multitude of thoughts do arise in thee and troops thereof attend thee which are in themselves sinful yet if thou joyn not with them in thy mind will and understanding they are not thy thoughts neither shall the evil thereof be imputed unto thee if thou lovest the light and keepest thy mind joyned to the Spirit of God or appearance of Christ in thee that discovereth all temptations unto thee in the very thought and first appearance of them then thou art helping the Lord against the mighty being joyned unto him art become one with him in thy mind and spirit though in thy members there is a law a power that wars against thee and as thou abidest with the Lord waiting upon him even as the eye of a Maid waits upon the hand of her Mistress he will save and deliver thee and subdue all thy enemies even those of thy own house which are the greatest enemies Though temptations may and will attend thee yet it is no sin to be tempted It is no sin to be tempted though with inward temptations neither art thou to account thy self nor to be accounted a sinner because sin and vain thoughts may present themselves in thee in thy warfare estate yet thou mayest say as Paul did It is no more I but sin that dwelleth in me and that in me that is in my stesh dwells no good thing which flesh thou art now in the way to know withers as the grass Flesh and sin that dwells in it may be destroved and the earthen vessel cleansed and the creature delivered from bondage even on this side the grave and the glory of it become as the saded flower of the field and sin that dwelleth therein destroyed and the creature of Gods making preserved the earthen vessel that holds the heavenly treasure sanctified and saved and delivered from the yoak of bondage the whole Creation of God groans under And this thou shalt certainly arrive at as thou keepest thy eye upon thy Saviour thy light thy way thy Captain whom thou wilt see go before thee conquering and to conquer till all his and thy enemies are subdued brought under and destroyed and thou made as a King as a Priest to God * Lest thou shouldst stumble at those sayings consider that John was the greatest Prophet that was born of a woman yet the least in the Kingdom was greater than he meeker than Moses stronger than Sampson wiser than Solomon and more patient than Job as thy elder brother was and as the Primitive Christians were who could say as he is so are we in this present world pure as he is pure holy as he is holy righteous as he is righteous harmless and innocent as he was and in all resigned up unto the will of God not my will said the second Adam but thine though his will was as innocent and harmless as the first Adams was before the fall and did excel when thou comest up hither thou wilt understand and receive what I say till then it will be as a mystery and hard saying to thee And in thy way take heed of thinking willing and running that obtains not the prize stand still and see the salvation of God mind above all the arm of his power in thee which is able to suppress thy thoughts mortifie thy will stop thy running and give thee perfect strength to resist the Devil and make him flee and to furnish thee to every good word and work and give thee dominion over thy own spirit whose property is to be swift in thoughts eager in desire and restless in the accomplishment thereof Now it is written he that hath rule over his own spirit is stronger than he that rules a City Consider the simily and in the light try and compare thy self therewith and thou wilt find the truth thereof and he that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a City broken down and without walls when the righteous bears rule the land rejoyceth but when the wicked the land mourneth These things are infallibly true while the usurper keeps the throne the Prince of Peace and his peaceable government is not known Tribulation and anguish comes upon every soul of man that doth evil No opinion nor profession of Religion c. where evil thoughts and evil doings stands avails any thing that thinketh and imagineth evil and that yields his members servants to unrighteousness let his opinion profession and talk of Religion be what it will he that commits sin is of the Devil and without returning from it a finishing or ending of it and righteousness set up in the room thereof will with the Devil have the wages and reward of the same and possess the fruit of their own thoughts and doings Now it is a heavenly estate to live under the government of Christ to know and experience him swaying the Scepter in the heart and established in the throne thereof but this none comes to enjoy till they have first known him to sit as a Refiner with fire and as a Fuller with soap and as a Spirit of judgment and burning and as the stronger man to dispossess the strong man spoil all his goods sweep and cleanse the house and to furnish it again with heavenly goods with heavenly thoughts with heavenly desires and meditations and all things else that becomes the house of the Lord Holiness to the Lord was written or engraven upon the Crown and Plate of Gold and all the furniture of the outward Temple was sanctified of which this is the anti-tipe or substance as he that enjoys it well knows And now it is the duty of a Christian to watch in the light against evil thoughts and to use the axe of God which is laid to the root of them that their springing again may be hindered and the end of them prevented so also it is the duty of every one when good thoughts and desires springs in the room thereof to cherish them to joyn with them and to keep their eye unto the Lord that begat them or raised them up in the heart and so they may be called Gods thoughts being of his own bringing forth of his own begetting being thoughts of purity thoughts of peace and righteousness thoughts of holiness and joy in the inward man which thoughts thou of thy self cannot think Good thoughts are of Gods own be getting and very comfortable to a Christian and are the fruit and effect of keeping and obeying the Law of God within the heart Rom. 2.14 15 these are comfortable thoughts justifying and excusing thoughts thoughts that will stand approved in the light and the end and tendency of them is good even as pleasant fruit to the soul so that such can say as David once did How precious are thy thoughts unto me O Grd how great is the sum of them if I should count them they are more in number than the sand when I awake I am still with thee As thot lovest the
Innocency had and hath power and wisdom from God to prevent if he abide in it and keep in his watch-tower the light and strength of God which is as near him as the temptation can be and sufficient to preserve him and where this work is neglected men yea holy men fall and sin after the similitude of Adam's Trangression and are beguiled as the Serpent did Eve drawn out of Innocency and a sinless estate after they have attained unto it therefore let none be high-minded but fear and take the second Adam for example who when he was tempted did not hunger or desire after the things presented though very spacious in appearance and accompanied with very large promises even as the first Adam had but 't is written while the temptation lasted he eat nothing he let nothing in gave no place to selfish thoughts and enticements of the enemy so when the temptation was over Angels ministred unto him Let this be the example of all the Children of Light and as they do thereafter the powerful salvation of God shall surround them and neither heights nor depths Angels Principalities nor Powers things presen or things to come shall be able to separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus This is as a word by the way Now evil thoughts and * They are as the wings of the great red Dragon who troubles Heaven Earth Angels and Men. imaginations are of a multiplying nature and do mainly increase and take root in the generality of mankind who through evil works are estranged from the life of God remaining a degenerate plant sprang from the seed of the evil doer and dwells and labours in that ground which God hath cursed and knows not the seed of the Woman to bruise the Serpents head and to redeem and preserve him from following and obeying his own thoughts and imaginations which are evil and that continually And indeed in that state can be no otherwise whether they lead into self-sinning or self-righteousness both are an abomination to the Lord and destructive to the well-being of mankind both temporal and eternal for all the wickedness that hath been brought forth and acted in the world since the beginning began or appeared first in the thought and the thought being cherished and joyned to by the mind will and understanding it increased and increaseth into words and actions That which is clean cannot proceed from that which is unclean the heart of mankind in the fall is universally corrupted and desperate wicked and as hath been said the thoughts and imaginations thereof are evil and that continually And before it can be otherwise there is an absolute necessity that every particular man and woman must know and experience for and in themselves their hearts cleansed purged and purified and created anew the ground must be made good before the seed the heavenly plant can grow increase and flourish therein before good thoughts heavenly thoughts and meditations can arise spring and remain therein And when this estate is known witnessed and enjoyed then to abide with him dwell and walk with him who hath wrought these mighty things in thee and for thee and in his wisdom and power to dress and keep the Garden the Heart with all diligence that that which would defile enter not again creep in again as it did in the beginning which is possible Therefore what the Spirit of God put man upon in the beginning when he was a noble plant in Eden Man was to dress and keep the Garden before Transgression entred and when he comes to know sin and transgression finished or restoration into Innocency again he must be exercised in the same work wholly a right Seed viz. to dress and keep the Garden so the Spirit of God now in this age saith to the Disciples thereof Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation take heed lest as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty so your minds should be corrupted from the simplieity that is in Christ Now this I testifie from certain knowledge that God hath ordained means whereby mankind whose heart is so corrupted that nothing that is good proceeds out of it neither any thing that is heavenly and of God springs up in it that can live a moment being so foul and so dark even like a foul dark piece of earth outwardly on which the Sun never shines nor the rain falls that man in this miserable state may come to know and experienye his foul heart cleansed purged and sanctified as the Christians in the Primitive times did Though mankind may be in a state like unto dry bones scattered in a Valley without marrow and life yet such may come to unit eagain and finews and flesh to come upon them and to receive the breath of life and to know God also whose work it is who works marvellous things in the Earth and in the Heavens as those who go down into the deeps behold Such were some of you but now are you washed cleansed and sanctified c. the fallow ground may be plowed up and bear seed and the wilderness may become a fruitful field and streams may break forth in the desare and the desart may come to rejoyce and to blossom as a Rose crooked things may be made streight and rough places smooth great heavy dark high Mountains may be brought down and removed yea melted at the presence of God and the low valleys may be ezalted yea the wilderness may become like Eden and the desart like the garden of the Lord. All these mighty works and wonders hath the Lord wrought in this age in and for a remnant who are come to the fulfilling of the Prophesies are living witnesses of the same and do in his Holy Spirit and Power proclaim that the love and mercy of God towards lost man is universal and that his hand is stretched * Fallen man cannot help himself therefore the eye of God pittieth him and his hand is stretched out to help him he is only required to lay hold and depend upon the same and it will bring falvation to his house forth to help him out of the snare pit and deep dark dungeon wherein he is fallen out of which he cannot by all his strength wisdom and invention help himself and so set him at liberty that he may run the ways of his Commandments with delight and that he may come again to stand upright as God made man in the beginning and lay aside all his thoughts and inventions wherein he corrupted himself and to bring him into such a state and condition that he may be able to do all things that are good to think good thoughts speak good words and do good works and to eschew and avoid the contrary this to know and be able to do is the one thing needful wihtout which all men are miserable let their knowledge wildom and profession of Religion Opinion and Invention be what it will
rejoycing as poor yet making many rich as having nothing yet possessing all things having learnt to be content in all estates and conditions Content the pleasant companion for a Christian knowing how to suffer want and how to abound every where and in all things c. And where there is true content there is no want no poverty no sorrow but what is turned into plenty riches and rejoycing In sum the true Christian hath found the stone of the wise men or the universal tincture or medicine which cureth all inward diseases of the soul mind and spirit The wonderful riches vertue power and operation of the precious pearl none knows but he that hath it makes him sound and clean every whit works mighty wonders for him makes him more precious than Gold yea than fine Gold makes him rejoyce in sorrow sing in the stocks makes a Dangeon a Palace Bonds and Chains liberty makes Poverty Riches turns loss into gain darkness into light before him these and many more are the vertues and powerful operations of the precious Pearl the white Stone the elect and precious Stone the chief corner-stone which the wise Master-builders set at naught and stumble at and will not use in their Building but to the Christian indeed he is precious he is his foundation corner and top-stone also and as a treasure better than mountains of Gold and as a Rock out of which issueth the water of Life that makes the River of Pleasure that never ceaseth running at the right hand of God these things are known and enjoyed by the true Christian as he arrives at the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus and all that are but travellers therein taste of the same in the way thereto but the bare professor or formalist or titular Christian knows nothing hereof for The life riches and enjoyment of a Christion is inward and hidden his life is hid with Christ in God none knoweth it but he that hath it his conversation is with God in Heaven and his treasure is laid up where he walks and dwells and where he sits in heavenly places with his Saviour Christ Jesus who is made unto him wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption and not only so but he is come to see what is the fellowship of the Mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God he is come to know the Lord one and his name one to the one Body one Spirit one Hope one Faith one Baptism one Way one Truth one Life one God and Father of all who is above all through all and in all This is the blessed end of all the appearances manifestations and dispensations under all the variety of names and various workings of the one eternal God towards mankind ever since the fall mentioned throughout the Holy Scriptures and witnessed to by the true Christian who really enjoys the end of Paul's bowing his knees * Not to Jesus the Son of Abraham David and Mary Saint or Angel but to God the Father all worship honour and glory is to be given through Jesus Christ c. or prayer unto the Father of his Lord his Jesus and his Christ of whom the whole Family in Heaven and Earth is named Ephes 3. Now when the true Christian hath travelled through multiplicity into unity through the various dispensations operations and workings of the Spirit of God before the Law under the Law through the Law to the Prophets and to the ministration of John and so to Jesus the Son of Abraham David and Mary and hath * The only Pilgrimage of a Christian all other Pilgrimages to places Tombs and Reliques are vain and fruitless followed him from the Manger to the Cross and from thence to the Grave and know a being dead and buried with him and a rising with him and not only seeking those things that are above but hath found them having known and experienced Christ in all his Offices as the great Ordinance †These things are not only to be read professed and talked of but experimentally known of God as a Mediator Reconciler Intercessor maker of peace healer of the wound and maker up of the breach the first Adam made as a quickening Spirit and Lord from Heaven as a King Priest and Prophet as a Saviour Sanctifier and Redeemer as a Purifier and maker an end of sin and bringer in of everlasting Righteousness and as a High-Priest to present to God without spot or wrinkle or any such thing when he is thus known to perform all these offices in and for his people he is then by such known to sit down at the right hand of God having accomplished the work the Father gave him to do having put all things under This is the ascending of Christ up where he was before he descended and before there was any cause for his descension he that can understand let him and restored all things into their primitive order he then is also known to surrender up the Kingdom to the Father and God to become all in all * Thus the Lord is known one and his name one here the first is known to be last and the last first the beginning the end and the end the beginning and the heavenly rest with him who is without beginning or end I say rest with him in a pure coelestial stillness from all self-working willing running and thinking and though an innocency or innocent self be attained unto and a harmless will known yet that must not act work will run and think of it self as the true Christian who hath travelled and experienced as before is hinted knows right well being always of his elder brothers mind and frame of spirit saying to his Father Not my will but thine Herein he receives wisdom to dress and keep the Garden power and strength to resist and overcome the Serpent in Paradice and the Dragon in Heaven and to keep his habitation in the heavenly City Jerusalem which comes down from God out of Heaven whose walls are salvation and whose gates are praise for ever and evermore Concerning the Worship of a Christian or the Christian Worship what it stands in and how it is performed THere is a great contest in Christendom among the diverse Sects and bare professions of Christianity about Worship and many are the Modes Manners Forms and Ceremonies that are cried up among them every Sect conceiving imagining and supposing his Way Manner and Fashion to be right c. all being full of Dispute Contention and quarrelling one with and against another envying and hating one another fighting killing and destroying one another about them when they are all but of their own devising forms and images of their own making mostly from the example of Jews Gentiles and Apostate Christians and are not led thereto nor guided therein by the unerring Spirit of God as their fruits make fully manifest to the great scandal of the