power (in Christ) to become the children of God:
And, God willeth that all men should be saved:
Also, Thou art not a God that willeth evil, or doth delight in wickedness. And in Ezekiel it is written; As I live, I desire not the death of a sinner, but that he turn and live.
18. For God hath no other will but to save that which is lost: therefore must none despair: for if the spirit of the soul lift up itself earnestly, it is stronger than God, and overcometh God, (for the anger belongeth unto God, and is God's greatest might, which it overcometh): It is stronger than the abyss of hell: It can remove mountains without any stir [a storm], only with its will. For by the will
God created heaven and earth; and such a mighty will is hidden also in the soul.
19. But now it swimmeth in misery and much weakness, in the sinking down of death: it is tied and drawn up and down, as a poor captive creature, from one filthy puddle into another; and the devil rolleth it presently in this mire, and presently in that mire again, and so it is like a filthy rag, all mire and dirt: All stars dart their poison into the body, and defile the poor soul: It must endure to be defiled by the beasts, for the body feedeth upon the Jlesh of beasts, wherewith the poor soul is clad. Dost thou know why God did forbid the Jews to eat of some sort of flesh ? Kindle their fat, and consider their property, and thou shalt discern it.
20. The poor soul is a kindled fire, and so when such a property cometh into the soul, dost thou suppose that God will dwell therein? And therefore Christ taught us, saying, Be sober and temperate in eating and drinking; watch and pray;
for your adversary the devil goeth about like a roaring lion, and seeketh whom he may devour.
21. Thus you see how we stand in a Threefold Life: the soul standeth upon the abyss, between two Principles, and is tied to them both; and the body merely in the spirit of this world; and therefore that seeketh only after eating and drinking, power and honour, for it belongeth to the earth, and careth little for the poor soul which cometh out of the eternity, [and belongeth to the eternity] .
22. Therefore we ought to tame the body, and not give way to it, but to damp [or kill] its desire, and not satisfy it when it pleaseth, but for necessity only; that it may not grow wanton, and invite the devil to lodge in it.
23. The poor soul must watch and pray, and continually put its will into God's will; it must not give way to the body in any thing, except it hath yielded itself to God first: the soul must not please itself at all in its own power; but cast itself merely upon God, as being itself weak and able to do nothing, (though it be strong), and so continually go out from itself from its natural will, and so fall into the will of God, and then the devil cannot meddle with it.
24. Indeed, it is irksome and troublesome to the body to be broken of its will; but that is no matter, eternity is very long: the body hath but a short time of continuance, and then it returneth to its mother [the earth] : and you know not in what moment death will come, when the body must be gone into its mother; and then it lets the poor soul go whither it can: it is a very inconstant [untrusty] neighbour to the soul.
A True Open Gate. [Shewing] How a Man may seek and find himself [From whence he hath his beginning: and what he shall be in the end.]
25. Behold, O man! and consider thyself, what thou art from thy beginning, and what thou shalt be again in the end: and then thou wilt certainly find what home thou art in, in what lodging thou liest captive, and thou wilt find that thou art both a man, and also a beast; thou wilt well see the heavy Fall, if there be but a spark of God's light in thee.
26. For no beast is able to apprehend it, because a beast hath its original only from the life of this world; and therefore we know that there is another manner of life in us, in that we know the ground of this world.
power (in Christ) to become the children of God:
And, God wills that all men should be saved:
Also, You are not a God that wills evil, or does delight in wickedness. And in Ezekiel it is written; As I live, I desire not the death of a sinner, but that he turn and live.
18. For God has no other will but to save that which is lost: therefore must none despair: for if the spirit of the soul lift up itself earnestly, it is stronger than God, and overcoms God, (for the anger belongs unto God, and is God's greatest might, which it overcoms): It is stronger than the abyss of hell: It can remove mountains without any stir [a storm], only with its will. For by the will
God created heaven and earth; and such a mighty will is hidden also in the soul.
19. But now it swimms in misery and much weakness, in the sinking down of death: it is tied and drawn up and down, as a poor captive creature, from one filthy puddle into another; and the devil rolls it presently in this mire, and presently in that mire again, and so it is like a filthy rag, all mire and dirt: All stars dart their poison into the body, and defile the poor soul: It must endure to be defiled by the beasts, for the body feeds upon the Jlesh of beasts, wherewith the poor soul is clad. Dost you know why God did forbid the Jews to eat of some sort of flesh ? Kindle their fat, and consider their property, and you shall discern it.
20. The poor soul is a kindled fire, and so when such a property comes into the soul, do you suppose that God will dwell therein? And therefore Christ taught us, saying, Be sober and temperate in eating and drinking; watch and pray;
for your adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion, and seeks whom he may devour.
21. Thus you see how we stand in a Threefold Life: the soul stands upon the abyss, between two Principles, and is tied to them both; and the body merely in the spirit of this world; and therefore that seeks only after eating and drinking, power and honour, for it belongs to the earth, and cars little for the poor soul which comes out of the eternity, [and belongs to the eternity] .
22. Therefore we ought to tame the body, and not give way to it, but to damp [or kill] its desire, and not satisfy it when it pleases, but for necessity only; that it may not grow wanton, and invite the devil to lodge in it.
23. The poor soul must watch and pray, and continually put its will into God's will; it must not give way to the body in any thing, except it has yielded itself to God first: the soul must not please itself at all in its own power; but cast itself merely upon God, as being itself weak and able to do nothing, (though it be strong), and so continually go out from itself from its natural will, and so fall into the will of God, and then the devil cannot meddle with it.
24. Indeed, it is irksome and troublesome to the body to be broken of its will; but that is no matter, eternity is very long: the body has but a short time of continuance, and then it returns to its mother [the earth] : and you know not in what moment death will come, when the body must be gone into its mother; and then it lets the poor soul go whither it can: it is a very inconstant [untrusty] neighbour to the soul.
A True Open Gate. [Showing] How a Man may seek and find himself [From whence he has his beginning: and what he shall be in the end.]
25. Behold, O man! and consider yourself, what you are from your beginning, and what you shall be again in the end: and then you will certainly find what home you are in, in what lodging you liest captive, and you will find that you are both a man, and also a beast; you will well see the heavy Fall, if there be but a spark of God's light in you.
26. For no beast is able to apprehend it, because a beast has its original only from the life of this world; and therefore we know that there is another manner of life in us, in that we know the ground of this world.
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