Tree into which it is grafted and so by this means it becomes in due time as a natural branch of the Tree and brings forth its fruits as aforesaid now such is the discretion of the Husband man that he requires not present fruit from the Tree neither is he offended with it that it yields not present fruit but patiently waits for the fruit in the season of it Even such is the discretion of the Lord yea and much more towards men that if they convert and turn into the true Vine and Tree of Life not resisting the Power of Life therein but suffering it to work in them to kill the unholy life by which they live and bring forth fruit unto sin and if they continue thus converted in a passive and forbearing way suffering the Spirit and Power of God in the Divine Seed in them to do in it what him pleaseth this is acceptable unto the Lord even thus to die in him and blessed are such for their works shall follow them in due time And this is according to what our Lord taught himself Vnless said he a grain of Wheat fall into the ground and die it remaineth alone but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit this he spake in relation to himself but it holds good also in relation to others Wouldst thou indeed bring forth the fruits of good works unto the Lord then thou must fall into the ground and die like a grain of Wheat and afterwards thou wilt live again and spring up bearing friut both good and abundant and the
the other part may be of the enemy yea the Soul may begin to do something well and in the Spirit and yet end it in the Flesh through its weakness and inadvertency Nevertheless we must not conceive any such mixture possible as if what the Lord doth in the Soul and what the Soul doth with him and by his Power and Spirit could be corrupted and defiled by the Enemy Nay for the work of the Lord is still pure so far as it goeth But now the Soul giving way to the Enemy he enters and so putteth a stop to the Lord's work at that time but he can never defile or corrupt it And thus the Lord's part of the work is still his and the Enemy hath no share in it nor any influence upon it so as to defile it but he may stop it as the Lord permits him and as the Soul gives him way so to do Now one may readily object According to this it would seem that so long as sin hath any life or power in the Soul it being as is said the Devils Kingdom it were impossible for it to do any work unto the Lord and in him from fiâ—st to last but that it should be marred and stand in the mixture as aforesaid for the very state and condition of the Soul being in the mixture as partly the Holy Life and its Powers having place therein and partly the unholy life and its powers How can it be but that the work it self should stand in the mixture also and that proportionally according to the mixture of the Souls own state and condition For while the Soul is working that which is good by the Powers of the Holy Life in and with the Lord will the powers of the unholy life be idle and asleep or rather will they not work in opposition Yea will not the Devil move strongly in them to resist and mar the work of the Lord Answ. This objection indeed doth evince that the things is somewhat difficult but not impossible It 's true the powers of the unholy life do of their own nature incline to work in opposition to the work of the Lord and Satan will never be wanting as much as he can to move and stir them up but this answers it plainly that as the Soul turns unto the Lord and breaths unto him through the Powers of his own Life and Spirit for preservation and continueth thus inwardly turned and converted unto him in fear watchfulness and singleness the Power of the Lord God cometh over the unholy Life and its Powers yea and over the whole power of the enemy therein and doth bind and captivate them that they can no more prevail to hinder the Soul from doing the work of the Lord in purity and perfection in a measure then if they had no such place in it Even as in the outward if I were doing a piece of work and some strong bodied man had a resolution to stop or mar me yet if a stronger than he come and bind him up I may do the work compleatly maugre him he may fret and make a noise like a mad Dog or Lion upon a Chain but he can do no more And truly we have found the truth of this many times in our own experience that as we have kept diligent nigh unto the Lord with our minds towards him in tender breathings and desires that we might be preserved we have found him chained as aforesaid But when we have but a little become remiss and suffered our minds to slide back from that diligence and watchfulness as was requisite then the Lord suffered the enemy somewhat as it were to break loose upon us and use his strength in some measure against us to the end that thereby we might be stirred up unto the more watchfulness And indeed many times we find it so with us in this matter as it was with the Jews at the rebuilding of the City who were so put to it that while they builded with the one hand they behooved to fight against the adversary with the other Thus ye may see that there is a time wherein sin and its powers may be captivated before it be utterly slain and the strong man may be bound before he be utterly cast out CHAP. IX Shewing How that though Works can have no great influence upon the very first beginnings of a Holy Life that being only received through a receptive Faith yet they do greatly conduce unto the growth and continuance thereof also unto the killing and mortification of the sinful and unholy Life with its powers more and more till it be utterly slain where also the distinction of a twofold property of Faith viz. Receptive and operative is somewhat opened WOrk out your Salvation said the Apostle with fear and trembling It is observable he did not bid them begin their Salvation with works but that they should work it out or proceed in it through works which is a manifest proof that works have a great use and service promoting and carrying on the Salvation of the Soul though they cannot begin it and concerning the great use they have unto this effect Paul the same Apostle said again Rom. 8. If ye live after the flâ—sh ye shall die but if ye through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live Wherein these two things are plainly implied 1. That carnal and evil works that is a living after the flesh occasion death upon them who are come to some measure of spiritual life evil and unholy works are deadning and killing they are like a cankeâ— which eat out the life of the Soul 2. That good and holy works serve not only to preserve the measure of the holy life already attained but to increase and improve it And this same the parable of the Talents doth plainly hold forth for he who received but two Talents yet improving the same and putting them to use they became multiplyed into four so he who received the five by using them gained other five Many other Scripture exaâ—mples could be brought to prove the Trâ—â—â— of it but these shall at present suffice Moreover the very nature of the thing doth also demonstrate it for it is here the same as to the spiritual life as it is in the natural for the natural life and the powers thereof become stronger and stronger the more it is upon motion and exercise as we see by dayly experience but there is this difference that the natural Life after it hath come to its heighth doth decay and even spendeth or consumeth it self in its motions or workings for it is but a temporary thing Whereas the spiritual life is eternal and doth never at any time decay or diminish through its workings but is thereby perpetuated It is such a good plant that it ever groweth and flourisheth and bringeth forth twelve manner of fruits every Month where it is well occupyed or improved and never of its own nature decayeth or waxeth barren
but the more abundant fruit it bringeth forth this Month or year the yet more abundantly it bring forth the next Yea its life is so much in working and bringing forth fruit that if it be hindered in its movings and workings it dyeth even as the fire goeth out if it be stopt from burning and the water dyeth if it be kept from running Besides The Lord is so well pleased in the Soul that is diligent in good works through his own holy Life and Spirit that he doth reward it with a further measure and taketh delight to water the Soul that is fruitful therein the more abundantly with his heavenly vertue and Spirit even as the Husband-man doth his garden which yieldeth him good fruit But the Vine-yard which bringeth not forth Good Grapes but the Sowr and Bitter Grapes of evil works see what he doth to it Isa. 5. I will lay it wast saith the Lord it shall not be pruned nor digged c. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it But it may be said Is not faith a work and is not believing working And yet thou grants that the Soul comes to attain unto the first beginning or beginnings of a holy and spiritual life through faith and believing Unto this I answer that there is a twofold property of Faith 1. Receptive or receiving 2. Operative or working Now the Soul doth not attain unto the beginning of a holy Life through the property of faith which is opperative but through that which is receptive And least any should think this distinction too nice or subtile I shall prove it from the express words of Scripture 1. That faith is operative is clear from that Scripture where it is said Faith worketh by Love and where it is said to purifie the Heart and do a great many good things in many other places 2. That it is receptive I shall go no further then Ioh. 1.12 For proof To as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God And that this receiving Christ is a believing in him is plain from the words immediately following even said he to them that believe in his Name So here is the receptive faith for receptive is as much as to say in English receiving Nor are there many examples wanting in natural things to shew that a thing may have the receptive power when as yet it hath not the operative yea that the receptive maketh way for the operative as to instance in some 1. The needle of the compass must first receive its vertue from the load stone being touched with it before it can direct it self towards the pole 2. The branch that is cut-off from its own natural stock and grafted into another it first receiveth life and vertue from the stock into which it is grafted and drinketh it in before it proceed to send forth either leaves or flourish or fruit 3. The womb first receiveth seed before the powers of nature in it proceed in their operation for its conception and formation 4. The Stomach first receiveth the meat into it before by the powers of nature therein it digest and turn it into the nourishment of the body And indeed this last example doth with great clearness hold forth the thing in hand For suppose now a man through hunger were even faint and as it were dead so that he were able to do nothing yet receiving a little food the vertue of it doth suddenly revive him and gives him natural strength whereby he may do and work as formerly And thus the Soul receiving and drinking in that divine vertue of life that is in the divine Seed is thereby quickened and strengthened to do the things that pertain unto an holy Life in some measure All which examples and many more which could be adduced prove that a thing may have a receptive power and not the operative yea that the receptive maketh way for the operative And to this purpose these words of Christ are observable He that believes in me saith he though he were dead yet shall he live which imports that a Soul though it be dead may believe that is to say receive the Seed and principle of Life into it for this Divine Principle is of an insinuating and penetrating nature it doth make way for its own reception in the heart insinuating and as it were winding it self thereinto as the Fire doth into Wood or any combustible matter But now when this Principle doth labour to work it self into the Soul and its powers the Soul may resist and doth so many times whereby it remaineth dead though otherwise it might have lived by giving way unto or receiving this Divine Principle and Seed And thus that subtle objection may be answered which is thus Believing or Faith is an act of Spiritual Life indwelling in the Soul and can only proceed from the Soul that liveth a Spiritual Life For as a dead Body cannot walk or move so nor can a dead Soul believe From this it is inferred That the Soul must first live before it can believe or have Faith and consequently that none others can have Faith but they who are already partakers of a Spiritual Life which is contrary to what ye say that it is possible for all men to believe while yet ye grant all men are not spiritually alive But this is answered by the former distinction of the twofold property of Faith Therefore unto that proposition on which the whole strength of the objection lieth viz. that Faith is an act of Spiritual Life indwelling in the Soul I thus answer That the Operative Faith or Believing is an act of Spiritual Life indwelling I grant but as for the receptive property of Faith through it the Soul is made a partaker of the Spiritual Life by which it comes to indwell in the Soul and therefore the Soul cannot be conceived to live Spiritually before the receptive Faith This receptive Faith is the same with the Soul 's converting or turning or being converted or turned inwardly by the Lord unto the Divine Seed and Principle in it and to the Divine Presence of God and Christ Jesus therein whereof I have said somewhat chap. 4. And whether the Soul be supposed only to be passive in this receptive Faith or partly passive and partly active the matter is not much provided it be acknowledged that it cannot so much as believe even according to the receptive Faith but as it is enabled and assisted after a supernatural manner by the Lord. Also some may object This Doctrin seemeth contrary to what ye seem to hold when ye say That it is possible for all men to do the things that God requires of them and that no man perisheth for want of power to do the will of God Answ. There is no contrariety herein for when we say it 's possible for all men to do the things that God requires of them we understand not this simply and absolutely
but conditionally to wit upon their believing for they who believe receive power to do the will of God whereas the unbelievers want this power because of their unbelief and forasmuch as it 's possible for all men to believe at such times when the Lord doth visit them and touch their hearts by the gracious influence of his Holy Spirit therefore we do justly say that all men may do the will of God according to the restriction aforesaid CHAP. X. Of the great Influence that the Coming of our Lord Iesus Christ in the outward in his Birth Life Doctrin Works Sufferings Death Resurrection Ascension Glorification c. Hath upon our mortification to sin and regeneration unto Holiness even unto Perfection and after what manner we should improve the same effectually in order thereunto GReat and excellent are the Benefits which do come upon men through the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ even in the outward but through a Spirit of Deceit and Hypocrisie which hath deeply entred the most of Professors and leavened them Great and woful are the abuses which they have put both upon his outward coming and the benefits thereof while they do both grievously misunderstand and misapply the end of his coming For whereas the main and principle end of his coming is to reconcile Men unto God and make peace betwixt them through his purging their Consciences from dead works taking away the Sins and Pollutions of their Hearts and defacing and blotting out that unholy Image of Satan begot in them through unrighteousness and enduing them with the Heavenly and Righteous Image of God they on the contrary have supposed or dreamed that his end in coming was to reconcile them to God and justifie them while remaining in their sins Yea and so far they have proceeded herein as to imagine that there is no need of Holiness at all for Iustification and Reconciliation but only for making them meet for Heaven as they term it Whereby it would seem they suppose that whereas Heaven can be at no peace with unholy men yet God can as if God were more reconcileable with Iniquity than Heaven is But surely neither Heaven nor the God of Heaven much less can ever be reconciled or at peace with unholiness or those who live in it Now the ground of this their supposition is an unfound â—otion they have drunken in that Christ is come or put in their stead to fulfil the Law of God for them in his own person both actively and passively by which they are wholly justified â—n the sight of God through his satisfaction though they remain in much sinfulness and unholiness in their own particular But tho we do truly acknowledg the full and perfect satisfaction of Christ unto the Father both in his doings and sufferings yet we deny that notion of it as unsound and unscripâ—ural For the true sense of the satisfaction of Christ both as we read it outwardly in the Scriptures testimony and feel and know it inwardly in the work and testimony of his Spirit Light and Life in our hearts is after and according to the manner as follows I. When man sinned against God and became corrupt and unclean in his heart before him through transgession the peace betwixt God and him was broken and so man who in his innocent state was justified and at peace with God now through his sin became unjustified and the wrath of God kindled against him both in his Soul and body in great measure II. This wrath of God would have burnt in such a violent and forcible manner had not he provided a way in his infinite mercy in some measure to abate and qualifie it that it would have sunk man into endless and irrecoverable torment and misery But God prepared a way both to qualifie this wrath and also in due time wholly to quench it and bring man into perfect peace and reconciliation with God as at the beginning yea and to establish him therein for ever III. Now the way and remedy he provided both for the qualifying it at first and afterwards for the total quenching of it was the coming of the Lord Iesus Christ his only begotten Son in a Holy Seed conception and birth out of which should spring such a gentle meek and qualifying Spirit and Life that it should stand up in the way betwixt the wrath of God and men first to abate and qualifie the wrath towards men even while they are in their sins but not to remove it and that for a certain time or day of visitation given them of God to repent and come out of their sins and sinful nature and spirit into holiness and the nature and 〈◊〉 thereof and then quite to remove and quench it at their being made free from sin anâ— perfected in holiness And truely this great and unspeakable benefit from Christ have all unholy men in the day of their visitation that through his sweet and quallifying Life the wrath of God is in a great measure born up from falling upon them to the uttermost which if it did would instantly sink them into the pit from whence there is no recovery Nevertheless the wrath of God abideth upon all unholy men but through the meek Life of Christ in the Holy Seed it is greatly suspended or born off IV. Now that the Lord Jesus might be the more universally and throughly a Saviour unto man for his recovery out of the misery and bondage and vanity into which he had thrown himself it pleased the Father yea and the Son both that he should come to wit Christ in a holy Seed both inwardly and outwardly for the deliverance of both the inward and outward man yea and for the deliverance of the whole outward creation from the vanity and corruption it was made subject unto through the sin of Man And thus even from the beginning yea upon mans fall God was in Christ reconciling the World to himself and Christ was manifest in the holy Seed inwardly and so stood in the way to ward off the wrath from the sinners and unholy that it might not come upon them to the uttermost during the day of their visitation For even at man's fall the Seed of the woman was given not only to bruise the Serpents head but also to be a Lamb or Sacrifice to atone and pacifie the wrath of God towards men And this is the Lamb that was slain from the beginning of the World V. And through the coming of Jesus Christ thus in the inward even before he was outwardly come or manifest many were saved and attained unto perfect peace and reconciliation with God in their Souls yet not in unholiness but in departing therefrom and becoming holy and sanctified unto God Now tho from the beginning he was not outwardly come nevertheless his purpose of coming outwardly was from the beginning and also he had a certain fore-knowledg and sense of what he was to suffer and how he was to be delivered up
sufferings as in a Wine-press to the end that sweet Wine might come forth that hath the vertue in it to cure men of their wounds both in relation to wrath and sin And so when he cryed forth with a loud voice upon the Cross My God c. even therein and there through Vertue went from him in that holy Breath or Spirit which had and hath a most effectual Influence upon both men and the creation for their deliverance as aforesaid for nothing that he ever did or suffered was in vain or without vertue and influence unto mens Salvation And thus having declared the great influence which the very outward coming Birth Life Sufferings and Death c. of Christ hath upon men both for their Justification and Sanctification let us now see how and in what manner we should improve the same effectually in order thereunto For indeed we shall find how the Apostles did greatly improve and make use of it in order unto Mortification or dying unto sin and living unto holiness and making progress therein unto perfection As to instance in some few examples Rom. 6.2 How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein Know ye not that as many of us as were baptized into Iesus Christ were Baptized into his death c. See throughout the whole Chapter 2 Cor. 5.14 For the love of Christ constraineth us Because we thus judge that if one dyed for all then were all dead and that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves buâ— unto him who died for them and rose again 1 Pet. 2.24 Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree but we being dead to sin should live to righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed Vers. 21. Because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that we should follow his steps 1 Pet. 4.1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh arm your selves likewise with the same mind For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men but to the will of God By all which places and many other which could be mentioned we may observe that the Saints made the chifest use and improvements of the Sufferings Death and Resurrection of Christ for the Mortification of Sin and living unto God in holiness and righteousness and that unto perfection and did not sooth or please themselves to live in much sin and unholiness and speaking peace to themselves therein because of what Christ had done and suffered for them And now I shall sum up in a few words the particular uses and benefits which the Saints receive in order to a growing and proceeding in holiness through the improving the Coming Sufferings Death and Resurrection of the Lord in the outward through the Power and Light of his own holy Spirit and Life in and by which only they can improve them aright I. As his Coming Birth Sufferings Death Resurrection c. are presented and set before us in the evidence and vertue of his own Light and Spirit in our hearts so it is made a great occasion to strengthen both our faith in God and our love towards him forasmuch as our Lord God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ hath given by his outward coming c. as aforesaid a very great and large testimony of his love and good will towards all men for their Salvation and of his patience and long-suffering in permitting men so to use his own dear Son which was as if it had been unto himself Yea herein he gave a most convincing Testimony how he had born and suffered with wonderful long-suffering the iniquities of men which struck against his inward Life and Spirit of his Son in all ages and generations before the wounding and crucifying it in them as now they did against him in the outward By which men might be greatly convinced that the will of the Lord was their Salvation in so bearing and suffering them for had he not intended love to them herein he might have eased himself of his adversaries in a Moment and altogether delivered that tender Life and Spirit of his Son from its sufferings in them and brought intolerable sufferings upon the transgressors themselves Also herein the Lord gave a great testimony of his Power to save in as much as tho he delivered up his Son to suffer most deep affliction in and under sinners yet in due time he raised him up again even from death and did manifestly set him over all his adversaries according to the working of which mighty power he is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him And so these things being inwardly presented and set before the Soul in the Spirit and Light of Jesus Christ are indeed very forcible and prevailing to work faith in it both upon the mercy and power of the Lord and so to rest and stay its faith upon him for its full and perfect Salvation as also to work and beget love unto him in the inward sense and feeling of the wonderful love of God as manifesting it self even so in the outward II. And yet more particularly the coming sufferings and death of Christ as presented by his Spirit in the Soul as aforesaid have a very special influence to kindle most ardent love in it towards him in the sense of that love of his so wonderfully manifested in the outward whereby for the Souls saving from sin and wrath he so humbled himself by so many steps and degrees and bore such indignities and sufferings as never any one did and all in love to the Soul and for it and for its deliverance as aforesaid and that he should be manifest in the outward body and suffer so deeply therein even for the delivering our outward bodies also from sin and wrath these things I say as presented and set before the Soul in his own Spirit as it were himself telling it in a particular way how he had humbled himself and what he had done and suffered for it are strong and prevailing occasions to work most ardent and dear love in the Soul towards him and his Spirit and towards the Father also whose free Gift of Love he is III. And they have indeed a great influence when presented in his Spirit as aforesaid to work in our hearts true and real repentance from all our sins yea and a perfect and universal hatred against them as having a sense that our sins were the occasion of his sufferings yea his deepest and heaviest sufferings even in his Soul in the outward was through the burden of our iniquities which he then did bear so that the wounds he got in his blessed Body with the Nails and the Spear and the Thorns and the violent Hands of Men were nothing comparable to these wounds he had in his righteous Soul and
I shall be turned But now many when the Lord toucheth them and by his touch infuseth a certain secret vertue sufficient to turn them or whereby they may turn yea when he draweth and pulleth them very sensibly do resist and continue in their aversion and of such the Scriptures say they draw back and that they resist the Truth and resist the Holy Ghost whose damnation is just seeing he would have healed them but they refused Be not therefore discouraged or driven into despair because thou find'st such weakness and inability to convert thy Soul unto God as aforesaid nor yet because thou find'st so little vertue or power administred unto thee from the Divine influence for thy enabling for by what is from the Lord administred unto thee it is possible for thee to convert though at first and for a considerable time afterwards it will be difficult for strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads unto life This converting the Soul after the manner declared unto the Divine Presence is the true faith and believing in God and Christ so much required in Scripture in order unto Salvation which is the Soul 's coming unto God and Christ as he said Come unto me c. and the Soul 's taking hold of him and cleaving unto him And indeed the Latine word Credo doth significantly express it which is as much as to say A giving the heart unto God And how doth a man give his heart unto him but by turning it towards him Which conversion or believing is not simply of one power of the Soul but of both viz. the understanding and will yea of the whole Soul with all its powers when the conversion is through and total CHAP. III. Shewing How the Soul ought to persist and continue in its Conversion towards God and Christ and of the effects which follow at first thereupon as also of the inward trials and troubles it usually meeteth with therein NOw after the Soul hath got it self converted or turned inwards by the Divine influence and assistance unto the Divine Seed and to God and Christ present therein then it is to be careful that it persist and continue in its conversion and the LORD who by his Divine Grace hath enabled it to convert after the former manner doth and will also enable it to persevere therein For it is in the Soul 's persisting and continuing in its conversion and application unto the Divine Word Light and Life in the Divine Seed that it comes to receive and be partaker of the blessed effects thereof An outward example whereof we have very plain in our holding any thing to the Fire which if suddenly we remove again it scarce produceth any effect in it as if we would purifie or refine any Metal from its dross by the Fire we must not only apply it intimately to the Fire but hold it in it a good time that it may melt and the dross may separate from it So thou must not only turn thy Soul to this Fire of God in thee but must persist and continue in so doing and by that means thou wilt quickly begin to be a partaker of its blessed effects Some of which effects as they follow at first upon the Soul 's converting unto this Divine Principle I find it with me to mention As first Thou wilt by thy conversion thereunto receive a more clear and full convincement and discovery of thy sins and sinful polluted nature then formerly so that thou wilt come to see sin to be exceeding sinful and how thou art compassed about with it as with a thick cloud which hinders thee from enjoying the sweet and comfortable presence of God yea thou wilt come to feel thy poor Soul imbodied or incorporated in a very body of sin having many members and how near and dear they are unto thee some as a right Eye some as a right Hand c. Then thou wilt know that such things are sins which have place in thee more than by any words even of Scripture for the manifestation of the Spirit and Light of Christ in the little Seed will greatly convince thee thereof and let thee see thy sins and the nature or root that brings them forth in their monstrous and hellish forms and shapes II. Thou wilt also feel and perceive how the displeasure wrath and indignation of God is against every sin in thee even all ungodliness and unrighteousness the whole body of it with all its members root and fruit and branches and how also the wrath of God is against men because of sin to which they are joined And so thou wilt find how all men in a sinful and unrenewed condition are miserable as being under the wrath and displeasure of God and how sin is the root and fountain of the whole misery of man and how man stands before God in a state of judgment and condemnation while in sin imbodied and drowned in it as it were over head and ears III. Thou wilt have occasion to observe the mercy of the Lord in the midst of all this wrath and judgment after a wonderful manner which will raise in thy mind amazing and astonishing thoughts whereby thou wilt wonder and admire that thou art not consumed in the midst of all this wrath yea then thou wilt be made to see somewhat like that of Moses how the Fire burnt in the Bâ—sh and it was not consumed IV. Thou wilt find that this fire is only sent down from Heaven to burn and consume that beastly and sinful nature wherewith thou art inwardly cloathed as with a body and that the fruit of all this burning and kindling is to take away thy sin and purge away thy filthiness and dross V. And so as thou remainest and continuest introverted or converted towards that Divine Principle aforesaid thou wilt find it as a Sword a Fire and a Hammer in thee knocking down and killing and consuming this body of sin with its members yea a flame will issue forth from it and will enter into the body of sin killing and burning so far as it entreth VI. By the operation of this Heavenly Fire thou wilt find a very sensible and grievous pain in thy inward man as verily as if the outward fire were burning in thy outward body So thou mayst conceive how thou wouldst be affected if the tenderest and most sensible part of thy outward body were held close unto a burning flame even such sensible and grievous pain wilt thou find inwardly for indeed thy Soul dwelleth as really in the body of sin and is united with it as it doth in the outward body Therefore it is sensible of whatever hurteth it and findeth pain till it have put it off and then it hath no more sympathy with it VII Great fear and terrour will take hold upon thee because of these things which thou wilt have occasion inwardly to observe the like whereof before thou wert never acquainted with for this doth answer unto the
in the Revelation that he shall work lying and false wonders and cause Fire to come down from Heaven videlicit in appearance to deceive them who dwell upon the earth Yet we have a plain and ready answer to this objection which is this The Presence of the Lord in the Soul in the Divine Seed doth send forth such a manifestation of his own Light and Spirit in it which discovereth infallibly the works and deeds which are wrought in the Soul whether they be of God yea or nay and putteth the Soul into a capacity infallibly to discern them and to know whose they are And though the Enemy be never so near in his subtle workings to deceive thee the Lord is as near and nearer to reveal him But as for them who deny Immediate Revelation in these days they leave the Soul at an utter uncertainty that it cannot know the work of God in it from the work of the Enemy For seeing they deny that the operations of his Spirit are objective and objectively manifest they are but as certain blind or blank lines and impressions drawn upon paper which no man can read or perceive But having shewed this at more length elsewhere I shall not further proceed in it at present Now if thou wouldst desire to know the truth of thy Conversion by a way prior to that of effects which is needful yea it were needful for thee to know in the very first instant in which thou setst about to perform thy acts of Conversion whether they be true yea or no Also whether that be the true presence or manifestation of God unto which thou dost convert or but that false and framed god above-mentioned or Satan transforming himself into the likeness of God thou shalt know thus If it be the true God and the true Christ he doth manifest himself so to be for God is Light and Christ is the Light of the world which lightens every man that comes into the world that they may believe and turn unto God Now as there is no way to know the Light even that which is outward but by it self and the manifestation that comes from it so there is no other way so certain to know God and Christ but by the Light and Spirit of manifestation which proceed from them And of this I am verily perswaded that there is no man upon the face of the earth but that there is some manifestation of God so plainly and evidently set before him as that he cannot but be convinced that it is the LORD and that frequently whose appearance in the heart is so far different from every false appearance of Satan or any god or image of him which the Soul makes to it self or can make that it may very plainly and infallibly distinguish the one from the other and needs not to be deceived unless it wittingly and wilfully give up it self to be deceived And if thou ask Wherein doth the appearance of the one from the other so far differ that it may be so easily discerned I answer In this the true appearance of God and Christ Jesus is against every sin more or less in thee whether of Flesh or Spirit and by it thou art reproved of every sin in some measure yea and it worketh as Fire against the Briaâ—s and Thorns against every sin in thee and the body and root of it though at first thou wilt not be so sensible of it as to have a particular observation of all thy sins yet thou wilâ— find it working against them all as it were in a heap sparing none of them nor reconcileable to any of them So that what ever particular sin is brought under thy particular observation thou wilt find the appearance of Christ against it as much as any But now the false god which a man maketh unto himself in his mind is very reconcileable to many sins which thou art plainly convinced to be sins and he can dwell with them and let them flourish and grow largely in the heart and not be a devouring fire against them yea the false and counterfeit god is an enemy tâ— no sin at all and would never reprove or disswade thee from any sin but o 〈…〉 thee And this is the hypocriâ—es 〈◊〉 and the high flown notionists god whom they in some sort stand in awe to offend as to some â—ross outward acts or even some inward also because they have shaped him in such and such a form as is contrary in appearance to such and such sins But as for thee love him that reproves every sin in thought or desire word or work and is dreadful unto every transgressour more or less yea is as a devouring fire against them for that is the true God Now this appearance of God thou shalt observe to manifest it self in a little small Seed the least of all Seeds in the very inwards of thy heart which is meek and holy and pure and harmless and is contrary unto nothing but sin can be reconciled with any thing save sin but with no sin in any measure I have found it with me the more to insist on this particular for that I certainly know there are many who are wofully bewitched with a mystery of Iniquity in relation to this matter being like Capernanum exalted to the Heavens as it were in their notions about God so as to think they daily contemplate and enjoy him and yet it is but an Idol and by the children of Light they are seen and felt to be it darkness and the Seed is felt to suffer in them and to â—e in the very bonds of death notwithstanding all their high and lofty imaginations Now if the Seed be raised in thee so that the Holy Life and Powers thereof become formed though but a little thou wilt feel it and its powers as manifest to move stir and spring in thee as ever the Mother felt the Child to spring in her Womb so that thou canst no less doubt of the one then she can of the other and so by the stirrings and movings thereof thou wilt begin to be acquainted with the Spiritual refreshments and joyes of the Children of God CHAP. VIII Wherein divers Advertisements and Cautions are given unto the Soul in relation unto its applying it self unto Works or operative Exercises inward or outward through the Holy Life and the Powers thereof WE are his Workmanship said the Apostle created unto Christ Iesus unto good works that we should walk in them So that the Lord giveth not unto any man the being of a holy life with its powers in vain or for no effect but that he should make use of it and them to bring forth good works even as the Husbandman planteth his Vines and other Trees that they may bring forth Fruit. We must improve and make use of our Masters Money to profit withal that our Talent may encrease to the honour of him who hath given it unto us and to our own happiness and comfort
Lord who is the Husband-man requireth not fruit of thee before the season but patiently waiteth for it Yet the time is not so long betwixt the time of the first converting and the season of bearing fruits and producing good works as thou maist think if thou pass truly and faithfully through these few steps thou maist come to bear some fruit that is to say to be able and fit to do some good works in a very short space much less than a year yea much less than a Month yea what if I say than the space of one day Nay I add further it may be possible for thee within an hours space and yet less after thou hast truly converted unto the Lord and touched as it were the hem of his Garment and drunk in vertue therefrom to do some good works in a true measure of acceptance unto the Lord yea the time may be so short wherein after thy conversion thou maist be put into a capacity to do something both inwardly and outwardly that we cannot determine the least bound or limit of it for it is an easie thing for the Lord to raise his holy life in thee in an instant or the twinkling of an eye And indeed the waies of the Lord with men in this respect are very wonderful and past finding out as in many others in some he raiseth life as it were instantly in others he taketh a longer time to do it in others yet a longer c. For he is the unlimitted Holy One of Israel who limiteth us but will not nor ought he to be limited by us And tho he may raise this life sooner in one than another where that other is no more wanting as to the aforesaid steps than his Neighbour yet usually these who with most diligence and faithfulness cleave unto the Lord in his appearing in them in his own Seed do most readily and speedily find the holy life raised in them and the Powers thereof sensibly moving in their inward parts Now I find it with me yet more particularly to point at some advertisements and cautions in relation unto the Souls applying it self unto works and operative exercises after it hath attained unto some measure of life and power whereby it is put in some capacity to perform them which I may not call Rules and Prescriptions as proceeding from me tho herein I know the mind and counsel of God but advertisements being only of use to point the Soul inwards unto the manifestations of Truth in the springings up of life in its own particular where it will see the use and need of these things more than what it can hear or read of them from anothers declaration And truly they are such things that the want of the true knowledg sense and observation of them has been a grievous block in the way of many in their proâ—ress in holiness yea has hindred them from growing up to any considerable pitch or perfection in holiness that they have continued as Weaklings and Babes there-through whereas otherwise they might have been strong men in Christ. I. Having now attained unto a measure of the Holy Life and the Powers thereof so that thou findst the Powers of this Life in thy heart as it were a wheel within a wheel or as a Soul within a Soul yea it is truly so and that also thou findst thy Soul in a measure of pure union with it and every power of thy Soul affected and touched with the powers of this Holy Life in pure embraces every one as it were kissing each other and hereby thou wilt feel thy self strong in some measure to do some things pertaining unto a holy Life yea thou wilt even so find it with thee as if thou wert cured of a bodyly lameness or as if thy tongue were loosed which was formerly bound then thou art to stand in great fear and reverence and be very cautious that thou fall not upon doing any thing or things less or more at all adventures or hand over head as they use to say as to set about any performance in thy own natural and selfish will because thou findest strength in thee as thou conceivest to perform it for if thou so do thou wilt provoke the Lord and grieve that holy life which hath sprung and appeared in thee not at all to be ruled or led into any action by thy will but by the will of the Lord alone And if thou goest about to do any thing in such a manner though thou findst both clearness and strength of mind with thee at first yet afterward thou wilt to thy great loss feel weakness and confusion to enter thee and a thick cloud of darkness will come betwixt the eye of thy Soul and that pure Light of Life which shined in thee yea a vail of death will come over the tender Life in some measure and thou wilt find the pure Life in thee burthened and oppressed which will occasion pain and grief of Soul unto thee which cannot be uttered And of these things we have had experience divers times so that had not the Lord in tender mercy recovered us we had gone down into the grave after some measure of quickening The reason of all this is because of man by his own will usurping and presuming to lead forth the holy life which usurpation it cannot endure so as to yield or consent unto it Therefore it withdraweth its holy powers of Light and Life from the powers of the Soul concentring them within its own particular being And thus the Soul is left in darkness confusion and weakness and the tender Life is both grieved and burthened as aforesaid For whatever seeketh to move it from its perfect unity with the will of God doth hurt it for it standeth for ever incorruptible with the Divine will and that which seeketh to move it to the contrary may well bruise and wound yea kill it while it is but young and tender but it can never draw it to consent When therefore at any time thou findest it well with thy Soul and thy heart is strengthned as with bread or with some strong cordial or liquor by the springings forth and effusions of the streams of this holy Life in thee then thou art to stand in a passiveness and forbearance waiting upon the will and motions of this holy Life which is for every one with the will of God that thou mayst do such or such things which that Life requireth of thee and then whatever thou sets about to do not in thy own natural will but in the will of this which is the will of God thou shalt find thy clearness thy peace and strength which formerly thou hadst not only to be continued with thee but to be multiplyed and abound II. And yet more particularly know or consider it that thou art to do nothing without a clear and infallible knowledge of thy warrant and that from this inward Guide the Holy Life of Christ and his blessed
Spirit now raised and formed in thee For this is he whom the Lord hath given thee for a Leader and a Commander and he is worthy to have this place for that he is an infallible Guide Instructor Counsellour and Teacher which never sinned nor can sin and him hath the Father given unto thee for a Head that in all things thou shouldst obey him and do nothing but in his will Even as it is in the natural body and life and powers thereof for the powers of Life which are in the head and heart being supream over the powers which are in the other members do rule and command them and the members in which they are And so it should be here and where the inferiour powers of the natural life do not obey the superiour powers of the same there is confusion and disorder in nature as indeed it hath fallen out through mens disobedience to this holy Life because man's supreamist power of Life videlicet his will hath not stood in subjection to the Powers of this Holy Life which is its supream therefore hath its power been taken from it in great part that it cannot rule its inferiour powers as of the natural passions and affections but they often rebell against it So that many times a man is led by his very animal passions into things against his very will which would not be so were his will brought into a perfect subjection unto the will of this Holâ— Life its supream and higher power for then it would give it a perfect victory and dominion over them Now when I speak of the absolute need that the Soul hath to know its warrant from its inward Guide and Leader viz this Holy Life and God who is so therein and so in conjunction therewith that when I speak of the one it is never to be understood but in conjunction with the other By this warrant I say I do not conceive that the Soul for every thing it doth is to have an absolute and possitive command nay but it must have either that or at least an inward felt permission allowance or liberty given to it in and from the same and where this is clearly and distinctly received and known it is warrant sufficient unto such who have it And whosoever do any thing or things in this inward and felt liberty of the Holy Life and Spirit of Jesus Christ do the same in true faith and gruonded upon the known will of God either mandatory or permissory And if this permission or liberty be not granted unto thee thou wilt sensibly feel in thy heart the Holy Life with its powers repugnant thereunto so that it will sensibly move and stir in thy heart against the thing thou hast before thee to do III. And as thou art not forwardly or rashly in thy own will to do any thing without the warrant aforesaid of the Holy Life mandatory or permissory â—o thou art to be as careful that thou be not backward negligent or unwilling to answer the will of this Holy Life in doing those things which it moves and inclines thee unto and requireth of thee for the hurt is one and the same in both viz. in going about to do a thing or things contrary to the will of God and forbearing to do that or those things which he requireth of thee the one is the sin of commission the other is the sin of emission both of them the sin of disobedience against God and so both of them provoke the Lord burthen and grieve his Holy Life and Spirit and both of them bring weakness conâ—usion deadness and darkness upon the Soul IV. Do nothing doubtfully and with unclearness and confusion of mind but exercise a perfect passiveness and forbearance as to all these things which are not cleared up unto thee to be the mind and will of the Lord. The right knowledge use and observation of this is of both great comfort and advantage unto the Soul as we have often found by great and good experience 1. It is of great comfort for it signifieth the great lenity and moderation of the Lord towards us that if we be singly given up in our minds having a willingness of heart in simplicity and uprightness to know the will of God perfectly in all things if some things even of great importance be unclear unto us he spareth to charge the guiltiness of disobedience upon us till we be clear tho we be â—ound in the forbearance of them which is great gentleness upon the Lords part 2. Again It is of great advantage to us for First It riddeth us of many superstitious fears which others have whilst one while they suppose they should do this other while the contrary and still imagin God to be angry with them one way or other which begetteth most woful superstitious fears in the Soul and indeed I may say the ground of all superstition is the unclearness and confusion of mind as to the understanding the will of God one while over-rating things and judging it self bound in things wherein the Lord hath left it free and then again imagining but both doubtfully to please the Lord in things he doth not regard Secondly It reduceth our whole work as it were within a narrow or small compass and yet not narrower than the Lord alloweth for according to this advertisement concerning the many things that come before us as duty by way of consideration if we stand in a true and single resignation unto the will of God in all things or truly aim thereat we may thus reason with our own hearts Either such a thing is made clear unto me from the Lord by the manifestation of his Holy Life in my heart or after singly waiting upon him it is not as yet made clear unto me If the former then it is my work to do it and I must not forbear whatever trouble from the enemy without or within I meet with in the practice thereof If the latter I have nothing more to do with it at present but to wait upon the Lord if he shall afterwards clear it up unto me and so I may let it alone with a quiet and peaceable Conscience And thus ye may see there is a great difference betwixt doing and forbearing for unclearness of mind in the thing may be a ground for me to forbear it but I must not do any thing upon the ground of unclearness A third advantage is that thereby our minds are kept clear and pure and open even like a free and clear air which doth with readiness receive the light that shineth in it and every impression made in it thereby whereas doing things in the unclearness and doubtfulness confuseth and disordereth the mind yea maketh it muddy and gross bringeth darkness and death over it for he that doubteth is condemned in his own heart Fourthly It giveth us an opportunity to cut short the work in righteousness touching the doing or forbearing of divers things which are called
in question and debated among people in this day But now for the further opening of this Particular I find it with me to add somewhat more as 1. When I say Do nothing doubtfully I do not understand it so that thou art not to do a thing if there be any objections which thou findst arising against it either from thy carnal reason or unbelieving part till thou get rid of them for notwithstanding them thou maist find a good clearness in thy mind which shuts them out or puts them under And so thou maist proceed upon thy clearness from the Lord in thy mind notwithstanding these objections altho' thou canst not give them any direct and positive answer but this that thou art clear of the Lord to the contrary yet if the objections should so far prevail as quite to cloud thy clearness so that thou losest sight of it this is indeed thy sin so to have permitted them to do yet till thou get them in some measure removed and clearness in some measure be given thee from the Lord thy safety is to forbear Again Whereas some wrong Spirits may take an occasion from this unjustly to shelter themselves under a cover in their omissions and neglects of those things which the Lord requires saying they find not clearness to do them therefore I must add this also that if thy unclearness proceed from a wrong and deceitful part of thy heart which is unwilling to be cleared because it is unwilling to obey it is another case for then thy forbearance is thy sin though thou be unclear because thou mightst have been clear hadst thou stood singly and yet if thou dost things in this unclearness thou sinst also Thou maist say then What shall I do For this is a strait â—â—se I answer Come unto the Light and turn to it in singleness and that will clear thee and so thou art to do them V. Be careful to keep thy heart and mind in a sense and feeling of the Holy Life and Powers thereof at all times as much as is possible I know at first and for some time it will be hard for thee yea at times till thou witness a further growth and become more inwardly acquainted with the enemies workings thou wilt as it were lose much what all and clear and distinct sense feeling and discerning of the Life as if it were not in thee But this is as it were a fit of a Lethargy a fainting or falling into a swarf for even the Spiritual Life suffers these things at times especially when it is young and tender no less than the natural But now as one live in the natural Life doth what in him lies to be kept out of such fits which bereave him of the present use of his natural senses and doth greatly desire alwaies to have the free and lively use of his natural senses which are very needful unto him for his preservation from outward dangers even so one who is come to live in the Spiritual Life and hath once received the powers of of the Spiritual Senses whereby to hear see taste smell and feel heavenly objects as also to have a sense of what hurteth from the contrary life and powers thereof he will and ought to be very careful to preserve the free and lively exercise of them for they are given unto him both for his comfort and also to be helps unto him whereby he may know things good and evil profitable and hurtful unto his spiritual condition that so he may chuse and imbrace the good and refuâ—e the evil Now if he run out from the inward sense and feeling of the Holy Life and its Powers till he be restored again into the sense thereof he is out of any true capacity to know either the things he should do or the manner how to do them Therefore it plainly appears how needful it is unto a man who is come to be a partaker of the Holy Life to be very careful to live alwaies in the sense and feeling of the same and the powers thereof and this he shall the more readily attain unto by the due and right use and observance of the former Advertisements and those which yet remain to be mentioned This particular is contrary unto the Doctrin that passeth generally among the Professors who are taught to say that they should not seek to live by sense but by faith alledging the Apostle's words but this is a meer abuse of his words for he doth not say We walk by faith and not by sense but thus and not by sight whereas a man may have the exercise of divers other senses and yet at present have not the exercise of his sight Now there are divers other spiritual senses besides the sight whiâ—â— is the clearest manifestation and it 's true that many times the Children of the Holy Life can believe when in some sort they do not see yet I altogether deny that any can believe without some inward spiritual sense or another whereby that which they should believe is proposed unto them objectively for otherwise it were a groundless faith Also by these works We walk by faith and not by sense may be understood the outward senses or the inward which reside only in the lower parts of the Soul which are wrought upon by natural and outward objects by these we are not to walk nor expect to have the Lord to propose himself unto us in order to satisfie us by our outward senses or by the inward sensible affections in the lower parts of the Soul for it is the excellency of a Christian Life that gives us to walk with God both confidently and comfortably to follow him in the waies of obedience when we have nothing from these inferiour senses to help or encourage us but many times to the contrary And as for that which they call sensible devotion which some say we must not much seek after if by sensible devotion they understand that which only affecteth the inferiour sensible powers of the Soul such as the phancy and imagination whereby the inferiour affections of love joy fear grief c. are moved and stirred which can be doâ—e by some pathetick discourse or deâ—cription of things by a form of words I agree unto what they say But if by sensible devotion they understand that which moveth the very spirit and will of man with the supream affections of the Soul by the workings of the Holy Life and the powers thereof upon its spiritual senses I say this Devotion is most needful in some measure and is to be sought after by all for it is the highest and noblest kind of Devotion and the most rational even that we have a real sense and feeling upon our hearts of the power of the Holy Life of the only and true God when we worship him so as to be inwardly melted into a holy tenderness before him through what we feel and taste and savour of his Divine Power and Goodness And if
the inferiour powers and affections of the Soul be also therewithal moved and with the words which proceed therefrom it is a good thing and comfortable in its place but not too much to be looked after But we are to be careful that we keep them in such stedfastness as not to suffer them to be moved simply or barely by meer words or outward works when the Holy Life doth not move upon them and that principally for all such motions are hurtful and not profitable It is the Coal from the Altar that is to say such a heat or warmth that comes from the Holy Life thâ—â— doth only work the true impressions on the affections whether by words or without them or doth only qualifie and concoct them so to speak after the right manner working out the evil crude and beastly humours and dispositions out of them VI. Thou art also to know that though thy present condition admit thee to do some things yea divers works both inward and outward pertaining to a Holy Life as being come in measure to be a partaker thereof yet thou art in this time of thy weakness and childhood in the Spiritual Life more to be passive than active except as to the simple acts of conversion wherein thou art constantly so much as possible to be found for thereby thou wilt be still drinking in from the Living Fountain the Waters of Life by which thou wilt live and increase more and more in the Holy Life so as to grow up from childhood unto youth-head and from that unto a perfect man in Christ Iesus Therefore it will be altogether fit and needful for thee to be often repeating these former steps of conversion and persisting therein in great passiveness and forbearance not only from all evil things but even from these which are not clear unto thee to be good or at least harmless and innocent And as thou knowst that the several ages and states of a man of infancy childhood youth-head and perfect man-hood have their several works and exercises proper unto them beside what is proper unto all these four so it is much what here for indeed the spiritual man also hath his four states as his infancy his child-hood youth-head and perfect manhood Now if thou be yet but in the infancy of a spiritual Life thou canst do but little unless to turn thee to thy Mother's Breast which hath conceived thee that is to say to the Divine and Holy Life and abide in thy conversion thereunto drinking in the sincere milk of the Word that thou mayst grow thereby And if thou be come up to a state of childhood as out of infancy yet thou canst as yet not do many nor great things but this is a good time for thee to go unto the School of the Holy Ghost and learn the things of God in his immediate teachings so as to drink in a solid sound and digested knowledg of them in some measure before thou much speak of them to others being swift to hear but slow to speak But if thou be come up to the state of a young man yet thou canst not do all those things which a man of perfect age can neither is it given nor required of thee VII Be very mindful to regard thy own measure of Life so that thou be not drawn forth or lifted up to do greater things or any things in a greater or higher strain then thy present ability of Life permits for if thou bend or screw or wind up the Powers of thy Soul too high above thy measure yea if in any thing above it it will much mar and spoil the work that thou art about and displease the Lord and grieve his Holy Spirit and Life even as the winding of some string or strings on a musical instrument above what may keep in true concord with other strings doth quite spoil the harmony and render it ungrateful unto discerning ears Yea many hereby have suffered great loss and brought many grievous burthens upon that Holy Life and also upon their own Souls in so doing And let not the greater measure of another be an occasion to draw thee forth from thy own as seeking to do things equally with him or to go beyond him also to mind and reflect by an inward observation when the Life or Powers thereof begin to cease or shut up that so thou mayst therein also follow them so as to cease at their ceasing to be shut up with them and opened with them and keep time and measure and touches with them that thou mayst not be left doing alone for if so thou art not doing the Lords's work but thy own VIII Thou art to learn to distinguish betwixt the powers given thee from the Holy Life to do such and such things and the exercise of that Power for though the Power may be said after a sort alwaies to remain with thee while the Life it self remains yet thou hast not the exercise of this Power at thy will and dispose and so thou mayst observe a great difference betwixt thy exercising thy natural Powers and these Spiritual for the natural thou canst use when thou wiltst as to speak write sing naturally c. But thou canst not use the spiritual powers though they be in thee in thy own will Therefore thou art to wait upon the Lord that he may give thee the use of them by the new and actual influence of his Spirit upon them which is as it were the key which opens them otherwise they are shut up and locked IX And lastly Watch against the enemy who lieth near thee in all thy workings one way or other to mar them For indeed so long as the body of sin lives in thee in any measure so far hath Satan a place in thee for this body with its members and powers of its unholy life is the very Kingdom and Throne of Satan in which he lives and rules after a sort as the Lord doth in his Kingdom which is the heavenly Body and Birth with the Members and Powers thereof and as the Lord doth work mightily in his own Kingdom and place which he hath gained in the Soul and strongly moveth the Soul with its Powers to concur and cooperate with him so the enemy worketh strongly in opposition to the Lord and also moveth the Soul with its powers to concur and co-operat with him And thus the poor Soul is set as betwixt two contrary streams the one seeking to carry it one way and the other to carry it to the contrary and on this account it is that the Soul sometime obeyeth the one and sometime the other sometime it is carried forward and sometimes backward yea and sometimes it doth the Lord's work and sometimes the work of the enemy and at other times the works which it doth are so to speak mixed or standeth in a mixture so that one part of its work may be of and in the Lord and done in his Power and Spirit and
into the hands of sinners to be so dealt with as it came to pass in the fulness of time And according to this in a true sense it may be said that he bore the weight of his outward sufferings in great measure from the very beginning As even among us men what we do certainly foresee of sufferings or trials to come upon us for the future doth affect us with no less weight many times in the foresight of them then in their accomplishment yea sometimes more as every one knoweth by some experience And that he was given up and resigned in the very beginning to come into the World outwardly and suffer those indignities and cruelties with many other deep trials was certainly a sacrifice of a sweet smell before the Lord and was very acceptable and satisfactory unto him VI. And thus according to the plain and genuine sense above mentioned obvious to the weakest capacity we may truly say that all the benefits and blessings which come upon men or have come upon them from the very beginning for either their justification or sanctification have a spiritual relation and respect unto Jesus Christ both in his inward and outward coming and his doings and sufferings in both by which he gave perfect obedience unto his Father and thereby he hath obtained the free Gift to come upon all unto justification of life Therefore we are not too nicely to distinguish betwixt the influence of his inward and outward coming and the effects thereof but rather to take them conjunctly as in a perfect conjunction having a perfect influence upon all mankind for their reconciliation and renovation unto God as obtaining that measure of Light and Grace from God unto all and every one whereby it is possible for them in a day to be saved VII And indeed we do very freely and willingly acknowledge that the 〈…〉 aforesaid by his obedience and suffâ—â—â—ngs even in the outward hath by his satisfaction unâ—o God obtained it that man may come into justification and favour with God but not any otherwise but upon these terms viz. upon their Faith and Repentance Mortification or dying unto sin and living a new life of holiness and righteousness unto God otherwise all pâ—etence unto Justification by Christ his Satisfaction is but a deceit and a cloak for men to sooth and gratifie themselves in their sins and lusts for the Lord justifieth only his own Seed and them who are begotten and born of it in whom the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled through the Power Life and Spirit of Christ manifest in them who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit to whom there is no condemnation And these terms videlicet Faith and Holiness are very gentle and easie forasmuch as Christ is freely given of the Father unto all men to enable them to the full performance thereof Also here is another great errour and mistake among Professors generally that they do not conceive that Christ did really suffer for and by mens sins but only at his outward coming which mistake is grounded upon this other mistake that Christ had no being as man but at his coming into the outward and consequently could not suffer which consequence behoved to be admitted if the ground on which it was built were true but it is utterly false for it is most certain from the Scriptures Testimony that he suffered all along by mens iniquities as where it is said I am pressed under them c. Amos 2.13 and that he was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the World yea that he endured the old world with much long-suffering and many other places For even from the beginning he was Mediator therefore he is said to be the beginning of the creation of God the first-born of all creatures And why might not Christ suffer in men before his outward coming as he doth now suffer in them long after it even as Paul speaketh of the sufferings of Christ which remained to be accomplished in him for the Seed which is Christ according to his participation with the Creatures hath been the same in all Ages and hath had its sufferings under by and for the sins of men in them all for the removing and abolishing of them This outward coming of the Lord Jesus and his Conception Birth Life Sufferings Death Resurrection and Ascension c. is one of the greatest and profoundest mysteries of the Christian Faith and hath an exceeding much deeper sense and consideration than most apprehend or than any can apprehend but as it is opened unto them in the Life Light and Spirit of Christ in their own particulars And therefore I do admonish and warn all yea I obtest them in the Power and Spirit of Jesus Christ that they do not make any slight account of it or undervalue this great and glorious mystery that shall be the eternal object of the Saints contemplation for which as among other things they shall eternally adore and admire the infinite goodness wisdom mercy and power of the Lord in and over all his works And if the mystery be not opened unto them as aforesaid let them be silent and hold their peace not meddling to measure the mysteries nor this mystery of God with the weak and shallow capacity of their own apprehensions And seeing the Lord has given me some in-sight and knowledge thereof in a measure and that by the Revelation of the Spirit and Life of his Son in my heart I may not forbear to mention and declare somewhat of it unto others which I warn and admonish all that shall read or hear of it to beware of judging of the same but in the express sense feeling and opening of the same Life and Spirit in their own particulars It hath been commonly taught and supposed that the coming of Iesus in the outward and his becoming man had no further in it but that the WORD which was from everlasting did assume the true nature of man in Soul and Body â—nto an immediate union with it self commonly called the Hypostatical or Personal Vnion and that this Manhood of Chriâ—t was conceived in a miraculous way by the Power of the Holy Ghost in the Virgins Womb. All which is willingly granted and truly and cordially believed by me But I say there is yet a further thing in it than they yet speak of or apprehend and it is this That even that holy Birth and Conception as it had the real and true nature of man so it had much more viz. a certain Divine Perfection as I may so call it through the wisdom given me of God whereby it was not only the whole and intire Nature or Birth of Manhood but was more yea much more than a man It 's true it is commonly granted that Christ was more than a man yea both God and man which is true but yet they do not apprehend the thing whereof I speak For tho they grant Christ was both God and man yet they do
perfectly cure and restore the sick and diseased Body of Nature either in man or other things but his incorruptible body through the Power of the Spirit that dwelleth in it who said Behold I make all things new and for whose coming to renew them all the Creation is invited to rejoyce because of their being to be delivered through the same from their Bondage and Vanity Yet I shall not deny but that it may be possible for men through the Wisdom of God to find out such a substance as may do great cures on the Body of Nature but I say it can never perfectly cure it otherwise the Body should become immortal which never shall be through the Vertue of any other Body but that of Jesus Christ as is said And though such a Substance have been found or may be as supposing it which could turn the other Metals into Gold yet this were not the universal Balâ—om or Stone for even the purest Gold on Earth hath its Corruptions and Distempers from which when it is refined it will more excell what it is now than it at present doth excell the basest Metal Stone or Sand or Turf And to the end that this excellent Body or Birth of Jesus Christ might be the more prepared forsuch an effect viz. To cure and restore all things therefore it pleased the Father to give him up both in Soul and Body to suffer such deep inward afflictions sufferings and trials for by these that hidden Divine Vertue and Perfection which was in the center both of his Soul and Body was raised up and brought forth as into the circumference even unto its fulness and perfection According to which it is said in the Scripture that he the Captain of our Salvation was made perfect thro sufferings for so it is indeed as to all other things which have any perfection or vertue further in them than is manifest as it were hid in the centre which perfection is raised up and brought into view or manifestation through its sufferings as by mortification calcination melting it in the fire heating it pounding and pressing it bruising and squeezing boiling and many such kind of things well known to Chymists and Physicians And thus was our Blessed Lord used both in his Soul and Body his deep sufrings in both were like a Wine-press which served to squeeze and press out the hidden Wine that was in his Grapes even that pure and precious Water and Blood which came out at his Side on the Cross and when in the Garden he sweat that drops of Blood fell to the ground these very drops of Water and Blood had a most excellent vertue in them beyond what man's heart is able to conceive of whereby they entred into the very kernel and quintescence of the whole Creation to its very heart for its deliverance and restauration And this was as a Seed that was then sown in the very heart of the outward Nature by which it is blessed of God in some measure and through which it shall in due time be perfectly delivered and cured of its vanity corruption and bondage Therefore it was that at the sufferings of Christ the whole outward Creation fell into a wonderful passion and suffering in so much that there was a great darkness over all and the very Earth was as it were rent for that secret and excellent vertue which went forth from him at his Sufferings even in the Water and the Blood pierced into the heart of the body of the World and wrought in it like Physick that worketh strongly against the corrupt humours in man's body that doth greatly affect the body with sufferings And thus it was even fit that the Creation should after its manner suffer with him which was to partake of such glorious effects through his sufferings And though the outward Creation be not yet cured through the secret Vertue of that Water and Blood no nor yet the Bodies of the Saints yet in due time they shall even through and by the Vertue of these Sufferings But as I have said above so do I again repeat it that it may have the more weight viz. that we are not too nicely to make a difference betwixt the Influence and Effects of his outward and inward Sufferings but to understand them in a perfect conjunction and that the end of his Suffering in both was this viz. 1. Both to quench and allay the wrath of God which was kindled both in Mens Souls and Bodies and also in the whole Body of the Creation And 2. To purifie and cure both Men and also the outward Creation from Corruption Vanity and Bondage And so in relation to Men this I say that the Sufferings of Christ and his Obedience Life and Righteousness both inwardly and outwardly hath a very blessed influence upon Men both to remove the Wrath and also to remove Sin the cause of it and to bring in everlasting Righteousness to cover the Soul with by a real participation of it over and beyond all imaginary reckonings and imputation of man though the imputation of God unto man â—we own And this I say further that the Wrath is no further removed from Men by Vertue of Christs Obedience and Sufferings than Sin that is the cause of it is removed and thus Justification and Mortification and Sanctification go on equally And by what is said way is also made for clearing of that concerning Christ his bearing the Wrath and Anger of God for us to which I say he did so bear it indeed that he bore it up from falling upon us in its full weight which if it had done it would have sunk us into an eternal state of misery and he stood in the way and bore it off that it did not drown and consume us with everlasting Death and Destruction but that he did bear the Wrath of God either in that manner or measure which the damned in Hell do or we should have done had not the Lord recovered us I altogether deny for he could and did satisfie the Father well and acceptably without bearing it in that way But if it be queried If he suffered by that wrath when he stood betwixt us and it I answer He suffered a trial and chastisement by it and so it is called a Chastisement but it could never be said that the Father was offended or displeased with him even while he suffered for us for the Father was satisfied and well pleased in him in his greatest sufferings which he did bear in most perfect resignation love and willingness both to please his Father and also to save and reconcile men unto God And tho the Lord did not withdraw that sensible comfort from him when he suffered on the Cross it was not for any displeasure towards him but for a trial and as is said to raise up and draw forth that excellent vertue and perfection that was in him the more So it pleased the Father to bruise him and press him with
there is required an inward Spring and Power of the same Life of Christ by which he did these things to enable them to follow his Example and all imitation without the Soul attain to be endued with this Life which it attaineth unto through the arising of the Holy Seed in it is as if a man would by much pains set himself to mount up towards Heaven and fly through the midst of it like an Eagle or Bird of the Air which were impossible for him to do even so as impossible is it for him to follow Christ in his Heavenly Vertues Doings and Sufferings but by being endued with a measure of his Heavenly Life and the Powers thereof which are as Wings whereby the Soul may indeed mount up as an Eagle and follow Christ flying with him through the midst of Heaven yea walking with him and that without wearying and running without fainting And therefore this is the true method and order which we have found greatly blessed of God which the Lord hath taught us to hold forth unto people whereby they attain unto Holiness to a being made conformable unto the Holy Life of Iesus Christ and come to know the true and great End and Vse of his outward Coming viz. In the first place to point and turn their minds unto the Light of Iesus Christ who hath inlightened them and Every One and hath sown a Seed of his Light Life and Spirit in every one unto which Seed they should give the most inward of their Hearts as a Ground for it to grow and spring up in abondoning and forsaking all those things which hinder its arising whence then in due time such a measure of Light and Life ariseth therein as gives them both truly to know Christ and to follow him GEORGE KEITH How to discern the CONVICTIONS that proceed from the LIGHT of Faith or Divine Principle in us from those that proceed from the Light of Nature or meer Natural and Humane Reason assisted by Arguments drawn from Scripture THis question I find weighty on my heart to answer for the sake of some whose minds through the subtle workings of the Enemy may be perplexed with the same as my mind was for a considerable time after I was in great measure convinced of the Truth The Enemy of my Soul did exceedingly work in me to cause me to believe that I was still but where formerly I had been to wit that although I had changed my judgment concerning many things yet the principle that swayed my judgment was still but the natural principle helped with Scripture Arguments and so my Faith touching these things was but meerly Humane and Natural not Divine and Supernatural and consequently was nothing but opinion still and that I was still but a natural man and no true believer and that though I should join with the People of God who have the true Divine Faith and should do the things that they do I could not be accepted of God my Obedience not proceeding from the true Divine Faith which is the effect of the true Divine Light nor having received the true Divine Call This Objection did so trouble perplex and disquiet me through the working of Satan as it were under ground and hiding himself and his design from me that none but the Lord alone did or could know the great anguish of my Soul and had not the Lord in his wonderful Mercy broken this snare I had been held in it unto this very day and perhaps had died in that sad and lamentable condition And I do certainly know the Enemy doth assault many in this day and doth prevail over them by the same tentation who are truly convinced of Truth by the Divine Light and Principle of God in their Hearts which Divine Conviction is a sufficient Divine Call being alwaies accompanied with a secret Divine drawing to give Obedience unto God in all things whereof they are convinced The sense now of such Souls condition being brought upon me my Bowels are moved in great tenderness towards them and my Heart is opened by the Lord to say somewhat unto them that may be of service to whose hands it may be ordered to come And the breathing of my Soul in the Spirit of Lifâ—â—â—s that God Almighty may bless it 〈…〉 and make it effectual The 〈…〉 between these two Principles and their respective operations in the Soul doth not proceed from this that they are not in their own nature widely distinct or discernable to be so by them who have the true eye of discerning opened in them and are come to a clear inward sense and feeling through a living growth in the Truth for indeed no things in the whole Universe do more clearly appear to be of a differing nature unto those who have the Spiritual Senses raised and opened in them than the two aforesaid Principles or Lights which differ as widely as Heaven and Earth for the one is of the Earth Earthly the other is of Heaven Heavenly the one is of the first Adam the other is of the second Adam Iesus Christ yea the one is meerly Humane and Natural the other is purely Divine and Supernatural The cause then of the great difficulty to discern betwixt these two Principles and their respective Operations is that Darkness and Confusion that is over the Hearts and Vnderstandings of those who are but first convinced of the Truth and not as yet really so converted unto it as to be leavened by the Power of it and transformed into its nature Yea after some beginnings of true Conversion wrought in the Soul the difficulty doth in some measure still remain but not so great as formerly The greatest difficulty therefore belongeth unto those only who are but beginners and beginning to travel out of Egypt and Babylon and Sodom into the Holy Land the Land of the Living and the Holy Hill of Zion with their faces thitherwards To whom also it is a great difficulty how to distinguish not only betwixt the Naturalâ— Vnderstanding and the Divine Light of Faith in them but to distinguish betwixt the true Divine Light and Satan transforming himself into the similitude of an Angel of Light in all which notwithstanding the difficulty is not so great as the Enemy of the Soul doth represent it to be Now to help any distressed or perplexed Soul that may be in doubt concerning this thing To such I say Since thou art really convinced that God hath given a measure of the true Divine Light of his Son Christ Jesus unto every Man and Woman and consequently unto thee for to such only at present do I write who are convinced of this Truth but do question the nature of their Convincement why shouldst thou question that thy Convincement doth only proceed from the Natural Light and meer Natural Vnderstanding of thy Soul as influenced by Scripture Arguments and other outward helps and not also from the Divine Principle of the Light Life and Spirit of Christ Jesus
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