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
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
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
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
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
and thwart and contradict one another and that the confusion of things confounds thine understanding yet be sure I am with them and in them and I order all and to me all things work harmoniously though to thee cross and contradictory yet all effect and bring about my Ends they can do nothing but what is agreeable to my will for they are all led by one spirit they all to me do keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace with me Even all Contradistories Coincide And so far forth as thou canst see and believe this they all shall do the Same to thee Beloved you know these my two hands are moved by the same spirit in me and the same soul moves all the members of my body and think you will one member hurt another No will my hand smite or pierce any member to hurt it No surely and if it do yet it is to better its condition though for the present it may hurt and wound and make it smart yet it is not to Hurt it but for its greater good So say I In the world what can happen or fall out to hurt us or displease us Truly nothing at all If we were but come to this that we could but keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace If we did But Behold ONE Spirit moving and ruling through the whole earth And if we did but see that He is the cause of all Wars and Tumults and that He stirs up their spirits for what End is best known to himself and thought we see such varieties and changes in the world yet in him and to him all things Coincide Even those things that are contradictories to us even all changes and oppositions and contentions and clashings in the world all in him Coincide That is all things to him are in agreement in an Harmony and work to his Almighty praise to the Highest to the utmost that can be Yet in regard of men he may be dishonoured but in himself and by himself He Works out His own praise in all contrarieties Because Really and in truth Nothing contradicts his will but if it do His revealed will yet He makes every act in the creature be it good or evil to contribute to his praise And he whom God hath been pleased to shew this vision to which he here shewed to Moses and the interpretation thereof he sees it so and his will and Gods clash not but Harmonize and coincide Gods actings and their wills agree these Blessed Souls They cannot finde fault with any thing but subscribe that He hath done all things well How then can this man distrust or murmure against God in whatever falls out because he sees God doing all he sees one Spirit moves all acts all but so far forth as men are Drowned in the Letter of this Vision they see none of all this They onely look upon it As a wonderful thing that God did thousands of years since and so take it as an History or according to their utmost interpretation viz. That God in the midst of the Afflictions of the Church yet he preserved them even as in the veâ—â—sâ—re though Pharaoh oppressed them and Egypt was as a furnace to the Israelites in which God kept them and brought them out of it which interpretation I condemn not but I think there is more held forth for God bid Moses tell the Israelites I AM had sent him He that was the Substance and Being of all things the worker and orderer of all things in heaven and earth But so far as men see not this When they hear of wars and rumours of wars and Nation rising against Nation they tremble and they fear and are at their wits end not knowing they are all led by the same spirit himself is when as those who see the Almighty thus working ordering and filling all creatures yea Burning and Changing Melting and reducing the Elements from one form and shape to another so that they see one generation come and another go These men they go on in an holy Serenity and Tranquillity of minde knowing there shall not an hair of their head perish without their Fathers pleasure and ordering Beholding his wisdom and power and goodness in all things in all turnings and tumblings and overturnings Having Cast all their care upon him for they know He takes care of them and infinitely beyond what they could do for themselves Therefore they Repose themselves sweetly upon his will and disposing which condition they prize above all earthly enjoyments yea more then a thousand natural lives if they had so many for They have forsaken Houses Lands Wives Children c. and all for Him and in him they enjoy and possess a hundred-fold instead thereof even in this life If they have them they enjoy God in them and through them and though they want all yet they have God instead of all who is to them more worth then all But others not being able to Hear or Bear these things being not yet come to be either Fathers or Yong-men in Christ living still in the Letter and in Shadows whom indeed these fathers in Christ pity and pray for and their Bowels yern for them and such is their strength that they are fain to become weak to the weak and all to all not that they shall gain all but that they may gain some for some are like the Egyptians here spoken of that not all the precepts or examples nor all the Plagues in the world will convince them They will not take knowledge That they are Acted and Guided by an unseen hand and power They see not that the whole Universe is guided by One Spirit But they think that there is one Spirit in the English and another in the French another in the Spaniard and another in the Dutch another in the Turks one in Europe another in Asia another in Affrica and another in America but be assured As to the carrying on of the affairs and designs of God in the world One and the same Spirit rules in all And though there are divers and contrary operations yet all is by the same Spirit it is God that worketh all in all and though they be never so far asunder yet all act by the same Spirit As in my body what 's further asunder then my head and my foot yet the same soul in both and know that this One soul within me hath as great a care of the lowest member as of the highest And so in the world though Almighty God hath set some in a high condition and some in a low yet know He Guides all He takes care whatever thou thinkest that the Higher Members and more Exalted and Impowred shall not oppress the lower no further then he in his wisdom thinks meet He it is that lets one man finde favour in this mans eyes and another not This as other actions all along are
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
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