O'er most as on him in a Creature-way Men look they know not his Eternal Day And whilst Men think he is not to be known As surely now as when to Jew was shown Or that he is not now to us so near As when he did to them i' th' Flesh appear Such know him not as everlasting King Nor yet as in his Death and Suffering Christ is and ever has a Myst'ry been Which Vult'rous Eye as yet hath never seen Whoever finds and sees whom they profess He is their Mystery of Godliness He was and is their undefiled way In which could never walk a Beast of prey Christ in the Flesh was vailed to the Jew To know him but i' th' Flesh's a Vail to you That Christ shall once be seen the Jews presume And you aright believe that he did come But whilst you know him not t' appear within Both are alike concluded under Sin 'T is true in a good Sense what both assert And into one new Man God will convert These two as they breathe after Christ and then Shall know that he puts off the Vail in Men. For all those Acts which heretofore he did He doth in Spirit now tho' they are hid Him still the legal Christian doth despise For in the Flesh he 's still a Cross to th' Wise He in the Flesh a Suff'rer alway was Since his being slain in Man came first to pass Christ is the same he was in every Case Who this believes doth a grand Truth embrace 'T is an authentick Truth that Christ is Lord But who so calls him of their own accord Without the Holy Spirit cannot find The truth of what they utter in their Mind In what they say true Witness is not born Nor th' Vail yet off their Understanding torn Now that the Lord the Spirit is was told Unto the Jew and true to all doth hold In Spirit then we must know Christ his Day Before the Vail in us be put away But we mistake that Christ expect to know As Jesus e'er we understand his Law The Law of God appearing in the Heart Of his great Work in us hath the first part This the Schoolmaster is which us doth bring To witness Christ in us as Lord and King This Holy Law in us must take a place Before we truly know what 's Grace as Grace This is affirm'd by the Apostle Paul And is no doubt acknowledg'd true by all I was said he without the Law alive But when th' Commandment came Sin did revive And then I dy'd was that made Death to me That was ordain'd to Life No verily But that Sin might as Sin be understood Death was in me wrought by that which was good This was the Law i' th' Heart there is no doubt For th' Law in Stone he never was without Nay further still we do in Scripture find He names th' aforesaid Law that of his Mind Which whilst not com'd unto we may believe His Sense of Sin and Death did not perceive An outward Good was to the outward Jew A Figure to the Spiritual that is true The outward Jews with Slavery opprest Before they could it see must be releast That is they could not see the promis'd Land Whilst shackled by imperious Phar'oh's Hand But were till more opprest as to it dead Nor could they cry to be delivered Thus Man in Death doth never Trouble know He 's dead to God and also to his Law The Law 's as dead to him till God revive Or by his Spirit make the same alive But when by God restor'd to Life it hath That Pow'r in us to manifest his Wrath From Heav'n against our Sin and what is Evil Wrought in 's by our malignant Foe the Devil For God Division makes by Judgment sure Betwixt the Soul of Man and Satan's Pow'r And Man in that Division doth partake Of Sorrow truly for the Evil's sake This is the Way the Father doth us draw Unto his Son that we his Love may know No other way the Righteous yet have found That saving Grace might unto them abound And they that know not thus the Work begin Their Knowledge has but superficial been Such then do well themselves to prove and try If they him know on whom they can relie Our Way th' Apostle here doth personate And to the Life sets forth the troubled State Thus he exclaim'd I in my Members find A Law that wars against that of my Mind And takes me Captive sore against my Will By which am forc'd to do that which is ill To what is good I readily consent But finds no pow'r the evil to prevent O wretched Man who shall deliver me From this body of Death and Misery The Law brought Wrath the Trouble Christ did bring Into his Flesh there to condemn the Sin His Soul to save by which he did espy Grace without Works and could it magnifie The Law of God the Creature doth condemn But Christ the Grace condemns the Sin in them God makes his Law alive this breaks Death's reign And Life we do receive by being slain Tho' all God's Dealings with us be in love Yet all his Acts we do not so approve For he doth kill before he giveth Life And in that dying there is found great Strife And yet this killing is to make us live But who in dying can that Truth perceive He makes us live but still we live in pain Because the Death and Evil doth remain We 're sure we live because we do endure The Sense of Grief which makes our living sure Our Trouble now proceedeth from within The Cause of it's the Knowledge of our Sin And Knowledge of our Sin and servile Yoke Is from the Law which we have truly broke And from 't we find cannot relieved be In this springs up the sense of Misery That fits us for the Gospel which is free Now then it is that we a Saviour want And do for him as th' Hart for Water pant Now we prepared are and Christ begins As Jesus now to save us from our Sins Sin he condemns i' th' Flesh and Pow'r doth give To serve him that has made our Souls to live A Type of this God did in Israel shew When the Aegyptian Host he overthrew I' th' Red-Sea and by that stupendious Deed His People from their Fear and Bondage freed Now unto God could Israel sacrifice What Aegypt could not stop tho' might despise Now Israel did rejoice and not before That their Oppressors they should see no more For now was their Deliverance atchiev'd From ev'ry thing that had in Bondage griev'd By this they were set free from all they knew That hindred them God's Worship to pursue Yet still before they could the Land possess Met various Troubles in the Wilderness Too tedious here and numerous to relate Which did concern them in their Servant-State This was to fit them and to lay them low In their own Eyes that they might truly know From God it was that now they did
fit our Souls the Kingdom to possess Yea in the Wilderness he doth us lead Till all is mortifi'd worn out and dead That is not fit t' enjoy that blessed Land Of which Canaan did a Figure stand A Servant-State precedes that of a Son A Sonship must be known e'er th' Work be done The faithful Servant doth his Master fear A Father's Honour doth i' th' Son appear The Fear i' th' first Estate precedes the Love The last excludeth Fear the Scriptures prove A Son abideth in the House alway The Servant is but for his Time and Day And knows not what is by his Master said Or acted whilst the Son is privy made For 't is his Meat to do his Father's Will And chearfully he doth it all fulfill A second Resurrection doth imply A first and second Death doth signifie That a first Death already 's passed by If the first Death we do not really find Until a second seizeth on our Mind Eternal Wrath will come to be our Share And who can that great Misery declare So then we must a first Death truly know E'er second come if we escape its Wo. The first Death on us by Transgression come And o'er our Minds as yet doth Pow'r assume Whilst we unto the World are found alive We 're dead to God and of his Life depriv'd Christ must arise in us before that we Can know this Death or from 't deliver'd be Sin is this Death and whilst its Pow'rs abide Unbroke in us Christ is as crucifi'd To us but if he rise he doth bequeath That Life whereby we apprehend this Death We know it thus and as we do partake Of this first Resurrection and do make Our Part in it assur'd we live thereby That Death to know which is in Christ to die Nor can we know it till we understand The Work is finish'd which he did command A second Death we may this Death express The first to Sin this to our Righteousness This is the Saints Death precious in God's Eyes Accepted as their sweetest Sacrifice And 't is their Gain for now to God they live And more they die more Life they do receive Christ made us live and we did Sin refrain But through this Death he cometh to be slain In us that has the Pow'r of Death the Devil In what he works like Good as well as Evil. This Death is that th' Apostle did profess His Longing for with so great Earnestness For unto all Self-righteousness he dy'd That he might know Christ and him crucify'd He first makes mention of his Resurrection Next of his Fellowship with his Affection And lastly of a true Conformity Unto his Death which he desir'd to see This last he did desire we plainly read T' attain the Resurrection of the Dead Much of these glorious Truths here might we write But if we would obtain a clearer Sight We must our selves in Seeking then delight For when all 's utter'd that can be declar'd Or spoken of that can be read or heard These Truths are Myst'ries still unto that Mind That does not them sincerely seek to find For such another never can them know The use of Words is to direct unto The Truth in us to find out ev'ry State Which unto us the Scripture doth relate They are not distant from us they are near If we could know the Truth of what we hear For God's the Substance of each Mystery And unto ev'ry Soul he 's always nigh He sills all Things and doth in all remain The Heaven of Heavens cannot him contain He 's nearer us than our most secret Thought If this we knew or were it truly taught Our Apprehensions would not be abroad At some far distant Place to seek our God For whilst such Notions prepossess our Mind The Truth of Godliness we cannot find Christ also doth near ev'ry Soul abide Being with the Father in strict Union ty'd The Holy Spirit which doth still proceed From th' Father and the Son as we may read In Scripture testify'd is also near If we look for him where he doth appear That Christ may formed be within our Heart Before he will the Mystery impart But unto whom do these great Truths belong Not to the wise the rich the high or strong In their own Eyes in this they have no Share But with their Skill and Art excluded are But unto such as low and needy be In ev'ry Age the Gospel has been free It was to such Isaiah did proclaim The Gospel-Riches in the Father's Name O every one that hungry is he cries Or thirsty let him come and without Price Buy Milk and Wine Thus God the Poor supplies But he that hath a Price for 't to be told Riches of Grace he never did behold For if 't can purchas'd be in any Case By what 's our own it cannot then be Grace For Grace as it is Free belongs to none But those in misery and Want alone Such then it was that Christ our Saviour sought When on an high Feast-day he thus cry'd out Let him that thirsty is come unto me That he may drink Lifes Water which is free And these his gracious Words may be apply'd To all Mankind that should in him confide The Time approach'd that such should truly know Out of their Bellies living Waters flow And this was said touching the Holy Spirit Which every true Believer should inherit This to reveal he then both came and dy'd But was not known till he was glorify'd None in this holy Path he came to shew Can walk but such as are upright and true All Forms without us are but this within By which he doth destroy the Root of Sin This is the Way which all that do believe In Christ should wait assur'dly to receive This Way he did before his Follow'rs ly It was to wait for Power from on high That perfect Gift that cometh from above From God who in the Heart doth shed his Love This Way he did before all Ways prefer To be enjoin'd on each Particuler For tho' he did that Heavenly Wisdom preach And taught them as no other Man could teach Yet unto them he plainly did declare He'ad much to say which yet they could not bear Nor could they bear 't if he should bodily With them remain Therefore 't was needful he Should in the Flesh depart that they might know The Truth of what he came to say and do I 'll pray said he the Father and he 'll give Another Comforter with you to live And he continually with you shall stay And never more removed be away The Spirâ—t of Truth out of the World is thrust Because they see him not nor in him trust But you him know and shall hereafter find Him that is with you dwelling in your Mind Then unto your Remembrance he will bring What I have told you as to ev'ry thing When he is come I tell you what is true He 'll tâ—ke of mine and shew it unto you All 's nine the Father hath you may believe Therefore I said he 'll take of mine and give To you Yet a short while and th' World no more Shall see me as they have done heretofore Bâ—t you shall see me and you then shall know Because I live that you shall live also That day you 'll know I in the Father be In you also and you shall be in me Go search the Scriptures and you shall not find Another Method to perfect the Mind FINIS
ever meet Nor whilst their Work 's so much insisted on Know they the Rest in which the Work is done Nor whilst their Care 's so much i' th' outward Court Do they know that where th' Righteous do resort Whose Life as all is hid with Christ in God Where inwardly their Souls make their abode And as that which is hidden can't be seen So they have never in great Flourish been Their Kingdom as long since their Master said Of Worldly Things is neither form'd nor made They low and little are in their own Eyes And ne'er extol themselves as great or wise And as they 're low so they at little aim Of that which th' other boastingly proclaim They 're like unto the Daughters of the King Which altogether Glorious are within As for their Works they 're com'd unto an End That on God's Work in them they may depend They cease to work but never cease to shew These Works God has in them wrought that are true This Path is narrow and the Gate is strait And few there be that enter in thereat 'T is strait as Abr'am's off'ring up his Son In whom his Hopes and Comfort was begun He offer'd him in whom the Promise stood It was his All and yet the Act was good Whatever's good doth come from God it 's plain And when recall'd we should restor't again Nay he recalleth that which he did give That we might see by him we only live He lendeth help us to regenerate And with him we seem to co-operate That Work to perfect but when that is done It 's offer'd up as Abr'am did his Son Yea even as to Death at God's Command And this is done that we might understand Our Weakness and our Nothingness discern And th' Gate of true Humility might learn When this Act 's done we in another sort Receive that we may sensibly report Man sav'd in Mercy not by Works must be Yea by the Grace of God that 's ever free This we ne'er truly knew till we did meet Grace without Works in Love our Souls to greet Nor can that Act be done and truly known Till Works are unto their Perfection grown This Act is then as Ev'ning to that Rest Whose Morning is the Sabbath which is blest Concerning which much more might here be said But that my Letter would too long be made So shall defer my further Argument Until a sitter Season do present Mean while I will a little let thee see How with thy self thou still dost disagree In what hast written thou wouldst seem my Friend Until thou comest near the latter end What put thee out of humour whilst thou writ That at the Last thou should the First forget A Friend at first but at the last art none What Humour this deserveth to be shown 'T is like some foolish Fancy if not vain Which in thy next I pray thee well explain Thou sayst Dear John let 's not disturb each other Then shall my Heart and Spirit call thee Brother But if thou'll not thy raging Spirit curb But thou will still the Churches Peace disturb Then stand thee forth and hearken to the Doom Of holy Church which without doubt will come 'T is plainly in the two first Lines imply'd If I molest thee not we shall abide Without reserve in cordial Friendship ty'd And yet before I 'd given thee denial Or thou hadst made of me a further Trial Against me thou proceedest in the latter And threatens with some other awful Matter By which if thou or those thy Words agree It is as constant in unconstancy Likewise for Peace whilst thou did seem to speak Thou didst for War but an Occasion seek As to Holy Churches Doom From whence or from what People must it come And what 's the Fault and Crime which I have done That I am into so great Danger run Disturbance being a Word in general As oft besides as in the Truth doth fall Thou should therefore the Fact have specifi'd That by some Rule thy Charges might be try'd For I whilst in the Dark thou dost me shoot How to avoid the Danger am in doubt For thou shouldst not suppose I can be made Of what I neither hear nor see afraid And what is not and what doth not appear Are both alike as tho' they never were Of Holy Church thou dost begin to speak But where or what she is I 'm still to seek The World we know is of Pretenders full Describe her therefore by a certain Rule This I desire of thee to undertake Because I would to her a Journey make For if she Holy is I truly see None but the Heretick cut off must be An Heretick doth against Knowledge act For to be Self-condemned is his Fact This Cause with thee I would before her plead In hopes I might thy Judgment supersede For I for Proof would thy own Words produce Before her for my Service and my Use Since thou hast said my Way to me seems right And that thou know'st then I against my Light Act not therein as this thou must confess She cannot me for Heresie suppress Again I would desire of her to know If she Commission gave thee thus to do Or if she had selected and made choice Of thee to be the Oracle of her Voice For how canst thou be any other way Ascertain'd what she shall both do and say And if not certain is' t not Arrogance Or Folly thus thy Judgment to advance Thou saith It is your Creed Back into Bonds to drive the Holy Seed For where our Walls are weak if we repair Thou and such Men as thee disturbed are As were of old that subtil Hornet breed Who was the like unto old Jacob's Seed These Walls that 's weak are of Jerusalem And how can I compared be to them But then the Matter still which I should know Is whether 't is Jerusalem below Or that above thou should agree to this Least I might understand that Point amis This thou omitted but I ne'er did read Of more than two and therefore will proceed T' enquire which of these Cities it must be To which thy Words most fitly can agree As for Jerusalem that is above Her Walls are perfect good the Scriptures prove For God her Walls hath good and perfect made And none to that which he hath done can add Therefore it never can this City be Which the kind Mother is of all that 's free It then must be Jerusalem below Concerning which the Sacred Scriptures show When Men have done whate're they can as Men She is in bondage with her Childeren What Work is this or what do you intend When more you work still more you have to mend For is not this like them that 's learning ever But ne'er attain the Truth by that Indeavour Or like to them that found out Shinar's Plain A Babel's Tower to erect again And like to them will you not stopped be Until your Language you divided see Is' t not divided
cens'ring and unseemly Words That neither Truth nor Righteousness affords For this you have been spreading in my Way The Snare of ill Report unto this Day And yet as if you were resolved still The Measure of this Mischief up to fill By publick ways according to your Pow'r My Name to injure and my Life devour Of which I must confess I 'm not afraid For all that can by you be done or said Yet for your good I would have you take heed That you in ill no further might proceed Lest in your Wills you make the Prophets die Whilst you their Tombs do seem to beautifie For in the Form that Truth appeareth in At last must be reveal'd the Man of Sin This must be either granted or deny'd If granted why are you dissatisfy'd With my kind Admonition to beware Of what you may be or in danger are If you deny 't it 's evident to me You in the Danger more intangled be To be in Danger and yet rest secure Makes Danger greater and the Snare more sure For those that of their Danger knowledge have Some means perhaps may use themselves to save But those that are in Peril not aware Before the Hazard's known they 'r caught i' th' Snare Still their Condition's worse who do reject Good Counsel given them and disrespect Their faithful Monitors yea them abuse For it as well as their Advice refuse And mostly this the Prophets true have found In every Generation to abound And as the Wise Man said There 's nothing new So in our Age this Case is found too true But to the Matter to return again If you deny the Danger it is plain You have not known the Man of Sin as yet I' th' Temple of God as a God to sit Nor have you known him out of Heaven cast Which is a Work that must be done at last For had you seen or scap'd the Danger here You 'd seen 't so great all might a Caution bear He 's first cast out as Evil this hath been In every Reformation truly seen At last like good he is forth to be cast No Reformation yet this Act hath past A Murderer to give up to be slain To a just Law no Mystery doth contain For 't is decreed he that takes Life away In Malice for that Fact his Life must pay All this is but according to the Law And 't is but just that we the same should do And 't is but just that we the same should do But when we offer up the Good 't is clear In this great Act a Mystery doth appear When God again requireth us to give That which we truly did from him receive As this is offer'd up to him again We Nothing are and he doth All remain When what we had is back unto him given That did bestow 't our Hope 's only in Heaven Our Conversation's there and then the Lord We may expect will graciously afford Whate'er we need that we may learn thereby Not on our selves but on him to relie When Isaac must be our free Sacrifice ' Ere we can be obedient true and wise In giving up or holding back the Hand Doth what is rightly call'd a Myst'ry stand If we give up we plainly come to see Christ both the bottom and the Top must be And that the pure in Heart only possess True Knowledge of the Myst'ry of Godliness Such also find what doth a Christian make Is that of which no other can partake As this perceived is such cease to strive For what can't make nor keep their Souls alive They now endeavour in each Mind to raise The love of Truth that such may truly praise The Works of God as he appears within To lead unto himself destroying Sin This Work can no Man for another do Nor can one Man God for another know Him I must know my self if known at all Me to redeem and bring out of the Fall Him I must fear or love if him I know Or be enabl'd his Commands to do For if I love him not I cannot keep The Precepts appertaining to his Sheep Nor if his Fear or Love 's not in me rais'd Can I perform an Act by which he 's prais'd But if in me his Fear or Love doth stand I shall obedient be to his Command This Holy Fear Man's Precept cannot teach No outward Rule this high Command can reach For God to know in Christ's Eternal Life It cometh not by Form nor stands in strife Particulars may this great Work have seen But in a gen'ral way 't hath never been Nor can be known until our Elders shall Cast down their Crowns and let them freely fall Nor can they throw them down until they 've known The offering up of Isaac as is shown Which cannot be till 't can be truly said That God is All and they as Nothing made Till this is known as it hath ever been Division will successively be seen For God will turn and overturn again Until He come whose right it is to reign But since we read and likewise often hear Of Sin there is a Myst'ry to appear We should not think it in what 's simply evil In that there is no Myst'ry of the Devil For into this he leads as to his own Here he is ill and this his ill is known In this there is no Myst'ry of Sin For 't plainly wicked is and so hath bin Herein he is not chang'd from Sins beginning Sin added unto Sin is still but sinning This he brings forth as he 's the Root of Evil And in this Work he 's properly a Devil But he can change his Blackness into White Appearing as an Angel of the Light And then like Truth he will direct unto Such Acts as God commanded we should do We several Presidents might here produce Of which we shall the most familiar chuse The Pharisees gave Alms the Act was good And it as a Command they understood Of God to help the Poor But they were found To give Alms chiefly from another ground Before they gave the Trumpet 's Sound was heard And this was done to purchase the Reward Of Praise herein they did not rightly do For th' Act being good prevented not the Woe Pronounc'd by him that was the Truth and knew Tho' th' Act was good their Spirit was not true In worship and religious Exercise In outward Points what seemed to suffice For giving God his due they did practise And did in making Converts most transcend For Sea and Land they compass'd for that End Thus seem'd they in external things exact And could not touched be for any Fact Yet as their chief Design was to appear Blameless in outward things they termed were By Christ Sepulchres fill'd with Rottenness Garnish'd and cover'd with the finest Dress In this they lookt like Good and not like Evil And yet by truth were found as of the Devil Their outside was not blam'd it was their Sin That they did not the Work i' th' Heart begin Nor