Calling by which thou wert capable of by which fleshly wisdom of thine thou art possest in thy riches Ans 〈…〉 from my seed-spring giveâ—… 〈…〉 result of my thoughts as touchâ—…â—…ee and as sure as God is God thou shalt finde what I write is truth 1. For the first Suppose in my condition as I am kindered or friend should unexpected by me give me a thousand pound a year more or less now it is just in me to receive it and possibly as justly I improve it onely here consists the danger that if by these riches my soul is drawn from God and more delighted in the pleasure of my riches then God so that I think my self a great man and now am grown lofty hard-hearted and such like corruption attends me in so much that not onely my self but likewise my neighbors takes notice that I am not like the man I was before So that now thou that hath thy greatness successively is not by Scripture condemned provided it prove not a snare or a thorn to choak thy soul by having such a deep impression in thy heart that the infallible truth cannot take root in thee onely here is the hazâ—…â—…id if thou use it as though thâ—…â—…not which is no easie thing yet if thâ—… canst make use of it to the glory of our God by feeding the hungry and clothing the naked in the name of a Prophet or a righteous man so said and so done thou shalt have a Prophets or righteous mans reward which is eternal life in the world to come I say if these things in the enjoyment of thy riches are performed by them then it may be thou art one of those few of the rich and noble that shall be saved But 2. Thou that hast got thy riches by thy subtile wit is much different from the other in that the first was freely given so that he came justly by it but as for thee thou best knows how thou camest to thy greatness for thou hast heard as aforesaid it is a wonder for a man to do just and upright things and yet grow rich therefore the Scripture calls thee to account and that the more thou mayest remember not many years ago thou wast but a poor Journy-man of thy Trade not worth a groat but in debt and now in these few years thou art worth thousands O friend deal plainly with thy soul though thou may hide it from man thou canst not hide it from God for thy ways are naked to his glorious piercing eye that although thou may blind man with thy fair carriage and sugared pretences seemingly gilt over with holiness and purity of life yet for all this our glorious personal God doth know and in thy conscience will read how many thou hast cheated and murthered to make thy self great by undoing of others In this thing are not most of your Doctors over shoes and boots in this crying sin in taking a crown for that which cost but six pence and not onely so but for want of judgement and mercy destroys the poor creature to the utter ruin of his family so that thou art of that number that treadest in the broad way that at last will lead thee to the destruction of thy soul eternally yea world without end and therefore take notice that God is not afraid to call thee to account or that he will be more merciful to thee then a beggar because of thy greatness or that thy white hand or fair face adorned with Silk Gold or Silver shall cause an eye of compassion more to thee because of that then to a black deformed creature No no our God thou shalt finde seeth not as man seeth neither is his thoughts as mans if he were then had the fair neat rich proud daughters of Sion been respected but in stead of a blessing he blasted all their glory and their bravery as you may read at large Isaiah 3. from the 16 to the end first repeating how they walked with stretched-out necks and wanton eyes walking and mincing as you go and making a tinkling with your feet therefore the Lord in stead of shewing mercy did smit with a scab the crowns of the heads of the daughters of Sion yea the Lord did discover their secret parts and took away all their bravery of tinkling ornaments about their feet their cauls and round tires like the Moon the chains bracelets mufflers the bonnets tablets ear-rings and nose-jewels wimples and crisping pins the glasses and fine linen the vails with the changeable suits of apparel O if God were a respecter of persons here was invitations plenty but you may read that in stead of a sweet smell he gave them a stink and in stead of a girdle a rent in stead of well-set hair baldness in stead of beauty burning yea and that with eternal burnings shall all proud despisers of this infallible truth undergo at the great and terrible day of our Saviors appearance concerning which I shall open at large in the last Chapter Thus much in answer to your Pleas now I shall prove from Scripture the seed of Cain to be of the devil The devil or Seed of Cain infallibly proved from experience in Scripture II. BEcause of the great opposition that may arise up against this glorious Truth through the exceeding pride and unbelief in the hearts of most men give me leave to cite a few Scriptures in confirmation of this work in hand In the first Epistle of John the third Chapter you shall find it thus written Not as Cain which was of that wicked one and slew his brother Also in the 13th chapter of Matthew it is thus written He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man and the field is the world the good seed are the children of the kingdom and the tares are the children of the wicked one and the enemy that soweth them is the devil Moreover in the 8th chapter of S. John Christ Jesus the God of Truth speaketh thus Ye are of your father the devil and the lusts of your father ye will do he hath been a murtherer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there was no truth in him when he speaketh a lie then he speaketh of his own for he is a liar and the father thereof My spiritual and rational friends which are sober was not Cain the first murthering lying man that ever was born of a woman seeing no true Christian can gainsay it was not that cursed Cain from the beginning that murthering devil and father of lies spoken of by Christ aforesaid in answer to those carnal Jews which boasted themselves to be of Abrahams seed and were not those lustful murthering-minded Jews or Gentiles which our Lord branded with titles of serpents vipers children of the devil and such like filthy Canaanites which proceeded out of the spirit of cursed Cain that old serpent dragon-devil and father of all the damned in this world and not from the spirit of Abraham
Angelical person bewitch Eves innocent soul to hearken unto him and her eyes to dote upon him that she admitted him enterance into her body in which and by which she found so much delight that after that she inticed her husband who had copulation with Eve as man with woman in these days so her innocent soul and body being defiled by that reprobate Dragon-angel after which her husband Adam going in unto her was also defiled as a sound woman should receive into her body a diseased man not onely her womb is defiled but she pollutes her husband also as the Pox or Gangreen doth eat throughout the whole man so Eves soul and body being defiled did putrifie the seed of Adam From hence it was there came two seeds the one pure the other impure the one righteous the other wicked Instance from the womb of Rebecca came two seeds at one travel blessed Jacob and cursed Esau thus in plainness of termes I have in short writ to plain sober-hearted men But now from the words of the Scripture I must speak to the seed of Faith that innocent soul-saved generation and that because the learned of this perishing world cannot believe though an Angel should speak from heaven as you the seed of the Lord shall hear that seed of this Serpent will hiss yea if possible sting from his venemous tongue this infallible interpretation of these ensuing words But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely dye Now if you look into the third of Genes with an eye of Faith then you may clearly see what that Tree of Knowledge of good and evil did signifie The words are these And the Serpent said to the Woman ye shall not surely die for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as Gods knowing good and evil And when the Woman saw that the Tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a Tree to be desired to make one wise she took of the fruit thereof and did eat and gave also unto her husband and he did eat Oh my spiritual brethren in that my soul desireth your perfection as my own therefore I would gladly have you possessed with an infallible understanding between Michael and his Angels and the Dragon and his Angels or between the seed of the woman and the seed of the Serpent Why because in the knowledge of these two distinct seeds sons oâ— generations depends a general understanding of the spirit of the Scriptures therefore let thy ear wait on thy eye and thy heart on both for now I shall unlock that secret Cabinet that hath not been opened since the creation till this last Witness therefore attend and take notice that it is a general opinion amongst learned men that the Serpent which appeared unto Eve was one of the beasts of the field which the Lord God had made and that the devil was an invisible spirit which entred into the body of the Serpent and spake those subtile speeches through his mouth and so caused the woman to eat of the fruit of the natural Tree which the Lord God had forbidden and tempting her husband to eat of that fruit with her it operated that venomous evil in them and all mankinde Note Oh the gross darkness that possesseth the learned men of this perishing world you know that the Scriptures are generally expressed in natural terms for the manifestation of spiritual things to the weak comprehension of sinful mortals and yet notwithstanding the natural wisdom of this world would perswade men to understand them exactly in the letter because they measure the glorious things of eternity by their rational learning onely as aforesaid but to enlighten thy understanding minde Scripture-records how that Christ is called a Lyon a Lamb a Stone a Door a Way a Vine a green Tree and such like expressions in reference unto spiritual meanings also you may read evil-minded men are sometimes called by the names of Devils Dragons Vipers Serpents Dogs Swines fruitless Trees and such like according to that of John the Baptist when he said Now the ax is laid to the root of the Tree every Tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire So likewise you that are spiritual may know that yea that Angelical reprobate by whom Eve was deceived was called a Dragon an old Serpent the Devil and Satan a Deceiver or the Tree of knowledge of good and evil and such like names suteable unto his cursed nature so that the naked truth is this that Serpent that tempted Eve was that Angelical Dragon-devil beforesaid which the Lord God from the highest heavens cast down to the lowest earth where there as beforesaid he bewitched Eves innocent soul for if you know what you read you shall finde three prevalent arguments perswading her to consent unto the Serpents language 1. The Tree was good for meat 2. It was pleasant to the eyes 3. It was to be desired to make one wise But before I write of the three secrets hid in the Angelical temptation give me leave to speak a little of the dispensation of the secret wisdom of God to his chosen ones You that are of the seed of Faith and none but you doth know that in the Divine will of the infinite Majesty there is a twofold operation whicâ— is this minde what thou readest this is a great mystery When the wisdom of God seeth fit to reveal a Divine secret to his own seed then his holy Spirit is all active and when he seeth fit to obscure it from them then his Divine Spirit is all passive Why because for the manifestation of his infinite power and wisdom that he can create light out of darkness yea life out of death with a glorious advantage For understand this that if the glorious Creator for the tryal of his creature should leave the most experimental man that is to his own inspired light and suffer him to be tempted to that evil of murther or adultery overcome thereby he must of necessity lose that former joy and peace of the divine light or love of God â—n him and in the room thereof both see â—nd feel nothing but spiritual darkness â—ith a secret fear of eternal death until â—he light of life appears again with a new â—ssurance of a glorious deliverance from â—hat sinful darkness and fearful death as â—foresaid truly whatever man shall imagine to the contrary as sure as there is a God this was the condition of both Adam and Eve when they were defiled with unlawful lust one towards another by that subtile temptation of that Serpents counsel called the Tree of knowledge of good and evil Again though it is said It was a Tree to be desired to make one wise yet you may know that the soul of Eve was
devil in that saith thou the devil can transform himself into any form and appear how where and when he pleaseth Answer If this were true as it is not it were nothing advantagious unto thee in that I can in truth and reality instance one remarkable Devil-man now living whose name is John Robins that did more devilish exployts then any conceited devil without thee Sometimes he did present the form of his person riding upon the wings of the winde like unto a flame of fire also he did present unto some in their beds a great light like unto a flame of fire over all the room that they have been compelled to hide their faces in their beds fearing they should be burned but when they hid their faces in their beds the light did appear more brighter then before also he would present unto them Half-moons and Stars and sometimes thick Darkness darker then any natural darkness whatsoever also he did present in the day time his head onely without a body to a Gentlewoman in her chamber presenting unto her to deceive her the forms of strange beasts as namely dragons and such like much more might be spoken of his deceits in this kind how many great lying signs and wonders this prince of devils was acted forthfar beyond all his cursed seed though a great many more hath assumed to raise various appearances yet notwithstanding all this the fundamental was in themselves as thus A real devil within them but an imagined devil without them and thus their consciences being seared they seek to make others in faith with them that they can raise a devil without them which at the great day they shall finde it to be a cheat that shall burn in their souls and bodies more hotter then any fire and brimstone Again thou sayest The devil is in hell tormented and torments all that he can captivate in his bounds but we are on the earth not tormented c. Answ This thy plea thou hast received from others as wise as thy self that knows no more of a hell without man then of a heaven within man for alas poor deceived soul thou apprehendst a devil thou knows not what and a hell thou knows not where for the learned or the proudest of his seed little think or can believe that their body shall be their hell and their spirit or soul shall be their devil shut up close prisoners on this earth tormented to all eternity neither shall you the seed of Cain believe that your cheats oppression adultery swearing drunkenness and persecuting this infallible truth with all other of your filthiness shall be that fuel that shall burn more hotter then any natural fire in this world And as touching that whereas thou saith We are upon the earth not tormented Alas pititous soul though all the seed of Cain are not tormented alike by reason of long habit and custom through which thy conscience is seared that no small sin will torment thee but there are thousands of thy brood that have an earnest peny of that they shall be hereafter otherwise what causeth the hideous doleful sighs groans and cries of many of your seed in health but much more on thy bed of sickness concluding in thy self I am damned I am damned to all eternity finding in thy self no peace in that thou knows not the God of peace neither hast thou walked uprightly in doing to others as thou would they should do to thee but have either publickly or privately transgressed the Law by which thy sin is strengthened for the strength of sin is the law and so death which is the sting of sin arraigns thee at the bar of thy own conscience reading within thy own soul all thy private evils against God and man nay from my seed-spring I speak it many of this cursed seed are seemingly Saints and do live as a people that doth righteous things and in gifts of nature heaven-like praying and preaching to the admiration of all that hears them and yet they find in themselves if they would speak the truth what sad torments they undergo while they live on this earth yea so great in some that their torment cannot cease till the soul make away it self As touching this I shall remind you of one remarkable accident which many in London this day can witness the truth of what I write Thomas Gun by name was the man who for gifts and parts in the Ministry as also for a civil life did equalize all the teachers of the Baptists if not excell them and yet at that very same instant was guilty of adultery and that for a long time deceived his own soul and the poor woman his torment for which could not be satisfied till he took a Pistol and shot himself to death thus it was with him and so with many more little or much are in hell yea on this earth tormented though nothing comparable to what thou shalt be at the day of Christs next appearance Again thou sayest The devil is a wicked cursed blasphemer against God and all that is good yea the devil is a lying murthering persecutor of the people of God therefore man is not the devil because he is a true worshipper of God c. Ans If thou understoodst what thou sayest I could set to my seal that whosoever is a true worshipper of God is no devil for indeed none can worship him or be reverent of his name but those that are of the seed of Faith those that are eternally preserved in peace here and glory hereafter for it is life eternal to know thee the onely true God without which knowledge none can worship him or be reverent of his name thus far I agree and set to my seal that this man is no devil but alas how many of these are in this perishing world though millions of thousand thousands make a show and a talk of a God yet very few there are that knows him as he is a glorious personal God so that true was that saying from the Lord in Isaiah 10. 22. For though my people be as the sand of the sea yet a remnant of them shal be saved Fear not my little flock it is your fathers pleasure to give you a Kingdom One of a tribe two of a City so few are those that knows the true God that they are but a handful to them that knows him not But now to the Query in hand The devil saith thou is a wicked cursed blasphemer against God and all that is good from whence thou concludes man cannot be this devil in that man is not so wicked as to curse and blaspheme God what if I can find out such men that hath and at this day will curse God to his face is not this sufficient to convince thee there is no other devil but what is in man for I 'le assure thee there is some this day in London and Country also that in my hearing hath said God is a devil and
on this earth and been wanton in the day of judgement yea cruel in the day of mercy in condemning yea killing the Just that blessed seed of Faith now if these men shall be saved and if those works shall be justified that is recorded in Mic. 3. 11. viz. abhorring judgement perverting all equity judging for reward teaching for hire divining for mony grinding the faces of the poor enriching themselves in the ruine of others I say if such great men as these that have here enjoyed all the pleasure and glory of this perishing world shall enjoy that immortal ravishing glory in the world to come then minde what will follow then in vain were the Scriptures written and to no purpose was those great sufferings of our Lord Jesus who saith Mat. 19. 29. And every one that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my names sake shall receive an hundred fold and shall inherit everlasting life and then in the same Chapter Christ shews from the young mans going away sorrowful How hard a thing it is for a rich man to enter yea saith Christ A rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of glory and in vers 27. when Peter said Behold we have forsaken all and followed thee what shall we have therefore now you may read his answer was this That ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones c. Now in all these words expound or interpret which way ye can to stile your fears of death and your dreadful portion at the great day I say from the Lord of glory you cannot find any colour or tittle in the least that doth encourage or give any admittance to a worldly minded rich man for if you minde what you read you shall find all the promises here or in Scripture elsewhere doth onely appertain to such that hath forsaken all false worships and false Christs and hath renounced all unjust ways or means whereby he hath enriched himself yea he that hath slighted a good name with the credit of this world and is not onely ready to persecute but be persecuted for that glorious yet despised man Jesus I say from the spirit of Faith all the promises of the Lord in Scripture doth onely belong to these poor despised scum of the earth as in these words Thou Peter or ye my disciples or any other of my precious ones that hath lost all for me you are those that shall have all gain by me you shall have everlasting life and be with me in my Kingdom yea in glory like my self as mind that saying of James the second chapter and fifth verse Hearken my beloved brethren hath not â—od chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him Now what can be said more or what more wouldest thou have God do for thee wouldst thou have him unjust or contradict his own word then be content with thy rich glory here and let us have our glory with our God we grudge not at thy greatness in this world no nor thou shalt not hinder us or detain us from our portion of glory to come thine is almost at an end ours is yet to come and shall never end therefore be not deceived thou canst not live the life of the devil here and live eternally with the Lord hereafter then as I said before so against men and angels I should say again that such as I had better never been born to deprive my self of such a livelihood as I might not have been inferior to many and all to live upright and justly in this my strange country which now I am deprived of all Surely if it were so as some of Cains cursed brood doth say and binde it with an oath That all shall be saved then poor Paul and the poor Prophets and we in these days have made a sad exchange but as sure as God is God whosoever thou art be thou Ranter or Quaker King or Beggar thou shalt finde at the day of our Saviours appearance that thou so dying shalt never be saved and then if it were possible thou wouldst say what I here write is truth and such as thou art found lyers Now one word more to this last plea of the seed of Cain and so as touching this point I have done which is this If there be no other devil but what is in man or woman then thou sayest Kings may rise devils Magistrates devils Lawyers devils Soldiers devils Merchants devils Doctors devils yea and Preachers devils these being for the most part the richest men of this world and the Scripture in many places extending its language only against such men may cause not onely a supposition in the seed of faith to judge according to the tenor of the inspired Writ but also a terror upon the souls of rich men in that Christ compareth riches to bryers and thorns as in that parable of the sower Mat. 13. 22. where he saith And the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choak the word and it becometh unfruitful riches being such a snare and deceiver of the soul may justly and that not without suspition cause a serious examination whether riches be not the onely instrument why or wherefore the true God nor his word doth not take root within thee where there is so much fulness of the treasure of this world there can be no admittance for the treasure of God ye cannot serve two masters and that because the riches of this world is in antipathy to the riches of heaven in that one is perishing the other everlasting the one clouds or draws the soul from God the other expells mists and draws the soul to God so that Christ knowing it was the greatest tryal and snare to the soul doth declare it a hard thing to enter yea so difficult that since he took upon him the form of flesh there hath not nor now is not one of ten thousand knowing the true God that shall be much troubled with the riches of this world for where riches is there must be a mighty power of faith keeping the soul in obedience to its God and that because where there is riches it requires the creatures whole attendance to give all care and diligence that possible may be to augment it or at least to uphold the stock or principle in so much that it makes him uncapable to cast his whole care upon the God of endless riches Now to conclude there is one thing more of great concernment to be seriously laid to heart by these rich men which is this First How thou camest to this thy greatness whether it was by birthright or inheritance as the eldest son Secondly Whether it came by thy accute subtile wit and ripe ingenuity in improving thy Art or
though they might proceed from his loins according to the flesh through mixtures of seeds in marriages the sons of God saw the daughters of men to be fair and they took of them to be their wives Again though the blessed Israelites and cursed Canaanites are mixed together by carnal copulation since the prince of devils became flesh yet you that are spiritual may know that the Lord Iesus that made them both knew how to separate them for all their close union and to call them by names answerable to their own natures As consider did not the glorious Creator and blessed Redeemer himself make a clear distinction between two worlds or generations when he said I pray not for the world but for them that thou hast given me out of the world can you therefore that are sober imagine or think that there is any spiritual salvation for these men or women which the Saviour of the world excludes in his petition Moreover it is wtitten that the Apostles said We know that we are of God and the whole world lyeth in wickedness Behold ye redeemed ones of the most high God is it not as clear as the light it self that there is two distinct whole worlds according to that saying Then all Israel shall be saved a redeemed world of elect Israelites and an unredeemed world of reprobate Canaanites that were never truly lost in themselves and therefore never capable of being found in Christ accordding to that in the Epistle of Jude where it is thus written For there are certain men crept in which were of old ordained to this condemnation ungodly men which turn the grace of God into wantonness and denying Christ the onely Lord wo unto them for they have followed the way of Cain and are cast away by the deceit of Balaams wages and perish in the gainsaying of Core Thus is it not clear unto all such that have in them any faith in the truth of the Scripture that there is two distinct whole worlds to distinguish between the divine glory of Election and everlasting shame of Rejection a cursed Cain a blessed Abel a subtile serpent and a simple Saint a scoffing carnal Ishmael and a spiritual Isaac a bloody minded Esau and a merciful minded Jacob a persecuting Saul and a prophetical David a treacherous Judas and a gracious and glorious Jesus from the beginning of the world unto the end thereof yea and a blessed Seth born in the stead of righteous Abel to bring forth the generation of the just that the Lord of eternal glory might according to the flesh as well as the spirit spring from a spiritual line of his own light of life eternal and not from a rational or carnal line of eternal death in chains of utter darkness which if it had power according to its cursed desire it would destroy God elect men and angels heaven and earth and all in them and it self also rather then be subject to any or might not onely it self bear rule over all But now to the matter in hand and withal consider what you read for it highly concerns you to look about you that if there should be any evil angels or devils living in the air and a devil amongst them called Beelzebub the prince of devils then I say what need any man trouble himself with the least fear of eternal death what wickedness soever is committed by thee why because if a man is tempted by any devil but what is in his own nature onely that evil spirit is to be eternally damned and the man set free nay moreover if sin or evil issued not from mans unclean reason or lying imagination within him is it possible think you that any man should be tormented as some men are with an inward burning through a secret fear of eternal sufferings rising in them from the guilt of former evils committed against the light of their own consciences furthermore seeing all men which live after the flesh must die or perish and that mans own lust is that imaginary devil from whence proceeds all sin or evil Without controversie though men or angels should gainsay it there are no other evil spirits angels or devils but unmerciful men and women onely Again if envy pride covetousness hypocrisie lust and such like be the devil in man then are not men and women those devils that are under the power of those evils I would fain know from the learned men of this world whether there are any other evil angels or devils besides mankinde that lust after women or silver or honor or revenge or any kinde of evil whatsoever truly if those supposed wise men that talk so much of the sublilty of the prince of the air that rules in the children of disobedience could possibly know that their own imaginary Reason was that evill spirit or prince of all their airy disputes concerning God angels devils Heaven hell eternal glory or shame to come which they know not of according to truth then in stead of their reioycing in the approbation of many men in relation unto their natural gifts their own spirits would immediately become the principle of all those howling groaning serpent-devils spoken of in Holy Writ even in the sight of elect men and angels in this mortal life Again is it not against all spiritual or rational sense that any man angel or devil should suffer eternal damnation for the sin of another or for anothers tempting him to sin or evil Moreover doth it stand to very good sense that yea that creature that is left to himself to be tempted unto sin or evil and overcome thereby and remains under the power of it to their lives end its requisite at the great day he should suffer for his own sin and not for anothers iniquity wherefore judge you is it not one of the vainest things in the world for any man to think that there is any other evil spirit angel or devil that tempts him to any motion imagination thought desire word or action of rebellion against God or man but the proud lying envious devil living in his whole man as aforesaid Therefore let no man that professeth spiritual light or life in him for very shame say that God can be tempted or tempt any man unto sin or evil neither let him say that any evil spirit angel or devil in the air or earth or in the water or in the fire tempts him to commit any sin or evil but that airy watery fiery lustful fleshly devil dwelling in his own body I say let him know that yea that is the prince of the air which thorow the absenting vertue of the holy Spirit begets those legions of devils or lusts in the soul of man and it is the true light of the Lord Jesus Christ in all his new born babes that crusheth the Cockatrice eggs before they become serpent-devils to sting the whole man with fear of eternal death So that understand what I say those devils which by the
to tempt and if possible to perswade Christ to yield to this his high and learned Position but you may read this man-devils mountain was too weak and too low for the high immortal God to rest or cast himself down upon for to that end he came not into this kingdom to be King but to fulfil his own determined will in destroying him that had the power of death even the devil yea that devil-man that would if possible have deceived God himself and so returns his positive Answer Get thee hence Satan fâ—r it is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serve that is thou oughtest to be ruled by me and not I by thee therefore depart my kingdom is not of this world but of that world which is everlasting immortal and to all eternity Upon which that man-devil leaveth him tormented for not prevailing and Christ refreshed by his Messenger from his glorious Kingdom above the stars Question If this be infallible what you have here written then may you ask me How comes it the Learned of this world could not as well as this Witness make known this hidden divine Secret seeing they give themselves wholly to finde out the true interpretation of the Scriptures Answ What ever the Learned of this world dream of finding out the invisible things of Eternity by searching into Scripture Records and comparing them together yet know this the Divine Majesty hath locked up all the principal Secrets of the Scriptures in his own spiritual breast that he by an immediate inspiration may dispose of them into the spirits of elect men and angels most advantagious for his own glory and their consolation therefore minde what you read and seriously observe that the Scriptures runs not in the line of Reason but in the line of Faith Inspiration or Revelation according to those sayings in the Hebrews and other Records By Faith the divine Work of Creation and wonderful Mystery of Redemption was and is known with the immortal eternal Glory and everlasting shame of mens persons in the end of the world but of the contrary you shall never read in any place of Scripture that any man in the least knew the things of eternal Glory by any kinde of rational comprehension wharsoever I confess the natural Reason of man is a very good handmaid if it be well qualified with the spiritual dame of divine Faith for illustrating of the things of God unto weak comprehensions but as for truly understanding the invisible things of God by the highest reason that ever was in man or angel it is utterly impossible as beforesaid and that because though the spirit of reason were never so pure yet you may know reasons nature is but a desire after the knowledge of the divine nature of that Spirit from whence reason had its living being but of the contrary spiritual Truth or Faith is of the divine nature of God himself and therefore in what soul soever that Heavenly Seed is sown it springeth up in that spirit all variety of divine knowledge with glorious raptures in reference unto life eternal by vertue of an intercourse with the eternal Spirit from whence it came Moreover I confess a man that is indued with a Solomon-like gift of natural reason may be able to comprehend all words whether they are spoken in a good form sense or language or no yea and such a man may be mighty in disputes about the glorious things of Eternity but as for thy real understanding whether there were or be any such eternal things or no thou hast no certain knowledge of that at all but thy bare thoughts onely which if equally weighed in that balance it may be true or it may be false and all this is for want of an infallibility of Truth it self therefore though the divine things of the eternal Majesty be nothing else but spiritual purity of an infallible truth in themselves yet unto that rational wise man they are nothing but non-sensical blasphemy or lying tales till his reason is confounded in him by a true and heavenly Faith Now thou that hast perused this Epistle if thou understandest what thou readest mayest behold how infallibly I have proved both by Reason Faith and Scripture that there is no other devil but what is in man and woman also how this devil came to be a devil so that if thou wilt not because thou canst not believe much good may that imaginary devil do thee yet by the way let me tell thee one word which is irrevocable that thou canst not now really nor at thy resurrection shalt finde or in thy self feel any other devil but thy soul onely which if it were possible for thee then to utter thy self thou wouldest tell me what now I write to thee was the naked truth but then even then I shall be far enough from thee in that I shall be with the Lord above the Stars this thou shalt finde and this I shall be as sure as God is God for believe me whether thou wilt oâ— no I do not write now as formerly I have done viz. hab nab as a man onely indued with reason but take notice I write from that revealed Seed-spring within me Now to the seed of Cain his Education CAP. II. The Seed of Cain his Education or bringing up undeniably proved against any of his tribe that shall oppose it AS touching this I shall not need to spend much ink or paper and that because not onely Scripture but likewise experience doth confirm that there is none of the Seed of Faith so honorably educated as the rich sort of the seed of Cain for indeed to whom doth the wisdom and government of this world belong to but to them and therefore nothing that in the bounds of reason can be attained unto but his seed enjoys it nay they are so exactly educated in the affairs of this world that by their reason they are able to comprehend all words whether they are spoken in a Philosophical form sense or language nay many of them are not onely mighty in disputes as touching the Government of this their kingdom but they are also able in dispute about the glorious things of Eternity though they understand not the matter disputed of in the least for as Paul saith 1 Cor. 2. 14. Neither can they know them because they are spiritually discerned for their education in the greatest knowledge is but natural and therein they are able to dictate unto the unlearned of their seed laws and rules to preserve this their kingdom in peace among themselves for you must understand what wisdom Learning can teach them shall not be wanting and the wisdom they attain unto is not that spiritual or divine Wisdom for this onely belongs to the Seed of Faith As read but 1 Cor. 2. 4 5 and 6 verses and there you shall hear Paul shew the vast difference of the wisdom of Faith from the wisdom of flesh for the wisdom
of Cain is a meer cheat yea leads him forth to nothing but pride oppression and cruelty for by that wisdom they put the Lord of Life to death as in the eighth verse therefore you that have eyes may see what this learning and knowledge is the seed of Cain are tutored in that it is no other but the wisdom of this world which is foolishness with God and that is the cause they come to tempt or dispute with the Seed of Faith whose wisdom is given him by inspiration or revelation in the demonstration of the Spirit I say because the wisdom of Cain cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God given this precious soul O how they rayl with tearms of a fool an ass a dunce a coxcomb a heretical blasphemer an ignoramus one that hath no sense these and such like tearms this cursed Brood will brand the Seed of Faith with the onely wise men in Christ for which cause the Lord in 1 Cor. 1. 19. saith I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent Where is the Wise Where is the Scribe Where is the Disputer of this world hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world and all because the foolishness of God in the Seed of Faith is wiser then that great knowledge in the seed of Cain for take this infallible truth along with you which is this that the Scriptures in the life and power of them were never given to the wise learned men in those days For saith Christ to you it is given to know the mystery to you my Disciples or elected Seed of Faith to you and for your sakes did I speak this and therefore it was the wise learned Priests and Rulers did imprison and put to death not onely the Disciples but Christ also as Blasphemers for publishing this Scripture which now their wise children do make a Trade of and will not onely imprison but if possible put to death the onely Witnesses and true Interpreters of this Holy Writ which was given by inspiration for the proper use of his blessed Seed of Faith Again the seed of Cain are educated in the fulness and plenty of this world insomuch that there is no novelty delicate or dainty that by the spirit of reason can be invented but for their belly it is prepared as also no new antick fashion can be imagined either of silk gold or silver but their backs are adorned with it nay there is no attendance of men and maid-servants that this their kingdom can afford but the seed of Cain enjoys it yea they are so tenderly and princely brought up at home and abroad and so hurried in their Coaches and Sedans that if possible the cold wind should not blow on them nor the glorious Sun with his beams should scorch them so careful are they of their beauty and comely streight proper persons that if possible there shall not be a wrinckle on their hands nor a spot on their faces unless it be of their own making for the more grace of their comely persons thus what by art in their wisdom can be invented shall not in the least be wanting if it can be had for gold or silver and whatever Science Pastime or Pleasure their soul can desire as Hawking Hunting Bowling Shooting Gaming at Dice Cards or Tables or any other delight of Musick Dancing Courting of Ladies with the satisfaction of their greatest lust and that with the greatest pomp and state this their heaven can afford and then in the last place for carriage and behavior none in this world like unto them as observe how proud and Lucifer-like their father they carry their heads insomuch that they know not what fashion or coloured Perriwig to hang upon it and when they meet any of their brethren O what congeying and bowing with Cap in hand to the ground saluting each other with these and such like complementary tearms as Your servant Sir or Your servants servant Sir or Madam and fair Lady I am yours to command by night or by day and that with so much stateliness and comely behavior that I wonder thou shouldest be affrighted at the name or person of the devil considering what a glorious proud majestical creature the devil is as aforesaid But now if you ask me Are all the seed of Cain thus educated Answ No for you may understand some are brought up to one Calling or another that some of them do undergo hard labor and great pains to maintain themselves with their families in this their perishing kingdom so that they have neither gold nor silver the dust of this earth to mannage such a fleshly glorious education as aforesaid And others there are that are educated yea brought up servants yea slaves to the great Rabbies of their seed which none of them have that attendance fulness delights pleasures as aforesaid but on the contrary are deprived of all that their happiness the other enjoy insomuch that in stead of giving relief they beg relief in stead of a Bed of Doun they lye on a bed of straw in stead of being clothed with silk they are clad with rags yea many times ready to starve for want of food so that you may behold there is not onely rich but poor miserable ragged devils that shall rise at the day of our eternal Gods appearance so that I say these of all the tribe or generation are to be pitied if pity did belong to them to consider what affliction they undergo in this their heaven and yet be eternally damned hereafter Question But now you may say unto me and that seemingly affirm both from my writing and the Scripture in that I have before treated much of the rich men of this world how hard a thing it is for them to walk in the ways of God they being so educated in the pomp and glory of this world which I say and your experience findes it is the greatest thief that steals away the heart of man and so makes that soul as difficult as a woman in travail to enter into the life and power of the Gospel therefore we being poor and the Scripture saith the pooâ—…â—…eives the Gospel we much marvel how your writing will be found truth in Scripture that any poor should rise devils when the Scripture saith it is onely the poor that receives the Gospel Answer From this thy curious Query I shall answer thee in those words of James 2. 5. where it is thus written Hearken my beloved brethren hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in Faith and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him Now if you intend these poor I affirm what you say yea from my Seed-spring I declare not one of these poor shall rise devils in that these are the Seed of Faith and educated in the knowledge of eternal Truth yea tutored by the spirit of divine Wisdom But now tell me
how many of these poor you can finde among the poor seed of Cain for if thou understandest what thou readest thou shalt finde though the Seed of Faith for the most part are but poor in this world viz. your kingdom yet minde what the Holy Writ saith though poor in estate yet they are rich in faith so that these poor by Faith receives the Gospel therefore take notice of this it is not poverty in the outward man that makes thee rich in the inward man for if you could discern by the spirit of Faith you shall finde that the major part of the poor in this world are as poor in faith yea so poor that they cannot give thee the least account what God is or what a rich treasure it is to believe in God therefore in stead of loving God they hate God as if it were but recorded how many times in a day at Billings-gate as also in all the Streets of London thou shalt hear they are educated in little else but to blaspheme the name of our glorious personal God as shall be seen more at large in the devil his qualification so that deceive not your selves and that because of your beauty or greatness no nor for your poverty unless you be richly clad with that rich Jewel of Faith for that will manifest who was thy tutor and the nature of thy education CAP. III. The devil or seed of Cain his Qualification and how he is acted forth FOr your better understanding of what I shall now write you shall finde this matter ensuing divides it self into several branches and not onely as touching his thoughts words and actions but there are several distinct actings forth of this wicked seed in matter of qualification and yet all makes up but one seed as unto its original even the seed of Cain their father as First some of this seed you shall hear are acted forth to all maner of uncleanness yea such as is spoken of in Romans the first from verse 21. to the end of the Chapter For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections for even their women did change their natural use into that which is against nature and likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust one towards another men with men working that which is unseemly Of these sorts of devils we have among us at this day and that not onely such that doth take shame for what they have done but rather will maintain such gross foul filthy acts and that because say they there is nothing that I can think speak or do but God is the Author of it so what if I lye with another mans wife what harm can be in that I know no evil in so doing for to me all women are but one woman and this woman a man and that man I man eternity and therefore if I lye with twenty they are but all one to me and there being a free consent what fin can be in this for what hath some in London said that it is no more sin for a man to lye with any woman then a Cock to tread a Hen or a Bull to serve a Cowe nay this ranting devil is qualified and acted forth saying till a man can act sin as no sin he cannot be free from sin for thinking this it is impossible for any man to be free from these sins unless he can steal murther and commit adultery as no sin then and not till then say they thou hast no power over sin and so thou encouragest thy self in all thy impurity in that saith thou to the pure all things are pure so that nothing is unclean of it self but to him that esteemeth it so not in the least considering as unto what the Apostle spake that to the pure all things are pure from hence including all maner of filthy acts whatsoever Now let any of the Seed of Faith judge if thou art not given over to a reprobate minde to do those things that are not convenient for as touching this speak thy self what convenience doth appear in any of these thy destructive actions for indeed destructive they are both to thy self and them thou hast to deal with witness the tears of many a poor virgin-wife and the sad misery many an innocent virgin hath undergone by thy devilish temptation to the loss of all her friends the defilement of her own body and the eternal hazard of her soul yet all this is justifiable in thy reprobate minde if thou canst but satisfie thy lust and spend her money that is all the love that she shall finde from thee and when this pretty deluded creature comes and tells thee how the case is with her I am with childe by thee and thou hast spent all my money what wilt thou do with me wilt thou according to thy promise make me thy wife and do thy best endeavor to satisfie me for this wrong thou hast done to me What is his answer think you even this he will reply Alas what can I do for thee marry thee I cannot in that I have a wife and to maintain thee I cannot in that I have it not for my self so thou must provide for thy self as well as thou canst Now if this poor deceived creature should reply and say thou toldest me thou wast single and it was nothing but pure love to me and that thou lovedst me above all the world so I did condescend to lie with thee thinking thou wouldest make me thy wife by which I have not onely brought my self to shame and beggery but for ought I know have damned my soul Upon these words this Ranting devil breaks forth saying A pox take you for a whore you are a dark devil indeed to say thou shalt be damned for thy love the Scripture commands us to love our neighbor as our self and therefore we are to love our neighbors wives and how can our love be more exprest then in kissing sporting and lying one with another and thus they make Solomon and his writings their patern nay they will engage soul for soul that she shall not be damned provided she do not look upon it as a sin for say they to lye with a maid widow or our neighbors wife is no more then to lye with that woman you call my wife for I know none lawfully married in this world but those onely that are one in flesh and spirit and she that you call my wife though I have had many children by her she is but a whore and the children bastards for we were not contracted in this light and purity aforesaid Now let any sober man judge the quality of this kinde of devil that his love and purity is to destroy and begger a poor innocent soul and yet plead for it as the onely truth saying It is not I but the Lord in me of my self I can do nothing and he is all in all with many such like Scriptures they will
produce for to satisfie their devilish lust perswading themselves that God is an infinite formless Spirit an infinite Nothing or an infinite All in this their beastly reason so that well comes in that saying of David Psal 50. 21. These things hast thou done and kept silence thou thoughtest I was altogether such a one as thy self as if he should have said Thou thoughtest it was I that committed adultery that did cozen and lye with the innocent thou thoughtest it was I in thee that moved thee to swear whore and cheat thy fellow mortals but thou shalt know that I am a God that is not an infinite nothing for out of nothing comes nothing as also thou shalt know that I am not an infinite All in thy filthiness for the day is at hand that I will reprove thee and that god in thee as in Romans 1. thou hast changed the truth of God into a lye in supposing there is no other God but what is in thee and so worship me as a God filled with all unrighteousness fornication wickedness covetousness maliciousness envy murther debate deceit an inventer of all evil things Thus in part you have heard how this ranting devil is qualified and acted forth and that not onely to all maner of women but man burning in lust with man and women with women as before related and the more it is to be observed that what they do in this nature they affirm it to be just yea to do as they would be done unto for you that knows them as much as I shall finde their tongues tipt with these and such like words but in their actions as you have heard they have sold themselves to commit wickedness and that with greediness never finding themselves more happy then when they are a whoring or drinking which to them is a pure truth as any sentence in Holy Writ for they do not esteem that sin which the Scripture records for sin in that they do not know what to make of that glorious personal God nor his writing looking upon it as a History of mans invention for say they the Scripture is a meer Map of Contradiction so that such devils of this kinde in their hearts do not believe it no more then another writing onely for fear of the Law they will say as you say for what do they affirm A lye and a truth is all one to us and so whatsoever we do is righteous just and good and when we die we shall be swallowed up into the infinite Spirit as a drop into the Ocean and so be as we were and if ever we be raised again we shall rise a horse a cow a root a flower and such like and so turn the world round as before as for hell or damnation it is all here so if they can but escape prison sickness and want of money they fear no other hell or torment hereafter whatsoever Now let any sober man consider the devils quality that acts forth this sort of this cursed seed and as for their language if there were a devil without man that had any dealings with man if possible they would curse and swear that devil out of his name and wits for some of this sort when they are in company with their cursed tribe what oath or oathes was ever heard by the ear of man but they have it and that with authority from their father Cain they maintain it and that seemingly from Scripture and so will take oath against any one they have a revenge to if their false oath will prevail they will do it Thus much of the white light ranting devil 2. The next sort of this cursed feed are qualited and acted forth in most wickedness like unto the first onely the difference is the white ranting devil doth approve of all his wickedness to be righteousness when this black ranting devil doth judge it a sin and yet though his tongue will rayl on the white ranting devil and in what company soever he comes he will speak against these cursed actions and that because he doth not onely know them to be evil but he is afraid his wife husband children or parents should know of it and not onely that but he is afraid the Law will take hold of him and so punish him if not put him to death for it these and such like are the motives inducing him to speak against that with his tongue which his heart burneth and lusteth after but however all these outward fears attend him yet this lust or devil is so desiring after a beautiful maid or another mans wife that though he will say it is a sin and hath read the wrath of God due for it yet he will hazard not onely his credit in this world but the loss of his soul in the world to come and the ground of this his dangerous attempt ariseth from these and such like thoughts I may escape as well as others and I will be sure that none shall see me lye with any woman neither doth any of my neighbors suspect me so that before I will lose the society of such a rare creature in whom my soul is wholly ravisht with the thoughts of what pleasures and delights I shall have with her I will hazard both soul and body for what saith such a sort of devil as this as for the world I will play my cards so wisely that none shall hear or know of it and though it be a sin it is not the greatest neither am I the first or shall be the last and therefore I shall make as good shift as another and besides that I know that God is a merciful God and though in my strength and youth of my body I do now and then break forth a little I hope the Lord if I do but on my death-bed cry him mercy he will forgive me Ah poor dark deluded soul dost thou think that when the righteous just upright heart hath much ado to finde mercy and yet thou wicked ungodly man thinkest it is easie for such as thou no no thou shalt finde that as in the strength of nature and health of body thou hast spent thy time in satisfaction of thy lust when all that thy pleasure is at an end then in a small measure shall be presented unto thee what thou shalt be at the day of resurrection for alas poor heart thou thinkest the God of Truth is like thee a man of lies and by thy corrupt petition to turn the will of God as with a petition thou canst turn the will of man but then to thy cost thou shalt finde he is a God that changes not which in the last Chapter I shall shew thee at large Now to the matter in hand as touching thy quality and acting forth in thy Carriage and Language that from my Seed-spring I speak it if there were a devil without man as there is not that devil would tremble to behold thy carriage and hear thy expressions for pride doth
so much attend thee that thou knowest not how to fashion thy garment nor which way to hang thy Cloak upon thee now being richly clad thou knowest not well what to think of thy self that whether thou be a god or a man thy garments so glitter and thy heart so proud and carriest thy head so high that the poorer sort of thy seed stands cap in hand to thee yea gazing after thee that thou art so puffed up with the thought of this that thou thinkest in thy self none in the world like unto thee for beauty and proper person so richly adorned with jewels of gold and silver that thou thinkest every one that looks upon thee admires thee from hence it is thy devil or soul is so ravisht with the vain glory of this perishing world that thou art never better but when thou art abroad shewing thy bravery with thy servants standing bare-head before thee in the open streets as also to your Church you go and what is the load-stone drawing you thither onely because you would be looked upon as good Church-men and to have the praise of the world also to shew your fine rags as aforesaid and to see and be seen who outstrips thee in apparel or what new fashion is invented this and onely this is the greatest load-stone inviting you otherways if thou wentest to hear sin reproved and thereby become humble for that thy rude carriage and corrupt behavior then it would appear in thy language but thou art so much a stranger to sobriety of speech that upon every occasion thou hast these and such like expressions God damn me I will have my will the devil take thee for thy pains what are you made you damn'd whore I think the devil is in thee the devil confound me body and soul if I be not revenged on thee the devil rot thee and the pox of God take thee for a pocky devilish whore by his life blood heart and wounds I will be the death of thee with many such wretched blasphemous expressions that the moderate devil doth even tremble to hear the language of this dark ranting devil In these not excluding the light ranting devil but as far over boots and shoes are they in these and such like cursed language so that before I pass to the next sort of the seed of Cain I shall parly a little with thee about these wicked tearms aforesaid Dost not thou desire to be saved this I am sure thou wilt acknowledge and yet thou callest upon God to damn thee how canst thou think to be saved when thy tongue will witness that many times thou hast said God damn me and whereas thou saith the devil take thee for thy pains thou little thinkest that thou art that devil Oh freind time is coming that thou shalt finde thou and such as thou art the onely devil and therefore for the time remember when ever thou saith the devil take thee then thou must take her or take him to whom thou utterest those words it is thou devil-man thy self must take them and when thou saith thou art mad I think the devil is in thee thou speakest truth not knowing it and so when thou saith If I be not revenged of thee the devil confound me soul and body now if thou be not revenged as many times thou art not then thou art justly confounded and if thou do revenge thy self thou art also confounded in that thou shouldest leave that to the Lord For revenge is mine saith the Lord I will not thou I will as I see cause revenge it so that in this thou hast sealed thy condemnation and whereas thou saith the pox of God take thee ah poor ignorant soul thy tongue declares what a corupt ulcerated humor doth run in the veins of thy soul and body that thou thinkest God like thy self when he declares himself a God all holiness and purity glorious immortal that no mortal corruption could in the least touch him for it is written Thou wilt not suffer thy holy one to see corruption and that such a devil as thou shalt say the pox of God when it is really and truly the pox of thy devil lust within thee as aforesaid I told thee how thou wouldest hazard not thy credit and estate but thy soul also for a beautiful yet pockey creature in whom and for whom thou hast not onely beggered thy wife and children but corrupted thy body that thy nose or thy bowelts rot within thee and yet thou so audaciously shalt say the pox of God when it is the pox of a whoring lustful devil thy self and then in all thy discourse thou must swear by his life when thou hast nothing to do with it in that his life is death in thee and to thee for thou hatest in thy life to be conformable to the life of Christ and therefore take notice thou hast no share nor benefit in his heart blood or wounds it was never spilt nor wounded for them that are far better qualified then thou yet the blood or wounds of the Lord was not for any of the seed of Cain but he was onely wounded and spilt his hearts blood for the seed of Adam or Abraham that blessed Seed of Faith therefore thou wretched soul let this my short parley with thee be for ever a Memento to look into thy soul and there thou shalt finde the devil that tempts or infuseth thee to utter all this diabolical language but true is that saying in John from the blessed tongue of Christ Ye are of your father the devil and the lusts of your father ye will do for from him to you comes cursing oathes and lies who is the father of it As let but any sober man observe their quality in this and you shall have them swear and say God forgive me whore and cry God forgive me lye and say God forgive me thus thou thinkest it is nothing but with one and the same tongue say and unsay to lye cheat whore swear and be drunk and onely say I have sinned God forgive me and so commit the like wickedness again and again and thinkest this will serve thy turn but alas for thee the portion prepared shall at the great day lie heavy upon thee as read Matth. 12. 36 37. verses I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof at the day of judgement for by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned for out of thy own mouth he will judge thee as thou shalt read at large in the next Chapter that shall shew the place and nature of the devils torment 3. The next sort of the seed of Cain are qualited and acted forth to all maner of covetousness and worldly mindedness insomuch that thou abhor a drunkard or any that is given to hospitality and that because his quality is quite contrary to thine for thou art all for toyling and moyling rising early and lying