requires and so finds 〈…〉 putting on forward in the faith in him the power delights to appear He that would feel strength beforehand and act in the sence of that strength from him the power withdraws But he that is weak and hath no strength but still as it freely drops into him from moment to moment this is the vessel the power chuseth to manifest it self to and to be continually appearing in This is the New Covenant I will put my fear in their hearts and where the fear of the New Covenant is found so much life power and eternal vertue as is necessary for the present state of that heart cannot be far off So in the upright-hearted in the heart that is true to God the power of deceit cannot dwell but the Power of Truth delights to fill it in a way sutable to the state of the Spirit and so as may be seen by the eye of the spirit and felt by the spiritual sence And in the Love is the constraining power which constrains from the evil path from the path of unbelief and disobedience into the Path of Life Thirdly The necessity of this way of the springing up of the Power and not in such a manifest way as man's heart desires and as man's eye expects It is necessary in several respects In respect of God in reference to the creature and in reference to the Soul's enemies 1. In respect of God It is necessary that his Power and Life should spring up in the creature in its own way according to the counsel of his own wisdom suitable to his own nature and not in the way which the creature chalks out and expects it in God must be like himself and walk in his own Path in every thing he does He is a God that hideth himself in the mystery of his working throughout the whole trac◠of man's redemption and man must be wrought out of himself out of his own thoughts expectations gathered apprehensions concerning the Kingdom and way to Life led in a path he doth not know nor ever can know any longer than he is in it and in wayes he hath not been acquainted with The way of Life is still new every moment fresh and living and the earthly part of those who may have in some measure felt the power of regeneration cannot know it nor walk in it Consider this O ye that fence your selves against the present appearance of the Spirit and against the Convictions Demonstrations and Drawings of its Eternal Light and Power by somewhat which ye have formerly felt and known 2. In reference to the Creature the Power of God must needs appear thus hiddenly and in such a misterious way 1. That the creature might go through all those exercises of Spirit which are necessary to fit it for its inheritance in the holy Land There are Straits Wants Tryals Temptations inward Weaknesses buffetings from the Enemy withdrawings of the life c. which God seeth necessary to Excercise the Spirits of his with that he might fit them for himself and for a safe enjoyment of his life in fulness which could not be if there were such a manifest power to begin with and continually at hand to perform all in and for the Soul as many men wait for and think necessary to have 2. That the fleshly part might be throughly worn out and destroyed When the Power appears and works mightily in the soul there is somewhat apt to get up to exalt it self by the Power and to abuse the Power and if the Power were not withdrawn and this tormented and famished in the absence of the Power and in the withdrawing of the sweet appearance of Life a wrong thing would be stealing into the Inheritance and the soul would never be throughly purified nor come to a pure enjoyment of the Power Therefore doth the Lord appear in this misterious way that the promise might be sure to the Seed that the Seed which is the right Heir of the Power might come alone to inherit the Power and the false birth not touch the least enjoyment of it but feel the bitter stroaks of death and destruction from it What had become of Paul if he had had Power to resist the buffettings of the enemy as he desired would not his fleshly part have remained in the exaltation and not have been brought down 2 Cor. 12. 7. 3. In reference to the Enemy The enemy could never be wholly conquered his strong holds in the heart broken down the redemption from under his hand perfected were it not for this misterious way of the appearing and working of the Power even out of the sight of man's eye and contrary to his will and expectation For had man such a power as he desires still present with him had he faith in his power or obedience in his power or could he take up the Cross in his power or have strength to fight against the enemy as he desires and expects the enemy would still find enterance into him and keep his hold of him But God who knoweth the state of the creature with the strength and passages of the enemy into man by working with his mighty power in man according to his own will and in the way of his own Wisdom contrary to what man can desire or expect but as he is taken into and comprehended in the Eternal Will carries on his work sweetly and safely and perfects the salvation of those who will not who run not who desire not to be any thing but wait to feel and know his Power and to become subject to it and lie under even in the lowest way of its manifestation and appearance Object This may be true in the ordinary way of Redemption of Souls but there are deep captivities even the captivity of Babylon inwardly and spiritually which surely will need a very great appearance of the Power of God to deliver out of and what can that soul do but wait there under the captivity untill that mighty power arise Answ It is true The Power must needs be very great and the appearance of it wonderful which delivers out of such a captivity but yet the beginnings of it may be small and out of the sight of that eye which looks and waits for so great an appearance Hast thou not light enough already to begin thy travel out of Babylon Hast thou begun thy travel Dost thou walk in the light which shineth upon thee in that dark land to gather and lead thee out of it Or wilt thou not begin to come out till the very glory and brightness of Sion shine upon thee If there be but light power enough to lead thee one step out of the land of darkness confusion of Spirit towards obedience to the lowest or meanest Truth that is sufficient for thee at present as thou art found faithful here more will spring in thee But if thou stop here or at any time after thou hast begun and
made some progress because of any thing which falleth out contrary to thy expectation then that which should lead thee on and strengthen thee stops also thou meetest nor with that which is found enjoyed by other in the way because thou passest not on in it but baulkest thy proper path judging somewhat more necessary towards thy beginning or progress then the Lord judgeth or yet seeth fit to impart to thee Thus the enemy betrayes thee holds thee in his chains which might be loosed cast off by little and little didst thou singly give up to the little appearance of that light and power which is able to unbind them and not expect more at first or afterwards then the Lord hath allotted for thy present condition And let me tell thee this from certain knowledge and experience That thou who hast been high and hast tasted much of God but hast abused it and fed the wrong part with it both in thy self and others Thou must be brought lower than the rest and for a long season be kept lower that the pure seed which hath deeply been buried in thee may overgrow and sink all thy knowledge experiences and observations concerning the Eternal Life and its way of appearance which formerly thou hadst some true taste of but now holdest out of the Life Thou must come down thou must become nothing by degrees thou must lie at the foot of the reprovings of that Light which thou thinkest thou hast gone far beyond and be glad of a little help now and then in the lowliness and humility of thy Heart which must not chuse what appearance and manifestation it will have from God before it will begin to follow him but be glad of never so little that the infinite Wisdom sees good to give forth by the hand of his Mercy Who ever have been high and are still waiting and expecting in the heights of their own wisdom and observations concerning the Kingdom let them take heed of despising the day of small things and know that their proper beginning yea the very path of eternal Life it self lies in the lowness in the humility even in that nothingness which bows before the least light of the day and with gladness of heart enters into and walks in it For this I certainly know The wise the observing-eye the vast comprehending heart which waits for such an extraordinary Power judging it cannot begin following the Light which daily appears to check and reprove without some great manifest appearance of power This cannot see the low little path of Life which is proper for it to walk in and to the end whereof it must travel if ever it come to sit down in the Kingdom or to inherit the power of the endless Life Pretious is the dispensation of this Age great is the Power and Glory which is arising but the wise and knowing of this Age are shut out of it as they have been out of the life and truth of the dispensations of God in all Ages Happy is he who is not above that wherewith God visiteth his Soul to redeem it A POST-SCRIPT THat persons who have not travelled into the Land of Life want power that is out of doubt The state of Israel in its travels is a state of weaknesses and wants How can they in the Wilderness but want that which is to be possessed in the Holy Land But dost thou want power to begin the travel with dost thou want what proportion of power the Lord fees necessary for thee in thy present estate Is there nothing at all discovered to thee which is contrary to God either in thy Heart or in thy Conversation or in thy Worship which thou dost not so much as strive to give up to the Lord in waiting upon him for his power and strength to appear in helping thee The Light appears to discover and lead out of the Darkness Now in giving up to the Light and not doubting but that which calls and draws out will give strength and enable to come out the Power is met with unawares But that which stands gazing and looking out after a power which it expects to meet with before it will so much as begin to follow the Light that cannot but abide in the captivity and miss of that Power which redeemeth from it Therefore I. Wait to feel the Light of Life discovering and drawing from the evil and let it chuse what it shall please first to discover and draw from And though it be little and very inconsiderable in thine eyes yet dispute not but where the light first begins to lead do thou there begin to follow Then in this waiting and subjecting to the manifestations of the light out of the self-will self-wisdom self-knowledge self-judgement in the lowliness and abasedness of the mind and spirit before the Lord the begettings of life in the light are felt and the renewing into his pure Image Afterwards that which is begotten and begun to be renewed in the Divine Image is by degrees taught more distinctly to know discern and walk in the path of Life And after this to that which is thus begotten and taught the living faith and obedience which is wrought by the mighty power of God though running in alow secret hidden way from the eye of the creature the great Power is Revealed and he grows strong in the Power for God and against the enemies of his Soul and by this strength and feeling of Gods presence they fall daily and continually before him and then his victory over them goes on with joy But he that stops at first may grow wise and conceited concerning the things of the kingdom after the flesh and may hope for great things at last but by the deceit of the subtilty is kept out of the living path wherein they are to be waited for reaped and enjoyed Now for the encouragement of such as are willing to travel on in the weakness yeilding up their members to the present manifestation of the light and waiting for the further appearance of the Power It is on my heart to add a letter of a dear friend and brother of mine in the Truth who hath been a deep traveller and fellow-sufferer with me formerly before this help came forth from the Throne of God since the day-spring from on high hath vouchsafed to visit us and to guide our feet in the way of everlasting peace The letter is as followeth Dear Friend MY dear and tender love salutes thee in that love from whence I had my being and from whence sprang all my Fathers Children who are born from above Heirs of an everlasting Inheritance Oh! how sweet and pleasant are the Pastures which my Father causeth all his Sheep to feed in there is variety of plenty in his Pastures milk for Babes and â—rong meat for them of riper Age and Wine to refresh those that are ready to faint even the Wine of the Kingdom that makes glad the heart when it
is ready to faint by reason of the infirmities Sure I am none can be so weary but he takes care of them nor none so nigh fainting but he puts his Arm under their heads nor none can be so beset with enemies on every side but he will arise and scatter nor none so heavy laden and big with young but he takes notice of them and gently leads them and will not leave them behind unto the merciless Woolf because they are his own and his life is the price of their redemption and his blood of their ransome and if they be so young that they cannot go he carries them in his Armes and when they can feel nothing stirring after him his bowells earn after them so tender is this good Shepheard after all his Flock I can tell for I was as one that once went astray and wandered upon the barren Mountains and when I had wearied my self with wandring I went into the Wilderness and there I was torn as with briars and pricked as with thorns sometimes thinking this was the way and sometimes concluding that was the way and by and by concluding all was out of the way and then bitter mourning came upon me and weeping for want of the interpreter for when I sought to know what was the matter and where I was it was too hard for me then I thought I would venture on some way where it was most likely to find a lost God and I would pray with them that prayed and fast with them that faâ—ted and mourn with them that mourned if by any means I might come to rest but found it not until I came to see the candle lighted in my own house and my heart swept from all those thoughts and imaginations and willings and runnings and to die unto them all not heeding of them but watching against them lest I should let my mind go a whoring after them and here I dwelt for a time as in a desolate land uninhabited where I sate alone as a sparrow upon the house top and was hunted up and down like a partridge upon the mountaines and could rest no where but some lust or thought or other followed me at the heels and disquieted me night and day until I came to know him in whom was rest and no occasion of stumbling in whom the Devil hath no part and he became unto me as a kiding place from the storms and from the tempests then came my eyes to â—ee my Saviour and my sorrow to fly away and he became made unto me all in all my Wisdom my Righteousness and my Sanctification in whom I was and am compleat to the praise of the riches of his Grace and Goodness that endures for ever Therefore be not discouraged Oh! thou tossed as with tempests nor dismaied in thy self because thou seeâ—t such mighty hosts of enemies rising up against thee and besetting thee on every side for none was so beset and tried and tempted as the true Seed was who was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief but be thou still in thy minde and let the Billowes pass over and Wave upon Wave and fret not thy self because of them neither be caâ—t down as if it should never be otherwise with thee sorrow comes at night but joy in the morning and the dayes of thy mourning shall be over and the accuser will God cast out for ever for therefore was I afflicted and not comforted and tempted and tried for this end that I might know how to speak a word in due season unto those who are tempted and afflicted as I once was as it was said unto me in that day when sorrow lay heavy upon me therefore be not disconsolated neither give heed unto the reasonings and disputings of to thy own heart nor the fears that arise therefrom but be strong in the Faith believing in the light which lets thee sâ—e them and his Grace thou wilt know to be sufficient for thee and his strength to be made perfect in thy weakness and so wilt thou rather glory in thy infirmities that his power may rest upon thee then in thy earnest desires to be rid of them for by these th ings thou wilt come to live in the Life of God and Joy in God and glory in Tribulation when thou hast learned in all conditions to be contented and through tryals and deep excercises is the way to learn this lesson These things in dear love to thee I have written being somewhat sensible of thy condition and the many snares thou art daily liable unto therefore watch that thou fall not into temptation and my God and Father keep thee in the Arms of his eternal love over all unto the end unto his Praise Amen John Crooke Some Queries to the strict and zealous Professors of this Age such as stick in the Letter but are strangers to the Life and Power to provoke them to Jealousie least the Heathen and Open Sinners out-strip them and enter into the Kingdom of the pure everlasting Light before them Query 1. WHether God since the Fall of Man from the purity and glory of his State doth truly and really desire the Salvation of all mankind and so would have them come to the knowledge of the Truth that they might believe it receive it walk in it and so obtain Salvation thereby or whether he would have only some few of them to receive it and be Saved and the rest to Perish Query 2. If God would have all men to be Saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth which is the means of Salvation Then whether there is sufficient done by God to convey the knowledge of his Truth to all men so as they may come to the knowledge thereof and be saved or whether there is such a defect on Gods part that some men never had sufficient means to come so far to the knowledge of his Truth as that they might come into the way of Salvation thereby Query 3. Though God doth please to adde superabundant means in the Riches of his Grace towards some more than others as to the Jews under the Law and to the Disciples of Christ under the Gospel yet whether there is not so much light of the Spirit communicated to all as if followed might lead them out of the Darkness and from under the Power of it Query 4. Whether God be not so near to every man as that possibly he may seek after him and find him and if he do find him and his heart cleave to him whether it can possibly be but vertue should issue forth from God to draw him out of the alienation from him and out of the power of sin Death and Hell Query 5. Whether if a man feel God and cleave to God and begin to discern the streamings of light from him and follow the Lord therein Whether God will not accept this man therein and whether his Divine Light let into him being believed in and obeyed will not