Beloved in the Lord, When I consider the Blessed day of the Lords appearing unto you, when he first illuminated you, it greatly affects my heart, considering how ye endu­red a great fight of Affliction, and not only took joyfully the spoiling of your Goods, but also your souls were seen to lie under the Altar, being slain for the Word of God, and for the Testimony you held in that day, and loved not your Lives unto the Death; for you had washed your Garments in the Blood of the Lamb, and made them white, and did live under this great blessing, Mat. 5.11. B [...]ssed are ye when men shall Revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly for my Names sak [...], Then did there flow out of your Bellies Rivers of [Page 2]living Waters, which did proceed from the Throne of God and of the Lamb; for you was then adorned as a Bride prepared to meet her Husband, and many of you did run to and fro, and know edge was encrea­sed in that Day; for your Earthen Vessels were fi [...]ed with heavenly Treasure, by him that commanded the Light to shine out of Darkness, who then shined into your hearts by his divine Light, and filled your Vessels with the Oyl of gladness; and in that Day this was your Victory over the world, even your Faith, and it did work by a pure love, which was shed abroad in your hearts, by the holy Ghost sent down from Heaven; for then was your Bodies purely cleansed, and so became a Habitation for God to dwe [...] in by his holy Spirit, who was then the Object of your Hope, and the ground of your Faith, to believe things not seen, and so, through Hope, patiently to wait for them.

Beloved in the Lord, Consider the Mar­riage Covenant that was in that Day be­tween him and you, who had espoused you to himself; you were then joyned to him by one Spirit, and served him then in that Spirit, in the newness thereof, even him whom God raised [...]rom the dead. When [...] consider that love that was then in that [Page 3]day between him and you, my-very heart melts within me! O how did Christ, your loving Husband imbrace you in the Arms of his Love! for he knew that you were no Harlot, but true to him. O how great was your love to him in that day! many waters could not quench it, neither could the floods drown it; it utterly contemned all the glo­ry and pleasures of this World, and im­bracea him alone; Tribulation could not seperate you, nor Distress, nor Persecution, nor Famine, nor Nakedness, nor Peril, not Sword; yea, in all things you were Con­quorers in that day, through him that loved you and espoused you to himself.

And now, Brethren, your Eyes see, and your Ears hear that it is your Brother that speaks to you by a spiritual and divine Un­derstanding, which is given me by the Spirit of Truth, for the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned, yea, it is impossible that the Na­tural man should know Christ after a spi­ritual manner, for carnal men know Christ no other way but after the flesh, they know not any man as he is a New Creature, but so many of you as are Spiritual, can discern this Voice from whence it is.

[Page 4] And now, Brethren, I have further to de­clare unto you concerning the two Trees in the mist of the Garden of God, the one cal­led, The Tree of Life, the other, called, The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Tree of Life, with its Branches, represents the state of Christ, with his Members: The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, with its Fruit and Branches, represents the state of the first Adam and his Posterity. It was the purpose of God before these two Adams were brought forth, that the Elder should serve the Younger, and that the first should be a figure of him that was to come, that so Gods choice might stand, not of Works, but of him that calleth, having before de­termined, that the Elder should serve the Younger, which accordingly after appeared, for the first Adam, for the sake of one mor­sel of the forbidden Fruit, sold his Birth­right, and so lost the Blessing, and was dis­inherited. For it was the purpose of God to take our Nature, and so to have the glory of all his Works himself; and therefore he made the first Adam in his own Image, and after his own likeness, in respect that he made him upright, and to be immortal, and gave him dominion over the fish of the Sea, and over the Fowl of the Air, and the Beasts of the Field, yea, and over all the Earth; [Page 5]and thus he bore the Image of God, but was not God; but the second Adam is the Lord from Heaven a quickening Spirit, in his divine Nature, who made all things for the honour of himself.

When the first Adam had eaten of the for­bidden F [...]uit, his Eyes were opened, and not before, and a divine Light of the righteous Law of God did manifest to him both good and evil, and let him see his just condem­nation for his Transgression; for the Sword of Gods Justice stopt the way to the Tree of Life, and sentenced him to dye, so that A­dam might see and know nothing by it but Death; it left him without any ground of hope of Mercy, yea, it read to him this doleful Sentence, T [...] shalt surely dye, and so left him. So that he could not come at the Tree of Life to eat of that, but by the free gift of God, who promised, That the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpents Head; for he that had the power of Death was the Devil, who was now become the god of this world, ruling in their hearts, so that now there was no recovery of man, but by a Resurrection from the dead; for there could be no Redemption from Gods Sen­tence against Adams sin, in eating of the forbidden Fruit, but immediately his Eves were opened, and a divine Light shined in [Page 6]him, to give him the knowledge of good & evil, that by it the second Adam might judge the World at the Resurrection of the Body. And tho' this Light in all men be the true Light of Condemnation, and lighteth every one that cometh into the World, and pro­ceedeth from the Life of God, yet it gives us no life, but condemns us to death; for it was not the gift of God to Adam and his Posterity for Justification, but upon their own perfect Obedience to it; but it was for a Light to Adam and to his Posterity, that by it they might see their own Nakedness, upon their Disobedience, and fear Gods Wrath and Justice for the same; for the Righteousness of this Light is not to be found in the first Adam, not in his Posterity, there­fore it is their Condemnation; but it is the free gift of Righteousness, through Faith in the second Adam, who hath received the Promise of the Spirit, and sent it into our hearts, and so we come to have our Naked­ness covered with a Garment that God cloathes us withal, and not of our own making; for it is not works of Righteous­ness that we can do, that is acceptable to God, but it is his own work, in creating us a new, through Faith in the second Adam, the Seed of the Woman, that God did then promise should bruise the Serpents head, & [Page 7]so come to obtain the Kingdom himself, who is the Tree of Life, and gives to them that believe on him, to eat of it, that they may live forever; for he hath power to raise the dead, and hath overcome him that hath the Power of Death, in that he was raised from the dead, as it is written, This is he that liveth, and was dead, and behold be liveth for evermore, and hath the Keys of Hell and Death, and will at the last day open the Graves that the dead may come forth, and doth now quicken whom he will, being the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Garden. And thus we come to be living Branches of it, and come to receive the Righteousness of this Light, by the free gift of God, through Faith in Christ; for the natural man is sensual, not having the Spirit of Christ; and the Spirit of Christ is the Righteousness of the Law, or of this divino Light, so that no man can by anyendea­vouring to perform the Righteousness which this Lighs requires, ever be able to perform it. So that the second Adam was not sent to be a Saviour to such as this Light doth justifie, but to be a Saviour to such as see all their endeavours to live up to it, to be in vain; for it is the true Light that makes all men see what dwells in them, and that the Law of Sin, that dwells in their [Page 9]Members, hath Dominion over them, and compels them to rebel against this Light of Righteousness, which shines in them; so that they are in a state of Death and Dark­ness, as to Righteousness, and by it see all hope in themselves to fail, and to prize the rich Mercy of God, which comes by the Death & Resurrection of Jesus Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself a Sacrifice for sin, so that through Faith in his Blood we receive the gift of the Righteous­ness of this Light, by his Spirit sent into our heatrs, which Righteousness this light justifies, and no other; and when we have received this Righteousness into our hearts, through faith in the Blood of Christ, this Light discovers to our certain knowledge, that we are made partakers of Gods Righ­teoushess, which Righteousness was with God before the World was made, but Man being in a state of sin, doth not comprehend that this Light proceeds from the Life of God, or divine Nature of Christ, and that Gods Wrath cannot be pacified but by a per­fect Obedience to it; for the Righteousness of Christ, and this Light, is both of one [...]ture; for this Light proceeds from that [...]nal Life that was with God, and was God, and it lays the sinful World naked either to Gods Judgment or Mercy, so that his Mercy [Page 10]and Justice may both be seen by this Light that shineth in Darkness, but the Darkness doth not comprehend it; and by it that Man whom God hath appointed will judge the World.

Now we receive the Spirit of Adoption by the hearing of Faith preached by the Gospel, and thereby believing in the God that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead; for it is he that hath received of the Father the promise of the holy Ghost, and only through Faith in his Name we receive it; for him hath God the Father sealed, and given him a Name above every Name, and hath made him Heir of all things that the first Adam did possess, as a figure for a time; and all that believe in this second Adam, do receive the Spirit of Adoption, which witnesseth with their Spirits that they are the Children of God, and if Children then Heirs of God, and jo [...]nt Heirs with Christ; for he hath given us his Spirit in earnest, until we come to inherit the purchased Pos­session, which will be when all things come to be restored from the bondage of Corrup­tion (for it is subjected under hope of Re­covery, tho lost by the first Adam) then shall God reign as visible as the first Adam did, in the [...]erson or Manhood of the second Adam, over all the Wor [...]s of his glorious [Page 11]Creation, and all the Saints with him, whose Kingdom is an uncorruptible Kingdom, and therefore corruptible flesh and blood cannot inherit it.

Now since the fall of the first Adam, and promise of the second, God (under the Law) did appoint shadows and figures of the Birth and Sufferings, Death and Resurrection of the second Adam, which were as a School-Master or Instructor to his Church, that they might see a Resurrection from the dead by the second Adam, so that his People might hope to come to enjoy the Garden of Happiness by the second Adam, tho' lost by the first And tho' we have eat of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, in the first Adam, and so come to receive the Light of Condemnation to Death thereby; so also, we that believe have eaten of the Tree of Life, through Faith in the second Adam, and thereby is Life and Immortality brought to light by his Resurrection from the dea.

And as the Law and Prophets did prophecy of the coming of the second Adam, to wit, of his Birth, of his Death, and of his Re­surrection that is to say, of God becoming Man, and so laying down his Life, and ta­king it up again, and thereby to give assur­ance to his Children of a Resurrection; so we have the Testimony of his Apostles in Scripture, that the second Adam is come, & [Page 12]that he did dye, and that God hath raised him from the Dead, and that he is the Son of God, and Heir of his Fathers Inheritance, which Inheritance the first Adam lost by Dis­obedience; and that God did confirm their Testimony of his Resurrection, by many Signs and Wonders, and Miracles and Gifts of the holy Ghost, which Signs & Wonders God wrought by their hands, Heb 2 [...]4. Joh. 20.27.28, 29. compared with 31 vers. and Acts 3 15. compared with Acts 5.30 32. And also the Scripture testifieth, That the holy Ghost is a Witness of his Resurrection to all them that obey him, yea, God hath raised us up, together with him, to newness of Life, that is to say, so many as have re­ceived him by Faith, he having taken away from us the guilt of sin, and free'd us from the fear of Wrath to come, so that we can boldly say, O Death, where is thy string! O Grave, where is thy Victory! So that every one that believes hath the witness of God in himself, to confirm the Truth of the holy Scriptures, and thereby can set to their Seals that the Scripture is true.

Also, we have the Testimony of Scrip­ture, That Jesus baptized with Water by the hands of his Apostles, in that he com­manded them to do it, it is said he did it, John 3.22, and v [...]s. 20. compared with the [Page 13]first and second vers of cha [...]. 4. And his A [...]stles did practise it after his Resurrecti­on and Ascention, as a visible sign of his Death and Resurrection, in burying the baptized into the likeness of his Death, and raising them up in the likeness of his Resur­rection; for as the God-head of Christ did raise his Man-hood from the Dead, so doth his God-head witness it in every one that believes and obeys him, by condemning and mortifying sin in them, which is an imme­diate Witness of God, that the oftering of the Body or Man-hood of Christ is an ac­ceptable Sacrifice for sin, and that the guile is really taken from the Conscience, where R [...]mission is, and the Def [...]ement of it really purged away: This is all done through Gods acceptance of his Death for sin. And as to the power of his Resurrection, God gives an immediate Witness to that also; for as the God-head of Christ hath raised him from the Dead, so also doth his God-head quicken us, and raises us up together with him, who were before dead in sin, and will also raise up our Bodies at the last Day.

And as God hath taken our Nature, even the seed of the Woman, and so consequently the Seed of the first Adam (for the Woman was taken out of the Man) I say, as God hath taken of our flesh and blood, so also [Page 14]hath he made us partakers of his divine Na­ture or holy Spirit, which is the gift of Righ­teousness by Jesus Christ. And thus we come to be reconciled by him to God, and to comprehend this divine Light, that light­eth every one that is born into the World; but the sin [...]l World have no fellowship with the Righteousness of it, and therefore are in a state of Darkness: But the Saints Bodies are the Temple of God, and in this Temple is to be seen the Ark of the New Testament, which contains the Righteous­ness of the Law, or Doctrine of Christ, written and engraven by Gods Spirit on the fleshly Tables of their hearts; and they be­ing thus inspired by the Life from whence this Light doth proceed, they become the Light of the World; for the Life of this Light is manifested to them, but not to the World.

And as to the Supper of the Lord, it ought to be attended by his Church, as it is delivered to his Church by the Scripture, How that the [...] Bread (when they were at Supper with him) and brake it, and said, Take, eat, [...] my Body which is broken for you, This do in [...] [...]mbrance of m [...]. This bread is to sign sie that it is he that gives us to eat of the Tree [...] which is in the midst of the Gar­den, that we may eat and live forever, in [Page 15]that Inheritance which he is Heir of and shall posses in that World which is to come, even that Inheritence which the first Adam was dispossessed of for Transgression; for he hath purchased Life for us, by the offer­ing up his Body for a Sacrifice for our sins, and will appear a second time Bodily and Visibly, as he is the Son of Man and our fel­low Creature.

As also, the Wine after Supper, which he gave them to drink, is to be attended by his Church, as a visible sign that this second Adam, as he was flesh and blood as we are (sin only excepted) did through his God­head or eternal Spirit, offer up himself as a Lamb without spot for us. And thus by the shedding of his Blood we have obtained the Remission of sins, witnessed to us by his divine Nature, in taking away the guilt of sin from our Conscience, and sanctifying us by his Spirit, through Faith in his Blood, so that we know this is he that came by Water and Blood, even Jesus Christ, not only by that divine Water that sanctifies us, but by Blood also, for without shedding of Blood there could be no Remission of sins.

Beloved Brethren in Jesus Christ, Grace and Peace be unto you from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of the Father.

Since it hath pleased God of his much mercy and rich grace in Christ Jesus, who commanded the light to shine out of dark­ness, who hath also shined into my heart, and thereby hath given me the sight and knowledg of those things which the natural man cannot understand, I have been under [Page 38]a great conff [...]ct concerning my Brethren, that they also might come to be made par­takers of the same Light and Grace, without which we cannot discern those Mysteries contained in the holy Scriptures. I am greatly sensible that many, since their fi [...]st illumination, might have been Teachers of others, had they not been unfruitful Branches in Christ, and they thus continuing in this carnal state, their understanding is much darkned, and they cannot see afar off, nor understand the Mystries of the Kingdom of God, by reason of which I am sensible that I cannot speak to such, as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto Babes in Christ.

I can truly say with the Apostle, That I have many things to say concerning the Priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, but it is hard to be uttered, because ye are dull of hearing divine and spiritual things; when indeed the heart and mind of Christians are fixt on spiritual things, it is both life and peace to them, but when their hearts and minds are set upon the observation of some outward Rudiments or shadowing figures of the law, it brings death upon the soul, be­cause the mind is set upon the shadows of heavenly things & not upon Christ himself, who is the substance and head of all Princi­pality [Page 39]and Power whatsoever.

I am greatly sensible that the Man-hood of Christ is preached up and generaly con­fest and belived on, with a dead faith, from the report of the holy Scriptures; and in a carnal way rejoyced in, believing he is the Saviour of the World; but as to his divine nature, many Professors are strangers to it, and know nothing of the power and vertue of it; for it is his divine nature that imputes the Righteousness of God to us; it is his divine nature that quickens us, and streng­theneth us against the power of sin; it is his divine nature that reveals to us our Jus­tification, and that sanctifies us, and is our life, and light, and wisdom, yea, the divine nature of Christ applies to us all the virtues of the Sufferings of his Man-hood, and there­by reveals to us, the truth of the history of the Scriptures about his Sufferings, so that we can set to our seal that the Scripture is true.

I have written unto you, beloved Brethren, concerning the two Covenants, and do desire you in a Christian love to search the Scrip­tures, and to see whether these things be so or no.

Qu. What are we to understand by the first; Covenant; or o [...] Testament?

A [...]. the T [...]n Commandments, written [Page 40]and engraven on two tables of stone.

Qu. How do you prove that?

Answ. From [...]xod 19 5. Now therefore if ye will obey my Voice indeed, and keep my Covenant. From hence we may note, that God was about to speak to them, and to declare his Covenant to them, in order to which he sends by the hand of Moses to give them notice of it, as in the third vers that they might prepar [...] themselves to hear his Voice, that they might obey the same, and k [...]p his Covenant; compare this with Deut. 4.13. And he declared unto you his Cove­nant, which he commanded you to perform, even Ten Commandments, and he wrote them upon two Tables of Stone. From hence we may note, that the ten Commandments are called the Covenant, as also in [...]xod. 34.28. Heb. 9.4. compared with the first vers.

Secondly, These ten Commandments, were not given to Israel, nor commanded, till after they came out of Egypt.

Qu How do you prove that?

Answ. From Deut 5 2, 3. The Lord our God made a Covenant with us in Hereb; the Lord made not this Covenant with our Fa­thers but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. Gal. 3.17 And this I say, that the Covenant that was consigned before of God in Christ, the law which was four [Page 41]hundrerd and thirty years after. From hence we may note, that the Apostle speaks of this Law of the ten Commandments given after they came out of Egyst, which was four hundred and thirty years after that Covenant which God made with Abraham in Christ, and was after they came out of Egypt, as appears [...] the 12th of Exodus 41. And it came to pass, at the end of four hundred and thirty years, even the self same day, all the Hosts of the Lord went out of the Land of Egypt. Again, it is written, Rom. 5.13. For until the Law, sin was in the world; for whereas he saith, Ʋntil the Lam, he hath reference until this Law was given at Mount Sinai by Moses, his Argument is to prove, That sin was in the world before the giving of this Law; for, saith he, sin is not im­puted when there is no Law; and in the following Verse, saith, Nevertheless Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the simili­tude of Adams Transgression. So that it is evident sin was in the world from Adam till Moses, or rather until the Law was given by Moses. Again, he saith, Rom. 2.14. For when the Gentiles which have not the Law, it is evident he points at this Law or Cove­nant made with Israel (which the Gentiles had not) to shew, tho' they had it not, yet [Page 42]they were not without a Law written in their hearts, by which Law God would judge them; for Adam had no sooner sinned but his eyes were opened, and a divine Light of the knowledge of good and evil shined in him, which is the moral Law, for that Law was spiritual and not litteral, tho' he was carnal, sold-under sin; and this is the true Light of Condemnation, that lighteth every man that cometh into the World; so that by this Law cometh the knowledge of sin, and makes all the World guilty before God, for all have sinned against this moral or so ri [...]ual Law which is written in their hearts.

Thirdly, The Seventh-Day Sabbath, com­man led to Israel by this Law, and to be [...] in this Covenant, was but a sign o [...] a better Rest, and was never commanded before [...] came out of Egypt.

Qu. How do you prove that?

[...]. From [...]. 31.12, &c. Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep, for it is a Sign be­tw [...]n me and you, &c. V [...]rs. 17. It is a Sign bet veen me and the Children of Israel, &c. [...] God required Moses to give this ac­count to the Children of [...], at the same time when he delivered to him the two [...] of Testimony, as is to be seen in the [...] compar'd with v. 12 &c. [...]

[Page 43] And it appears not to have been com­man [...]ed before, [...] Moses's Festimony to the Children [...] the 5th o [...] D [...]. where he calls all Is [...] to attention, in vers. 1. and puts them in mind of the Covenant God made with them in the 2d vers. and shews them, That God made not this Covenant with their Fathers, but with us (faith he) who are all of us alive here this day; then he declares the Govenant to them, to wit, the Ten Commandments, and when he had so done, in the 2 [...] vers. he saith, These words the Lord sp [...]ke unto [...]all your Assembly in th [...] Mount, and [...]e [...]rote them in two Tables of stone, and delivered them [...]; and in the 4th Commandment, beginning at the 12th vers [...] he leaves out the words of Gods Creation, and saith (at the end of the 4th Command­ment) Remember that thou wast a Servant in the Land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence, &c. therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath Day. From hence we may note, that the word [Therefore] being imposed upon that Deliverance out of Egypt, carries with it a full ground of the Commandment, There­fore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath Day. So that we may see, as their Deliverance was from a Temporal Bondage and Labour, so was the sign a [Page 44]temporal Sabbath, of the same nature; which sign was to be observed throughout their Generations, to signifie that great Temporal Deliverance that they had by the hand of God, and thereby to remember, that they were Gods sanctified or chosen People, when they were come into the Land of Rest, out of the Furnace of Af­fliction and hard Labour. So that this Weekly Seventh-Day Sabbath was to be a sign to Israel (in the Land of Rest) of their for­mer Deliverance, and that while they kept Gods Law and Statutes they should rest quietly in the Land with all Plenty and Prosperity, and none should make them afraid

Now when they broke the Covenant of the Law, which was their Marriage Covenant with God, and went a whoring from him, it was then no sign of their quiet Rest in the Land, as appears by the Testimony of God by his Prophet Ezekiel, chap. 20. v. 5, 6. Here the Lord sets before them how he de­livered them out of Egy [...], and in vers. 7. sets before them how he required their O­bedience, and in vers. 8. how they had Re­belled against him; and in the 12th verse, saith the Lord, I gave them my Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and Them. From hence we may see, they were to be a sign to them [Page 45]only upon Condition of Obedience in keep­ing his Covenant, and so not pollute the Land of their Rest, after so great Deliver­ance out of Egypt; but when they had pol­luted the Land, then the Lord said unto them, Mic. 2.10. Arise ye and depart, for this is not your Rest, because it is polluted.

Qu. What are we to understand by a Sign?

Answ. We are to understand that a Sign is not the Substance; so the Seventh-Day Rest given to Israel, after that Deliverance out of Egypt, was to be a sign to them, that while they did not defile their Sanctification, they should no more go into such Bondage, but rest quietly in the Land from the fear of evil. So that the seventh Day Rest was a sign to them of a perpetual Rest in their Land, from the Oppression of their Enemies, till that Prophet should come, which Moses told them of, Acts 3.22. whom they were to hear in all things, who was appointed of God to be a Saviour and a Delivered out of a spiritual Bondage, John 8.36. and to give a spiritual and eternal Rest to his People, Mat. 11.28, 29. which is the Substance of those things shadowed out in the first Te­stament or Covenant.

Qu. Do you not think that Adam in his state of Innocency, kept a weekly Seventh-Day Sabbath?

[Page 45] Answ. No; for he had no need of a sign or shadow of a better thing, while in the state of perfect Happiness; and besides that, it speaks only of Gods resting from his Works of Creation, which was finished in six days, Gen. 2 2 Heb. 4 4. and A am was the last Work that was made on the sixth Day and the seventh Day of Gods Rest, was his perpetual Cessation from all his Works, and not to be understood a Day of Evening and Morning, and so when that was ended, for God to begin another Work.

And as to the Seventh Day, Adam enter'd upon it in his first Creation, so that it was not a 7th Day Rest to him from any Labour, for he had done none.

Qu Why [...] mention [...] Works of Crea­tion, and his resting from it in the fourth Com­mandment?

Answ. Because Israel, his chosen People, whom he had delivered out of that hard Labour in Egypt, might look on that happy state of man in his first Creation, and con­sider; how that through his Disobedience he brought this Labour and Sorrow upon him­self and that they might (by that tempo­ral Deliverance out of Egypt by the hand of M [...]ses) hope for a second Adam who should do the Will of God by a perfect Obedience, and then suffer under that Law or Covenant, [Page 47]and triumph over Death by [...] Resurrection, from the Dead, and so bring them into Gods Rest again; and Joshua's bringing them into that Canaan was a Type of it. So that these things were as a School-Master to teach his Church by Signs, till the promised Seed should come, even that second Adam, and overcome him that had the power of Death in the first Adam, in triumphing, over Death, by a Resurrection from the Dead, and so give us an assurance of an im­mortal Life, by a Resurrection from the Dead.

Qu. Why is the Ten Commandments called [...] Covenant?

Answ. Because God espoused Israel to him­self by that Covenant, so that God was the Head and Husband, and Israel was the Wi [...]e, and that Law was the Covenant of her Obe­dience.

Qu. How do you prove that?

Answ. From the Testimony of the holy Scriptures, as in Jer. 2.2. Thus saith the Lord, I remember the kindness of thy Youth, the love of thine Espousals, when thou wentest after me in the Wilderness, Jer. 13.14. Turn, O back-sliding Children [...] (saith the Lord) for I am married unto [...] Isa. 54.5. For thy Maker is thy Husband, Jer. 31.31, 32. Behold, the days come, saith [Page 48]the Lord, that I will make a New Covena [...] with the House of I [...]rael, & with the House of Judan, not according to the Covenant that I made with their Fathers, in the Day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the Land of Egypt, which my Cove­nant they brake, altho' I was an Husband to them, saith the Lord. Ezek. 16.8. Gal. [...] 21, 23. Tell me, ye that desire to be un­der the Law, do ye not hear the Law? for it is written, That Abraham had two Sons, the one by a Bond-maid, the other by a Free Woman; V. 24. Which things are an Alle­gory; for these are the two Covenants, the one from Mount Sinai, which gendereth to Bondage, which is Hagar; Ver. 26. But Jerusalem, which is above, is free, vvhich is the Mother of us all. From hence We may observe that Abraham's having tvvo Sons by tvvo Women, are an Allegory, that is, another thing is meant by it, which is the two Covenants, that is to say, the Covenant of the Law, & the Covenant of the Gospel, Hagar ansvvereth to the Covenant of the Law, made at Mount Sinai vvith Israel, and Ishmael answereth to Israel after the flesh; & Sarah answereth to the Church of Christ or New-Jerusalem, which is the Free-Woman, & is the Mother of every one that believes [...] for every true Believer is in Rank vvith [Page 49] [...]; for Jerusalem, vvhich is free, is the Bride, the Lambs Wife, being married to Chrise by the New Covenant or Testament, Rev. 21.9, 10. And there came unto me one of the seven Angels, and taked with me, saving, Come hither, I will shew thee the Bride, the Lambs Wife; and he shewed me that great City, the holy Jerusalem; but Ha [...]ar answereth to that Covenant of the Ten Commandments, by which God [...] Israel at Mount Sinai, by the first Covenant, even the Ten Commandments, written on the two Tables of Stone, called the Tables of the Covenant, Heb. 9.4. Deut. 9.9.

Qu. But seeing you say, That God is the Hus­band, and Israel the Wife, and that Covenant the Covenant of her Marriage to God, and that Law was the Law of her Obedience; how the [...] is it possible that this Covenant can over be void, and this Law cease of being her Rule of her Obe­dience, seeing she is bound by it to her Husband, who is God, and that Law is the Law of her O­bedience; and the Scripture saith, The Woman is bound to her Husband (by the Law) so long at he liveth; and how is it possible that her Hus­band (who is God) should ever dye?

To which I Answer; It is very true, the Wife is bound (by the Law) to her Husband so long as he liveth, but if the Husband be dead, she is no Adulteress tho' she be mar­ [...] to another man; but if while her Hus­band [Page 50]liveth she be married to another man, she shall be called an Adulteress. Now tho' it be impossible for God to dye in his divine Nature, yet he hat [...] laid down his Life in his Humane Nature. 1 John 3.16. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his Life for us. A [...]s 2 [...].28. Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock, to feed the Church of God, which [...]e hath purchased with his own Blood. Gal. 3.13.1, Pat. 3.18. H [...]b. 9.28. Rom. 5.6. Even thus it is with us, as it was with the Woman, whose Husband being dead, she is loosed from that law of her Obedience to her Husband; so that We, Brethren, are dead to the Law, by the Body of Christ. Rom. 7.4. That we should be married (by a new Covenant) to him whom God hath raised from the dead, that we should not serve in the oldness of the Letter, engraven on stone, but in the newness of the Spirit, by which we are joyned to Christ in a new Marriage Covenant. 1 Cor 6.17. Eph. 5.31. compar'd with vers. 32 And the Law of our Obedience is the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, which hath free'd us from the Law of sin, which was in our Members, for which Law of sin, that Law written and engraven on stone, did condemn us to dye, (but gave us no strength against sin) which Death Christ suffered for us under that law, [Page 51]that we might become dead to [...], and [...] to Righteousness; for they that are Christ [...] indeed have crucified the flesh with the af­fections and lusts; so that we are made fre [...] from sin by Jesus Christ: Let us therefore stand fast in that liberty where-with Christ hath made us free; for the Law hath Do­minion only over the Body of sin; so then if the body of sin be crucified, dead and buried with Christ, and We be risen with him, We are not under the Law but under Grace; shall We then continue in sin, because We are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid; fo [...] how can We that are dead to sin, live any longer in sin?

Now the first Covenant commanded [...] temporal Sabbath to be kept, which Sabbath was a sign; but in the New Covenant is con­tained the Sabbath it self, which remains to the People of God. The first Covenant gave an Earthly Inheritance, but if we be Christs, then are we Heirs of God, yea, joynt Heirs with Christ of a better Inheri­tance, which is contained in the New Cove­nant. So that Christ is the Mediator of a better Covenant, established upon better Promises; for if the first Covenant had been without fault, there had been no place for a second; for God finds fault with them, saying, My [Page 52]Covenant they brake, altho' I was an hus­band unto them. So that fault was found both with the Covenant, and Church or Wife; with the Church for the Breach of it, and with the Covenant, because there was no remission of sins in that Covenant of the Law; Deut. 27.26. Cursed be he that continueth not in all the Words of this Law to do them; therefore, saith the Lord, I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah, not according to the Covenant that I made with their Fathers in the Day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the Land of Egypt, because they continued not in my Covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord; for this is the Covenant that I will make with the House of Israel, After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my Laws into their Mind, and Write them on their Hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a People; and they shall not teach every man his Neighbour, and every man his Brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the greatest; for I will be merciful to their Unrighteousness, and their Sins and Iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith a New Covenant, he hath made the first Old. Now that which decayeth [Page 53]and wa [...]eth old is ready to vanish away, saith the Apostle; Which plainly imports, the first is vanished away, that the second may be established.

Now the first Covenant did contain the Will of the Husband, in giving an Inheri­tance to his Children, and withal giving them a charge to Obedience, saying, Hor [...] thy Father and thy Mother, that thy Days may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Here was an Inheritance given by a Will or Testament, but this was not the Saints Inheritance, but a figure of it, tho' this Covenant was not dedicated without the Blood of Beasts, as a figure; for a mans Testament or Will is of no force while the Testator is alive; but the New Testament of Jesus Christ was dedicated with his own Blood, who through the eternal Spirit of­fered himself without spot to God; This Sacrifice doth purge our Conscience from dead Works of the Law, to serve the living God; and for this cause he is a Mediator of the New Testament; so that by the means of his Death, for the Redemption of the Transgressions that were under the first Te­stament, they which are called might re­ceive the Promise of an eternal Inheritance, which eternal Inheritance is the substance of that Inheritance contained in the first [Page 54]Testament given at Mount Sinai. And it is easier for Heaven and Earth to pass, than one Tittle of the Levitical Law to fail; for Christ came not to destroy it, but to fullfil it in every jot and tittle of it, and also to fullfil in us the Righteousness of that Law Written on the Tables of Stone, called, the Old Testament or Covenant, and to bring us into that Rest which Adam by Transgres­sion lost. So that in the first Covenant there was only contained a Temporal Sab­bath, which was but a sign or shadow; and there was Will'd an Inheritant, but it was but the earthly Canaan; there was a Law of Obedience, but it allowed no Mercy to the Transgressor, neither did it afford any strength to the sinner, in that it was Weak, neither did it minister Righteousness to the Soul, so that it was altogether helpless.

But in the New Covenant is contained the Substance of those things; for in it We have the Remission of sins by the Blood of Christ, figured out under the first Covenant by the Blood of Beasts, and the gift of that Righteousness required in the Law; it gives us strength against sin; for by it We have the gift of the Spirit of God, by which we mortifie the Deeds of the Body, and without which we can no ways serve God acceptably, Which Spirit Witne [...]leth with our spirits; [Page 55]that We are the Children of God; for by it We are adopted and made Heirs of the heavenly Canaan, typi [...]led in the First Cove­nant, Which Inheritance was before pro­mised to Abraham's fleshly Seed, and it commanded a typical Sabbath, or a Sabbath that was a Sign, but the New Testament gives us the Substance of these things, even the Everlasting Sabbath, there signified by a sign in the Covenant of the Law.

Upon the consideration of these things. We ought to give the more earnest heed; for if the Word spoke by Angels and Writ upon Stone, was stedfast, and every Trans­gression of Disobedience received a just Re­compence of Reward, how then shall We escape, if We neglect so great Salvation by Jesus Christ! Seeing he that despised Moses Law, dyed without Mercy, how much greater Punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy of, that sets light by the Covenant of Grace, by which Covenant We are sanctified, and the Rule of our Obedi­ence therein contained, is Written by the Spirit of God on the fleshly Tables of our hearts, 2 Cor. 3.3. so that We have no need to be taught but as this anointing of the Spirit teacheth Us; for it is written (speak­ing of the New Covenant) They shall be all taught of God (John 6.45. Heb. 8, 11.1 Joh. [Page 56]2.26, 27.) from the least of them to the greatest; for in this Covenant is free Remis­sion of sins by the Blood of Jesus Christ, and Sanctification by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who hath received of the Father the Promise of the Spirit, and sent it into our hearts, that it may be our Leader & Guide, and through the gift of this Treasure which we have in our earthen Vessels, he hath made us Ministers of the New Testament or Covenant, not of the Letter, written and engraven on Stone, but of the Spirit; for the Letter, written on the Tables of the first Covenant, ministred only Death, but the Spirit ministreth Life and Peace; so that the Ministration of Jesus Christ, in the New Covenant, ministring Righteous­ness to the sinner, and so justifying the Un­godly through Faith, is more glorious than the Ministration of Condemnation in the old Covenant, which ministred only Death and Condemnation to the sinner, so that Gods Justice was therein to be seen; but in the New Covenant his rich Mercy and infi­nite Grace in Christ Jesus is seen.

Beloved Brethren, I am sensible that the Minds of many are blinded, and there is a Vail of Darkness upon their hearts, in the reading of the Old Covenant so that they [Page 57]cannot see what is abolished; but when their heart shall turn to the Lord, that Vail of Darkness shall be taken away, and then they will come to behold the Glory of the Lord in the New Covenant; for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Light and Liberty to behold his Glory; for the Lord is that Spirit in his Divine Nature, and the Saints Bodies are his Temple and Sanctuary where he dwells; for there the pure in heart shall s [...]e him; for as the Tables of the Old Co­venant were Stone, so the Tables of the New Covenant are the fleshly hearts of Gods Chil­dren; and as the Law was engraven on those Tables, and put into an Ark, so the Righteousness of the Law is no where to be found but in Christ, and as our fleshly hearts are the Tables of the New Covenant, so Christ hath written the Law of our Obe­dience to him there, and he in us is the Ark of Gods strength, and causeth our spi­ritual Enemies to flee before him: And as the Ark of the first Covenant did contain the Doctrine of the Law, so the Ark of the New Testament contains the Doctrine of Christ; he that hath this Doctrine, and abideth in it, he hath both the Father and the Son dwelling in him; for the Saints Bodies are the Temple of the the New Te­stament, where God dwells. Now the first [Page 58]Covenant had Ceremonies of divine Service, and a worldly Sanctuary (for there was a Tabernacle made with hands, which the Le­vitical Priest-hood ministred in) but Christ is our great High-Priest, a Minister of the holy things and true Tabernacle, which God hath pitched, and not man, which Taber­nacle is the Saints Bodies.