they with us might partake of the living Bread which comes down from Heaven I am that living Bread saith Christ that came down from Heaven My Flesh is Meat indeed and my Blood is Drink indeed whoever eats of the Bread and drinks of the Water that I give shall never hunger nor thirst any more Except ye eat my Flesh and drink my Blood ye have no Life in you This was an hard Saying to the professing Jews whose Eye was outward and carnal as it is with many this day who make a great talk of his Flesh and Blood But except you have Faith in his Name and by virtue of that Faith come to eat his Flesh and drink his Blood ye have no Life in you for sayes he who sais I am the Light Except ye believe that I am he ye shall dye in your Sins and whither I go ye cannot come so that it is Unbelief in his Light or Grace in people which disappoints them of the benefit of his Blood which cleanseth washes and sanctifies all those that believe in his Name and Power by which as they keep unto and abide in it they come to witness their Redeemer to live even Christ the Anointed of God the Everlasting Minister of the Sanctuary and of the true Tabernacle which God hath pitched and not Man he is become our High Priest and the Bishop of our Souls he is teaching his People himself and our Invitation unto all is that they may come and sit down under the Teachings of his Spirit and Grace in themselves For whatsoever may be known of God is manifest within and he hath shewn unto Man what is good that he should obey it and do it and the Apostle said Examine your selves prove your selves know ye not your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be Reprobates Now thou who hast had thine Eye outward hast bin running abroad and spent thy Portion with the Prodigal and hast not obtained an Establishment in that which is durable and satisfying the Soul Return return to thy Father's House and turn thy Mind inward to that which thou hast run from and hast been seeking without thee and thou wilt find virtue in it and the Efficacy of it to satisfie thy breathing Soul for remember the Parable of the Woman who sought her piece of Silver without her House but turning within lighting a Candle and sweeping her House she found it and for the Joy that she had found this Treasure invited her Neighbours to come and rejoyce with her Now the Candle of the Lord which is the Spirit of a Man is lighted and the Houses of many are swept and that which they have been seeking without they have found within them to the exceeding great Joy Gladness of their Hearts so that they could not but invite and perswade others through the constraining Virtue and Soul-satisfaction they had receiv'd from it to turn in to that inward Word of Power which is nigh in the Heart and is a sure Word of Prophecy unto which sayes the Apostle Peter ye do well to take heed as unto a Light shining in a dark place until the Day dawn and the Day Star arise in your Hearts 2 Pet. 1.19 Now we having taken heed unto this divine and heavenly Word in our Hearts we are come to see the arising of the Star of Jacob and to the bright and morning Star by which the blessed Day of God's great Salvation is known and experimentally witnessed by a Remnant Oh! how glorious is the appearance breaking forth of this heavenly Day in which the rising of the Son of Righteousness who is risen with Healing under his Wings many are come to behold how excellent is the Power Wisdom and Majesty of him who is greater than Solomon whose marvellous Order Magnificency and Splendor the Queen of Sheba from the uttermost parts of the Earth came to see who when she had heard and seen all that she desired yea to her Astonishment made this acknowledgment I believed not this Report until I had seen it with mine Eyes but lo the one half was not told me for thou hast more Wisdom and Prosperity than I have heard by Report 1 Kings 10.7 And many can now say that a Greater than Solomon is now come whose infinite Wisdom and Power whose excellent Glory and Majesty the Tongues of Men and Angels are incapable and insufficient to set forth who is filling his latter House with the Splendor of his own Glory for transcending and surpassing the Glory of the Outward Temple which was typical figurative of that which is not built with Hands and many Sons are coming from far and Daughters from the ends of the Earth to behold the Beauty and Comliness and Holy Order of the House of the God of Jacob which he is establishing atop of all the exalted Mountains and Professions without Possession and above all swelling Notions and Hills and Nations are flowing unto it according as the Lord spake by the Mouth of the Prophet Isa 2.2 Beautiful foâ—â—â—tuation is Mount Sion the Hill of God and it is now fulfilled in these latter days that many are come to say Let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord and to the House of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his Wayes and we will walk in his Pathes These are the true Jews in Spirit the Circumcised in Heart Ear whose Praise is of God and not of men such are the true Worshippers who worship the Father in the Spirit and in the Truth which is that living true and standing Worship set up and established above sixteen hundred years ago by our Lord and Saviour in that blessed Conference held with the woman of Samaria at Jacob's Well who hearing of the Disputes various Opinions about the Place where men ought to worship said Woman believe me The Hour cometh when ye shall neither in this Mountain nor at Jerusalem worship the Father for the Hour cometh and now is that the true Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and Truth and such is the Father seeking to worship him John 4.21 23. This Woman by this Converse with Christ being converted to the Faith in him went her way into the City and gave this Testimony of him Come see a Man says she that has told me all that ever I have done is not this the Christ And many of the Samaritans believ'd on him not only because of the saying of the Woman who told them That he had told her all that ever she had done but because of his own Word And we know say they that this is indeed the Christ Now these men were directed unto Christ by the Declaration or Preaching of a Woman who was not despised by them because of her Sex but they received her Invitation came to be made Believers in him who had told the Woman all that she had done and well were it for the People of this
which is the Way of Life as one well experienced and testified in his day The Commandment is a LAMP and the Law is LIGHT and the Reproofs of Instruction THE WAY OF LIFE Prov. 6.23 This is that Lamp and that Light of which David testified saying Thy Word is a Lamp unto my Feet and a Light unto my Paths Psalm 119.105 He also said The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the Soul and is that Word of which he said Wherewithal shall a Young Man cleanse his Wayes by taking heed thereto according to thy Word Which Word Light Law Lamp Grace Spirit c. with many other Names and Denominations are one and the same in nature and quality though proceeding from the holy Spirit and Power in the holy Men of God under several Names and Appellations according to the various Effects Dispensations Manifestations and Operations of it in their Hearts as when it manifesteth unto man the Evil of his Wayes it is properly called Light and as it judgeth and condemneth for Sin and Evil it may be called a Law-giver and a Judge c. this is able to deliver and set free from the Power of Sin and Death and to bring lost man to God again It was sufficient under every Dispensation for the Recovery and Salvation of Mankind as it was obeyed and believed in by which the Righteous Seed and Holy Men of God found Acceptance with the Lord and knew that they pleased him and walked with him as Enoch did and were made perfect as Abraham was to whom the Lord said Walk thou before me and be thou perfect Gen. 17.1 But is now manifested in these latter days in a more Glorious and Evangelical Appearance wherein the Lord has fulfilled his Promise of old and is pouring forth of his Spirit upon all Flesh and is causing his Sons and his Daughters to prophesie and to declare of his wondrous Works and now Christ Jesus is manifesting himself in his inward and spiritual Appearance of Light in the Hearts and Consciences of all men who is come a Light into the World that whosoever believes on him might not perish but have Everlasting Life and in this Manifestation of his Spirit he is calling and inviting the Sons and Daughters of men Behold says he I stand at the Door and knock if any man hear any Voice and open unto me I will come in and sup with him and he with me Rev. 3.20 It is the Voice of my Beloved that knocks saying Open unto me for my Head is filled with Dew and my Locks with the Drops of the Night Song of Sol. 5.2 The Disobedient and Rebellious will not entertain him in their Hearts but he is pierced by their Iniquities and as a Lamb slain without their Door and as killed all the day long as to them though in himself he lives to judge them He made his Grave with the Wicked and with the Rich in his Death Isa 53.9 But the Lord beholds the Proud afar off who think they know enough and are fat and full and want nothing when they are miserable and naked and bare and want all things but the Humble he teacheth and dwells with the Contrite in Heart for it is in the Heart and Consciences of Men and Women where he ought to dwell and it is his Prerogative to sway the Scepter there although the old Usurper of Authority called the Devil and Satan by his Stratagems and Insinuations has gotten a large Room and open Entertainment in the Hearts of the Children of Disobedience so that the Inn is taken up with other Guests the vain Delights and Pleasures of the World and no room is left to entertain the Lord of Glory but he is as laid in the Manger and turned out of Doors and his small Appearance sleighted and rejected by the Ungodly But now is the Prince of Peace come and is arising in his gloryous Power to dis-throne the grand Enemy of man's Happiness and to discover his many Snares Baits and Temptations which he has laid suitable to the Propensity and Inclination of the Creature to betray the Simple-minded and to draw forth the Heart and Affections after his Inventions thereby to enslave and imbondage the Creature in Sin and Iniquity and to plunge it therein until the Custom of it comes to take away the sense of the Evil of it and then perswades the poor Captive There is no Freedom from it nor no Perfection to be attained on this side the Grave and here he labours to keep them under his Power whilst in this Life knowing that after Death Judgment comes and as the Tree falls so it lies and that there is no Repentance in the Grave and here he obtains his End which is the Eternal Destruction of Men and Womens Souls for he laid the Foundation of his Kingdom in the Heart of Man and Woman by a Lye through which Sin entred and by which he upholds his Kingdom to this day in all the Disobedient and Rebellious But in the Light of Christ Jesus which discovers all the Deeds of Darkness is he clearly seen and his rotten Foundation which was grounded upon a Lye begins now to shake and reel and the Down-fall of his Kingdom is now seen to approach by them whose Eyes the Lord has opened But as for those who despise this Inward and Evangelical Appearance of Light and Grace and call it Natural or the Check of a Natural Conscience and a thing Insufficient though obeyed to Salvation nay many will not stick to call it Dia bolical whoever they be that are in this state I am bold to affirm and testifie That the same Power call it what they will that secretly checks and reproves for Sin and Evil in the Cansciences of Men and Women the same in the Day of Account shall set the Sins of the Wicked and Disobedient in order before their Eyes and shall be their Judge in that Day and as a Stone that shall grind them to Powder and on the contrary to those that love it and obey it will be the Joy Comfort and Everlasting Salvation of their Immortal Souls Now the Reason why people hate the Light is very evident from Christ's own words who saith This is the Condemnation that Light is come into the World and men love Darkness rather than Light because their Deeds are Evil for every one that doth Evil hateth the Light neither cometh to the Light lest his Deeds should be repreved John 3.19 20. But he that doth Truth loves the Light and brings his Deeds to it that they may be proved and tryed that they are wrought in God Now the Serpent in his Subtilty is the same at this day that he was in the Beginning who in direct Opposition to the Command of God told Adam and Eve That in the day they did eat of the Forbidden Fruit they should Not surely dye but should be as Gods knowing Good and Evil and here was the Temptation laid under the presentation
Nation if they would be of the Samaritans Mind and believe in that inward Testimony and Power which lets them see and tells them all that they do and reproves them for Sin and Evil. Now God is a Spirit and they that worship him aright must worship him in by the divine Assistance of his Spirit but those who deride and make a Mock at the Spirit and the Guidings and Leadings of it are known to be out of the Spirit neither know the Truth bat are Enemies to it and all their Worships Duties Self-Performances Offerings Sacrifices out of the Truth are an Abomination unto the Lord let their Pretence be never so specious Now God in his Love hath given a Measure of his Spirit unto All people whereby through Obedience thereto they may be enabled to perform that acceptable Service he requires of them and they that come to feel such a good Desire and holy Thirst begotten in them as did the Woman of Samaria after the Water of Life such by pursuance after the same in the Faith come to receive Satisfaction and Refreshment from the Fountain Christ Jesus who said unto the Woman If thou knew'st the Gift of God and who it is that saith unto thee Give we to drink thou wouldst have asked of him who would have given thee living Water those said he that drink of this Water speaking of the Water in Jacob's Well shall thirst again but whosoever shall drink of the Water that I shall give him shall never thirst but the Water that I shall give him shall be in him a Well of Water springing up unto Everlasting Life The Woman said unto him Sir give me of this Water that I thirst not again c. So it appears this Woman was ignorant of the Gift of God though it was in her yet by believing in and receiving his gracious Words she became acquainted with the true Knowledge of the Gift of God in her self as are all true Believers and spiritual Worshippers at this day and thereby to receive the ingrafted Word with Meekness which is able to save the Soul in and through which the true Worshippers offer up an acceptable Sacrifice within the Gates of the New and Heavenly Jerusalem which John saw coming down from God out of Heaven as a Bride adorned for her Husband Salvation is the Walls of this holy City and her Gates Praises neither in her is there need of the Light of the Sun or of the Moon or Stars but the Lord God and the Lamb is the Light thereof and the Nations of them that are saved must walk in the Light of it rev 21.23 24. Now we who are come to witness this defirable and glorious Habitation of Reft and Peace which through many deep Sufferings Cryes and Travails of our anxious Spirits we have mourned for sought after and obtained we cannot but declare unto others in the Love of God with tender Pity and Compassion unto their Souls who are tossed about with every Wind of Dectrine as a Ship in a storm and even labour to perswade such who are thus distressed to lay hold on the great Salvation of God which he in and by his Son Christ Jesus has freely tendred unto all People to be his Salvation to the Ends of the Earth a Light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the Glory of his People Israel this is he whom good old Simeon saw in his day when he was waiting for the Consolation of Israel Luke 2.25 And you who are looking for Christ without you in the outward Forms and Traditions my Advice unto you is To turn to that Principle in your own hearts that is meek and lowly for sayes Christ Learn of me I am meek and low in heart and ye shall find Rest unto your Souls Mat. 11.29 The Humble he teacheth his Way and the Meek will he guide in Judgment This is the good Physician of Value who hath brought Balm from Gilead and gives Health to the wounded Soul he washes and thoroughly cleanses the Wound when all that has poluted and defiled the Heart and Conscience is purged and done away then he pours in of his precious Oyntment which gives a fragrant smell to those who have been poluted and defiled by reason of Sin of which the Oyntment was a Figure that was poured upon Aaron's Head and run down to the Skirts of his Garment and was precious and if that was precious which was outward and typical how much more is this which is an inward and spiritual Unction which only can reach the Soul as that did the Body and which comes from Christ who is anointed with the heavenly Oyl above his Fellows by vertue of which inward Anointing Health Soundness of heart and mind comes to be known again by those who through this Universal Grace receive it a measure of which Grace is committed to every one to profit withal if they would prove it and try it it is one and the same in Nature and Quality though not in Quantity For unto one he gave five Talents to another two and to another one and to every man according to their several Abilities in the least of which is sufficientcy if obey'd and improv'd and where much is given much is required But the wicked and sloathful Servant who had but one Talent counted the Lord an hard Master because he was negligent and careless to improve it and hid his Talent in the Earth but read his Portion was he not cast into utter Darkness where is weeping and gnashing of Teeth and the same Reward to this day remains for all the Negligent Unfaithful and disobedient Servants who will not improve their Gift and Talent committed unto them Now to speak a little after the manner of men and to compare Spiritual Things with Temporal That as no Malady or Distemper of the Body can be healed without the Application of some suitable Medicine and that only such as can reach unto the grieved part even so no visible Preparatory or outward Existence can reach unto or effectually heal a Wounded Soul but the alone saving Health and Power of Jesus and whoso makes a right Application of it comes livingly experimentally to witness the blessed Effects thereof which are the same as in the dayes past that is to give Sight to the Blind to cause the Deaf to hear the Lame to walk the Leper to be cleansed and the Tongue of the Dumb to be unloosed to praise the Name of the Lord and to magnifie his great Power in the Land of the Living and the Poor in Spirit have received the Everlasting Gospel of Peace which is freely preached and Life and Immortality is brought to Light thereby Oh! the Day of Glad Tidings is come and the Year of Jubile to the Prisoner of Hope and to the Captives and Disconsolate Souls is known who had no Comforter in the Earth nor any to be found that had the Tongue of the Learned to speak a