* 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 Rou in the Valley oi fericho,'^\iext:^Wsx 5^/<?;«^« 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 (jhostf He formeth and frameth the Prayer for the Soul, in every Heart wherein He is sought.
Of 'True 'Repentance, 1 7 The Prayer.
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 thy Word, have «^ze/ 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 there- with Cometh to thee. And though it is but a strange Child vjhizh ze/<3^ 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 afid Blood, and hath broken Sin and Death in my Humanity. Which hath changed the Anger of God into Love in 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 Powers Qreat and most Holy GOD, I have brought the Hunger and Desire of my Soul into this most Holy Word, and now I com* before thee,and in my Hunger cd\\ 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 Jordan, His Temptation in the Wilder- ness, 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 in- nocent 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 \ht 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, 1 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 jpromised me, and freely bestow upon me in my Saviour Jesus 1 8 'the JVay to Qhrist, 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: we who 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 festcs 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 9f 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 fFi^rrf 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 oi fesus 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, Of 'True "Repentance, 19 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 Ne%v Birth or Re- generation^ intending to become a New Man, then leave the above-written Words in these Prayers unnamed; else they will turn to 2. Judgment 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 Centre J or Closed Inner-Chamher.
BELOVED Soul, if thou wilt be earnest without Intermis- sion; thou shalt certainly obtain the Favour 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 he once thus desireth her Love, she is ready for him, and kisseth him with the Beams of her sweet Love, from whence the Heart receiveth Joy. But she doth not presently unite herself 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 he judged, that thou may est Taste the bitter Potion of Dregs, which thou hast filled for thyself in thine Abominations. Thou must come before the Gates of Hell, ifirst, and there show forth thy Victory for her in her Love, in that Strength, wherewith she upheld thee in Opposition to the DeviFs malign Influence* 2 — 2 20 T'he Way to Qhrist.
Christ was tempted in the Wilderness, and if thou wilt put on Him, thou vaxM&tgo 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 Christy as a new Plant standing in Heaven. The earthly Body cannot compre- hend her in his Lifetime, for it must first die from the corruptible Vanity; but the Heavenly Image which disappeared in Adam, viz,, the true Seed of tlie Woman wherein GoD became Man, and into which He brought His living Seed, the Heavenly Substan- tiality, 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, Hmnility must be in the Front, or else thou wilt not obtain the noble Virgin in Marriage. Tlie 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 cdl his Assaults, disesteeming all temporal Things for the Love of its noble Sophia, then the precious Qarland will be set upon it for a Token or Ensign of Victory.
Here the Virgin (which manifesteth herself in the dear Name of fESUS CHRIST, the Treader upon the Serpent, Qods Anointed) cometh to the Soul, and kisseth it with her sweetest Of "True 1(epentance. 21 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 t/te Lamb, where the noble Pearl is sown with very great Triumph, though in the Beginning it be small, like a Qrain 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 Christy 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 favoured 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 that 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 Bloody when the Temptation cometh to the Soulj and wrestleth with it.
MOST deep Love of GoD in Christ fesus, 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 t/iou 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.
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 Deaths that the Anguish of Hell may not touch me. How can I excuse myself before thee, that knowest my Heart and Reins, and settest my Sins before mine Eyes? I am guilty of them, and yield myself unto thy Judgment; accomplish thy Judgment upon me, through the Death of my Redeemer Jesus Christ, 1 fly unto thee, thou righteous Judge, through the Anguish of my Redeemer Jesus Christ, when He did sweat the Woody Sweat on the Mount of Olives for my Sake, and was scourged by Pontitis 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 hast satisfied the Anger in my Flesh and Soul in Him, with His heavenly Blood, There- fore receive me now in His Satisfaction, and put His Anguish, Passion and Death in thy Wrath, which is kindled in me, and break thy Judgment in me in the Blood of His Love.
O great Love I in the Blood and Death of Jesus Christ, I be- seech 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 Qrace, 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. 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.
Of 'True ^pentance. 23 O mortify the Desire of my Vanity in Flesh and Blood, which the Z>^/hath now kindled by \i\% false Desire^ by hellish Anguish and Desperation, O quench it with thy Water of eternal Life^ and bring my Anguish forth though 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, Noy yet the Desire of my Soul shall hold fast on thy Truth, which neither Death nor the Devil sh^W 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 Helly shall pull me out of my Saviours 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 Judgtnent; but his Conscience is still asleep. And though it should be deferred to his latter Days, which xss^ty dangerous, y^X. he must pass through thlsfudgment, ox fiery Trial Happy is he that passeth through it in the Time of his Youth, before the Z^^//buildeth his Fort of Prey strong; he may afterwards prove a Labourer in the heavenly Vineyard, and sow his Seed in the Qarden of Christ; where he shall reap the Fruit in due Time. This Judgmefit 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 Judgment of Tribulation first drive him to Repentance, But to him that cometh of himself, of his own earnest Purpose, and endeavoureth to depart from his evil Ways, the Temptation or Trial will not be so hard, neither will it continue so lo7ig. Yet he must stand out valiantly, until 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.
24 'fhe Way to Qhrist.
Short PRAYERS.
When the noble Sophia {or eternal Wisdom) kisseth the Soul with her Love, and offereth her hove to it.
O MOST g'radous and deep Love of GOD in Christ Jesus! I beseech thee grant me thy Pearly 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 Deaths and carry the Htmger and thirst of my Soul through thy Death in thy Resurrection^ in thy Triumph I Cast my whole Selfhood 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 I Awaken my disappeared Image in me, which as to the Kingdom of Heaven disappeared in my Father Adam, By that 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 \i^^t 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 I beseech thee through that Z^x/^ 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 the same great Love, that I may become obedient unto thee, and that my Soul may love thee therein for ever. O change my Will into thy Will, bring thy Obedience into my Disobedience, that I may become obedient unto thee.
O great Love of fesus 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 Of T'rue "Repentance. 25 bring my Hunger into thy open Side, from whence came forth Wa^eraind 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^vid 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 Workings Protection^ and Government; showing also how the Mind should work with and in Gody in Christ the Tree of Life.
OTHOU Living Foufitain, in Thee I lift up the Desire of my Soul, and cry with my Desire to enter through the Life of my Sdiwlouv fesus Christ into thee.
O thou Life and Power of GOD, awaken thyself in the Hunger of my Soul with thy Desire of Z<9z;^, through the Thirst which fesus 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 fesus 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 out- wardly, together with Death, the Destroyer of this vain Life. I fly therefore to thee, O holy Strength of GoD, seeing thou hast 26 The Way to Qhrist, manifested thyself with thy loving Mercy in our Humanity, through thy holy Name JesuSy 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 tht 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 \io\y Angel stand by us to turn away their noxious Effects from our Bodies, O great Love and sweet Strength Jesus, 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 crieth 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 Corporeality, and that my poor Soul may receive its beloved Bride again into its Arms, with whom it may rejoice for ever.
O IMMANUEL! Thou Wedding-Chaynber, God^nA 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 \\it Evil of Flesh and Blood, and serve theje 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,\n the Woman's Seed; in the Virgin Mary, in our disappeared Heavenly Humanity, and brought the Living Essen- tiality of thy Holy Power in the Virgin Wisdom of GoD, into our Humanity, which was extinguished ^s^ 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 Of "True "Repentance. 27 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 in 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 Itnage^ and carry through my Harmony into thy Divine Kingdom of Joy, in the great i^z/^ 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.
A PRAYER.
To be used by a Soul in Tribulation under the Cross oj Christ J when it is assaulted by its outward Enemies.; who persecute and hate it for being in the Spirit of Christy 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 Adain,3X\d 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 Strait and Thorny Path, and go not along with them \vi their Hypocritical Broad Way, O TLORD Jesus Christ; I fly to thee under the Cross; O dear Imnianuely 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 con- formable 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 comioti^d 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 Lights 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 Christy 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.
Lord, it is thy Judgment upon me; that my Sins and inbred Corruption may h^ 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 wast despised in my Stead; and bring me therein, as ^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 1 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 thy A7iger, 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 Eartfdy 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 Of T'rue "Repentance. 29 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 tfum 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 nis 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 \n us, and let thy Love sprinjs: 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 Si^is, 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,