Messiah where the Law of Life is Written not in Tables of stone or outward writings of the Letter but in the heart by the Spirit There they shall be cleansed by inward Water receive the inward Circumcision and Mark of the inward Jew be sprinkled with the everlasting Blood of the Lamb and taught to offer up the spiritual Sacrifice and shall hear the Voice which will tell them of the Way and which will lead them in Paths they have not known There the spiritual Seed the spiritual Israel shall find the Shepherd of Israel who leads into the Land of Life puts forth his Sheep into the Pastures of Life gives them of the living Streams to drink begetting them as Heirs of and bringing them up in the everlasting Power and Dominion of the Life Quest How may old Israel enter into this Path and so become new Israel Answ By waiting on the Lord for the closing of that Eye which is wise according to the Flesh and for the opening of that Eye which is at first weak in Spirit There must be a low beginning Israel must know and not despise the Day of small things if ever he will grow up into the Riches and Inheritance of this Glory There is a Light in every heart which gives a sound in the natural Vessel which is very hardly at first distinguishable from the natural till by obedience and subjection thereto its living Touch Vertue and Power comes to be felt and distinguished but in the Meek Humble Believing and Obidient it daily appears more and more and makes it self more clearly manifest to them who are walking on unto the Kingdom and Inheritance in it while others are disputing about it Quest How may Israel believe and become subject to the Light Answ When there is a drawing felt in the heart either to good or against evil he must not dispute concerning it on the one hand nor run on in the forwardness on the other for both these wayes the breathings of the Spirit on him and springings up of the good Seed in him are easily quenched but in the Fear he is to trust himself with what his heart certainly feels in the drawing Vertue and in the Humility to give up the Members to the Good and to withhold them from the Evil waiting for strength from the Fountain of strength towards both By this means there is a Travell and removal out of the corruption and filth of the heart into the pure holy Law Nature Image and Will of God Quest Where doth God find the heart when he first visiteth it with his Light Answ In Egypt in the Darkness in the Bonds and Captivity of Death Quest What doth the Lord do with it there Answ He Exerciseth it a while there till he hath made it fit for a Wilderness-state Quest What doth he do with it then Ans He bringeth it into the Wilderness which he hath fitted it for Quest What doth he do with it in the Wilderness Answ He prepareth it for and leadeth it towards the Land of Life Quest What doth he do with it then Ans He giveth it an entrance into the everlasting Kingdom which is the Land of Life according as he hath prepared and fitted it That which is new-begotten new-created and formed new-born in the Messiah's Eternal Light findeth an Entrance into and an Habitation in the Light and is not turned back into the Land of Darkness it abiding in the Vertue and Principle of its Life although sometimes it may be exercised with the Darkness for its further advantage Thou art our Habitation from everlasting to everlasting saith the Child of Light unto the Father of Spirits in all Ages and Generations Now that Israel after the Flesh may the better understand the Path of the spiritual Israel in the way of Redemption by the powerful visitations of the Light of the Messiah in their hearts and Consciences may know the Gospel of his Salvation which is able to effect that which the Law of Moses could not because of the weakness of the Flesh on their parts let them in fear and silence of the natural wisdom and in waiting on the Lord in Spirit consider these Questions and Answers following relating to spiritual Israel Some Questions and Answers for the Direction Comfort Help and Furtherance of God 's Spiritual Israel in their Travels in Spirit from Spiritual Egypt through the Spiritual Wilderness to Spiritual Canaan which is the Land where the Redeemed Soul flourisheth in the Life walking with God and Worshiping Him in Spirit and Truth Quest WHat is the Gospel Answ A good Message or glad Tydings to man in the fallen estate concerning a Promise of Redemption out of it Quest Is man then in a fallen Estate Answ His present Temper Constitution Disposition and whole Course upon the least touch of God upon his Spirit do in some measure discover his fall unto him though the insensibleness which is come upon him by his grievous wound and death through the fall maketh him very unapt to take notice thereof Quest What was his Estate before his fall Answ A State of Glory and Blessedness wherein he came pure out of the hands of his Creator was fitted for his use service enjoyment and delight even for him to appear or disappear in and exercise according to his pleasure Quest Wherein did his Glory and Blessedness consist Ans Chiefly in these four things to wit In the Light in the Life in the Liberty in which the Vessel was formed and in the Indwelling and appearing of the Creator there according to his pleasure Quest Open this a little further Answ Man was made a Vessel of Light a Vessel of Life a Vessel of pure Freedom He was formed in the Eternal Image and had a pure being in that Image He was Light in the Lord living in the Lord free unto all Good and from all Evil in the Lord. This was the state of his being at first and thus was he made in the Image a pure resemblance of the Eternal Purity and Blessedness but besides this he had the Eternal Life the Eternal Substance the Eternal Purity it self dwelling in the Vessel shining in it and manifesting it self from it according to its pleasure Quest How came man to fall from this Estate Answ Not willingly not of an inclination of his own but he was deceived through the subtilty of Temptation to entertain a desire of enlarging his blessedness out of the limits of the will of his Creator Quest How could such a Temptation enter man he being Pure and Holy inclined to Good and against Evil after the Image of his Creator Answ Man was not made to enjoy a Perfection in himself separate from his Creator or to live of himself but by dependance Now though he had no inclination in him not to depend or to seek a Life in himself out of the Fountain yet there was a Capacity of so doing before which Capacity the Tempter laid his bait of advancing
to Death after that manner that the Prophets had foretold they would do Quest Did the Prophets foretel that the Jews would put the Messiah to Death Answ Yea very manifestly with the manner and Circumstances thereof Daniel said plainly that the Messiah should be cut off though not for himself Chap. 9.26 Isaiah shews the Cause why he was cut off to wit for the Transgression of my People was the Stroke upon him Chap. 53.8 He was the Lamb without Spot there was no Iniquity found in his Heart nor guile in his mouth but he offered up his spotless Soul through the Eternal Spirit as a Ransom for the Souls of Transgressors and with his Bruise are they healed David shews yet more particularly how he should be cut off They Pierced my Hands and my Feet Psal 22.16 and Zachary saith that afterwards in the Day of their Visitation they shall look upon him whom they have Pierced Ch. 12.10 Was he not Betrayed by one of his own Table Psal 41.9 Did they not cast Lots for his Garments Psal 22.18 Was not Gall also given him and Vinegar to Drink Psal 69.21 Were not his Bones kept from being broken according to the Paschal Lamb the Type Exod. 12.46 O that the Jews could read the words of their own Prophets in the Light of the Prophets and not in the Light of man's Imagination and then they could not but Bow before the Spring Fountain of that Light as it was Revealed in Flesh according to the Scriptures and see how that Body was prepared for the Light to shine in and for it to do the Will in and to offer up the Sacrifice which God would have that so an end might be put to all the Sacrifices and Offerings which God would not have Psal 40.6 Dan. 9.27 Quest What was to befall the Jews for refusing the Day of their Visitation by the Messiah and for the putting of him to Death Answ They were to be cast off to become no People their Covenant to be broken their Glory turned into shame their Light set in obscurity their House made Desolate and the hand of God pursuing this desolate People making them a Scorn and Reproach throughout all Nations Dan. 9.27 And is not this come to pass upon them for what Person hath been more hateful and hated than a Jew who was once the Glory and Envy of all Nations yea hardness and blindness hath so happened to them that they cannot see the plainest things written in the Prophets concerning the Expiration of the Day of Moses with all his Shadows and the succeeding of the Spiritual Glory in the dayes of the Messiah but their Eyes and Hearts are still blinded and held Captive in the Figures of things Quest Is there any Scripture of the Prophets which declareth that they should be thus blind and hard Answ The Spirit of the Lord in the Prophet David the Beloved King and Figure of the Messiah prayed for this Righteous Recompence to them Let their Table become a Snare before them and for Welfare a Trap. Let their Eyes be Darkned that they see not c. Let their Habitation be Desolate c. Psal 69.22 c. What is their Table where and on what do they Feed Is it not on the Writings of Moses and the Prophets Now all the Meanings Observations and Hopes which they gather from these being under the Curse and out of the Spirit of the Prophets cannot but be their Snare and Trap and that which entangleth them deeply to this day is their mis-understanding and mis-interpreting of Moses and the Prophets O Lord my God in the abundant Riches of thy Goodness at length Pity them and let the fierceness of thine Indignation abate towards them and in thy Love open their Eyes to see their state what they have refused and against whom they have lift up their heel in their conceited Wisdom Knowledge which they have gathered from Moses and the Prophets Writings that they may mourn after thee and wait for thee in the way of thy Redemption Quest How long is this Desolation and Hardness to abide upon them Ans Until God visit them with his Spirit and open their eyes to see his Spiritual Glory and turn their hearts towards it Then their outward expectations and desires after an outward Glorious Kingdom will soon come to an end and the Messiah will be known owned and received by them in Spirit yet any outward Glory that the Lord God sees good for them they shall not want neither This the Prophet Isaiah plainly Relates to the Ear that is Spiritual Chap. 32.15 Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on High and the Wilderness be a Fruitfull Field and the Fruitful Field be counted for a Forrest They must lie wast until the Lord God please to let forth his Spirit upon them to gather them into his Spiritual Glory for the Day of their outward Glory did end and a Spiritual succeeded which they are to be gathered into when the days of their Distress and Tribulation are accomplished The Spirit was once poured down from on High on the Disciples of the Messiah upon his Ascending into his Glory and the Wilderness then became a Fruitful Field and the Fruitful Field was accounted for a Forrest but over that Glory the Defence was not so stretched forth but that a night overtook that day and the Wild Beasts made a Prey of that Vineyard and Fruitful Field also as well as of the former But there is to be a more general pouring out of the Spirit even upon all Flesh and the Wilderness is more generally to be visited become a fruitful Field and the fruitful Field is more generally to be blasted made a forrest insomuch as all Flesh every where shall appear Grass and the Glory thereof as the Flower of the Field which shall fade and wither before the breath of God's Spirit Then Judgment shall dwell in the Wilderness which is then visited and Righteousness shall remain in the Field which is then made fruitful and Righteousness shall be Powerfully-operative working out the lasting Peace and the effect of it shall be Quietness and Assurance for ever No more War no more Fighting with Creatures no more burthening and oppressing of the Creation no more sinning and offending against the Creator no more being dispossessed of his Life and Glory but the Dwellings which God reareth up in the last dayes for Israel his People shall be Peaceable Habitations sure Dwellings and quiet Resting-places for evermore O let Israel feel that which is able to awaken him and wait for this Quest How shall they be visited and gathered Answ By the new Covenant by by the new Law of the Messiah which is to go forth out of the new Sion and by the Word of the Lord which is to issue out of the new Jerusalem Not by the Covenant of Moses their Eyes may fail in hoping and looking out that way but by the Covenant of the
he can still retain or gather in his own Principle And here do deep Travellers lose their way falling from their Portion in the Land of Life and from their enjoyments in the Paradice of the Pleasure of the Life into the earthly and sensual Spirit holding things wisely and richly there in the earthly Principle not knowing the remove of their Habitation thither nor thinking that they are there He that readeth these things let him not strive to comprehend them but be content with what he feeleth thereof suitable to his own present Estate and as the Life grows in him and he in the Life and he comes to meet with the things and exercises spoken of the words and experiences concerning them will of themselves open to him and be useful and serviceable to him so far as the Lord pleaseth he keeping to the leadings savour and Principle of Life in in himself wherein alone his knowledge sight growth and experiences are safe Now he that would travel safely in Spirit unto the Land of Life let him wait to have these things following written by the Finger of God in his heart and the sence and Impression thereof preserved fresh in him First It is the Free Grace of God which begins the Work of Redemption which causeth the Light to shine which worketh the Repentance or turning from the dead State and also the belief in and turning towards the living God Secondly It is the same grace alone that can preserve and cause the Plant of Grace to grow If there be a withdrawing of the Light a withholding of the free influence that which depends thereupon cannot retain its freshness which the Lord may do as often as he pleaseth for the chastisement of the Rebellious part or for the Tryal of his Pure Life and Vertue in his Plants Thirdly The grace of God visiting the Soul in the Death in the Darkness in the fallen Estate begetteth Life anew in it maketh it in some measure Light in the Lord openeth an Eye in it to see the things of God an Ear to hear and distinguish between the sound of Life and of Death an heart to turn from and refuse the vanity and to turn towards and abide in the living Substance Fourthly The Spirit of God carryes on the Work of Redemption by drawing leading and acting the quickened Soul by exercising that which he hath begotten in the Life under the Law of the Life Thus the Life draws the Soul dayly nearer and nearer towards the everlasting spring and from the fading emptiness of Sin Vanity and the Creature-hood and the Soul by the enlivened Vertue dayly follows on after the Life in the leadings Spirit and Power thereof There is a living Soul begotten by the Vertue of the Grace and the living Soul dayly lives in the Grace and travels in the Vertue thereof from the Unbelief to the Faith from the Enmity to the Love from the perversness to the Straitness from the Iniquity to this Righteousness even from all the territories of the Darkness and also from the weak Measures and Degrees of the Grace and Life towards the Fulness it self even until it perfectly Center in and be fully filled therewith Fifthly Where there is a stopping of the Vertue received from the Grace and not an Answer of it in the heart there the Work of Redemption is stopped If the Soul follow not in the drawing the drawing is lost as to it If the Ear open not to hear the voyce of the Word or if it be not mixed with Faith in the heart hearing it proves ineffectual If strength issue forth from the Lord yet if the Soul receive not the strength which issueth forth and Bubleth up in it or answer it not in giving up to it and Travelling on the Soul abideth where it was at least if it also retire not backward from that Estate and Condition whereto the Life had advanced it for if the Vertue of the Life and Grace be refused there is an advantage given to Death to re-enter and gain ground by its contrary Vertue and Power Sixthly Mark therefore diligently how the Lord doth carry on the Dispensation of his Love and Free Grace even as if there were much done by the strength and Diligence of the Creature What wounding of it self by Repentance what striving to believe what wrestling against Enemies and for the Influences of the Grace and to keep the hope up and the distrust out what strict watching and waiting even as if the Creature did work out its whole Salvation Seventhly Though the Creature seemeth to do much it self having received Life from the Grace and acting abundantly towards God in the Grace yet it is the Grace and Vertue which comes from the Creator who is also the Redeemer which indeed doth all for though the creature repent really and turn from the Darkness with its whole heart yet the Repentance is of the Vertue which flows from the Grace and not of the creature which receives the Grace and so likewise is the Faith the Love the Obedience the Meekness the Patience the Watching the Waiting the Hoping c. Yea the very receiving the Grace is not of the creature but of the Grace for the creature is dead until it be visited by the Grace and by the Visitation of the Grace alone is made alive and able to receive it Behold then the mystery of Redemption God is all in Redemption God doth all therein as fully as in Creation it is a new Creation even the whole Work thereof yet the creature quickened and renewed is in Unity with him in his Operations Phil. 2.12 13. He whose Eyes are opened can read the Mystery and in true understanding say if he hath been led and hath proceeded so far I am able to do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me yet not I but the Grace of God in me Now to bring the creature to this the Lord exerciseth it dayly in Obedience unto him in the Life and Vertue which floweth forth from him causing it to feel its weakness as it forgets the Vertue or aspires to live of it self on the Vertue received out of the sensible feeling of its Dependance upon the Spring And indeed the Vertue that comes from God can alone Answer God and the creature is onely accepted with the Spring and Father of Life as it is found therein Quest But if the Work of Redemption be wrought by God's creating Power how cometh it to meet with so many rubs and interruptions and sometimes overturnings can any thing stop God's Creating Power Answ So far as God absolutely pleaseth to Create nothing can stop or hinder but the entrance of that which he beginneth to Create into the creature and its getting a being there as also the growth and preservation of it there may be hindred by the force of Spiritual Enemies if the Lord please to permit or by the grieving and provoking of that Free Power which alone begetteth and preserveth Life in
Spirit and of Isaac after the Flesh came the Seed of Promise after the Flesh Sarah after the Flesh bare one of these the Sarah represented by her or the Free Woman which is from above bare the other And of Isaac comes Jacob Worm Jacob who serves for his Wife who flies from the face of Esau yet afterwards finds favour in his Eyes from this Worm do the Twelve Patriarks branch forth who were the Heads of the Tribes of Israel Thus hath it been with that Nation according to the letter thus it hath also been and is still inwardly in Spirit as the Israel of God the Jews in Spirit who are Learned in the Law of the Spirit of Life can very well read Thus outwardly Israel was God's Child Ephraim his Dear his Beloved his pleasant Son Judah his Praise whom his heart was towards and to whom he stretched forth his Arm of Salvation all the day long In all their Affliction he was afflicted and the Angel of his presence saved them and he said Surely they are my People Children that will not lie so he became their Saviour Thus it was with them till the day of Israel after the Flesh expired and the day of Israel in Spirit was to succeed in the sight of the World Quest What was the end for which God chose that People Answ It was to be a Vessel for him to form to try and experiment what his Love could bring them to and bring forth in them in that way of Manifestation and Operation This God opens to Jeremiah concerning them bidding him go down to the house of the Potter where in a Parable they might read their own State and what they were to expect from God even to be formed by God unto the utmost untill he had made a perfect tryal of them and then to be broken and laid aside as a Vessel that could never be fitted for the Master's use in this way of Dispensation Jer. 18.4 On the Lord's part there was no defect towards his Child his Spouse his Vineyard his Garden of pleasant Plants as this People was in that Dispensation for he was still a Father to them Faithful in Covenant Tender in Bowels abundant in Loving Kindness and Mercies Yea what could be expected from the Lord towards a People according to that Dispensation which the Lord failed in But they were still faithless continually breaking Covenant Erring from his Dear and tender Love and drawing down the strokes of his Wrath upon them forsaking the guide of their youth forgetting the Love of their Espoâ—sals continually starting aside from the right State wherein God pleased at first to set them or at any time afterwards in any measure to reduce them Q. How did God exercise and try them to the utmost even till at length it was plainly manifest that there was no firm keeping a People to him by Vertue of that Dispensation but he must necessarily cut them off chuse another People and take another course if he would have a People for his Heart to love and delight in and for them to injoy and possess him Answ He tryed them several ways and in several States and Conditions as First in a State of Captivity in the Land of Egypt Secondly in a State of Straits and continual Dependance upon God even for Necessaries in the Wilderness Thirdly in a state of Enlargedness in the Land of Canaan which flowed with plentiful provisions for the outward man which were also shadows and instructions concerning the inward Blessedness Fourthly in often Captivities Fifthly in Returns to their Land again with Settlement and Peace and many Blessings therein Quest How did God try them in Egypt Answ First with sore Bondage and Oppression from Pharaoh and the Egyptians Secondly with giving them the feeling of their state the sence of their bondage and causing them to cry unto the Lord for Deliverance Thirdly in raising up a Deliverer and giving them a Sign of the Deliverance by the hand of the Deliverer in his smiting of an Egyptian and saving an Hebrew Fourthly in sending the Deliverer to them with Promises of Deliverance and with Signs and Symptoms of the Delivering Power Fifthly in Pardoning their Unbelief and Rebellions against him in Egypt and shewing many Signs and Wonders for them in that Land till at length he had brought them forth by his Mighty outstretched Arm even against the will and mind of Pharaoh and their Task-masters Quest How did God find them in Egypt upon this Tryal Ans Very unbelieving very stubborn mis-interpreting his Sign of Deliverance reasoning against his Promise because it came not so soon and after the manner they expected When he lift up his hand to them to redeem them from under Pharaoh to bring them forth of the Land of Bondage to the good Land he had espied for them and bid them forsake the Idolatrous worships of Egypt and not defile themselves any longer therewith because he was now to become the Lord their God to appear in his Power for them yet they would not Ezek. 20.5 c. When Moses would have reconciled and Hebrew to his Brother he would not hear him but upbraided him for slaying the Egyptian not waiting on God to understand the Figure but mis-interpreting and abusing it in the Fleshly Mind When the Deliverance succeeded not according to their expectations they Murmured against Moses and Aaron and when God sent them again with a fresh Promise they would not mind it Yet God bare with all this in them and did not cast them off but asswaged his Wrath and stirred up his Love to make a further Tryal of them Quest How did God Try them in the Wilderness Ans By many Temptations Signs and Wonders by Powerful Appearances for them against their Enemies by bringing them into many straits by unexpected and impossible supplies I mean impossible to the sight or expectation of the outward Eye as with Bread from Heaven Multitudes of Quails Water from the Rock keeping their Cloaths and Shoes from wearing out and decaying Likewise he gave them an Holy and Righteous Law to Inform their Minds in Equity and Righteousness directing them in an holy way walking with God and one towards another and chalking out unto them an acceptable path of Worship and this Law was delivered in great Majesty dread and terrour to cause a deep impression thereof upon their minds Quest How did God find them in the Wildernesse Answ Full of discontent full of murmuring full of self-will full of doubts and questionings concerning God's Power They did not wait on him who had delivered them out of the hand of Pharaoh and from under the Egyptian Task-masters but they murmured against him They did not wait for food or water when they wanted but distrusted and complained repining at Moses and Aaron and sometimes talking of making a Captain to lead them backward Neither were they content with the Provision which God allotted them that was mean in their eyes but
they would have flesh Though the Manna the light Bread as they esteemed it of God's choice and with God's Blessing had been far better for them then the flesh with his curse upon that lust which asked it and would not be content without it Again They would not go on towards Canaan or Fight when God would have them and when his strength would have gone along with them but when he forbad them of their own will and trusting to their own strength they would go on and Fight It is a sad record which Moses their tender Shepherd who with the Eye of true Light had faithfully observed them left concerning them Deut. 9.24 You have been Rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you Quest How did God deal with them in reference to the Land of Canaan Answ First he prepared them for it Secondly he dispossessed their Enemies and placed them in it giving them an Inheritance according to his will Thirdly he poured down Blessings upon them therein Quest How did God prepare them for the good Land Answ Eirst By many Afflictions and Exercises in the Wilderness wherein he judged and wore out the Rebellious Generation who were consumed with dying and raised up their Children in the awe and dread of his Mighty Power Secondly by giving them a Righteous Law to walk by in every respect that they might not be to seek how to please God or how to walk one towards another or towards the Heathen among them or round about them but in every thing might be rightly instructed Thirdly by warning them of their own proneness to err from God and of the Danger thereof both in Relation to the loss of Mercies and drawing down of Judgements that they might watch against the Erring Nature and Transgressing Spirit in their hearts Fourthly by appointing a way of Sacrifice and Mediation whereby God might be atoned either for Particular Persons or for the Land in General Fifthly by directing them to a Principle as near to them and more strong than the unrighteous Principle whereby they might be preserved in the Obedience of the Law and from out of the reach of the Curse Quest How did God find them in their own Land Ans That Generation which was thus Prepared thus Taught thus Directed walked sweetly with the Lord and was a precious savour in his Nostrils but soon after the evil thing sprang up again in the Generations following and they did quickly corrupt themselves departing from the Lord and running a whoreing after their own hearts lusts Judg. 2.7 c. Quest How did God deal with them then Answ He brought Judgment upon Judgement still Weightier and Weightier upon them according as their need required exercising loving kindness and Mercy towards them as much as possibly their Estate could bear He sent his Prophets to forewarn them of the Wrath that they might be spared if possible and when his Judgments and Severity came he mingled Mercy therewith that by both he might try to the utmost what they might be wrought to He tryed them a long while under the Judges and a long while under the Kings often recovering them and setting them to rights expecting the Fruit of his Rod and of his Love towards them Quest What was the result of God's trying them under the Judges and Kings Answ They wearied out God's Prophets yea they wearied out the Lord also in that way of his Dispensation They chose the false Prophets before the true lying Divinations before the openings of Life and dead Idols before the living God The Kindnesses and Mercies of God were wasted upon them for with his Love they were not drawn the Bellowes also were burnt the Lead consumed the heat of the Furnace spent upon them and yet their Tin and Dross not purged away Under the Judges they tired out the Lord 's Patient Expectation of Good from his Delivering hand insomuch as he resolved to deliver them no more Judg. 10.13 Under the Kings they were as unruly whether good Kings or bad Kings given in love or wrath insomuch as the Lord said Why should ye be stricken any more ye will revolt more and more Isai 1.5 There was indeed no bending of Israel after the Flesh keeping him Strait to God in that way of Dispensation therefore must he be cast off even becoming Reprobate Silver in the sight of the whole Earth because the Lord would reject him Quest How came Israel after the Flesh to be rejected Answ His day of Flesh was out and the day of Spirit was come wherein the Spiritual Glory which was to succeed the Shadows of the Fleshly was to be set up and so he not seeing that nor entring into that his own Sun set and he hath abode in the Darkness unto this day Quest How came he not to see the Spiritual Glory Ans Because the Eye of the Flesh was open in him which Eye cannot see it He Read the Law in a gathered Light in the Light of the earthly Wisdom and not in the Light of the Spring from whence it came and then how could he possibly understand the Law aright Could he then chuse but set up the Shadows of the Law in the stead of the Substance which was vailed therein He read Moses with the Eye which can see but to the vail and not to the Glory which was revealed to Moses which Moses hid under the Vail And thus likewise he beheld the Prophets in the dayes of their Appearance not in the Light in which they appeared but in the Light of his own Reason and Imaginations and upon this ground the Jews still chose and cryed up the false Prophets but Persecuted the True Now not seeing Moses in Spirit nor the Prophets in Spirit how could they see Him who was greater then the Prophets he looking so Contemptibly to the Sight of that Eye wherewith they expected to see him It is the Jew in Spirit who alone can see and own the Messiah in Spirit yea no fleshly Jew could possibly discern him then whose Eternal Life Light and Power was hid under so mean a Vail He must be more than a Jew after the flesh who can own so much as the Law or any of the Prophets in Spirit and then surely it can require no less than Inward Jewship to discern the Messiah himself They knew by the Letter that then he was to come and to appear but they could not know by their Observations from the Letter which was he but alone by the pointing of the Finger of the Spirit which they were unacquainted with Quest What did they do to him not seeing his Glory An. They dealt with him as they had dealt with the Prophets before him disdained him that he should Claim to be the Son of God Slighted him Reviled him Reproached him preferred Moses and the Prophets above him who all did but declare of him yea at last they preferred a Thief and Murderer before him and put him
remains his willing Subject And here the Goods of the Enemy the Heart estranged from God yea not onely the devout and zealous Worshipper in invented Forms but also the gross Sinner the envious lustful and wicked Mind the perverse Tongue the bloody Hands and Feet are at peace and have joy and pleasure in their course and circuit in the Earth But all this is but the Deceit of the Enemy wherewith he hath cheated Man with false appearances and representations instead of the true as man himself will see when ever the Eye of his Soul comes to be throughly awakened by the Eternal Light whether here or hereafter Quest What is the Work of Redemption Answ To purge this old Leaven out of the Vessel to purifie the Vessel from all the false Appearances of Light to batter down all the strong holds of the Enemy in the Mind all the Reasonings Thoughts Imaginations and Consultations which are not of the pure nor in the pure and so to New-create and New-form the Vessel in the Image of the Wisdom and Purity wherein it was at first formed Quest Who doth this Work or who is Man's Redeemer out of the Fall Answ The Eternal Word or Son of the Father even the Wisdom and Power which went forth from the Fountain in the Creation the same goeth forth from the Bosome of the Father to purifie the Creature and so bringeth the Creature back being purified and cleansed into his bosom again Quest With what doth this Word or Redeemer redeem Answ With his own life with his own blood with his own Eternal virtue and purity He descendeth into the lower parts of the Earth becomes Flesh there sows his own Seed in his prepared Earth begets of his flesh and of his bone in his own likeness and nourisheth up his Birth with his flesh and blood unto Life Everlasting Quest What is this Life or how doth it first manifest it self in the darkness Answ It is the Light of Men. It is that which gave light to Adam at first and again to him after the Fall and to all men since the Fall It enlightens in Nature it enlightened under the Law it did enlighten under the Gospel before the Apostacy and again since the Apostacy Quest How doth the Light enlighten Ans By its shining The Eternal Word moves the Life opens the Light shines This in the least degree is a beginning of Redemption in its fulness it is Redemption perfected Quest How doth the Light work Redemption in its shining Ans Two wayes First by turning the heart from the darkness towards it self Secondly by exercising the heart being turned Quest How doth it turn the heart from the darkness Answ The Light by its shining and enlightening findeth out it s own openeth it toucheth it with a secret Virtue which perswades out of and draws the heart from the principle and power of Death and Darkness towards its own native spring Quest May not these drawings be quenched and the Work of God stopped Answ The Plant of the Lord is exceeding tender his pure Spirit jealous the Enemy very strong and subtil insomuch as the Plant it self may easily be crushed the Spirit grieved and quenched and the Captivity redoubled Quest If Adam was betrayed in his full strength how shall this poor weak Plant spring up and grow without being supplanted by the violence and treachery of the Enemy Or how shall the grieving of the Spirit be avoyded by an heart so full of corruption and provocations us man in the alienated state is when the Light first visits him Answ The Lord God is nigh to help nigh to pitty nigh to pardon nigh to watch over and support Worm Jacob yea nigh to revive life and spirit in him freely and to heal his backslidings and multiply pardons or it could never be Yea the Creature can never be brought so low or so far lost but there is still help in the nature of God concerning him though there may not be help in any revealed Promise Quest How doth God exercise the heart that is turned Ans In Faith and Obedience through very great varieties and changes of conditions He exerciseth it in believing his voyce and in obeying his voyce and following him in what ever and into whatsoever he draws and requires Quest How is the Voyce of God known Doth not the Enemy speak inwardly also and resemble his voyce how then is the voyce of the Redeemer distinguished from him who counterfeiteth the Shepherd and his voyce Ans By these two means First The Soul lying low out of the Wisdom in which the Enemy appears and forms his likenesses in the Simplicity which the Lord hath begotten the Life opens to it and the true Light appears which manifests the false light and false appearances of the Deceiver Secondly In that which is begotten of God there is not an hastiness or suddenness to determine but a silent waiting on the Lord in Subjection till the Life speak and make things manifest Thus the knowledge and light of the Child is held in the will of the Father and received from his hand and according to his pleasure Thus what he will he hides and what he will he makes manifest and the Child which is born of his will is content with his will and lying down there it keeps out of the Enemie's Territories and out of the reach of his Temptations Quest What are the several Estates or Conditions wherein God exerciseth the Spirit of man in Faith and Obedience Answ The particular Estates and Conditions are innumerable but they may be referred to these three general heads First An Estate of breaking down the former Building Secondly An Estate of Devastation or Preparation to be New-built Thirdly An Estate of Rebuilding God doth not forget but exercise his People in Egypt even while they are in Bondage before they come to receive his Law he is visiting them in the dark Land opening the Eye that can see the Captivity causing groans and sighs in their oppressed Spirits and then holding forth to them the Promise and preparing them for a departure from that Land Secondly He hath a time of stripping them of Nurturing and bringing them up under his Discipline and close exercises wherein they are Desolate and ready to Sin and perish every moment but as they are wonderfully provided for and abundantly helped and Pardoned Thirdly There is a state of rebuilding the Stones when they are prepared therefore into a New-building for the Life to dwell in and for their entrance into the Land of Life Quest Declare these Estates and the exercises therein more plainly and first shew what is the Estate of the Soul in Egypt Spiritually when the Lord visiteth it there with his Light Ans An Estate of deep Bondage and groaning under the Powers of Darkness whose bitter Oppressions thereof increase even as the sensibleness and tyredness of the Soul increases The Soul then sees its Captivity from the Life and finds a building
is given them in the Life to see with The Eye of Life is limited in man and man is to be held within the limits and openings of Life and his Heart and Mind to be bounded within the Desires and Delights which arise from the Life he is to wait on the Life for its living moving and being all in his Being and here he shall be large enough and full enough and wise enough and happy enough But there is somewhat which presents to him a Kingdom a Riches a Dominion a Vastness of Perfection in himself at his own command the which he beginning to listen unto the same opens an Eye in him to see the Beauty and Glory thereof and then Immediately his heart is taken and he cannot avoid the snare nor can he henceforth know where he is until that which he hath forsaken again please to visit him and to discover to him his Iniquity and Errour from the true Root Quest What is the way of safety when God enlargeth the Territories of Life in the Soul and causeth his Love and Grace to abound Answ To Drink the Draughts of Joy and Sweetness in the pure Fear and Trembling not departing therefrom in what ever it doth for God or receives from him till the Salvation be wholly wrought out and perfected the Habitation of unspotted Love prepared and the Soul led into and seated in its compleat Mansion therein And then the Name of Fear is no more heard of in the Land of Life though the Principle from whence the Fear sprang and the Birth and building which was begotten raised up formed and perfected in the Fear abideth for ever So that the pure Love doth not cast out the pure Fear wherein is no Bondage of the Life but the preservation of the Life from the Bondage but swallows it up and comprehends it for the pure Fear is but Love descended and the pure Love is but Fear ascended the Eternal Principle or Substance being one and the same in both Quest Is there then such a State of Safety upon which the Enemy cannot Intrench Answ There is a State of such Union with the Life as the Enemy cannot come between where there is lying down and rising up in the Power of the Life and no Beast of prey can make afraid any more nor can any Root of bitterness spring up from within to trouble or make any disturbance between the Life and the Soul any more Some Questions and Answers conducing towards the further manifestation and opening the Path of Redemption and Eternal Life to the Eye of Spiritual Israel Quest HOw doth the Son of God or Eternal Word in whom is the Light of Life Redeem man out of the fallen Estate out of the Kingdom of Darkness and Death into the Kingdom of everlasting Righteousness and Peace in the Life Answ Three wayes First by wounding him in the Natural and corrupt Estate and so breaking his Peace and Pleasure in the Kingdom of Darkness and making him weary thereof Secondly By weakening him under the Teachings and Chastizements of the Law Thirdly By healing and binding him up with the Oil of Salvation in the Power of the endless Life which is the Gospel Quest How doth God wound him in the natural and corrupt State Answ By pursuing him with his Light which letteth him see what it is discovering the Evil and Danger of it and so weaning his heart from it and making him look out after and long for a Redeemer O how Burthensome is the Captivity to the awakened Soul when he hath a glimpse of what man was before his fall when he had a place and being in the Life with a Spirit suitable to the Life and what he is now in his Estate of estrangedness and alienation from the Life and whither he is going in his Paths of unrighteousness estrangedness and alienation And while his heart is thus turning from the Land of Death and Captivity and longing after the Redeeming Power and Vertue of the Life the Enemy the Power of Darkness layes load upon him drawing him more and more under the Chains and Bonds of Iniquity to the utmost of its strength So that now Lusts abound Evils increase Temptations and Snares multiply and in the Land of Captivity their strength is great the Soul weak and faint and the Redeeming Power and Vertue seems very far off Now this is the Estate of Conversion when the Lord in the midst of the Powers of Death and Darkness turns the heart from them towards himself causing it to wait under the Captivity for the Appearance of the Arm of his strength to break the yoke of the Oppressor from off the Necks of the oppressed and so to bring out of the Land of Death and Darkness into the Travels towards the Land of Promise where the Peace the Life the Liberty in the Lord the Rest the Joy the full Content and Happiness is reaped by the Soul which follows the Lamb thither Quest How doth God weaken the Creature under the Teachings and Chastisements of the Law Answ By exercising him towards Good and Evil and correcting him for his unbelief and disobedience as he finds good just and necessary for him Quest How doth God exercise him towards Good and Evil and correct him Ans When he hath brought him from under the Power of Darkness in some measure and in some measure set the Spirit free there-from by the Vertue of his Life springing up in the heart then he exerciseth the Heart and Conversation towards the Good and from the Evil then he giveth out Laws for or against things according as he findeth most Proper to the Estate of every Particular Soul Now upon the giving forth of the Law the Life being in some measure raised there is that which loves its Teachings and pure Path and there is that also which draws back from it and that being yet strong there come many strokes and Chastisements from the Lord upon his own Dear Child And these are bitter and to be forced into the Sin which it loaths and in Heart is turned from and to be kept from the Good which it longs after in heart is United to partly by the strength of the Enemy and partly by reason of its own weakness and negligence this is bitter also insomuch as it cryeth out Day after Day and findeth this Administration of the Law almost as heavy a yoke as the Land of Captivity it self was because of the weakness of it through the Flesh and the strength and advantages which the corruption of the Heart and Prince of Darkness gather thereby Quest What is the benefit of these Exercises upon the Soul Answ They melt they break they make the Heart Tender and fit to be moulded by the Eternal Vertue and Power into a Vessel for the Power Quest What frames of Spirit do they work the Heart or Mind into Answ Into very many precious Ones As for Instance First They make the Spirit poor The daily
inroads of Sin and Corruption dashing against the Holy and Righteous Law of Life the over-bearing the strong Desires after Purity and forcing into the Defilement hindring the Soul from doing what it loves and making it to do what it hates and would not this makes it become poorer and poorer and more Afflicted Day by Day Upon some Visitations of the pure Life and some fresh Vertue received Oh how strong doth the Soul seem but when it suddenly Forfeits its Mercies loses its freshness and is Plunged deeper in the Pit than before how poor and weak doth it then feel it self Trembling at the next openings of the Life and Springings up of the Vertue thereof in it not knowing what Weakness Captivity Entanglements and Misery from the Snares of Death remain to follow Secondly They bring into a mourning Estate They fill the Eyes with Tears and the Heart with Sorrow yea they cause an entrance into the House of mourning To be accustomed to Wounds Bruises Snares grieving of the Spirit provoking of the Deliverer furthering and giving Advantages to the Enemy c. the sence of this overwhelms the Heart with grief and causeth continual Sorrow and Lamentation to that which is upright towards God Thirdly They bring into a meek merciful and Tender-hearted frame towards others He that is tempted he that often falls and is so often wounded and made miserable he pitties those that err he mourns over the miserable His heart is broken with the Sins and Afflictions of others and he knoweth not how to be hard towards them feeling such continual need of abundant mercy himself It is the rich man the sound man in Religion that is rough and hard but he that is once throughly melted in the Furnace and made up again is made up Tender and retaineth the impression of the Meekness Love and Mercy for ever Now a broken Estate in Religion or a state of waiting for the Life is much more precious than that which is rich and full by what it had formerly received and still holdeth out of the Immediate feeling and fresh Vertue of the Life Fourthly They bring into an hungry and thirsty state after Holiness and Righteousness O how the Soul that is sensible of its filth longeth to be washed how it panteth after the Pastures of Life the food of Life the living Waters to appear before and enjoy God in the Land of the living O how doth the heart that is dayly afflicted with its Unbelief and Disobedience long for the Faith that stands in the Power and the Obedience that flowes from the Power O Teach me thy Statutes shew me the pure Path of Obedience in the way of Life guide my feet in the way everlasting O write thy Fear in my Heart that I may not depart from thee Create a clean heart in me and put thy Spirit within me to be my strength O continue thy Loving-kindness to them that know thee and thy Righteousness to the upright in Heart O what unutterable Breathings dayly issue out from the broken Spirit towards the Spring of its Life Fifthly They bring into a pure frame into a cleanness of inside Cleanse first the inside of the Cup and Platter said Christ to the Pharisees and he doth so in his Disciples With the mind I serve the Law of God said Paul when he cryed out O wretched man that I am who shall deliver It is not conceiveable what purity of heart is Formed by God in his Israel by the fire which he kindleth in his Sion and by the Furnace which he setteth up in his Jerusalem for though in the Furnace the Dross still appears the sight whereof is apt to grieve and afflict the precious Heart yet the melting and purifying sweetly goes on and the Soul which abideth the heat is effectually cleansed thereby as is very manifest afterwards when Righteousness springs up with the quiet Fruit thereof but this cannot be discerned while the flames are discovering and taking hold of the Unrighteousness Sixtly They bring into a Patient Frame fit to bear Reproaches and Persecutions from the World who in the midst of all this weakness misery and distress lay load upon the Poor Soul Persecuting him whom God hath smitten and speaking to the grief of him whom God hath wounded God smites for want of Obedience for too much propensity to please the World for not coming soon enough out of their Customes Vanities Earthly wayes and Worships and so soon as the Heart and Conversation is given up in Obedience to the Lord the World is discontent and they smite and Persecute because of the Obedience Now the more the Spirit is broken by the hand of the Lord and taught thereby to fear him and the less strength it hath in it self to grapple with the Persecuting Spirit of the World the fitter it is to stand in God's Counsel to wait for his strength and preservation which is able to bear up its head above all the rage and swelling of the waters of the worldly Spirit in the men of this World Much more might be said but this may suffice What is behind will be felt inwardly as the Soul waits on God in the leadings of his Spirit through the Teachings Chastisements and Distresses of the Law Quest With what kind of things doth the Lord exercise the Spirits of his Israel to bring their hearts into these and such other like precious frames Ans With several sorts and kinds of things both outward and inward As First With oppositions reproaches and interruptions from the earthly part both in the men of this World and in themselves There is abundance within and abundance without to resist disdain and interrupt the Work of God in the heart to oppose and withstand that which he hath begotten there his leadings of it and its Obedience to him Secondly with Temptations from the Enemy even of many Kinds Natures and Degrees according to the present temper and Condition of the Soul as either to doubt and so despaire or be Confident in the Flesh from Knowledge received out of the pure Fear and fresh feeling of the Life so again either to halt and draw back or to be over-hasty and forward so likewise either not to obey and Act for God or to Act in that Will and Wisdom which is against God Now these with such like are very Numerous Frequent and sometimes very violent 〈◊〉 â—â—petuous Thirdly By withdrawings o◠〈◊〉 Life and sweet presence of God 〈◊〉 the Soul These are very frequâ—â—â— from the Lord towards his peopâ—â— insomuch as he is called by this Title the God that hideth his face from the house of Jacob Isai 8.17 chap. 45.15 Fourthly By Buffettings and prevailings of the Enemy When the Spirit is grieved the Life wounded and withdraws inward the Enemy often gets ground giving wounds and causing Bruises to the Soul not onely tempting but finding entrance and taking in the snare the Bird which once escaped was delivered Fifthly By doubts
Fears and confused reasonings concerning the voice of God and the voice of the Enemy In the hour of Darkness when the Lord seeth good to let forth the Power thereof and to withdraw the Beams of his Light how 〈◊〉 â—â—at be clearly distinguished 〈◊〉 alone is known and seen in the 〈◊〉 how can the motions drawâ—â—â—â— and pure low-workings of the 〈◊〉 be discerned from the false Images and Transformings of the Enemy O the misery and anguish of the Poor Soul in this Condition how is the Poor upright-heart pained between Faith and Unbelief Obedience Disobedience c not knowing when it is drawn forward or Backward or by whom Quest When do these exercises begin and how long do they continue Answ The Lord doth begin to exercise the Soul even in Egypt for after the Promise of Deliverance from Spiritual Pharaoh the bonds increase the yoke grows more heavy Pharaoh grows more Violent and Furious the Captivity increaseth much but there is no sight of Redemption at all save to that Eye which is weak and easily over-born in Israel But the exercises are much more full 〈◊〉 sharp in the wilderness where Isâ—â—â—â— is led about tried afflicted câ—â—sumed Day by Day as if he shoâ—â—â— never come to the Holy Land 〈◊〉 any of Israel be left to enter thereiâ— Yea in Canaan in the rich possession in the plenteous overflowings of the Life there is still somewhat left to try Israel and bring him low with if at any time he be exalted with the Glory and fulness of his own Estate and begin to forget his God Quest Why doth God thus exercise his Israel why doth he lead them in such a knotty and not in a more easie and ready way to the everlasting possession and to the fulness thereof Answ Because their Estate and Condition requires it They could not be so purified and fitted for the Life their Vessels would not be so inlarged to receive it in nor they so safely enjoy it were it not for this course of Wisdom wherein God â—â—â—â—â—ises and tryeth every cranny of 〈◊〉 Spirits until he hath perfected 〈◊〉 and stopped up the entrance of â—â—â—th every where Quest How do these exercises puriâ—â— and enlarge them Ans First They try the strength and vertue of the Life in them and discover to them their further want thereof In the time of the Soul's prosperity there seems to be enough but the Day of distress maketh manifest the Estate and Condition as it is Then the Faith the Love the Patience the Meekness the Constancy and Chastness to the Spouse loving him and cleaving to him above all and in all many times is found to be less then it was judged to be Secondly It brings to a waiting on God for support and for receiving of more from him Then the Life breaths vigourously and the Soul hankers after cleaves to and sees its need both of the presence and increase of the Vertue of the Life Then he that was rich becomes poor and he that was full becomes empty and nothing yea he that had enough to live on and to spare is now pressed with hunger want and penury Thirdly It prepares for a clearâ—â— entrance into and safer enjoyment of the fulness As the Soul is more emptied of the strength and Riches it received from God so it is more prepared to enter into and live in the pure Being it self For nothing can live there which Vails In the Life God was and is and is to be all in all for ever That therefore which enters there and lives and abides there must be poor empty naked nothing and remain nothing for ever As it gathers any thing from the fulness and becomes any thing in it self thereby it is shut out Quest How doth God heal and bind up that which he hath wounded and broken to pieces with his various and frequent exercises Answ By opening the Power of the endless Life in the Vessel which he hath throughly purified and prepared and filling it with the Power The free Power of Life that 's the Gospel To the meek to the broken-hearted to the cleansed it is Promised and when the work of cleansing is finished the wound made wide enough and kept open long enough and the Death to the first Husband fully accomplished then the perfect oyl is perfectly poured in and everlasting health and Salvation obtained This is the end which God Aims at in the Visitations and leadings of his Seed happy are they that pass through the Vail of Misery and drink off the dregs of the Cup of Trembling not fainting nor sitting down by the way but following the faithful Shepherd and leader of Israel till they Arive here Quest What is the great danger in the Path of Life Answ The great danger is of Ascending a step higher then the present Estate and Condition will bear for by this means the aspiring Mind gets up and is exalted and holdeth somewhat received from the Life out of the pure fear which preserves the heart clean and out of the sencible feeling which keepeth fresh and living to God and then the simplicity is betrayed and a wrong Spirit lives and a wrong Eye is opened so that there is nothing now but Whoredom from the Life and the heart exalted and conceited in the way of its Whoredoms as if it were the pure Bed and most excellent way of enjoyment of the Life Quest What way is there of preservation here-from Ans Watching to the Life keeping low in the fear and close to the feeling Here the aspirer is shut out or soon espied at his beginning to enter and then the living Cross received which Crucifieth and driveth him back And indeed there is no way of safety in the Travels towards the enjoyment of Life or under any enjoyment before the state of perfect Death but under the Cross to that Spirit and Nature which would dwell there and please it self therewith and be somewhat therein and so forget the pure everlasting Spring Adulterating with the streamings forth of it Man was made for God to be a Vessel of his pleasure and to receive his content Enjoyment and Happiness by reflection So that man's proper work was to watch to the spring from whence he came to be disposed of ordered and to be according to his pleasure This was Natural to man before his fall till a corrupt spirit by deceit entred him corrupted him And while any thing of that corrupt spirit or fallen nature remains he is apt to aspire in the Self-hood and to seek the enjoyment of what comes from the Fountain yea and of the Fountain it self also in and according to the will and Wisdom of the selfhood And here let man receive what Gifts soever from God be advanced to never so high an Habitation in the Land of Life yea have the very Fountain it self given him yet by this means he will corrupt lose the Gift or Spring be separated from it and Adulterate with what
Grace even as the Jews Table or gathered knowledge from Moses and the Prophets became their Snare and Trap. The Lord open their Eyes in his due time to discern it that they may not withstand that Ministration and Revelation of his everlasting Gospel which God seeth good to visit the Apostatised world with after this long dark night of the Apostacy whereof those that stick in Forms or knowledge of things from the Letter without the Power cannot but prove the greatest Enemies Opposers and Persecutors Now to help them a little if the Lord please in the rouling of my bowels towards them I find my heart opened to lay a few things before them First With my heart in the sight of the Lord do I own that Principle which formerly wrought in some of them which I my self was wrought upon by and knew not onely the outward knowledge which they were acquainted with but also the inward work and I also knew what I called the Light of Nature and what I called the Light of the Spirit the one whereof was not the other but differed as far as Spirit and Flesh Secondâ—â— I also own all the Openings and Refreshments which they received from the Lord in reading of the Scriptures in their Publick or Private Exercises and the Experiences which they had from God in their own hearts and I know that these things in themselves were true in their Proportion however their present sence and holding of them out of that wherein they received them may justly be judged by the Spirit of the Lord in his Servants Thirdly Though those things were true in their day and in their Proportion and Measure yet in them they might lose their vertue and die and so they not retain the thing in its Life in its own Principle in the newness of the Spirit in that Birth to which God gave it but onely an Image of it in the Natural understanding in the earthly part in the dead Principle and then their knowledge of God and their Experiences cannot but be corrupted and now become the possession of Death and the Engines of Death in their hearts Again God had somewhat further to manifest even to bring forth that which they so earnestly prayed for in that Day which they having abided in that Vertue wherin they prayed might easily have discerned and embraced but being out of that and pleasing themselves with the litteral knowledge of the things they then received holding them in the wise earthly part that part cannot but stumble at the low and contemptible Appearances of God which are still offensive to that part The great Glory of God is hid in a little Seed and how can the great Eye of the fleshly-wise see it We have Moses and the Prophets said the Jews after the Flesh But as for this man we know not whence he is Even so it is now We know the Relation which the Scriptures have given of Christ by the Apostles we are sure this is of God say the Professors but as for this little Seed of the Kingdom or Light of God in the heart we cannot believe that all we want is to spring up in it Now Fourthly there is a necessity both of the knowledge of Persons to pass away and also of their Experiences to be given up and let fall in these two cases following First When the Vertue is withdrawn from them when Death hath caught them when they become Death's goods For that which is received from the Life is onely profitable to the Soul in the vertue of the Life When the earthly part hath caught them and seated it self there they then become the strong holds of the Enemy and the Engines of Death to the heart so that then Life and true Relief is not to be had in them but where the Eternal Vertue pleases next to appear Secondly When God hath somewhat to bring forth further in the world or in any particular heart to make way for it he brings Death upon that which was before living Thus when God is pleased to bring forth a greater Measure of Faith and Power of his Spirit he distresseth the heart making the fore-going Faith and Power appear weak and pass away and many times for a season shutteth up the Soul in the unbelief until the Fresh Faith and Fresh Power spring up and arise And this causeth the necessity of the further Dispensations of his Eternal Vertue to appear and the Beauty of them to shine which they would not have done so abundantly had it not been for the fore-going distresse of the heaâ— Theâ—â—â—â—â—e yet some things further weighty upon my heart to lay before them needful for them to consider of which may be serviceable and helpful to them in their present Condition if the Lord please to open their hearts and impress them thereon They are four Propositions relating to the right Knowledge of the things of God which are these following First That the Knowledge of the things of God comes from the Spirit As the Scriptures themselves came from the Spirit so the true Knowledge of them is alone given to any man which receiveth it by the same Spirit And no man living can know the mind of the words which the Spirit spake but as the same Spirit which spake them gives the meaning of them Secondly That the Knowledge of God the living Knowledge the serviceable Knowledge is 〈◊〉 held in the Spirit and in the Birth which is of the Spirit Man's natural part is not the true Treasury nor is man's Reason to be Master of any of the things of God's Spirit but that which holds the Knowledge of the Kingdom the Grace of the Kingdom the living Experiences is that which is born of the Seed of the Kingdom and man's Reason is for ever to be shut out of the things of God further than it bowes is limited and subjected Thirdly That the Knowledge received from the Spirit is still to be tryed by the Spirit The Spirit alone can keep it living and the Spirit alone can tell whether the Life and Vertue be still in it or whether Death hath caught it whether it be Manna fit for the Soul's Food or Manna once given but now corrupted O my Dear Friends wait to understand my Experience concerning this thing which is this That which I had certainly received from God and which the true Birth at first had fed on the earthly Birth would be catching at laying hold of and treasuring up to feed on at another time Likewise in my reading of the Scriptures I lay open to this great snare of reading in my own will and of gathering from thence in mine own understanding so growing wise concerning the things of God after the Flesh for though at that time I was not without living Knowledge and Experiences of God yet I knew not how to turn from the Death nor to keep to the Life and so the bad the lean the earthly the ill-favoured overgrew the good