thee shall be called the Son of God This answer Mary could only receive by Faith and Intellectual Light And to strengthen her Faith he further tells her With God all things are possible What our Belief commonly called the Apostles Creed saith of this Mystery is very Excellent that he was conceived by the Power of the holy Ghost in the Womb of the Virgin Mary Doubtless the Substance of the Virgins own Body was the purer for her being a Virgin and a holy Woman yet it was much purer when the holy Ghost came upon her the Spirit of the living and Eternal God the Virgin Wisdom the true Virgin Mother did not as in the Birth of the World produce the Substance purely from her self this would have been Creation but the holy Ghost did penetrate the Substance of the Virgin and did purify and rarisy it that it was a holy Thing indeed that was born of her It was a great Honour and Priviledge the Virgin Mary was made Partaker of and doubtless a good measure of the Spirit of God did abide upon her but this power of the Spirit did not rest upon her but it did abide upon that holy thing which was born of her our blessed Lord Jesus Now this miraculous Work the Conception of our Lord is the second time the Spirit of God the holy Ghost performed the Office of a Mother in such an immediate and extraordinary manner and as the Conception was wonderful so doubtless the Thing conceived was extraordinary the Body of our Lord was a very pure and in a great measure a spiritual Body and yet a true Body for no Substance is the less true but the more so for being Spiritual The World and all things in it as it came immediately from the Spirit of God in its first Creation was very good and therefore true and substantial for nothing can be Good but what is True And now I see how Truth Being and Goodness are One Words I have before heard but never understood till now After the Fall Man and the whole Creation sunk more deep into Materiality but thereby did not become a more real and substantial Being but a more shadowy one as it went farther from the Light Now Matter when it is most dark shadowy and at a distance is capable of being reduc'd to a spiritual state by the Power of God through the Merits of Christ by the Operation of his Spirit for he shall change our vile Bodies and make them like his glorious Body Wonderful changes do pass upon Matter in this lower World by Natural Productions and Alterations and also by Artificial ways As I my self have seen and handled Matter changed from putrified vile stinking to beautiful sweet and in a degree rarified and refined and I believe far greater things of this kind may be performed than I have yet seen And I know Substances freed in any degree from the clogs of Materiality may perform extraordinary things How much more might the Body of our Saviour that never was so strongly fettered perform Wonders while he was on Earth in the Body after his Resurrection and now since his Ascension especially being in all these various states united to his Divinity The Body of our blessed Saviour is now in the blessed State of Glorification and I will not dispute what he can do but I do not at all believe he will change this most glorious bright shining Body of his into Flesh Blood and Bone and give it us to eat and to drink raw whole with I know not how many Absurdities that some profest Christians dare to mention but I hope this is far from any to believe there is no need of this the Flesh profits nothing the Spirit quickens and except we do eat the Spiritual Flesh and drink the Spiritual Blood of Christ we have no part in him Not Flesh and Blood in a more gross sence than our Saviour ever had to give us but in such a sence as a spiritual Man by a spiritual Discerning may receive Lord evermore give me this Bread not only two or three times a year once a month or once a week or only in a piece of Bread so qualified and blest do I desire it but that it may be my daily Food that I may live upon it I can no more spiritually live without it a day than I can live without my daily Bread I desire continually to feed upon the hidden Manna and to drink the Wine of the Kingdom and to feel more of that blessed Promise made good in me that our blessed Jesus gave forth to those that believe on him That out of their Bellies shall flow Fountains of Living Waters I would have my spiritual Sences always exercised about spiritual Objects my Eye stedfastly fix'd on my blessed Jesus Here I must set down a Love-Desire and Breathing after Him Ah blessed Jesus Let me see thy Face Let me draw near to thy most Holy Place With Wings of Eagles let me mount on High There to behold thy Bright Divinity Tho' I am here encompassed with Clay Let me behold the Dawning of thy Day Shine forth O Lord from the Center of my Heart Let Light Divine fill me in every part O fill my Soul with thy Celestial Fire With thy pure Spirit do thou me now inspire That I may sing and bless thy Holy Name And may return to thee thy own pure Flame I will return to thee my Love my All Be always ready to obey thy Call Write in my Heart the Royal Law of Love That whilst Below I may be like those Above Whose blest Employment is to love and sing Hallelujahs to their Heavenly King Now I will joyn with this most blessed Quire With them I 'll Praise with them I will Admire O Holy Holy is the Lord for he Gives Life from Death he sets the Pris'ner free Vnbind my fetter'd Soul that it may be Above the Earth and Materiality c. Let all the People praise thee O God let all the People praise thee thy Saints shall bless thee While I have a being my Soul shall magnify thy Name thou hast done for me great things and that my Soul knows right well Tho' I am nothing nor can do nothing nor know nothing but in thee and by thee I cannot praise thee without thee thou art my Life thou hast begotten me again to a lively hope and through the Riches and free Grace of my God to a poor sinful Creature a worthless Worm to me is this Grace given to become the Child of God and to know this third and last Work of the Spirit of God in performing the Office of a Mother in making me partaker of the New Birth and to know what it is to be born again not of Water nor of Blood but of the Spirit of the living and true God Words are empty things and perish in their own sound but it is a blessed thing to be enabled with the holy Apostles to say What we
have seen what our hands have handled that declare we unto you that ye may have Fellowship with us and truly our Fellowship is with the Father and with the Son through the Holy Spirit I tell ye from the Scriptures of Truth from my own Experience from the Witness of the Water the Blood and the Spirit and these three agree in one to bear witness on Earth That there is no coming to God nor being Partakers of the Redemption purchased by Jesus Christ but by the Illumination and Operation of the Holy Spirit that the Spirit of God may 〈◊〉 the Office of a Holy Mother in us to bring forth Jesus in Spirit in us that Christ may be formed in us The Spirit of God is the Jerusalem that is from Above that is Free the Mother of us all spoken of in the Revelations this is the New Jerusalem that comes down from God out of Heaven the Bride the Lambs Wife that had made her self ready When the Spirit of God hath finished the Work upon the whole Church of God throughout making it appear in the Eye of our Lord in Beauty Unity Purity then will it be presented as a Chaste Virgin to Jesus Christ Then she will appear Fair as the Moon Clear as the Sun Terrible as an Army with Banners She will then partake of the supercelestial Sun and Moon and of the Seven Stars the Seven Properties of God When the Church is thus Beautified and Adorned our Lord will say Arise my Fair One and come away Now this Work cannot be accomplished in the whole Church till it is first performed in particular Persons by the Uniting of whom this Work is compleated Therefore we must all look to it that this Work may be performed in our selves that the great three-fold Work of the Spirit may be wrought out in us the Dispensation of the Water the Blood and the Fire First We must know the Washing with pure Water the Purging our Consciences from dead works that we may serve the living God We must know also the shedding of Blood in us as well as for us the slaying our own Thoughts and Imaginations we must not spare any thing of self-hood not Agag and the choicest beasts we must also witness the Spirit of Judgment and Burning the Spirit sitting like a Refiners Fire till at last we shall find and feel a Refreshing Warmth and Heat a being Baptized with the Holy Ghost and with Fire this we must feel before we can come to dwell with Everlasting Burning for our God is a Consuming Fire shall we set the Hay and Stubble in Battle Array against Him He will pass through and Burn it nothing but what is Pure must Remain if we would dwell in the Holy Hill of God and abide in his Tabernacle we must have Clean Hands Pure Hearts The three great Dispensations of God with the great World doth agree with the workings of his Spirit in us the Deluge of Water was the First of these the Apostle speaking of it saith The like figure whereunto is Baptism not only outward Baptism with water which taketh away the filthiness of the Flesh but it signifies the being Baptized into Christ into his Death and Sufferings that being Buryed with him in Baptism being Dead with Christ we also may Arise with him and know the Power of his Resurrection that we being Risen with Christ may seek those things which are Above where Christ is at the right hand of God The Second Great Dispensation with the Great World was The Slaying of Beasts the Shedding of Blood without which there is no Remission but this was not only the Blood of Bulls and Goats that would not do for the Law is but a Shadow of Good Things to come for it is impossible that the Blood of Bulls and Goats should take away Sins but this great work was done by the Shedding the Precious Blood of Christ the First was done away that he might establish the Second the Sacrifice of the Law could not make the comers thereunto Perfect but Christ by one Offering hath Perfected for ever them that are Sanctified by the will of God we are Sanctified thorough the Offering of the Body of Jesus and those that are Members of his Body must also be Perfected through Sufferings when we come to know what it is to have the word of God Quick and Powerful in us Dividing between the Marrow and the Bone we shall know what this means there will be Cutting off Right Hands Plucking out Right Eyes Slaying and Crucifying the Old Man with the Affection and Lusts This is hard work Ah my God! let me give up all to it I would not spare any thing in me let this work go on in me to the making an end of Sin and the Finishing transgression that every thought may be brought into Subjection to Jesus Christ who I would have to Rule and Reign till all his Enemies are brought under I Bless and Praise thy Great and Glorious Name O Lord my God for what thou hast done for me and in me I Bow before Thee and Adore him that Sits upon the Throne and the Lamb that was Slain who was Dead and is Alive and Lives and Reigns for Ever The Third and Last Great and Universal Dispensation of God with the Great World will be the Fiery Tryal when the Elements shall Melt with Fervent Heat and the Earth and all things in it that is Cumbustible shall be Burnt up that which is Pure will Remain when the Goldsmith puts the Drossy Gold into the Fire some that may not know the nature of it may wonder that he should burn his Gold but he knows though the Dross will be burnt the Gold will remain and come forth more bright so will it be with the works of God not only his Throne but that which now is his Foot-stool shall be Pure Gold Clear as Chrystal he that reads let him understand what the Spirit saith But our great Work is to Cry to the Lord that the Fiery Work of his Spirit may pass upon us before this great and terrible day of the Lord come for this Day will try every Mans Work of what sort it is and the Hay and Stubble must be burnt up when our Lord shall appear in Flames of Fire to render Vengeance on all those that know him not and obey not the Gospel To fit us for this great Day the Lord sends his Spirit of Judgment and Burning into us and this Day of the Lord burns like an Oven his Eyes are a Flame of Fire who looks into us and we are all naked and bare before the Eyes of him with whom we have to do Let us not like Adam hide our selves but cry out Search me and try me O God Let us with Moses enter into the Darkness and the Fire God is in the Fire and tho' it may be terrible shrink not at it and endure as seeing him that is invisible who will appear to be
throughout and I might instance in very many particular places of Scripture but this is done by excellent hands who discourse largely on this Subject as Charnock and others we have also in Holy Writ an account of Mankind his divine Original being made after the Image of God in a Blessed State a little lower then the Angels and also of his Deplorable State that he by Disobedience fell into and became worse then the beasts that perish we have also an account of the most Admirable Work of the Redemption of Mankind by Jesus Christ our Lord the methods our Blessed Jesus took are discovered to us by which this great Work was performed for us and also the operation of his Spirit in us all these admirable Mysteries are delivered to us with that Authority Majesty Sweetness and Love that we can never be enough thankful for them But O! How short are we in our understandings of them How little acquainted with their Worth and Excellency till we receive the third and last Blessed Help afforded by God to poor Mankind his own Holy Spirit by whom our minds become Enlightned in the Knowledge of God and of our selves and by being Illuminated by the same Spirit which the Holy Pen-men were Inspired with we come to have the Scripture opened to us clearly and indeed though of our selves we know nothing as we ought to know yet in this Spirit we come to know all things for the Spirit searcheth all things even the deep things of God and shews them unto us our Blessed Saviour tells us in John 16. v. 12. 13. I have yet many things to say unto you but you cannot bear them now howbeit when the Spirit of Truth is come he will guide you into all Truth and he will shew you things to come Now it is our duty to attend to this Voice of God in us to the Teachings of his holy Spirit who is an Interpreter one of a Thousand Those things in St. Paul's Epistles and other Scriptures hard to be understood are made easie by the teachings of this Spirit the Lord did strive with the old World by his Spirit in the minds of men there was not many Preachers in those days but Noah we read was a Preacher of righteousness he preached by his Faith which he shewed forth by his Works Tho' the Lord hath been from the beginning striving with Mankind by his Spirit yet this is the time when we have the greatest Encouragement to pray and wait for this great Blessing as the Fruit and Effect of the Resurrection and Ascension of our blessed Saviour who ascended up on high that he might give Gifts unto men this great Gift of the Father his holy Spirit Our Lord chose some to be Witnesses of his Resurrection and Ascension he hath also made some able to witness to this effect of his Ascension and to the Unworthiest less than the least of all is this grace given He hath been pleased to open the still Eternity and to shew the ever-blessed Deity in the most sweet harmonious Stillness deep holy Silence looking into his own Center of Light beholding his own Heart the lovely Image of Himself which caused that Joy and Desire of bringing forth his own lovely Image and this Desire brought forth into manifestation the only begotten Son of God the glorious Image of the Invisible God and the express Character of his Person who is God blessed for evermore from the Love-Union and Co-Operation of God the Father and God the Son did proceed God the holy Ghost from the Union and pure Mingling of the Awful Majestick Light of the Father with the Refulgent bright Light of the Son doth proceed the sweet meek peaceful Light of the holy Spirit and these Three who bear Witness in Heaven the Father the Word and the Spirit agree in One and all their Operations are conjunct as well as distinct As in the Creation and Production of the World the holy Father and Son impowered and impregnated the blessed Spirit in order to the production of this beautiful World and the Spirit of God moved upon the Face of its own Waters it Self being the Principle of the Water the Comparison of a Hen may not be unfitly used who first produceth the Watry substance of the Egg and then being impregnated or filled with Life and Heat she by moving upon and hovering over this moist substance produceth her own form and resemblance And herein it is that the pure immaculate Virgin Wisdom the holy Spirit of the Eternal God first performs the Office of a Mother or Female from this fruitful Womb it is that all Forms of Things are brought By his Wisdom he formed the Earth and by his Spirit he garnished the Heavens Hear what the Voice of our blessed Mother Wisdom saith of this concerning her self in the Eighth of the Proverbs begin at the 22th Verse and read to the 29th In the 21th verse When he prepared the Heavens I was there when he set a Compass on the Face of the Depth c. Now as at first the World was made by Ruach Elohim the Spirit Wind or Breath of God so it is continued by the same Power if he with-draws his Spirit and his Breath we die and come to nothing he returns with his Spirit and renews the face of all things Now I 'll sing the praise of the Eternal One I know besides Him there is none No sort of Being that can say It hath its Life another way But from this Deep Abyssal Ground The Life of all things may be found To Flow out from th' Eternal Source As Springs do from their Water-Course Springs may wander Sheep may stray The Sun be clouded at Noon-Day The Shepherd seeks the stragling Sheep 'T is not the Clouds the Sun can keep From shining forth so glorious bright As to dispel their Darksome Night Great Rivers from the Sea do flow And back into it swiftly go So our Great Alpha's Omega too Tho' we like a Bird from her Nest flew Wander about to find out Rest We must Return ere we are Blest And now I am inspir'd by Thee Blest Spirit I 'll praise the One Two Three For in th' Eternal One doth lie The All-Mysterious Trinity Oh that Men would praise the Lord for his wonderful Works to the Children of Men All Creatures ought to praise the immense Fountain of their Lives I cannot but put down here a Verse I read in Dr. Ingelo's Bentivolio We thank thee God the Father of us All And celebrate the Worlds Original This is brought to my remembrance and I am glad to receive help through the Vessel of another to quicken me in this sweet work of praising God nay I should be glad to be stirr'd up by the chirping of a pretty little Bird who in its kind sings its Creators Praise But O what cause hath Man to adore and praise the great good God after whose Image he was made in Righteousness and Holiness Gen. 1.27 So
with thee in it as with the Three Children in the fiery Furnace when thou art brought to endure as they did Elijah was able to endure the fiery Chariot having been filled with the Spirit of the Lord that pure fiery Spirit had Tinctured him throughout and made him able to endure the fire Ah my God I am now in thy Furnace and have been some time Let me not think it strange concerning the Fiery Trial as if some strange thing happened to me make me to endure the time and degree of heat thou seest best for me I would be Gold seven times refined this I know cannot be done without entering into the Furnace again and again Lord continue this Work till thou hast finished Sin and made an end of Transgression Purge me that I may bring forth more Fruit Fruits of Righteousness Fruits of Renown that there may be Plants in me of thy own Right Hand Planting that I may be ready to every good Word and Work This do thou do for me and do not forsake me A Breathing after the holy Spirit of God Spring up O Well now spring in me Let me Refreshed by thy Waters be I feel thy Holy Quickning Breath Which brings me from the Gates of Death Thy Wind blows freely thy Water 's sweet The Power of thy Flames are great Thy Breath thy Fire thy Water-Spring Is the Life the Birth of every thing Outward and Inward both do grow y thy Pure Water's Over-flow If thou with draw'st thy Quickning Breath There 's nought remains in me but Death Do thou with Fire me now baptize That I may be a whole Burnt Sacrifice And into Ashes I would turn If thou O Lord wouldst be my Vrn Glory be to the Father and to the Son by the holy Spirit now and for ever Amen Amen Some may ask me What Right hast thou to Worship before the Altar to speak or write of Divine Things Thou art not qualified with Learning and Ordination of some great learned Man I say 'T is true I am neither Prophet nor Prophets Son in this sence I am not of the Aaronical or Levitical Priesthood nor capable of it However my God hath made me a King and a Priest to him in some degree and I doubt not but in my blessed Jesus by his Spirit I may offer some acceptable Sacrifice The Sacrifice of a broken and a contrite Heart thou wilt not despise O my God My blessed and glorious Jesus was not a Priest after the Order of the Aaronical and Levitical Priesthood but after the Order of Melchizedeck who was Priest of the most high God to whom Aaron paid Tythes in the Loyns of his Father Abraham And this Melchizedeck was King of Righteousness King of Peace 't is an excellent introduction to the Priesthood to be made so within our Selves this Temper of Mind doth not only introduce but always accompany the True Priesthood who are made Priests unto God by Jesus Christ our Saviour who was made a Priest after the Order of Melchisedeck and bore a resemblance with him as he was without Father and without Mother Which words wherein Melchizedeck was a type of Christ I have not upon me to explain as it relates to our Saviour but in this sence as it respects my Self I am without Father to appoint me to the Priesthood I mean without Man to do this without Mother as any Visible Church for ought I know that will own me yet I am not very solicitous for this if I may be of the Church of the First Born whose Names are written in Heaven I would act as a Free-Denison of this City who is my True Mother I would act by that Free Spirit that Teaches and Guides her Children And it is a Promise to her that all her Children shall be Taught of God and Great shall be the Peace of her Children O my God do thou thus Guide me and Teach me that being Born of the Spirit I may be led by the Spirit and know the Truth as it is in Jesus though I am in a Wilderness full of Difficulties let me not be without a Guide if Thou leavest me a moment I Slip I Fall I find the way Strait the farther I go in it the more Strait but also Pleasant I can Truly Feelingly say Lord All thy ways are pleasantness and all thy paths are peace I would not wander about to change my way do Thou help me to make strait steps to my feet help me to Travel onward through all Difficulties having my Loyns girt my Lamp trimmed ready to meet my Lord in that City of Solemnities where I would always Praise thee always Adore thee always Love thee Thou Great God of Sabbaths for ever Some may say they fear I do not enough Value Ordianances I seem so indifferent about Ordination I say the Spirit of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets there are Babes in Christ there are also Young Men and Fathers or Elders such whose Age Long Experience in the things of God being filled with the Spirit of Wisdom Understanding and a Sound Mind makes them very Venerable such who have known him that is from the Begining who have the Spirit of the Holy God living in them who can Unfold Mysteries and Reveal Secrets such who not only Speak but by the Power of God are Enabled to Effect something in the minds of Men to convey of the same Spirit they have Received It is a Natural Maxim Every Like produceth its Like It is true in Spiritual Things the Apostles and Prophets had this Power and I doubt not but there are some have the same Qualifications now such indeed who feel themselves empty of such Power and Vertue are ready to doubt of this and positively sometimes to say these Things are Ceased we must not expect them now this apprehension of theirs must needs hinder their receiving this Great Blessing and I know no ground they have for it from Scripture our Saviour tells his People He will be with them always to the end of the World He promised the Spirit to Teach them to Guide them to Assist them to do Great and Mighty Works our Saviour no where says he will take away this Blessing again the Prophets had the Spirit in an extraordinary manner under the Dispensation of the Law they performed Wonders they had Servants and such as were called Sons of the Prophets under their Tuition whom they Instructed in the Sacred Mysteries to whom they conveyed much of the Spirit as Elijah to Elisha by casting his Mantle upon him let not the pretensions of any in our time to this who have not been real Possessors of it make us doubt the thing no more then we doubt of the Truth of Christian Religion because we see so many who in Words Profess Christ but in Works Deny him This is a certain sign of a True Prophet He is one who fears God hates Covetousness he Feeds the People with Knowledge and Understanding the
Unpremeditated THOUGHTS Of the Knowledge of GOD Whom to know Is LIFE ETERNAL WITH Some Discoveries of the Mysteries of the Creation in the Six Days Work and the Seventh Days Rest To which is added A Short Discourse concerning those Two Great Principles of Natural Philosophy Matter and Motion Humbly offered to Consideration by One of the Philadelphia Society who calls her Self IRENA London Printed and Sold by T. Sowle next Door to the Meeting-House in White-Hart-Court in Gracious-Street and at the Bible in Leaden Hall-Street 1697. TO THE Most Illustrious And Excellent BENTIVOLIO My Unknown Friend Illustrious Stranger PArdon my giving You a Name since You have not been pleased to make Your Self known to me by any Pardon my not giving You a Name and Titles which might better suit Your High Quality Possibly I might not see thorow Your Disguise However suffer me Great SIR to make Use of this Ignorance to cover my not knowing how to converse with a Person so much Above me I take the Opportunity of Your Vailing Your Self to Approach You As we can better behold the Sun when it Vails it Self than when it breaks through the Clouds Whatever might a little hide Your Greatness no Outward Cloathing could hinder me from seeing the Excellencies of Your Mind The Idea I received of that Encouraged me to pay the small Homage of Presenting these Papers The Mixture that is of mine in them shews the Darkness and Barrenness of my Mind and greatly needs Your Charity and Humility to cover its Imperfection What there is in them worthy Your Observation is not mine but as it is Freely Given and Passively Received If I have any sight at all I tasted a little of the Honey of the Heavenly Canaan and my Eyes are Enlightened My blind Eyes have been Anointed with Eye-Salve and I see tho' it be but little Men as Trees Excellent SIR Accept this small Tribute Accept it as an Expression of Gratitude for the most High and Noble Favours Receive it as the Greatest Act of Charity and Humility You can Exercise especially if You please to pardon my calling You my Friend who am not Worthy to be The Meanest of Your Servants IRENA THE EPISTLE TO THE Reader I Have no Great Man to present these few Sheets to whose Name might make them pass into the World with more Grandeur It may be with some this might gain a little Esteem or Applause But this I seek not What is mine in this Paper is not worth Presenting to any Body What is from GOD it is most fit I should offer up to Him with my Self Which I do Freely Wholly and Heartily Receive from me Lord the All that Thou hast given me which I humbly prostrate at Thy Sacred Feet With a Thank-Offering to Him that Lives and Reigns for ever and for ever Reader Thou knowest not who I am And if thou didst know my Outward Person thou wouldst know a poor vile contemptible sinful Creature What Treasure I have is in an Earthen Vessel that the Power may be known to be of God If thou receivest any Teaching in the Reading this Paper if thou feelest any Quickning give GOD all the Glory who alone is Worthy Dear Reader I am Thine in our Blessed and Glorious JESUS Unpremeditated THOUGHTS Of the Knowledge of GOD. IT is the Duty of all Mankind to know GOD the blessed Creator and Former of all things and there is in Man in his Creation and Constitution a Power innate or inherent of knowing GOD and therefore the very Heathens are left without excuse if they know Him not For the holy Apostle St. Paul exhorting them to feel after him if haply they might find him tells them He is not far from us for in him we live move and have our being So that this is the first and most universal Way that God hath vouchsaft Mankind whereby to know him this Principle of Light implanted by God in his Nature And doubtless the Heathen by turning into this Light do find it increase and they being faithful to it do receive a further Enlightning as appears by several instances we have of such as have attained to great Knowledge of God of Themselves and of the Nature of Things My scanty Reading affords me the knowledge oâ— but few of these Excellent Persons but those I have a little knowledge of I very much admire as that Excellently Divine tho' Heathen Philosopheâ— Hermes Trismegistus who had so early a Knowledge of God as before the World was blest with our Divinely Inspired Moses his Writings the Excellent Hermes had a profound Knowledge of God and Nature as who reads his Book turning in to the same Light will find I shall only instance in what he saith of holy Stilness and Silence a thing which I fear many Christians are so unacquainted with that they hardly know there is such a thing from their own Experience tho' certainly it is the true ground of all Spiritual Activity Another that occurs to my thoughts is the famed Aristotle who certainly knew much of God and Universal Nature tho' some good and ingenious Men will hardly allow him any great Character But to shew their Skill in arguing or sometimes for want of understanding the deep Philosophy of the Ancients they impose their own imagination as the sence of such a Philosopher which it may be was foreign from his thoughts and this fancy of their own they ridicule and bring the Unthinking World into an ill Opinion of the Author and his Writings without just ground As some Persons Sir Charles Woolsley and others writing against Atheism do mention Aristotle's saying the World is Eternal as a gross piece of Atheism indeed to say it is Eternal in the sence they make Aristotle speak is irreligious and irrational to say the World is Eternal in this mutable state of Causes and Effects Generation and Corruption but certainly the wise Antients had a more deep sight than this they saw the World had a Divine Eternal Original in God and this and many more excellent Truths they saw more clearly than many of us who have the Happiness to be born in the Christian World and to have the second and more excellent way of knowing God by the Revelation he hath made of himself in his written Word We can never be enough thankful for the sacred Writ that holy Men of old spake as they were inspired by the Spirit of God and instructed us in the knowledge of the Name Nature Attributes of God in the mystery of the Creation Production or Birth of the World in Genesis Chapter 1. and many other places of Scripture The blessed Apostle St. Paul saith quoting the Heathen Poets We are his Ofspring the Holy Scriptures do also instruct us in the knowledge of Gods Providence and Government of the World in many Ages and Generations with the Admirable Connexion Beauty and Harmony of his Works and Ways of Providence an account of which the Scripture is full of
Number when we come to know in our own Souls the sweet Rest to rest from our Labours as God did from his when we die in the Lord and rest from our Labours and our Works do follow us He that can understand let him understand This 30th of July the sweet Teachings abide upon me and I must follow my Guide who now shews me something of the Six Days work in opening the First Chapter of Genesis to me thus In the beginning In principio in the beginning or first Manifestation of this Principle Elohim the Mighty God of Power Created made out of Nothing some say I know not what Nothing their Imaginations frame to them but I am sure when about Seventeen or Eighteen years of Age I look'd into their Expositions Annotations Commentaries all I could find no other account was given but made out of Nothing which left me not at all satisfied but the Lord is pleased to open to me one Scripture by another The things that are made are not made of things that do appear they are made of Nothing that does appear but of Something that doth not appear viz. of that which is invisible In the beginning God made created produced the Heavens and the Earth the substance of which both were formed but the Earth was then without Form and Darkness was upon the Face of the Deep Some represent this Chaos methinks but oddly calling it rude Chaos where all things lay they say confused I will not cavil about Words but this gives a strange Representation of this Principle out of which such a beautiful and orderly World was produced Now to me this very Chaos hath a Beauty in it I cannot but say O beautiful Darkness O holy Night The Mother of all things In this dark Chariot doth the Omnipotent Creator the Great Jehovah ride forth magnificently and when the Vail was drawn away the Light appear'd And God said Let there be Light and there was Light This Light was before hid in the Darkness till it it was manifested at the Command of God the Light was mingled with the Darkness in the Chaos and innumerable other seeming Contrarieties but not confused none of God's Creatures can be so for God is a God of Order not of Confusion his Works are performed with the swift motion agility powerful operation of a most glorious Spirit and also as a wise Architect with order weight and sure proportionates all things and made the lower Orders of things answer to their Patterns in the Heavenly A man doth not make any thing but what hath some sort of spiritual existence in his Mind before it can be produc'd into Out-working with his hands Infinitely transcendently more hath all things substantially really a being in the Eternal Idea's in the Divine Mind Man hath power over the Creatures to change and alter the Substance but he hath not power to make the substance not the least part of it but God produceth the substance form and all from himself The Light of this Creation is a Reflexion of the Supercelestial Light And God saw the Light that it was good and God divided the Light from the Darkness and God called the Light Day and the Darkness he called Night and the Evening and the Morning were the first Day When the Light was separated from the Darkness and brought forth into a distinct Existence this was the end of the First Day 's Work There is a Philosophical Work which is an Excellent Figure of this First Days Work When an enlightned Man a wise Man takes some part of the Creation of the Substance or Matter and causeth it to pass into Death and Putrifaction it comes to be like the Chaos of which it was once a part it goes into a state of Darkness and Blackness but the wise Man is not frighted at this sight but knows this doth necessarily precede the Light and that it doth include the Light and if he continues his Operation he knows he shall certainly see a bright white Light appear and there will be a separation between this Light and Darkness which is an end of his first Days Work This also is a Figure of the New Creation which God works in bringing Man to himself out of the fallen state which is done by bringing Man to a state of Dying he must be brought to a state of Contrition Crucifixion a spiritual Dying with Christ Dying to Sin Dying to Self now this is a state of Darkness and of the Shadow of Death indeed But the Spirit of God moves upon these dark Waters upon this Deep and causeth the Light to appear he illuminates the Man causeth the Light to shine out of Obsecurity for this Light is in the Darkness though the Darkness comprehendeth it not Now this Enlightning this separation of the Light from the Darkness is the First Day 's Work of the Spirit of God in the Minds of Men. Thus there is an Excellent Agreement and Harmony in all the Works and Ways of God Let none think it strange that I make use of Natural and Artificial things to explain Divine Our Lord Jesus made use not only of Natural Productions but of Artificial Employments as Metaphors he mentions the Sower of Seed the Vine-Dresser the Woman's hiding her Leaven in three Measures of Meal till all is leavened This last Parable hath an excellent Significancy in it of things Divine Natural and Philosophical or Artificial but it is now as it was then to some it is given to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom to others it is not given But there are some now who think so high of themselves that it is below them to look into the Creatures notwithstanding the Great and Mighty Jehovah did condescend to make them and doth preserve them every moment and takes such care that the meanest of them falls not to the ground without the Will of our heavenly Father I am now to say something of the Second Day 's Work of Creation And God said Let there be a Firmament in the midst of the Waters and let it divide the Waters from the Waters and God made the Firmament and divided the Waters which were under the Firmament from the Waters which were above the Firmament and it was so and God called the Firmament Heaven And the Evening and the Morning were the Second Day After the Light was separated from the Darkness in the First Day 's Work the Second Day the Light was Rarified and Expanded it was extended or spread forth to a wonderful Circumference and so it became the Firmament which God called Heaven It is said The Lord stretched out the Heavens as a Curtain as a Tent to dwell in Thus as a wise Builder a curious Architect the Lord covers the top of the Structure before he finisheth the curious In works The Chaos was a Watry Substance an Unctuous Humidity the Principle of the Water was predominant therefore the Scripture here calls it Water saying The Spirit of God
when old things shall pass away and all things become new And one admirable part of this Work is the bringing forth the New Heaven in us the New Firmament wherein is Light Serenity Calmness the Fire being tempered with the meek Waters of Quietness so that the wrathful property of the Fire is changed into a sweet peaceful Light but this Light Centre cannot be opened in us but by our blessed JESUS who hath the Key of David who opens and no Man shuts and shuts and no Man opens O! 't is our blessed JESUS who opens his own Light in us by his Spirit he causeth his glorious Light to shine out of the Darkness and to arise and to enlarge it self till our whole Body is full of Light There is a certain sign given to know whether the whole Body is full of Light If thy Eye is single our dear Lord tells us our whole Body is full of Light The single Eye is when we fix our Eye upon the Light on the Good first in God himself and in all the Creatures where it is scattered up and down but all from the same Root Now God himself beholds the Evil and the Good but he dwells in the Light So tho' we may see the Evil we must shut our Eye to it and open it to the Good thus stedfastly beholding the Light we shall be transformed into its Likeness However every thing is beautiful in its Season The Evening as well as the Morning is the Second Day And God said again Let the Waters under the Heaven be gathered together into one place and let the dry Land appear and it was so Then God said Let the Earth bring forth the Bud of the Herb that seedeth Seed the fruitful Tree that beareth Fruit c. and it was so And God saw that it was good And the Evening and the Morning were the Third Day In this Third Day 's Work there was a gathering together of vast quantities of Waters that made the Seas those mighty Oceans where the Wonders of God are seen by those who go down into the Deep in Ships Surely the Waters were at first the greatest part of this Globe of the lower World They yet remain very great tho' more Ground hath been gain'd since the first Creation as is plain in many parts of the World There remains in the Sea such a quantity of the Oleous Light or fiery part of the Chaos as ripens them and sometimes gains advantage and a little dries them up and lessens their Quantity This Substance when it is agirated makes the Sea boil like a Pot it often appears like Fire And who know the Nature of Salt especially Sea-Salt will know that this is so and they will know the meaning of that word Every Sacrifice shall be seasoned with Fire and salted with Salt which are equivalent terms Now in the separation of the Elements when the Light was carried upwards and much Water with it and the Waters were gathered together in this Globe the dry Land appeared the Light and Waters being separated from it the Earth appear'd but a Caput Mortuum a Dead Earth till the Prolifick Virtue was call'd forth by the Word of God and then it appeared that Heaven had not left the Earth without first imprinting alovely Image upon it There was left in it so much Life and Heat as quickned it to bring forth innumerable Vegetable Substances of various Size Shape Colour Fruits and Herbs and Flowers with great Variety of Taste and Fragrancy of Smell all to shew forth the Bounty and Magnificence of our Great Creator How freely did the Teeming Earth in this Virgin-state of Purity bring forth the various beautiful Forms of Vegetable Substances before it was Clogg'd and Burthen'd with the Curse The Earth we tread on as Contemptible as we are apt to think of it notwithstanding the Disadvantage it hath by the Fall of Man which brought the Curse upon it there is that Lustre Beauty Excellency in it that if the same Spirit that made it please to open our Eyes to see we shall behold with wonder Sure such Wisdom is worth our seeking and praying for which we have great Enconragement to do when we read of the great Wisdom of Solomon who knew the Nature of all Vegetables from the Tall Cedar to the Low but Sweet Hyssop The residue of the Spirit is with the Lord but for these things he will be sought unto and they that seek shall find a measure of Wisdom if not so great But we must dig deep for it as for hid Treasures and be thankful for a little It is a great blessing to have the Scriptures and any degree of the Spirit of God to open them to us in shewing to us the Wonders of God in the Creatures particularly in the gathering together of the Waters and setting bounds to their proud Waves saying Hither to and no further in causing the dry Land to appear and at the Command of God to appear with an admirable Verdure a beautiful Cloathing which was the end of the Third Day 's Work And the Evening and the Morning were the Third Day The Philosopher's Third Day 's Work is a Separation of the Elements that his Dry Ground appears with a Vegetative Life in it which if he pleases will spring up in his Glass There is in his Ground Beautiful Colours Pleasant Scents and his Earth while in this state may not be Unprofitable or Unfruitful but may be made to bring forth Increase in not Unprofitable Fruits nor is his Verdure unpleasant to behold This is a short Account of the Philosopher's Third Day 's Work A better Hand may supply the shortness and imperfection of it The Third Day 's Work as it is wrought Internally in bringing forth the Fruits of the Spirit is excellently described in the Scripture There is the good Ground spoken of that brings forth Fruit abundantly some fifty some sixty and some an hundred fold It is a blessed thing to have the good Ground in us the Ground that stands out of Dying out of Repentance tho' it was once covered with the Waters it is not now laying again this Foundation of Repentance but they go on to bring forth other good Fruits that they may be rooted and grounded in Love that they may take Root downwards and bring forth Fruit upwards Fruits of Righteousness Fruits of Renown that they may be as Trees planted by the Rivers of Waters bringing forth Fruit in due season How short are many Christians of this Work How then shall we attain to the Seventh Day the Sabbath of Rest However the Work of this Day is very good And the Evening and the Morning is the Third Day Now the Fourth Day 's Admirable Brightness appears before me with such Splendor as is ready to dazle my weak sight wonderful Brightness hinders our sight as much almost as Darkness O glorious Sun of Righteousness arise in my Soul Enlighten my Darkness Let the Shadows flee
heavy laden Soul to feel something of it in himself when we die in the Lord and rest from our Labours When we die into the Lord out of all things besides we shall know what it is to Rest and to rejoyce with Joy unspeakable and glorious To rest from our Labours and to have our Works follow us this is not a working for Life by Legal Performances it is rather a working from a Principle of Life where the Works follow and go not before the Life But there is something more than this there is a State of Rest and Joy wherein the Works of the Spirit that are wrought in us when the Lord works in us to Will and to Do follow us and are set before us to cause in us Joy and Rejoycing To look back upon our own Works which are performed from a Legal Selfish Princiciple causeth no true Joy nor Rest but rather lifting up in Pride and Self-will But in the true Work of the Spirit tho' we may go forth weeping bearing precious seed we shall return rejoycing bringing our Sheaves with us These Fruits of the Spirit Love Joy Peace follow such a Soul into the Rest and sweet Repose it attains here and also into the Rest which remains for the People of God Lord Let me know such a lasting permanent sixt Rest as may not have Evening nor Morning but may be a Day without a Cloud that I may have thy Light shining in me brighter and brighter to the perfect Day when thou wilt be my Light for ever The Wise Men whom God himself hath Enlightned are the only Wise Men and the most Happy having the inward Repose which the World cannot give nor take away Wisdom enables them to work and when their Work is come to the Seventh Day of Perfection they rest from their Labours their Work which was bulky and laborious comes to be easily portable pleasant Employment which they account rather Rest than Labour and the effects of their Works and the Work it self follows them where-ever they go and so mighty Works shew forth themselves in them as in their glorious Lord and Master who promised that the Works that he did they should do also Now these Works shew forth themselves in them more in their Patience Stillness and Rest than in all their busie Working 'T is but little Man hath to do in inward or outward Working when he hath committed himself and all his ways to the Lord. Now it is a blessed thing to feel any beginnings of this sweet Day this holy happy state of Rest within tho' it may not be brought forth thro' the whole Person But the Lord is the Rock and his Work is perfect He will perfect what concerns those that trust in him Wait patiently on the Lord O my Soul for he will give thee Rest for the Days wherein he hath afflicted thee O that the Peace of God that passeth all Vnderstanding may guard my Heart and Mind that no Storm nor Tempest may break in that I could retire into my strong Hold as a Prisoner of Hope waiting for the Redemption of my Body and not mine only but of the whole groaning Creation that the Year of Jubilee may be known to them when there shall be proclaimed Liberty for the Captives that the Creation may be brought forth into the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God O happy time when Jerusalem shall become the Praise of the whole Earth when the Lord shall set his King upon the holy Hill of Sion when our King shall be exalted by and upon a People who are as a barren Mountain nothing in themselves that so our King and our God the blessed JESUS may Reign to whom all Power in Heaven and Earth is given and of whose Dominion there is no End To whom be Glory and Honour and Blessing and Praise for ever and for ever Amen Hallelujah Great Lord of Lords and King of Kings Thou mak'st my dry and thirsty Earth to sing And in the Desart causeth a New Spring Awake my Soul and sing Jehovah's Praise Who giveth Life and from the Dead doth raise Mercy and Goodness are in all his Ways Hymns IN lowly Meekness I will dwell The Lilly of the Vale is sweet Ofttimes the loftiest Cedars fall And then alas their fall is great The Sp'rit that in the Myrtles moved Is a pure breath of holy Air Sometimes these Shrubs are visited Whilst higher Trees neglected are Come my Beloved o're Mountain top Come skipping o're the highest Hill Let thy Winds on my Garden blow Do thou with sweets my Spices fill When thou bright Sun vouchsaf'st to shine On my Beloved Sharon Rose It hath its sweetness all from thee And with thee takes a sweet Repose It opens as the Morning fair When thou bright Sun art pleas'd to appear Then shuts up all its hidden store Till thy Sight does again draw near Thus I 'm a Garden clos'd to all A Fountain seal'd to all but thee Lest little Foxes should spoil my Vine The tender Grape planted by thee And lest the Silver-running Stream That is pure as it comes from thee Should mingle with the muddy Earth Partake of its impurity Hymns OH how shall I the praises sing Of our great God and glorious King Vnless his Spirit doth indite What I should sing what I should write His Spirit doth Secrets Reveal He opens the Mystick seventh Seal The seventh Seal the seventh Thunder Opens in me a sacred Wonder He leads me to the Centre deep Where Spirits dark their Prison keep Yet in this doleful Night does dwell A Light that Conquers Death and Hell For from the dark and hidden Ground The Light arising may be found I have seen a darksome gloomy shade Aweful and Majestick made But at Sun-rising with his light Hath been more pleasing to the sight With the sweet and lovely Green Guilded with the Sun between So have I seen a Picture fair Made by Artists Hand more rare When from darkest shades I see The Light arising to a degree Most perfect pleasing and most sweet Made from Variety so great So have I heard a pleasing sound Arising from deep Gamuts ground But Oh my spirits how they fail When I in this vast Ocean sail Now I 've a deep and hidden sense From the Centre to the Circumference Most holy Spirit keep me still I may be guided by thy will Oh how can I describe the fall My self so great a Criminal Darker than night darker than shade Or all things else that have been made More sad than Musicks deepest ground I must my Lamentation sound And from this doleful dismal Cry I would call all the standers by To see this sad and tragiâ—k sight Which may the hardest Spirits fright Here you may see a Lamb lye slain With the deepest sharpest pain There you see Spirits Captive led Sure they are free amongst the dead Here are Spirits led in Chains Vnder cruel torturing pains There lye dry and ghastly Bones With hearts more
moved upon the face of the Waters Fire and Water are the two most substantial Principles Earth and Air are produced from them Water is the Root and Beginning Fire the Perfection and End of all things The Unctuousness Oyliness of the Chaos produc'd the Light or rather was the Light and Fire the Water was in this beginning of things the greatest quantity till the Fire gets the Predominancy the Firmament the Light and Heat divided the Waters from the Waters thus a vast quantity of Waters was most wisely placed part of it below the Fire that its piercing substance might not with its fiery heat penetrate the Earth too swiftly with its quick motion till the Earth was brought more towards a state of Perfection the Firmament was placed between the Waters to Concoct and Ripen them and to bring their Watry into a Fiery Substance the Oleous Quality of the Chaos was Fire but when it was expanded into the Firmament it much lost its force and became more properly Light and Heat than Fire as it is now placed so that we here see the meaning of that word The Voice of the Lord divideth the Flames of Fire the most compact Body of Fire is divided till it comes to be hardly any longer Fire Bodies are divisible Spirits not the nearer any Body is to Spirit the more hard to have its parts divided Fire is that wonderful Substance I must not I dare not at this time say any more of the Nature of it But notwithstanding the Fire is brought into this peaceful Temperature in the making the Firmament yet it retains so much the Nature of Fire that if it is agitated and contracted it becomes Fire again as we see by a common Experiment it is done by the Burning-Glass But it is made out Excellently and Clearly by the account we have of the Last Great Conflagration in the Scriptures it is said The Element shall melt with fervent heat and that it shall be wrapped up like a Scroul which passage explains the former it s being wrapped up contracted and brought into a narrower compass will so increase the intense heat that the Element shall melt and the Earth and all things in it shall be burnt up And thus it is shewed mo the Conflagration burning the Earth by Fire shall in some respects resemble the Deluge by Water then the Windows of Heaven were opened and the Fountains of the great Deeps were broken up So in the Dispensation of Fire the Element shall perform its Office of Burning as hath been a little before described also the imprisoned Fires in the Powels of the Earth shall be set at liberty their Deep shall be broken up that they may meet their beloved upper Flames to which they always tend And it appears to me that as the World grows nearer its period nearer this Dispensation of Fire the Central Fires do more break their Prisons make their way out of the Earth gain Victory over the Waters under the Earth and sometimes above the Surface of the Earth as is seen by Vesuvius Aetna and other Burnings that in our time have wonderfully issued forth and shewed their Conquest over the Water by sad Effects And Earthquakes may be sometimes caused by the strife of Fire and Water which when Fire gets the predominancy causes the Earth to open for we commonly see the excess of Driness makes the Earth chap and gape Moisture makes it more continuous or clinging together Now I cannot but return with Admiration to behold the Beauty and Wisdom of this Second Day 's Work and say t It was very good And the Evening and the Morning was the Second Day O Admirable Order of things How am I ravished with the sight Who can enter into the deep of this one Sentence The Evening and the Morning was the Second Day According to my scanty measure I shall describe the Philosophers Second Day 's Work It is not to be wondred if I do it not so exactly as some others who have more of the Spirit of Wisdom and are Possessors of her Treasures while I profess to be only a Seeker and Lover It appears to me that the Philosophers Firmament is spread out like a Molten Looking-Glass and to me none but a wise Man can well understand this Passage he hath seen his Light arise out of the Darkness and expatiate it self to the filling his Recipient how large soever it be his Firmament is Light hath the Nature of Fire in it which is encompassed with Water above and underneath the Water is predominant in the beginning of his Work is the greatest quantity that he is ready to call it Superfluous Humidity but as his Work grows towards a state of Perfection the Fire prevails it becomes a Child of the Fire lives in the Fire feeds on the Fire I mean not Devouring Fire this appears not to be in it unless it is agitated and stirred up by too violent motion But Light or Fire so mingled by gentle procedure with the Water that it partakes of the Meek Peaceful Nature of the Water and gives forth so much of its own permanent compact Substance that they become one excellently qualified Essence Fire being in this state of Perfection predominant but such a Fire as is before described that doth not destroy but exalt the Substance to a more fix'd pure permanent state I say something of this Work as it is at the conclusion in this Second Day 's Work because Light and Heat whereof the Firmament consists are powerful Agents to begin and end the Work withal But the spreading forth the Light into a Beautiful Mirror is the end of his Second Day 's Work Now there is an admirable Teaching in this it is a Figure of the Work of the Spirit of God in illuminating the Minds of Men which is a Translating them out of the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of the dear Son of God This is done in some measure in the beginning in the first Day 's Work but is greatly increased in the Second till we are brought into his Marvellous Light When the Light Center is open in us which was shut and vailed in the Fall it is a blessed thing but when it spreads it self that the Understanding is enlightened in the Knowledge of God of himself and in some degree of the Creation round about him he comes again to be but a little lower than the Angels who are Intelligences who are Fire He maketh his Angels Spirits and those Ministers of his Flames of Fire Nay Man in his first Creation was an Excellently Noble Creature he was the Epitomy of the whole World he was the Little World in which the Great was comprised he had the Elements and all Creatures within himself We may well say We are fearfully and wonderfully made with holy David who had his Eyes opened to see his own Excellent Make. But if the first Creation was glorious how much more is the Second the New Creation in Man