Of
True Repentance
by Jacob Behmen (Jakob Boehme) 1575-1624,
The Teutonic Theosopher
SHOWING
HOW MAN SHOULD STIR HIMSELF UP
IN
MIND AND WILL
AND
WHAT HIS EARNEST CONSIDERATION AND PURPOSE SHOULD BE
How Man must stir himself in Mind and Will; and what his Consideration and earnest Purpose must be, when he will perform powerful and effectual Repentance: And with what Mind he must appear before God, when he would ask, so as to obtain, Remission of his Sins.
John 3, 3-8: Jesus said unto Nicodemus, Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a Man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a Man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second Time into his Mother's Womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a Man be born of Water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the Flesh is Flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The Wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the Sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: So is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Matt. 16, 26:
What is a Man profited if he should gain the whole World, and lose his own
Soul? or What shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul?
THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE R E A D E R .
Dear Reader,
If thou wilt use these Words aright, and art in good Earnest, thou shalt
certainly find the Benefit thereof. But I desire thou mayest be warned,
if thou art not in Earnest, not to meddle with the dear Names of God, in
and by which the most High Holiness is invoked, moved, and powerfully desired,
lest they kindle the Anger of God in thy Soul. For we must not abuse the
Holy Names of God. This little Book is only for those that would fain repent,
and are in a Desire to begin. Such will find what Manner of Words therein,
and whence they are born. Be you herewith commended to the Eternal Goodness
and Mercy of God.
OF TRUE REPENTENCE
When Man will
enter upon Repentance, and with his Prayers turn to God, he should, before
he beginneth to pray, seriously consider the State of his own Soul. How
it is wholly and altogether turned away from God, become faithless to Him,
and only bent upon this temporary, frail, and earthly Life; bearing no sincere
Love towards God and its Neighbor, but wholly lusting and walking contrary
to the Commandments of God, and seeking itself only, in the temporal and
transitory Lusts of the Flesh.
2. In the next Place, he should consider that all this is an utter Enmity
against God, which Satan hath raised and wrought in him, by his Deceit in
our first Parents; for which Abomination's Sake we must suffer Death, and
undergo Corruption with our Bodies.
3. He should consider the three horrible Chains wherewith our Souls are
fast bound during the Time of this earthly Life. - The First is the severe
Anger of God, the Abyss, and dark World, which is the Center, Root, or constituent
Principle of the Soul's Life. The Second is the Desire of the Devil against
the Soul, whereby he continually sifteth and tempteth it, and without Intermission
striveth to throw it from the Truth of God into his own evil Nature and
Element, viz. into Pride, Covetousness, Envy, and Anger; and with his Desire,
bloweth up and kindleth those evil Properties in the Soul, whereby its Will
turneth away from God, and entereth into SELF. The Third and most hurtful
Chain of all, wherewith the poor Soul is tied, is the corrupt and altogether
vain, earthly, and mortal Flesh and Blood, full of evil Desires and Inclinations.
Here he must consider that he lies close Prisoner with Soul and Body in
the Mire of Sins, in the Anger of God, in the Jaws of Hell; that the Anger
of God burneth in him in Soul and Body, and that he is that very loathsome
Keeper of Swine, who hath spent and consumed his Father's Inheritance, namely,
the precious Love and Mercy of God, with the fatted Swine of the Devil in
earthly Pleasures, and hath not kept the dear Covenant and Atonement of
the innocent Death and Passion of Jesus Christ; which Covenant God of mere
Grace hath given or put into our Humanity, and reconciled us in Him. He
must also consider that he hath totally forgotten the Covenant of Holy Baptism,
in which he had promised to be faithful and true to his Saviour, and so
wholly defiled and obscured his Righteousness with Sin, (which Righteousness,
God had freely bestowed upon him in Christ), that he now stands before the
Face of God, with the fair Garment of Christ's Innocency which he hath defiled,
as a dirty, ragged, and patched Keeper of Swine, that hath continually eaten
the Husks of Vanity with the Devil's Swine, and is not worthy to be called
a Son of the Father, and Member of Christ.
4. He should earnestly consider that wrathful Death awaiteth him every Hour
and Moment, and will lay hold on him in his Sins, in his Garment of a Swine-Herd,
and throw him into the Pit of Hell as a forsworn Person and Breaker of Faith,
who ought to be reserved in the dark Dungeon of Death to the Judgement of
God.
5. He should consider the earnest and severe Day of God's Final Judgement,
when he shall be presented living with his Abominations before God's Tribunal.
That all those whom he hath here offended or injured by Words and Works,
and caused to do Evil, (so that by his Instigation or Compulsion they also
have committed Evil), shall come in against him, cursing him before the
Eyes of Christ and of all Holy Angels and Men. That there he shall stand
in great Shame and Ignominy, and also in great Terror and Desperation, and
that it shall forever grieve him to reflect that he hath fooled away so
glorious and eternal a State of Salvation and Happiness, for the Pleasure
of so short a Time; and that he had not taken care in that short Time to
secure to himself a Share in the Communion of the Saints, and so to have
enjoyed with them Eternal Light, and Divine Glory.
6. He must consider that the ungodly Man has lost his Noble Image - God
having created him in and for His Image or creaturely Representation - and
has gotten instead thereof a deformed or monstrous Shape, like a hellish
Worm or ugly Beast. Wherein he is an enemy to God, to Heaven, and to all
Holy Angels and Men, and that his Communion is, and will be forever, with
the Devils and hellish Worms in horrible Darkness.
7. He must earnestly consider the eternal Punishment and Torture of the
Damned; how that in eternal Horror they shall suffer Torments in their Abominations
which they had committed here, and may never see the Land of the Saints
to all Eternity, nor get any Ease or Refreshment, as appears by the Example
of the Beggar and the rich Man.
All this a Man must earnestly and seriously consider, and remember also
that God had originally created him in such a fair and glorious Image, even
in His own Likeness, in which He, Himself, would dwell. That He created
him out of His Goodness, for Man's own eternal Bliss and Glory, to the End
that he might dwell with the Holy Angels and Children of God in great Happiness,
Power, and Glory; in the Eternal Light; in the praiseful and melodious Harmony
of the Angelical and Divine Kingdom of Joy. Where he should rejoice continually
with the Children of God, without Fear of any End. Where no evil Thoughts
could touch him, neither Care nor Trouble, neither Heat nor Cold. Where
no Night is known; where there is no Day or limited Time any more, but an
everlasting Blessedness, wherein Soul and Body tremble for Joy. And where
he, himself, should rejoice at the infinite Wonders and Virtues appearing
in the Brightness of Colors, and the Variety of Splendor opened and displayed
by the Omnipotent Powers and Glories of God, upon the new crystalline Earth,
which shall be as Transparent Glass. And that he doth so willfully lose
all this Eternal Glory and Happiness for the Sake of so short and poor a
Time, which even in this State of Vanity and Corruption, in the evil Life
of the voluptuous Flesh, is full of Misery, Fear, and utter Vexation; and
wherein it goeth with the Wicked as with the Righteous, as the one must
die, so must the other; only the Death of the Saints is an Entrance into
the Eternal Rest, while the Death of the Wicked is an Introduction into
the eternal Anguish.
8. He must consider the Course of this World, that all Things in it are
but a Play, wherewith he spends his Time in such Unquietness; and that it
goes with the Rich and Mighty as with the Poor and the Beggar. That all
of us equally live and move in the four Elements; and that the hard-earned
Morsel of the Poor is as relishing and savoury to him in his Labour, as
the Dainties of the Rich are to him in his Cares. Also, that all of us subsist
by one Breath, and that the rich Man hath nothing but the Pleasures of the
Palate and the Lust of the Eye, for a little while more than his poor Neighbor,
for the End of both is the Same. Yet for this short-lived Lust's Sake, many
foolishly forego so inconceivable a Happiness, and bring themselves into
such extreme and eternal Misery.
In the deep Consideration of these weighty Truths, Man shall come to feel
in his Heart and Mind, especially if he at the same Time represents and
sets before his own Eyes his own End, a hearty Sighing and Longing after
the Mercy of God, and will begin to bewail his committed Sins; and to be
sorry he has spent his Days so ill, and not observed or considered that
he stands in this World as in a Field, in the growing to be a Fruit either
in the Love or in the Anger of God. He will then first begin to find in
himself that he has not yet labored at all in the Vineyard of Christ, but
that he is a dry fruitless Branch of the Vine.
And thus in many a one, whom the Spirit of Christ touches in such a Consideration,
there arises abundant Sorrow, Grief of Heart, and inward Lamentation over
the Days of his Wickedness which he hath spent in Vanity, without any Working
in the Vineyard of Christ.
Such a Man, whom the Spirit of Christ thus brings into Sorrow and Repentance,
so that his Heart is opened both to know and bewail his Sins, is very easily
to be helped. He needs but to draw to himself the Promise of Christ, viz.
That God willeth not the Death of a Sinner but that He wisheth them all
to come unto Him, and He will refresh them; and, that there is great joy
in Heaven for one Sinner that repenteth. Let such a one but lay hold on
the Words of Christ and wrap himself up into His meritorious Passion and
Death.
But I will now speak to those who feel indeed in themselves a Desire to
repent, and yet cannot come to acknowledge and bewail their committed Sins.
The Flesh saying continually to the Soul, Stay a while, it is well enough;
or it is Time enough tomorrow; and when tomorrow is come, then the Flesh
says again, Tomorrow; the Soul in the meanwhile, fighting and fainting,
conceiveth neither any true Sorrow for the Sins it hath committed nor any
Comfort. Unto such a one, I say, I will write a Process or WAY, which I
myself have gone, that he may know what he must do, and how it went with
me, if peradventure he be inclined to enter into and pursue the same; and
then he will come to understand what he shall find here afterwards written.
The Process of Repentance; or WAY to Conversion
When any Man findeth in himself by the former or any other Considerations,
pressed Home upon his Mind and Conscience, a Hunger or Desire to repent,
and yet feeleth no true Sorrow in himself for his Sins which he hath committed,
but only a Hunger or Desire of such Sorrow, so that the poor captive Soul
continually sighs, fears, and must needs acknowledge itself guilty of Sins
before the Judgement of God. Such a one, I say, can take no better Course
than this, namely, to wrap up his Senses, Mind, and Reason together, and
make to himself instantly, as soon as ever he perceiveth in himself the
Desire to repent, a mighty strong Purpose and Resolution that he will that
very Hour, nay, that very Minute, immediately enter into Repentance, and
go forth from his wicked Way, and not at all regard the Power and Respect
of the World. Yea, and if it should be required, would forsake and disesteem
all Things for true Repentance Sake; and never depart from that Resolution
again, though he should be made the Fool and Scorn of all the World for
it.
But that with
the full Bent and Strength of his Mind, he will go forth from the Beauty
and Pleasure of the World, and patiently enter into the Passion and Death
of Christ in and under the Cross, and set all his Hope and Confidence upon
the Life to come. That even now in Righteousness and Truth he will enter
into the Vineyard of Christ, and do the Will of God. That in the Spirit
and Will of Christ he will begin and finish all his Actions in this World,
and for the Sake of Christ's Word and Promise, which holds forth to us a
Heavenly Reward, willingly take up and bear every Adversity and Cross so
that he may be but admitted into the Communion or Fellowship of the Children
of Christ and in the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, be incorporated and
united unto His Humanity.
He must firmly imagine to himself, and wholly wrap up his Soul in this Persuasion,
that in his Purpose he shall obtain the Love of God in Christ Jesus, and
that God will give unto him according to His faithful promise, that Noble
Pledge, the Holy Ghost, for an Earnest; that, in the Humanity of Christ,
as to the Heavenly Substance, he shall be born again in himself, and that
the Spirit of Christ will renew his Mind with His Love and Power, and strengthen
his weak Faith. Also that in his Divine Hunger he shall get the Flesh and
Blood of Christ for Food and Drink, in the Desire of his Soul, which hungereth
and thirsteth after It as its proper Nutriment; and with the Thirst of the
Soul drink the Water of Eternal Life out of the Sweet Fountain of Jesus
Christ, as Christ's most true and steadfast Promise is.
He must also wholly and firmly imagine to himself, and set before him, the
great Love of God. That God willeth not the Death of a Sinner, but that
he repent and believe; that Christ calleth poor Sinners very kindly and
graciously to Himself, and will refresh them; that God hath sent His Son
into the World, to seek and save that which is lost, viz. the poor repentant
and returning Sinner; and that for the poor Sinner's Sake He hath given
His Life unto Death, and died for him in our Humanity which He took upon
Him.
Furthermore, he must firmly persuade himself that God in Christ Jesus will
much more readily hear him and receive him to Grace, than he will readily
come; and that God in the Love of Christ, in the most dear and precious
Name JESUS, cannot will any Evil. That there is no angry Countenance at
all in this Name, but that It is the highest and deepest Love and Faithfulness,
the greatest Sweetness of the Deity, in the great Name JEHOVAH, which He
has manifested in our Humanity, corrupted as it is, and perished as to the
Heavenly Part, which in Paradise disappeared through Sin. And He was therefore
moved in His Heart to flow into us with His Sweet Love, that the Anger of
His Father, which was kindled in us, might be quenched and turned into Love
by It. All which was done for the poor Sinner's Sake, that he might obtain
an open Gate of Grace again.
In this Consideration he must firmly imagine to himself that this very Hour
and Instant he standeth before the Face of the Holy Trinity, and that God
is really present within and without him, as the Holy Scripture witnesseth,
saying, Am not I He that filleth all Things? And in another Place, The Word
is near thee, in thy Mouth, and in thy Heart. Also, We will come unto you
and make Our abode with you. And, Behold, I am with you always, even to
the End of the World. And again, The Kingdom of God is within you.
Thus he must firmly know and believe, that with, and in his Interior he
standeth really before the Face of Jesus Christ, even before the Holy Deity,
on whom his Soul hath turned its Back; and must resolve that he will this
very Hour turn the Eyes and Desire of his Soul towards God again, and with
the poor, lost, and returning Son, come to the Father. He must, with the
Eyes of his Mind cast down in Fear and deepest Humility, begin to confess
his Sins and Unworthiness before the Face of God in manner following:
A short Form of Confession before the Face of God
Everyone, as his Case and Necessity requires, may order and enlarge this
Confession as the Holy Ghost shall teach him. I will only set down a short
Direction.
O Thou great unsearchable GOD, LORD of all Things; Thou, Who in Christ Jesus,
of great Love towards us, hath manifested Thyself with Thy holy Substance
in our Humanity: I, poor unworthy sinful Wretch, come before Thy Presence,
which Thou hast manifested in the Humanity of Jesus Christ, though I am
not worthy to lift up mine Eyes to Thee, acknowledging and confessing before
Thee, that I am guilty of Unfaithfulness, and Breaking off from Thy great
Love and Grace, which Thou hast freely bestowed upon us. I have left the
Covenant, which of mere Grace Thou hast made with me in Baptism, in which
Thou didst receive me to be a Child and Heir of Eternal Life, and I have
brought my Desire into the Vanity of this World, and defiled by Soul therewith,
and made it altogether beastial and earthly. So that my Soul knoweth not
itself, because of the Mire of Sin; but accounteth itself a strange Child
before Thy Face, not worthy to desire Thy Grace. I lie in the Guilt and
Filth of Sin, and the Vanity of my corrupt Flesh, up to the very Lips of
my Soul, and have but a small Spark of the living Breath left in me, which
desireth Thy Grace. I am dead in Sin and Corruption, so that in this woeful
Condition I dare not lift up mine Eyes to Thee.
O God in Christ Jesus, Thou who for poor Sinners' Sakes didst become Man
to help them, to Thee I complain; to Thee I have yet a Spark of Refuge in
my Soul. I have not regarded Thy purchased Inheritance, which Thou hast
purchased for us poor Men, by Thy bitter Death, but have made myself a Partaker
of the Heritage of Vanity, in the Anger of my Father in the Curse of the
Earth, and am ensnared in Sin, and half dead as to Thy Kingdom. I lie in
Feebleness as to Thy Strength, and the wrathful Death waiteth for me. The
Devil hath poisoned me, so that I know not my Saviour: I am become a wild
Branch on Thy Tree, and have consumed mine Inheritance which is in Thee,
with the Devil's Swine. What shall I say before Thee, who am not worthy
of Thy Grace? I lie in the Sleep of Death which hath captivated me, and
am fast Bound with three strong Chains. O Thou Breaker-through-Death, assist
me, I beseech Thee; I cannot, I am able to do nothing! I am dead in myself,
and have no Strength before Thee, neither dare I, for great Shame, lift
up mine Eyes unto Thee. For I am the defiled Keeper of Swine, and have spent
mine Inheritance with the false adulterous Whore of Vanity in the Lusts
of the Flesh; I have sought myself in my own Lust, and not Thee. Now in
myself I am become a Fool; I am naked and bare; my Shame stands before mine
Eyes; I cannot hide it; Thy Judgement waiteth for me. What shall I say before
Thee, Who art the Judge of all the World? I have nothing to bring before
Thee. - Here I stand naked and bare in Thy Presence, and fall down before
Thy Face bewailing my Misery, and fly to Thy great Mercy, though I am not
worthy of It; yet receive me but in Thy Death, and let me but die from my
Death in Thine. Cast me down, I pray Thee, to the Ground in my innate SELF,
and kill this SELF of mine through Thy Death, that I may live no more to
mySELF, seeing I in mySELF work nothing but Sin. Therefore, I pray Thee,
cast down to the Ground this wicked Beast, which is full of false Deceit
and SELF-Desire, and deliver this poor Soul of mine from its heavy Bonds.
O merciful God, it is owing to Thy Love and Long-Suffering that I lie not
already in Hell. I yield my SELF, with my whole Will, Senses and Mind, unto
Thy Grace, and fly to Thy Mercy. I call upon Thee through Thy Death, from
that small Spark of Life in me encompassed with Death and Hell, which open
their Throat against me, and would wholly swallow me up in Death; upon Thee
I call, Who hast promised that Thou wilt not quench the smoking Flax. I
have no other Way to Thee but by Thy Own bitter Death and Passion, because
Thou hast made our Death to be Life by Thy Humanity, and broken the Chains
of Death, and therefore I sink the Desire of my Soul down into Thy Death,
into the Gate of Thy Death, which Thou hast broke open.
O Thou great Fountain of the Love of God, I beseech Thee, help me, that
I may die from my Vanity and Sin in the Death of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
O Thou Breath of the great Love of God, quicken, I beseech Thee, my weak
Breath in me, that it may begin to hunger and thirst after Thee. O Lord
Jesus, Thou sweet Strength, I beseech Thee give my Soul to drink of Thy
Fountain of Grace, Thy sweet Water of Eternal Life, that it may awake from
Death and thirst after Thee. O how extreme fainting I am for Want of Thy
Strength! O merciful God, do Thou turn me, I beseech Thee; I cannot turn
myself. O Thou Vanquisher of Death, help me, I pray Thee, to wrestle. How
fast doth the Enemy hold me with his three Chains, and will not suffer the
Desire of my Soul to come before Thee! I beseech Thee, come and take the
Desire of my Soul into Thyself. Be Thou my Drawing to the Father, and deliver
me from the Devil's Bonds! Look not upon my Deformity in standing naked
before Thee, having lost Thy Garment! I pray Thee, do but Thou clothe that
Breath which yet liveth in me and panteth after Thy Grace; and so shall
I yet see Thy Salvation.
O Thou deep Love, I pray Thee take the Desire of my Soul into Thee; bring
it forth out of the Bonds of Death through Thy Death, in Thy Resurrection,
into Thee. O quicken me in Thy Strength, that my Desire and Will may begin
to spring up and flourish anew. O Thou Vanquisher of Death and of the Wrath
of God, do Thou overcome SELF in me; break its Will and bruise my Soul,
that it may fear before Thee, and be ashamed of its OWN Will before Thy
Judgement, and that it may be ever obedient to Thee as an Instrument of
Thine. Subdue it in the Bonds of Death; take away its Power, that it may
will nothing without Thee.
O God, the Holy Ghost in Christ my Saviour, teach me, I pray Thee, what
I shall do, that I may turn to Thee. O draw me in Christ to the Father,
and help me, that now and from henceforward I may go forth from Sin and
Vanity, and never any more enter into them again. Stir up in me a true Sorrow
for the Sins I have committed. O keep me in Thy Bonds; and let me not loose
from Thee, lest the Devil sift me in my wicked Flesh and Blood, and bring
me again into the Death of Death. O enlighten Thou my Spirit, that I may
see the Divine Path, and walk in it continually. O take that away from me,
which always turneth me away from Thee; and give me that which always turneth
me to Thee; take me wholly from MySELF and give me wholly to THYself. O
let me begin nothing, let me will, think, and do nothing without Thee. O
Lord, how long! Indeed I am not worthy of that which I desire of Thee, I
pray Thee let the Desire of my Soul dwell but in the Gates of Thy Courts;
make it but a Servant of Thy Servants. O preserve it from that horrible
Pit, wherein there is no Comfort or Refreshment.
O God in Christ Jesus! I am blind in my SELF, and know not myself because
of Vanity. Thou art hidden from me in my Blindness, and yet Thou art near
unto me; but Thy Wrath which my Desire hath awakened in me, hath made me
dark. O take but the Desire of my Soul to Thee; prove it, O Lord, and bruise
it, that my Soul may obtain a Ray of Thy Sweet Grace.
I lie before Thee as a dying Man, whose Life is passing from his Lips, as
a small Spark going out; kindle it, O Lord, and raise up the Breath of my
Soul before Thee. Lord, I wait for Thy Promise, which Thou hast made, saying,
As I live, I will not the Death of a Sinner, but that he shall turn and
live. I sink myself down into the Death of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and
wait for Thee, whose Word is Truth and Life. Amen.
In this, or the like Manner, every one may confess his Sins, as he himself
findeth on examining his Conscience, what Sins he hath brought his Soul
into. Yet if his Purpose be truly earnest, to use a Form is needless, for
the Spirit of God, which at that Instant is in the Will of the Mind, will
Itself make the Prayer for him, in his Interior. For it is the Spirit of
God, which in a true earnest Desire worketh Repentance, and intercedeth
for the Soul before God, through the Death of Christ.
But I will not hide from the beloved Reader, who hath a True Christian Intent,
how it commonly goeth with those who are in such a firm Purpose and Resolution;
though, indeed, it goeth otherwise with one than with another, according
as his Purpose is more or less earnest and strong. For the Spirit of God
is not bound, but useth diverse Ways or Processes accordingly as He knoweth
to be fittest for every one. Yet a Soldier who hath been in the Wars can
tell how to fight and instruct another that may happen to be in the like
Condition.
Now when such a Heart with strong Resolution and Purpose doth thus come
before God, and enter into Repentance, it happeneth to it as to the Canaanitish
Woman; that is, it seems as if God would not hear. The Heart remaineth without
Comfort as its Sins, Follies, and Neglects also present themselves to it,
and make it feel itself unworthy of any. The Mind is as it were speechless;
the Soul groaneth in the Deep; the Heart receiveth nothing, nor can it so
much as pour forth its Confession before God; but it is as if the Heart
and Soul were quite shut up. The Soul would fain go towards God, but the
Flesh keepeth it captive: The Devil too shuteth it up strongly, and representeth
to it the Way of Vanity again, and tickleth it with the Lust of the Flesh,
and saith inwardly to it, Stay a while, do this or that first; get a Sufficiency
of Money or Goods beforehand, that thou mayest not stand in Need of the
World, and afterwards enter into Repentance and a Holy Life; it will be
Time enough then.
O how many Hundreds perish in such a Beginning, if they go back again into
Vanity; and become as young Grafts broken off by the Wind, or withered by
the Heat!
Beloved Soul, mark: If thou wilt be a Champion in thy Saviour Christ against
Death and Hell, and wouldst have thy young Graft grow, and become a Tree
in the Kingdom of Christ, thou must go on, and stand fast in thy first earnest
Purpose. It is as much as thy paternal Inheritance is worth, and thy Body
and Soul too, whether thou, becomest an Angel in God, or a Devil in Hell.
If thou wilt be crowned, thou must fight; thou must overcome in Christ,
and not yield to the Devil. Thy Purpose must stand firm, thou must not prefer
temporal Honor and Goods before It. When the Spirit of the Flesh says, Stay
a while, it is not convenient yet; then the Soul must say, Now is the Time
for me to go back again into my Native Country, out of which my Father,
Adam, hath brought me. No Creature shall keep me back, and though thou earthly
Body shouldest thereby decay and perish, yet I will now enter with my Will
and whole Desire, into the Rose-Garden of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ; through
His Suffering and Death into Him, and in the Death of Christ subdue thee,
thou earthly Body, that hast swallowed up my Pearl from me, which God gave
to my Father, Adam in Paradise. I will break the Will of thy Voluptuousness,
which is in Vanity, and bind thee as a mad Dog with the Chain of my earnest
Purpose; and though hereby thou shouldest become a Fool in the Account of
all Men, yet thou must and shalt obey the firm Resolve of my Soul. Nothing
shall unloose thee from this Chain, but the temporal Death. Whereunto God
and his Strength help me.
A short Direction how the poor Soul must come before God again, and how
it must fight for the Noble Garland; what Kind of Weapons it must use, if
it will go to War against God's Anger, against the Devil, the World and
Sin, against Flesh and Blood, against the Influence of the Stars and Elements,
and all its other Enemies.
BELOVED Soul, there is Earnestness required to do this, and not a bare Recital
of Words only! No, the earnest resolved Will must drive on this Work, else
nothing will be effected. For if the Soul will obtain the triumphant Garland
of Christ from the noble Sophia or Divine Wisdom, it must wooe Her for it
in great Desire of Love. It must entreat Her in Her most Holy Name for It,
and come before Her in most modest Humility, and not like a lustful Bull
or a wanton Venus. For so long as any are such, they must not seek these
Things; for they shall not obtain them, and though something should be obtained
by those who are in such an impure State, it would be no more than a Glimpse
of the true Glory. But a chaste and modest Mind may prevail so far as to
have the Soul in its noble Image, which died in Adam, quickened in the Heavenly
Corporality as to the inward Ground, and the precious Garland set upon it.
Yet if this should come to pass, It is taken off again from the Soul, and
laid by, as a Crown useth to be, after a King is once crowned with it; it
is then laid by and kept. So it cometh to pass also with the Heavenly Garland
or Gift. It is taken from the Soul again, because the Soul is yet encompassed
with the House of Sin; so that if it should unhappily fall again, its Crown
might not be defiled. This is spoken plainly enough for the Children that
know and have tried these Things: None of the Wicked are worthy to know
more about them.
The Process, or WAY
A Man must bring a serious Mind to this Work. He must come before God with
sincere Earnestness, deep Humility, and hearty Sorrow for his Sins, and
with a deliberate and firm Resolution, not to enter any more into the old
broad Way of Vanity. And though the whole World should account him a Fool,
and he should lose both Honor and Goods, nay, and the temporal Life also,
for the Sake of his new Choice, yet he must resolve firmly to abide by it.
If ever he will obtain the Love and Marriage of the noble Sophia, he must
make such a Vow as this in his Purpose and Mind. For Christ Himself saith,
He that forsaketh not Wife and Children, Brethren and Sisters, Money and
Goods, and all that he hath, and even his earthly Life also, to follow Me,
is not worthy of Me. Here Christ meaneth the Mind of the Soul, so that if
there were any Thing that would keep the Mind back from It, though it should
have never so fair and glorious a Pretence or Show in this World, the Mind
must not regard it at all, but rather part with it than with the Love of
the noble Virgin Sophia, in the Bud and Blossom of Christ, in His tender
Humanity in us as to the Heavenly Corporality. For this is the Flower in
Sharon, the Rose in the Valley of Jericho, wherewith Solomon delighted himself,
and termed it his dear Love, his chaste Virgin which he loved; as indeed
all other Saints before and after him did; whosoever obtained Her, called
Her his Pearl.
After what Manner to pray for It, you may see by this short Direction following.
The Work itself must be committed to the Holy Ghost; He formeth and frameth
the Prayer for the Soul, in every Heart wherein He is sought.
The P R A Y E R
I, a poor unworthy Creature, come before Thee, O Great and Holy God and
lift up mine eyes to Thee. Though I am not worthy, yet Thy great Mercy,
and Thy faithful Promise in the Word, have now encouraged me to lift the
Eyes of the Desire of my Soul up to Thee. For my Soul hath now laid hold
on the Word of Thy Promise, and received It into itself, and therewith cometh
to Thee. And though it is but a strange Child which was disobedient unto
Thee, yet now it desireth to be obedient; and doth now infold itself with
its Desire into that Word which became Man, which became Flesh and Blood,
and hath broken Sin and Death in my Humanity. Which hath changed the Anger
of God into Love unto the Soul, hath deprived Death of his Power, and Hell
of its Victory over Soul and Body; and hath opened a Gate for my Soul to
the clear Face of Thy Strength and Power.
O Great and
Most Holy God, I have brought the Hunger and Desire of my Soul into this
most Holy Word, and now I come before Thee, and in my Hunger call unto Thee,
Thou living Fountain, through Thy Word which became Flesh and Blood. Thy
Word being made the Life in our Flesh, I receive It firmly into the Desire
of my Soul as my own Life; and I pierce into Thee with the Desire of my
Soul through the Word in the Flesh of Christ; through His holy Conception
in the Virgin Mary, His Incarnation, His holy Nativity, His Baptism in the
Jordan, His Temptation in the Wilderness - where He overcame the Kingdom
of the Devil and this World in the Humanity. Through all His Miracles, which
He did on Earth; through His Reproach and Ignominy, His innocent Death and
Passion, the Shedding of His Blood, wherein God's Anger in Soul and Flesh
was drowned. Through His Rest in the Sepulchre, when He awaked our Father
Adam out of his Sleep, who was fallen into a dead Sleep as to the Kingdom
of Heaven. Through His Love, which pierced through the Anger and destroyed
Hell in the Soul. Through His Resurrection from the Dead, His Ascension,
the Sending of the Holy Spirit into our Soul and Spirit, and through all
His Promises; one of which is, that Thou, O God the Father, wilt give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask It, in the Name and through the Word which
became Man.
O Thou Life of my Flesh and of my Soul in Christ my Brother, I beseech Thee
in the Hunger of my Soul, and entreat Thee with all my Powers, though they
be weak, to give me what Thou hast promised me, and freely bestow upon me
in my Saviour Jesus Christ, His Flesh for Food, and His Blood for Drink,
to refresh my poor hungry Soul, that it may be quickened and strengthened
in the Word which became Man, by which it may long and hunger after Thee
aright.
O Thou deepest Love in the most Sweet Name JESUS, give Thyself into the
Desire of my Soul. For therefore Thou hast moved Thyself, and according
to Thy great Sweetness manifested Thyself in the Human Nature, and called
us to Thee, us that hunger and thirst after Thee, and hast promised us that
Thou wilt refresh us. I now open the lips of my Soul to Thee, O Thou Sweet
Truth, and though I am not worthy to desire it of Thy Holiness, yet I come
to Thee through Thy bitter Passion and Death; Thou having sprinkled my Uncleanness
with Thy Blood, and sanctified me in Thy Humanity, and made an open Gate
for me through Thy Death, to Thy Sweet Love in Thy Blood. Through Thy five
holy Wounds, from which Thou didst shed Thy Blood, I bring the Desire of
my Soul into Thy Love.
O Jesus Christ, thou Son of God and Man, I pray Thee receive into Thyself
Thy purchased Inheritance, which Thy Father hath given Thee. I cry within
me, that I may enter through Thy Holy Blood and Death into Thee. Open Thyself
in me, that the Spirit of my Soul may reach Thee, and receive Thee into
it. Lay hold on my Thirst in me with Thy Thirst; bring Thy Thirst after
us Men, which Thou hadst upon the Cross, into my Thirst, and give me Thy
Blood to drink in my Thirst. That my Death in me which holdeth me captive,
may be drowned in the Blood of Thy Love, and that my extinguished or suppressed
Image, which as to the Kingdom of Heaven disappeared in my Father Adam through
Sin, may be made alive through Thy powerful Blood, and my Soul clothed with
It again as with the new Body which dwelleth in Heaven. In which Image Thy
Holy Power and Word that became Man dwelleth, which is the Temple of the
Holy Spirit, Who dwelleth in us according to Thy Promise, saying We will
come to you and make Our Abode with you.
O Thou Great Love of Jesus Christ, I can do no more than sink my Desire
into Thee; Thy Word which became Man, is Truth; since Thou hast bidden me
come, now I come. Be it unto me according to Thy Word and Will. Amen.
A Warning to the Reader
Beloved Reader, out of Love to thee, I will not conceal from thee what is
here earnestly signified to me. If thou lovest the Vanity of the Flesh still,
and art not in an earnest Purpose on the WAY to the new Birth or Regeneration,
intending to become a New Man, then leave the above-written Words un-named;
else they will turn to a Judgement of God in thee. Thou must not take the
Holy Names in vain, thou art faithfully warned: They belong to the thirsty
Soul. But if thy Soul be in earnest, it shall find by Experience what Words
they are.
A Direction how the Soul must meet its Beloved, when She knocketh in
its Center, or Shut-Inner-Chamber
Beloved Soul, if thou wilt be earnest without Intermission, thou shalt certainly
obtain the Favor of a Kiss from the Noble Sophia (or Divine Wisdom) in the
Holy Name JESUS; for She standeth ever before the Door of the Soul, knocking,
and warning the Sinner of his wicked Way. Now if it once thus desireth Her
Love, She is ready for it and kisseth it with the Beams of Her Sweet Love,
from whence the Heart receiveth Joy. But She doth not presently lay Herself
in the Marriage-Bed with the Soul, that is, She doth not presently awaken
the extinguished Heavenly Image in Herself, which disappeared in Adam in
Paradise. No, there might be Danger to Man in that; for if Adam and Lucifer
fell, having it manifested in them, the same may easily happen to Man, who
is still so strongly enthralled in Vanity.
The Bond of thy Promise must be firm and steadfast. Before She will crown
thee, thou must be tempted and tried: She taketh the Beams of Her Love from
thee again, to see whether thou wilt prove faithful; also She letteth thee
stand as it were aloof, and answereth thee not so much as with one Look
of Her Love. For before She will crown thee, thou must be judged, that thou
mayest taste the bitter Potion of Dregs, which thou hast filled for thyself
in thine Abominations. Thou must come before the Gates of Hell first, and
there show forth thy Victory for Her in Her Love, in that Strength wherewith
She upheld thee in Opposition to the Devil's malign influence.
Christ was tempted in the Wilderness; and if thou wilt put on Him, thou
must go through His whole Progress or Journey, even from His Incarnation
to His Ascension. And though thou art not able, nor required to do that
which He hath done; yet thou must enter wholly into His Process, and therein
die continually from the Corruption of the Soul. For the Virgin Sophia espouseth
not Herself to the Soul, except in this Property, which springeth up in
the Soul through the Death of Christ, as a new Plant standing in Heaven.
The earthly Body cannot comprehend Her in this Life-time, for it must first
die from the corruptible Vanity; but the Heavenly Image which disappeared
in Adam, viz. the true Seed of the Woman, wherein God became Man, and into
which He brought His living Seed, the Heavenly Substantiality, is capable
of the Pearl, after the Manner wherein it came to pass in Mary, in the End
or Fulfilling of the Covenant.
Therefore take heed what thou doest. When thou hast made thy Promise, keep
it, and then She will crown thee more readily than thou wouldst be crowned.
But thou must be sure when the Tempter cometh to thee with the Pleasure,
Beauty, and Glory of the World, that thy Mind reject it, and say, I must
be a Servant and not a Master in the Vineyard of Christ; I am but a Steward
of God in and over all that I have, and I must do with it as His Word teacheth
me; my Heart must sit down with the simple and lowly, in the Dust, and be
always humble. Whatsoever State and Condition thou art in, Humility must
be in the Front, or else thou wilt not obtain the Noble Virgin in Marriage.
The Free Will of thy Soul must stand the Brunt as a Champion; for if the
Devil cannot prevail against the Soul with Vanity, nor catch it with that
Bait, then he cometh with its Unworthiness and Catalogue of Sins. And there
thou must fight hard, and the Merits of Christ must be set in the Front,
or else the Creature cannot prevail against the Devil. For in this Conflict
it goeth so terribly with many a poor Sinner, that outward Reason thinketh
him to be distracted, or possessed by an evil Spirit. The Devil defendeth
himself so horribly in some, especially if he hath had a great Fort of Prey
in them, that he must be stoutly assaulted before he will depart and leave
his Castle. In this kind of Combat, Heaven and Hell are fighting one against
the other.
Now if the Soul continue constant, and getteth the Victory over the Devil
in all his Assaults, disesteeming all temporal Things for the Love of its
Noble Sophia, then the precious Garland will be set upon it for a Token
or Ensign of Victory.
Here the Virgin, (which manifesteth Herself in the dear Name of JESUS CHRIST,
the Treader upon the Serpent, God's Anointed) cometh to the Soul, and kisseth
it with Her Sweetest Love in the Essence most inwardly, and impresseth Her
Love into its Desire for a Token of Victory. And here Adam in his Heavenly
Part riseth again from Death in Christ. Of which I cannot write; for there
is no Pen in this World that can express it: It is the Wedding of the Lamb
where the Noble Pearl is sown with very great Triumph; though in the beginning
it be small as a Grain of Mustard-Seed, as Christ saith.
Now when the Wedding is over, the Soul must take heed that this Pearl-Tree,
or Tree of Faith spring and grow, as it hath promised the Virgin; for then
the Devil will presently come with his furious Storm, the ungodly People,
who will scoff at, contemn, and cry down this WAY for Madness; and then
a Man must enter into the Process of Christ, under his Cross. Here it will
appear indeed and in Truth, what Sort of a Christian he is. For he must
suffer himself to be proclaimed a Fool and ungodly Wretch; nay, his greatest
Friends, who favored him, or flattered him in the Lusts of the Flesh, will
now be his Enemies, and though they know not why, will hate him. Thus it
is that Christ hideth his Bride wholly under the Cross, that she may not
be known in this World: The Devil also striveth that these Children may
be hidden from the World, lest haply many such Branches should grow in the
Garden which he supposeth to be his.
This I have set down for the Information of the Christian-minded Reader,
that he may know what to do, if the same should befall him.
A very earnest Prayer in Temptation
Against God's Anger in the Conscience; and also against Flesh and Blood,
when the Temptation cometh to the Soul, and wrestleth with it.
Most Deep Love of God in Christ Jesus, leave me not in this Distress. I
confess I am guilty of the Sins which now rise up in my Mind and Conscience;
and if Thou forsake me, I must perish. But hast Thou not promised me in
Thy Word, saying, If a Mother could forget her Child, which can hardly be,
yet Thou wilt not forget me? Thou hast set me as a Sign in Thine Hands,
which were pierced through with sharp Nails, and in Thy open Side whence
Blood and Water gushed out. Poor Wretch that I am! I am caught in Thy Anger,
and can in my Ability do nothing before Thee; I sink myself down into Thy
Wounds and Death.
O Great Mercy of God, I beseech Thee, deliver me from the Bonds of Satan.
I have no Refuge in any Thing, but only in Thy Holy Wounds and Death! Into
Thee I sink down in the Anguish of my Conscience; do with me what Thou wilt.
In Thee I will now live or die, as pleaseth Thee; let me but die and perish
in Thy Death; do but bury me into Thy Death, that the Anguish of Hell may
not touch me. How can I excuse myself before Thee, that knoweth my Heart
and Reins, and settest my Sins before mine Eyes? I am guilty of them, and
yield myself unto Thy Judgement; accomplish Thy Judgement upon me, through
the Death of my Redeemer Jesus Christ.
I fly unto Thee, Thou Righteous Judge, through the Anguish of my redeemer
Jesus Christ, when He did sweat the bloody Sweat on the Mount of Olives
for my Sake, and was scourged by Pontius Pilate for me, and suffered a Crown
of Thorns to be pressed upon His Head, so that His Blood came forth.
O Righteous God, hast Thou not set Him in my Stead? He was innocent, but
I guilty, for whom He suffered, wherefore should I despair under Thy Wrath?
O blot out Thy Anger in me through His Anguish, Passion and Death; I give
myself wholly into His Anguish, Passion and Death; I will stand still in
His Anguish and Passion before Thee; do with me what Thou pleasest, only
let me not depart from His Anguish. Thou hast freely given me His Anguish,
and drowned Thy Wrath in Him: And though I have not accepted it, but am
departed from Him and become faithless, yet Thou hast given me this precious
Pledge in my Flesh and Blood. For He hath taken my Flesh and Soul upon His
heavenly Flesh and Blood, and hath satisfied the Anger in my Flesh and Soul
in Him, with His Heavenly Blood. Therefore receive me now in His Satisfaction,
and put His Anguish, Passion and Death in Thy Wrath, which is kindled in
me, and break Thy Judgement in me in the Blood of His Love.
O Great Love! in the Blood and Death of Jesus Christ, I beseech Thee, break
the strong Fort of Prey which the Devil hath made and built up in me, where
he resisteth me in the WAY of Thy Grace. Drive him out of me, that he may
not overcome me; for no one living can stand in Thy Sight, if Thou withdraw
Thy Hand from him.
O come, Thou Breaker-Through the Anger of God, destroy its Power, and help
my poor Soul to fight and overcome it. O bring me into Victory, and uphold
me in Thee; break in pieces its Seat in my Vanity, that is kindled in my
Soul and Flesh. O mortify the Desire of my Vanity in Flesh and Blood, which
the Devil hath now kindled by his false Desire, by hellish Anguish and Desperation.
O quench it with Thy Water of Eternal Life, and bring my Anguish forth through
Thy Death, I wholly sink myself down into Thee; and though Soul and Body
should this hour faint and perish in Thy Wrath, yet I will not let Thee
go. Though my Heart saith utterly, No, no, yet the Desire of my Soul shall
hold fast on Thy Truth, which neither Death nor the Devil shall take away
from me; for the Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanseth us from
all our Sins. This I lay hold on, and let the Anger of God do what It will
with my Sin, and let the Devil roar over my Soul in his Fort of Prey which
he hath made, as much as he will: Neither the Devil, Death, nor Hell shall
pull me out of my Saviour's Wounds. Thou must at length be confounded in
me, thou malicious Devil, and thy Fort of Prey must be forsaken, for I will
drown it in the Love of Jesus Christ, and then dwell in it if thou canst.
Amen.
An Information in Temptation
Beloved Reader, this is no jesting Matter; he that accounteth it so, hath
not tried it, neither hath he yet passed the Judgement; but his Conscience
is still asleep; and though it should be deferred to his latter Days, which
is very dangerous, yet he must pass through this Judgement or fiery Trial.
Happy is he that passeth through it in the Time of his Youth, before the
Devil buildeth his Fort of Prey strong; he may afterwards prove a Labourer
in the heavenly Vineyard, and sow his Seed in the Garden of Christ; where
he shall reap the Fruit in due Time. This Judgement continueth a long while
upon many a poor Soul; several Years, if he doth not earnestly and early
put on the Armour of Christ, but stayeth till the Judgement of Tribulation
first drive him to Repentance. But to him that cometh by himself, of his
own earnest Purpose, and endeavoreth to depart from his evil Ways, the Temptation
or Trial will not be so hard, neither will it continue so long. Yet he must
stand out valiantly, till Victory be gotten over the Devil; for he shall
be mightily assisted, and all shall end in the best for him; so that afterwards
when the Day breaketh in his Soul, he turneth it to the great Praise and
Glory of God, that his grand Enemy and Persecutor was overcome in the Conflict.
SHORT PRAYERS
When the Noble Sophia (or Eternal Wisdom) kisseth the Soul with Her Love,
and offereth Her Love to it
O Most Gracious and Deep Love of God in Christ Jesus! I beseech Thee grant
me Thy Pearl, impress It into my Soul, and take my Soul into Thy Arms.
O Thou Sweet Love! I confess I am unclean before Thee. Take away my Uncleanness
through Thy Death, and carry the Hunger and Thirst of my Soul through Thy
Death in Thy Resurrection, in Thy Triumph! Cast my whole SELF-hood down
to the Ground in Thy Death; take it captive, and carry my Hunger through
in Thy Hunger.
O Highest Love! Hast Thou not appeared in me? Stay in me, and inclose me
in Thee. Keep me in Thee, so that I may not be able to depart from Thee.
Fill my Hunger with Thy Love; feed my Soul with Thy Heavenly Substance;
give it Thy Blood to drink, and water it with Thy Fountain.
O Great Love! Awaken my disappeared Image in me, which, as to the Kingdom
of Heaven disappeared in my Father Adam. By the Word, which awakened the
same Image in the Seed of the Woman in Mary; quicken It, I beseech Thee.
O Thou Life and Power of the Deity, Who hast promised us, saying, We will
come to you, and make Our Abode in you. O Sweet Love! I bring my Desire
into this Word of Thy Promise. Thou hast promised also, that Thy Father
will give the Holy Spirit to those that ask Him for It; therefore I now
bring the Desire of my Soul into that Thy Promise, and I receive Thy Word
into my Hunger. Increase Thou in me my Hunger after Thee. Strengthen me,
O sweet Love, in Thy Strength: Quicken me in Thee, that my Spirit may taste
Thy Sweetness. O do thou believe by Thy Power in me, for without Thee I
can do nothing.
O Sweet Love! I beseech Thee through that Love wherewith Thou didst overcome
the Anger of God, and didst change it into Love and Divine Joy; I pray Thee
also change the Anger in my Soul by that same great Love, that I may become
obedient unto Thee, and that my Soul may love Thee therein forever. O change
my Will into Thy Will; bring Thy Obedience into my Disobedience, that I
may become obedient unto Thee.
O Great Love of Jesus Christ, I humbly fly to Thee; bring the Hunger of
my Soul into Thy Wounds, from whence Thou didst shed Thy Holy Blood, and
didst quench the Anger with Love. I bring my Hunger into Thy open Side,
from whence came forth Water and Blood, and throw myself wholly into It;
be Thou mine, and quicken me in Thy Life, and let me not depart from Thee.
O my Noble Vine, I beseech Thee give Sap to me Thy Branch; that I may bud
and grow in Thy Strength and Sap, in Thy Essence; beget in me true Strength
by Thy Strength.
O Sweet Love, art Thou not my Light? Enlighten Thou my poor Soul in its
close Prison in Flesh and Blood. Bring it into the Right WAY. Destroy the
Will of the Devil, and bring my Body through the whole Course of this World,
through the Chamber of Death into Thy Death and Rest; that at the Last Day
it may arise in Thee from Thy Death, and live in Thee forever. O teach me
what I must do in Thee; I beseech Thee be Thou my Willing, Knowing, and
Doing; and let me go no whither without Thee. I yield myself wholly up to
Thee. Amen.
A PRAYER - For obtaining the Divine Working, Protection, and Government;
showing also how the Mind should work with and in God, in Christ the Tree
of Life
O Thou living Fountain, in Thee I lift up the Desire of my Soul, and cry
with my Desire to enter through the Life of my Saviour Jesus Christ into
Thee.
O Thou Life and Power of God, awaken Thyself in the Hunger of my Soul with
Thy Desire of Love, through the Thirst which Jesus Christ had upon the Cross
after us Men, and carry my weak Strength through by Thy mighty Hand in Thy
Spirit; be Thou the Working and Will in me with Thine own Strength. Blossom
in the Strength of Jesus Christ in me, that I may bring forth Praise unto
Thee, the true Fruit of Thy Kingdom. O let my Heart and Desire never depart
from Thee more.
But I swim in Vanity in this Valley of Misery, in this outward earthly Flesh
and Blood; and my Soul and Noble Image, which is according to Thy Similitude,
is encompassed with Enemies on every Side; with the Desire of the Devil
against me, with the Desire of Vanity in Flesh and Blood; also with all
the Opposition of wicked Men who know not Thy Name. And I swim with my outward
Life in the Properties of the Stars and Elements, having my Enemies lying
in wait for me everywhere, inwardly and outwardly, together with Death the
Destroyer of this vain Life. I fly therefore to Thee, O Holy Strength of
God, seeing Thou hast manifested Thyself with Thy loving Mercy in our Humanity,
through Thy Holy Name JESUS, and hast also given It to be a Companion and
Guide in us. I beseech Thee let His Angels that minister to Him, attend
upon the Souls of me and mine, and encamp themselves about us, and defend
us from the fiery Darts of the Desire of that wicked One, which he shooteth
into us daily by the Curse of the Anger of God which is awakened in our
earthly Flesh. Keep back by Thy Divine Strength the malignant Influence
of the Stars in their Opposition, wherein the wicked Enemy of Mankind mingleth
himself with his Desire and Imagination, in order to poison us in Soul and
Flesh, and to bring us into false and evil Desires, as also into Infirmity
and Misery. Turn away these evil Influences by Thy Holy Power Jesus, from
our Souls and Spirits, that they may not touch us; and let Thy Good and
Holy Angels stand by us to turn away their noxious Effects from our Bodies.
O Great Love and Sweet Strength JESU, Thou Fountain of Divine Sweetness,
flowing out of the great Eternal Name JEHOVAH, I cry with the Desire of
my Soul to come into Thee. My Soul cryeth to come into that Spirit, from
Which it was breathed into the Body, and Which hath formed it in the Likeness
of God. It desireth in its Thirst to get the Sweet Fountain which springeth
from JEHOVAH into itself, to refresh God's Breath of Fire, which itself
is, that so the Sweet Love of JESUS may rise in its Breath of Fire, through
the Fountain JESUS springing out of JEHOVAH; that CHRIST the Holy One may
be manifested, and become Man in my disappeared Image of Heavenly Spiritual
Corporality, and that my poor Soul may receive its beloved Bride again into
its Arms, with whom it may rejoice forever.
O IMMANUEL! thou Wedding-Chamber, God and Man, I yield myself up into the
Arms of Thy Desire towards us, in us; it is Thyself whom I desire. O blot
out the Anger of Thy Father with Thy Love in me, and manifest Thy Strength
in my Weakness, that I may overcome and tame the Evil of Flesh and Blood,
and serve Thee in Holiness and Righteousness.
O Thou Great and Most Holy Name and Majesty of God, JEHOVAH, Which hast
stirred Thyself with Thy Most Sweet Power JESUS, in the Limit of the covenanted
Promise to our Father Adam, in the Woman's Seed; in the Virgin Mary, in
our disappeared Heavenly Humanity, and brought the living Essentiality of
Thy Holy Power in the Virgin Wisdom of God into our Humanity, which was
extinguished as to Thee; and hast given It to us, to be our Life, Regeneration,
and Victory; I entreat Thee with all my Strength, beget a new Holy Life
in me, by Thy Sweet Power JESUS, that I may be in Thee and Thou in me; that
so Thy Kingdom may be made manifest in me, and the Will and Conversation
of my Soul may be in Heaven.
O Great and Incomprehensible God, thou who fillest all Things, be Thou my
Heaven in which my new Birth of Christ Jesus may dwell: Let my Spirit be
the stringed Instrument, Harmony, Sound and Joy of Thy Holy Spirit. Strike
the Strings in me in Thy Regenerate Image, and carry through my Harmony
into Thy Divine Kingdom of Joy, in the Great Love of God, in the Wonders
of Thy Glory and Majesty, in the Communion of the Holy Angelical Harmony.
Build up the Holy City Zion in me, in which as Children of Christ we all
live together in one City, which is Christ in us. Into Thee I wholly plunge
myself; do with me what Thou pleasest. Amen.
A PRAYER
- To be used by a Soul in Tribulation under the Cross of Christ, when
it is assaulted by its outward Enemies, who persecute and hate it for being
in the Spirit of Christ, and slander and reproach it as an Evil-Doer.
Poor Man that I am! I walk full of Anguish and Trouble in my Return towards
my Native Country, from whence I wandered in Adam, and am going back again
through the Thistles and Thorns of this troublesome World. O God my Father,
the Briars tear me on every Side, and I am afflicted and despised by my
Enemies. They scorn my Soul, and revile it as an Evil-Doer, who hath broken
Faith with them; they deride my walking towards Thee, and account it foolish.
They think I am senseless, because I walk in this straight and thorny Path,
and go not along with them in their hypocritical broad Way.
O Lord JESUS CHRIST, I fly to Thee under the Cross; O dear Immanuel receive
me, and carry me into Thyself through the Path of Thy Pilgrimage, in which
Thou didst walk in this World, namely through Thy Incarnation, Poverty,
Reproach, and Scorn; also through Thy Anguish, Passion, and Death. Make
me conformable unto Thy Example; send Thy good Angel along with me, to show
me the WAY through the horrible thorny Wilderness of this World. Assist
me in my Misery; comfort me with that Comfort wherewith the Angel comforted
Thee in the Garden, when Thou didst pray to Thy Father, and didst sweat
great Drops of Blood. Support me in my Anguish and Persecution, under the
Reproach of the Devils, and all wicked Men, who know not Thee, and refuse
to walk in Thy Paths. O great Love of God, they know not Thy Way, and do
this in Blindness, through the Deceit of the Devil. Have Pity on them, and
bring them out of their Darkness into Thy Light, that they may learn to
know themselves, and how they lie Captive in the Filth and Mire of the Devil,
in a dark Dungeon fast bound with three Chains. O Great God have Mercy upon
Adam and his Children, redeem them in Christ, the new Adam.
I fly to Thee, O Christ, God and Man, in this Pilgrimage and Journey which
I must take through this dark Valley, despised and troubled on all Sides,
and accounted an ungodly wicked Man. O Lord, it is Thy Judgement upon me,
that my Sins and inbred Corruption may be judged in this earthly Pilgrimage
before Thee; and I, as a Curse, be made an open Spectacle on which Thy Anger
may satiate itself, and thereby may take the eternal Reproach away from
me. It is the Token of Thy Love, by which Thou bringest me into the Reproach,
Anguish, Suffering, and Death of my Saviour Jesus Christ, that so I may
die from Vanity and spring up in His Spirit with a new Life, through His
Reproach, Ignominy, and Death.
I beseech Thee, O Christ, Thou patient Lamb of God, grant me Patience in
this my WAY of the Cross, through all Thy Anguish and Reproach, thy Death
and Passion, Thy Scorn and Contempt upon the Cross, where Thou was despised
in my Stead; and bring me therein as a patient Lamb to Thee, into Thy Victory.
Let me live with Thee in Thee; and do Thou convert my Persecutors, who (unknown
to themselves) by their Reproaching sacrifice my Vanity and inbred Sins
before Thy Anger. They know not what they do; they think they do me Harm,
but they do me Good! They do that for me which I should do myself before
Thee; for I should daily lay open and acknowledge my Shame and Vileness
before Thee; and thereby sink myself down into the Death of Thy beloved
Son, that my Shame might die in His Death; but I being too negligent, weary,
faint, and feeble, therefore Thou usest these mine Enemies in Thine Anger,
to open and discover my Vileness before Thee, which Thy Wrath taketh hold
of, and sinketh it down into the Death of my Saviour.
O merciful God, my vain Flesh cannot know how well Thou intendest towards
me, when Thou sufferest mine Enemies to take my Vileness from me, and sacrifice
it before Thee. My earthly Mind supposeth that Thou afflictest me for my
Sins, and I am extremely perplexed at it; but Thy Spirit, in my inward new
Man, telleth me that it is of Thy Love towards me, and that Thou intendest
Good to me by it. When Thou sufferest my Enemies to persecute me, it is
best for me that they perform the Work in my Stead, and unfold my Sins before
Thee in Thy Anger, that it may swallow up the Guilt of them, so that they
may not follow me into my Native Country; for mine Enemies are strong and
mighty still in Thy Anger, and therefore can do it better than I that am
feeble and fainting already in the Will of Vanity. This Thou knowest full
well, O Thou Righteous God.
I beseech Thee therefore, O Righteous God, since Thou usest them as Friends
to me, to do so good an Office for me, though my earthly Reason knoweth
it not, that Thou wouldst make them also to understand and follow my Course,
and send them such Friends in turn; but first bring them to the Light, that
they may know Thee, and give Thee Thanks.
O Merciful God in Christ Jesus, I beseech Thee out of Thy deep Love towards
us poor Men, which Thou hast manifested in me in the hidden Man, call us
all in Thee, to Thee. O stir Thyself in us yet once again in this last Trouble;
Thy Anger being kindled in us, do Thou resist it, lest it swallow us up
wholly both Soul and Body.
O thou Dawning of the Day-Spring of God, break forth to the Full! Art Thou
not already risen? Manifest Thy Holy City Zion, Thy Holy Jerusalem, in us.
O Great God! I see Thee in the Depth of Thy Power and Strength. Awaken me
wholly in Thee, that I may be quickened in Thee. Break off the Tree of Thy
Anger in us, and let Thy Love spring forth and bud in us.
O Lord, I lie down in Thy Sight, and beseech Thee not to rebuke us in Thine
Anger. Are we not Thy Possession which thou hast purchased? Forgive all
of us our Sins, and deliver us from the Evil of Thy Wrath, and from the
Malice and Envy of the Devil; and bring us under Thy Cross in Patience into
Paradise again. Amen.
Here followeth a Prayer or Dialogue between the poor Soul and the Noble
Virgin Sophia, in the inward Ground of Man, viz. between the Soul and the
Spirit of Christ in the New Birth, out of His Humanity in us; showing how
great a Joy there is in the Heaven of the New regenerate Man; and how lovingly
and graciously the Noble Sophia presenteth Herself to Her Bridegroom, the
Soul, when it entereth into Repentance, and how the Soul behaveth itself
towards Her, when She appeareth to it.
The Gates of the Paradisical Garden of Roses
This is understood by none but the Children of Christ, who have known it
by Experience.
WHEN Christ the Corner-Stone stirreth Himself in the extinguished Image
of Man, in his hearty Conversion and Repentance, then Virgin Sophia appeareth
in the Stirring of the Spirit of Christ in the extinguished Image, in Her
Virgin's Attire before the Soul; at which the Soul is so amazed and astonished
in its Uncleanness, that all its Sins immediately awake in it, and it trembleth
before Her; for then the Judgement passeth upon the Sins of the Soul, so
that it even goeth back in its Unworthiness, being ashamed in the Presence
of its fair Love, and entereth into itself, feeling and acknowledging itself
utterly unworthy to receive such a Jewel. This is understood by those who
are of our Tribe, and have tasted of this Heavenly Gift, and by none else.
But the Noble Sophia draweth near in the Essence of the Soul, and kisseth
it in friendly Manner, and tinctureth its dark Fire with Her Rays of Love,
and shineth through it with Her bright and powerful Influence. Penetrated
with the strong Sense and Feeling of Which, the Soul skippeth in its Body
for great Joy, and in the Strength of this Virgin Love exulteth, and praiseth
the Great God for His blessed Gift of Grace.
I will set down here a short Description how it is when the Bride thus embraceth
the Bridegroom, for the Consideration of the Reader, who perhaps hath not
yet been in this Wedding-Chamber. It may be that he will be desirous to
follow us, and to enter into the Inner Choir, where the Soul joineth Hands
and danceth with Sophia, or the Divine Wisdom.
I.
When that which is mentioned above cometh to pass, the Soul rejoiceth
in its Body, and saith,
PRAISE, Thanksgiving, Strength, Honor, and Glory, be to Thee, O great God,
in Thy Power and Sweetness, for that Thou hast redeemed me from the Anguish
of the fiery Driver. O Thou Fair Love! My heart embraceth Thee; where hast
Thou been so long? I thought I was in Hell in the Anger of God. O Gracious
Love! Abide with me, I beseech Thee, and be my Joy and Comfort. Lead me
in the right WAY. I give myself up into Thy Love. I am dark before Thee,
do Thou enlighten me. O Noble Love, give me Thy Sweet Pearl; put it I pray
Thee into me.
O Great God in Christ Jesus, I praise and magnify Thee now in Thy Truth,
in Thy Great Power and Glory, for that Thou hast forgiven me my Sins, and
filled me with Thy Strength. I shout for Joy before Thee in my new Life,
and extol Thee in Thy Firmament of Heaven, which none can open but Thy Spirit
in Thy Mercy. My Bones rejoice in Thy Strength, and my Heart delighteth
itself in Thy Love. Thanks be to Thee forever, for that Thou has delivered
me out of Hell, and turned Death into Life in me. O Sweet Love! Let me not
depart from Thee again. Grant me Thy Garland of Pearl, and abide in me.
O be my own proper Possession, that I may rejoice in Thee forever.
Upon this, the Virgin Sophia saith to the Soul,
MY nobel Bridegroom, my Strength and Power, thou art a thousand Times welcome.
Why hast thou forgotten Me so long, that I have been constrained in great
Grief to stand without the Door and knock? Have I not always called thee
and entreated thee? But thou hast turned away thy Countenance from Me, and
thine Ears have declined My Entreaties. Thou couldst not see My Light, for
thou didst walk in the Valley of Darkness. I was very near thee, and entreated
thee continually, but thy Sinfulness held thee Captive in Death, so that
thou knewest Me not. I came to thee in great Humility, and called thee,
but thou wert rich in the Power of the Anger of God, and didst not regard
My Humility and Lowliness. Thou hast taken the Devil to be thy Paramour,
who hath defiled thee thus, and built up his Fort of Prey in thee, and turned
thee quite away from My Love and Faith into his hypocritical Kingdom of
Falsehood; wherein thou hast committed much Sin and Wickedness, and torn
thy Will off from My Love. Thou hast broken the Bond of Wedlock, and set
thy Love and Affection upon a Stranger, and suffered Me thy Bride, whom
God did give thee, to stand alone in the extinguished Substance, without
the Power of thy fiery Strength. I could not be joyful without thy fiery
Strength, for thou art My Husband; My shining Brightness is made manifest
by thee. Thou canst manifest My hidden Wonders in thy fiery Life, and bring
them into Majesty; and yet without Me thou art but a dark House, wherein
is nothing but Anguish, Misery, and horrible Torment.
O noble Bridegroom, stand still with thy Countenance towards Me, and give
Me thy Rays of Fire. Bring thy Desire into Me, and enkindle Me thereby,
and then I will bring the Rays of My Love, from My Meekness into thy fiery
Essence, and be united with thee forever.
O My Bridegroom, how well am I, now that I am in Union with thee! O kiss
Me with thy Desire in thy Strength and Power, and then I will show thee
all My Beauty, and will rejoice and solace Myself with thy sweet Love and
shining Brightness in thy fiery Life. All the Holy Angels rejoice with us,
to see us united again. My dear Love, I now entreat thee to stay faithful
to Me, and do not turn thy Face away from Me any more. Work thou thy Wonders
in My Love, for which Purpose God hath created thee and brought thee into
Being.
II.
The Soul saith again to its Noble Sophia , its Love, that is born again
in it,
O my Noble Pearl, and opened Flame of Light in my anxious fiery Life, how
Thou changest me into Thy Joy! O Beautiful Love, I have broken my Faith
with Thee in my Father Adam, and with my fiery Strength have turned myself
to the Pleasure and Vanity of the outward World. I have fallen in Love with
a Stranger, and would have been constrained to walk in the Valley of Darkness
in this strange Love, if Thou hadst not come into the House of my Misery,
in Thy great Faithfulness, by Thy piercing through and destroying God's
Anger, Hell, and dark Death, and restoring Thy Meekness and Love to my fiery
Life.
O Sweet Love! Thou hast brought the Water of Eternal Life out of the Fountain
of God, with Thee into me, and refreshed me in my great Thirst. I behold
in Thee the Mercy of God, which was hidden from me before by the strange
Love. In Thee I can rejoice; Thou changest my Anguish of Fire into great
Joy in me. O amiable Love, give me Thy Pearl, that I may continue in this
Joy forever.
Upon this the Noble Sophia answereth the Soul again, and saith,
MY dear Love and faithful Treasure, thou highly rejoicest Me in thy Beginning.
I have indeed broken into thee through the deep Gates of God, through God's
Anger, through Hell and Death, into the House of thy Misery, and have graciously
bestowed My Love upon thee, and delivered thee from the Chains and Bonds
wherewith thou wert fast bound. I have kept My Faith with thee, even though
thou hast not kept thine with Me. But now thou desireth an exceeding great
Thing of Me, which I cannot willingly trust in thy Hands. Thou wouldest
have My Pearl as thy proper own. Remember, I pray, O My beloved Bridegroom,
that thou didst carelessly lose it before in Adam; and thou thyself standest
yet in great Danger, and walkest in two dangerous Kingdoms; for in thy original
Fire thou walkest in that Country wherein God calleth Himself a strong jealous
God, and a consuming Fire. The other Kingdom which thou walkest in, is the
outward World, wherein thou dwellest in the vain corrupt Flesh and Blood,
and where the Pleasures of the World and Assaults of the Devil beset thee
every Hour. Thou mayest perhaps in thy great Joy bring Earthliness again
into My Beauty, and thereby darken My Pearl; or thou mayest possibly grow
proud, as Lucifer did, when he had the Pearl in his Possession, and so turn
thyself away from the Harmony of God, as he did, and then I must be deprived
of My Love forever afterwards.
No. I will keep My Pearl in Myself, and dwell in the Heaven in thee, in
thy extinguished, but now in Me, revived, Humanity, and reserve My Pearl
for Paradise, until thou puttest away this Earthliness from thee, and then
I will give it to thee to possess. But I will readily present to thee My
pleasant Countenance, and the sweet Rays of the Pearl, during the Time of
this Earthly Life. I will dwell with the Pearl Itself in the inner Choir,
and be thy faithful loving Bride. I cannot espouse Myself with thy earthly
Flesh, for I am a heavenly Queen, and My Kingdom is not of this World. Yet
I will not cast thy outward Life away, but refresh it often with My Rays
of Love; for thy outward Humanity shall return again. But I cannot admit
to My Embraces the Beast of Vanity, neither did God create It in Adam with
a Purpose to have It so gross and earthly. But in Adam thy Desire, through
the Power of its strong Lust, formed this beastial Grossness, from and with
all the Essences of the awakened Vanity of the earthly Property, wherein
Heat and Cold, Pain and Enmity, Division and Corruption subsist.
Now, My dear Love and Bridegroom, do but yield thyself up into My Will;
I will not forsake thee in this earthly Life in thy Danger. Though the Anger
of God should pass upon thee, so that thou shouldst grow affrighted and
disheartened, or shouldst think that I had deserted thee, yet I will be
with thee and preserve thee, for thou thyself knowest not what thine Office
is. Thou must work and bear Fruit in this Life's Time. Thou art the Root
of this Pearl-Tree; Branches must be produced out of thee, which must all
be brought forth in Anguish.
But I come forth together with thy Branches in their Sap, and produce Fruit
upon thy Boughs, and thou knowest it not; for the Most High hath ordered,
that I should dwell with and in thee.
Wrap thyself up therefore in Patience, and take Heed of the Pleasure of
the Flesh. Break the Will and Desire thereof; bridle it as an unruly Horse;
and then I will often visit thee in the fiery Essence, and give thee My
Kiss of Love. I will bring a Garland for thee out of Paradise with Me, as
a Token of My Affection, and put it upon thee, and thou shalt rejoice in
it. But I give thee not My Pearl for a Possession during this Life's Time.
Thou must continue in Resignation, and hearken what the Lord playeth on
His Instrument in thy Harmony in thee.
Moreover, thou must give Sound and Essence to thy Tune, out of My Strength
and Virtue, for thou art now a Messenger of His Word, and must set forth
His Praise and Glory. For this Cause it is that I have contracted Myself
a-new with thee, and set My triumphal Garland upon thee; which I have gotten
in the Battle against the Devil and Death. But the Crown of Pearl wherewith
I crowned thee, I have laid aside for thee. Thou must wear that no more
till thou art become pure in My Sight.
III.
The Soul saith further to the Noble Sophia,
O Thou Fair and Sweet Consort, what shall I say before Thee? Let me be wholly
committed unto Thee; I cannot preserve myself. If Thou wilt not give me
Thy Pearl, I submit to Thy Will; but give me Thy Rays of Love, and carry
me safely through my Pilgrimage. Do Thou awaken and bring forth what Thou
wilt in me; I will from henceforth be Thy own. I will or desire nothing
for myself, but what Thou Thyself wilt through me. I had fooled away Thy
Sweet Love, and broken my Faith with Thee, whereby I was fallen into the
Anger of God. But seeing that of Love Thou didst come to me into the Anguish
of Hell, and hast delivered me from Torment, and received me again for Thy
Consort, I will now therefore break my Will for Thy Love's Sake, and be
obedient unto Thee, and wait for Thy Love. I am satisfied now that I know
Thou art with me in all my Troubles, and wilt not forsake me.
O Gracious Love, I turn my fiery Countenance to Thee. O fair Crown, take
me quickly into Thee, and bring me forth from Unquietness. I will be Thine
forever, and never depart from Thee more.
The Noble Sophia answereth the Soul very comfortably, and saith,
MY noble Bridegroom, be of good Comfort. I have betrothed thee to Me in
My highest Love, and contracted Myself with thee in My Faithfulness. I will
be with thee and in thee always to the End of the World. I will come to
thee and make My Abode with thee, in thy inner Chamber. Thou shalt drink
of My Fountain; for now I am thine, and thou art Mine; the Enemy shall not
separate Us. Work thou in thy fiery Property, and I will put My Rays of
Love into thy Working. And so We will plant and manure the Vineyard of Jesus
Christ. Afford thou the Essence of Fire, and I will afford the Essence of
Light, and the Increase. Be thou the Fire, and I will be the Water, and
thus We will perform that in this World for which God hath appointed Us,
and serve Him in His Temple, which We ourselves are. Amen.
To The READER
BELOVED Reader, count not this an uncertain Fiction; it is the true Ground,
Sum and Substance of all the Holy Scriptures. For the Book of the Life of
Jesus Christ is plainly set forth therein, as the Author of a Certainty
knoweth; it being the WAY that he himself hath gone. He giveth thee the
best Jewel that he hath. God grant His Blessing with it. A heavy Sentence
and Judgement are gone forth against the Mocker of this. Be thou therefore
warned, that thou mayest avoid the Danger, and obtain the Benefit.
A MORNING PRAYER
Commending ourselves to God when we rise, before we suffer any other Thing
to enter into us.
BLESS me, O God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Thou only True God. I
thank Thee through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, for the Preservation
of me, and for all other Benefits. I now commend myself, both Soul and Body,
and all that Thou hast set me to do in my Employment and Calling, into Thy
Protection. Be Thou the Beginning of my Conceptions, my Undertakings, and
all my Doings. Work Thou so in me, that I may begin all Things to the Glory
of Thy Name, and accomplish them in Thy Love for the Good and Service of
my Neighbor. Send Thy holy Angel along with me, to turn the Temptations
of the Devil and corrupt Nature away from me. Preserve me from the Malice
of evil Men; make all my Enemies reconcilable to me, and bring my Mind into
Thy Vineyard, that I may labor in my Office and Employment, and behave as
Thy obedient Servant therein. Bless me, and all that I am to go about and
do this Day, with the Blessing of Thy Love and Mercy. Continue Thy Grace
and Love in Jesus Christ upon me, and give me a Mind cheerfully to follow
Thy Leading and execute Thine Appointment. Let Thy Holy Spirit guide me
in my Beginning, and my Progress, on to my Last End, and be the Willing,
Working, and Accomplishing of all in me. Amen.
AN EVENING PRAYER - When we have finished our daily Employment,
and are going to Rest
I LIFT my Heart to Thee, O God, Thou Fountain of Eternal Life, and give
Thee Thanks through Jesus Christ, Thy Beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour,
for having protected and preserved me this Day from all Mischief that might
have befallen me. I commend to Thy Disposal my Condition and Employment,
together with the Work of my Hands, and humbly repose them on Thee. So fill
my Soul with Thy Spirit, that neither the grand Enemy, the Devil, nor any
other evil Influence or Desire, may find Harbour therein. Let my Mind only
delight in Thee in Thy Temple, and let Thy good Angel stay with me, that
I may rest safely in Thy Power, and under Thy Protection. Amen.
Rev. 21, 6-7: I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will
give unto him that is athirst of the Fountain of the Water of Life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all Things, and I will be his God, and
he shall be My Son.