in his own light and spiritual leading in every mans conscience there to arise and his enemies be scattered as he transformeth and reneweth the mind according to his blessed will of heavenly love and the contrary thereto is onely unreasonable unrighteous intolerable and abominable to God as that which enforceth men of corrupt and unstable minds to formalities and hypocrisie whereof ensueth condemnation in themselves to their souls besides the many other mischiefs and miseries to mankinde for what is out of faith is sin both in the commander and actor and if the heart condema God is greater and knoweth all and who shall justifie where he condemns and as it is written Blessed and happy is he that condemns not himself in the thing that he alloweth and contrarily which ought to be well heeded and warily observed by all men and is by those that are willing to know and perform the great trust reposed in them concerning their own souls as knowing that they must give an account of themselves to God and ought not to trust their souls with others that have other ends then for the Lords service and learned Arts whereby to call good evil and evil good put darkness for light and light for darkness as blind men or with their eyes shut and unwilling to know the light of life and leading of the holy Spirit of truth as if as the fool said in his heart there were no God or not desiring the knowledge of his way and yet concerning the things of this world cry Give give more more when they have not rightly learned how to use that they have V. You that are strict and zealous Professors in your ways should study to be quiet in your selves and with others you have a zeal as for God but not according to knowledge of him as a fire of love in you kindled by the holy Ghost and therefore you are such and so diversly opinionated without unity or order amongst your selves but one fort contending for the Monster Uniformity another for their new-made Faith a third for their dead dumb and empty ordinances and each impleading others and employing your selves like Nadab and Abibu or Core and his company in kindling and offering strange fires before the Lord and resisting the truth taught in the light of Christ by his blessed Spirit which leads into all truth as Jannes and Jambres sometime withstood Moses but your deeds are so manifest and you stopt and reproved in your inward and outward parts so as not like much farther to prevail are again in love as heretofore warned to turn in your minds to him that there smiteth for amendment that a remnant of you forsaking the sparks of their own kindling may be purged purished and brought forth as gold tryed and saved by that consuming fire which burns and wasts all sin our of obedient souls with the fleshly loves and lovers thereof so as there may be no more mis-judging by private and perverse spirits of ignorance weakness or thick darkness that cannot comprehend the deep things of God but do turn the minds out of the true light of Jesus Christ wherein his servants see light to walk that pure path of holiness in him to glory in words emptiness and vanity of your wills bodily wits and works as did the former persecuters of Christ Jesus not wisely heeding the Lords hand whereby he is restoring all things into the glorious liberty of his sons and daughters and how he therefore now shakes the earth and heavens also which should abate the edge of mens earthly appetites accompanied with such strange and hideous effects and would if they knew any thing of the Lords pure and powerful workings or of the times and seasons or were but near ripe for truth and apt to the kingdom of God and would take such off from expecting greater signes and wonders or acting another thing by another spirit of private interpretation different from the Lords purpose so many ways manifested and therefore it is evident that such men are sick weak or fallen asleep so that they cannot discern the Lords body his truth and true worshippers nor other things that differ And though you may not be competent Judges in spiritual matters yet consider is it righteous or reasonable that those who are either meerly carnal or have not yet received so much as the bare presence of the holy Spirit in grace should judge others that are sealed with the Spirit of promise baptised and made to drink into that one Spirit which judgeth all things and so are partakers of the divine nature of the immortal and invisible God Have you never read how the Lords praise is perfected in the mouths of his babes and sucklings and that whosoever doth not receive the kingdom of God as a little Childe shall in no wise enter therein or how the mysteries of that kingdom are hid from the wise and prudent and revealed to such babes or how the halt lame and blind whom you despise do enter while you your selves and others art shut out and the rich sent empty away Remember that Exhortation of Christ Jesus to men of your sort saying Wash the inside that the out may be clean also It is high time for you to be willing to put away the evil of your doings and yeild to his light and leading of his Spirit that your souls may be prepared and fitted to feel and know him as God equal with the Father spiritually to clense you from all unrighteousness and then you will not suppose that any good thing of him can make you happy but what is so revealed and wrought in you or be ignorant of the danger of resisting or neglecting such divine stirrings in your souls by any your exquisite Arts natural Reasons or bodily Wits as some do who are so much thereby deceived that they think they are not deceived You may read likewise of some that had travelled pretty far in outward Ordinances been baptised with water c. and yet not heard that there is an holy Ghost and such in those days are not a few that have their cars stopped with dumb and deadly sounds of words or thereby become so dull of hearing that they hearken not to the voice of the Charmer though he charm never so wisely nor are gotten one step farther then those that had not heard of an holy Ghost though they can talk much of him by what they have read or others told them and how then should they believe on him of whom they have not heard specially while they are so willingly led by such ignorant talking that so dulls them and hinders their heeding of the true light and hearing what the holy Spirit saith and how he revealeth the deep things of God to all watchful and willing souls so that such have their loves to and their faith and lives in mans wisdom and seldom or never come to the love of God indeed and in truth but remain vain and unruly
likeness of Christs fleshly holiness and may be in so great love that it slayeth all wicked love in their souls and strengthens them to suffer freely for him and yet this over-shadowing of their souls whereby they are kept from the great love of the world is onely as a shadow of the invisible light of the Godhead and manhood united and lightly touching the serious and devour soul whereof the Prophet spake as being under the shadow of his spiritual wings or manhood and yet this is but Christs love received intomens dark minds and imaginations though it be that condition whereunto thousands professing Christianity have not yet attained though they pretend much and seem to teach others also But it is faith and spiritual feeling of Jesus Christ which purifieth the heart and whereby the soul comes to understand his spiritual love in the Godhead as Christ said I in them and thou in me and to be made perfect in one c. to which all bodily beholdings are but as means directing mens minds to the light and thereby their souls to a serious consideration of the wonderful love goodness power and wisdom manifested in the manhood of Christ spiritually And so it is like Martha loved him and laboured in outward service for him and that with hearty affections but Mary chose the better part she received and embraced him with more pure affections and retained him in her bea rt Mary Magdalen loved Christ well before his passion of bodily death but her love was much bodily and little spiritually for she loved him not as God before though her thoughts and affections were set upon him in which affections or actions expressing her love Christ condemns her not in that time so far as we find but after when he was risen from death and appeared unto her she would have reverenced him with such a manner of love as she did before and then Christ forbad her saying Touch me not as look not on me with a fleshly eye to rest therein for so I am not ascended to my Father nor equal to the Father so but now love me as I am one with the Father in the form of the Godhead know love and worship me as God and man like God so to be with me love and worship me onely for that I am God that took the nature of man and therefore receive and embrace me as God in thine heart and in thy love of me and worship me in the enlightned understanding of thy soul as Jesus Christ God and man the saving truth goodness and light of blessed life and spiritual joy and so Christ Jesus promised to come unto his Disciples and be with them by his holy Spirit after given them with power from on high to teach them all things and lead them into all truth the which heavenly gift of holiness and glory few have yet attained to in these latter times since the Apostacy and therefore those souls that have not attained to this spiritual understanding of him through his grace are to wait in his light with pure affections of fervent love until more grace be freely given unto them and not to over-run the conditions wherein they are but stay therein until they shall respectively feel a better revealed in them still minding that all spiritual gifts are felt and tasted in the powers of the souls chiefly in love and spiritual understanding but not in imaginations through the strength of the body or bodily wits which are not spiritual feelings and at most but outward tokens of spiritual inward feelings in the powers of their souls where the holy Ghost hath lighted their reasons and kindled their affections with his blessed Presence so clearly in fervent love that they immediately thereby received the knowledge of spiritual truth and perfect love with an outward shewing of of the inward feeling of spiritual grace And as it was in the former Disciples so it is now in other like-perfect souls visited and lighted within by the holy Ghost whereby there is an outward feeling of the inward grace and the body made obedient thereby to the Spirits moving and leading without fainedness or fancie of imagination And he is no spiritual man that hath not thus learned Christ or is taught his lesson by him in like spiritual wise nor any way qualified to judge of spiritual matters but must consequently erre in his understanding and mar all he meddles with and not know how or wherein he so erreth much less how to amend his own crrours and how then shall he reform others but as a blind man may judge of colours because these spiritual things are above the sight of his carnal eye so that he perceiveth them not that hath not the spiritual eye of his understanding opened and how then should he open the Scriptures that as Christ said neither knows them nor the power of God or be skill'd in the use of his spiritual Weapons his warfare or work to be done in his Vineyard or know the kingdom power or glory of God whereto all true service tends For as it is written The natural man understands not the things of the Spirit of God but they are foolishness to him for it is the spiritual man that judgeth all things and is judged of no man because his life is hid with God in Christ as taken from the earth and unknown to the world but well known to God and is so reformed in soul that he feels the least fleshly stirring in him and condemns it and loaths it in his heart and ever fleeth to God for strength against all such motions and loves not his life to attain the life eternal but is passive in every thing a man of sorrows and sufferings as his Lord Jesus was and left him an ensample to follow him therein Seeing the business in hand is of soul-concernment it is absolutely necessary that the soul should know it self with the facultie vertues and powers thereof by its turning into and watchful keeping in its pure principle of the light of Christ Jesus in the Conscience to love that light and observe its motions as it shall be led by the holy Spirit into all truth and thereby restored into its primitive purity fit to enjoy the sweet presence of God as Adam did before his disobedience For a miserable and wretched man is he that knoweth not the workings worth and worthiness of his own soul the first lesson to be learned in Christs school as the trade of his youth it being the most excellent Creature that the Lord God formed for his service and glory whereto nothing can give true content satisfaction or rest but God onely and therefore neither to love nor desire any thing but him for otherwise he cannot come to know the Spirit of God and what it willeth worketh or would work in him how it striveth how it is grieved how quenched how he searcheth all things even the deep things of God how he dwelleth in man how
but grace giveth ability in spirituall manner as it cometh into the pure mind and this opening of the understanding is by the working of the holy Ghost in the pâ—esence of Jesus Christ whereby the soul is enabled to expound the Scriptures one after another be they never so hard or secret and the harder they be and the farther from mans reason and understanding the more delightfull is the true shewing of them whether it be Literal as concerning the outward man Moral to inform of vertues to be followed and vices to be eschewed Mystical to see the words and works of Jesus Christ spiritually or Spirituall as longing after him and his works to do them in like love and live in them as his friends so said he and this last truly understanding Scriptures savours well and very sweetly in the Lords taste for so the spirit of life giveth understanding of what was formerly by himself directed and from him written and so of no private interpretation quickning the thoughts of the soul therein with great sweetness savour and delight in special sad and serious waiting on Jesus Ghrist to understand Scriptures in his will and his testimonies of love therein through divers inward discernings sweet movings and sudden touchings of the holy Ghost whereby the soul is taught and enabled thereto without other helps and he that thus is given to understand the Scriptures values not the knowledge of men gotten by learning arts and sciâ—nces though of never so great worldly cunning and skill for the end of the true knowledge thereof taught by Jesus Christ is that the soul may see and enjoy him and attain salvation to life eternall and therein glorifie him as God equall with the Father c. whereas the other way of knowledge is for self-ends worldly vanities and fleshly delights When the servants of Jesus Christ are well skilled concerning their hearing the voyce of Christ they truly hearken know and follow him and then neither feignedness by transformings nor otherwise can deceive them for therein is no fainedness fancy pride nor hypocrisie but soundness meekness peace and charity full of life love and grace so that when it soundeth in the soul it so aboundeth with strength and vertue that it causeth the soul to leave all to wait upon it to listen hearken perceive rest in and love the sweet breathing of his spirituall voyce according as he sheweth himself whether as a Master a Father a Husband c. keeping the soul in a wonderfull reverence and lively beholding of him with much liking and delight to the soul that it may become a true and faithfull Spouse to him in the fulness of fellowship and light of love and this is in great power and glory a state of perfection in the way to as full communion with God as Adam had in innocency and Enoch by walking with him but the sight strength and comforts of some are therein more then others though all in this state are growing into the love and life of God in Christ Jesus so as the eye of heaven is opened to all such clean souls whereof holy men have diversly written as they were moved by the holy Ghost as of a life above all appearances likenesses bodily creatures or things even as in heaven beholding the Lord Jesus spiritually and loving him faithfully and therein knowing God the holy Ghost as love uncreated and the love formed in the affections of the soul to be of and by him through the sight and knowledge of the unchangable light and truth which is of God placed and seated in all meek souls wherein the spirit of holiness resteth and pleasantly walketh pet this formed love in the soul is not God himself but the love which the soul feeleth in Jesus Christ and to him neither is this the cause of coming to Jesus Christ but pure love which is God himself is the true cause of this knowing and drawing to himself for he sheweth and giveth of this love which is the holy Ghost to teach and lead therein so that God is both the giver and the gift as Christ Jesus said I give my life c. whereby mans soul comes to know this uncreated love and to know and love Jesus Christ as the free gift of God whereby he toucheth the heart with the invisible light to know him and receive his love and to love him again as in and with the same love so freely given and received but all in his own time by more quick or flow gracious feelings imparted into such souls as are cloathed with the new light of righteousness and true holiness which is a right reforming in this spirituall savour love and meekness but he is not so lighted and led by the holy Spirit that thinks he can do any good thing of himself or otherwise then by such working in him spiritually To you my dear friends that are of the holy brethren partakers of the heavenly vocation I salute you in the pure light of unchangable and endless love in Christ Jesus our Lord according to the spirit of holiness and undefiled liberty wherewith he hath made us free to serve him in spirit and truth have you born the indignation of the Lord in your own particulars are you purged from the pollutions of the world cleansed from the filthiness of flesh and spirit and thereby departed from the shadowes of this world and received glorious garments of the Lord put off the mortall and put on the immortall cloathing and sweetly confessed and meekly suffered for the name and testimony of our Lord Jesus who is our life and who of very faithfulness and pure love hath caused us to be troubled and is near at hand to succour you and give you rest in him purifie and prepare you for further trials to your spirituall profit and advantage in filling up the measure of his sufferings in your flesh and overcoming by the blood of the Lamb the word of his testimony and not loving your lives unto the death wherein the eternall God will be your refuge and underneath his everlasting arm for your defence and therefore all to be faithfull and diligent that truth suffer not by any faint or feeble owning of it for we are not called onely to believe but to suffer also for him in whom we believe and you be here onely as pilgrims and strangers that have freely parted with your owne wills desires fleshly affections and worldly delights that the eternall will of God may be done in you and by you and now bear the Cross quietly and patiently in clean vessels as Temples of the living God for his worship in the beauty of holiness and what have you here more that is worthy your minding that man can take from you or how may you withhold any other thing from our Lord or his service wherein you know that your loss or labour will not be in vain And therefore gird up the loyns of your minds stand fast quit you
the holy Ghost contemplating on Jesus Christ they were awake though they had other sleeps sometimes as when Christ said Could you not watch with me one houre having their souls inspired through grace and the speciall eye therein opened and beholding Jesus Christ in purity and poverty of spirit inward silence true rest peace in conscience highness of heavenly thoughts with singleness and purity of heart disliking the joyes of this world and onely delighted with spirituall savour of bright burning love thirsting for and gently seeking the Lords blessed presence spiritually These are true testimonies of the inspiration of the holy Ghost in this keeping the spirituall eye of the soul but seeing that reforming onely in faith and fleshly feeling is very low and perilous in its beginning because of the aptness then to yield to the tempter and backslide and reforming in spirituall feeling and savour so high and sure great diligence is requisite in watching waiting coveting and labouring as the Lord Jesus moveth in disposing the affections and bringing the heart to cleanness and feeling of grace which is a constant work of much travel of soul against all wicked stirrings and temptations for it so falls out with some that through negligence and yielding to tentations the enemy enters the soul again and then it feels not the grace as it did but it is withdrawn and the soul returns into the state as before but then the soul is in much blindness pain sorrow and unsavouriness for it relisheth worldly things but unsavourily and is encumbered with bodily wit and earthly matters for the time and then it desireth after the grace of Christ Jesus again and may not find it for a time but this withdrawing is alwayes for just cause and also in much merey to prove the soul and let it see that without Christ it can do nothing and come to him again with much pain and labour fear care and watchfulness while it supposeth that Jesus Christ heareth not which is his dealing with many for their spirituall strength and growth in him for then the Lord Jesus is sure that the soul will not turn again to worldly love for that it can have no savour therein and then after a time Jesus Christ returneth into that soul full of grace and truth visiteth it in its desires sighs and longings for very love to his presence and then as he toucheth it softly and anoynieth it with the oyle of gladness it is healed of all pains and pantings and then it cryeth to Jesus in the spirit with a glad heart and sweet still voyce as his love teacheth This opening of the spirituall eye of the soule is a light darknesle and rich poverty leading to purity of spirit quietness of conscience inward peace and spirituall rest with high and heavenly thoughts in singleness of soul a light and feeling of grace in the secrets of the heart tasting heavenly savour of inflamed love with bright-shining light of reforming into pure feeling whereof many holy men of God have written every one according to his respective feeling thereof in the grace of the holy Ghost and though they seem divers in shewing by words because then each one spake after his own then receiving and encreasing in grace yet nevertheless they agreed in all as in one sentence of unchangable verity for the soul that through the Lords mercifull visiting with his grace comes to see the face of Jesus by that touching and especiall grace of the holy Ghost is changed and turned from what it was into another manner of living for it is wonderfully drawn first into it self from love and likings of all earthly things insomuch that it hath lost the savour of the bodily life and all things else save onely Jesus Christ and is thereby made clean from all the filth of sin and all inordinate affections are wiped off and washed away in the blood of the Lamb and hath nothing standing to hinder him between God and his soul but onely the bodily eye which is thereby become blind and the soul in spirituall rest with Jesus Christ without fears cares or desires of worldly things but fully imployed in a free and spiritual working and love therein whereby its rest increaseth to perfection it being truly called rest because grace hath wholly loosed the heavy yoak and bonds of fleshly love to work with ease in sweet amity joy and delight as the holy Spirit directeth the soul and leadeth it And this doth silence the soul from janglings of all other speakers for it is the voyce of Jesus Christ in heavenly vertue softly sounding in the clean soul by his quick and piercing word sharply dividing between the joynts and marrow and discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart that slayeth all fleshly love and keepeth the soul quiet from all the stirrings thereof and so is silence made in heaven for half an hour as it is written even within in the clean soul that is lifted up by grace from earthly love to heavenly conversation and so it is in silence though but for a short time before it be again assaulted by its enemies yet hath it peace in conscience because this grace puts out all gratings prickings stirrings and fightings of sin making Jesus Christ and the soul both one in agreement of will and affections so that there are no upbraidings of sin nor reprovings for faults for the Son and that soul have kissed each other and are become friends and all faults past are forgiven whereby the soul feeleth assurance of its salvation by the witness of the holy Ghost in the heart and thereby receiveth day by day more and more spirituall joy and boldness to come to the throne of grace the holy Spirit bearing witness of its sonship and the witness in the conscience administring sure consolation with peace and pure accord love and lasting friendship between Jesus Christ and the soul so that the soul is then above the world in high and heavenly contemplation which is an earnest of true glory here in the body in the knowledge of Jesus Christ with so strong and lasting desires of love that many waters cannot quench And blessed is that soul which is ever fed in feeling of love in Jesus Christs presence is born up by desire to him in his absence for he is wise and hath well learned Christ that holdeth him sadly and reverently with pure affections while he is present and while he is as absent beareth it patiently and easily without bitter pains of impure desires and as there are diversities of feelings in the presence of grace so there are in the absence of grace according to the souls meekness or growth therein and therefore he that knoweth not the absence of grace is readily deceived by outward sounds of other mens sayings and he that is not diligent and watchfull to keep the presence of grace is very unkind to Jesus Christ that in and for love giveth it for the soul should be
like men and be strong in the Lord and the power of his might that the fear of man careful thought or immoderate desire be not found in any of you watch and pray that you enter not into tentations or give occasion to the enemy of your souls lest there should be floath guile or dissimulation hid in any heart or a root of bitterness springing up to trouble and defile or other unskilfull stirring by inordinate affections in any soul after the bodily sufferings changes being seldome free from temptations specially in the weak who are most apt to censure the strong he that hath the beam in his own eye to pull at the moat that is in his brothers eye while contrarily the strong strive not with the weakness in any but ever to strengthen the pure principle help it over the weakness that you may appeare as you are the plant which the Lords right hand hath planted so as that none can pluck you up his portion and peculiar treasure his Jewels sons of the free woman that abide in the house for ever a people whom the Lord loves leads about instructs in his way and keeps from evil and to whom is his blessing of peace and life for evermore that are as living stones built up a spirituall house as a city set on a hill that cannot be hid to shew forth his praise in the blessed love and brightness of his shining glory and be a sweet savour to him in them that believe and in them that perish in unbelief by holding forth the faithfull word of his patience and everlasting Gospel of mans salvation c. What manner of persons ought you therefore to be in all holy conversation that by the burning beams of his beautifull and holy presence you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men that blame your good conversation in Christ Jesus and the hearts of others that tremble at the word of the Lord be melted into tender love and heavenly sweetness suitable to receive that blessed Gospel of peace and reconciliation and so suck at the breasts of consolation as to be daily delighted with the fresh springs of his love thereby to flourish as an herb and be prepared to enjoy the inheritance of the Saints in light and though the world know you not and Satan the enemy of your souls would not have you known lest it should be to his loss yet is the righteous God greater in you then he that is in the world hasting to clear up your innocency that you may be well known to have no strange god amongst you that you touch not the unclean thing but are his sons and daughters having your habitation in the holy mountain with the shout of a King amongst you and that his word spoken shall surely come to pass your enemies be found liars and confess that they have dealt unworthily with you for the Lord hath kindled a fire that shall proceed out of your mouthes to devoure the adversary which cannot be quenched and they that hurt you must be so killed and there is no project to prevent it but as you are faithfull to our Lord spirituall victory you shall have over the beast over his image over his mark and over the number of his name and be found without spot before the throne of God and the Lamb and this is it that giveth you victory even your firm faith but you have need of patience and that it have its perfect work in you so that having done the will of God you may enjoy the promises in the new heaven and earth the true voyce of God in spirituall glory in the essentiall freedome of will and restitution of all things into the heavenly rest wherein all doubts are resolved un on cleared and expectations satisfied and in the way every one is to take care there be no giving or taking offence no falling our no touching of any unclean thing noâ—haâ—…y striving with the evil nature in any others for that as pitch will defile no giving place to evil but overcome it with good as our Lord commanded and being ever apt to teach and bless that you may be heirs of the blessing And to conclude here is nakedly and barely set before all sorts of men the wayes and wages as Moses sometimes said of good and evil life and death for every man to chuse which he will for so it pleaseth the Lord to deal with every man and therein he doth man no wrong by leaving him to his own will and giving him a reward according to his own works c. and experience teacheth that every man will say he loves God and Christ and would be sorry else while he acts as his enemie against him and that he would have everlasting life his soul saved by partaking of the joyes of heaven and avoyding the torments of hell and therefore would die the death of the righteous and have his latter end like his And so said Baalam when he was striving to curse the people of God and gave wicked counsel to the King of Moab against them and to such I say Why walk you then in Balaams way for mens favours rewards so act against the Lord his servants and the light of him in your own consciences for self-ends and make such provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof And why are you not now willing to live the life of the righteous but have him in so great derision and a proverb of reproach as at this day why do you account his life madness and his end without honour why erre you so from the truth that the light of righteousness should not arise and shine in you but rest your souls so in fleshly likings and love of this world whereby godliness seems nothing to you but as a scornfull thing of nought and wrath rests in your hearts even against the Lord and his servants though you say you love him but know that for all these things the Lord God will bring you to judgement you shall see as it is written the righteous stand with great boldness and his salvation seem strange to you above all you looked for and then over-late you may say within your selves What hath pride profited us or the pomp of riches with our vaunting brought us when the â—dolgods you now serve shall depart as a shadow or Post that passeth by with the friendship of this world whereby you are at enmity with God for as it is written whosoever will be a friend to this world is the enemy of God and afraid of him seeks to hide his heart from him and inward fear possesseth him as it did Adam so that he hates his light loves darkness keeps in it flies wanders stumbles staggers and peace departeth from him and though he force to himself a kind of counterfeit mirth for a time yet therewith also he is soon pinched and feels a heavy weight and pain in his own bosom from which he cannot flâ—e but it reproves him and condemns him at every turn and as for the light that shineth in the dark place of his soul he is afraid of that also and faith or love find no room in his earthen vessel for his own lusts fill up the place and devour all by conceit imaginations and vile affections wherein he spends his time to beast himself and yet got swelling words of vanity touching things he never saw and to have mens persons in admiration for advantage sake which is a knowledge and condition that puffâ—th up the heart but redeems not to God from the worldly glory and vain conversation wherein some are so fettered that they will not be reclaimed or endure to be soberly admonished to the contrary for the safety of their souls from whence there is this one onely way Jesus Christ the pure path to be known spiritually and the Father worshipped in him to which a very plain simple man as the fishermen without humane learning may easily attain if he hinder not himself by his own willing seeking desiring hearing striving or outward contention about it because there is a pure principle in every mans conscience which hath onely need to be awaked stirred up and quickned to behold and see all things in the inner powers and parts of the soul and so cease from all outward seekings for it because it is there the free gift of God by his spirit and such as no man can fully teach the knowledge of to another though he were never so well acquainted with the Divine Mysteries which if well considered by those that have attained to some small measure or degree of grace they world not so run into words as many do or be so conceited of their little grace received as to lose it by vain glory while others that have much more wait in still silence of their souls for the Lords work to be therein accomplished as these also would oft times when they speak did they know how little grace or spirituall favour they have in respect of what God giveth to others that singly wait on him with holy and humble hearts and may give also to them if they likewise wait diligently for it Ah that worldly and vain minded men would at last consider and commune with their own hearts to finde out their wayes and see the sadness of their conditions with the high concernments of their souls and how the difference stands between the children of this world that are wife in their generation and the children of light and how the latter exceed the former by many degrees of true wisdome from above and heavenly joy when no word is spoken or matter seen outwardly whereof may be some directions found suitable to each mans present condition in what is here written according to my understanding in the simple and unchangable truth that hath a willing heart to embrace the appearances of Jesus Christ spiritually in his own particular and if not here is over-much said to rise up in judgement against him when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to his Gospel who is the Lord of Life and Glory 22. of the second moneth 1661. THE END