in the spirit and as he manifests every spirit with its workings motions and ends their ground and off-spring whence they come and whither they return that thereby the creature may know who it is that exercises his mind and members and to what spirit he yeelds himselfe in his obedience and service and so may come to know the use and end of all his works what to chuse and what to refuse what to justifie and what condemn in its first motion before it be brought forth or formed in the womb that judgement may be kept on the head of transgression and liberty proclaimed to the Just and for want of faith and feeling of this way of Christ it is that so many perish in sin and yet seem to strive against sin even because they cannot believe that to be sufficient to save from sin which manifests sin in the ground and condemns it in its first motion which if they did but in faith and diligence joyn with him to condemn sin in the ground temptation and motion it would dye and wither and not be able long to live or prevaile and if it for a time should live in the members yet not to condemnation for I have found a great difference between sin condemned in the creature though not yet wholly dead and sin lived in and pleaded for for if thy life and judgement be in that alone which condemns sin then art thou dead to sin and alive to Christ and it is no more thou that sins but sin that yet remains in thee to which thou art dead to which thou dost not consent like nor approve of nor any way add any strength thereto but thy faith and love delight and strength is in him which condemns it he that is truly in this faith and love by the working thereof shall all his enemies perish and by that faith and love shall the just live in that creature and he in him condemning and killing sin till it all be done away and the creature of God sound alive in him alone who without spot will present him to the Father for this I have found that that which manifests sin in its first motion judges it there and condemns it there hath the onely power to kill sin ere it be committed and so hath onely power to save from condemnation for this you shall find that as Christ doth not live to justification where he is not believed and justified loved followed and confessed though in such he move so sin doth not live to condemnation where it is hated condemned and denyed for where that spirit of wickednesse is seen in the light and separated from and judged apart from the creature the creature joyning in judgement with just there sin will wither and Satan flee for there he hath no kingdome nor a hiding Habitation for the light being minded and judgement having free passage and consent it searcheth out his hidden things and judgement passeth upon all his deceit root and ground with his fruits so is the strong man spoyled and his stuff by faith in Christ and not by strength of the creature by beleeving the just and denying the unjust For according to every mans Faith so shall he receive from God now he that beleeves salvation and that cleaves to and lives in some sin and pleads for it and beleeves he must do so his Faith stands in an uncleane thing and an unclean thing will live by that Faith and be justified by that Creature and in his justifying any thing that is uncleane therein is the just condemned and that Faith cannot be counted to that Creature for righteousnesse and the just being condemned which should give dominion over the unclean the wilde Plant hath its liberty to grow until it overspread the Plant of God and cover the man wholly stop the ear and blind the eye and hardens the heart against every motion to good or check for evil and let not this man look for good fruit but after his Faith who so believes Also on the contrary He that feels a strife in himselfe between the clean and the unclean and sees the one reproove for sin and the other plead for sin and believes in that which is pure clean and just which condemns the unjust and unclean that faith stands in that which is pure and the mystery and power of it is held in a pure conscience and that pure faith being followed will purifie the heart and cleanse the hands from unjust actions and by that faith the just lives and grows and springs and brings forth and the pure plant spreads and covers the earth with the knowledge of God his holinesse power and purity and all grace in the heart which becomes as a working leaven till it hath wrought out the unclean nature and conformed the whole man to himselfe And this is a work of the holy faith which none can receive but who believes in holinesse for none can bring clean fruit out of an unclean faith And this further for the incouragement of such as honestly indeed would be rid of their sin and set free to serve God in holinesse without deceit thou feeling in thee the moving of that which is holy bearing witnesse against that which is contrary to holinesse and condemning it and thee for joyning with it in all thy conversation I say in that beleeve for that is all thou knows of Christ in thee and believing and following it thou wilt feele it making a separation in thy inward man betwixt that which Christ comes to save and that which he comes to destroy for this is he that comes from above to set before thee life and death divided that thou joyning to the life and believing may be saved from death and as thou art faithful to this spirit which condemns sin in the flesh so thou wilt feel warring against and working out sin dayly to which if thou clearly joyne denying that which it condemns then art thou one spirit with him in his work and art no longer in the flesh nor to be condemned with that sin remaining in the flesh but art one in him that condemns sin and self in sinning till sin become exceeding sinful in thy eyes as it is in the eyes of God and as thou grows in love and liking with that pure spirit its Law and leadings so thou wilt become dead to the Law of sin and it will lose its power in thee not being minded loved and served thy mind love and fear being exercised in that which condemns it and here that faith that works by love takes the victory and not thy striving in thy own strength only from a sight of sin by the Law for by the works of the Law thou canst not be justified but by the working of Faith in Christ Jesus that spirit and as thou feel his working in thee and thou one with him therein in his work thou art justified and by beholding of him in this Faith thou wilt be changed
HOW SIN IS STRENGTHNED And how it is OVERCOME THat Sin is in the world and that all are thereby become children of wrath is generally believed and confessed by all but how sin is strengthned in men and women against God and their own souls or how it is overcome sew there be that doth I do here declare somewhat of that which I have received from him who is faithful and true in all his testimony And this I find that as sin got rooting at first through lust so till this day it hath its strength by the desires going forth to affect or lust after somthing whether spiritual or carnal above before or besides what that eternal spirit by which man was created doth communicate to him or beget in him for the eye of the Lilly being blinded by the god of this World which eye should look unto God for all there is an eye of unbelief open which looks into the visibles and gives occasion for the lust to conceive in the mind affections and desires after something which the spirit of God leads not to for the obtaining whereof all the power and wisdom that is in man is set on work and this becomes sin both in the desires and actions and the more it is followed the stronger it is for whatever is hereby obtained becomes a treasure of wickednesse laid up in the habitation of the wicked one whereby the lust is increased and the seed of God burthened and buried whereby the creature becomâ—s daily more unsensible of the Will of God and the movings of that pure spirit which should keep the creature alive to the Creator and draw the mind wholly up to the Father on him alone to wait for a supply in all things both for soul and body and every desire that springs from this root being suffered to go forth desiles the man and brings in that which oppresseth the just untill by continuance man grows into the nature of the enmity and the imaginations of the heart becomes wholly evill and that which should give the knowledge of God wholly buried and in many that which should give the knowledge of sin also whereby man becomes past seeling utterly dead in sins and trespasses heaped upon the just against the day of Judgment which becomes by custom as natural to commit as to the Ox to drink water yea with greedinesse doth man in this condition hunt after his own destruction having damn'd up the way of life in himselfe by often transgressing it and is become degenerate from the nature of God having received in and willingly joyned to that nature of Satan which as a leaven hath and doth work into its own nature all that receive it or yeild unto it whom as they grow therein there springs up fruits of the same root and nature which they bring forth in his time and opportunity with liking and delight being furnished with all subtilty to colour them over and plead for them being in covenant and agreement with sin some in one thing and some in another every one pleading the allowance of that sin with God which most sutes their present lusts pride profit or pleasure credit or esteem in the World or some self-end and at these they take counsel and not at the spirit of the Lord what is sin and what is no sin but none will believe that they can be set free from all sin by him who testifies against all sin in spirit and in all these the man of sin hath his Kingdom by consent for they being willing to keep covenant with him in one evil are guilty of all Now the way to overcome all this and him that hath his power therein is by faith in Christ Jesus the light and life and way to the Father for without believing there can be no victory but in the faithful following of him and patient bearing his crosse and enduring his sufferings comes the enmity to be slain captivity led captive and man set at liberty in the holy seed to serve the Father in spirit and life again And first Christ as he is the light of the world must be believed for so he comes to manifest and reprove the deeds of darkness and to open judgement and to give a discerning and to make a separation between the works of God and the works of the devil in the mind and spirit of the creature and to let them see what spirit doth exercise their minds and affections and the fruits of each spirit and the moving and working of each spirit severally without which none can rightly know what is to be destroyed and what saved what to joyne to and what to war against for by this light alone comes man to the knowledge of sin in himselfe in the ground and root of it and every motion thereof for though the letter or something without may shew what is sin by its fruits when it is brought forth yet it s the work of the spirit within to discover spiritual wickednesse in its first motion which is the onely place to kill it ere it become sin to the creature and this light must be believed and diligently minded all along for such is the subtilty of the enemy having got power over the will and sences of man that he will set them to war against the creature and destroy the Creation rather then that of his which defiles the creature and this cannot be avoided any other way but by minding the light of Christ to separate that which is but to be cleansed from that which is to be destroyed and this man cannot do without the spirit being a spiritual work though he never so much seeks after it And here is the cause why many are kept at hard labour all their time and never come clear out of sin and uncleannesse even not believing in that which hath the power to separate and lead out of the evil but without the single eye are at work in the dark and sees not a clear separation in the body And hence it is that some destroy themselves in seeking to destroy sin not minding the light of the Saviour is led by the destroyer fighting against that which Christ comes to save whilest he that comes to destroy lies hid in the dark But he that believes in that which manifests all things reproves all things and judges all things with that eye shall be led what to war against and what to joyn with all-along in the work for he alone is the covenant of light and given for a leader which whosoever believes and follows shall not erre in judgement or practice but unbelief therein is the cause why there are so many blind guids and many people die in their sins for want of this faith and spirituall diligence And thus he is the way of God and is to be believed in to wit as he manifests the works of the Devil apart from the works of God condemning the one in the flesh and justifying the other
into his likenesse and by his mighty working in thee even by that spirit to which thou art turned and as he grows in thee and thou in him thou wilt feele that power arising which will make thee able to answer a good conscience and give lasting peace and so by his resurrection shall be saved from condemnation from which thy own works will not save thee and this work will go on with joy if thy heart be honest for seeing him that is holy set before thee condemning sin and his holinesse and beauty in all his motions doth so delight the honest heart to see such a glory and beauty near thee that it makes the way easie after him for the joy that is set before thee for in all thy tribulations tryals and temptations this faith will present him before thee and this made the Saints of old endure the Cross and despise the shame and bear the reproach after him joyfully following the Lamb in all his leadings So thou that loves holiness it is near thee power over sin and Satan is near thee salvation is at hand go not forth to seek that abroad which thou hast lost in thy own House he is thy salvation that condemns sin in thy bosom he that reproves the wicked is with thee he that is pure is thy peace he that never consented to sin but stands a witnesse against it if thou have such a spirit in thee thou hast the spirit of Christ the Saviour So take heed unto him to believe him and to mind his leading and to follow him if thou part not from him he will be thy everlasting peace and over-ruling power to subdue thy sins and by him shalt thou tread down strength with ease and delight and shalt be able to say with such as was come to the same spirit Greater is he that is in thee then he that is in the world and onely that faith that sees him hath power to overcome the world for he that beholds his glory treads the worlds glory under his feet for whatsoever is seen in him doth so far excell all other things that it takes the mind out of all other delights and leaves them empty so that things in Heaven nor things in Earth Principalities nor Powers are able to separate from the love of him how much more wilt thou leave thy delight in sin when thou comes to delight in him his love will constrain thee who loves purity and hath found it for this is joy indeed and love unspeakable when the soule finds that treasure in his own House freely given which he hath long been seeking abroad and could never purchase neither with life nor estate And the more thou beholdest him the more will has glory and love appear for as thou in the light beholdest the pure motion of this Holy One thou wilt come to see what thou art without him and what thy wants is without which thou canst not be happy and that thou canst not have a lasting peace till with his vertue thou be filled and with his glory covered and with his power armed against every temptation all which he will make thee heir of with him as thou minds to be faithfull and hearken to his movings to obey them in all things who thereby will lead thee his way by which he obtained all this glory and power and this inheritance from the Father in which way thou wilt find a cross to all thy own wayes and to the worlds spirit in all things which will be easie if thou keep thy eye single to him who is set before thee therein his glory and the gaining thereof but if thou look back into the world thou lookest into temptation without him and there the spirit of the world presents thee with loss and not with gain setting before thee what thou must forgo with all the hardships and impossibilities that may be but no power to bear it but keeping thy eye to him thou hast alwayes power and peace before thee in thy way the hope thereof will be as an Anchor and the faith a shield and the love will give thee life to undergo all the tryals for his sake bearing his cross dayly which must part thee and thy sins and crucifie the worldly spirit with the lust thereof and kill all that wars against thy soul and keeps thee from thy inheritance wherefore it is called The great power of God unto salvation And as thou becomes faithful thereto thou wilt seel the fruit of that Holy One springing in thee moving to be brought forth in thee towards God and man thy faith will grow and prayers with strong cryes to the Father as the spirit sees thy wants thy love will spring move in thee and bring forth towards God and man upon all occasions which if thou willingly serve in its smallest motion it will encrease but if thou quench it in its movings and refuse to bring it forth it will wither and dry in thee not being exercised And it is the like of gentlenesse meeknesse patience and all other vertues which are of a springing spreading nature where they are not quenched but suffered to come forth to his praise in his will and time who is the begetter thereof and to the comfort of his own seed and cross to the world And if thou be faithful daily to offer up the body as a sacrifice to bring forth his Image Name and Power before his enemies then what he moves thee to bring forth shall be thy inheritance and will daily encrease with using but if thou wilt not give up for his Name sake but would hold the treasure and escape the reproach then will it be taken from thee and given to him who will yield the Lord of the Vineyard his fruit in due season for that which the Father freely begets he will have freely brought forth that the shining thereof in the dark World may praise him what a glory is it to see peace shine in the midst of War love in the midst of hatred meeknesse in the midst of strife righteous judgement in the midst of wickednesse innocency in the midst of violence oppression as a Lilly amongst thorns so is that of God amongst the men of the World and therein doth his nature and beauty appear in his Temple to which all must confesse and praise him therein This is the righteous day which many have talked on and those onely are the children of it in whom the brightness shines forth that which God begets in thee is his Son confesse him in the midst of his enemies and thereby is the Father glorified and his Son crowned But if thou deniest him thy body to testifie against the World he will deny thee his life to redeem thee from the evil of it the breaking forth of the Sun is the beginning of the good day when that which so long hath condemned thee for sin comes to shine forth freely in acts of righteousnesse then shall thy