THE SAINTS TRAVEL To the Land of CANAAN WHEREIN IS DISCOVERED Seventeen false Rests below the spiritual Coming of Christ in the Saints Together with a brief Discovery of what the Coming of Christ in the spirit is who is the alone Rest and Center of Spirits By R. WILKINSON A Member of the Army Arise ye and depart for this is not your Rest because it is poluted it shall destroy you with a sore destruction Mic. 2. 10. There remaineth therefore a Rest to the People of God Heb. 4. 9. London printed for Giles Calvert at the black spread-Eagle at the West end of Pauls 1650. To the Reader FRiend and Christian Reader it is the property of divine truth after it is manifested in the spirit to inflame a soul with it and to swallow up the spirit in the glory of it so as it is as impossible for a soul to enjoy truth and not to declare it as for a man to carry fire in his bosome or mouth and not be burned Saints are mightily constrained after they enjoy Truth from the fire of Love to declare it Now I have had sad experienâ—e of the waies of my own heart how I have constantly Rested below God and so have fallen short of his glory This being my condition for a long time though in every particular seeming to be God and of God and in it my condition happy where I was continually running from mountain to hill because I knew not the true Rest But at last it pleased the Father of spirits to reveal himself and by the same to make them manifest Whereupon I have had much wrastling in my own spirit about putting the same out to publique view but at last was forced to break through much opposition in my own heart and to put it out in his imperfect Form That if it be the wisdome of God in the same others by me may learn to beware yet I would not have bin without the experience of the same seeing it is the will of God now to dessolve it Wherefore Christian Reader I shall commend these ensuing particulars to thee and thee to the wisdome of the Spirit whereby thou mayest judge of the same in love First If thou canst close with the substance of my discourse and after finding some circumstances which are either contrary to thee or obstruct to thy principles yet do not flye out into bitternesse of spirit against what thou judgest truth neither against that which thou judgest no truth but receive the one and let the other alone untill God reveal tbe same unto thee lest thou be found calling light darknesse and darknesse light and speaking evil of things thou knowest not but in meeknesse judge and Rest Secondly If thou hast not passed through these or all these Rests or Dispensations or hast not as yet attained to many things herein expressed yet let them have thy charitable thoughts and do not as most do fly out against them as Errors because they are not either within their reach as to high for them or because they are contrary to their present principles and sâ— would unbottom them or because they are not according to what they have been taught or is experienced in them But judge of them in love and where any thing is above thy experience I wish thou mayest be silent in it and waite to know it if it be of God and if it be too low for thee let it receive encouragement from thee as thou hast passed to thy estate through these Administrations Thirdly Christian Reader passe by any infirmity thou seest either in expression form or method look upon them to be a discourse of experience more to edify then to please the fancy by curiosity of words in mans wisdome 1 Cor. 2. 4. Fourthly Do not judge me to deny any thing which I do not here affirm because I am speaking spiritual things within But look upon it as a spirituall and inward discourse holding out the two great Mysteries viz. The Mystery of Christ made manifest in the Spirit within man and the Mystery of the creature to himselfe Do not think I am going about to destroy the low workings of God I am not Neither be much daunted if God hereby lets thee behold the face of self false Rests so as it brings thee to a losse But beleeve it thy greatest losse may in time become thy greatest gain For that which moves me to write these few lines is that if it be the will of God Creatures may see the many false waies and Rests below God That Creatures may not live short of his glory as I have done Therefore I shall desire that I may not be mistaken either in my intentions or expressions and therefore shall commend this farther to the Reader First to take off a scruple which may lye upon many whether I do deny these seventeen Rests to be dispensations of God and the way God leades men into their spirituall Rest which is Christs coming in the Spirit That I may clear this and make farther way I acknowledge it is Gods way to lead creatures through these particulars But the corruption of self and the deceivablenesse thereof will resemble the leadings of God and so will labour to live and keep the soul to rest short of God man in going after the wayes of his own heart may seem to be led by God But in these particulars I labor to drive on two things the first to discover unto meÌ„ what the way of mans heart is when it will deceive and what glory it will appear to the Creature in untill God undeceive it so that I am first to undeceive Creatures in their unsound confidence concluding their estates to be so high that they are at Rest in God when they are covered with a covering but not of the spirit And though the heart be putting God in the forefront of its actings yet it is but Jehues deceit and treachery of spirit Secondly I labour to undeceive it that though it hath attained any or all these seventeen and have not had an appearance of Christ spiritually in them so that they know when and how and what Christ infallibly was that still that soul is but yet in a changable condition And it may as well be Satans transformings in him as any dispensation of God to him and to let the creature know that though he have passed through all this yet he wants on thing to be his rest and center which when it comes will discover the truth of all these dispensations and if they be of God they shall be dissolved if they be of self or Satan they shall be destroyed So that to unbottom Creatures that they live not upoÌ„ vaÌ„ity lyes that they may not rest before the true appearance of Christ in the spirit I have set forth these imperfect lines Farther I would not have any think that I deny Scriptures Ordinances Christs coming in the flesh Kingdome after death or
Christ who in name is called the Manifestation of Love is unchangeable in reference to the being and cause of this manifested Love which is Christ for if we consider him as the bosome love of God He is not so Christ to us or in us but as this comes to be manifest to us which manifestation or the thing manifest is onely Christ for I look thus that not onely Christ as he was in the flesh was Christ only in that form and no more but what ever was manifest either by or in that form was in Name the Christ and in Nature Christ in God now Saints Rest is not in Christ as manifested only in distinction but Christ is the Rest of Saints as God hath designed him for that purpose and so comes by God in Saints to be made manifest carrying up Saints to live in the full glory power and splendor of that God who did make manifest himself in this manifestation which is Christ And no other way come soules truly to know the Father either in love or mercy but as the Father doth manifest himself in this very particular Christ revealed in mens hearts in which men may see God clearly and for the want of which Philip was ignorant when he said to Christ Joh. 14. 8. Lord shew us the Father and it sufficeth us They were ignorant what the Father and Christ were in the spirit though Christ were with them in the flesh and the reason was because Christ within them was not by God made manifest to them therefore would they have been making Tabernacles in such a low fleshly knowledge where in truth they knew nothing of him in relation to the spirit nor of that conjunction betwixt him and the Father that whensoever Christ spiritually was made manifest there the Father was manifest also because there was one undevideable nature and being in such cases betwixt the Father and the Son so that the Saints Rest is in this clearly manifested God within us who in tearm and Truth is called Christ so that now as Christs center was in the Father and now is to dwell in the fulnesse of his Glory so Saints being in him are carried by him to live with him in the same glory and love and to conclude this when we can say from experience that which Paul said in the Gal. 1. 16. That when it pleased the Father to reveal his Christ in him â—hen shall we know that the manifestation of God to us is the Revelation of Christ in us 3. Christ spiritually discovered in men and so knowne by them and so becoming Rest to them is a clear light of God in the Creature which light and glory is onely Christ and thus he is often described in Scripture not onely as he was a light in the flesh without us prescribing rules of light to us but chiefly as he shall become the light and glory of God within us for as he was in the forme oâ— flesh he was a mystery unknowne yea he was not such a light so as God intended him because he was then but in the figure holding forth what he would worke and what he should be when he was to come in the glory of the spirit within men for his being in the flesh was a very dark dispensation For even the Apostles who were the most conversant with him did know little and were very ignorant of the truth So as indeed they thought he was come to set up a Kingdome in the flesh and that he would advance them in some great place as appeares So that it was Gods great design which was held forth in that forme of flesh which is the sum of that Scipture where he is declared to be the light of the Gentiles and to be the glory of the people Israel Luk. 2. 32. Now to prove it by Scripture that this Christ is in the spirituall coming and advancing in the soule a glorious and Divine light We see it very clear from that Scripture in the 60. of Isa 1. 2. Where the Lord declares the manner of Christs spirituall appearing in the soule Arise shine for thy Light is come and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee This same Scripture though men do labour to deny it to be meant of Christs appearance in any particular soule yet he that hath found the appearance of Christ within him hath found him fully making good these sayings The matter however that here is promised at the raising up of distressed spirits is Light and Glory which light is God appearing in a dispensation of light and glory the which dispensation is Christ in us for he is both the light and glory of God and all things that are either spirituall light or glory discovered is Christ for according to that Scripture Rev. 21. 23. The glory of God did lighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof As if he should say when the Lord comes to dwell spiritually in the manifestation of glory within the spirit of man and so set up a Temple in the creature according to the 22. verse Then shall all those lights which before the soul hath been guided by whether they were flashes or resembled light now there shall be no need of the same but the glory of God now shall there be to enlighten the same yea Christ shall be the light thereof so that he shall be filled with true light whoever hath the glorious appearance of Christ within him he stall become a compleat light unto that soul So as he shall not stand in need of any inferiour light but they shall be dissolved when the glory of the Sun appeareth so that in such a soule to whom Christ is become in this manner a light unto he shall have no night there according to that in the 22. of Rev. 5. verse But the Lord shall fill such a soule with light yea he shall give to such spirits Him in whom there is no darknesse as in a spirituall dispensation and as he is termed in Iohn 1. 9. verse He is here called The true Light which lighteneth everyman that cometh into the world He is here called true in opposition to fallacy as if he should lay open many false lights in the world and within men yet he was come as a true light to distinguish betwixt true and false and so he is a distinguishing light in every spirit who hath received him for though Satan hath transformed himselfe into an Angel of light in deceiving a creature yet notwithstanding when his true light appears in any heart it doth both discover it and destroy it according to that in the 2 Thes 2. 7 8 9 10. That though the mystery of iniquity and anti-Christ be never so deceiveable and glorious in their workings and transformings both within and without the creature yet Christ shall reveale and destroy it with the spirit of his mouth and the brightnesse of his coming And true it is that Satan both in matter of formes
it be God discovering yet it is no ground for any soul to Rest satisfied with or to be any evidence at all of enjoying of God because that it is a dispensation which passeth away when a higher dispensation of God appeares then would mans Rest be disolved and not be an everlasting Rest But Saints Rest is that which cannot be dissolved but it is an everlasting Rest to him that that is Centred in it The Seventh false Rest THe next Rest is that which many live upon is the Notion of Free-grace though they have no manifestation of it in particular to their own spirits and here the very apprehensions of it being formerly opposed by it now being convinced of the truth of the same not from any enjoyment or powring sorth of the Spirit only he hath his understanding enlight ned and his judgement convinced either by seeing it to be a truth in Scripture or from hearing it preached by others or from the undeniablenesse of the truth of it in it self he is made to assent unto it as a truth and never matters nor understands it must bee particularly witnessed to be his truth from the same Revealed within him But he not understanding this he sees not only the emptinesse of mans doing and the vanity of putting the creature to act to get Love or Life from God And so that only now all the creatures acting to God must be from Gods acting in the creature so that now he is an enemy to that before he was a speciall friend of viz. his own righteousnesse and that he is now gon as far in an extreame on the other hand to Rest satisfied only with a Notionary knowledge of this said truth Also he sees in this that nothing but a Christ can or will do good to spirits and yet knows not this Christ within himself Now some times man only getting a Nation of this Truth in the head comes in the end to much loosness and fleshly walking 2. Gal. 17. and can put it off with a very fair slight First God is free in his dispensation man can doe nothing unlesse power be given unto him I did such and such a particular because of the Woman this is by reason of such weaknesse I am yoked withall or if God did intend I should not have committed these sins he would have given me power against them and I shal admire free grace the more and I shall love the more the more is forgiven me So though he hath no manifestation of God at all for the pardon of sin yet he lives continually in this stream believing free grace is a Truth this is to have it manifest when the creature sinnes to believe it is freely pardoned upon the Cross when indeed now it sleeps in security and loosnesse And the reason partly of its loosnesse and yet of its security is First he hath got but the light of it that is to say such a light as doth discover a truth in this to him yet he wants the life being of the thing made manifest So it comes to passe he professes this particular yet he doth not possesse the same in the nature of it so he hath a name that he liveth and yet is dead so that he hath it in the head but wants it in the heart he hath got a form of it in his understanding whereby he can discourse of it and declare it to others yet he wants the power of this said truth in the heart within him and when a man hath the forme figure or likenesse of a thing and wants the dower glory or being of the thing no marvell then if a soul in a time of straits come to fall short of what he doth professe in his parctise he not being able to stand wanting the foundation that he should be formed upon and the power of the same which should keepe him upon that being or foundation Also it may be he hath this truth taught him by man and not from the teachings of God within Now grace in the heart appearing doth Teach man to deny ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and Godly in this present world But there is a cunning deceit in the heart that in some doth if possible can be prevent the same and it reasons thus I see this Truth is spoken against by most and that those that are for Free-grace are such men as walk very loosly and as soon as ever they believe this that they are no more like the men they were before but walke they care not how but saith the soule that would make it a peaceable and honourble Rest least they should say so of me I will walke a little more wisely then they doe And here before men he walks very like Truth though there be a heart within him not upright in what he doth and partly it is to get a good name amongst men for such as walk loosly that profess God they are hardly esteemed of any the world hates them for their judgement the other cannot favour them for their loose practise Here they will labour to apply a remedy to this disease in reference to one party and that is the Saints They will amongst Saints I say carry themselves like them and resemble them in their practise as the Magicians did Moses Yet this is not from a divine principle of love but for some other end or from another principle Againe Some walk like Truth because they make it a Testimony of Gods dwelling in them for saith the Scriptures He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked 1 John 2 6. Now saith the creature if I should walk loosly it would appear to my selfe and all That God dwelt not in me but now â—y my outward and he thinks inward though he be deceived conformity to Truth I may make it an evidence of my dwelling in truth and such a man as this must needs curb himself of those things thaâ— another swallows because it is his ground of peace and Rest Again A man may shun loosnesse that hath but the notions of free grace because it is the way to make Disciples and get the affections of men to applaude and admire what flowes from him so as he is mightily esteemed yea instrumental to dispense those truths that dwell not in him so as it may be hee is an instrument of begetting sons like unto himselfe that is to believe Free grace is a truth and to be convinced of it and dispise working which is opposite to it and here they both sit down and Rest Not knowing the manner of Gods dealings with the creature which is most commonly to enlighten or convince man of a truth and set the heart a waiting for it before hee gives him an enjoyment of it As for instance He first convinces man of a Divine fulnesse in God and a supply given from God to bee dispensed by Christ to the sonnes of men wherupon
salvation and indeed so it is and something more But thirdly To Rest upon Christ come in the flesh is to beleeve from the Letter of the Scripture without any powerfull manifestation of the spirit that this Christ who did according to Scripture dye at Ierusalem dyed for them And here many satisfie themselves with very high conceits of their condition and here alone men Rest upon the bare Figure As if men under the Law should have made Circumcision and the enjoying of Sacrifices in that common manner they were performed to be a ground of Rest and so contented themselves in the use thereof as conceiving themselves to be made happy by the Type and Figure and not by that which was Typified out in the same So concerning Christs dying at Jerusalem it is a Figure of the spirituall death of the creature with Christ and also of this resurrection Now when we come to be buried with him into his death Rom. 6. 4. 5 and also come to be with him raised up from death that is into the clear enjoyments of God where we are made to live in the God-hrad from it living in us Iohn 14. 17. then do we fully understand and know this Christ and this eternal Life and not meerly for a man to conceive because the Scriptures dâ—e declare that this Christ is come and the Creature assenting to the whole history and believing of it that this is the knowledge of Christ which is eternal life for unlesse the Creature know him so to be to him that this eternal life to him Col 3. 3. 4. that as the Scriptures do declare him so to be in the knowledge of him so the creature findes it true within himself from the experience of him in his own soul his knowledge is but carnall not living spirituall knowledg for that man that Rests upon him as he is declared in Scripture before he be revealed within his soul both that mans Rest and knowledge is but carnall and fleshly for we see that all men almost in England or in any place where the Gospel is but published doe believe that he is crucified and is risen and this they know from the testimony of Scripture but doth every man know the minde and mystery of truth Doth God reveal it to every one Can any know the minde of God in these particulars either by the History or any other way but by the Spirit of God then it must he that before this Christ come to be spiritually known hee must be spiritually revealed within mans hearts 1 Cor. 2. 10. Gal. 1. 16. So that to hear of Christ and not to enjoy him from being revealed within is but very unsafe and unsound knowledge to Rest upon and that which brings not along with it eternal Life as witnesse 1 Iohn 1. 1 21 He clearly expresses that this Christ which is eternall life was made manifest unto them and as their knowledge of from which knowledge they had fellowship and communion with him 1 Iohn 1. 3. This knowledge is spirituall and according to Scripture spiritually revealed before it be truly and experimentally known now the Scriptures do not reveale Christ within any man neither doe they say to any particular soule thou such a one Christ died for thee but it is the same spirit which did declare the Scriptures which must reveal what this Christ is Secondly what the mistery of God in his so coming or what mystery God did hold out in the figure which was his fleshly coming too and for thee in particular And lastly Thou must doe as he did passe from death to life and from being buried with him before thou live in the Kingdome of heaven with him or indeed know what the Kingdome or place is which men carnally conceive to be above the Skyes though the spirituall knower of him knowes it in another place Now what is it for a man to fill his head full of the history concerning the birth and death of Christ unlesse this Jesus a Saviour or this Christ which is the light and glory of God be discovered and revealed within him suitable to that precious Testimony of Pauls knowledge of this Christ Gal. 1. 16. where he speaks of this Christ to be revealed within him for Christ as he was in the flesh cannot be revealed but Christ as he is in the Spirit or Christ as he is the great design of God typified out in the flesh and revealed in the spirit either as a light or as a life or as he is the breath of God or as he is the clear manifestation of God wherein man comes to know him to be his Jesus that is his Saviour or inward deliverer or wherein man cleatly beholds the Father in him and he in the Father John 24. 11. Which cannot be discerned as he was in the flesh but as he is in the spirit 1 Pet. 3. 8. that being a figure thereof we see this knowledge the Apostles wanted when they said Lord shew us the Father John 14. 8. they having no more knowledge of Christ but as he was in the flesh they knew not that the Father was in him and he in the Father John 14. 11. upon this knowledge were they resting when they said Lord it is good for us to be here Mat. 17. 4. when they would have been making Tabernacles of Rest before Christ did transfigure himself within but Christ bids them Arise let us goe hence as if he should say This is not a proper rest for you John 14. 31. It is a very low dispensation goe I will discover my glory to you by transfiguring my self within you then shall you see partly the mystery of my selfe then shall you more spiritually understand and know me And also sometimes the carnall and fleshly knowledge the Apostles had then put them upon carnal conceptions as in these phrases expressed when wilt thou restore the Kingdome to Israel And many more expressions as desiring fire might come from above where Christ tels them they knew not of what spirit they were the one place tels them they looked upon him as to be one who was to have a great power in the World namely To be an earthly King to live in outward pomp and glory the other doth signifie they understood not the great design of God in his coming so as they in this dispensation were very low as many are in our daies and would gladly have been resting in the knowledge they had which was Christ in the flesh that was known by them and declared and preached by them also but still they remaining under the clouds and ignorant of the mystery of Christ in reverence to his coming in the Spirit yet God was daily leading them to behold their ignorance and more into the mystery of Jesus So that though men pretend to escape the common pollutions of the world by such a knowledge of Christ in the flesh yet it is not a secure estate but a low dispensation which will
Being which is Christ in God 2 Cor. 5. 19. so as now it acts in God and lives by God and is iaken up with God and cannot live in any thing else not as a Saint So that the truest comparison that can be made of such a spirit is the Needle and the Dove which truly holds out this to us First That Christ the Arke is the center and the sure being of the spirits of Saints Secondly There is no safety or true Rest for the beleeving spirit but in this Christ Thirdly That it is impossible for any spirit who knowes Christ truly to be his Rest being once touched by the divine and holy being of Saints to Rest below the same though many things may transform themselves within the Creature like unto it yet upon them he cannot Rest no more then can the Needle towards the East and West but it is truly known by such a spirit not to be his first being and originall and so disclaims it as Christ did Satan in his temptation but is carried forth the more in veheâ—ency of spirit flying continually without Rest untill he be got into the Arke which was the place from whence it came and in truth it is of usch a latitude as all the world is not able either to give Rest unto it or produce true or full contentment in it The fifth description of true Rest. FIftly It is the centering up of a spirituall man in a spirituall place not made nor created but a being of himselfe stands by himselfe having his dependency upon none else 1. Here is the subject matter of Rest and that is the spirituall part of man which is created again and born of the Spirit Iohn 3 3 for fiâ—st of all no uncleane spirit or thing shall come there Rev. 21. 27. nothing shall enter into it but that which is become sutable to it That which is borne of the Spirit is that which must enter into this Kingdome of Rest and peace Secondly This spirituality which is made in the Creature is produced by God possessed in the Creaure for as a carnall heart cannot live in God no more can God manifest himselfe in any unpure spirit so as God before he manifest himselfe to a Spirit he makes it sutable to that glory which shall in measure be revealed unto it So also before God give man rest in himselfe he sets man of himself to live in himselfe for no carnall minde or will can attain God before by God it be attained and before God manifest to the heart the Creature is attained by him he workes a glorious worke of the New Birth in him so that if man were carried up into God which is impossible before he be born of God there is such a disproportion betwixt the purity and holynesse of God and the corruption and carnalnesse of mens spirits that the Rest of the soul could be no Rest for there would be nothing but war and enmity so that God alwaies puls down mountains of flesh pride and self and makes the crooked waies of the heart plain Luke 3. 5 6. and brings down those false Rests and Christs in the Creature and so after makes known a glorious Center to the creature Now the spirit being made spirituall by being born again it is made spiritually to judge receive and discern the Truth of this glorious and spirituall Place 1 Cor. 2. 15. which no man in the flesh or by the flesh can attain to 1 Tim. 6. 16. whom never any man in the carnall mind hath seen nor can see So that mans Resting place together with the subject Resting in it must be spirituall and out of himself Now secondly This place of Rest is spirituall so that man if he be in any true Rest it is not carnall formes or ordinances which shall cease Neither is it the rarest Qualifications or expressions of creatures neither is it glorious apprehensions or puffings up of flesh no our Rest is beyond these as far as the light of the Sun is from the Candle He is an unexpressible spiritual being One who makes all things spirituall that are spirituall by that spirituality in the fulnesse of it that dwels in him He is the expresse Image of God Heb. 1. 3. yea he is God equall in Nature though inferiour in place operation or expression He is One in all things He is above all things and in him all things confist Col. 1. 17. So he being the fulnesse and the cause of spirituality he himselfe must needs be spiâ—ituall So that any soul centred up in him lives above all carnall Formes Ordinances Qualifications common holinesse or fleshly puffings up either in false apprehensions or in inward delusions He is none of these but is above these which is the spirituall mans Rest And this spirituall Rest is nothing but God who is all and none besides him who enjoyes all in himself and we in him and by virtue of our being made born and begotten of him we become one with him and of him So that now being borne of him it is impossible that the Nature of God in us can Best or be fatisfied but alone in him and by him it being of an everlasting and infinite nature but now as it is infinite and of God in us so it throws off all below God and wholly and alone returnes to him and Rests in him Now thirdly This Rest is not any thing Created or depending upon any other power but its own Christ as he was in the flesh is none of the Rest of Saints He is a Rest of them as he becomes one with them in the Spirit so as he is one with God and we with him One in God and we in him 1 Cor. 6. 17. Joh. 17. 21 22 23. Yea very God and we by him 1 Cor. 8. 6. 15. 45. So that he is a Spirit not made nor created but making and creating all things for and of himselfe Col. 1. 16. Rom. 11. 36. And all by him was created not as he was in any form or shape in the flesh without us not so to be a Rest but as he is God made manifest in the Spirit within us However men deem of him yet he is the Eternal Spirit and the Father of all spirits Heb. 9. 14. Though distinguished from the Father in divers acts shapes or formes yet he dwels substantially in the God-head and in whom dwels all the power and fulnesse thereof Col. 1. 19. 2. 9. And though he might be in the form of flesh as man yet then he was in the power and fulnesse of God as God So that he is in and of Himself and he that knows him aright knows that saying And he that is experienced in that spirituall union and conjunction will say That his Motion Glory Dependency and all others that can be spoke of dwels substantially in him and that by him now all things are both preserved and kept Heb. 1. 3. So as all other rests below this
without us and workings within us is transforming himselfe now if ever And truly he within soules workes like God and there is no known distinction betwixt his transformings and Christs workings untill there be a true transfiguring of Christ in the glory of the spirit and this doth find out all the deceite both of heart and Satan for indeed there is no forme though never so glorious but he will transform himselfe in it there is no working of the spirit within man but he will resemble it so that none shall be able to know whether it be true or false within him or without him untill this Christ shall appear in light and glory and shall make the same manifest so as oftentimes his thus appearing is compared to the rising of the Sun and the dawning of the day which are degrees of distinguishing light which doth dissolve the imperfect light of the Moone and Starres and is a clear light of it self to rule and order to unfold and discover the truth of every thing which under the other dispensations could not be discerned and that is the reason that the Apostle tells them that they have a sure word of prophesie whereunto they doe well if they take heed And he tels them how long it was untill the day dawn and the day-starre arise in their hearts This saying untill prescribes and sets out the limitation of time and the accomplishing of the same as if he should say there is a most glorious day to be enjoyed in Saints which day shall appear but for your direction untill that day you have a sure word of prophesie unto which if God give you care thereof may be as a rule unto you It being a light shining in a dark place and though for the present you walke by the same yet Rest not there but waite for the spirituall coming of Christ within you which in this word of prophesie is held forth to you and then when he comes he shall be a perfect light within which light shall speake truth and leade the soul thereunto but in the interim Looke to that sure word of prophesie which declares and makes manifest the truth thereof This word of Prophesie was the Scriptures this day dawning and day-starre arising was the appearance of Christ in the fulnesse of the spirit within them So as he often in Scripture is called the bright Morning-Star and as concerning his spiritual coming he is sometimes termed under the notion of the day dawning or breaking as in Cant. 2. 17. and in many others onely to shew unto us that the breaking in of Christ into a heart is like the breaking of the light in the earth when the day begins to appeare and the night is expired as also the rising of the Sun to that purpose he is often called the Sun of Righteousnesse which shall arise and be seen in the hearts of men so that we see this coming of Christ yea himself is a true and glorious light of God in the spirits of Saints so as he makes all things manifest to such a heart whether true or false and this light shall cloath every Saints spirit and all inferiour and transformed lights shall be under such a soules feet triumphing over them seeing the fallacy of them Then First it is this light Christ within the creature who appeares as light which doth expell or dispell all those Clouds which are with creatures in whom he hath not appeared for as the Sun doth expell the clouds in the appearance thereof so Christ in his glorious shinings forth and breaking in into every believing spirit so as the creature before could not apprehend God by reason of these clouds that lye upon the soule now he apprehends him clearly the cause being by Christ taken away Secondly By this light Christ doth discover all the false Waies and Rests of the creature either in opposition to or being below the true and substantiall way of Rest so that this light Christ in his divine Appearances within the creature doth bring a day of losse upon many spirits when it discovers unto them the vanity of their spirits in running after the waies of their own hearts and here they come to see the emptynesse of formes or former flashes and now it may be all the soules knowledge and practise must lye in the dust and be unlearned so as this light brings the creature out of love with his own Wayes so that now he is free to be led according to the teaching of this light Thirdly This light Christ in its spirituall appearing in the creature doth reveale and discover the Father in this light Christ so as the heart clearly sees and knows the Father and the Spirit the son and the spirit One and the spirit to be both so as this light which in reference to name is called and tearmed Christ yet it is God in this light so that God is said to be light in him is no darknesse The Father is the fountain of light the son is the manifestation of light or the light made manifest now here the soul in whom this true light doth appeare doth know God and him thus sent into the heart by Jesus Christ so that Christ as he is the Rest of Saints is a divine revelation of light in which light and glory the creatures spirit solaces it selfe and rests with much delight in the same and out of this form after enjoyed will not Christ appeare but will be unto such a spirit an everlasting light that now as God lives in light so the creature lives in light also which no creature in the flesh can attain to who cannot be seen felt or heard in the flesh in this dispensation but he is above it consuming of it and continually advancing this light more more in the creature so as this light comes to be advanced and appears in greater fulnesse so shall the spirits who are centred in it be advanced by it and the greater this light doth appear in fulnesse the more perfect doth the souls Rest appear and the more shall the spirits be filled with it Fourthly in the fourth place this spirituall Christ or what he is in the Spirit when he comes to be the Rest of Saints He is spirituall and Divine Life without which no soul hath spirituall or eternal life enjoyed by him for as a man without the soul is dead so are all men without Jesus Christ within them made manifest so that Iohn very fully laies open this truth 1 Ioh 1. 1 2. for the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witnesse and shew unto you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us So that we see what the life of Saints is for that life which they here speak of was Christ Secondly we see the place where it centers before it is made manifest and that is laid open to be in the Father Thirdly the way whereby they knew it and also
any thing here I have inserted to be false Rests but that I am at is to set all things in its proper place and to bring soules to see the true center that they may not misse the one thing necessary while they are acting beyond their line in which actings themselves may become cast-aways and that men may know that neither Scriptures or Christ in the flesh Ordinances or Members of Churches or the Kingdome after death or the form of words in the Letter or Promises is the Rest of Saints but He who is the sum and substance of all viz. Christ in the Spirit coming in us to be Life Glory Light and Happinesse to us and so an hope of glory in us This is the Rest of Saints but Christian Reader God now in these days is discovering the false coverings of creatures and sostripping them naked God is bringing men tr see this great mystery of self in all â—s glory He is annihilating creatures and bringing them to a spirituall death He is laying low mountains and un-bottoming and un-resting Creatures Mens lofty looks He is abasing yea He is bringing men who have bin stars and somthing in their own and others eyes even to a loss and silence confusion and darkness That now their light is darkness their wisdome folly their life death their enlargements and self-actings hedged up and they cannot find out any of their former paths so that now they are made to waite in silence as well as the Author of this book was forced to do and it may be the wisdome of God that this particular shall be an instrument of good as well in this as it hath bin before it came in this publick view to many souls in another manner and method so that I shall leave them to receive at thy hands what censure the wisdom of God pleaseth to cause or permit wishing thy exceeding happinesse in the Spirit Thine in Truth revealed R. W. Severall Rests of Creatures Discovered and laid open below the Coming of Christ in the Spirit who is the alone Rest of Saints THE first Rest which we shall speak of is Civility or a common restraint of the Creature from the committing of grosse evils looked upon by the party to be Reformation This condition or dispensation speaks deceiveable peace to many a spirit upon the which seeming good which pretends to follow this state the creature resteth and is satisfied But the reason thereof partly flowes from these following grounds 1. From comparing himself with others that is looking upon the grosnesse of mens actions abroad in the world as namely swearing and drunkennesse and the height of all prophanes many spirits live in where they are in the same condion Drinking up iniquity as if they were drinking up water in these particulars hee being restrained and more civillized then those he blesseth himself in his present condition and Rests satisfied with it as though in it he did enjoy much of God 2. It flowes from comparing his condition present with what it was The more grosser his condition was before the higher it works him into conceit with the happines of its present condition Thus not seeing the purity of God and the deceitfulnes of its own spirit within he comparing himself with himself is deceived and so rests satisfied 3. It flowes from the consideration of the greatnes of love he had before being restrained to those grosse evils he is restrained from together with the greatnes of the power which he cals the divine power of God which thus restraines him and thus he reasons if God did not highly love me I should never have received such a power from him as to shake off and not only so but to hate and obhorre those grosse sins I so deerly loved both in my self and others and now the very practise of them being as he conceives hated by him ads weight to his thus reasoning out the love of God Another thing which ads weight is his often praying against such particular sins as yet remaines unsubdued afterwards these being subdued he looks upon acceptance with God in this being he looks upon it as an answer of prayer and so in the same he reasons out love in this condition 4. It flowes from the seeming sorrow which ariseth continually upon the view of his former condition which workes a seeming repenatnce and reformation and from the sorrow he hath for his former condition now having a work of Reformation he Rests under the notion of happinesse yet not all this time brought home to see the grosnesse of his heart within but meerly washing the outside Luke 11. 39. and being a whited wall glorious without it is all he looks for or seeks after But Satan and mans heart will suffer the creature to act so farre and propound such waies to himself as in the same to bring the soul into a state of security where it may rest under the consideration of being happy and not without some visible ground apparent both to the creature thus deceived and the World who are not spirituall discoverers But alas what is it for any to be instruments to pull down or to be restrainers from Idolatry without when indeed there is remaining the cause of all Idolatry of Spirit within To be outwardly drunk no more yet to be drunk with the high conceipts of himself which is neither with wine nor strong drink it s worse for a man to have the branches broken down before the root be pulled up for a man to be seemingly a Saint a devil within in this estate there is no sure Rest but thus it is most commonly with men they conclude they are happy if they have but the least appearance of it in a visible restraining of them from gross evils in this they appear to themselves and others men reformed so new creatures when indeed they are stil in their blood though they have escaped the common pollution of the World through a general knowledge of Christ which is no sure cause of Rest until there be a particular knowledge of him by which the creature is cleansed from all pollutions both of flesh spirit which makes the heart upright before God from this inward knowledge of God which carries up the spirit of a spirituall man into God where he comes to be truly centred up in God so that the heart and Satan being deceitful as to suffer the creature to escape the common pollutions of the World so that it may but there keep the Creature And seeing in this estate of darknes none can truly judge of its condition aright until the true light come in which makes all things manifest Then it behoves souls in this estate though to themselves never so seemingly glorious not to rest satisfied with or content it self in it as though it did enjoy God in the same manifested but to wait for a higher dispensation and then the truth of this dispensation shall be discovered
a bundance of paines and diligence in the Scriptures and in books doe get abundance of knowledge and after it is gotten they Rest upon the same as though it were to enjoy the manifestation of God to enjoy much knowledge here they abuse a dispensation of God and transform it into another use then ever God ordained it for So that though a man have never so much knowledge yea though his knowledge be according to or attained in the Scriptures if he Rest there before he hath got it in the heart by expersence as he hath got it in the head for discourse his Rest is much below the substance of Truth For no man is to Rest in any thing without him so known untill it be within him and then he Rests not in God because declared in Scripture but upon God because revealed and experienced in him and so is fully known by him The third way whereby this Knowledge comes to be attained is from the declarings of the experiences of others he by the same stores himself with points of experience as well as points of Judgement and here he can speak all manner of Languages as well as those that enjoy truth in them so that he can speak of points of judgement with those that are for that discourse and points of experience with those that are for that having a form of both in his understanding and from that is able to make out himself as those who sweetly in the power of Truth enjoy God But for this latter he hath but stolne the word from his Neighbour hee hath got his experience to discourse of And this is the great deceit of mens spirits in our daies for when they hear of a precious high Truth of God which they never heard of before they either oppose it or else they get the form of it into their notion or understanding and the next upportunity they have they declare it as their own whereas though they were convinced of the truth of it yet they were to waite for the enjoyment of the power of it in themselves and that it might be sealed by the Spirit in them 1 Cor. 4. 19 20. But many conceive if they can but remember a truth though they have it not in the power of it in themselves that the very believing of it and assenting to it is the experience of it Bud these are those who have a form of God or the truth in their understandings and want the power of that truth in their Spirits And so many a soul rests in this very part of knowledge Now the Reasons of a souls resting here are partly these following First From a comparison made in his own spirit with others that are in lower dispensâ—tions or weaker in knowledge or discourse then himself but especially Professors who live in high thoughts of their estates and he thus comparing his condition with theirs and seeing it so far excell theirs makes his conclusion if their condition be happy then mine is much more in respect of what I have enjoyed more then they I am not any way inferiour to any almost surely I am in a happy estate if any The second Reason followes from the high estimation others have of him especially men of the rarest abilities and solidest judgements and this addes fuel to his fire of conceipt and makes his rest the more glorious And this is the reason that if at any time the approbation of those cease to be what it was that it occasions much distraction and want of peace within himselfe for when part of a mans cause of rest and peace is taken away no marvel then if part of his rest and peace go along with it Whereas he that rests in God is freed in the Spirit and is as Mount Zion which can not be moved Psalm 125. 2. Let mans apprehensions cease or encrease he is not lifted up by the one or cast down by the other but he hath a continuall testimony within himself which abides for ever The third Cause or reason of his resting upon the gifts of knowledge is from want of a right infâ—rmation of judgement in the difference betwixt a form of truth in the understanding and the power of truth in the heart not opposite to the other for though mans knowing God in generall or from heresay be a dispenâ—â—tion of God and good in its place yet it is not to be rested upon as though the soul had in this a reall enjoyment of God Now a man may know a thing in generall and may believe in it assent to it and obey it and make a large profession of it yet if he enjoy not God in that very thing it is but a dispensation below the power of Truth So that we see here that men may get things into the head before they be in the life and power of them in the heart which if rested upon brings with it a dangerous consequence As 1. It is the way to high security and such a security being but carnall as being without ground It is the way in the second place to a self-glorying and creature exalting and to the displeasing of God Thirdly It is the way to fall into all manner of loosnesse under pretence of freedome and knowledge of truth and that is no sinne though â—t do this or that For no marvel when a man hath no more then a form of God in the head and wants the power of God in the heart then that soul fals into a carnal loosnesse whereby truth is evil spoken of and the party thus doing justifying his action by his hardnesse of spirit which by it he is brought into And this is the reason why many when they have received high notioÌ„s and do hold them forth do walk very unlike truth is because they have it but in the head and want the power of it in the heart They have it from others or some other way and not from God and so they cannot stand in the day of temptation and so return like a Sowe to the wallowing in the mire 2 Pet. 2. 22. Again a Soul is further established in this condition from his dayly growth and encrease in knowledge he dayly growing in knowledge daily more established on his own bottomes though not so thought by himself This dayly encrease of knowldge in himself the benefit that sometimes is redounded to others by that doth increase the flame and ads fuel to the fire of this false rest The second excellent Part or Gift upon which men Rest is Prayer and this is made an Idol of by such parties who Rest upon it But first of all when a man sets his face towards God it would gladly pray but wanting this proper Gift it useth formes but after it sees the vanity of that dispensation and the emptines of it it now would gladly pray in the spirit and continually is complaining for want of matter to expresse In conclusion it attains matter to expresse and
out of conceit he did God good service Rested satisfied We know the Scribes and Pharisees who were the most zealous for Sabbaths and prayer and other points of Worship yet they make it their Rest but come to our daies and see if we swarme not of the same only seeming professors of God who are very zealous for the same things and from their very zeal are made to Rest with high thoughts of their condition But how far this zeal which is most commonly led with more affection then Judgement will bring man into a form of Truth First It will leade man into a whole conformity to what it doth conceive to be truth that it shall according to what it hath serve God in all good conscience Acts. 23. 1. and according to the Law to be unblamable and untaxable Then his conversation shall bee very strict in the observation of what the Law requires and he shall act the same with much vehemency of spirit taking all oppertunities for the doing of the same Secondly It will carry the soule on to suffer cheerfully what he may meet withall in this very particular Thirdly he may by zeal afflict his body sore 1. Cor. 13. 3. with fasting and mourning under pretence the one to honour and obey God the other for dishonou◠brought to God So as he may be almost spent in body and spirit and estate in prosecuting the things o◠God according to his light Farther hee may out o◠Zeal come to Gospel precepts and may be Zealous for that light in externall formes which is there required to be obeyed so as he may gather Churches and may suffer much in the conforming to and practising with so much vehemency the Ordinances cōmonly practised by the Churches in the Apostles and our daies so as his Zeal may lead him out to teaching and helping forward that work studying night and day to finde out matter to furnish himself for edification so as for paines in the Churches and for Zeal to observe the severity of those formes and any thing required to bee practised in the said Churches so as now it will have communion in Ordinances with none but those of his own stamp judgement being mightily carried forth to judge and pitty those who are opposers of that light Now this soul through Zeal may goe thus farre yea to act the very highest things the Scriptures doe require in matters of visible practise and yet be not at all taught in the Spirit neither got into the life and power of what he doth professe but meerly zealous for shadowes and wants the power so as he is commanded by the form and not the forme by the power dwelling within him Now grant farther That such a soul did act in truth according to this dispensation yet notwithstanding in this particular there were no cause of Rest for nothing visibly seen flowing from the Creature ought to be its Rest but some visible flowings into the Creature which is being and substance from which and unto which a Soule through Zeal for God acts Also a Creature thus Zealous Rests not at home but reformes abroad also beginning with his own family and so goes abroad to others and labours for reformation and practises the same with much Zeal so as he can not endure the visible appearance of any sinne in himself or others He may help with much Zeal the purging of Cities and Nations or drunkennesse or swearing or any open prophanesse he may be for punishing of evil doers in this particular with much severity and seeming to be much troubled at the neglect of it he may rejoyce much in this practise and may help forward this work in a Nation very much and yet this no Rest at all also he may be zealous yea mad of Zeale for the worship of his God in reference unto others not only taking all opportunities to inform them in the same but using all Coercive powers for confiring them thereunto so as he may be an instrument to bring families and most part of Cities into this outward conformity to the matters of worship and here hee lookes upon an action done of great moment and weight and partly makes this an evidence of this true enjoyment of God by Reason of his Zeale for God and the effect thereby produced which is the good of many Now the cause of a Souls thus Resting partly flowes from want of the information in judgement of the great deceite of the heart in putting man by zeal upon such publique actions and then to cause it to Rest and further it conceiving it's Zeale for God and from a principle of God not being acquainted with a Pharisaicall Zeale to be seen of men or to get a name amongst men or that Zeal which men have but not according to knowledge or the Zeale Paul had before conversion which excels both for vehemency and downrightnesse is the Zeal of many a professor who are at Rest in our daies Now a poor Creature because he is made to suffer freely and to hazard life and liberty in the prosecution of this Zeal he is much puffed up under these considerations 1. That now this is a suffering with and for Christ and therefore he shall reign with him and enjoy much from him 2 That this is a parting with all for Christ and a great point of self denial and so an evidence of a disciple of Christ when indeed the Soule is in himself and hath not at all attained that estate to forsake himselfe Therefore let every heart though never so Zealous for God take notice that his heart may deceive him in his Zeal and his affection may blinde his judgement and so it proves blinde zeal Or Secondly Consider that though it be such Zeale as is good and to be approved of in its dispensation yet not at all to be Rested upon nor to be an evidence of any true enjoyment of God though he pretend God in the fore-front as Jehu did The fifth false Rest. THe next Rest of a Soule though I might not have spoken of it because I have partly given it forth yet that things may be the more opened its the Creatures Righteousnesse or sanctification and outward holinesse wherein both in carriage and words he doth most sweetly in probability savour of high enjoyments of God This is to be a testimony of the same to others though not to himself yet notwithstanding his Rest is to him a high evidence of the true and reall possessings of God when alas it is continually a vanishing Rest and evidence and when the Creature stands in need of it it is taking its wings and flying away and proves a miserable comforter in the saddest straits of a Soul But first let us consider that true holinesse of a person made manifest in actions flowes from the justification of a Soule made manifest in the Spirit so that the truest holinesse or outward sanctification doth wholly flow as an effect of Justification made manifest
the creatures spirit is set a waiting for it and at last comes to enjoy it So in Free grace when God represents this truth to let man see he is Free in all his dispensations man being thereby convinced of it his heart is set a waiting for the enjoyment of the same within him which he sees in God above him that is above his reach of enjoying and so he doth not let him Rest though he see a truth until he comes to have the manifestation of it within him and in the power and life of it enjoyed by him So as the generall knowledge of Free grace before it be known particularly in the Creature by the manifestation of it from God will be no secure Rest or satisfaction for any soul First The creature in this condition may receive it with much joy as witnesse them Mat. 13. 20. yet be short of having the power This truth is very pleasant to many especially to those that have been the greatest workers for Grace whereupon their delight is much taken up either in hearing reading or discourse that tendeth to the declaring of this truth and it is a dispensation of God in some men but not a Rest unto them Now men who are made to Rest here may have high notions of this truth and may be more able to speak of it then those who have enjoyed it in a general manner but come to the particular workings of it in the soul and many prove shallow there only they declare it as they see it to be a Scripture truth But he that Enjoyes sees it to be an Experimentall and a Scripture Truth Now some men have learned what he beleeves and Rests upon it only from report or men declaring their experiences or what the Scripture doth relate of others but have not any Teachings of God what it saith according to the Scriptures in them by Experience And here sometimes man is not compleatly furnished to declare this Truth But one who doth enjoy truth within doth a little discerne where such a soul is to wit have heard and from hearing do declare and yet not brought into the Kingdome of Truth to see and experience it within himself Further Man may daily increase in the Notionary knowledge of this Truth wherein he may appear a Tall Cedar in his own eies and in the eyes of others and grow up into high Notions and Light and is able to speak of very high and glorious light yet if he here Rest it may prove in conclusion but a feeding upon winde and husks Furthermore In this knowledge of Truth may man solace and refresh his spirits continually in the apprehension of the same and yet it is but seeming not reall satisfaction or refreshment if he there Rest trusting to it to be God himself for want of information of the difference betwixt what is a Truth in it self seen so by me and a Truth mine manifested within me not knowing the foot-steps of truth without man from the foot-steps of truth within man not knowing a difference betwixt the deceipt of the heart in its deceivable workings making glorious Rests of that which is none and Truth nakedly discovered from or by God in the heart with its End and Testimony so as the creature is not satisfied with any thing though it be a truth without him until he finde the very being of that Truth within him Therefore whosoever he bee that reads these few lines Let him beware of these things following First that he judge not that to be a place of Rest to his spirits which is but in shew not enjoyed in substance nor absolutely passe sentence of any thing untill there be a Divine light within which makes it manifest Yea though they may come so far as to be convinced of truth of Free grace and for the transcendent Excellency of Christ in God yet Rest not until thou finde it in thy soul manifest from God then shalt thou seal it to be a truth yea thou shalt have it sealed up for Truths by the Spirit of GOD within thee Also to take notice I do not despise nor condemne this dispensation not to be of God first to see by Scriptures these to be Truths But There labour to unbottom and to un center any soul who meerly rests in the notion of them Thirdly To beware of condemning these things because they have no experience of them or because they come nigh them or because if they be Truths they have nothing left them but wait untill they see a Light within to discover the truth or fallacy of them to them Jer. 17. 9. and if so be they see not the deceite of their hearts or those false Rests in them we are speaking of yet do not condemn them who have both seen and known them as though they sought to destroy the foundation of God in Saints but look upon me as one owning any dispensation of God in its place proper to it The Eight false Rest THE Next Rest we desire to speake of in order to this is the Knowledge of Christ in the flesh Eithar considered as he is declared in Types and Figures under the Law or as he assumed nature upon him and so consequently dyed at Jerusalem Now for the first In reference to Types and Figures which at this time are the dispensation of Ordinances either practised before or since his Coming How many in our daies are they that meerly rests upon such shadows some practising of such Types as held forth Christ to come some in those that were practised after his Coming and here they satisfie themselves As instance the cry of most Wee enjoy the pure Ordinances of Christ wee are members of the Church of Christ we are partakers of those outward priviledges purchased by Christ Instance the peace and comfort they enjoy in them the glorying and the high conceite they have of themselves above others that do not practise with or enjoy them witnesse their deadnesse flatnesse when they want them and their life and peace in the enjoying of them witnesse their binding up in them and their whole Experience contained in this particular When I was imployed in such an Ordinance I was fil'd with joy or I was made to be satisfied with the seeing of God in it when the poor Creatuer it may be knowes not what God in all or any thing is but if it be enlarged or have some particular flashes of comfort it makes that to bee the presence of God and meerly under these fleshly parctises or carnall relations do many Rest satified But Secondly To Rest upon Christ come in the flesh is to Rest upon the beleeving the report the Scripture gives concerning him as being born of a Virgin and suffering and being buried and the like and if they beleeve this and can but heare enough of the Letter preached to this purpose they Rest as beleeving such a particular to be true and that is all that is required of them to
dissolve in a higher appearance of God Therefore though men both know and beleeve that there was a Christ crucified in the flesh yet let them not rest untill they know it in the Spirit Then shall a man see Christ daily crucified before his eyes First In him Secondly By him Thirdly For him And fourthly Crucifying of him That he shall say with Paul from experience I am crucifyed with Christ neverthelesse I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me Gal. 2. 20. Then shall the soul know both what it is to be crucified by or with Christ and also what this Christ is that lives within him which is become life unto him then he shall know it is not flesh but Spirit and life that lives in him neither shall he be satisfied with hearing of his death at Jerusalem but with experiencing partly the mystery now made manifest in him and so comes to be known by him then shall he say Though I have known Christ after the flesh yet now henceforth know I him no more 2 Cor. 5. 16. Being he knowes him in the new Creation being made to see and discern in the Spirit and so behold Christ in the vision of God Hab 2. 3. Which is so far from being beheld before as a true crucified estate as indeed there is nothing but darknesse and rebellion in the heart to such an estate only the soul living and rejoycing in some carnall conception of God and Christ and yet the heart is empty of his light and giory and indeed running from the Fountaine to the streames and from the substance to the shadow or figure as I might plainly lay open how all the actions of Christ in the flesh attributed to him are but reall Types and figues and shadowes of either good things to come or to be revealed in souls I cleerly see that sometimes he speaks in Parables sometimes he speaks in Mystery and sometimes yea altogether he acted in Mystery as holding forth what he did in his coming in the soul being a more glorious dispensation then that under the Law as the coming of him in the Spirit is from his comming in the flesh so that what miracles and acts transcendently acted by him above all that was made and is experienced by those in the Spirit who enjoy him who discovers all as namely his raising Lazarus and at the marriage turning water into wine and his healing sick and opening eyes and so all passages flowing from him of this nature were but figures still of what he did and would do in and for soules and so not only in matters of doing but also in matters of sufferings they are reall figures of the same truth substantially experienced in Saints both place persons condemnation Grosse death buriall his agony or withdrawing before his grave and resurrection his not ascending immediately after his death to his Father but afterwards ascended in the fulnesse of time All these in every particular are known in the true and spirituall sense of them by those that have had fellowship with ham in his death and Resurrection and so hath passed from death to life and now is risen within and dwels with him in heaven and so is swallowed up in the God-head and is rose in the Fathers glory and now is filled with the Spirit this time is the time of knowledge and this is wisdomes time wherein he comes to be satisfaction to them and also is justified by them this is the time when they sing nothing but praise and glory to the Lamb who doth not onely deserve to open the Book Rev. 5. 9. and the Seales thereof but hath opened the Book and discovered to the soul the Cabinet and storehouse of the glorious Mystery of the Father and Christ into which City of glory and light the soul is made to enter and Rest and live for ever that now all things are become new Rev. 21. 5. to and with such a soul the very Kingdome of God and the mystery thereof is opened Rev. 10. 7. and now the Tabernacle of God is with man Rev. 21. 3. and now this glorious mystery Christ is manifested in life and power and become the hope of the compleat glory and fulnesse thereof Col. 1. 27. to be made manifest when it is made capable to comprehend it from being comprehended by it and swallowed up in it then shall this heart doâ—e no more upon shadowes or broken Cisterns or figures of good things to come but he shall be gathered up into God and Christ and shall possesse them in the fulnesse of them The ninth false Rest THe next Rest in order to this is visible Church communion or the relations under this notion O this I may say is one of the Idols of Israel and I may say as God was a saying once Come and see yea behold what the Children of Israel are doing in the dark O the darknesse of such soulâ— who Rest in and under such dispensations truly if I should speak the naked truth and nakedly discover every false Rest I never in my own experience did finde more grosse darkenesse sease upon my spirit then did sease upon my spirit under this dispensation Secondly Never more false Laodicean security Thirdly Never more pride and self conceitednesse then at that present ready to judge every one that were not in relation in reference to Church-communion to be no Saints 2. Looking more at the practise of Ordinances and being members of Churches then at the reall experience of such a soul 3. More longing after the encrease of members then of their living in the Spirit which were members 4. Judging every one if they were but in and under such Relations to be Saints though they had little yea indeed no experience of God at all refusing communion with such being not of my judgement though they knew what communion in the Spirit was and closed yea joyned with those who are ignorant of it because they were Church-members This having been mine and still are many more at this present what Church are they of Are they Baptized What judgement are they of Which doth argue both an Idolizing of and Resting upon these poor dispensations of babes and Children It hath been with me and I fear hath been and is still with many more a coldnesse of love to those yea a condemning also because they have or doe not close with us in every particular in matters of Judgement or formes of worship though the parties live in very high enjoyments of God and are passed these childrens and babes dispensations and all this testifies a Besting upon our formes and manner of worship as for instance An Independent so called and an Anabaptist and so many more as the godly presbyterian and others under divers distinctions of foâ—mes how bitter they are one against another what a distance they stand one from another witnesse their preaching and printing and in the same their bitternesse Instance their refusal to hear or joyn
appear So it is with new Testament formes they have and had their time and yet have when God will and doth appear in them yet it is but untill God appear in a higher dispensation and bring the soul into a higher administration then do all shadowes and whatsoever is Gospel-administration cease to that particular soul in the use of them what they were before I would not be mistaken I doe not say they cease to all and every person whatsoever but to such a soul as is in this dispensation namely he who is caught up with God and carried by God out of the forme God ceasing to appear to that particular soule in that forme the Lamb leading the soul gently out of one dispensation into another untill he be wholly swallowed up with God Secondly Such a soule as can truly say the substance of such a forme is come in the Spirit and enjoyes the same within him for there are some formes and administrations which hold forth Christ in the Spirit to come now such cease to be in the use of them at his coming as those old Testament formes did hold forth as we say Christs coming in the flesh which was both the substance of those formes and a more glorious administration of God so it was in the decrease of John and the encrease of this more higher and glorious administration so it shall be in Christ his coming in the Spirit into every soules heart then these formes that Christ appeared in in the flesh shall cease in his coming in the Spirit Now some Gospel-formes doe cease to none but to such as have enjoyed the enjoyment of Christ in the Spirit For as Christ led the Apostles from the Tabernacle-condition in his transfiguration so he will when he appears transfiguring himself in every heart as the Apostles so every heart shall cease to make any forme yea the New Testament-formes Tabernacles to dwell in for ever as many makes them now in our daies also there are administrations which hold out Christ already come Which 1. Is not to be practised before 2. It is to be practised after his coming As I shall name one especially It is the administration of Praise which is alone the work of those that are Redeem'd have the Seals of the vision of God opened and are caught up with God into Heaven to sing songs to Zions God in Zions language by Zions spirit in that holiest of holies which is the place of Zion and those brought into the God-head to sing Praise but now God in this condition is departed from them to this heart not to every own being seen and enjoyed in these formes which do hold forth his thus coming into the heart now none but those who do enjoy God in a more glorious dispensation are to cease acting in those dispensations or formes he yet continues his presence to them in for as God did cease and did not appeare in the forms of the old Testament and they were no more to be used after the substance thereof was come God appeared in a more glorious administration so will God depart and cease to be seen in new Testament-formes or administrations when both the substance of them is come and a higher dispensation doth appear leading the heart out of them to a more glorious and immediate enjoyment of himself This is to follow the Lambe whithersoever he goeth This is to hear a voice behinde man saying This is the way walk in it Isaiah 30. 21. And to be led by a pillar of fire Num. 9. 16 17 18. and sometimes by a Cloud to mans spirituall Rest and not to stand in and under one administration all ones daies and to be in one place for ever But to finde God leading dayly from one forme into another until he bring the soul into the perfect enjoyment of him who is the glory and substance of all formes this for the want whereof makes many to make them their Tabernacles and Rest yea their home yea their God peace and happinesse which if they be taken away their God is gone and their peace hath taken its wings and flown away this is the reason why many in Church relations have a name they live and yet are dead that is they have a name of Saints and Christians but they want the nature of them they have a profession but want a possession This is the reason why many come to have a burning up in their spirits and are brought to a daily losse they run faster into formes and Church relations then God did lead them therefore in them God leaves them for this reason the expectations of many are frustrated which causeth nothing but death and sorrow when they have longed and press'd out after formes and being members of Congregations and the enjoyment of pure Ordinances thinking to find so much in them and to conceive so much from them and when they come there behold nothing but dâ—iâ—es and emptinesse and the want of God and so have suffered losse This is partly the reason of all the rents and breaches in all Churches Congregated and why they cannot stand is because they were not lead by God into these forms neither did they see God clearly go before them but some by affection some by mis-information and some out of zeale so that now very little of God appears either in their coming in continuing with or parting from thus being bound up in forms and living in them and doting too much upon them and rejoycing too much in them and judging all that speake not for them or joyne not with them yea this is the reason why we are devouring one another because we all doe not look for and expect that the glorious appearance of God will lead each man out of his dispensation and form though never so low to drink into one Spirit Let him that is so much either bent for formes or wholly against them beware that he do not so dote upon them as to neglect the Summum bonum the chiefest good and let every heart that is against forms beware of these ensuing things 1. That his living above formes be not a preâ—ence of his own and no true and reall thing for many are mightily deceived in this very particular thing they live so high as they live above all formes and Ordinances in the Spirit when alas they are yet living in a form of knowledge scraped up either from their own industry or else got from hearing others report their experiences or apprehensions and he presently conceiving it to be a truth conceives it to be his truth and so fals off crying out and judging all those that live yet out of conscience in the use of formes not enjoying higher makings forth of God and yet he hath but got a notion of this into his understanding and yet is ignorant of living or injoying God in the Spirit 2. Let them beware of as great an evill on the right hand as on the
left and that is That they be not living upon an imaginary God and not the true for it is the way of the Creature to give so much way to his fancy and imagination that whatevet it proposeth to be God it lives upon and rejoyceth in and brings the Soul into deep and carnall security with high imaginations of himself being able to apprehend and discourse of deep and high things and yet want the life and power of any one of them 3 Beware of Judging if thou be broke off from formes those that thou hast left behind thee in the use thereof Considering that God is in all formes of his own appointment and that their dispensations may be of God and that they shall there abide but their appointed season And therefore let thy carriage to them and thy judgement of them be as much as possible may be without offence unto them and for the winning of them and that when God sees a higher dispensation fit for them he will lead them into it onely my soul desires they may not be so glued to them as to live in them and not to waite for a higher dispensation from God onely in the want thereof they are in the use thereof God owning and appearing unto them in them so that I could wish the wisdome of God may appear so in the hearts of those who do pretend thus high to live in God that it may truly appear to themselves and to others God led them into the same not themselves I have experienced both the contrary evils and therefore I speak so that if God be love as in his dispensation God is so to him that knowes it not then it must break forth from us if it be living in us to look upon Children and babes with a tender eye and respect so as judgement may passe away and the spirit of burning which is Love may appear amongst us Thirdly As others are under mens Teachings so look thou be under the Teachings of the Vision of God Hab. 2. 3. and that thou speak or pretend to enioy no more then is taught within thee by the Vision of God for in the want thereof sad experiences testifies we Peecing and patching Religion and high notions together â—nd make it their delight and joy Oh the teachings of God do open the very heart and the secrets of the sealed Book and beleeve it to live wholly above all in God It is to live such a transcendent life as is better and sooner spoken then enjoyed and known in truth for there must be such a death within men and a passing from death to life by man that indeed men may hear of the thing and get it into their imaginations but to enjoy it in the true and reall manifestations thereof many in this shall in their conceits be brought to losse for to have the Seales of the Eternall brightnesse and glory of God opened in the appearance of the Vision in a mans heart to have the very splendor and glory of the divine Being revealed within man and to be wholly caught up in the whole ouâ— of all things so as the soul is wholly swallowed up with God in all things so that now neither eye hath seen nor eare hath heard neither by mans heart can be imagined the depths of the life glory and enjoyment of such a heart yet it iâ— his common meate and teaching of the Spirit within him so that no maâ—s teaching can reveal the life and center of such a heart but it is better experienced then can be declared it is so transcendent a life and being Yea further for any man to live so in God as he enjoyes God in all and seeth God the life and being of all yea it is not his judgement but he findes all these things effectually within him For a man may be of the judgement concerning living wholly in God to be the only Life and yet not to know this from the experience of the Visions teaching within himself Now it is no benefit for any to be of this and that judgement unlesse he live in the clear enjoyment of the truth he is convinced of in his judgement and understanding here is the glory of a Saint indeed not to know a truth because it is the judgement of any neither because it is his own judgment but that he hath within him the truth teaching of it to him from the life and power of it in him So he knowes the Sun to be the Sun not from hear says but he seeth the life and glory of it having his eyes opened to behold it and findeâ— by experience the heâ—t and powerfull operation of the same upon him as well as upon the earth So with Saints they do not receive their life light or experienco of God living in a Saint from hearing of it but God breakes forth in their spirit and so gives them the sight of the glory light and splendor of God within themselves So soul beware thou be not overcome so with hear-saies as to rest satisfied with the meer notion of God and truths and yet be at this time but a blazing starre who shall fall and cease to be what thou art present boâ—h to thy selfe and others seemest to be onely for a time thou may by this notionary light in thy understanding and judgement be a blazing star to discover what thou hast for the deceit of thy self and others and yet it is not the light of the being of truth in thee but a borrowed light got from others or in thy imagination or conception which shall suddenly perish and then thou shalt be left in the dark as a man in the Clouds reserved for the great day Oh to be Taught of God is a Jewel it will teach Truth and not lye Therefore in the last place It is worth waiting for though thou waite in silence and in death untill thou do enjoy it lest thou pretend to have that thou hast not and to enjoy that thou enjoyest not for in so doing thou shalt go with a ly in thy Right hand and shelter thy self under vanities and lies Yet I would not be mistaken that either I am against formes in their time and place and mâ—nner neither that I deny that a soul may attain to suâ—h a glorious enjoyment of God as must yea all formes and shacowes may fly a way and be dissolved though not destroyed and the person forme and use thereof shall be swallowed up with glory But I desire to compose the great difference that lyes in mens attainments when they all cannot speake one thing or enjoy God in one dispensation then they fall one condemning another so as they cannot make ouâ— for good of each other that which theâ— enjoy of God in their preâ—ent dispensations Secondly to unbottom the one of Resting in and living upon or making his everlasting Tabernacle in those shadowes and the other to be thâ—t in an especiall manner which both in word
in a mystery what Eternall life is And because the Scriptures say that weary soules are to come to Christ for ease and Rest therefore every soul who in his own fancy and imaginations doth judge himself to be weary may come to Christ and so by his being weary there is way opened for his coming to him For First It may be the heart may be weary of sin because it brings judgement or condemnation Or Secondly It may be weary because of his long travel to and waiting for Christ Thirdly It may be weary because it can no longer abide in these dispensations of Gods leading Fourthly It may be wearâ— because God comes not in his time and rewards it for its breathing after and working to attaine God or Christ Now the soul being falsly led out by his own heart he instead of coming to Christ onely Rests upon his bare apprehension of this in the letter from his sutability to it in his own spirit and here he feeds and remaines with ease comfort and peace in his own spirit and this he makes his Tabernacle Though it be true that Scriptures were given to be a visible testimony or declaration of God or Christ according to which God workes in man yet they were never given to be an inward Testimony or a Rest unto man but the Truth of the letter must be both revealed known and Judged of by the Spirit and not the Spirit especially in Internalls by the Externall letter neither qualifications in man sutable to the letter in mans apprehension is a ground of faith or rest without an inward Testimony and Manifestation by the Spirit of the Truth of these qualifications The eleventh false Rest. THE Next Rest in order to this upon which men Center their spirits and make their Tabernacles is the use and application of the conceived and imagined extent of Christs death which being so fully declared in the letter without any more they believe it upon this Testimony and here is the ground of their joy peace assurance and rest Now I shall not go about to speake evil of any point of judgement in reference to any particular sactions but to come to lay open my own experience and false Rests which in so doing I may come to lay open a way whereby more that are led by the same deceite may come to see it in themselves and so may from sad experience seale to the Truth of what we are saying for many who have gone through this dispensation and have beleeved this to be a Truth when now alas they see that they were both ignorant of what this Christ was or what was meant by his death wanting the knowledge of it in themselves now the terrors of death have or do seise upon them and instead of being joy and peace unto them it hath produced death and sorrow in them But first of all This soul who is thus resting upon Christs dying for all he sees the Scripture saith He gave himself a ransome for all The conclusion is this of such a spirit if for all then for me and this he beleeves and this saith he is the ground of true faith when he is altogether deceived For the ground of faith is something out of the Creature in God before time revealed and made manifest from God to the soule in time upon which the soule builds his faith rests upon it and is kept unto all time in the glory and splendor of it but the soul wanting this in a particular way of discovery he makes the other the ground of his confidence for refreshment peace safety and happinesse and he concludes First That no true faith can be but this Secondly that none have any gtound to believe but upon this ground When the poor heart is altogether ignorant in his own breast of the manner of Gods coming to reveal truth yea himself in his Son by his Spirit whereas now mans ground of his happinesse lyes not in a misunderstood Scripture without him but in a right discerned revealed and known God within him Thirdly This soul daily encreaseth in the assurance of this his rest by his daily study pains and diligence wherein he fils his head with so much of the Scriptures as indeed he makes it so glorious as it Conquers his spirits and many more into a solacing himself in this very particular when indeed he is missing the chiefest good which is the life of him who puts an end of all controversie to all such disputes when he comes to appear in the Spirit But alas before no marvell though the poore Soule be running from mountaine to hill though he forgets him who is the Resting place of Zion Therefore soul thou that makest thy habitation amongst the briers and thorns and barren mountains Arise these are not thy Rest they are from a corrupted judgement and therefore are corrupted and if thou stay here they shall destroy thee with an utter destruction all are not proper Rests which are dispensations and manners of Gods leadings but the pure promise of rest is neither in any thing before in Death and Resurrection but in the ascendings of the heart and spirit of a Creature into God by the descendings of God into the Creature which did raise him from death and the grave and now have opened the heavens to him by receiving of him into glory for as Christ did not make his rest and abode in any carnall or fleshly dispensation though in the same he did enjoy the Father so no heart is to make that his rest which Christ did not make Every heart so long as it lives below the glory of God so as it is not glorified with God is a heart centring himself in a dispensation which shall be dissolved For both man in he dispensation of Christ in the flesh or in a crucified buried or raised Soule is not to abide but in a glorified ascended Soule into God where the life is the unchangeable glory and splendor of God dwelling in man glorifying of man in which is the life and center of man truly and unchangeably centred The Twelfth false Rest THe next Rest in order to this is a closing with and drawing comfort from the promises expressed in the letter of the Scriptures This closing thus with and applying the benefit of promises the whole life center comfort cause of joy peace duties diligence what not to many a soul and from hence when many come to declare their manifestation of God all they have to say is at such a time a promise was made forth unto them or cast into their thoughts by which they apprehended God and closed with it and from thence did draw comfort and peace from it and this is all the experience of God that is manifested to them or that they have This causes abundance of rest and security to many a heart and luls them a sleep which is most commonly Satans way to apply himselfe to such a cuâ—e for to cause a soul
to Rest below God as is sutable to a Soules condition so he brought in a promise to Christ He hath given his Angels charge over thee c. Mat. 4. 6. Here he came to apply himself sutable to the condition of Christ O when once a soul is brought into a Pinacle-condition wherein he is brought to see the glory of much then Satan labours to cause the heart to fall down and worship him he coming smoothly and bringing he promises of God along with him to back the truth of what he doth and here after the soul is betrayed by represented glory in a promise meerly cast in from Satan wherein the soul falls down and worships the very cunning working and the high exalting of Satan and in this condition he is brought to see and apprehend high things and is brought into a Pinacle to behold almost the glory of every thing made over by Satan to the Creature in a promise upon the Soules submitting to him and upon this Pinacle he sets him that is he causes him to Rest and so the poor heart being not wise in the Spirit is deceived and betrayed though the actions knowledge light joy Rest of this soul be glorious and for God in his own eyes yet it is but Satans transforming himself into an Angel of light resembling or coming in and working in the Creatures heart in the gloriousest manner and shape God works in But Secondly Others being wounded in Spirit and weary in soule for the want of any glimpse of God leaving no means un-attained to get his soul cured and unburthened and having rested upon many false props before and being unbottomed of them he tries this particular it being of a higher nature and more likely to speak peace unto him viz. a running to Scripture to finde out some particular promises sutable to his condition and having found out some sutable Promises either presently seems to speak to him from a sutablenesse in him so it may be being a conditionall Promise or else the soul meditates a while upon it and it runs much in his thoughts and at last he closes with it strikes this load and burthen at his spirit here he drawes comfort and peace from it yea it may be so much as indeed the soul is mightily overcome in his spirits with joy and can do nothing but rejoyce upon which he Rests builds his faith as he cals it and so concludes it to be a maniâ—estation of God I will nor deny but God may make these waies if in truth cause of support unto a soul in his travelling towards his Rest But for a Soul to strike sail cast Anchor and have all the waves in his heart stayed and his very wearinesse of spirit at this present put to a period is as if the children of Israel had stayed either beyond the red Sea or when God gave them Manna before they came to enjoy a reall possession of the land of promise though God did this either to refresh their spirits and so to under-prop them or else to give them it at the desire and repining of their spirits to see how they would use it or abuse it Now this being a description of a Saints spirituall travell though God should cause a glimps of glory or heavenly Manna to refresh a heart to be given to a soul in the view of a promise yet for a soul to Rest in this and make it his habitation it smels too much of mans deceite and abuse of every dispensation and a daubing up his spirit with untempered morter and so hatches Cockatrice Egs and weaves the Spiders Webbe so that it is but a kindling of a fire and manwarming himself in his own sparks whose conclusion shall be death and sortow and before ever the creature knows what true rest is by sweet experience he must be brought to a death in all these But from my own experience of the fallacy of my own heart and the contrariety of the false Rests that I have gone thorow I make bold to propose these ensuing particulars to such a heart not intending to weaken the workings of God in any poor heart though under low Administration but only to discover the nakednes of man in the way of his own heart And First of all When did the Lord manifest himself to thy soul and give thee a particular right unto and interest in this promise the application of which thou makest thy Rest Secondly How was God revealed to thy heart in this promise Or whether is it not the great necessity thou hast of it that makes thee fly to the promise and suck sweetnesse life comfort and Rest from it Or is it God in Christ clearly Revealed unto thee in the same For it was necessity that made many run to the Ark and hang upon the outsides thereof though none but those that were within were saved Scribes and Pharisees did challenge a propriety in God and all externall priviledges but it was but from a sutablenesse of holinesse they had to the promise and not Revelation of God in them discovering the truth of God in them Thirdly What inward Testimony of God hast thou for thy great joy peace rest And what is thy inward evidence that witnesseth the truth of what thou enjoyest For every one that beleeveth hath a Testimony within himself 1 John 5. 10. And every heart that hath ever seen the appearance of God within him hath found a lively Testimony coming along with that Manifestation of God which is the only proofe of the truth of what he enjoyeth and not any Qualification nor outward Testimony either of man or from man 1 Joh. 3. 24. Fourthly How was peace in this particular enjoyed by thee Was it from some inward voyce of God or discovery of the same Or was it from such a sutable form of words to thy condition either cast in or found out in searching Or was it from a clear Manifestation of the glory of God in thee sutable to those forms of words in the Scriptures without thee whereby the forme of words came to be made good to thee so that thy comfort peace satisfaction or rest do not flow from the forme of words as thou seest them in Scripture without thee but from the enjoyments of God within thee sutable to that without thee Fiftly What glorious power of God was made out in thy spirit in thy thus closing with promises Thy thus closing may seem to be done in power but the spirituall Coming of Christ in the manifestation of his glory is so great as indeed it is not ordinary but extraordinary in the heart of him that knows his coming A promise Closed with before Christ come in the Spirit may seem to be done in glory and power by reason it may be he could not before beleeve nor live in that freedome or joy he now lives in but the coming of Christ in the spirit doth so farre surmount that as indeed the other appears nothing
when this is come Eph. 1. 19. Mat. 24. 30. Sixtly Whether is it the Manifesting of God to thee that gives thee a right to the Promise and from this thou closest with God Or is it that sutablenesse in thee to the words of the promise that gives thee a being whereby thou closest with it If it be the latter it is not right For all Promises are in Christ Yea and Amen And He is the ALL in them and if he be revealed he gives a being to them yea to the creature to live in that being as He is the ALL in them So that the substance of every promise must come into the soule and be revealed in it before the form of words can truly pronounce comfort peace life happinesse or rest to it So as his Rest is not upon the form of words as in Letter expressed but upon the being of it which is God manifest Now many a heart doth feed upon huâ—ks out-sides and externall formes of words and fals short of being caught up into his glory and so resting in the being of all Truth Here it comes to passe that the Creature makes every thing a God and will shape and form out God according to its imaginations and so labours to dispossesse God and to set up its own shape in Gods stead Now promises whether they be sought or cast in they are to be no rest unto any heart for the words of the promise are like unto a figure or type it testifies something to be given to the Sons of men but when a soule is in the possession of those things then it doth not rejoyce upon the words holding out the thing but upon the substance of the thing possessed in the heart but many on the contrary hand for the want of this run after conpitionall promises and when it seeth not the condition of the promises performed in it he labours after a sutablenesse to them before not daring to apply them but when he hath got his heart into such a frame as he imagineth to be sutable to the condition thereof he Resteth there applying life and comfort from it concluding he hath a right unto it from this particular But if at any time he breâ—â—â— the condition his peace is gone because the cause of his peace was his exact performance of the condition of the promise Secondly But some are higher then this and they see a vanity in this and they lock upon Christ as the performer of the condition and if he can but beleeve Christ hath done it and then he hath a right unto the same whereupon he useth meanes to get his judgement convinced of this that Christ died for him and in Conclusion he gets himself convinced of the same and here rests concluding the promises are his because Christ is his when indeed both the ground of his conclusion and confidence is false and so he comes to be deceived Thirdly Another that Rests upon promises before Christs spirituall Coming is when a man hath laine in sad darknesse and bondage and hath a long time waited for a discovery of God and at last some apprehensions of Christ come into his understanding whereupon he stands convinced in his own judgement that Christ is his Whereupon he for the greater increase of his Rest Comfort and peace runnes to promises and applyes them as having a right to them in his own apprehensions by Jesus Christ Here is that which begets the strongest confidence that Christ is come in the Spirit which works that joy and peace the soule thinks shall never be taken from him whereas after a while man is not so quick-sighted nor so clear enlightned but it suddainly lyes in the grave as that which must vanish in the spirituall appearance of Christ in the heart Now this is the great design of Satan to keep the poor creature on the out-sides the husks and would have the Creature wholly to live below the glory of Truth which is the coming of Christ in the Spirit of glory But hearts truly principled before Gods appearance â—e made to waite for him from a great power of himself not in any of these things to rest before they in the glory of the spirit come to enjoy him Mat. 25 10. The thirteenth false Rest. THe next Rest in order to this is great strange and excellent flashes of God so I tearm them and a they the most appear yet they may be true or false resembled or reall First We shall speak of flashes of light in the understanding And neither touch them as they are true or false 1. If they be but flashes they are no reall manifestations of Christ in the Spirit and therefore in the first place They are not of a witnessing nature they bring no reall Testimony of God along with them but leave the creature dark and empty in and of this particular but Christs coming in the Spirit is not without a Witnesse which is both unresistible and satisfactory but flashes whether they are of God distinct or opposite they have no Testimony of the Spirit to witnesse the truth of God to man by the Spirit within man as man is below under the dispensation of a flash whether true or false So secondly They are not of a powerfull Nature they are very weake in comparison of the power of Christ coming in the Spirit For first They do not dispossesse Satan of his habitation whereas the coming of Christ in the spirit doth Mat. 12. 28 29. Secondly They do not dispossesse the Creature of living in himself or they do not carry up the Creature into the glory of God in the Spirit they being of too low a nature no more then flashes in a dark night can bring the Creature into the beholdings of and living in the glory of the Sun so that they are not compleat Revelations of glory neither powerful in effecting the same worke which is accomplished in the coming of Christ in glory 3. They do not satisfie the heart of any they may seemingly give contentment for the present yet the spirit not altogether satisfied whereas the coming of Christ in the glory of the Spirit doth fill and satisfie the heart of any in whom he appears Mal. 3. 10. Mat. 5. 6 yea his coming causeth a running over of the souls Cup yea it is uncontainable mans capacity not being able to receive or comprehend the same for the want of this satisfaction power or witnesse of the Truth of Christs coming he being but under a flash he runnes to Ministers and men of experience to hear their judgement being not satisfied in himself and according to their approbation and judgement he most commonly receives the more or lesse satisfaction and so â—ests whereas if it be Christs coming in the spirit a soul need not run to any Creature in the World to be satisfied in the Truth of what is discovered for HE comes with a Satisfactory witnesse which doth answer all objections and satisfy all doubts
in the heart which may arise yea if men instead of approving do deny it to be truth yet the souls Testimony within it selfe doth bear up his spirit that he is able to say all men belye the truth Rom 8. 16. he not in the least being daunted in his assurance thereof though it be opposed by man or devil neither can such a heart be shaken if all the men of the world should arise against the same coming to disprove it Prov. 10. 25. 30. Also he that runs to any visible externall witnesse pretending Christ is come in the spirit is a creature altogether ignorant of his said coming and lives much below such a coming for to me this is an infallible Truth that if any man pretend Christ is come into him in the Spirit and yet wants an inward Testimony or witnesse for it and so is forced to make use of visible Testators he is a man plainly wanting the enjoyment of the same for God in such a case never leaves himself without a sure satisfactory unresistible and undeniable Testimony which indeed â—he Creature who wants the same may well make use of others But flashes if they be deceiveable pretend to come in with a witnesse and therefore many call this a witneâ—se they being perswaded of the truth of what it enjoyes But this is as much below the witnesse of the spirituall coming of Christ as the light of the stars is below the light of the Sun How many under a state oâ— flashes which I may say is almost the last Carde Satan can play in a soule to deceive him in his transformings do live in most great joy light notions or pretended liberty thinking from a meer perswasion they have within them they live in very high enjoyments and doe beleeve they have a witnesse of the Spirit within them for the truth of what they beleeve when indeed it is but a formed imagination and a Carde plaid gallantly by Satan to keep the creature below the enjoyment of God in â—he Spirit and to live in freedome and rest when not in truth and in the Lord Further this is the reason partly of many ups and downs in the heart whereby the creature is one day a believing and another day doubting because it is not living in the enjoyment of Christ in the spirit but may be is under some flashes and so it comes to pass that it is unsetled and unfixed in God Fourthly Flashes are of no long continuance they are not of an enduring nature for they presently appear are presently gone and so though the Creature had a great deale of light and joy yet when the flash comes to be taken away away gos all the Creatures joy and light and he is left in the cloudes of darknesse and sorrow again Whereas when Christ comes in the Spirit it is not so then all sorrow and mourning shall flie away Isa 60. 19 20. and the darknesse of the Creature shall be expelled and God shall become unto the soul an everlasting light Rev. 21. 3. 24. so that God and the Lamb shall live in his heart and be light and glory to him so as his Sun shall never go down but he shall live in the light of God and the Lamb for ever and ever For his coming in the Spirit is after the Resurrection of a soul out of the grave whereby he is carried up in the light and glory of God from the descendings of that light and glory from God so as there is a living in the light God lives in and a swallowing up in the same glory God is swallowed up withall but a flash leaves in its withdrawing the Creature in the same it found him in if not worse for a flash of light or joy is like a flash of light in the Skye upon the darkest night it appears to be the greater the greater the darknesse is So upon a darke soul when it s possessed with much darknesse the lest flash that can appear in that is very great and admirable so that the heart being no otherwise able to judge lookes upon it as a manifestation of God yea may be a very glorious one yet it is not so and at last is taken away and the creatures hopes and expectations are frustrated Whereas to such a soul as lives in the day naturall or spirituall hardly can discerne or take notice of such a flash or light because it is so much inferiour to the light and glory of the Sun and day which now is appeared and shines either within him or without him These flashes in the first place if they be of Satan the very end thereof is to lull the creature asleep in the bed of security and there is no resting of the same by any poor creature For First It workes and comes in sutable to the Creatures necessities pretending redresse for the same Secondly It comes with a glorious resembled form or shape God workes in and so it becomes a transformed Satan and not a transfigured Christ Thirdly It is not able to discern the same by reason of the absence of the true light which makes all things manifest Ephes 5. 13 yea the very transforming of Satan Fourthly Flashes in this nature do come with furniture to back the truth of what it doth declare or speak if there be any jealousies arise in the heart as sometimes there is yet it doth furnish him with strength to mannage the entertainment of it and his joy and peace from it and here Satan plaies his part for if the heart be of an opinion that it is possible for a soul to doubt after he hath enjoyed a manifestation of God then he will put a creature upon doubting to make good that false un-sound and un-experienced principle of men that the truest faith is accompanied with the greatest doubtings and here the heart is stil deluded and kept in strong perswasions of the truth of his flash 2. If the heart be of that judgement that it is impossible that a soul can doubt again after he hath enjoyed a manifestation of God Then Satan will transform himself into a capacity of confirming the creature in labouring in all transformed actions to confirme the creature in his assurance of the truth of what he enjoyes and so upon all occasions addes to what he hath done and so the poor creature Rests satisfied in and upon what the Creature calls his manifestations of God now flashes that usually attend a creature that is truly enlightned by God though not fully possessed with God yet he being waiting for the coming of Christ in the spirit is sometimes attended with flashes or light of joy but they if from God most commonly have these ensuing effects 1. They do underprop and support a weary fainting spirit in his spirituall travell to his land of Rest so as he is made to wait with free submission to God untill it enjoy an appearance of God in the Spirit 2. Instead of causing a man
head where he is swallowed up with his conception of his enjoyment of Christ and God by beleeving and so may live in a way of Dependency upon Christ as he is declared and set forth to dye for man at Jerusalem from which knowledge beleeving and dependency there is begotten much deadnesse and security in which he may suffer and rejoyce he may dye and live in it exalting God much in word and seeming actions and yet all this time ignorant of the ground and Mystery of faith yea ignorant of the knowledge of Christ which begets the true exercise and living by faith Yet if this which I now say were true yet it were too low an Element for any spirituall heart to make his habition or Rest but in this same they are to be as men of hope 2 Thes 3. 5. waiting for and hasting unto the Coming of Christ in the Clouds 1 Thes 4. 17. where they shall enjoy and have a Dispensation of Glory and so shall be for ever with the Lord for the Mystery of faith is the pure fight of an un-known un-seen God Isa 33. 17. and the pure sight of God in this great Mystery is from the pure enjoyment of God is the Kingdome of heaven and glory and this must be within and enjoyed by every spirituall heart This is the place of safety where Saints Treasure lyeth and where they are to make their Rest habitation and abode Col. 3. 1. This safe Rest is not procured by neither is it a dependency upon one a heard of Christ but it is a carrying up a spiritual crucified Spirit into a glorious God who was and now is made manifest to live with to Rest upon and to have a habitation in for Ever and for Ever And here the spirit remaines in safety and in glory triumphing in him and being swallowed up with him is carried up into the light and life of God knowing him in all things enjoying him in all things seeing him to be the light and life of all things being now gathered up into his will is wholly disposed by him and therein with God is satisfied and so Rests whereas mens beleeving is very unsound and if it were not yet it s very unsafe being given to change And being it is but some exercise of something in man yet it being but an effect it is not to be a Rest but man is rather to be carried above it after the pessession of him who can give Rest and ease all heavy loades and burthens of the creature Mat. 11 28. 29. The sixteenth false Rest THe next Rest we in order shall speak of Is the great Experiences many have of deliverances given them by God from inward and outward straits making them evidences of his love and matter enough to conclude safety Rest and happinesse and in this particular there is some glosse and seeming cause as afterwards shall be produced And first of all we will come to spirituall deliverances as First Inward conflicts of spirit occasioned either by a discovery of the want of God or of a souls misery without God which occasioneth condemnation and apprehensions of wrath and so sorrow mourning and griefe of spirit in which condition the soul lyeth as in hell being filled with horror and fear and looking upon God as nothing but a revenging and tormenting God in which torments of spirit he lies groaning and mourning before God being swallowed up in darkness and bondage attempting all means to get freedome and liberty from this his sad wofull and miserable estate wherein soules sometimes get deliverance one of there three waies 1. Eiâ—her from extraordinary paines and diligence wherein he thinks if he could but do this or that or attain so much humiliation or mourning or repentance then he should be happy and in freedome whereupon in conclusion he attaines in his own apprehensiâ—n that which before he desired which stopping of the mouth of conscience and breaking prison before God deliver together with a conceite of a Cure applyed by God when indeed it is a curing the wound of such a soul falsly which in time will break forth to the greater damage of the party Or secondly It is freed by some cunning Sophister of Satan either immediately by himselfe wherein he lobours to apply a false remedy thinking to put the soul thereby into a state of security or else mediately by his instruments in the Ministery wherein they come to daub with untempered morter and so speak â—eace to man before God speak peace within man and so do as the Lord saith Heal up the wound of the Daughter of his people fasly and from this have many poor hearts been mistaken when at any time they have been in and under such torments of spirit they have not rested untill they have run unto Ministers to see what they will say some of them putting them upon doing some of them applying cures to them and here a poore heart thinks to be satisfied where he never Rests but runnes from one to another from creature to creature seeing if he can get any thing from them sometimes coming away with much peace other times coming away with a Lesson of doing and by these means come souls sometimes to have their deliverances and for a space Rests untill it break forth again The third way wherein many others attaâ—â—â—â—â—â—â—erances is from God As the Children of Israel from their land of bondage tyranny and task-masters which though God himself did free them yet notwithstanding was not to be their Rest but to be their first step toward their Rest So though God do sweetly deliver a Soul from and out of this trouble and perplexity of spirit yet it is not to be a Rest unto him or to be a habitation for him to dwell in but to be as it were the first step to his Rest Now some mens deliverances are of God and some of themselves and some of Satan but none of these are to be rested upon as they are deliverances seeing they may be true or false which untill a higher dispensation of God cannot infallibly be discerned Secondly A Soul may be delivered from a resolved self-Murther or Destruction when temptation doth violently attend that way yet notwithstanding though he be abundantly preserved by God in his inward straight wherein Satan would have him become his own executioner but it is not any sufficient Center for any spirit Or thirdly If it be a deliverance of the creature from the wrath to come presently lying in the apprehension of the creature yet not to be a Rest or any cause thereof Fourthly If it be a deliverance of the creature from some violent corruption or lust within him so as now God hath as it were freed his spirit from that Lordly power of inward corruption so as now he is freed from sin which formerly hath both dishonoured God dishonoured Truth and taken away his peace Now sometimes when this comes to be subdued and the soul delivered from
the same he Rests upon it and concludes from it great cause of safety and security and as an infallible Testimony of Gods love and here he makes his center when indeed the heart cannot have true Rest in any deliverances wrought for it by God but must be carried up above the same into the Deliverer who is God so as in inwards so in outwards be it of what nature or quality soever yet many after the receipt hereof wax the more secure make a God of their deliverances so Rest upon them with which though they were in love yet they are not given for that end no more then God delivering the Children of Israel at the Red Sea should afterwards be a stop unto them and a center for them before they came into the land of Promise Or that deliverance of Daniel or of the Three Children or of Ionah none of these were to be a cause either of Security or Center but to be rather accompanied by God to put their spirits out of themselves after him who was to be a Rest unto them and a Deliverer of them so that the common or speciall deliverances of God in these cases are abused and the end thereof dealt deceitfully with and they are made that which God did not appoint them to be viz. Rests and that which satisfies the creature with the receipt thereof yet in the second place I doe not deny this to be one of Gods dispensations and the way he deales with spirits both to discover themselves with the vanity and misery attending the same where manâ— heart is made a heart of misery preparing for mercy this being the way to Rest and peace happinesse and glory when God comes in the first place to free the soule from this his deliverance though it be of God still as the other is the way to happinesse so his deliverance the way to rest that is the way to make the heart enter into it and be centred in it For though the Rest in this deliverance be discovered yet it may be long before such a heart do enter into it as David saith plainly return unto thy Rest O my soule for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee Now though God may have dealt bountifully with a soule yet that soule may not be returned not centred in his true and proper Rest though it be in a further work then deliverance inward or outward So that in the first place many hearts it may be have been in deep distresse of spirit in the pit where no water is and now are it may be in such a condition as they are at great freedome and live in much joy yet such a heart it may be freed in his own sense and yet intended by God to be brought into his former bondage and misery because his wounâ— is falsly cured and having not been willing to waite Gods time is faln thereby into carnall and unsafe security Therefore soules had need beware of false deliverances 2. Satan that spirit of deceit may drive on his design in this particular to have a soul delivered by deceit seeing before he could not prevent the cause of the sense of his misery seeing he could not prevent that he labours to deceive the Creature by proposing and working deliverance for it before God deliver it the â—â—art being willing to imbrace and to have deliverance before his time 3. If this be not but that God goes forwards to make such a heart a heart of misery and so prepare it for mercy and worke admirable deliverances for it both within and without yet notwithstanding it is not sufficient the soul Rest here but such a heart is to wait for a higher dispensation of God this being Gods leading way thereto The seventeenth and last false Rest THE next and last Rest which wee shall speak of is by some waited for and by others pretended to be received to wit The extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit whereby both worship without and God within is confirmed and in their apprehension sealed up for truth Now for my own part I look upon both either in the condition of waiting for it or in the pretence of the receiving of it to be un-sound or an un-safe principle 1. In a waiting way there are who are waiting to have the spirit powred down in such a manner as they shall be able to do miracles and visible to cast out devils But I think this is a meer mistake for those casting out of devils and visible powers given to the Apostles and Saints was given only as a dispensation of God in that administration the Apostles lived in and not to be any dispensation intended to be given to any other after that administration was confirmed and settled 2. Those visible powers were given them for the confirmation of the Gospel in a visible forme to seale the truth of that forme of words which was to be lefâ— unto all ages Now if we had new Scriptures to write and a new Goâ—pel to declare then I confesse for the establishment of the same it would be necessary to have the same confirmed by visible miracles and powers But 3. It was given to be a figure of the glorious manner of the workings of God in the Soul and the casting out of devils and curing sick opening eyes and the like Isa 26. 12. Phil. 2. 13. these were to demonstrate unto us that as the coming of Christ in the form of flesh was attended with these signes and miracles so the coming of him in the Spirit should be attended with inward signes and miracles to wit internall and divine powers the casting out of the many devils within the opening of the eyes of the understanding and the curing the wounds of the soule Luke 24. 45. Ephes 1 18. Isa 60. 1. John 5. 25. the opening mans eâ—res to hear the voice of Christ within to have a dead Lazarus soul raised up in the spirit Now the Rest was but as figures though reall of what God did hold forth should accompany the second coming of Christ in the heart Mal. 3. â— Mat 25. 12 13. And if soules did waite for this their expectations should not be so much frustrated as it is in the other and shall be And as for the great miracles that shall be wrought must be within and felt by soules when Christ appears in the heart So that these external powers shall be turned into these savings The coming of Christ shall be with power and great glory Mat. 24. 30. Now men are deceived I feaâ—e who seeke for his coming in any carnall or fleshly way or that he will make that to be the powrings down of the Spirit to wit the casting out of devils c. But it shall be more spirituall and heavenly even the power of the Spirit within to consume mens lusts and self and to cast out all those spirits of deceite â—hich internally do lodge within the Creature â—o that the letter which was
thus with the Creature that the cause of its Rest hath been the appearance of God in such an administration or dispensation yet if now he see clearly that God is departed from it he Rests no longer being the ground why he Rested was and is taken away or removed for as God promised to be in and appear to his People in the Temple and in the Administrations under the Law yet not for everlasting continuance but that afterwards he did intend to withdraw his presence from them and so to disanull the use thereof so in any dispensation of God below his spirituall appearance in the soul he intends to appeare at such a time as himselfe hath appointed in the use of the same but afterwards to withdraw himself from it for some end best known to himselfe Now this is that I say Gods departing and ceasing to appear in a Dispensation or an Administration Is that which both discovers the Resting therein to be false and is a further meanes to un-bottome the spirit of a man for making of it his Rest any longer for that Soul that is led into any Administration by God in the which God appeares when God withdraws from it and ceaseth to appear any more in it the Soule doth the like also And in this he follows the Lambe where ever he goes Rev. 14. 4. So that I say It is the departure of God from any condition which if the creature hath been made sensible of it doth represent the making a habitation in it and the resting upon it is both below God and contrary to him so as in the same he is made willing to part with and to see when God is known to be deâ—arâ—ed from the vanity of making any thing his rest though given of God untill God do everlastingly appear within man carrying up the soule and spirit of man into himself Fourthly The next way God discovers these to be false rests and makes the creature willing to part with the same Is by appearing in a more glorious Administration to the Creature and this is the reason why Christ comforteh his Disciples when the forme of the flesh was to be taken away by telling of them He must go away or else the Comforter would not come Joh. 167. As if he should say unlesse I depart in the forme of flesh or in this outward Dispensation you cannot enjoy me in a more glorious Dispensation of the Spirit within you which should for ever abide with you It is the Substance of what God intends to make manifest in your spirits I am but in this fleshly dispensation a figure and therefore I must depart that I may more gloriously appeare within you and lead you into all Truth more glorious then yet you see or understand It was so with John and Christ in the flesh as John did decrease so Christ did encrease Ioh. 3. 30. It was indeed the encreasing of Christ in the fleshly Administration that made John in his Administration decrease for the dispensation of God in the flesh of Christ was more glorious then the dispensation of John so that in spiriuals there is a giving way to a superiour or more glorious Administration by an inferiour or lesse glorious dispensation for the more of God appeares in any forme the more glorious is that forme now God did more appeare in Christs forme then in Johns which made John decrease and give way unto the dispensation of Christ from whence I observe That no man is to forsake any dispensation so long as God appeares in it and makes it a living dispensation for the Apostles were not to cease walking with or to depart from Christ in the flesh untill God was departed from it and ceased according to it or by it but all the Apostles were to continue in that dispensation so long as it was a living dispensation So it was with the dispensations under the Law they were to continue in them so long as God appeared in them and continued with them So shall soules follow as God leads As the Children of Israel were to abide in any place so long as God abode in it So we And as they did move when God moved from it so are we until we are in our perfect Rest Num. 9. 17 18. Heb 4. 9. For it is the presence of God in a particular thing which is both to be a soules Leader Exo. 34. 14 15 and his cause of stay in the use of any dispensation So it was with Moses Unlesse thy presence go along with us carry us not hence It hath been and still ought to be That Saints removing out of one condition into another or from one Administration or Dispensation into another hath been by the presence of God either going or removed from such a Dispensation So that there may be a folly in this particular for any man to cease acting in formes or in such an Administration as God hath brought him into and truly appeared in untill there be a clear departure of GOD in the same leading it into a more glorious Administration Secondly God seldome doth depart from one Administration until he appears in a more glorious manner in another As God did not depart from the Administration of the Law untill he appeared more glorious in the administration of the Gospel So it is now That there can be no expelling clouds but by light so there can be no other way to take off a soule truly from the use of any forme until God appeare in a more higher dispensation For as the appearance of Christ in the flesh was the summe and substance of the formes of the Law and was not to be disanulled before the substance came Heb. 8. 1. Col. 2. 17. so iâ— is now The summe and substance of all Formes and administrations is Christ in the Spirit and untill the Substance of them be come perfectly into every heart there can be no true cessation of that heart in Formes or Administrations which are Gospel-Formes or Administrations So that God departing sometimes from an Administration and appearing more glorious in another either within or without is that which both unbottoms the soul of Resting in it and that which makes the creature willing to part with it For the want of this the Jewes not beholding Christ the summe and substance of the Law Come in a more glorious Administration they were unwilling to cease acting in their former Administrations the Veile being not taken away 2 Cor. 3. 14. whereby they had been made to see the Substance of those Formes establish'd compleatly in a Christ Col. 2. 10. But lastly the chiefest and onlyest way why the creature comes to be willing to be most free to part with and to have a discovery of all dispensations below the appearance of God in the Spirit to be no Rest Is by the glorious manifestation of God in the Soule whereby First of all He appears as a glorious Light within man And this Light 1.
worke in filling the hearts of his People with the knowledge of himselfe he Centers all in this To him shall the Gentiles seek and his Rest shall be glorious Isa 11. 10. Yea the Rest of Saints is the very Substance of his glory which glory is Christ when he comes to be manifested in his Saints and to be admired by them 2 Thes 1. 9 10. Secondly It wholly takes up the Creature who is Centred in it so as now the soule or spirit is wholly swallowed up of God and unexpressibly overcome is such a soul The glory of God which is Christ is that which swallows up mens spirits and the more it appeares in them the more it overcomes them so as now they are taken up in their spirits being gathered up into it with nothing else but it So as now the souls delight joy solace is now alone in nothing but in him who is become a glorious Center to him Thirdly The Rest of Saints gives Saints full contentment the full satisfaction of Saints lyes in living and Resting compleatly in this glory which truly is Christ so as man sometimes is lost in the greatnesse of it The least manifestation of this glory doth fill the creatures capacity so that untill the capacity be enlarged with more of God it can desire no farther enjoyment or discovery of it so as now his spirit is filled with glory And that which makes it the more satisfactory is the Centering of the spirit up in it Now Christ in the Spirit becoming a Saints Rest all other seeming glories which before the soul was sheltred under and lived upon are now vanished and decayed and the greatnesse of this glory which is the Vision of God yea the manifestation of his glory in man takes up man into it to live wholly in it and so to remaine in compleat satisfaction and contentment of spirit for a great part of a soules Rest consists in this very particular to wit the gloriousnesse thereof together with the swallowing up of the creature with it and the givving the spirit a compleat contentment in it for it would be in time a place of wearinesse unlesse it were a place giving the creature full contentment Secondly It would be no place for Saints to delight and solace themselves in unlesse they could be wholly taken up and swallowed up with that which of necessity must be enjoyed from it and unlesse it did exceed all glory that could be imagined it could be no rest for the spirit of a spirituall man So that it must be an unexpressible glory swallowing up of men spirits with it and giving that spirit compleat satisfaction and contentment in it The fourth description of true Rest IN the fourth place This Rest is a carrying forth of the Creature out of the creature into the place where he had his first being to live for every in him who is now become his manifested being First before we speak of the Rest it self we will observe That there is no true Rest for the creature in himself for if man either rest in his pure naturals or upon any refined property in himself he rests out of his proper Element I mean as he is a spirituall man yea it is both unsafe and unsound so to doe neither can man with any solid delight or true contentment rest in or upon any either pure naturals or refined properties or parts within himself though man could attain to his first principles and purity yet if he rested upon them he would live below the true Center of Spirits for indeed the rest and proper being of all spirits especially those that are renewed is the Eternal Word of God which Word is Christ who made all things in the World of nothing into which nothing they are to return But the spirits of men or especially that renewed spirit of Saints that came downe from the Father of spirits who begot this spirit in them not by flesh but by himself in his spirituall breathings and actings in the Creature which spirit of man cannot live in any true element neither can it live satisfied untill it come into its proper and originall being from whence it came for every thing is in its right place when it is returned into its originall and place from whence it was derived so that the spirit returnes to God that gave it Eccl. 12. 7 and the flesh of the man into the dust from whence it was derived so that man as he is carnall and flesh it cannot be possible that the spirit of any should take much delight in the same so as to make it the satisfying Center But yet after it is renewed it may be compared to Noahs Dove it sees the Deluge and looks abroad in the flesh to the Mountain of former self-actings and pure naturals yet it cannot rest in the same neither can it take any delight therein but is made to return to the Arke Jesus Christ who though he is in the soul yet above it as the Arke above the water so Christ above the Creature though within it as the deluge in the world so that the Creature as man is no fit place for a renewed spirit to be centred up in but he must by divine power be brought out of himselfe into that eternall being of spirits who is said to be above man though in man Eph. 4. 6. as the Arke above the deluge though in the world Now man cannot Rest truly in himself But Secondly The place into which the Soule is carried is and was the first being of his spirit and now manifested so to be to the creature which being was Christ this Christ was Gods eternall thoughts of Love in which man had a being and now comes in time as a Being to be manifested in the Saints so the one was the unknown Being of Saints before time where they lay in the Love and heart of God which nothing could remove them out of it the other Rest is the known Rest and Being of Saints made manifest unto them in time which knowledge begets a returning of spirit who with much wearinesse of spirit have been waiting for such a day of redemption Luke 21. 28. that it might return into its first originall and being and to be fully secured in its God which before it neither knew nor did experience So that after the heart hath a discovery of this Being it is like a Load-stone touching the Needle the Needle can stand no way but towards the North and South so with the Spirit of man after it is touched with his Being and center manifested it is not able to Rest in all the glories or excellencies that can possibly be imagined until it be returned into its being he is like a wicked man or man of this world who cannot act but in his element and like a Fish whose element is in the water so with the spirit of man he cannot act in his right sphere untill he come into his first originall
are none at all but only for them that know not this same Eternall Being But now this Christ He being such a Mystery and there being in the Earth such dissention about him To give true Definitions of him I will in the next place set forth what this Christ is who is the rest of Saints We have in short set forth Christ the Eternall Spirit to be the Rest of Saints â—â—â—â—s considered in any forme of flesh but as considered in the fulnesse of the Spirit But what Christ is in the fulnesse of the Spirit that is the thing we are to explaine and clearly to distinguish Christs Coming in the spirit discovered AND First of all This Christ which is the Rest of Saints He is the Eternall Word of God spoken in time within every Saint by God upon which Internall yea Eternall Word the Spirit is made to Rest Ioh. 1. 1. He is there called the Word of God He is the Word of God two waie First he was the Word of God as God either spake when he said Let us make man Gen. 1. 26. which was an expression of God concerning the First Creation and so all things were made by this Word of God Ioh 1. 1 2 3. Or He was that Word God promised should bruise the Serpents head Gen. 3. 15. which Word by God being spoken was in time made flesh as appeares John 1. 14. which word being spoken of God as it was so speaken It was before this time in his bosome to be declared in time upon which word of God then we are to rest and for the manifestation of which they were to waiâ—e But secondly This word is more spirituall to us when we enjoy the same word within us and the effect thereof upon us then it was at that present Now he is the internall voice of God spoken within an undone soule which doth produce liberty happinesse freedome and all the Creature can imagine after it is spoken within him For the word that was spoken at first which word was from the beginning 1 John 1. 1. which word was spoken without and in time because the same flesh with us was but a figure of the excellency of that internall Word which God will speak within every Creature which Word shall become Christ within man after it is spoken unto man which Christ is a mystery to every one who knowes hâ—m not in this sense but to prove this more fuller in the 9. chapter of the Rev. ver 13. There he is in expresse tearmes called The Word of God whioh expression I look upon to have speciall reference to this particular we are speaking of viz. The being the eternall or internall Voice of God within every creature and indeed he is made manifest in every voice of God in soules and this Word in Scripture is often called the voice of Christ that is the voice of God which in name and nature is Christ Iohn 5. 25. 28 Iohn 10. 3 4. Iohn 14. 11. For to looke upon Jesus Christ as he is in the Father and so a spirit we are to looke upon it that all Voyces that are spoken from the spirit within us are voyces of God which for distinction sake is tearmed Christ for as he was in flesh he was not this internall Word for the externall Word of God became a Christ in the flesh Iohn 1. 14. so doth the internall Word of God within us become a saving Jesus to us the one without us before our time in the figure which was to passe away and not to continue in that forme and shape for ever to us and so not to be Rested upon but the Internall Word of God within us is a dispensation of God which cannot be taken away or destroyed but abides for ever so as in the 1 John 2. 14. I have written unto you young men because ye are strong which strength was the abidiag of this Word within them which Word was Christ which they from God had spoke within them Now this Internall externall Word of the Spirit of Christ this Word is faithfull and true Rev. 19. 11. 13. yea unchangeable upon which the Saints Spirits do Rest and live 2. This Christ is a clear manifestation of God within us He was the manifestation of God when he was in the figure which was in the flesh there God was manifested in a mystery which mystery was Christ now as Christ without us was God manifested in the flesh so Christ within us is God manifested in the Spirit This Christ within man cannot be revealed in any fleshly forme but he must be revealed as he is in the Spirit one with the Father yea in the Father So that when God clearly reveales himselfe in any soule this which is no revealed is nothing else but himselfe in Love handed out by this Revelation Christ so that in Scriptures He is called the vision of God Hab. 2. 2. 3. Here he is distinguished to be Gods Vision which Vision is nothing else but a clear manifestation of God within the Creature formerly made cleare to the understanding of the Creature to be unrevealed and enjoyed by it So as now it teaches the soul perfect and infallible Truth after manifested to it for as Christ in the fleshly forme was appointed to declare and reveal God to us and so Christ called Christ God they being manifested in the same forme So it is inward the end of this terme Christ within you the hope of glory Coloss 1. 27. was because He was God clearely made manifest within them which had been a mystery hid but now was made manifest to his Saints so that the great Mystery of heaven is Christ who is the clear manifestation of the Father in the heart of Saints Again we see it plainly declared in the 1 John 1. 1. 2. For the Life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witnesse and shew unto you that Eternall Life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us here the Apostle doth plainly make manifest unto us That Eternall Life which was Christ in God was in time manifested by God which manifestation of Life was Jesus Christ So that He is termed sometimes to be of the Father sometimes to come down from him sometimes to be the Father and sometimes to be the Vision of him and many other expressionâ— there are given of him from whence I note that most commonly every making forth of God in Mercy and Love to his Creatures are commonly called Christ for the difference betwixt the term of the Father and the Son doth not so much consist in Nature and Being but in name and working or dispensation all the acts of freedome and love and light are called Christ in us because it is a spirituall dispensation of God in mercy and love to us Now Christ as he is the cleare discovery or discoverer of the Father to us so he becomes a Rest of peace and happinesse in us and so that this
the spirit so that now beleevers in this kind shall not be found naked but cloathed with Christ their Righteousnesse they shall not be condemned for they shall be made to stand in the righteousnes of another And to be covered with the robes of the Lamb made beautifull by Christs beauty and comely by his comelinesse so that the same shall dwell in the spirits of saints that dwels in the spirit of God and that shall be made a beleevers to be imployed for God and to God now beleevers who are made to Rest in Christ are imcompassed about with truth and righteousnesse in which their spirits shall live with freedome and unexpressible joy for ever And now as this Christ dwels in them as a dispensation of God so he carries them up in their spirits to live and Rest compleatly in God so as now they live where Christ lives which is in the bosome of God so that the great designe of God in this Christ spiritually coming is wholly to gather up the spirits of Creatures into the Spirit to live dwell or rest therein and to this purpose he is called the Power of God and indeed he is so divine a power come forth from God to accomplish the great designe of God in the spirits of Saints and therfore Saints find sometimes that this Power works in them mightily and never ceases till it gathers up the creature wholly into God to rest compleatly in him So that to conclude all when Saints are truly at rest in God then in the first place the will of the creature shall be centred up in the will of God and so the will of God shall become the will of the creature so as the will shall cease acting any thing but what is acted by the will of God so that the Will of Saints shall be gathered up into the will of God and their will being centred up in his Will Here shall it be said the creature hath ceased from his own works as God did from his Heb. 4. 10. and now his will Rests in God though before the will was bent against God and would not be limitted but all things must be carried on according to the will of flesh but now it acts so no more but now with Christ not my will but thy will be performed so as now his will is at Rest he wils nothing of himself it is carried on by the Will of God Secondly The mind of the creature is centred in the mind of God so that creatures minde one thing with God and the same principle of truth is possessed in the mind of God So that now the mind is wholly made spirituall and none but God doth possesse it so as now the mind doth solace it self takes sweet contentment in God whereas it may be a small time before God did not dwel in the mind but corruption or sin at that time there was not such solace in God but rather in lust and sin neither did the mind delight in God or rest upon him whereas now being spiritually possessed with it is sweetly made to live above all in God who is now become the ease and rest of the mind Thirdly The affections of men are centred up in God and wholly swallowed up with him So as now the creature lives in heaven That is with his affections in the presence of God with great delight and so he comes really to dwell with God nothing can come and take up this creatures affections being they are Placed upon God being made spirituall by God So they act as God acts in them yea the affections of the creature and Gods are made both one so as they wheel both from one principle and by one and the same power Love moves Gods affection if it can be so said so it moves the creatures affection to God God is ravished with the creature and the affections are ravished with God he delighteth on the one hand and the creature on the other So that Christs and Saints delight and joy are both one Fourthly The Spirits of Saints are at Rest because they are eased of all heavy loades and burdens Christ hath given them Rest who are eased and unloadened of every yoak and burthen so as now his wearinesse is at an end and no more in his spirits but all taken away and his spirit lives in compleat liberty and freedome Fiftly He is set free and is at rest whom God hath made to cease from his own works and now God works all in and by his Spirit That though he hath bin a long time travelling towards Canaan yet now he is got within the land That now God flowes in upon his spirits with immediate feedings and refreshments and so now fully satisfies the heart with all things desirable and desired so as the Spirit lives in compleat satisfaction in all things as he is sweetly possessed with him who is become all things to him and by this acts no more in himself nor by himself but now it is that he is dead thereunto and is so quickned in the Spirit as that now the worke of Gods Kingdome is made exceeding glorious and is carried on exceeding gloriously So that not by arme or strength of the creature but by the spirit The creature being ceased from all self-actings this soul truly that Rests in God Further he is at Rest in God who hath truly passed through the state of inward resurrection and now is Ascended into God for as Christ in his fleshly form was not at Rest because he was not ascended so no more is the spirits of any spirituall man at Rest in God untill after his spirituall resurrection he be ascended into God to dwell compleatly in God for Christ coming in the manifestation of the Spirit begets a resurrection in us and the powerfull effects of that life begets an ascension of our spirits into God So that now the soul having ascended can no more descend into these low things which keepe below and short of his glory but when he appeares in the Spirit within us and discovers his glory to us it doth so overcome the spirit as indeed it is caught up with it for ever to live in it for impossible it is that the spirits can live below God which occasioneth trouble and wearinesse who hath before truly lived in God by the vertue of God made manifest to live in them Secondly It is impossible that any soul can live and Rest in God and so ascend into God before there be a manifestation of the life of God in the creature for it is God descending in his appearance or manifestation in us That both begets a resurrection and ascension of us so that we ascend by descending and live Rest in him by his being manifested to live and Rest in us so that in this particular the creatures life is swallowed up and gathered into the life of God and as God continues living in them they shall continue living in him