all his riches that he hath gotten is lost and taken from him then hee mournes and grieves because this deceiveable god hath left him and is fled leaving him comfortlesse and the glutton and drunkard that lives in luxury and voluptuousnesse which is his heaven or god when penury want and grievous diseases commeth upon him then cries he out against himselfe and grieves at his folly which is a hell to him now when it is too late yet so soon as he recovers health and means againe he returnes as bad as he was before like the dog to his own vomit and the sowe that is washed to her wallowing in the mire and the murtherer that in his wrath and choller doth kill a man which murder in his passion is the heaven or god of lies that pleased him afterwards when the law of sin or justice of man comes to execute him then justice or the law of sin executing its office proves a hell unto him therefore if thou desirest no harme to be done to thee thou oughtest not to doe any to another but if thou dost this revenge or justice in him whom thou wrongest and does to him as thou wouldest not he should do to thee retortâ— backe upon thy selfe and thy owne conscience cannot deny but that it is just and good although it be death and hell to thee and that thou canst not abide to suffer it for thy justice and law of sin saith an eye for eye tooth for tooth and life for life the morall Law and ten Commandements is in thy selfe and it is thy own naturall desires to them for thou lovest God or good with all thy soule minde and strength to be done to thee and thou dost naturally love thy neighbour as thy selfe because he is thy Samaritane and doth good to thee for thou dost naturally love those that doe thee good and that is reasonable thou dost love the Sabbath day for naturally thou dost love rest and naturally thou dost love and honour the place from which thou camest which is thy father and mother thou dost not naturally desire to be killed therefore thou saiest I must not kill thou dost not desire any should take thy naturall propriety from thee nor falshood to be done to thee therefore thou sayest I must not wrong another man by enjoying his wife and propriety or rob or steale from him his right or what he hath laboured for for the labourer is worthy of his hire thou doest naturally hate to have a false accusation on thee therefore thou dost say I must not beare false witnesse against any one and so the rest is what thou wouldest not have done to thee that thou must not doe to another for S. Paul cryed out against himselfe and said that he did the thing he hated and did disallow and did not the thing that he did allow and love but sold himself under the law of sin which he hated for this law and curse is added because of the transgression which is just to reward every man according to his works for this law of workes saves no man but condemnes all because all men have sinned and as long as man lives in the fleshly lusts of sin and concupiscence he is under this law of sin and curse and cannot please God but the world is mistaken of Paul and thinks that he meant and said that as long as he lived in the flesh or in this organicall creature of the foure elements of clay hee should sin if this were the meaning of St. Paul sure he must kill himselfe and advise all men to doe the like or else they could not please God for that which hinders us from pleasing of God must be taken out of the way but Paul saith that Christ hath taken him away from the curse and law of sin by faith which faith is the power of perswasion and convincing the heart of sin and unrighteousnesse and the workes of faith is to crucifie the sinfull flesh and lusts and to be obedient to God and goodnesse and that faith of Christ saves thee and Paul saith that he thanks God he is dead and that Christ is now his life and that he lives now by the faith of the Son of God which is by his loving perswasions and that confidence and reality of truth which he found by the obedience of Christ in him to God and goodnesse and so that flesh of Paul is dead and crucified to him so that it is evident by the sense of Scripture that Paul meant that flesh of sin and not the organicall creature that he then lived in for we know nothing of God nor of the divell but what we see in our selves for St. John saith what we have heard and seen and tasted that declare we unto you for we must not imagine the powerfull and mighty Godhead to be any Idea Image or likenesse of any thing but what he hath declared himselfe to be to us for it is said that Christ is in us and God is in Christ so that the Godhead lives bodily in us that hath ceased from sin for of that omnipotent and mighty power that upholdeth and discovereth all things wee know nothing neither of our selves or any thing else but what he pleaseth to discover unto us therefore in thy first creation or first birth God discovers thy selfe to thee which is Esau or Adam and thou hast all things in thy possession and thou art the God and Lord of all for thou art the God of this first world that hath blinded thine owne eyes with thy serpent subtilty and wisdome of the flesh and thou art ashamed of the naked truth that is the light of Gods grace to discover and lay all things naked and bare before thee but thou coverest and hides the truth with the leaves of thy owne fruits for thou art ashamed of the truth and when God calls thee in the coole of his day and that his light and fire begins to wax cold in thee thou hidest thy selfe from him and art ashamed of him as thy nakednesse for thy wisdome hath opened thine eyes to thy selfe will and hath shut them up to the naked truth and so thou art lost and damned from God and goodnesse for thou hast deprived thy selfe of him and hath hid God in thy selfe as thy shame for thou art ashamed to come before him and therefore thou hidest him with thy partition walls of sinne and now thou art cloathed with thy owne death that is the law of sin and thy owne justice in thee for the skinnes of thy innocency that thou hast lulled within thee which is the death of God and Christ is thy cloathing and so thou art cloathed with the death of God in thee and God now never appeares to thee but in this death with terror and feare which terrifies thee and this justice of terror and feare lyeth in the death of God which thou hast slaine and dis-regarded and is that slickering sword that keeps this
free and might have stood or fell but he fell and all Adams knows this their owne conscience accusing them for hee made man upright and shewed himselfe to bee good but he sought out many inventions to destroy himselfe yet God hath mercy on him and hath brought forth his elected seed to save him which was Isaac or Jacob that wrastled with God in this darke night of man to save and blesse him for this Esau was faine to sell his birthright and was so hungry with hunting and killing the man of sinne that he had almost lost himselfe but his brothers pottage which is love and mercy and power was given him to strengthen him to overcome the man of sinne in himselfe yet he thought this pottage should not have taken away his birthright and destroyed his first creation which he wept for although it was too late for it was for his further good which is hid from his eyes for a time and whilst he is a hunting for Jacob puts on Esaus rough garment or flesh which is the law of sin which made the man of sin mad and hee thought to destroy this Jacob or this second creation which appeared in the man but in the end when sinne is destroyed they will be loving brothers and one man of God for this Jesus Christ or seed of promise the destroyer of sin will make all peace and quietnesse for this holy God is in Christ reconciling the world to himselfe in mortifying and cleansing this man and burnning up all the chaffe of sin with unquenshable fire that there might bee great love betwixt God and man againe for this Jesus was three dayes and three nights in the man of sinne and in the heart of the earth and was carried into his wildernessed land and was tempted of him the manner whereof shall afterwards be expressed for he shewed Man all his filthinesse and how wicked he was and regardlesse of God and goodnesse and this was the first day in him and the night of that day was the death and wrath of God that appeared in the Man which did teâ—rifie and feare him and was the wounds of conscience that told him what he deserved and he threw downe himselfe at Gods mercy and the second day or light God gave him true grace and sorrow for his sinnes and the night of that day is that bloody fight in heaven betweene the Man of sinne and God and that terrible agony and sweat of death was on the humanity and the third day or reigne of Christ is that day that Christ shall reigne a thousand yeares in Man with death which day is that power of patience and long sufferance that lasts till the Man of sinne is rooted out for a thousand yeares is but as one day with the Lord and one day in this suffering and reigne of Christ is as a thousand years to the man for he must reigne till all sinne is subdued and the night of that day all hell is broke loose to torment the Man for a short time but this Almighty power gives the Man a strong and victorious power that he fights with himselfe and overcomes himselfe and all his devillish crew and so the wicked world is ended and Man shall come into a happy condition There are many that think that Christ will come and reigne a thousand yeares here on earth personally but they will be deceived for they look and judge of the Scripture after the outward appearance which is not righteous judgement for we are to looke on it with a spirituall eye and then shall we see it as it is for the looking on it as a history and not as it is a sacred and holy mystery makes so many false Religions for the birth of Christ in this elementary world was after a extraordinary manner and not after the ordinary manner of men for he was not as the seed of man nor did the Virgin Mary feele any manner of paine in bringing him forth as the wise and learned hold nor doth the Scripture make mention of her paine as they doe of others as Rebeckah Isaacs wife and Rachel Jacobs wife for the Divinity is a spirit and the humanity is a spirit and the Divinity and the humanity joyned together in conjunction as man and wife is but one spirit and spirits bring forth a spirit and can doe no otherwise for this Jesus Christ is a Spirit and is the Spirit and life of God that is sowne in our hearts and spirits which makes us cry Abba Father for he was and is a Spirit comming forth of God and man that were and is spirits and that organicall body or figure that he seemed to be in and to eat and drinke and that he was like flesh and blood was as three Angells that appeared to Abraham which he did dresse a kid for who seemed to be men and did eat and drinke with them as they thought â— so Christ seemed to be in that figure and flesh of the man but he was a reall spirit for with that body he walked on the sea the which Peter could not doe with his heavy body but did sinke and Christ did hide himselfe many times and could not be found for he did walke in visibly and when they did leek him to destroy him they could not finde him till he pleased to give himself into their hands and he could come with his body into any roome the doores being shut as he did after the resurrection come to his Disciples saying Peace be unto you and he did eat a broyled fish and they knew him by eating and breaking of bread and there is surely some secret mystery in that for when hee walked like a gardener they knew him not but by breaking of bread and Thomas would not beleeve that it was the body that was crucified because he could come through a chinke of the doore as he thought till Christ shewed him the print of his nailes after which he said he beleeved because hee saw those things but Christ said to him they were more blessed that beleeved and saw not but beleeved and trusted in God without the death of Christ for if we had beleeved and trusted in God wee should not have fallen and sinned but have been more blessed for the whole had not had need of the Physitian but we all have fallen and need the death of Christ to make us whole againe and we cannot beleeve till wee see the print of his death and nailes in our hearts and spirits which he hath taken on him and is now his humane nature for his Godhead and humanity is in us if Christ be in us for he is whole Christ in us God and man nor can he be divided and be in part in us and if he had a corporall body of clay consisting of foure clements made up of flesh and blood as ours is it were impossible and against reason that he could be in us therefore looke into the Scripture with spirituall
livest in thy sinnes and in thy heathenish nature for thy sinnes have sold thee into his hands as it is said in the Thessalonians that thou hast thrust the holy God out of his roome or Temple and wouldst not receive the love of the truth that is the reall good or God and is true life and joy to the man who is one and the same for ever and is no change to the man as the delusive God is for he seemeth to be good or is not the God nor reall good to the man for ever as the most holy God is for if we breake the Law or Commandements of this angry God he is very cruell and jealous and will make us drinke the cursed and bitter waters that shall make our belly swell and our thigh to rot if we breake his Commandement commit adultery or Idolatry against him for hee it is that worketh this evill of punishment in our City and is that cruell thundering voice that terrifieth us and makes our hearts to tremble we would faine be at quiet with our sinnes and delight our selves with our wicked abominations but this God doth so trouble us that we cannot injoy our wicked selves hee doth so torment us and shall doe so still till we are weary of our selves and sinnes and desire to be freed from all or to seek some way to please this furious God which wee by our sinnes have raised up for this law is added because of the transgressions and doth continue till sinne endeth in us but wee are not able of our selves alone to satisfie this severe God that is the strong delusion and consuming fire and is not the reall God or good to us which we shall find in the second world or creation which now sitteth in the Temple of God as God and hath thrust the reall holy God out of his roome and is the just God that roigneth in the man of sinne being froward with the froward rendering evill for evill and is righteous with the righteous for he is just in rewarding every one according to his workes and although the man is so wicked that he cannot abide this judge yet he shall be with this seeming God or good for ever if he doe not hate and forsake himselfe and send for the mourning woman and call and proclaime a fast and rent his heart and not his garments which is an acceptable day to him and seeke for the innocent Lamb to make satisfaction to this angry God that he may overcome him with his innocent life for when this innocent Lambe is borne in thee he doth strive and wrestle with this severe God for thee and doth overcome his wrath and evill with his goodnesse and if any do wrong him he doth not revenge but doth good for evill and so overcommeth this revenging God he doth no wrong to offend this God and when he hath wrong done him he will not become the evill God or judge to revenge evill for evill thus and in this manner doth he take away the linnes of the world and the law or punisher of sinne and in taking away the cause the effect ceasoth but whilst the crucifying the man of sinne is a doing it makes the humanity in a great agony and bloudy sweat in overcomming the sinne and the wrathfull judge and this is that most innocent Lambe which worketh all in all in us and for us and he is that still and soft voice that lyeth in thy inmost selfe and in the cave of thy earth till thou seek cry and call for him to save thee therefore looke to it in time and whilst time doth last What time is and concerning man I shall speake more at large hereafter in this book The spirit of man and the two instrumentall spirits is to bee seene and felt in the man and by the man and is discerned by their severall natures the good instrument is justice with which the just doth justly and prudence with which the prudent doth use prudence and fortitude with which the strong doth valiantly the good in heart and temperance with which the temperate walketh temperately and faith with which one beleeveth that to be true that they doe not understand if they see reason for it and hope with which one hopeth and confideth in that that is good and charity with which having proper goods he maketh them common to the good of another that needeth them and patience with which the patient overcommeth and is not overcome and piety with which the pious condoleth the miseries of another that is in misery so if thou art guided by these good vertues thou needst not be afraid of the law ofsin nor any thing else for thy conscience justifieth thee that thou dost what thou wouldest have done to thee and if any one is angry with thee for thy charity that thou useth to another this evill flyeth in his own face and doth thee no hurt for he condemneth the good hee would have done to him if he stood in need and so he is a devill to himselfe for condemning the good that thou dost for all evill flyeth in the faces of them that use it so that none is so great an enemy to a man as himself therefore thou art happy ô man whosoever thou art that is guided by the good spirit for he is all good to thee and the other is all evill let it seem never so good to thee yet thou shalt finde it so in the end for his qualities are these the first is avarice with which the rich is poore and a begger because he knoweth not how to use his riches and gluttony with which the glutton is imprisoned and is never free to injoy himselfe in regard of his slavery to it and leachery with which the man useth the powers of his body unlawfully to his destruction and pride with which the proud man endeavours to be above all others which is a lie and deceiveth him and sloth or negligence with which the idle grieves at the good of another man and rejoyceth at their harme and envy with which the envious desires unjustly the goods of another which covetousnesse is Idolatry and wrath or anger with which the angry man bindes his owne liberty so that he is not free but is a slave to wrath or passion and lying or a lie with which the liar speaks against the truth doing great mischiefe in the world and unconstancie with which the man is manifestly changeable so that no good man dare trust him so thou mayest plainly see and discerne if thou wilt for thy owne conscience tells thee which is the best of these two thinke what thou wilt to deceive thy selfe for none shall suffer for it but thy self This good instrument is the ten stringed instrument or harpe of David on which he praised the Lord and chased a way the envious evill spirit of Saul and thy soule being an eye or light that is composed of harmony and joy this instrument which is
which taketh away the sinnes of the world and so maketh amends for all Now when this ayreall or sanguine man returneth and is moved by the good instrument which is God and doth wholly follow him then doth God ravish his minde with his sweet contents and ravishing joyes so that his soule is taken off from all things below and is never at quiet but in this sweet contemplation for he sings in minde rejoycing in the spirit so that his soule is wrapt up in God and goodnesse and hee sheweth forth to all the world all love and goodnesse so that happy is that man that can injoy his company I doe earnestly wish that all ayreall or languine men or women may set their minde upon the holy God that they may injoy this good for their minde in this estate is carried up in such raptures in the holy God that they live here below in this world as if they lived not As for the phlegmaticke or spirituall watry man which hath a dull and grosse capacitie if he suffer his minde to be moved by the evill instrument hee is so strongly set on him that he will very difficultly leave him and he maketh him live so lazily that he is good for nothing and setteth his minde on all lasciviousnesse on evill surmisings and suspitions constrning all things in the worst sense so that he is never at quiet for one suspition or another being in continuall mistrust of every one because his capacity is shallow and the Devill hath blinded his eyes with these fallacies so that he thinketh every one to be his enemy and he doth a great deale of mischiefe in these his evill suspitions thinking to begin with others first and in his blindnesse of minde doth undoe himselfe and others and then riseth up the law of sinne in his minde tormenting him accusing him of what mischiefe he hath done to others without any other cause save only his owne wrong apprehensions and so this law of sinne condemnes and wounds him to the death till the death of Christ takes away this death and the cause of this death which is the devillish delusions and the evill surmisings which makes him do all this mischiefe to others without a cause And if this spirituall watry or phlegmatick man forsake the evill instrument with all his soule and minde and returne to the holy God or good instrument with his whole strength and minde to bee joyned to and ruled thereby then all his thoughts are set upon goodnesse and then doth hee construct all things in the best sense which is done to him and he seeth all things that fall crosse in this world to be good for him to wean and draw his love from earthly things which perish with the using and his minde is wholly swallowed up in God and goodnesse and all his thoughts and contemplations are upon God and hee she weth forth nothing in all his life but God and goodnesse to the whole world and to the sonnes of men for his life is swallowed up in the most holy Godhead if all the phlegmatick men and women were come to this estate then were they happy but till then most unhappy And for the spirituall earthly or melancholly man if hee joyne himselfe to the evill instrument the Devill to be ruled thereby he is wisest of all in doing mischiefe for he hatha vast capacity and can receive all suggestions and as was said formerly by him is acted the greatest cruelties and therefore hee hath the greater wounds of conscience for the law of sinne raiseth up all his cruell deeds against him so that his soule is heavily vexed unto the death and he hath such feare and dread in him that he wisheth that he had never been for he hath such fearfull and melancholy thoughts that every houre he feareth to be torne in peeces and this is in him till the death of Christ takes away the cause and then this wounding law of sin will cease but many love their sins too well to part with them to let Christ take them away and so they live and dye with them so that the Devill and they are together for ever and for ever in his world which is without end for the beginning of his world is the ending with the man for the beginning and ending is with the man one and the same for ever for as he was at first to him so hee is the last and the same for ever for he changeth not but continueth still evill therefore O man looke to it in time and whilst time doth last for after one time there is no time more and looke to it before the decree where of the Prophet speaketh come forth for after that decree is past there is no hope therefore looke to it whilst it is called to day and whilst this day doth last in thee which day is Jesus Christ that commeth to help and save thee but if thou dost not regard this day or Jesus Christ then the decree commeth forth to thee which is the eternall black night of death and darknesse which darknesse or night is the depriving thee of Gods grace and comfort for thou regardest it not when it was offered to thee and so in despising it thou shalt bee for ever without it thinke as much as thou wilt to the contrary for as sure as there is a God and as thou livest this will come to passe upon thee if thou dost not looke to it before all these things come to passe in thee so if this melancholy and earthly man forsake the Devill and evill one and turne to God and goodnesse to bee joyned to and guided by him he conceiveth more of the secret mysteries of God then all the rest for hee findeth out all the deepest mysteries and all things are opened unto him for as he hath suffered more so more is revealed to him and so God and he are joyned for ever in all love and he is in everlasting joy and comfort in God for ever and for ever I wish that all spirituall earthly and melancholy men and women may bee joyned to this everlasting joy and comfort Where as I have spoken of the delusive God in this Chapter I desire I may not be mistaken for the Scripture speaketh of two Gods the most holy God and the wicked God of this world that blindeth the eyes of mankinde one is the reall good and the other is the reall evill And the Scripture maketh mention of two Sathans Devills or evills and of two guiles or two delusions the one Sathan guile evill or delusion is for the good of the man and the other Sathan guile or delusion is for his utter destruction for the incestuous person was delivered to the good Sathan or evill for the destruction of his sin full flesh that his spirit or soule might be saved in the day of the Lord and St. Paul tooke his disciples with a good guile and made them grieve and mourne deceiving them by
had names to call them by that the one might understand the other and know what subject they speak of and what each would have another to do but these mad people love to confound themselves A spirit is that internall fire life and motion of all things as the spirit or fire and life of herbes and trees which is named the negative spirit that manifesteth it selfe to the world and all other spirits Now there is another spirit or sure that groweth and bloweth it selfe up into one organ and feeleth any thing that toucheth it and its name is the sensitative spirit There is another spirit eye light or fire that groweth and bloweth it selfe up into an organ whose name is called the rationall spirit or eye of capability and judgement which discerneth all things in their order and place and this is the man And there is another spirit eye light or fire that is a motion joyned to the man that discovers the reall truth of all things to him for his good or hurt and his name is called the spirit of wisdome or God and this is the light or right eye to the man that foreseeth all things for his good if he will regard his instructions And there is another spirit eye light or fire that is a motion that moves to the man that he feeleth in his intellectuall which is the spirit and eye of darknesse that looketh into all things for the mans harme the which if hee looke through leads him into all folly and blindnesse and worketh him into all mischiefe and this spirit is the destruction of the man and bringeth him to all misery and calamity and this spirits name is called the Devill the worker of mischiefe for these two spirits move to the man in his intellectuall and he feedeth seeth and heareth them internally and discourseth with them as two men discourse and talke one with another and these spirits are instrumentall to the man to perswade him to what he shall doe for he can do nothing but by these instruments the one for his good the other for his harm and he tasting of both he knowes the difference and how opposite the onces to the other and how they change him and make him good or evill for if any man doth good by the good instrument hee that is ruled by the evill instrument contradicts the good works of the good and the good instrument contradicts the man that is ruled by the evill instrument but there bee some that say the evill is good and the good evill which cannot be so for the good is good still to the man and is one and the same for ever and the evill is evill still to the man and is one and the same for ever for if thou dost evill to any man that evill is evill to thy selfe and if that man that thou doest evill to should retort the like backe on thy self then thou wouldst quickly be sensible that it is evill and not call that evill good falling upon thy selfe which falling upon another thou didst call good for if thou shouldst vassallize any man abuse or starve him or cut off his limbs and doe him all the harme thou couldst what good is this to thee surely thy conscience tells thee it is evill and not good to thee for thou dost not like to have those things done to thy selfe for retorting and falling backe upon thy selfe thou findest it evill So thou art evill and wicked O man whosonver thou art that dost those things and teachest another so to doe for thou teachest him lies that the evill is good and the good evill and thy owne conscience condemnes thee in doing the evill and so doth the conscience of the others whom thou teachest so to doe also defnding him with thy lies to deceive himselfe with for thou oughtest not to doe any thing to any man that thou dost not like to be done to thee nor must thou doe that which thou wouldest not have done backe againe for thou seest it is evill say what thou wilt to deceive thy selfe for thou dost cosen thy selfe with these vaine delusions Surely those that are of the minde that one spirit acts in all would if it were not for seare of the laws of men fall a cutting one anothers throats and doâ— all mischiefe being devills one to the other in their passion for they will admit of no law of goodnesse for their restraint If but one man had this evill power to execute his will upon all the world for pleasure then might it be thought to be good but you see in all men a desige to have their will therefore thou must expect and it is just and fight according to thy desert that thou shouldest be killed for killing and for stealing to restore double or be his servant to worke it out and make double satisfaction for his losse and troubling him for this is the law of sin and death for sin and this is in man and can be no other wife for the evill that hee doth to another man riseth up in judgement against him by the other whom he bath wronged to retort the like backe upon him for this law of sin in the man saith an eye for an eye tooth for tooth arme for arme c. and so with the froward to be froward and evill for evill saith the law of sinne in man which is just to reward every man according to his owne evill workes but thou caust not abide this law of sinne for thou wouldst doe a great deale of mischiefe and injury to other men and take pleasure in it but that this pleasure brings this sting of death and paine backe againe to thee which thou canst not abide so this thy God or pleasure perisheth with the using and change thy pleasure into pain by falling backe upon thee But thou wilt say that if thou murtherest a man in secret so that none be private thereto but thy selfe how can that murther be discovered or the law of sin be executed upon thee I answer that the law of sin is in thy self and riseth up in judgement against thee in condemning and wounding thy conscience so that thou art weary of thy life and in the and discovers thy selfe never being at quiet till the law of sinne be executed upon thee for we see few murthers that are long concealed another question may be demanded if this law of sinne which seemeth to be good or God and is executed upon thee is not murther and cruelty likewise I answer it is and is thy God and ruler in thy off-fallen estate that is a furious God and a consuming fire who will consume thee in his wrath and in his sore displeasure forthy sinnes have raised up this furious God that holdeth thee in with a rough bit and bridle whilst thou art a wilde asse colt that striveth to overthrow thy rider and this cruell God shall be thy Lord King and husband and will torment thee so long as thou