(62) Thus behold, thou false Oppresser of Christ, and Author of all Uproars, Mischief, and Disturbance upon Earth, how many ignorant silly People are there under this thy reproachful Blaspheming, which thou many Times causest to lay Aspersions upon a holy Soul? Behold, now if that persecuted Soul shall cry to God for Deliverance, then it all comes to be a Substance, 1 and an Essence before God. And now if those poor Souls many Times (which thus ignorantly have slandered a holy Soul) come before God, and would fain be saved, then if Christ now had not taken all these false Reproaches and Aspersions upon him, and reconciled his Father in himself with his Love, where would you poor Sinners abide? Therefore Christ commands us to forgive Or in Remembrance before God. [others,] as his Father in him has forgiven us; if we do not so, the same Measure that we meet to others, we shall have measured to us. The Gate of a poor Sinner.

(33) O thou confounded Babel, go out from Antichrist, and come (with a penitent Heart and Mind) before thy merciful Brother, and Saviour of all Men; he will more readily hear thee, than thou come to him. Step only out of this wicked Babel into a new Birth, and be not so much in Love with the Kingdom of this World; thou art but a mere Guest and Stranger in it. What avails thee, thy i transitory Honour [from Men,] which scarce lasts one Moment? Thou shalt indeed get much greater [surpassing] Joy and Honour in the new Regeneration, where the holy Souls in the Heaven, and the Angels will rejoice with thee. Consider what Joy and Gladness thou wilt stir up thereby in the Heart of Jesus Christ, where then instantly the precious Talent (the Holy Ghost) will be given thee, and thou wilt get the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, that thou thyself mayest open it. Or dost thou think it is not true? Do but seek and try with an earnest Mind, and thou wilt find Wonders indeed; thou thyself shalt know, [understand,] and (without any Doubt at all) assuredly see in thy Mind, out of what School this is wrote.

(79) Therefore, O thou beloved Mind! examine thyself to what thou art inclined; whether thou art inclined to Righteousness, Love, Fidelity, and Truth, also to Chastity, Modesty, and Mercifulness; if so, it is well for thee; but if not, then dive into thy Bosom, and consider thy fleshly Heart, and try it, wrap thy Heart, that the Elements in thee may quake and tremble. The flattering and lying Devil (who has possessed thy fleshly Heart) shall feel these 1 strokes (which he will not like) and then he Earnest Zeal of Repentence. must be gone, and thou will be of another Mind: This is no therefore it shall stand for a Memorial, and a continual Monitor; and whosoever pleases, let him try it, and he shall find Wonders indeed.

(15) Where is now thy Authority, thy Honour, thy Riches, thy Pomp and Bravery, thy Power, wherewith thou hast terrified the Needy, and hast made the Right bow and bend to thy Will? Behold, it is all in Substance, and stands before thee; the Oppressed read thy Lesson to thee; all that was rightly spoken [by thee] in this World, is there recalled again, and thou abidest (in thy Unrighteousness) in Falshood; all Lying and Deceit stand manifest in the Substance, all thy Words stand in the Tincture in the Substance of Eternity before thee, and are thy Looking-glass; they will be thy eternal gnawing Whelps, and the Book of thy Comfort and Trust. Therefore do but think what thou wilt do; wilt thou not then curse and judge thyself?

(29) For there are but two Kingdoms that stir in thee; the one is the Kingdom of God, wherein Christ is, which desires to have thee; and the other is the Kingdom of Hell, wherein the Devil is, which desires also to have thee. Now there must be striving here in the poor Soul, for it stands in the Midst. Christ offers it the new Garment, and the Devil presents the Garment of Sinfulness to it. And when thou hast but the least Thought or Inclination towards God, [and Goodness,] that thou wouldst fain enter into true Repentance, then truly that Thought is not from thy own self, but the Love of God draws thee, and invites thee; and the noble Virgin of God calls thee thereby, and thou shouldst only come, and not neglect it. And so truly when (in such a Way) thy great Sins come before thee, and hold thee back (so that thy Heart many Times receives no Comfort) this is the Devil' staying of thee, who casts into thy Thought, that God will not hear thee, thou art yet in too great Sins, he will let no Comfort come into thy Soul, he lays the sinful Kingdom of this World over it; but be not discouraged, he is thy Enemy. It is written, If your Sins were as red as Blood, if you turn, they shall be as Wool, white as Snow: Also, As true as I live, I have no Pleasure in the Death of a poor Sinner, but that he should turn and live.

(1) NEVERTHELESS, somewhat of this subtlety shall I tell thee as me think. Prove thou and do better, if thou better mayest. Do that in thee is, to let be as thou wist not that they press so fast upon thee betwixt thee and thy God. And try to look as it were over their shoulders, seeking another thing: the which thing is God, enclosed in a cloud of unknowing. And if thou do thus, I trow that within short time thou shalt be eased of thy travail. I trow that an this device be well and truly conceived, it is nought else but a longing desire unto God, to feel Him and see Him as it may be here: and such a desire is charity, and it obtaineth always to be eased.

(48) And though thou prayest, yet thou keepest thy dark Garment on still, which is defiled with mere Calumny, with Usury, Covetousness, High-mindedness, Lechery, Whoredom, Wrath, Envy, and Robbery, [thy Mind] is murderous, envious, and malicious; thou criest to God that he shall hear thee, and thou wilt not pull off this furred Coat. Dost thou think that such a Devil shall enter into God, or that God will let such a rough Devil into him? Thy mind stands in the Figure of a Serpent, Wolf, Lion, Dragon, or Toad; and when thou a earnest thyself so sprucely, thou art scarce [thought] a subtle Fox; but as the Will and the Source [or Quality] of thy Heart is, so stands thy Figure also [before God,] and such a Form thy Soul has. And dost thou suppose that thou shalt bring such a pretty Beast into the Kingdom of God?

(24) Or what thinkest thou, if thy Twig be thus very dry and withered, and that thou must eternally swelter in the Anger of God, where instantly thy human Image will be taken away, and thou wilt be in the a Shape of the most abominable Beasts, Worms, and Serpents, all according to thy Deeds and Practice here, where then all thy Deeds will stand in the Figure in the Tincture eternally before thy Eyes, and will gnaw thee sufficiently, so that thou wilt continually think, if thou hadst not done this or that, thou shouldst have attained the Grace of God? Thy Mocking stands before thy Eyes, and thou art ashamed to let the least good Thought into thy Soul; for Good is as an Angel before thee, and thou darest not (for great Shame) so much as to touch it with thy Mind, much less look upon it. But thou must eternally devour into thyself thy great Scorning, with all thy Vices and Sins, and thou must eternally despair; and though thou thinkest to go forth after Abstinence, yet the Light strikes thee down again, and so thou goest but forth aloft (in thy devouring fretting Worm, in thyself) without the Thrones of God; and it is with thee, as with one who stands upon a high stony Cliff of a Rock, and would cast himself into a bottomless Gulf; and the further he sees, the deeper he falls. Thus thy own Sins, Scornings, Deridings, Cursings in Contempt of God, are thy Hell-fire, which gnaws thee eternally; this I speak in the Word of Life.

(2) And if he ask thee, “What is that God?” say thou, that it is God that made thee and bought thee, and that graciously hath called thee to thy degree. “And in Him,” say, “thou hast no skill.” And therefore say, “Go thou down again,” and tread him fast down with a stirring of love, although he seem to thee right holy, and seem to thee as he would help thee to seek Him. For peradventure he will bring to thy mind diverse full fair and wonderful points of His kindness, and say that He is full sweet, and full loving, full gracious, and full merciful. And if thou wilt hear him, he coveteth no better; for at the last he will thus jangle ever more and more till he bring thee lower, to the mind of His Passion.

(42) O thou blind Mind, with thy Might and Stateliness, full of Wickedness and devilish fierce Wrath, [wilt thou know where thou art after that thy Body perishes?] Thou art even with all the Devils, in the Abyss of Hell, if thou dost not turn, and by earnest unfained Sorrow and Repentance for thy Abominations, enter into the angelical Footsteps, that the Saviour and Treader upon the Serpent of fierce Wrath, Wickedness, Lying, and Deceit, may meet thee, and embrace thee in his Arms, and [that thou] mayest be new-born in him, and be yielded up into the Bosom of the chaste Virgin, and become an Angel; or else thou art in the eternal Death, in the eternal Darkness, and canst not in all Eternity reach the Kingdom of God any more.

(2) Do on then, I pray thee, fast. Look now forwards and let be backwards; and see what thee faileth, and not what thou hast, for that is the readiest getting and keeping of meekness. All thy life now behoveth altogether to stand in desire, if thou shalt profit in degree of perfection. This desire behoveth altogether be wrought in thy will, by the hand of Almighty God and thy consent. But one thing I tell thee. He is a jealous lover and suffereth no fellowship, and Him list not work in thy will but if He be only with thee by Himself. He asketh none help, but only thyself. He wills, thou do but look on Him and let Him alone. And keep thou the windows and the door, for flies and enemies assailing. And if thou be willing to do this, thee needeth but meekly press upon him with prayer, and soon will He help thee. Press on then, let see how thou bearest thee. He is full ready, and doth but abideth thee. But what shalt thou do, and how shalt thou press?

(2) And look thou have no wonder of this: for mightest thou once see it as clearly, as thou mayest by grace come to for to grope it and feel it in this life, thou wouldest think as I say. But be thou sure that clear sight shall never man have here in this life: but the feeling may men have through grace when God vouchsafeth. And therefore lift up thy love to that cloud: rather, if I shall say thee sooth, let God draw thy love up to that cloud and strive thou through help of His grace to forget all other thing.

(49) O thou Knave, if thou bringest not another Man than such to it, stay away from the Testament of Christ; thou art but art in such a Way; thy Prayer is false, it comes not from the Bottom of the Heart; thy Heart desires only the Pleasures of this World, and the a Driver receives thy Prayer, he is thy God; therefore consider what thou dost.

(52) Therefore consider thyself, and say not, I stand in the Dark, and exercise Love, none sees it. Thou standest before the clear Countenance of God; also thou standest before the Abyss of Hell, before the Council of all Devils, who mock at thee; and besides, thou hast an evil [false] or unfaithful Love, and it is no other than a [wanton] Lechery; if ait was faithful, thou wouldst not defile thy Brother or Sister; both of you miserably defile the Image of God, and are the worst Enemies one of another; you cast one another into the Devil's murdering Den, and are in the Wrestling; but the Devil amuses you, and strows Sugar, that he may catch you and bind you fast; and then he leads you to Jericho, and scourges, [wounds,] and plagues you sufficiently.

(63) Therefore, thou beloved Soul, if thou art fallen into heavy Sins and Blasphemies, through the Deceit of the Antichrist, and the Seduction of the Devil and his Followers, consider thyself instantly, continue not therein, do not despair in that Condition; forgive thy Adversary his Faults, and pray to God the Father, for Christ's Sake, who has borne all our Wickedness and Iniquities upon him as a patient Lamb, and then they shall be forgiven thee. Nay, we should not in Eternity have ever been able to come out of this Evil and Wickedness, if the Mercy of God (without our Knowledge or Desert) had not helped us out of it.

(80) Who is it that will presume to undertake to stand before the Source [or Spring] of the Mercifulness, and make Intercession [or pray] for one that invocates them? As if the Love in the Heart of God was dead, and did not desire to help those that call to him; gMatth.ll. whereas his Arms continually without End stand stretched out, to help all those that turn to him with their whole Heart. 8 1. Thou wicked Antichrist, thou sayest, that Faith alone does not justify the Soul, but thy invented Works, for thy Avarice or Covetousness, these must do the Deed. Wherein wilt thou be regenerated? In thy Maozim, [or Belly-God,] or through the Birth of Jesus Christ? Which is nearest of all to the Deity? Thy Works pass away, and follow thee in the Shadow; yet the Soul has no Need of any Shadow, but it must be earnest; it must enter in through the Gates of the Deep, and must pass through the Center of the [grim] Fierceness of Death, through the Wrath of the eternal Band, to the meek Incarnation of Jesus Christ, and become a Member of the Body of Christ, and receive of his Fulness, and live therein; his Death must be thy Death; his Essences must flow in thee; and thou must live in his Source, [Property or Virtue.] Thus thou must be regenerated anew in him, if thou wilt stand before his Father; otherwise nothing will help; if there had been any Thing in the whole Depth of the Deity, that could have helped, God would have bestowed it upon Adam, and would not have let his Heart (against the Course of Nature) to become Man. But there was no Counsel, [or Remedy,] neither in Heaven, nor in this World, except God did become Man. Therefore be thou in earnest, and do not seek Byways to Babel.

(10) Does not the Son see plainly what the Father does in his House? And now if the Son learns to do the same thereby, what Displeasure will the Father have towards his Son for it? Nay, will not the Father be well pleased that his Son is so apt [and forward to learn?] Then why should the heavenly Father be so displeased with his Children in this World, which depend upon him, and enquire after him, which would willingly learn to know him, willingly labour in his Works, and do his Will? Does not the Regenerator bid us come to him, and whosoever cometh to him, he will not reject? Why should any resist the Spirit of Prophesy, which is God's? Look upon Christ's Apostles, did any other teach them than God, who was in them, and they in Him? 11.0 dear Children of God in Christ, fly away from Antichrist, who has set up himself over all the Coasts of the Earth, and who sets a painted Image before you, as the Serpent did before our Mother Eve, and paints your own Image of God [as if it were] far off from God: But consider what is written, the Word is near thee, yea in thy Heart and Lips. And God himself is the Word which is in thy Heart and Lips.

(75) Thus thou shalt know in what Manner it is Sin before God; thou hast in thyself the [one eternal pure] Element, which is a Joy in the Presence of God; and now if thou ragest and ravest with the Source [Quality or Property] of Hell, then thou touchest [or troublest] the Element; and thou stirrest up the did, when he awakened [or stirred up,] and kindled the Fierce and Stones; thou sinnest [piercing] into the Heaven in the Presence of God, upon which the Prophets complained in many Places, That the Disobedient did grieve their God. Though (in himself) he felt no Pain, yet his Wrath was kindled in the first Principle, in the Gate of the Deep, wherein the Soul stands, and that is a mere Abomination before him.

(17) Wilt thou say, the Devil beguiled him? Yes indeed, and he beguiles thee too, so that thou enviest the Comeliness and Beauty of others. Has God made thee a Degree higher? Art thou not a Child of Eve? Pray tell me the Truth, Art thou not the Antichrist, which under a Cloak [of being counted the Minister and Servant of God] ridest upon the Devil's Horse? Methinks I see thee. Hearken! When thou wentest out of Paradise into this World, why didst thou not continue in one [only] Love? Why didst thou not rejoice in thy Neighbour? Why didst thou not love the Members of thy Body? Why dost thou not adorn thy Brother with thy Ornament? Didst thou not see him plainly? Was not the Earth thy own? Thou mightest have made what thou wouldst of it. Who did hinder thee in it? Why didst thou not eat with thy Brother? Thou mightest have had fully enough; there would never have been any Want. If thy Humility towards thy Brother had continued, then his also had continued towards thee. And then what a fine Habitation and Dwelling had there been upon Earth? What need had there been for thee to have coined Silver and Gold, if Unity had continued? Thou mightest have made thy Ornaments of it well enough; if thou hadst adorned thy Brother and Sister, then they would have adorned thee again with their ready serviceable Love. Dost thou think it had been of thy Brother, and to the Honour of the great God?

(35) Or shall I be silent? I must speak, for I see it; do what thou wilt, this is the Truth; thou earnest a new-washed Soul from the Baptism, but thou art a filthy Swine, even in the Kingdom of all Devils. But the Laver of Regeneration, (if thou art a Beast, and far from the Kingdom of God,) lies not in thee, but it lies in the Covenant of Christ.