The Threefold Life of Man

yourself, with your whole reason, and all your thoughts, into the will of God; and although your heart and the devil say utterly, No, yet make your outward reason dead, and enter in with force, and continue steadfast: Look not back, as Lot's wife did, who was turned again into sulphur, and into a pillar of salt, but stand fast:

Let the devil, and the spirit of this world, and also thy heart, with flesh and blood, struggle

[what they will], yet give no place to reason;

when it saith, thou art without God, then say,

No, / am in God, I am in heaven in him, I will not in eternity depart from him: The devil may keep my sins, and the world this body, yet I live in the will of God; his life shall be also my life, and his will shall be my will: I will be dead as to my reason, that HE may live in me: All my doing shall be his doing: Give thyself up to him, in all thy purposes: Whatsoever thou takest in hand, commit it to his pleasure and government, that all may be done in [or according to] his will:

Behold ! if thou dost thus, all evil lusts will depart from thee; for thou standest fast in the presence of God, and the

Virgin of his wisdom leadeth thee, and openeth to thee the way to eternal life, she warneth thee of the evil or false ways, she always driveth thee on to abstinence or amendment, and submission or resignation.

56. But, that you have so great obstacles and hindrances of doubting in this way, is [caused by] the strife of the soul against the devil, who layeth himself in the way as a filthy swine; therefore cast thy sins upon his neck, and do not doubt;

and if thou canst not leave that [doubting], then reach with thy soul into God, for God is in thee: Christ hath opened the gates into his Father; do but enter in, let nothing keep thee back; and though heaven and earth, and all the creatures, should say thou canst not, believe them not, go forward, and thou wilt suddenly get in; and as soon as thou comest in, thou gettest a new body on to the soul, that is, the body of Christ, which is God and man; and thou wilt afterwards have ease and refreshment in thy heart; thou wilt get one that will draw thee, and set the falsehood of the world before thy eyes, and warn thee of it.

57. Therefore, observe, there are many that think with themselves, saying, I will pray to God to take away my sins from me, that I may be released of my old sins: and when it cometh to pass that they attain the love of God, they think the old sins are passed away and forgiven; [saying], I may now sin anew, I will afterwards repent once again, and cast the abomination away from me: Indeed that were a good way, if the purpose were at hand: But hear, when thou goest out from the love of God, then thou hast all thy sins, which thou hast committed all thy life long, upon thy neck again: for thou turnest back again into the house of sin, and forsakest God; thou goest out from God into the kingdom of the devil, and thy works follow thee whithersoever thou goest: The purpose cannot help you, unless you go on in your purpose.