THat Power (or Mystery) which acts all things, and by which whole man (in his counsels, a­ctions, and engagements) is led out and dis­posed according to divine will and pleasure; I say, this Power (which is God) comes forth and offers it self in a diversity of appearance, and still (by a divine progresse in the affairs of the earth) moves from one power to another, from one dispensation to ano­ther, from one party to another; hereby accomplishing his eternally decreed designe in and upon the Creature. This is manifest in all dispensations, civil and spirituall.

Time was, when God had faced the Jewish Ceremonies (those carnall manifestations) with a great beauty and splen­dor of divine Majestie: the Lord was there seen under that form to vail and hide his beauty and glory. In a time ap­pointed he departed from them, went out of them, he would dwell there no longer; but he casts off that form or garment, and clothes himself with another, swallowed up that glory in another, the lesser in the greater: and then all the brightness and lustre of divine appearance resided in, and dwelt upon the flesh of the Son, as being a more true pattern, and exact resemblance of God the divine Power. But the Lord was not here in his appearance where he would be neither; and therefore having no resolution eternally here to tabernacle [Page 2]or abide, in the fulness of Time he lays this form aside also. Though he was the Son, the dear Son, the only begotten Son, a Son so like the Father; yet he must not be spared; he must be crucified, the Lord will move hence also: whence note, That this Divine power (or Mystery) admits of no eternall habitation in any thing below it self.

Now as This power [God] hath a daily motion out of one dispensation spirituall into another; so also it is in Civil or outward dispensations.

This I have found in my own experience, (by tracing this Divine power, in its going forth amongst the sons of Men) that it sometimes owns this, sometimes that form; some­times this, sometimes that party; daily moving from one to another as it pleaseth: now the Lord lives in all these, though in some darkly, in others more purely; and all these motions are as so many footsteps of God, whereby he gradu­ally ascends out of the creature, into a more compleat image or likeness of himself.

Time was, when God dwelt amongst us in the darkness of absolute and arbitrary Monarchy: The face and beauty of Divine mystery lived in it, deny it who can, that sees God in all things.

In this form of Monarchy God hath vailed his beautifull presence with a thick cloud of darkness: He hath made dark­ness his secret place, and his pavilions round about him, have been thick clouds of the Skie. Though the image and bright­ness of God have dwelt in it, yet under such black darkness that man could never discern it. Tyranny, persecution, oppo­sition, will, nature and creature, hath been (as it were) that vail betwixt God and Man in this dispensation; all this, and whatever you will call evil in Monarchy, the Lord was pleased to hide himself under, while resident in this carnall form. I know its difficult to see God in this darkness, the bright Sun under this black cloud: the naked and pure Spirit, u [...]er this foul habit and filthy attire; but he that cannot here dis­cern God, is blinde and sees not afar off.

God (having hitherto walked under this form) is now (and hath in these last dayes) come forth to rend this vail in [Page 3]pieces, to shake this form, to lay it waste, and cloath himself with another.

How God hath and does destroy Monarchy, and what it figures out to us.

The power and life of the King, and in him the very soul of Monarchy sunk into the Parliament, and here it lost its name barely, but not its nature; its form, but not its power, they making themselves as absolute and tyrannicall as ever the King in his reign, dignity and supremacy; yet the Lord ascen­ded a little nearer himself, by taking of this form (the Parlia­ment) and hereby made way for his after-design.

We see in a short time, he layes aside that glorious shew and Idol, (the Parliament) and cloaths himself with the Ar­my: And thus both King, Monarchy and Parliament, fell into the hands, and upon the swords of the Army: and thus the Army are to be the executioners of that beast (Monarchy) which they had formerly wounded, and whose wound the Parliament had healed and salved over by a corrupt and rot­ten Treaty: all which doth figure out to me the stain of the glory of all flesh: as Monarchy (or arbitrary regall power) fals by the sword; so also shall that Kingly and Imperiall power of all flesh be cut in sunder by the stroke of Divine Ju­stice; for by his fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many: The Lord will kindle a burning under that glory wherein he hath for­merly appear'd; God himself shall be the burning, the holy One shall be the flame, and all fleshly regality in us, shall be the fuel which shall be burnt up and consumed. But we shal hence proceed to our former Discourse, and shall next in order consider

How God lives in the ARMY.

Thus far we see God hath moved from party to party, and sits down at present in the Army: And here also God makes darkness his secret place, living under a poor, low, carnal form, and few can behold his beautifull presence under the power of the sword. The Lord here besmears himself with blood [Page 4]and vengeance, deforms his own beauty, hides his aimable presence under a hideous and wrathful form.

And now in as much as God hath called me forth (from an impartiall spirit) to declare my Light; I shall (from some clear experience of the Armies present condition) discover that dark and cloudy appearance of the supreme power (God) amongst them, whereby may be discerned how far below the pure appearance of The spirit, their present station renders them. And I am very confident, that which I shall say, the Lord will testifie and bare record the truth of the same upon the hearts of many amongst them. Friends! Look about you; for the Lord is now comming forth to Rip up your bowels, to search your heart, and try your reins; yea, to let loose the imprisoned Light of himself in you; and if the Lord by this does not shake many of you, then say, That I have prophesied Lies in the name of the Lord. Then let him that hath an ear to hear, hear, what the Lord (that spirit saith)

Thus saith the Lord, yea the Lord saith it:

That the present condition of the Army, or the present appear­ance of the supreame power amongst them, renders them in dark­nesse, and far below the pure Light and life of God:

That it is so, I offer my appeale thus.

First, let them and all others (who are spiritually wise) consider, by and from what principles God acts these men; I mean you Heroes of valour in the Army, you Grandees of the present power in the Kingdom: In patience possesse ye your soules till I shall race your foundation, and discover your principles, which God hath hitherto and still does act you in: they are either publike or private, commonor (more properly) peculiar; your common and publike principles, are the out­ward libertie and freedom of the Nation, The establishment of outward lawes, liberties, and priviledges; and some outward form of Government, which may correspond with your sense of Justice: what no farther yet? This is a poor earthly Tabernacle, which God at present hath taken up in you; I wish I might not have cause to say, It is a speckled pretence under which your private interests re­fides: For I know this is the main spur that drives you on, [Page 5](self-preservation:) This is your Dalilah, your proper, private and peculiar principle: Resolved you are to save your Lives, and preserve your self-interest, though in this expe­dition you destroy all other powers and interests whatsoever: Herein, (though you walk, as men, very carnally) yet. Dear hearts I blame you not. I know God acts you in this cloud, he goes out with you in this darkness, and Lets out his pre­sence through this vail of self-preservation amongst you, he hath crowned you with same, success, and victory, while you have lived and acted in this earthly body of outward Liberty. But how far inferiour and below this is, to a Life in the purity of Divine light, (now God hath disclosed himself) I am in some measure able to discern.

You know not yet what it is to be dead to your own Inte­rests, though you have professed a great deal of self-denyall, yet I profess many of you never yet knew what true self donial was; and what it is truly to be dissolved and dye out of your own carnal Interests: I know your bonour and dignity is great in your hearts, your renowned enterprises call for me­rit: Your lives and safeties are also dear to you; it is so, so it must be, God will have it so: he lives in these low con­cernments, and yet your hearts cannot be imbittered or dis­engaged from them: you hugg them, you prize them, they are an object of you embraces. But I tell you, (Sirs) God is going about to unbody himself in you, whiles you are embra­cing This body of self-safety and outward Liberty, he is dying and departing from it, though you see it not. And This know, That God will ere long leave you exceeding dark and dead in your enterprises: I was alive once as well as you, and in my life I laboured amongst you (in my sphere) as much as another; but I am now dead with the Lord; I am at rest from my Labour; Ah happy death! ô blessed loss! how farr better is it ô Lord to be dissolved and gathered up into thy rest, then to live the life of a worldly and carnall labour? and I know also that the hour of Gods judgment is come upon ma­ny of you: some of you have received your mortall wound already, I see you gasp and struggle in your confused and dark [Page 6]enterprises. Let this silver Probe but sink to the bottom of your wounded hearts, and something, without question, will speedily be discovered.

Ah Friends, —

If you saw your Interests in the Lord, your Lives and Li­berties in the Lord, if you saw all yours in the Lord, you would think it a beggarly thing to contend for any thing, or to plead Gods quarrell with any that shall demand them of you. Doubtlesse, it is a poor, low, base, earthly spirit, that raises contests, and seeks after the ruine and blood of crea­tures, for the enjoyment of that which at best is but a bitter sweet, a well being subject to all manner of casualties. Lo, This is the principle that God at present acts you by: It is the Lord in you, inhabiting his secret place; and because I see it is the Lord, I can embrace it, I can tender you in my bo­some-affections, while you are carried forth in this carnall dispensation. Nevertheless, I will in part discover to you how far some are dead to their own Interest, and whither shortly you must be brought.

Those that live in the more pure knowledge and life of God, see themselves (their Lives, Liberties, and all outward enjoyments) not their own, but the Lords, and theirs in the Lord, not a jot below him, or at the least distance from him.

If we have the Lord, we have enough, because he is all to us, and we the same fulnesse in him: Lo, this is life, liberty, and satisfaction. Now no outward loss or misery can make us unhappy: we may be persecuted, yet not forsaken; cast down, yet not destroyed; dying, and behold we live; in bondage, yet free; because the Lord is all this, and more to us. To live, to us is Christ, and to die is gain. If we have a portion of outward safety amongst others, we see it is the Lord; if not, it is the Lord; and where the Lord is, there's Libertie: God is to us light in darkness, glory in shame, beauty in deformity, liberty in bondage, we possesse nothing, yet enjoy all things; suffering is our crown, death our life; yea, we live upon death daily, we cannot live without it.

Again, We are also contented with the dispose of pro­vidence [Page 7]in any thing that may be called ours: If any party or power command us, our lives, liberties, or interests, it is the pleasure of the Father in us to give up all to them: we see a divine call in it, and can with alacrity yeeld obedience. Oh, it is a sweet smelling sacrifice, acceptable with the Father, when we (the son) are thus drawn forth to offer up our dearest Interests for the world. It may be you cannot in this apprehend me: it is no matter, the Father willeth it should be a mystery.

Yet farther:

Our Interest of Life and Libertie is at your service: If you call for it, take it; we are contented to be prodigall of it, to satisfie the blood-thirstie spirit of any man in the King­dom.

While we are in the enjoyment of these outward things, we use them as if we used them not, being free to throw them off at the first demand: we are as free to suffer, to be tram­pled upon, to hang and burn, as to enjoy that outward liber­tie which you (so seriously and resolutely) press after. I tell you (Sirs) Suffering is our Conquest: While we are ground to pieces under any power whatsoever, all this while we trample upon them: debasing is our exalting; in that which you call miserie and calamitie, we are more then con­querors: We dare meet you (even you, whose courage hath excelled, whose fierce countenance makes the earth to trem­ble, you who are the present terrour of the Nation) and appear in a naked posture before you; yea, throw our selves, lives, liberties, and all upon the edge of your cruelty; and we are sure, if you dare encounter with us here, we shal o­vercome you. Ah Sirs! When you see this way of con­quest, you will throw your swords behind you in an holy de­spite and scorn; you shall lay all your honour in the dust, and by that sweet spirit of meekness shall destroy and subdue your Enemies.

But secondly:

I wish you might be carried forth into a serious view of the Manner of your present Actings. As your Principles are [Page 8]poor and beggarly, so also the manner of your Engagements is dark and fleshly. This cloudy and vailed appearance of God amongst you, puts you upon preposterous designes, up­on low and carnall Enterprizes: You have taken away Charles his life, because otherwise he would (its likely) have taken yours. True, it is the good will of the Lord it should be so, I have nothing to say against it; the Lord in this cloud leads you forth to it; and in this you have playd the parts of men acting under a fleshly discovery of things. You are led forth in a way of vengeance upon your adversaries; you sentence and shoot to death at your pleasure; it little moves you to trample upon the blood of your enemies; this is your Victory, Glory, and Triumph. All this is well; you must tarry here till God moves higher a­mongst you.

I have onely this to say to you:

Is it not a poor carnall thing for Saints, so high in pro­fession as you have been, to stand brangling with the World for a few carnall enjoyments? What, the sons of ever­lasting peace, and ingaged in a carnal combat? Well, it is the Lord; I am satisfied. But oh, that sweet and meek spirit of Christ! who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; was persecuted, but with patience under-went it, and com­mitted himself to him that judged righteously. You can­not, you dare not commit your selves, your cause, your lives and liberties to the Lord, and nakedly, without any carnall opposition, surrender your Interest to a divine dispose: Nay rather, Shall not your swords soon be sheathed in the bowels of those who obstruct (or impede) your furious march in the road of self-preservation? Poor dear Hearts! It is the lowness, weakness, and darknese of God by which you are lead forth and acted. The Lord (ere long) will come forth in another appearance amongst you; he is coming out of darkness (his secret place) into a light and open view; he will let out a more pure glory upon you, when (in an holy shame) you will reflect upon your present Employments.

I tell you (dearly Esteemed) it is a scorn to us, either to pick, or plead a Quarrel with any party, for an outward or carnal Interest; The Lord hath shewed us (and will shortly manifest to you) a more easie and sweet way of Victory; we can overcome by being conquered, we can lose all, and yet be savers in the conclusion.

Again, for I draw homewards.

The manner of your present actings, is in much fear, dread, darkness, and confusion; it is your daily thoughts and care, how to complot your designes, and lay out your Work so, as that you may save your selves, your honour and reputa­tion, but all is to little, you must shortly part with all; your name, fame, success, and victory must all be forgotten, yea, you your selves shall rejoyce at your own Overtures.

You are very fearfull and jealous of your defamation; you are afraid to think of it: your spirits are involved in confusion and distraction, for fear lest your designe should betray you. These are your imprisoned thoughts, I am very certain, but spirituall wisdom can discover them. The Lord knows, That you lie under a sad weight of fear, terrour and distraction: Fear, t he pit, and a snare have taken hold on you, disorder and confusion abounds amongst you: You grope for the wall like the blinde: you aim at Liberty and Privi­ledg, but you grope blindly after it, as knowing not which way to accomplish it; and thus many times you sit down weeping by the Rivers of Babylon; you are oft so over-whelmed in these troubled waters of Liberty and Priviledg, that you are constrained to sink under the waves of sorrow and darkness: I know the Lord judges many of you, and throws you down by the sad and serious consideration of your actings; He turns your hearts, wayes and enterprises upside down before you, and I know you are under daily convictions of spirit. Thus the dark presence of God shuts you up in fear, and keeps you under bondage: The thick cloud of horrour and confusion vails that sweet presence and bright splendor of [Page 10]Peace and Liberty from you; but in an appointed time the my­sterie of light will break out in you, and upon you, when in the shinings of Divine Majesty, you will clearly and purely behold things in a naked appearance, when you shall see no canse of fear or trouble in any thing.

Those that live in Love to all, see no cause to fear any: for there is no fear in love, perfect Love casts out fear: If you were in Charity with all men, you would fear no man; for Charity thinks no evil, it knowes none, it fears none: All things are not yet reconciled to you, earth and heaven are not yet agreed; but you labour under a body and bulk of cursed enmitie, and hence is the spring of all your fear and jealousie: If you could see all men, all Interests, all power in the Lord, you would be offended at none, you would not fear any, but would (with a sweet, patient, contented, and quiet spirit, lie down under any thing comming from a Divine dispose. We see and behold our selves (as in the Lord) without fear or jealousie, because we are really reconciled to all men, all designes, all interests: And all they that know us are carried forth in a spirit of Love towards us. The rea­son why we are hated, despised, and trampled upon, is, because the world knoweth us not, they know not the Father in us.

In this state of ignorance we are the objects of scorn and contempt, and it is our Freedom and Liberty to be so: The Lord in us, and we in the Lord, and with him, travail toge­ther under the worlds infirmities, and because we see it the Fathers will, it is our meat and drink to doe it; we love to sweat drops of blood under all mens offences: Throw all the wrath, malice, envie and scorn of man upon us, we fear it not, but in the Lord we are able to bear all, and suffer under it. Lo, thus we fill up behinde the measure of the sufferings of Christ in our flesh, the dyings of the Lord are manifested in us daily: Here, O here's a way to bring forth peace and unity: the Lord is coming, (he is coming) to discover it: For by this death we ascend to a life, in all mens hearts and affections; after this crosse of hatred, we [Page 11]are crowned (as most choyce and precious) in all mens love and esteem, when the spirit shall descend from one high, and be powred out upon them; they shall look upon us (whom in the Lord they have pierced) and mourn over us with a spirit of love and tenderness: Then shall we see of the travail of our souls, and be therewith satisfied.

Ah my dear Friends! my Soul travails again in birth with you, till the Lord be thus formed and brought forth in you: I know many of you are almost spent under your burden; you are so lost in a wilderness of Confusion, That you desire and seek after a retired rest; you begin to loath your husks, and to have some desire after your fathers table: I say no more, he that does come will come, and will not tarry; behold, he comes with a recompence: you are afraid to lay down your Swords, lest you should lose your Liberties; but the Lord will recompence this seven-fold into your bo­some, he is comming forth to make you free to suffer a blessed Freedom, a glorious Liberty, a sufficient recompence for the loss of all outward glories: Is it the loss of your Honor, Fame and Dignity that you are afraid of? The Lord is com­ming to make you glad to part with it, and with a holy rejoy­cing to throw it all behind you: Ah freinds! The Lord will honour you with meeknesse; you shall be the fame of the world, for true valour and spiritual courage; yea (now and not before) shall the desire of the Nations be towards you, their lamb-like spirits of meeknesse and innocency will be an enforcing invitation to the Lion-hearted devourers of the world to feed together with you in your green pastures, and to drink of your quiet and still waters: when you are become children of this new birth, you shall be able to play upon the hole of the Aspe, and to dwell with the Cockatrice in his den, oppression and tyranny shall be destroyed before you; the sons of your afflictors shall come bending to you: that sweet spirit of love and subjection, that God shall bring forth in you, shall attract the hearts of the world towards you, they shal throw down their crowns at your feet; & shal take hold of that skirt of Righteousness which is upon you, and say, We perceive of [Page 12]a truth, that the Lord is in you and amongst you. But in the mean time, you, together with the world, are shut up in darkness, and not truly discerning one another: you fear the world, and they are afraid of you; you are at a distance, invol­ved in a bloody contest, an earthly, lustfull, and carnall Warfarr.

Farewell.