34. There belongeth great earnestness to prayer: for praying is calling upon God: to entreat him, to speak with him, and to go out of the house of sin, and enter into the house of God: and if the devil offers to hinder it, then storm his hell: Set thyself against him, as he setteth himself against thee, and then thou shalt find what it is which is here told thee: if he opposes strongly, then oppose thou the more strongly; thou hast, in Christ, far greater power than he.
35. And if you doubt the grace of God, you sin greatly, for he is always merciful, and there is no other will in him at all but to be merciful: He cannot do otherwise, his arms are spread abroad day and night towards a poor sinner. And when any cometh [with the lost son to the Father], and so stormeth hell, then there is amongst the angels of God, greater joy for such an one, than for ninety-nine righteous that need not that; as Christ himself teacheth us.
36. With such a devil as covereth the heart of man, there is no better course to be taken with him, than not to dispute with him at all about the multitude of sins; but to wrap up all sins on a heap ( though they were as many as the sand on the sea-shore), and throw them on the devil's shoulders, and to say in his heart, Behold, thou devil, thou art the cause of all this evil, I leave my sins to thee, but I take the mercy of God and the death of Christ to myself, therein will I roll myself, devour me if thou canst.
37. Do but fix thy trust and confidence upon the promise of Christ: and let your storming be always grounded in the death of Christ, in his sufferings and wounds, and in the love of Christ: Dispute no farther about your sins, for the devil involves himself therein, and upbraideth thee for thy sins, that thou mightest despair.
38. Make trial in this manner, and you will quickly see and feel another man, with another sense and will [in you] : We speak as we know, and have found by experience: We speak not by way of opinion, or as an historical relation, but that which we have a ground for, for a soldier knoweth how it is in the wars: but he that hath not tried and been present, always thinketh otherwise than it is. This we mention out of love, for your learning and instruction, as a spirit which speaketh how it hath gone with it, for an example to others, to try if any would follow us, and then they would find how true it is.
The Gates of the Deep Ground concerning Man.
39. Since the beginning of the world there hath been a controversy about this: because these gates were shut with Adam, and we have been held captive in darkness: but seeing God hath favoured us, and opened them to us, and also hath given us an earnest will to write it down, we shall therefore do it, and give thanks for it to God the Father in Christ Jesus in eternity, who hath redeemed us out of the darkness of death.
40. Therefore when we would know what man is, and why there is so great difference and variety amongst men, so that one doth not as another doth and that one differeth in form and feature from another; we must set before us the most inward ground of his [incarnation or] becoming man, and consider it, and then we shall find all.
41. For when a man that is regenerated in God, so that he seeth the light, beginneth to search out his original, then the spirit of the soul searcheth in all the Three Principles, what he is in each of them; for we know it, and cannot say otherwise, than that we, in the image of the spirit, and also of the body, in all the Three Principles, have but one only rule [or dominion] in us; but that dominion is in three sources [or qualities] : the spirit and the body are driven according to each Principle, and what Principle it is which getteth the upper hand in man, so that man with his will inclineth to it, according to that he performeth his work, and the other [Principles] do but cleave to it, not having sufficient power.
42. But when we will speak of the image, we must see what it is in the ground thereof. For we are sown as a seed in a field, into the matrix [womb] :
Now, consider what precedeth that: Nothing but a longing will and desire of man and woman to copulate, and yet the fruit is not always desired, of which we have an example in whores and whoremongers, also indeed in the state of marriage.
4 3. Now the question is, What is that which
34. There belongs great earnestness to prayer: for praying is calling upon God: to entreat him, to speak with him, and to go out of the house of sin, and enter into the house of God: and if the devil offers to hinder it, then storm his hell: Set yourself against him, as he setts himself against you, and then you shall find what it is which is here told you: if he opposes strongly, then oppose you the more strongly; you have, in Christ, far greater power than he.
35. And if you doubt the grace of God, you sin greatly, for he is always merciful, and there is no other will in him at all but to be merciful: He cannot do otherwise, his arms are spread abroad day and night towards a poor sinner. And when any comes [with the lost son to the Father], and so storms hell, then there is amongst the angels of God, greater joy for such an one, than for ninety-nine righteous that need not that; as Christ himself teaches us.
36. With such a devil as covers the heart of man, there is no better course to be taken with him, than not to dispute with him at all about the multitude of sins; but to wrap up all sins on a heap ( though they were as many as the sand on the sea-shore), and throw them on the devil's shoulders, and to say in his heart, Behold, you devil, you are the cause of all this evil, I leave my sins to you, but I take the mercy of God and the death of Christ to myself, therein will I roll myself, devour me if you can.
37. Do but fix your trust and confidence upon the promise of Christ: and let your storming be always grounded in the death of Christ, in his sufferings and wounds, and in the love of Christ: Dispute no farther about your sins, for the devil involves himself therein, and upbraids you for your sins, that you might despair.
38. Make trial in this manner, and you will quickly see and feel another man, with another sense and will [in you] : We speak as we know, and have found by experience: We speak not by way of opinion, or as an historical relation, but that which we have a ground for, for a soldier knows how it is in the wars: but he that has not tried and been present, always thinks otherwise than it is. This we mention out of love, for your learning and instruction, as a spirit which speaks how it has gone with it, for an example to others, to try if any would follow us, and then they would find how true it is.
The Gates of the Deep Ground concerning Man.
39. Since the beginning of the world there has been a controversy about this: because these gates were shut with Adam, and we have been held captive in darkness: but seeing God has favoured us, and opened them to us, and also has given us an earnest will to write it down, we shall therefore do it, and give thanks for it to God the Father in Christ Jesus in eternity, who has redeemed us out of the darkness of death.
40. Therefore when we would know what man is, and why there is so great difference and variety amongst men, so that one does not as another does and that one differs in form and feature from another; we must set before us the most inward ground of his [incarnation or] becoming man, and consider it, and then we shall find all.
41. For when a man that is regenerated in God, so that he sees the light, beginns to search out his original, then the spirit of the soul searches in all the Three Principles, what he is in each of them; for we know it, and cannot say otherwise, than that we, in the image of the spirit, and also of the body, in all the Three Principles, have but one only rule [or dominion] in us; but that dominion is in three sources [or qualities] : the spirit and the body are driven according to each Principle, and what Principle it is which getts the upper hand in man, so that man with his will inclins to it, according to that he performs his work, and the other [Principles] do but cleave to it, not having sufficient power.
42. But when we will speak of the image, we must see what it is in the ground thereof. For we are sown as a seed in a field, into the matrix [womb] :
Now, consider what preceds that: Nothing but a longing will and desire of man and woman to copulate, and yet the fruit is not always desired, of which we have an example in whores and whoremongers, also indeed in the state of marriage.
4 3. Now the question is, What is that which
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