Obserservations and from Year to Year did make her Calculations from the same at the beginning of every New Year so long as she had her Eye-sight has been almost continually exercis'd under great Temptations and Oppositions and been Fighting the Good Fight of Faith from her youth upwards has been above Threescore Years call'd by GOD after a manner more than ordinary and to her self exceeding Strange as well as to others unto a Life which the World knows not and cannot Judge of and has been above half the time under the more immediate and constant Visitations of the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation as what hath been already Publish'd doth Testifie And 't is to be observ'd that though she was Baptized and Educated in the Church of England in which all the Extraordinary Stirrings of the Divine Spirit are too generally Slighted and by some Blasphemed it pleased the Wisdom of GOD more Illustriously to break forth in the manner of her Conversion in the Sixteenth Year of her Age and so to give an Evidence that the Voice of the Eternal Woâ—d of God speaking to Souls in a distinct and sensible manner is Real and Substantial not Imaginary being to be distinguished by such who can't be suppos'd to have had any pre-conceived Notions about it but must have the Prejudices of Education directly against it and all External Motives not to attend to it The Sober and Moral Conversation in which she was Nurtur'd was not sufficient to give her any Rest when this Voice first spake to her which was very suddenly and surprizingly For it was in a time of great Festivity at the Celebration of the Nativity of CHRIST according to custom with Musick and Dancing in the House of her Father where was a Concourse for that end of the Gentry when of a sudden grievious Sorrow was darted as Fire into her Bowels and she was made to consider that this was not the way to be Comform'd to CHRIST or to remember his Birth aright And a soft Whisper gently entred into her saying Cease from this I have another Dance to lead thee in for this is Vanity Vpon which she was as constrain'd to give over abruptly her Dancing and so presently withdrew her self from the Company retiring to consider of this Immediate Call Which the Divine Spirit pursued so very hard as after this she had no liberty to Converse as formerly in the Family or to mind any concern of it but was so wholly taken up in the consideration of her Interiour State and of the One Thing necessary as to desert all things besides Yet though her Relations and Acquaintance took great notice and marvelled much at what had happen'd she diligently conceal'd the true Cause from them all excepting only a Chaplain in the House who having some time afterward surpriz'd her reading in his Study inquired into the matter bad her be of good Courage and believe that God had some great Good to bring about by all this Conflict of Soul she was in Which was so terrible indeed as nothing was able to give her any Satisfaction or Rest or to ease her Wounded Spirit that was struck through and through for having once persisted in a falsehood about a Triffle The Sense of which continued upon her for the space of Three Years with very great Anguish and Trouble these Words being frequently brought before her Whoever loveth and maketh a Lye cannot enter into the New Jerusalem The Dreadfulness and Horrour of Sin carried her down to the Gates of Hell and every little Circumstance of its Evil was continually presented to her Mind with all the possible Agnravations thereof And if this were but her beginning what may we expect of her latter End And if in the first Conversion only of a Soul to GOD so great a Dread there be for having offended against the Truth in but a Trivial matter how great of necessity must it be in the Progress of that Soul if it should fall again so strangely to offend against the Truth more Highly more Solemnly and in matters of the very greatest Importance Surely this is no flight Presumption for the Vadility of a Testimony which is given afterward in the most Sacred Form and persisted in with the greatest constancy and chearfulness notwithstanding all kind of Oppositions from the World and the Devil as well as the Flesh Now it was in the Nineteenth Year of her Age when the Light of the Divine Countenance which had been hither to hid begun to shine upon her and to bring her Soul out of this State of Obscurity and Darkness and out of the Pains of Hell that had taken hold upon her feeling the Arrows of the Wrath of the Almighty And she was Comforted with the sweet Message of the Free and Superabounding Love and Grace of the most Tender and Merciful Father and was so richly favoured by her dear and blessed Mediator as to receive at that time the Seal of her Absolution and Assurance in a manner very special there being presented to her in a Vision the form of a Pardon with a Seal to it signifying that her Transgressions were blotted out and that she was Sealed by the Spirit for the Promise of the Father as a Witness whereof a mighty Gust and Power of Prayer was then given to her And ever since she has been a trained Soldier under the Discipline of the Blessed JESVS and the leadings of his Spirit which is a Spirit trying the Reins and the Marrow and that will not abide but with simplicity of Heart and Truth in the inward Parts Let this suffice for the Credibility of the Evidence for the present at least Now as for the Subject Matter both of the one and the other Treatise it is a Divine Call to prepare and fit our selves against the greatest Revolution to come upon the World that ever has been with Directions how we ought to behave our selves in this wonderful Crisis and what shall be the Success if we abide Faithful and Stedfast The stile and manner in which they are written is not suitable to the Genius of this Polite Age and especially of this Nation It is Parabolical and Emblematical full of Figurative Speeches and Abrupt Transitions and so utterly strange to the Mordern Reformation of Language from the Stage as it is not to be wondred at that it pleases so few but withal such as it is the Power of God is the more manifested through it and it wants not also a Beauty and Strength which is peculiar to it and which would be very hard if possible to imitate In the first Treatise there are these Things Remarkable viz the General of the Army appearing upon a White Horse in a Triumphant Manner the Trials Excuses Expostulations and Discipline of the Person to whom he so appears the Parable of the Mill which is to supply the Army the Decree of the Heavenly Council and Proclamation of War the Alarm for the Gathering of a Priestly Host
How they are to be Admitted into the Military Roll that this is already open'd in Heaven the Time Place and Persons for the Rendezvous an Observation upon the Continuance and Success of this War all the Soldiers enter into present Pay all that Conquer are to win a Crown how they are dispos'd of that Dye in Battel before their Warfare is accomplish'd the Resurrection of the Spirit of Deborah and Prophecying in the Army the Discovery of Paradise for the Recovery of which the War is undertaken the Heavenly Auxiliaries the Assurance of Victory the Interest of all Parties to join thomselves with this Army a Description of the Auxiliaries riding on White Mules with Censersin their Hands and the effect of their Appearance being the first Pitched Battel After this follows another Alarm to Battel a Prospect and Promise of greater Conquests the Discovery of the New Jerusalem and repeated Encouragements to Fight for it a Letter from the King of this City to the Army the Counter-plotting of the Enemy the Communication of the Two Jerusalems the Allegory of Esther and Mordecai and the wonderful success of the Children of Wisdom how they are assisted by the Four and Twenty Throne-Elders a Gracious Encouragement to Perseverance how they are visited by an Heavenly Host and from then receive Anointed Shields the Three Watches and the great Power that is given in the Third some particular Instructions to the Soldiers and Watchmen the Miraculous manner of the Increase of this Holy Army the Spies to this Army the Seven Spirits of the Lamb his Mark and Seal the Proclamation of the Jubilee the Watch-word Counsels and Cautions to them that would obtain the Benefit of it the Magical Rod of Moses needful to the great approaching Deliverance of the Captives the due Preparation of the Captives in order to partake of the Promised Jubilee the Blessing upon them a Threefold Appeal concerning the Premises to Vnbelievers to Half-Believers and to Believers In the other Treatise are to be observ'd the many and wonderful Rewards of the Conquerors the Mighty Powers of Faith the Blessed Fruits of Love the Magnificent Conversation of distant Spirits the Angelical Generation and Multiplication the Manner and Progress of the Replanting Paradise the Separation from the Earth the Divine Cup which is the Spring of Vnderstanding the Fountain of Wisdom and the Light of Knowledge the Communication of the Priestly Prophetical and Royal Spirit with an Account of the Court of the Prince of Peace and some Observations on his Ministers All is Calculated with a special regard to the New Century now upon its entring And indeed all the Writings of this Author do point at some great Reformation of the Church as very near at the Door but carried on by an Invisible Power and not by the Wisdom or Arm of Flesh And the substance of them all as well as of these two may be reduced to the following plain Propositions viz. 1. That God is no Regarder of persons but that whosoever truly fears him and seeks to do his Will in any Tribe Profession or Religion is accepted by him and that out of all the Tribes Professions and Religions that are at this Day over the whole World he will gather to himself an Holy and Peculiar People to be as the first Fruits of the Kingdom of his SON 2. That the Promise of the Father concerning the Gift of the Holy Spirit was never determin'd to Place or Time But that it was extended Univerfally to as many as should Believe throughout all the Ages of the Church 3. That this Spirit Blows where it lists and is not controlable by the Wisdom or Power of Man 4. That Regeneration in Man is the Work of the Spirit and that Man ought only to cease from the Activity of his own Will therein and to seek to become wholly Passive to the Divine Operation 5. That in the process of Regeneration there is a Conformity to the Blessed JESUS as to the great Exemplar and that the several Degrees hereof are as so many Steps to the Kingdom of GOD. 6. That this Kingdom consists in perfect Righteousness Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost and in the Renovation of the whole Man Spirit Soul and Body 7. That this Kingdom shall comprehend the utmost Ends of the Earth by Virtue of an Everlasting Decree and that Christ as he is the second Adam is the Head and Representative of the whole Humane Nature 8. That not only the Justice but also the Mercy of GOD is over all his Works and that as the one is not confin'd to this short Life so also not the other but that they may both endure for Ever 9. That CHRIST as he is Heir of all Things will lose nothing that is his Right or that the Father hath given him And that therefore of his Kingdom there shall be no End but all Creatures whether in Heaven or in Earth or under the Earth shall be made to submit themselves to him and to bow the Knee 10. That the Times of Restitution are Now about beginning and that there is a Voice at present in the Wilderness Crying That the Kingdom of Heaven upon Earth is at hand And moreover it is to be remark'd in order to a right understanding both of These and of all such Books that they do generally turn upon these Suppositions 1. That beside the Literal Sense of the Scriptures there is frequently a Mystical one also 2. That it is not enough to Believe the Death or Resurrection of Christ without bearing the Marks of them in our selves And 3. That the Operations of the Divine Spirit and the Openings of the Kingdom of Christ are successive and gradual Which being well understood there will be no great difficulty found in the Reading of these or any other Treatises of the same Author This was thought necessary to premise for Caution to the Readers that so they may Apply what they Read to some of those General Propositions or Interpret her by one or other of these Principles and be careful not to wrest the same to their own Condemnation For as it is very dangerous to be impos'd upon in matters of this nature so is it no less dangerous to impose on our selves by perverting any thing from and against the original Design and more dangerous to judge Definitively in a Case that doth not properly fall under our Judicature and Cognisance lest haply we may be found Fighters against the Spirit of God when we think it not All that is here presented is virtually an Appeal to the Soveraign Judge to whom it belongs to Authorize or Condemn that which is sent forth as in his Name And he will not suffer Judgment to be wrested out of his Hands For the Work of every Person shall shortly be made manifest And the Day is at hand which shall declare it by the Revelation of Fire wherein the Children of the Kingdom shall be Purified in the first place And tho'
there will be found among all of these some Hay and Stuble to be burnt up yet the pretious Materials will hereby suffer no loss but will appear so much the more radiant and all that is Establish'd upon the Foundation of the Rock Christ who ceases not still to follow his true Israel in the Wilderness shall abide in the Furnace and overcome the Flames The Consideration of S. Ambrose may be enough I think to strike Terrour into us and to teach us to be sober in Judging Who after having spoken of that Fiery Baptism whereby all Iniquity shall be consum'd and the Righteous shall shine as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father saith Omnes oportet probari c. All must be tried by the Fire whoever desires to return to Paradise All must pass through the Flames whether it be that John the Evangelist whom the Lord so loved as to say concerning him to Peter If I will that he tarry till he come what is that to thee follow thou me Concerning his Death some have doubted concerning his Passage through the Fire we cannot doubt Whether it be that Peter who receiveth the Keys of the Kingdom he must also say we have passed through the Fire He is tried as Silver I shall be tried as Lead till all the Lead do vanish I shall burn And again he saith ' With Fire shall all the Children of Levi be Purified with Fire shall Ezekiel with Fire shall Daniel c be Purified Wo is me if my Work burn and I suffer the loss of my Labour And if the Lord save his Servants they shall be saved by Faith yet so saved as by Fire and if we shall not be burnt up yet we shall be burnt Also he saith farther ' There is onely one who could not feel this Fire even he who is the Righteousness of God Christ Wherefore for as much as the Day of this fiery Trial is at hand which hath been spoken of both by This and by many others of the Antient Holy Fathers and has been also mentioned in many places of the Writings of this our Author let us every one seek to prepare our selves according to the Word of our Lord to watch that this Day overtake us not unawares and to hold out in the Warfare of Faith and Love without wavering And especially to take heed that we judge not that we may not be judged but that we leave judgment to whom judgment belongs who in Righteousness doth Judge and make War and out of whose Mouth goeth a sharp Sword with which he will smite the Nations and rule them with a Rod of Iron who refuse to submit to his Golden Scepter And it is hoped that what is here Deliver'd may be an excitement to some yea to many to prepare themselves accordingly to love the Lord Iesus and to believe the Promise of his coming to live the Life of Faith according to the Pattern in the Mount and to love one another even as he hath loved us that so the Beauty of the Primitive Philadelphia may break forth and the Glory of the Apostolical Jerusalem may shine out in the Spirit and Name of the everlasting Father that all Nations may go up together to the House of the Lord and that this Nation in particular may be as the Garden of Sharon Amen Amen A Short Exercise of the Spiritual Warriours Recommended by an Old Experienc'd Soldier in the Faith who Ended lately the Days of his Warfare in France Here inserted for Direction and Caution to as many as would understand and Read with Profit these ensuing Tracts 1. THat which is the most Holy the most Common and the most Necessary Exercise in the Spiritual Life or Warfare is the Presence of GOD It is to be pleas'd with and to accustom our selves to his Divine Company speaking Humbly and Lovingly Communing with HIM at all Times in every Moment without Rule or Measure especially in the time of Temptations of Sufferings of Aridities of Displeasures and even of Unfaithfulnesses and Falsehâ—od that so we may immediately recover our selves 2. We must continually endeavour that all our Actions indifferently of what sort soever be a kind of little Conferences and Conversations with GOD yet without Study only as they proceed from the Purity and Singleness of Heart 3. We must perform all our Actions with Weight and Measure without Impetuosity or Precipitation which denote a Wandring Spirit We must Labour gently quietly and love-fully with GOD must pray him to accept our Labour And by this continual Attention to GOD we shall bruise the Head of the Devil and shall make him to let fall his Arms. 4. We ought during our Labour and other Actions yea even in the midst of our Reading and Writing however Spiritual they may be nay moreover while we are at our Outward Devotions and Vocal Prayers to cease and give over for a little Moment and as frequently too as we can to Worship GOD in the Center of our Heart and to get a tast of him tho' by the By and as it were by stealth Since you are not ignorant how GOD is present before you during your Actions how he is in the Ground and Center of your Soul Wherefore then it behoves you from time to time to retire and pause in the midst of your Outward Occupations and also of your Vocal Prayers to adore him inwardly Praise him Pray to him offer him your Heart and give him thanks 5. All these Adorations are to be done through Faith we believing of a Truth that GOD is in our Hearts that he must be Worshipped Loved and Served in Spirit and Truth that he seeth whatever cometh to pass and shall come to pass in us and in all the Creatures that he is Independent from all and that upon which all Created Beings depend that he is Infinite in all kind of Perfections so as by his Infinite Excellency and Soveraign Right of Dominion to deserve all that we are and all that is in Heaven and in Earth whereof he may dispose according to his Good Pleasure both in Time and Eternity And that consequently we owe him in Justice all our Thoughts Words and Deeds 6. We must carefully examine which are the Virtues that are most necessary for us those which are the most difficult to obtain the Sins into which we are most apt to fall and the most frequent and unavoidable Occasions of our falling We ought to have recourse to GGD with an entire Faith and Confidence while we are engag'd in the Combat to abide resolute in the presence of his Divine Majesty to Adore him in Humility to Represent to him our Miseries and Weaknesses and to Beg affectionately the Assistance of his Grace according to the several Circumstances we are then under and the stress of the Battel This Conversation with GOD is in the Center of the Soul where the Soul speaks to GOD Heart to Heart and always in a great and profound Peace which it
enjoys in GOD And now all what passeth without is to the Soul no more than as a Fire of Straw which is extinguish'd according to the Measure that the Holy Fire from Heaven is there enkindled and cannot at all or but very little disturb its Internal Peace This is what was found Written by a Person who had Practis'd for above Forty Years continually this Holy Exercise of the presence of GOD and of Communion with CHRIST in silence by having his Conversation in the Heavens even amidst all his External Employments And who during Ten of these was Trained in the Battels of the Lamb after such a manner as is almost incredible specially to any that have not been in like manner Exercis'd under the Fiery Proba or Fire-Ordeal that every true Christian Soldier must pass through of necessity And they that will obtain the Garland of Roses in the Garden of Sharon must as he did hold out in Fighting under the Banner of the Blessed Cross of JESUS till the Victory preceeding the First and Spiritual Resurrection be obtain'd and they can say that the LORD is risen in them by the Demonstration of his late hidden Life and that being in the Hands of GOD they matter not what they do or suffer for him and in Union with his Will For this is to be their whole Business and Engagement They must not be terrified at the Fire of the Cherub which guards the Passage but must Valiantly break through the same in the Victorious Name of JESUS whereby the Pretious Door of Pearl will be made to fly open and a free entrance given into this Divine Plantation whither their Beloved is gone down to see the Fruits of the Valley who will there eat his Honey-Comb with his Spouse and Sister and will drink his Wine and his Milk with the Virgins of the Bride-Chamber that shall have follow'd him fully in the process of their Regeneration and have trimmed their Lamps filling them from the Seven Fountain-Lamps that burn perpetually before the Throne of the Majesty in the Light of which the Majesty may be beheld in the Center and Ground of the Soul as in its proper Mirrour and Reflection And thus is that True and Spiritual Worship attained to which this Holy Man did under many Outward and Heavy Burdens practise and which he has thus with all plainness and simplicity express'd in Declaring 1st How that to Worship God in Spirit is to Worship him by an humble real Adoration of Spirit in the Center of our Souls and that there is none but God who can see this Adoration which we may reiterate so often till in the end it become as it were Natural and as if God were One with our Soul and our Soul were One with God Experience demonstrates this 2dly How to Worship God in Truth is to acknowledge him for what HE is and to acknowledge our selves for what we are How it is to own truly actually and in Spirit that God is That which HE IS that is infinitely Perfect infinitely Adorable infinitely remov'd from Evil and to behave our selves suitably to such an acknowledgement under the Conduct of his Spirit 3dly How to Worship God in Truth and under the Leading of the Spirit of Truth is also to confess that we are entirely contrary to him and that he is willing to make us Like unto himself and how therefore it is a very great Folly for us to turn aside but for one Moment from that Respect that Love that Service and those continual Adorations which we owe to him And there are not wanting at this Day many Worshippers in the Spiritual Temple who have well learnt these Divine Maxims and have sounded thereby a Mighty Alarm in a Neighbouring Kingdom which may cause yet a greater Shaking than the Politicians are aware of who will then be convinced too late if they Repent not no less of the Imprudence than of the Injustice of those Violent Measures which for some few Years past they have taken in order to suppress the growth of this kâ—nd of Worship whose manifest Crime is that it is of no profit to the Merchants of Souls and will experiment the vain Attempt of thinking to Dam up a River that runs under Ground and that may easily break forth in Seven Streams while resisted in One. The Interest and Multitude that are engag'd on both sides are indeed most considerable And the War that has been Proclaimed against these Spiritual Worshippers in the inward Court is like to be yet of some Continuance tho' prosecuted never so Vigorously But these hear the Word of the LORD by his Prophets saying unto them Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great Multitude for the Battel is not Yours but Gods Ye shall not need to Fight in it your selves only set your selves stand still and see the Salvation of the LORD with and in you And thus Believing in the LORD their God by a continued Introversion into the Divine Presence and a standing still in the Center and Fund of their Hearts from all the Activity of their Corrupt Imaginations and Wills that so the Pure Magia of the Holy Spirit may bring forth its Wonders they shall surely be Establish'd But as for their Enemies every one shall help to destroy another Even as it was in the Great Day of the Valley of Berachah so shall it be again Wherefore every one that is of the House of Judah that is they that are called to make a confession of Spiritual Praise to the Divine Being as he is LOVE and to acknowledge the Eternal duration of his Mercies and all the Inhabitants of Jerusalem that is they that press after the Internal Quiet and Rest of the Soul and every one that is Listed in the Military Roll of the Lamb of Mount-Sion that is they that are in the Election of God to the First Resurrection being Separated and Sanctified from the World to that end must above all things study this short and easie Exercise of the Heavenly Militia to stand in the presence of God and to stand still That so they may behold that great Salvation and Glory which is now about to be revealed in these latter Ages of the World But to be Masters of this Holy Exercise we are taught that there is required 1. a Purity of Life very great 2. a Faithfulness to the Practise of this Presence and to the Internal Beholding of God in the Light of Faith 3. a particular Care that this Internal Beholding tho' but for a Moment may prevent accompany and end every Action that we undertake And 4. O Obedience to the Spirit of Christ to follow him whithersoever he goeth and to rest where he resteth and especially to observe this in the Reading of the Holy Scriptures or other Books that are Written with any Degree of the Unction of this Blessed Spirit And if These or any other Spiritual Treatises shall thus be begun to be Read by any a proportionable