the true the real crucifying of Christ all other crucifyings are but the representment of this This is that crucifying that all the external crucifyings and deaths in the world are not sufficient to figure it out to us and make us sensible thereof unless we our selves partake thereof for herein chiefly consisted the sufferings of Christ even as the Apostle layes them down in Philip. 2. he emptied himself and he humbled himself he emptied himself of all his riches glory and greatness which he had with the Father and came down here among us and was content to be as a servant he that was Lord of all to be content to be trampled upon and crucified both literally and mystically by his own creatures herein were sufferings indeed far beyond his bodily whipping or nailing to the Cross far beyond his buffeting crowning with thorns and the like and if we herein suffer with Christ this is the true Cross of Christ and this is to be made partakers of his sufferings S. Paul largely expresses how he came to know these true sufferings and so shall all that ever shall tast of heaven saith he though we have known Christ after the flesh yet henceforth know we him no more you know that as soon as the body comes the shadow goes away when we enjoy the body the substance there is little use of the shadovv And Christ himself beats us off from these things vvhen he saith The flesh does us no good prositeth nothing but it s the Spirit that giveth life that onely profiteth If once vve have the body let the shadow go if once vve have teh Sprit leâ— the flesh go if you suffer vvith Christ as vve said before then you have the life the Spirit of the Scriptures in that particular and so likevvise in the rest To arise and triumph vvith him c. But by the way because I would have you understand me let me remember you except you know the mystery of the Trinity you will never understand what I mean when I speak of Christ for it is the knowledge of HIM The ONE in Trinity and the Trinity in ONE Being rightly grounded in that it makes all these things easie viz. to him whose eyes and whose heart God hath opened This is that I say Ye must first come to the knowledge of the Three in One and the One in Three or you will never rightly come to know what Christ is Mind this when we speak of God the Father then we speak of him that is Unknowable Unspeakable Unnameable and then you must consider him as abstractedly from all manner of creatures neither in possibility of Creating or being Created He is That he is I am that I am that is he is God Unknown Unspoken Unpronounced either by men or Angels or any Creature as having nothing to do with Creatures or Creatures with him And so the Father Son and Spirit are All one Here is the Trinity in Unity But if ye come to speak of any THING any manner of conception or of Things created then we divide the Godhead into persons then there is immediately Father Son and Spirit There is Iesus Crist the Son of the Father the first begotten of all Creatures The Heir of ALL THINGS And so we behold Iesus Christ as the second pâ—rson in Trinity Although the persons in the Godhead are not before or after other and so He hath to do with creatures and is In the creatures is the Being Action and Life of the creatures And so Iesus Christ is called The WORD Spoken for so he is called in that first of the Hebrews as He was in the bosome of his Father he was Unspoken Unpronounced or in possibility of being pronounced so He was and is God equal with his Father but being once spoken or pronounced so he is less then his Father he is after his Father but before he was neither before nor after As for example for I would illustrate these unknown things to you as well as I can I have a word in my mind while it is in my mind it is my own what have you or any one to do with it but being once past the door the bars of my lips then t is yours Brethren I beseech you mind these things He that hath ears to hear let him hear but it must be given to you to understand these things Flesh and blood cannot reveal these things But I will open them unto you as familiarly as I can As suppose the word in my mind be A House A Tree or any other thing while they were in my mind you knew them not but being once spoken Then you know them and apprehend them the figure and representation of that Word or Thing is immediately also in your mind So long as Jesus Christ was or is in the bosome of his Father he is unknown to the creature he is God Equal with his Father neither One before or after other But if God please to speak THIS WORD if he please to put forth himself in the Creating of any Creature Here now The word is Spoken I say Here now is Iesus Christ come OUT from the Father here is now The MEDIATOR That is between God and man without whom we cannot come to the Father He Onely complyes with his Father and complyes with The creatures If God should speak to us as he is in himself we dye Our God is a consuming fire if he should speak to us as he is in himself all the Creation would be undone consumed to nothing But here is our comfort Onely Jesus Christ HIS SON is Our Mediator otherwise Tell me his name or his Sons name if thou canst Tell as it is said in the Proverbs No man cometh to the Father or knoweth the Father but by the Sonne and him to whom the Sonne will reveal him Christ is called also The Eternal purpose of God and so All things in him had their IDEAL form but vvho knevv vvhat that IDEA vvas or vvhat vvas in his mind But he put forth his Son that so he might reveal to us what his Eternal purpose was And knovv this that what ever was In God vvas God hiâ—â—elf Christ vvas and is in him therefore is Himself His purposes vvere in him and they are HIM And so Christ vvas Equal with his Father Unknown Unspoken But as soon as ever ye think of any word or of any manner of Form then fasten presently on God the Son as Col. 2. 15 16. Who is the image of the invisible God the first-born of every creature by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth visible and invisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things were created by him and for him and he is before all things and by him all things consist The same also is exprest Heb. 1. 2. 3. And then The third Person
man alive as the highest and gloriousest Saint But the One he is senâ—ble how Jesus Christ is near him and He knows how he hath been overtopt in him and overmastâ—â—ed by him and therefore he is ashamed and will do so no more But the Other not knowing of thisâ— he goes on according to his own laws and his own will and kills him Again and Again and runs his own wayes and thinks his own Thoughts and pleases himself Rushes upon any thing that tends to satisfie his own will He rushes upon any sin as a horse rushes into the battel as the Prophet speaks without fear He pleases himself and Tickles himself in his own delights cryes Ha Ha and he feels nothing sees no danger what ever men talk of Hell and Death and Bitterness Destruction and Damnation yet he believes none of these things and therefore he goes to the same course again and again But having onâ—e espyed the King Him who stands Behind the Hangings Him whom he hath so often kickt at and crucified then he is amazed at his Horrid Oaths and Blaspheâ—iâ—s of his Pride and Arrogancy against Him of his Envies and Reproches against his Brethren being onâ—e come to a true sight of this He is amazed and confounded in Himself Sayes he Have I been the man that hâ—th put the Son of God to death have I trampled his Blood under my feet I will not any more adde to hiâ— torments no not to gain the world Hath he dwâ—lt so near been my guest and lodged within me been my life and my stay and have I been he that hath starved and famished him have I so often moâ—kt whipt derided crucified him and knew it not Rather then I will do it again I will dye ten thousand deaths All the world shal never make me commit thosâ— Horrid Facts again I will now be ruled by him I will now do his Will not mine own I will now by his assistance live as he will have me live now I am content to deny mine own wisdom gifts parts strength For now I see I am Nothing And so by this means Christ shall be fed nourished and brought up and he shall grow in wisdom and stature and favour with God and man By this means Ye shall bring Christ to the Temple who shall put all the Doctors within you to silence and so non-plus them that not one shall be able to gain-say or answer him By this means you shall find him do all his miracles more truly over again the substance of his miracles as I shewed you before you even you your self us shal see him work all his miracles in thy sight within thee and this shall make thee more run after Christ to see these Divine miraâ—les far more affectionately and with more wondring and with more true love then ever they did in the dayes of his flesh to seeâ— his external mighty works and miracles This was that S. Paul determined and desired Onely to know for he knew this knowledge would never leave him till it had discovered such things such Miracles as neither eye had seen nor â—are heard no nor ever entred into the heart or thoughts of any man things unutterable unspeakable Let others seek after what they will to get glory and splendour in the world and to get those things that the world accounts great matters or any external literal knowledge of Christ though never so glorious though never so received yet sayes he I lay all in the dust for the Excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord by whom the World is crucified unto me and I unto the World for all those things shall vanish with them and perish in the using and come to nothing But these comforts will stand a man instead this is such knowledge that it will set one foot in Heaven while the other is upon earth when as other men who rest in the Flesh and in the Letter who know none of these things God knows when they come to dye how many weary winter Cold and comfortless steps they have to fetch that they shall be forced to Fly upon the Sabbath and in the Harvest and have their Oyle to buy when all things are at rest with others and they enjoy a fulness and a harvest and have Oyle in their Lamps at the Bridegrooms Coming for they have given up their wills and their lives to Christ So that Christ and they have such sweet Embraces as if they were in heaven already Insomuch that they are gotten above the world â—and all things below go they Even or Odde with other men they alwayes go Even with them they have gotten above Themselves and their own wills Now Christs will is their will And Christs â—eace is their peace And They have begun â—â—eir Eternal SABBATH and are at Rest in the bosome of Jesus Christ their Blessed Saviour OF SVFFERING AND REIGNING WITH CHRIST ROM 8. 17. If so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together In eight Sermons Pâ—eached at Kensington Publique Meeting-place T Is true the Coherence of the Text imports An exception after some vast and immense Priviledges asserted and those priviledges Such whereof a Christian may boast of and triumph in as first of his Sonship Ver. 14. As many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God have received the Spirit of Adoption Verse 15. For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear but ye have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father 2. Such is a Christians Priviledge and Sonship that he is delivered and set free from the Spirit of bondage he need never fear more And 3. He hath also received the Spirit of Adoption whereby he can own God and cry to him and call him Abba for he is his Father 4. The testimony of the Spirit of our Father with our Spirit Verse 16. The Spirit it self beareth witness with our Spirit that we are the children of God And lastly Of our being made the Heirs of God and Co-heirs with Christ As in the former part of the Text And if Children then Heirs Heirs of God and joynt-heirs with Christ. Our Text being much like the Exceptions in the Kings general Pardon wont to be given in the end of a Parliament where at the first beginning you would think he had forgiven all and every One but by that you have read it to the end you will find so many exceptions and limitations he hath scarce forgiven any So this out Text is such a restriction or limitation narrowing and bounding all those large Priviledges Immunities and indulgences and tells us in plain terms Except we suffer with him we shall not regin with him for every one is ready to catch at the Priviledges and assume them to themselves but stay as if he should say Although these be very large priviledges yet let me tell you to whom they
thoughts and all his former thoughts were banished Even so doth this man behave himself when once God hath spoken to him and discovered himself to be so near He doth as David sayes he did Set the Lord alwayes before his eyes then he minds God and observâ—s his workings his out-goings and incomings he alwayes then puts God forward in him He must do all Before He was the forward man and who but he All Gods acts in him he arrogated to himself and as he thought the actions were His done by His power wisdom and parts so he took home The glory and praise of all to himself But now Upon Gods appearing to him this man is Undonâ— slain crucified Then he can with all his heart let God Be all and Do All Speak in him Move in him Live in him Work all his works in him and for him He now minds God in whatsoever any creature saith or doth to him He no longeâ— lives his own life but the life of God t is true He lives as the Apostle saith Yet not He but Christ in him He now As a New man Hath no words but the words of Christ no thoughts but the thoughts of Christ made One spirit and life with Him and so he becomes throughout A changed Man A New man But the other he that is not aware of God He that is a Reprobate who knows not That Christ is in Him He takes no knowledge of all this but does what he list and as he thinks He speaks his own words and thinks his own thoughts and All their thoughts words and actions All their aims and endeavours tend to the fulfilling the desires of the flesh Either more gross and open or else more subtile and refined and more hid from the eye of the world Their desires and aims are How they shall procure such a benefit to themselves such an estate or how he shall be delivered from the danger of the times and he is full of carking and caring how his flesh shall be provided for and the like And truly beloved it cannot be otherwise for whatsoever is born of the flesh is flesh and whatsoever is born of the Spirit is Spirit for it can never act without its own sphere and compass were we born of the Spirit we could not but dye to the flesh and seek the things of the Spirit then all his thoughts for the advantage of the flesh Cease and he is altogether fot Increasing and Perfecting This life of God begun in him let God live more and more and himself less and less As John Baptist saith he must increase but I must decrease This is his life now which before was his death and contrary his death is his life God is now A welcom Guest Yet Not that God is more or less there you being alwayes Gods Temple as well before you see him as when you see him for Christ cannot Alter his lodging in the reality of it This is a certain truth Nothing can make Christ depart in regard of his Essence and Being but to you he may depart and so you are to understand all such expressions for if you think and as some preach that God comes and goes from place to place from earth to heaven oâ— from heaven to earth departs and returns and that you can stay Him and change Him or make him return These are all childish fopperies in this ye do as it were Create another God to your selves and make the true God an Idol but it is spoken in refâ—rence to the Creature in regard of our sight and apprehensions As To you He is departed and dwels above far remote And indeed and really he is as having no being and is as no God to thee However thou mayest flatter and deceive thy self Until thou hast smitten and taken Kiriathsepher and marryed Achsah Calebs daughter Till there be power given To rend the vail But then you shall see Him who is the truth of all things The substance of all things and not before for whatever you can see are but Shaddows and not the Truth As in this my body you cannot see the Internality and the Truth of it for the truth and Substance of it doth not consist either in the coldness or in the hotness for it hath been hotter and it hath been colder neither in the Oldness nor Youngness for it hath been younger and may be older neither in the heaviness nor lightness for it hath been lighter and may be heavier nor in no accidents you can name Then if so none hath ever heard or seen or spoke that which is the Truth of me for my Substance cannot be seen but onely Accidents the truth consists in things internal and t is the like for any other thing you behold besides And so likewise such is the Word of God it consists not in any thing you can hear or see or can perceive or comprehend for Gods Word is as himself Mighty Incomprehensible Omnipotent c. not included in any place His Word is the Being and life of all things the Letter cannot possibly contain the Eternal Majesty of the Word it is not the Word of God till it be expounded to the heart and made a word of power and quickning in the hearts of his people The Word is Eternal and was before any Letters or Scriptures were and shall be for ever when all those things Cease Gods speaking is His creating Let it be done there can be no resisting sayes David whatever he commanded it was wrought God Hath spoken As many Words as he hath made Creatures But He hath spoken One Great and mighty word and that One WORD includes All those Words and that One Word is Jesus Christ the Onely begotten of his Father and the first born of every creature all the rest of the creatures are but as so many Letters of this GREAT Word for he is called the Word He being in the bosome of his Father He was Unspoken Unuttered Unpronouncedâ— there was not then any one creature in heaven or earth but God was ALL there was then Neither Father Son nor Spirit as divided But He being Once pronounced He is the Word Spoken then immediately there is Father Son and Spirit For these are expressed Several or TRINE onely in relation to the creatures which to me is clear for there is not diversity in God but God is one and in Himself cannot be more and I hope it is clear to you If any should think or say unto me the words of Pilate Oh Sir What thing is truth I must answer thus truth is not possible to be either spoken or heard for God onely is truth and nothing else can be now it is impossible to see or hear God saith our Saviour No man hath seen God at any time for we cannot see him and live we must depart Out of the nature of man and return into God and be one with God Else we can never know
he lives or when he comes to dye if the Lord do but speak to him as he did to Iob then he finds quite contrary that all evil is his and no good at all and then he is amazed at himself and confounded And although it is heartily wâ—shed if it had so pleased God that the Author had lived to see these Sermons in print and some other pieces of his as he intended but prevented by death yet as the proverb is Seeing we cannot do as we would 〈◊〉 us do we may T is pity these things should dye and be altogether obsâ—ured there may be in them such an apâ—â— door to some men whom the Lord hath this way enlightned and such hints given as may lead them to 〈◊〉 things then these yet thus much we assure you 〈…〉 were in the Authors hands a Considerable and were perased over by himself 〈…〉 who gave this approbation of them There is nothing in them but I own he saying withal That writing of Sermons was a very great advantage not onely giving men account of what was delivered many years after when both the matter the subject and expressions were forgoten But also said he t is a kind of immortalizing mens labours and the workings of God upon their spirits to generations to come though they themselves dye and are forgotten yet their works may live and remain And if Writing be so much more Printing which makes them so common publique and cheap so that so many thousands do enjoy them and many thousands more might and would were there not a common fault especially of late in those that should disperse sell or communicate them and do not or will noâ— either because of their particular dislikes every one affecting and will not prefer any thing but what suâ—s to their apprehensions or else being tainted with envy at others accepâ—ation and prosperity whereby abâ—ndance of precious Books dye in obscurity either lying by the walls and rot or turned to Wast paper being a just judgement of God upon persons and Traders tainted with envy or affecting singularity the fruits whereof this generation hath deeply tasted the bitterness of and those that succeed are like to do much more except we repent and resolve amendment beginning again to love and receive each other in the truth and bearing with what our selves at present see not for you have found that with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again but let us now learn that safe and sure rule so much in these dayes neglected As ye would that men should do unto you even so do ye unto them for this is the Law and the Prophets T is true we know one main cause is fulness and over-abundance whereby many stomachs are cloyed and indeed our full stomachs have loathed and turned against abundance of precious hony-combs but though this be one reason yet the two formâ—r may lead the van as being chief ring-leaders to this mischief But to conclude for this Authors Sermons thou must accept of these or none for here is all can be hoped for or expected we rather choosing to present thee with all at once then divided in regard this Authors manner of teaching was not in an ordinary way whereby some things asserted may seem harsh or dark to some that so one paâ—t thereof may express and give light to another he insisting more fully in some Sermons then other therefore judge not all untill thou hast read the work through and pondered well with waiting on God by prayer for here are things worthy to be seriously weighed and waited for till God reveal So we commit thee and them to him who is not tyed to mans teachings but is able to teach without him and it is onely be that teacheth by him according to his most gracious promise in the new Covenant I will be their God and they shall be my sons and daughters and thâ—y shâ—ll not teach every man his brother saying Know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least to the greatest Farewel Yours desiring if by any means he might serve you in the Gospel and help you on to perfection R. H. TESTIMONIES Freely given By Mr. Iohn Webster and by Mr. Iohn Cardell in their publick Preaching at Aâ—hallowes Lombard-street LONDON By Mr. JOHN WEBSTER AND therefore I cannot but take notice and I much wonder at That precious Book lately printed which it may be many of you have not taken notice of being Sermons preached by Dr. Everard called Gospel-Treasures opened wherein he among other Divine things expresseth this point in several of his Sermons most Divinely and Elegantly and I could not but recommend it to you having my self found so much sweetness in it and I wonder much at the Heavenliness and sweetness of his spirit for to me it is as clear a piece as any I know extant Setting forth as to this particular the infinite and deep condescention of the Son of God being God equal with his Father yet to stoop lower and beneath the unexpressible misery of man to bring him up again He there shewing that herein lay the great and unconceivable sufferings of Christ far beyond his external sufferings of whipping reviling spitting upon crowning with Thorns or his crucifying upon the Cross and the like all being far below and not worth the naming the same day with these sufferings And shewing also how these things are to be also in every Christian And that this Liberty purchased by Christ is not to encourage the flesh or to purchase liberty for it but 't is for the inward man and the spirit And how he once having such a principle of life he cannot give way to sin but sin is his bondage and how the power of Christ in him slayes all fleshly actings in the love of them And that all things of man shall be slain and crucified in him by the death of the Son of God And that these are the things which shall be burnt up for ever and ever with unquenchable fire And although many self-wise Professors in the world are offended at the Book and stick not to asperse and belye it with their common slanders of Error and Heterodoxal opinions and the like Yet we know the World can do no other but will belye the Truth as it alwayes hath done And the more Divine any truth is the more they oppose it Why Because the Light thereof Condemns their Darkness Sin and Ignorance and their Practices And they are not able to stand in or bear the Light thereof For either they must Condemn the Truth to justifie themselves or else Condem themselves by the Truth which they can never do till they are overcome and Captivated by the Truth By Mr. JOHN CARDELL AND therefore I cannot but recommend to you those precious Sermons Preached by Dr. Everard which I know many of you have both in your houses and hearts whose Name is very sweet and precious to many that
knew him in the â—lesh in his latter dayes for those savoury and experimental Truths wrought in you by the power of Christ which he was an instrument to bear so clear witness unto And I for my part if I had the most precious Balme or the most Odoriferous ODOUR in the whole Earth I could freely pour it forth upon the NAME and Memory of that man as upon any English man I ever read or heard or ever were acquainted with But I have it not and he needs it not for he is far above all things of that nature or the most precious things the whole Earth can afford For He Resteth with Christ. But that which makes me now remember Him is That Mystical and Divine Exposition he gives of those 2 or 3 verses in the 15 Iosh. 15 16 17. being very suitable to the MYSTERY we are now unfolding I will read you the words and then I will give you the Interpretation in His own Words for I cannot give you a better And although the Men of the Letter or the Masters of the Letter will not cannot endure an Interpretation but what the bare Letter bears but presently they cry out ERROR and HERESIE according to their wonted manner In vilifying that which they do not apprehend but we leave them to themselves I pray give ear The words are these The Holy Spirit speaking concerning Caleb And he went up to the Inhabitants of DEBIR And the Name of DEBIR before was Kiriathsepher And Caleb said He that smiteth Kiriathsepher and taketh it to him will I give ACHSAH my Daughter to Wife And Othniel the Son of Kenaz the Brother of Caleb took it And he gave him Achsah his Daughter to Wife Saith he Kiriathsepher signifieth The City of the Book or The City of the Letter And Debir signifieth THE WORD And Caleb A good heart OTHNIEL The Lords Opportunity and Achsah The Rending of the Vail So that the Dr. reads the verses in English thus And A good Heart said He that smiteth the City of the Book or the City of the Letter He onely shall marry Achsah and have the Rending of the Vail And Othniel The Lords fit Opportunity he onely smites This City of the Letter and takes it and to him alone are the Scriptures made DEBIR The Word from whence he draws most Heavenly and Divine Conclusions c. But I refer you for your better satisfaction to the Book it self And return to our business in hand To all Those Blessed and Precious Souls Wheresoever Scattered Throughout the World Yet united in One Spirit Which Rejoyce in the Revelation Of the Mystery of Christ Being also reconciled unto God In One Body By the Cross He Having slain the Enmity thereby And do or may Comprehend This LANGUAGE To Them Is the Word of This Salvation Sent In all Humility Greeting A light to lighten the Gentiles And To be the Glory of the People of Israâ—â— To make known among the Gentiles The Manifold Wisdom of God And The Unsearchable Riches of Christ. THE RENDING OF THE VAIL OR Some Rayes of Glory from The HOLY of HOLIES MARK 9. 50. Have Salt in your selves In one Sermon Preached at Islington at the Publique Meeting-Place MY beloved now you are here gathered together in this place I beseech you hearken diligently to what shall be now â—poken I will use no other Preface then a word or two from that saying of our Saviour in the Paâ—allel place to this Luk. 14. 35. from which he makes this conclusion He that hath ears to hear let him hear Let him now hear the word of him by whom he shall be judged at that great day Let him now hearken to that word which shall certainly one day either sooner or later rise up in judgement against him Let him hearken to the word of him who spake as never man spake for his words are like the wine he made at Cana no wine like that wine nor no words like his words fot the best words that ever man spake had somewhat of Self and Carnal ends in them but in his words there is no tincture no concourse or tast at all of the Creature no Allayes of humane weakness but they are all words of grace and peace the words of spirit and life insomuch that all that heard him wondered at the gracious words that proceeded frrom his lips who in all his words never sought himself nor his own glory as men do but the glory of him that sent him Nay hearken I pray you to his word that could have spoken far beyond all that ever he hath spoken had he but had Auditors fit to have heard and understood him I beseech you therefore silence yourselves a while I mean your own Wit and Reaâ—â—â— and your own blind understandings And let there be silence in Heaven for half an hour that you mâ—y learn to know what it is to have salt in your selveâ— that you may have salt in you that you be not spewed out of Gods mouth as unsavoury and loathsome to his stomach It were far better you had never heard then that these words should prove unprofitable to you But as you are here in this your so great zeal to hear and in such thronging and â—locking together this day to whom should we address that our zeal and meeting may not be in vain for as the woman of Samaria said to our Saviour Iohn 4. 11. so may we say The Well is deep and we have nothing to draw with mans reason and understanding cannot reach Truth ad quem ibimus then whether shall we go saith Peter Iohn 6. 60. and he answers it there himself truly O Lord Tu habes verba vitae aeternae Thou hast the words of eternal life Therefore let us pray with the Disciples Mat. 13. 36. O Lord declare thou to us this Parable And I humbly pray and beseech that God who opened the mouth of Balaams dumb Ass that he would be pleased to open my lips and then my mouth shall shew forth his praise for the instruction of those that are his servants here And I pray God you may rouse up your attention maugre fulness drowsiness wandring thoughts custom in sleeping and the like The things that I intend through Gods assistance to open to you and answer are these three Questions O Lord In lumine tuo lumen Psal. 36. 9. In thy light we shall see light And by no other light Then Let us see 1. What salt is 2. What it is to have salt 3. What it is to have it in our selves 1. What salt is Christ saith in the Verse before my Text That every one shall be salted with fire and every sacrifiâ—e shall be salted with salt We must first find what fire is and then we shall know what salt is This fire is Christ and that very properly as you may see he is so called Isa. 10. 17. The light of Israel shall
in his Lords wrath and punishment In Isa. 2. 18. See there how the Lord threatens to bring down this Spirit that is generally in all the sons of men Verse 10. Enter into the rocks and hide thee in the dust for fear of the Lord and for the glory of his majesty the lofty looâ—s of man shall be humbled and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down and the Lord alone sâ—all be exalted in that day For the day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty and upon every one that is lifted up and he shall be brought low and so he goes on And upon all the Cedars of Lebunon that are lifted up upon all the Oaks of Bashan upon all the high mountains upon every tower and upon every fenced wall upon all the ships of Tarshish and upon all their pleasant pictures And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down and haughtiness of men shall be made low and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day And their Idols he shall utterly abolish and they shall go into the holes and caves of the earth for fear of the Lord and for the glory of his maâ—esty when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth and a man shall cast his Idols of silver and gold to the Moles and to the Bats to go into the rocks and into the tops of the ragged rocks for the fear of the Lord and for the glory of his maâ—esty when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils for wherein is he to be accounted of I have a little digrest but it was for your good therefore you may bear with me Let us now then henceforward learn to beware of this God that is so Near us and so much in us and not to be like Lot in his drunkenness when his two daughters came and laâ— with him and yet he knew not when they lay down or when they arose Gen. 19. 35. But learn we to awake 〈◊〉 of our spiritual darkness and not to be so ignorant so sottâ—sh to let him be so near you as to live in you and to dwell with you to be with you in your going out and coming in in your down-lying and uprising and you never yet acquainted with him Who knows all your thoughts afar off even before you think them your selves Saith the Apoâ—â—le KNOW YOU NOT that Iesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates nay though ye be reprobates It is the case of Reprobates of Devils not to know this but the meaning is if ye be not in the condition of reprobates then ye know and feel experimentally in some measure and degree that Iesus Christ is in you of a Trâ—th O happy yea thrice happy is that soul who is thus aware of God to see his workings and actings through all the creatures then will that soul cry out against himself and instead of arrogancyâ— and applanding himself he cryes out of himself of his own former and present ignorance and blindness he will not say we see and they what they ignorant of any thing they would not any one should have such a thought of them alas poor soulsâ— their great knowledge undoeth them thy wisdom hath made thee rebel or perverted thee Isa. 46. 10. because by all their parts and knowledge they themselves are swelled and pâ—ffed up and are not lessened and made nothing if they were they would cry out Oh what a beast was I I have not the knowledge of a man Oh what a wretch was I was God himself so near me all this while nay within me and I not know it hath it been he that hath altered and changed me in the whole course of my life and turned me from vessel tâ— vessel from one condition to another It was he that hath made all the changes in my life and ordered my actions as he pleased and also would and hath made them serve to his praise though I saw it not but now I see and feel it was He that made me pass through the fire and through the water and tumbled me and tumbleth Nations up and down That makes the waters roare and the mountains quake But now I hear and see as David saith The Lord spake it once and I heard it twice that God alone doth all that is I heard it throughly experimentally I saw it ratified to my experience to me within me I heâ—rd it first by the hearing of the eare I heard it in my understanding but my second hearing was my experience and seeing by the eye believing itâ— and knowing it in my self that it was so that God alone doth All. Till we come to see this What ever our boasts are whatever our parts are whatever our knowledge is we are dead we are in the state of reprobates we are frozen we can take no salt and I pray God we are not so self-wise and so hardened in our own conâ—eits that we be not as the Apostle saith twice dead and pulled up by the roots and so never shall bearany fruit being past hope and without God in the world I know this is harsh doctrine to the general sort of Professors What they ignorant what they to be accounted by others or to account themselves fools then who are the wise men Think they You know Salt when it is in a frozen body doth no good you know by experience that frozen meat will take no salt and then it may be said to be infatuated or good for nothing So though Christ the true salt be in us as he is in himself yet we may be reprobates our hearts our souls Frozen and we cannot take in this salt And then though Christ be there yet he doth us no good and he may be then said to be infatuated useless not but that he can thaâ— our hearts and work upon us and overcome in us and prevail over all the powers of 〈◊〉 and darkness within us if he pleaseth for He in himself is alwayes alike strong but we do not alwayes find him so neither is he so to us As you know he came to one place and he could do no miracles there because of their unbelief Mat. 13. 58. Christ he works still and doth all his miracles in the world daily but it may be not to thy sight he shews not his miracles to thee or in thee but to those whose eyes he hath opened he is daily in their sight working his miracles You are deceived Miracles are not ceased as you conclude but your eyes are closed and blinded by the god of this world 2 Cor. 4. 4. as the Apostle Paul saith concerning the Cross of Christ Can the Cross of Christ be made of no effect yet the Apostle there propounds a case wherein it is made of no effect that is not that it can be so in its own nature but to thee it
in Trinity the Holy Ghost He is The Motion or Reciprocation between the Father and the Son The Act of Love as I may so say or that Bond of Love between the Father and the Son for God is Love saith the Apostle Then God the Holy Ghost is nothing else but that constant love and amity that the Father bears to his Son and that love that the Son bears and returns to his Father again and so Proceeds from the Father and the Son and this is that Holy Spirit of love whereby we are sanctified and conformed to our head Christ and so is The third person in Trinity and after both though in themselves One and the same But know this God cannot communiâ—ate himself to us but by One in Three and Three in One it is impossible but in himself he is but One and cannot be more there is not three things in him for he cannot be multiplied nor divided But BY Jesus Christ God made all things that he hath made as in Ioh. 1. The world was made by him and without him made he nothing that was made In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God There was God In Himself But if God make any creature it follows The world was made by him and without him made he nothing that was made There is God IN the Creatures Christ Jesus And in This Son is all the Fathers complacencie and delight in him he is onely well-pleased he loves Him and Him onely Him and nothing else That is His own image in every creature for t is certain God cannot love any thing but Himself It is impossible His love should go out of himself if it should let me tell you He could not be God Almighty So that in conclusion The sum of All we have said is thus much You can conceive no otherwise but thus if you conceive of it rightly God is in himself Unspeakable Unknowable and Incomprehensible having no relation to Creâ—â—ures nor to a Creator neither in possibility of Creating or being created But Thus it is God the Father hath been pleased to put foâ—th his Son and to send him into the world who is the express image of himself And This image of himself he loves Infâ—nitely indeed nothing else he can love viz. The image of himself in every creature This is His Son and nothing else he can love And it is one and the self same thing in God though to us they be dâ—verse Himself loves Himself and onely Himself now you see here is three things named the Loving the Loved and The Love yet all is but One and the same thing Beloved these are High Mighty Sublime Unexpressible things we have now in hand but if God be pleased to give us this KEâ— I speâ—k of then these things will be easie to us Now having a little disgressed for your sakes that you may the better understand These things we come nearer to our matter in hand mind me I pray you As long as any thing whatsoever lives in us besides Christ As long as those things we brought into the world with us Any thing that is US or I lives Christ is whipt his mouth is stopt he is crucified dead and buried As long as Reason lives Christ is dead As long as our own Wills live Christ is crucified As long as our own knowledge lives he is dead He may knock and knock long enough at the door of our hearts but we will not hear we will not open to him he is as one dead to us we dead to him Our ears are onely open to hear the voice of Nature the voice of flesh and self Oh! here is a way how thou shalt be made rich Here is away how thou shalt come to be Honourable we are deaf except it be to these things Oh! here is a way how thou shalt come to be esteemed a wise man a Famous Professor How thou shalt be set up and esteemed and every one shall speak Well of thee People shall flock to thee for Counsel and thou shalt he The onely man in the City Oh beloved Let me tell you while we hearken and are Taken with such things as these Now is Jesus Christ whipt blind-folded crowned with thorns and smote on the mouth made to carry his Cross crucified dead and buried and a heavy stone rolled upon him that he may never rise again Now is Jesus Christ Taken Apprehended with a strong guard carryed from one judgement-seat to another And every lust cryes Crucifie him Crucifie him they are all willing and give sentence that he shall be condemned that so THEY may still live and rule for They know His life is their death Therefore he is now taken for the Grand Transgressour and why Because He hath broken the Laws of flesh and blood therefore Crucify him Away with him It is pity he should live The Innocent is hereby taken and led Captive and he that was Righteous in all he did is now taken for a Wicked man and a Sinner My beloved Herein Lies The life of the Scriptures Yet do not think that I go about to deny the Letter I hope I shall stand in justification thereof to the death that those things were Externally and Literally acted But this I say still Let us not be content with the Letter Only Friends Bear me Record I say They were All Actually and Really done in the flesh but yet I also say They were To Teach us That the same things are Alwayes In doing I am so far from having such a thought as some ignorantly charge me as if I would make all the Scripture a Fable and meerly Allegorical and no such things done that I wish from my soul Cursed be those lips and for ever be the sealed up even with the wrath of Eternal fire that shall deny in the least the truth of the Letter The truth is Christ was conceived in us as soon as ever we were born as I said before Nay as soon as ever we had A Being Nay it was He that created us and gave us Our Being But now This we must know and believe Christ was born in us at our first Being But that is not enough as to us But He must be manifested IN US and that is To be Born again We condemn those Cursed Jews that apprehended our Lord and Saviour and put him to death And we condemn Iudas for betraying him And we condemn the Souldiers that nailed him to the Cross and that pierced his blessed Side with a spear Oh! we count Them Bloody Villains and we would have them pâ—t to a Thousand death But Let me ask thee What doest thou do when thou followest thine own will and thine own pleasure against his pure commandâ— I tell thee Thou art the man as Nathan told David thou art thâ—t very Iudas The very Traytor that hast betrayed him For when he would live in thee
being life and a quickning spirit they are dead and sluggish And men may be full of Notions and Literal knowledge and yet have no power The Letter it suffers men to be dead idle sluggish as to the Life of Regeneration and the power of godliness The Letter never binds The strong man it never conquers the will and a mans Own Self it never makes a man to deny the World To rejoyce in the Cross To sell all and follow Christ. If the letters or the Grammatical sense were the word of God Christ would never have so often condemned and expressed so many woes against the Scribes and Pharisees for who took moe pains in them then they who had them or observed them outwardly more exactly and for That The people had them in High Honour and great Esteem yet Christ He condemns all their knowledge learning holiness parts c. for they sought not after the minde of Christ in them if they had known the Word of God they would have known him who was The Word If the Literal Scriptures were the Word of God why doth the holy Ghost so often say He that hath ears to hear let him hear And why doth the Prophet Esay say That hearing they may hear and not understand and seeing they might see and not perceive make the heart of this people fat their ears dull and their eyes heavy lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and I should heal them This is spoken not in regard of those that are ignorant but of those that are very knowing and very much conceited of their much knowing and yet their knowledge and gifts and Precise Holiness according to the Letter is but a stumbling-block and an occasion of their falling death and destruction and Thus to know all things is but to be ignorant of all things And God accounts these knowing men among the number of those the world accounts The onely Prophane and he esteems them farther off the Kingdom of God Then Theeves and Harlots and saith That these shall go into the Kingdom of Heaven before them and therefore Christ himself sooner conversed with Publicans and Harlots and preferred them still before them as knowing there was more hope to work upon them then upon these Great Conceited puffed up Professors And therefore I have the more and the larger insisted upon this that if it were possible These men might come to know the Truth and so themselves that they might be saved Thus to understand the Scriptures is that which the Scriptures call Eternal liâ—e and That good part which Mary hath chosen this is to â—at Christ to believe to put on the new Man to be regenerate to be born again to live to the Spirit to be baptized to receive the Word to be ingrafted into Christ and the like The other Carnal Knowers they reach none of these things though they think they are possest of them and enjoy them but Even from this very knowledge and holiness they eat death and this is that forbidden tree of good and evil From whence they Enquire much after knowledge and Aime to be Like God and so live for ever and this is nothing but the Seed of the Serpent in our hearts whereby these men much admire themselves and kiss their own hands that is they much set up their own wills their own wisdom and their own carnal reason and cover themselves with fig-leaves as Adam did whereby also they are come to that pass that as I said before they are ready to teach God knowledge and To bring God to School to them and to prescribe and direct him what he shall do in the world and how he shall govern according to their wills and their prayers The word of God is Pure High Holy Heavenly Powerful Reviving Quickning Spirituallizing But the Letter is not onely dead in all these regards But killing and destructive in that sense formerly exprest If you live and dye with this word I mean the letter of the word and the Grammatical External sense which These men call the word of God All is nothing If you have it exactly by heart that you have it as ready at your fingers ends to apply it to all occasions as the Devil himself yet this can be no service of God this is but bodily labour and bodily exercise as the Apostle calls it which profiteth nothing this is but the flesh this is but mans teaching the Spirit of it The WORD of God Debir you never yet found But yet as I said let us not say If the Spirit be all then what do we with the Letter Let us then cast it away No no by no means the letter is of use to regulate the flesh and the outward man in bodily exercises But I say it reaches not the inward man and the heart That must be That bread which the Father giveth which comes down from Heaven Neither Moses nor the knowledge of the whole Law and of all the Scriptures can give us That bread as Christ saith Iohn 6. 32 33. Verily verily Moses gave them not that bread from heaven but my Father giveth you the bread from heaven for the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life to the world And besides as I said As the spirit of a man you cannot have without the body Nor you cannot have the Oyster without the shell so neither can you have these mysteries these Allegories without the flesh without the shell without Excrements that is without the letter of the word for we being of a dull low corporeâ—â— substance must have these high divine sublime things brought to us in such vessels and represented by such things as we understand feel hear and see and so come to know them We are not able to conceive of the spiritual meaning and Gods mind without something represented and pâ—oposed suitable to our Element to our language to our sphere to our condition something bodily must be presented that we may conceive of that which is in the same proportion done in us spiritually And therefore this is that I advise still Be sure still To maintain the letter of the word Undefiled Untouched Uncorrupted And let his tongue cleave to and for ever Rot in his mouth That goes about to abrogate the Letter for without the letter you cannot have the Spirit even as we cannot have Meat and Nutriment but you must have necessarily dung and excrements and if you cast away the Excrements you cast away The Meat with it Not that the Letter is dung and excrement as of it self or killing or dead but occasionally made so to us and to all those who crack it not smite it not and so suck not life but death from it Therefore it is said My heart or a Good heart a Caleb must set us a work and an Othniel must smiâ—e it for you
all the good things he hath promised we shall say by experience Now we know that heaven and earth shall pass away but not one tittle of his word hath failed We shall then see All Solomons Love-songs fulfilled and never till then And yet Beloved all these things are but dark shadows to the Truth and The Things themselves But to conclude We run over these things for time hastens Those that are brought to this condition To have the vail Rent before their faces They shall see Such things as I am not able to express For eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither ever entred into the heart of man those glorious things which God hath prepared to entertain To Feast such self-denying souls which are both Full Satisfying and Ravishing contentments Beloved these are such things as cannot be enjoyed Seeing them by feeling till the vail be Rent But yet know this t is Othniel that takes this City t is The Lords good time or fit opportunity We cannot take this City nor marry Achsah Calebs daughter when we would but we must wait Gods opportunity when he pleases to give it noâ— in our time but in his time nay we cannot so much as hasten that time When we shall have power to smite Kiriathsepher and marry Achsah no more then a woman in travail by all the means and industry she can use can hasten the time of her delivery We must wait the time Till God reveal for we must take it When he will give it And As He will give it by degrees time after time line upon line and precept upon precept And so We wâ—iting in Gods way He will Reveal and we shall come to understand The Good Will of the Lord One time after another Now A little and then A little line upon line that so you may come To glorifie God your heavenly Father Not that you may bring Honour or Profit to your selves though This be our greatest Honor and profit or take the praise to your selves as though by Your power you had smitten the City or married Achsah And so possessed the Upper and Nether springs the letter and the Spirit Thus to do is not to smite the City You as yet have not smitten it this is not The power of God this is but Your selves this is but by the power of flesh this is but by the power of Satan in us but here is the misery of the Sons of men they are ready to think and believe that they have smitten the City when t is Nothing less they think they know as much as can be known and Glory in this and so look for and give praise and Honour to themselves And if Any go beyond them if they cannot fathom what you say presently they cry out upon it as an Error and no body must know more then they and they must have the honour and praise of all they must and will be sure to keep men within their compass and knowledge always holding them in the letter in the Rudiments in the Pedagogies and in the shadows of Religion and cannot indure nor bear that men should be brought up to perfection to possess those Plerophorias those Full Enjoyments prepared for them that so they may be delivered and set at liberty from under the Law and from the killing Letter From Bondage and thraldom that they may come to receive The inheritance of Sons and Freemen hâ—t so the glory and praise of All may be to God Almighty none to them who hath given power to smite Kiriathsepher the City of the Letter that it may be unto us DEBIR The Word of God and so reveal unto us things Unutterable and unspeakably glorious Even The hidden Manna and the Living Waters to nourish us to Everlasting life Where the Glory of God is the light of that Temple whose brightness you shall see so far as you are able to Receive where you shall have Safety from all your Foes you shall see and behold their Ruine where you shal have the company comfort of all the Saints And God himself shall strive to Fill and if it were possible and Glutt you with happiness Where the City Gates are built with Pearls The streets paved with gold the walls of Precious stones the Temple in this City Is Almighty God Himself and Kings and Princes shall be but Vassals and cast out and nor regarded as such Where the River springs from under the Throne and Hill of God the Water clear as Chrystal The Banks set with Trees of Life Where your Chear is Ioy your Exercise Singing the song of Moses and the Lamb your Duties praising the Subject God the Quire consisting of Angels and Saints the Songs Hallelujahs Rev. 19. 3 4 6. Where there is no more need to fear that your Eyes shall be dimmed with Tears or your Ears Affrighted with Cryes or your Senses disturbed with Pain or the Heart Damped with Sorrow or the Soul Ever Surprized by death VVhere there is All God and No Evil there is No Persecutors None to Claim your Possessions from you None To Envy your Happiness the Rich cannot be Robbed Nor Kings shall not be Flattered VVhere there is Possessions without Impeachments Seigniories without Cares Length of yeares without decay of Strength Love of All without Ieâ—lousie of any Greatness of STATE without Conscience of Corruption Where we shall be Ravished with Seeing Satisfied with Enjoying And Secured for Retaining Beloved All these things are Very true True In the Letter But far more true Taking it All as meant Spiritually There are Such Things as These Buâ— infinitely more Spiritual Divine and Transcending Such things As These and whatever else The Heart of man can Imagine Are but Poor Things to what we shall there Have and Live with and Live in viz. In Heaven The Beginnings whereof are given you Here as an Earnest and First Fruits For Heaven is Nothing else But Grace perfected T is of the same Nature with that you Enjoy Here For He that is United and made ONE with Jesus Christ by Faith Hath A True and REAL Glimpse of those Ravishing Glories And Delights which he shall for ever Enjoy But you must Wave All Carnal Sensual and Worldly Enjoyments And look upon the Highest Chiefest and Rarest here To be But Shadows and Dark Resemblances of those Blessed Good things which we shall then Enjoy For Ever and Ever THE TWO MIGHTY AND Wonderfull TREES OF EDEN In the Garden of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ELOHIM Incognita Vnknown Ever since Man was driven out of Paradise until Admitted to Return in Again viz. THE TREE of KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD and EVIL AND The TREE of LIFE Taken out of A Book Called The LETTER And The LIFE Or The FLESH And The SPIRIT Translated by Dr. EVERARD THE TREE of KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD and EVIL What it is I Will not much contend with them that will have The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil as
delicate or wanton flesh and blood saith is good as to eat Calves out of the stall and Kids out of the flock and then rise up and sing to the sound of the Vial and the Harp Can there be any true comforts in these discomforts which if attained are but vanity and if not attained are vexation of Spirit Teshavah Teshelemoth nay most commonly better not attained then attained because they prove but snares and destructions But here may be applyed that of Sampsons riddle out of the sowre came forth sweet and out of the eater meat therefore O that we could behold the love of God in all conditions Indeed there is nothing happens to the wicked that hath any thing of love in it but if we belong to him how heâ—vy soever the afflictions be or how evil or unjust soever the Instrument be from him it is alwayes just and is in love and intended for our good and the issue shall be sweet just and good Shall then any servant of God grudge at whatever such a Tender father lays upon him we suffer the fathers of our bodies to correct us as the Apostle saith Heb. 12. 9. and we gave them reverence and shall we not much rather be in subjection to the father of spirits and live so verily they for a few dayes chastened us for their pleasure but he for our profit that we may be partakers of his holiness I might shew you in many things wherein our profit by afflictions ariseth but this is not our point in hand we must return to it that we may end at present and commit you to God And let not me think because there are so many men and creatures in the world in Heaven and in Earth to provide for defend and protect that therefore I shall be neglected or that he hath not Armies and Angels enough to defend me or that thou who ever thou art that trustest in him shalt be neglected no no. To think because Kings and Princes and great Ones have Angels to defend them therefore to doubt there will be none or not enough to mind or to assist me Yea yea fear not he hath Chariots enough to assist all yea all his Creatures in all places in all times through all ages Beloved those sweet Babes the Kings children that now are How pleasant are they they take their sleep their food their play and care for nothing And yet little do they think how many heads must bleed and hearts must ake before their royal persons can be touched but I say they take their play and sleep quietly in their Cradles neither fear nor care toucheth them So my beloved Let the true royal seed of God do so Let all Gods Servants lie down in peace and take their rest and say O Lord thou alone makest me dwel in safety Psal. 4. for their Gods Armies lie round about them and shall make them all dwel safely They cannot be touched or hurt For besides al this that these millions of Angels both in Heaven Earth are their Guard That great General himself the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is their Saviour Protectour and his Everlasting Arms are under them for evermore But it may be their infirmities and their ignorance wil not let them see it or confess it yet little do they know how many thousand thousands of the Armies of God must be overthrown before Gods people or any one of his children can be touched before ever any one member of Jesus Christ can be hurt for this God as he is great dreadful so he is a God infinite in bowels and compassions who fills and commands all Creatures and all his Armies and Chariots are for their defence relief and protection And therefore from henceforth and for ever let us all cry out in an holy admiration Oh the Heighth Depth Breadth and Length of his Power and Mercy and Loving-kindness 1 HEIGHTH For saith David Psal. 36. Thy Mercy O Lord is in the Heavens and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds Thy righteousness is like the great Mount ains and thy Iudgements are a great deep O Lord thou â—reservest man and beast How excellent is thy loving kindness O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the â—adow of thy wings â—hey shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house and thou shalt make them drink of the Rivers of thy pleasures For with thee is the fountain of life and in thy light we shall see light 2 DEPTH Psal. 86. 13. Great is thy mercy toward me thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Hell 3 BREADTH Psal. 104. 24. O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches 4 LENGTH Psal. 98. 3. He hath remembred his mercy and his truth toward the house of Isaael all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God And now Brethren if this OUR great God be Lord and Governour of the House what then can be out of order If he be our spenditory our house of Store what fear of want If he be our Treasurer what fear of poverty Surely he hath enough and enough infinitely more then enough He can make the Philosophers Stone he can make gold he can and will create comforts and therefore let all these things stay your hearts and depend on him as on that Rock to whom there is none like him though all the men all the Kings Princes on earth should consult and conspire together and all contribute their utmost to make thee happy yet there is none like the God of Iesurun who rideth upon the Heavens in his help and in his excellency upon the skie for the eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are THE EVERLASTING ARMS And so I commit you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and bring you on to perfection Militia Coelestis OR The Heavenly Host The second Sermon upon Psal. 68. 17. The Chariots of God are twenty thousand thousands of Angels The Lord is among them as in Sinai in the Holy Place At Giles Criplegate in the Afternoon the Repetition omitted WE may well call this Verse The heavenly warfare wherein as I told you were contained four things 1 Their nature they are the hariots of God because God was pleased to ride in them 2 Their number the Text saith that they are twenty thousand thousands of Angels and I told you from the Text that they were Infinite 3 Their name they are called Angels 4 Their Commander and that is God The Chariots of God are twenty thousand even thousands of Angels We spake of these two in the forenoon we come now to the two last The third is their name Angels There is much adoo about this name of Angels what they are what their nature is but we will not now stand
Goodness the Wisdom Excellency and Beauty of him You may say these indeed in themselves are glorious creatures but say withal Where is He that enlightens them and makes them so glorious Oh! What and How glorious is He that thus shines in them and through them And as they All testifie the glory of their Creator so they All suffer him to be their Lord and Ruler Every thing is contented to stand in his place and be obedient to him the beasts they are appointed for food to man as other things are for beasts every one increasing and yielding their sweetness and fatness to the next creature above them and this they do willingly without grudging And All these creatures though they do speak God yet that they say of Him it is nothing in comparison of him Though they say something yet they all say not All of him but in us there is such a deal of ignorance which I was about to say was the greatest sin that we are so far from using them as we should making them serviceable to us and keeping them in their place that we are rather serviceable to them and are their servants and we make them Masters we are sooner turned into their kind then they into ours And the creatures though they speak God and speak aloud of him yet know this they still cry Plus ultra plus ultra there is more behinde still look beyond us for we are nothing when thou beholdest The Beauty glory sweetness or Excelencie of any Creature or of all the Creatures together Hear This voice from Them Look Beyond us for we All are Nothing Nothing to Him who made us and gave us to be What we are And we all speak infinitely short of Him As when I see This Church or House I know he was a workman that built it yet I know not All of him I neither knew what age he was of nor what means he had but that he was a workman this his works do tell me So in the works of Creation when I look upon any of the creatures I must needs acknowledge he was a Rare workman and a wise that contrived and made it but they come infinitely far short of him And they still cry with that man in the Gospel We believe But Lord help our unbelief 2. For their prayers You know prayer consists of two parts Of Prayer or Invocation Of Praise and Adoration As I told you every creature praises God the work praises the workman and every creature praises God I and with a loud voyce But whoever heard and understood the noise and the language of the stones and the voyce of the still and quiet earth But even All these praise God Aloud and he receiveth it at their hands They all praise him in his Sanctum Sanctorum The whole world and the Heavens and the Heaven of Heavens are all but His Temple as David saith In this Temple doth every one speak of His glory In this Temple they all sing praise and Hallelujahs to him every one even as it were vocally as Psal. 84. 3. David complains that the Swallows and the Sparrows were more happy then he for they might draw nigh unto God in his Temple to praise him for what is their chirping crying and singing but the voice of nature and to whom do they cry and to whom do they sing but to their Creator and God knows their voice and their cry as David saith He feeds the young Ravens when they cry unto him As a mother knows the signs the Child makes knows by the nuzling what it craves even so doth God by all his creatures The eyes of all things look up unto thee and thou givest them their meat in due season What the eyes of all men nay of all things You know one creature understands the voice of another they understands one anothers complaints one anothers singing and rejoycing one Dog understands the voice of another and so every creature in its kind and shall not God who is the God of nature he knows whereof we are all made and He knows all our complaints and wants The Lions seek their prey of God and he feeds the Ravens when they cry unto him But if these should not preach Gods praise yet the very stones do speak his praise and cry unto him but yet in such a language as God understands who made them and therefore you to whom God hath given rongues and understanding if you do not praise God and glorifie him if you hold your tongues all these dumb creatures and even these senseless stocks and stones shall rise in judgement against you for this is a true rule Nature hath done nothing in vain What 's the reason the poor sheep bleats when it comes to the slaughter and the swine Roars when he is killed do you think they cry to us that pursue them kill them no no but to God who is witness of their surrendring up their precious lives according to his will STEVEN when he was stoned to death nor Jesus Christ when he was crucified and said Father into thy hands I commend my spirit they did not cry more Audibly I say not more Audibly in Gods eares to God to take notice of their innocent yielding up their lives then these creatures do Cry to God when they suffer cruelly and unjustly crying to God Lord lay not this sin to their charge And Father into thy hands I commit my life and my spirit and fall asleep as Steven did and return to their rest 3. The third thing is their Decalogue but this belongs onely to us because they need none they never broke their law they alwayes walk according to Gods will The water and the sea summer and winter hay-time and harvest with all other things these all keep their appointed time they all obey thy will O God True it is they have not that reason that we have and therfore they have not so exact A Decalogue Yet God hath power even to break this exact Law yea man also may if God give him a dispensation and then if he break any of these Laws it is no sin as God commanded Abraham to kill his son and he did kill him in his intention and he had killed him had not the Angel staid his hand and it was not Evil but Obedience in Abraham But if any one shall do this from their own will then it were sin for he that gave the Law may break the Law And for this third part we need say no more 4. For their Sacrifices or Sacraments I do not say they sacrifice as of themselves but they are not onely an occasion of our praising God and sacrificing to him but they are also the matter of our sacrifices yet David in that of I Chron. 16. 31 32 33. Exhorts Let the Heavens be glad and the earth rejoyce and let men say among the Nations The Lord reigneth so withal saith he Let the sea
make me bid defiance to the world and the things below that we would fain walk evenly in all change of conditions dost thou want spirituall riches and those things which God accounts Good things things which he gives only to his own people And not those he gives promiscuously and most plentifully to those he hates are given to destroy and to undoe them Then I say unto thee thou needst not say Who shall ascend into Heaven or who shall descend to bring Christ from the grave behold he is nigh thee Even within thee What needest thou go out of thy self for help or counsel there is that Great Counseller dewls within thee What need hast thou to go out to any Creature What need hast thou to rely upon man or the Arm of flesh Thou hast such a Counseller and Comforter within thee that is able to darken and obscure all the counsels and comforts of all Men and all Creatures But thou must first strip thy self of all manner of thoughts and fantasies and all imaginations and then thou shalt find such an infinite bottomless God whose name is called wonderfull Counseller the Mighty God the everlasting Father the Prince of Peace That thou mayst say of all Creatures as Iob of his friends Miserable Comforters are ye al. For There may be such an occasion and a man may be in such a condition wherein all the world cannot help a man nor comfort him But there can be no case wherein this great Counseller this mighty Helper cannot uphold and comfort a man Though all the world were set against a man to undo and overthrow him yet he is so safe with God that he needs not regard it If God will keep a man under his wings what need he fear Though thou art oppressed and wronged I do not mean onely outwardly do not take me too much in that sense but inwardly by Satan and by thy wicked lusts so that thou cryest our with David Mine enemies fight against me daily and I am oppressed on every side and with Ieremiah Lord help me I suffer violence and spoyl Have thy eye and thy heart most upon these inward violences so that thou seest a mighty battel fought within thee Esa. 9. 5. For every battel of the warriour is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire Is this thy case There is one nigh thee whom thou mayst cry to as Ieremiah doth Lord help me I suffer violence There is one within thee that can make thee not to fear but can make thee laugh at all these things As Iob saith the Horse doth in the Battel at the shaking of the spears As here Moses went about a desperate and a mighty attempt viz. that he A poor Shepherd should offer to go to so great a King and to cause him to let half his Kingdom depart from him but there was such a Supporter within Moses that made the work seem possible to him though impossible to men Beloved your heavenly Father is so near you that he knows what ye need before ye ask he is so much you that he is more near to you then your selves He is not so present as the King is present in all his Kingdom because his power is over all and reaches to all In that sense every Iustice of Peace every Constable and every Officer is a finger of the King and therefore it is a vain foolish thing to say 'T is true Gods power is here and he is present in regard of his Attributes for will ye separate God and his power Will ye make God and his Attributes two things that cannot be for Gods power is his essence And what ever is in God is God and where he is present by his power there he is present by his Essence if you do not see it so blame your selves lay not the fault on God and deny him therefore to be there but blame your own eyes which are not opened and your own ear because they are not bored And so I say conceiving God to be thus take any yea all occasions of magnifying worshipping and praising him and with the Prophet David when ye behold any of the Creatures Say Praise the Lord in the heights Praise him in the Sun and Moon Praise him in the Stars Praise him in the Firmament of his power and Praise Him according to his most Excellent Greatness So much for this time THE MYSTERIE OR THE LIFE and MARROVV OF THE SCRIPTURES An Exposition on Exodus 3. the Six first Verses EXOD. 3. 1 2 3 4 5 6. Now Moses kept the flock of Iethro his father in Law the Priest of Midian and he led the flock to the back-side of the desart and came to the mountain of God even to Horeb. And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush and he looked and behold the bush burned with fire and the bush was not consumed And Moses said I will now turn aside and see this great sight why the bush is not burnt c. Delivered at a Private Meeting at Kensington OUt of which words we have observed three things 1. Moses his Preparation or disposition to this Vision and that is in the first Verse And Moses kept the flock of Iethro his father in Law Priest of Midian and he led the flock to the back side of the desart and came to the mountain of God even to Horeb. 2. The Vision it self that is in the 2 3 4 5. Verses The Angel of the Lord appeared to Mose in a flame of fire in the midst of a burning bush and the bush burned and was not consumed c. Lastly the consequence and what followed thereupon In the preparation of Moses his disposition to this great sight we observed something in that it is said here that Moses was a Shepherd and shewed you the reason why the Holy Spirit takes such special notice of Shepherds and still prefers them before Husbandmen as the first of men that were begotten Cain and Abel the Shepherds offering was accepted and the Husbandmans rejected and then we produced and traced all the Patriarchs Abraham Isaac and Iacob and Iacobs twelve sons all Shepherds and so David The first of Kings that was accepted he was taken from following the sheep to sit upon the Throne to feed Gods people and still all the stock of the Messiah of whom Christ came were generally Shepherds This is the Letter of the word but what may be the meaning that Shepherds are more esteemed then Husbandmen what is the mystery what is the living sense of these words As I take it the meaning is this that the life of a true Shepherd was to depend more upon God and his providence then Husbandmen because they more resign up their wills to God and liye altogether upon his blessing And do not so labour and Toil
bring them to be Purer and Purer Finer and Finer till they be all made pure As himself is pure He who is called often Fire in Scripture as Mar. 9. 49. He will purifie the impure from the pure the dross from the gold The light of Israel shall be for a fire and his holy one for a flame and he shall burn and devour his bryers and thorns in one day All wickedness shall be before him like the Thorns of a forrest before the fire and shall not be able to stand before Him It shall All be burnt up and nothing remain thereof as it came of nothing so it shall return to nothing And this Christ will do not at once but by degrees as Fire makes not a thing at first as hot as it self but by degrees but it wil not rest nor cease till it hath Heb. 12. 29. Our God is a consuming fire Wickedness nor any impurity shall not be able to stand before this consuming fire no more then thorns and stubble before devouring fire but by degrees he will purifie us throughout in bodies souls and spirits All the works of man as of man shall be burnt up and he shall suffer loss but himself shall be saved yet so as by fire as the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 3. 15. For the fire shall try every mans work of what sort it is Therefore I say take heed of Standing Up before this fire If thou arâ— not 〈◊〉 â—own beforehand this â—â—e will burn thee down to ashes Do not quench the motions of the Spirit in you do not strangle them in the birth as Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew Midwives To strangle the Male-children of the Israelites in the birth Exod. 1. 18. But let this Fire have its Perfect work as the Apostle Iames saith of Patience Expand and give up your selves to Him Let him work his will in you give him leave to burn up your dross That you may be brought nearer and nearer to him and be made more like unto him that ye may more fully enjoy him That so at length ye may be Swallowed up and Emptied into him Even into that Ocean whence ye came as all the small rivolets which come from the Sea never rest till they return into the Sea And let us continually Magnifie the infinite goodness of Almighty God who of his Meer mercy will so far Humble himself to sit as a refiner over his work and never ceaseth but is always Purifying Clarifying and Refining from one degree of purity to another till we come to be like unto his own Dear Son Jesus Christ and all our dross so separated till we be made all pure silver and pure gold and that all our chaff may be removed till we become pure wheat and fit to be gathered into our Lords Garner Even till we be Clarified Rarified and Glorified even like unto the Precious and Glorious body of Jesus Christ himself who is blessed for ever and ever Amen TRUE and DIVINE EXORCISM OR THE DEVIL CON-JURED BY IESVS CHRIT MARK I â—5 26. And Iesus rebuked him saying hold thy peace and come out of him And when the unclean spirit had torn him and cryed with a loud voyce he came out of him The Substance of several Sermons preached at Kensington Publique meeting-place AS the holy Apostle Paul divides a man into body soul and spirit so do I this present Text the body is the history according to the letter the soul is such moral observations as arise and are deduced from the letter and history the SPIRIT is such heavenly instructions and divine documents as rightly applyed may be fitly termed The Marrow and Quintesscence of the Word of God The History according to the letter is so plain that he that runs may read and understand it and so needs no explanation and therefore I intend to collect the moral observations And 1. From the place where this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This man with an unclean spirit was in the Synogogue at Capernaum We from hence are taught That no place can secure from an unclean spirit 't is not a Church Chancel Communion-Table or Pulpit no Bishop or rigid Chancellor or stout Archdeacon nor yet any Politick Official can with all their wit wealth or power excommunicate him or drive him out when he hath once entred in He appeared among the Sons of God Job 1. 6. He stood at Ioshuah the High Priests right hand Zech. 3. 1. nay into Heaven it self and Paradise he intruded therefore we should as our Saviour saith Beware even of Men Such men as are of His spirit Unclean they will deliver yon up to their counsels Mat. 10. 17. And the Apostle hath it Phil. 3. 2. Beware of dogs That is beware of men of proud cruel fierce and dogged spirits And then 2. As no place can secure us from Others Evil Men or Devils without us So nor can none of us assure our selves that we are what we should be If Templum Domini If the Jews crying out The Temple of the Lord would have serv'd the turn Ier. 7. 4. but that did not though they rested secure and blest themselves in it So also do we now in the Outward Baptism so in the Outward receiving of the Ordinance of the Lords Supper and also in the outward profession of Christianity c. Sed ista omnia folia sunt but all these are but leaves but 't is the fruit God looks after For though no tree that bears fruit but hath leaves yet Wo to those Trees which bear nothing but leaves Then 3. From the Devil his confessing Christ we learn That though as Paul saith Ore fit confessio with the mouth confession is made Rom. 10. 10. yet that is nothing without the other except the heart believes unto salvation for that confession is vain which is void of faith saith Fulgentius 4. Observe For all the uncleaneness strong possession of this unclean spirit as soon as our Saviour speaks for he spoke a s one Having Authority and not as the Scribes 't was a destruction to him for he cryes out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Art thou come to destroy or to torment us Luk. 8. 28. the Scribes and Pharisees might have preach'd long enough ere this Devil would have Roared For as some go not out but by fasting and prayer Mat. 17. 21. so some unclean spirits wil not stir out of men but by powerful preaching which is Christ coming Himself with power and casting them out And 5. From this Renting the poor man we learn how furious and raging his malice is to man Tearing and renting Them whom he may not cannot longer possess The Dragon never watch'd the Woman so narrowly as when nearest her time of deliverance Rev. 12. 4. So Pharaoh pursued the Isralites most eagerly when departing his land And the Prophet Isaiah saith For unto us a Child is born and a
or none Evil Actions as they are Actions that are in Scripture attributed to Satan that are not likewise ascribed to God either for things External or Internal Truly friends I may not keep back any part of Gods counsel for fear of the Iews Although they be Angry at the preaching of these things First For External Actions If we look upon Iob Did the Sabeans come and take away his Oxen and slew his servants and was that done by Satan upon that Commission given to him Iob 1. 12. All he hath is in thine hands why yet we know it was God gave him that very Commission who is the Lord of all Hosts yet acted by Bands of Sabeans and Armies of men Did the Chaldeans set upon his Camels drove them away and slew his servants know as David saith The Lord teacheth my fingers to fight And the mouth of the sword of the Chaldeans could not bite till God bad it Did the fire burn up his sheep and his servant yet we know that it is the Lord God Who raineth snares fire and Brimstone Psal 11. 6. and in that very History it is called Ignis Dei The fire of God Job 1. 16. Did a great wind come from the wilderness and blew down the house and killed Iobâ— children yet 't is certain He that is the Lord Bringech the windes out of his treasure Psal. 135. 7. Iob saith The Lord hath taken away c. Job 1. 21. But to come nearer yet Did the Devils enter into the Girgasites swine So that they ran headlong into the sea and were drowned but yet they did not could not enter into them till Christ bade them go no no He that sends is greater then he that is sent the Lord is above the servant though the Devil may desire to do mischief yet he cannot accomplish it till he be authorized and impowred by God himself Now to come to spiritual Actions and such as may seem to have a Near and almost inseparableâ—ffinity â—ffinity with the worst sort of evil Sin for the other were but Medicines Nocumenta Documenta Nocuments are Documents Did the Devil Harden Pharaohs heart yet the Text saith plainly of God I will harden Pharaobs heart Exod. 7. 3. Obduration and hardness of heart is a grievous sin and a Heavy punishment yet God saith I will harden Did the Devil tempt Absalom to take his fathers Concubines yet 2 Sam. 12. 11. saith God I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house Yet again Thou didst it secretly but I will do this thing before all Israel Did a Lying spirit that is the Devil Seduce Ahab that he might go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead yet it is recorded in the same place Behold the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy Prophets saith Micaiah 1 King 22. 23. I will sum up all in HIM who is the sum of all Christ Jesus Ioh. 12. 40. who citing that of the Prophet Isaiah Isa. 6. 10. where God commands to make the heart of this people fat and shut their eyes c. Christ saith plainly Ioh. 12. 40. HE hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart that they should not seeâ— nor be converted And saith he These things spake Isaias when he had seen the glory of God And then spake of him So likewise did the Devil enter into Iudas his heart to betray his Lord Luk. 22. 3. It was true yet I will say as Austin upon Psal. 61. towards the end of it Malignus Iudas Traditor Christi Maligni persecutores c. Iudas was wicked who betrayed Christ the Jews were wicked who persecuted him with malice to death all of them were impious and miserable wretches to crucifie the Lord of life And yet Paul saith to the Romans Rom. 8. 32. The FATHERâ— spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tradidit BETRAYED HIM yet it was HIS FATHER And Ephes. 5. 2. tradidit seipsum And He gave up Himself and yet Iudas He betrayed him What shall we say herein Dispone si potes distingue sipotes dispose and distinguish if thou canst To that end Let us then take the counsel of our Saviour Let us give unto God the things that are Gods and unto man what is mans let us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with boldness give unto God as the SOLE SUPREME Agent The Glory of all Actions of what nature or kind soever as actions As to the soul The power and act of seeing but of seeing doubly or dimly to the organ it useth so God gives to the soul the Act and power of Hearing smelling tasting speaking thinking Going and Doing and the like but for the Evil and viciousness of any or all these to the organ they use and imploy In bâ—ief Take this as the sum of all let God have all the glory honour and praise of all actions they belong to him alone but to our selves let us take shame and confusion Baldness to every head and shame upon all faces Ezek. 7. 18. Gods righteousness in all these is like the great mountains and his â—udgements are a great depth Psal. 36. 6. like the mountains indeed Eternal and Eternally mountains though we climb never so long never so high They are still past finding out and are like the great DEPTH Depth still though we sink never so low and therefore Cusanus speaks learnedly to this point Omnia creat Deus etiam alterabilia mutabilia corruptibilia contraria c. that is God creates all things alterable changeable corruptible contrary yet he created not Alteration Changeableness Corruption nor Contrariety for seeing that he is HIMSELF Entity Life and Substance Essence and Being He doth not cannot create Non-Entity Destruction Death or Ruine but Hee is Alone BEING LIFE and SUBSTANCE And yet so it musts needs be for God is the God of Order and order implyes plurality and diversity And then secondly what harmony or musick is made upon one string or if it be a Monochorde yet there must be divers fâ—ets and stops and cliffs In this case you know The sweetest Harmony is made where there is the greatest discord and Variety To go a step or two further In that famous and memorable story of Ioseph his Brethren t is said sold him to the Midianitish Merchants in their malice and they into Egypt where he was tempted by his Mistris An act worse then the other yet when he makes himself afterwards known to his brethren Gen. 45. 5. Ioseph saith plainly Misit me Deus c. God sent me hither before you into Egypt They did it and God did it they indirectly God directly yet Ioseph saith it was not you but God sent me before So also in that act of Shimei he was set on by the Devil to curse David yet David saith Let him alone let him curse the Lord hath
6. Did he heal the sick and diseased give light to the blind open the ears of the deaf untie the tongues of the dumb feed the hungry preach teach to pray sigh and groan and weep reprove with Authority Was he hungry and thirsty and went up and down doing good Was He Arraigned and condemned under Pontius Pilate did he dye rise again ascend into Heaven and sit at the right hand of his Father All these are true So let us in all these mind that these mighty works be done in our souls that they be cured from the putrified sores of sin and lusts Isa. 1. 6. and from our spiritual leprosie and cry Open thou O Lord mine eyes that I sleep not the sleep of death Psal. 13. 3. We should labour and pray that our understandings may be enlightned that we may have The seeing eye and Hearing ear to confess and praise him with our tongues that they may speak the language of Canaan and say Open thou my lips and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise And that we should hunger after righteousness and be watchful in prayer sigh and groan and weep for sins committed against God Mine eyes gush out with tears Psa. 119. O that my head was a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night c. Jer. 9. 1. Reprove and rebuke and loath our selves as Iob I do abhor my self Job 42. 6. Do good especially to those of the houshold of faith Condemn and accuse and judge our selves I called mine own ways to account saith David I dye daily saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 15. Christ rose again Arise and stand up from the dead and Christ shall give thee light Eph. 4. And so we should rise again to newness of life If ye be risen with Christ seek the things that are above Col. 3. 1. He ascended and so do we when our conversation is in Heaven He sits at the right hand of his Father All power is given unto me Mat. 28. 18. Now I live saith the Apostle yet not I but Christ in me And Jesus Christ cast out Devils too and so must we cast out spirtiual wickedness in high places All these are the works of Christ in us and happy are we if we can truly say This day are these Scriptures fulfilled in us But must our Saviour cast out Devils in us what in me If an Angel should tell me so I cannot believe it and I would ask with the Virgin Mary 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 How can this thing be Luk. 1. 34. If our Saviour himself should tell me 't is and must be so and except I cast the Devils out of thee thou canst not be saved I should ask him as Nicodemus did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 How can it be Ioh. 3. 4 For where is there any Devils in me to be cast out Just so Peter said to our Saviour Ioh. 13. 8. Thou shalt never waâ—h my feet but certainly as our Saviour then told Peter Except I waâ—h thee thou hast no part in me So in this case except he cast out the Devils they are in us still for Beelzebub will not cast out Beelzebub But it may be Here you wil say to me as the Jews said to Christ Iohn 7. 21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Certainly thou hâ—st a Devil To tell us such strange things To make us believe that we are Possest For this purpose it will be necessary to see what the Devil is for that which is here called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An unclean spirit in Luk. 4. 33. is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is The Spirit of an unclean Devil Devils for substance are Angels for quality Evil ones or Angels of darkness A man is in substance a man though Evil and his Evilness of quality doth not make him lame or blind or deformed There are secondly many good Angels as our Saviour testifies More then twelve Legions of Angels Mat. 26. 33. And there are many bad Angels My Name is Legion for we are many Mark 5. 9. Whereas 't is said of both of them that they are spirits 't is true it taken comparatively not positively or simply for this word spirit hath divers Acceptions in Scriptuâ—e As 1. Spirit is taken for the Air Ve-ruach The Spirit of the Lord rested upon the waters Gen 1. 2. 2. 'T is taken for the Wind Ve-ruach The East wind brought in the Locusts Exod. 10. 13. 3. 'T is taken for the spirit of life All flesh died in which was Ruach the spirit of life Gen. 6. 17. 4. For the immortal part of man Ve-ruach The spirit of man returns to God that gave it Eccl. 12. 7. 5. For the purpose and mind of man Kol-rucho A fool opens and speaks all his mind or spirit Prov. 25. 11. 6. For the influences of the spirit As I will take of the spirit that is in thee and put it on them Num. 11. 17. 1. So then Devils are Angels yet different from good Angels Yet not in substance power strength agility or the like but in that one accident of Evil Therefore they are called Evil Angels Psal. 78. 49. And Angels that sinned 2 Pet. 2. 4. And The Devils Angels Mat. 25. 41. and Angels of Darkness Good and evil Angels differ not then in substance but in quality 2. The Devils are spirits who maketh his Angels spirits Heb. 1. 7. And so in the words of my Text The Unclean Spirit But yet they are spirits comparatively or respectively not simply or positively for so onely God is a Spirit it is his peculiar Title Iohn 4. 24. And as God is a Spirit so he is called the Father of spirits Heb. 12. 9. 3. They are Bodies But not Natural or Terrestrial but Spiritual and Celestial 1 Cor. 15. 40 44. Non ut nos yet have not bodies as we have So speaks the Nycene Synod Corpora multo tenuiora quam natura But much more subtile bodies have they then we not so gross and heavy as ours are but more Aerial and sublime so speak the Greek and Latine Father for God is Onely Incorporeal Yet know this That their Corporiety or Materiality hinders not the being of many in one place As a whole Legion in one person Mark 5. 9. and seven Devils were cast out of Mary Magdalen for the Penetration of bodies spiritual is not As of bodies Terrestrial For As the light of many Candles through One hole they are to our senses confounded yet in themselves distinct like the lightning from East to West Luk. 17. 24. And as all the Sun-beams make but one JUBAR till received by several subjects so is it with spiritual bodies 5. That every Devil is As the Star of His ORB as concentring of light to our sight is of things near or far off Ibi est ubi operatur There
own souls and you shall better consider and know his malice not onely to the bodies but to the souls of men as t is said 1 Sam. 18. 10. Saul was vexed by an Evil spirit so when you hear of casting out of Devils Take heed lest your selves fall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into the snares and nets and condemnation of the Devil Further to this point St Paul saith 1 Cor. 12. 4. that there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Differences of graces yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but one spirit As there are the graces of wisdom of Knowledge of faith All different in their several acts operations and degrees yet flowing all from the same spirit so I may say there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Differences of sins and lusts in the soul some being spiritual wickednesses others carnal and fleshly some for stature and growth like the sons of Anack mighty and great and strong others of a less and lower size Differences too there be in sins length and time as Iob saith His bones were full of the sinnes of his youth Some do not leave their sins but increase them and carry them in them till they dye and they grow strong and numerous even to a Legion of Devils There be some also that though they come up in a night yet by the blessing of God they are wasted and gone in a night like Ionahs Gourd they are like a wafaring man of no continuance they take no deep rooting in the soul There are differences too in respect of obstinacie purpose of mind malice and HATRed of God c. some going before others others following after unto judgement as the Apostle speaks It was said to Ierusalem Thou hast justified thy sister Sodom in all her abominations Ezek. 16. 51. her sins did exceed for grievousness those of Sodom and yet all sins of what nature or quality soever how different soever they be are all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from that Evil One in us The Devil and though as our Saviour saith Mat. 15. 19. Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts thefts c. yet these are suggested into the heart by Satans malice and policy As t is said of Iudas That the Devil put it into his heart to betray His Master So that it is not onely Hard but impossible for any man that hath not been rapt up into the third Heaven To know How God sends Good motions into souls whether by Angels or not Yet I am sure though the Apostle saith That to will is present with me Phil. 2. 13. But yet that will is from him For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Every good and perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of Lights Jam. 1. 17. Nay all natural actions as to think and to do or to move c. are all of him from him and by him For In him we live move and have our BEING And As hard it is to say directly Though the Prince of this world Joh. 12. 31. The God of this world 2. Co. 4. 4. very lofty titles you see are given him by the Holy Ghost To shew what great power he hath I say 't is very hard to know How he Tempts and moves us to Evil whether by His Angels or not For HE hath Angels called properly and peculiarly HIS Mat. 25. 41. Prepared for the Devil and His Angels and termed The Angels that sinned 2. Pet. 2. 4. And again 't is said He drew the third part of the Stars from Heaven when he fell And the Devil is called The King of the bottomless pit Rev. 9. 11. Sure I am that there are great store of several sorts of Evil spirits For there is The spirit of jealousie Numb 5. 6. The Evil Spirit of lying 1 Reg. 22. 22. The spirit of deep slumber and sleep Isa. 29. 10. The spirit of this world 1 Cor. 2. 12. The spirit of dissention Judg. 9. 23. The spirit of perversness Isa. 19. 14. The spirit of wheredom Hosea 4. 12. 5. 4. And the spirit of seducing 1 Tim. 4. 1. And once for all As we read of the Spirit of Christ so also do we find the spirit of Anâ—ichrist 1 Ioh. 4. 8. And yet necessary it is thâ—â— thâ—s it should be I say Necessary with that necessity of which our Saviour speaks Mat. 18. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is necessary that offences should come For As in visible things there is no change without corruption so in civil things Lex non est posita justo sed injusâ—o The Law is not made for the righteous but for the transgressors for the lawless and disobedient as the Apostle saith And so and no otherwise is it in spiritual things Men cannot imagine How God should have made known the Riches of his goodness Rom. 2. 4. if no Evil had been nor The Greatness of the Riches of his Glory Rom. 9. 22 23. if there had been No vessels of wrath and dishonour Fitted for destruction Neither should he have shewn the Depth of his wisdom and knowledge Rom. 11. 33. If there had been no folly and ignorance Nor yet The riches of his grace Ephes. 1. 7. If there had been None that stood in need of pardon and grace Beloved How could the sons of men have known or understood Either the plenteousness of His REDEMPTION If there had been no Captives Or the exceeding greatness of his love wherewith he hath loved us in Christ If there had been none that were his Enemies and hated him So that now I will say of the Devil and his Angels as once Augustine said of Original sin Whereof after he had long disputed whence it should flow and proceed at length he concludes That it is A more vain and fruitless thing to stand disputing about its Rise or Original when as we feel the flames of evil concupiscence in our selves still Burning then it is for a man when he finds his house on fire to stand still Demanding how the fire came but doing nothing to quench it Or whereas he should find his son fallen into a well ready to be drowned yet should stand still Asking How he came to fall in but not using any help or means to get him out and so save his life So may I say of the Devil and his Angels It being so that they Are And that they are so Active and Destructive to men and that they move in Rule and reign in the Children of disobedience and have already climbed our works and are gotten in our very hearts and there wound kill and slay if we did but see it so I say 'T is but a fruitless question to enquire how they entred or came into us or of what they are made or what Power they have to do us mischief or the like But sure I think it is our best policy and greatest wisdom to
the blessed Apostles and Disciples were brought to Oh! but where are such Disciples now where are your Great Doctors and your learned men Are they Doctors in this School of the Cross of Christ No no nothing less Are They Dead men Are They come to this to let others rejoyce in the heaping up riches And adding Land to Land and making themselves and their posterity great in the world These things should not concern Dead men And saith David again I am as a broken pitcher that can hold no water Just so is This man He is a broken pitcher that can hold Nothing Pour Riches into him Health Wealth Praise Honour or the contrary Whatever ye give to him or take from him He is all one if ye take his Cloak from him he will give you his Coat if ye strike him on the one cheek he cannot revenge He will rather turn the other Curse him and He will pray for you And all this he learns of his dear Saviour JESUS CHRIST And all this He hath attained by being united and by being made One with Him whose practise and Command you know it was so to do and whose Nature and life he partakes of knowing assuredly by experience That there is No other way to find rest to his soul But by forsaking his own will and living Free in the world and Dead unto it and to his own proper will and affections Oh Beloved How Happy and how Free doth such a soul live how at liberty and free from those Chains that most men are fettered with as love of Money and Honours and Houses and Lands Distracted with hopes on one hand and Fears on the other and are never at rest but are like the Troubled Sea tumbled this way and that way rolling to and again and never quiet But this Man is Delivered Set free from all such things What a comfort is it for a man to be made Willingly to leave the love of the world to live free and above all hopes and fears What a comfort is it not to fear death for this man dyes daily not to fear To Answer All our enemies in the gate to look boldly and undauntedly on Death on Satan as knowing them overcome and brought under what a comfort is it to Find See and Feel The life of Christ In Us and that we are in some measure and every day more and more made conformable to our Head And that we shall now for ever Overcome and be at Rest and Sit down with Him upon His Throne even as he is set down upon his Fathers Throne what a comfort is it to feel and see our graces Faith Hope and Patience And the rest to Revive to live and flourish which in former times flagged and dyed what a comfort is this To see That when either the North wind or the South wind blow Let him be in any kind of condition Yet His Garden prospers His Soul flourishes And the Spices thereof flow out and Christ and He To eat the pleasant fruits thereof To this man Nothing is a Rod to him Nothing a judgement Let God do what he will with him He can see no Anger no Frowns in any thing but all that comes is to Him Mercy and Loving kindness This is The Soul That lives with God and lives in God This soul is at Rest And none else But This Soul For he hath in pâ—rt Possession of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of Heaven Possession of him Even while he is in the body which possession he knows he shall never be deprived of but shall have the FULL Possession and Enjoyment thereof for ever and ever In His Fathers due Time O my Dear Freinds To What A Blessed Tranquillity AND SERENENESS of SPIRIT Is This Soul Attained These are to Him BLESSED and HALCION DAIES Here end the SERMONS of JOHN EVERARD And All that can be of His Expected Here follow certain brief Collections out of some Sublime and Mortified Authors Translated out of Latin by Dr. Everard Hereunto Annexed to these Sermons as things suitable to His preaching and giving further light each to other viz. To him who is in the light 1. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. These two placed in the midst of this book the other six herefollow 2. The Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God 3. Dionysius the Areopagite his Mystical Divinity 4. Certain grave and notable sayings in Latin and English 5. The saying of a certain Divine of great note and name 6. A lovely glass or example of our Lord Iesus Christ his life taken out of Taulerus his works 7. Another short Instruction out of the same Author 8. A short Dialogue between a Learned Divine and a Beggar THE MYSTICAL DIVINITY OF Dionysius the Areopagite Converted by Paul the Apostle who did at Athens believe and cleave unto him ACTS 17. 34. Written to Timothy Translated into English By Dr. EVERARD JOB 36. 26. Behold God is great and we know him not ISA. 55. 6. For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your wayes my wayes saith the Lord. LONDON Printed by Iohn Owsley for Rapha Hartford at the Bible and States Arms in Little Brittain 1657. THE MYSTICAL DIVINITY OF Dionysius the Areopagite Written to Timothy CHAP. 1. What the Divine Mist or Darkness is OTRINITY That art above ESSENCE above GOD above Goodness the Governour of the Christians wisdom concerning God Vouchsafe to direct us to the More-then-unknown More-then-shining Highest-top of Mystical Oracles where the simple and absolute and unchangeable MYSTERIES of Divinity do Hide by the More-then-lightsome MISTINES of Secret-Teaching SILENCE in the Darkest Darkness Even Him that over-shineth That which is More-then-most-Glorious and under that which is utterly impalpable and invisible doth More-then-fill the blinded or Eye-less Mindes with More-then-fair Shinings 2. And these things I pray for but do thou O my friend Timothy by thy most intent study and exercise about MYSTICAL Visions leave and forsake thy senses and all sensible and intelligible things and thy mental operations and all things that are not and that are and after an unknown manner lift up and advance thy self to the Conjunction and Union with Him who is above all Essence and Knowledge for by a free and purely absolute departing from thy self and all things having separated all things and being freed and loosed from all things thou shalt be brought back to the Super-essential BEAM of the Divine Darkness 3. But take heed that none of them that are not Entred or Initiated in our MYSSERIES do hear these things I mean such as are still detained and holden in the things that are and do imagine nothing to be super-essentially above the things that are but presume by their own knowledge to understand HIm that maketh DARKNES his Secret place And if these Divine Institutions concerning Mystical things be above Them what is to be said of such as are yet more strangers and
describing that which was Above all Affirmation or Position it was fit to Begin and Establish the Fundamental Affirmations from that which is most Proper and Nearest unto it But now when we go by way of Taking away from that which is Above All Ablation or taking Away it is likewise fit we should begin our takings away at Those things that are furthest temote from it For is He not Rather and more properly Life and Goodness then Aire or A Stone And may it not Rather and more Properly be said that he is not Weak or Angry then that he is not Spoken nor Understood CHAP. IV. That He that is eminently the Cause of all sensible things is yet no sensible thing at all 1. VVE say therefore That the Cause of all things and that which is above all things is neither void of nor without Essence nor Life nor Reason nor Mind 2. Neither is it A Body nor hath it shape nor Form nor Quality nor Quantity nor Bigness neither is it in Place nor is it Seen nor hath it any Sensible touch 3. It neither Perceiveth by Sense nor is it Perceivable by Sense it hath neither Disorder nor Trouble as if it were Agitated by material Passions 4. It is neither Impotent as subject to sensible Passions or Accidents neither is in Any want or Indigence of light neither needs it any Light to see By or Withal 5. It hath neither Alteration nor Corruption nor Division nor Privation nor Flux or a Continual flowing and Succession of Parts nor any other Sensible thing Nor is it Any of all these Chap. V. That he that is eminently the Cause of all intelligible things is none of those intelligible things 1. AND going downward again we say it is neither Soul nor Mind nor hath it Phantasie nor Imagination nor Opinion nor Reason nor Understanding neither is it Reason nor Understanding nor is it Spoken or Understood 2. It is neither Number nor Order nor Greatness nor Littleness it is neither Equality nor Inequality nor Likeness nor Unlikeness 3. It neither Standeth still nor is Moved nor Resteth It neither hath Power nor is Power nor Light It neither Liveth nor is Life It is neither Essence nor Eternity nor Time nor is there any Intellectual Touch thereof 4. It is neither Knowledge nor Truth nor Kingdom nor Wisdom nor One thing nor Unity nor God-head nor Goodness 5. Neither is it a Spirit as we can know or understand or after Our manner of knowledge nor SON-SHIP nor FATHER-HOOD nor any other thing Known to us or to any Other of the things that Are. 6. Neither is it any of the things That are Not Nor any of the things that Are neither do the things that Are know it as it is nor doth It know the Things that Are as they Are. 7. There is no Speech of it nor Name nor Knowledge it is neither Darkness nor Light nor Errour nor Truth 8. There is of it No Position or Affirmation nor Ablation or taking Away or Negation But when we make Affirmations or Negations of the things That are After it yet we do neither Affirm nor Deny 9. Because He that is PERFECT Compleat Onely and Singularly the Cause of All things is Above all Position or Affirmation And the SUPER-EMINENCE of Him which is most Simply and Absolutely freed from all things and is Above All things is likewise Far Above All Negations The end of the Book of Dionysius the Areopagite concerning Mystical Divinity Blessed be he that is that was and that is to come AMEN Dr. Everards ADVICE upon these following Sentences in Latin and English REad not what follows till thou have Read and Felt and dost Understand what goeth before For here follow certain Grave and Notable sayings whereby the diligent Disciple of Christ may examine himself and know what is to be thought or determinated of the True and Inward Union to the Onely and Supreme Good that we may depart from our selves and being dead to our own will may live to God alone and to his will Grant it O God by him which resigned up his own will to his Heavenly Father who liveth and reigneth with the Holy Spirit in a perfect Trinity for ever Amen These in regard of their succinct and pithy shortness they were hard to be understood if put into so few words as the Latin I have therefore not onely translated them into English but also annexed the Latin to them that where the one Language shall be obscure it may be helped by the other 1. DEus est unicus unitas existit manat ab eo solo nec tamen de eo alioquin enim decresceret fieretque minor 1. God is onely One and Unity is in him and flows from him alone yet not of him nor any way from him otherwise it would decrease and become less 2. Ubi sunt duo quae una servari aut convenire oportet fieri potest ut inter ea oriatur discordia 2. Where there are two things that must be kept or agree together it may come to pass that discord or dissention may arise between them 3. Haec duo non nisi voluntate dissidere possent id quod esset summa causa occasio omnis dissidii etiam in Deo sit duo possent esse in eo 3. These two could not disagree but in Will which would be the greatest cause and occasion of all discord or disagreement Even in God if Two things could be in him 4. Nihil enim est quod dissentionem pariat inter omnia quae dissentire queant nisi dissimilitudo voluntatum 4. For there is nothing can breed dissention among all things that can disagree but the dissimilitude and unlikeness of wills 5. Hoc unum Deus vult unum estque omnibus binis contrarium 5. This one God willeth One thing and is contrary to all Two things 6. It aque ergo quicquid etiam creavit ipse super unico illo creavit alioquin ei defuisset ordo 6. Therefore also whatsoever he created he created upon or To that One alone otherwise it had wanted order 7. Praeterea nullam potuisset ejus creatio sive creatares habere consubstantiam propter voluntatem contrariam quemadmodum videlicet nunc fit ideoque eam interire oportuisset 7. Moreover His Creation or created thing could have had no constancy because of the contrary Will to wit as it is now done therefore it must needs have dyed 8. Ea unit as metiri cogitari tractari cognoscive non poterat nisi duntaxat ab uno per unum idque interdum in suo contrario 8. That Unity could not be measured thought handled or known but onely of One and by One and that sometime in its contrary 9. Contrarium existit a se ipso sine culpa adversarii 9. The contrary is or exists of it self without the fault of the Adversary 10. Hinc apertissime perspici potest oportuisse ut uni optimo esset aliquod