will become of it, when its spirit must go along into conversion. Then thinks the earthly Lucifer in it, viz. the fleshly desire, Hereby you will lose temporal honour and good things, and be the fool of the world; this will not serve your turn and lust.
14. But the great famine, viz. sin, presses the poor life in all the three Principles, that it must make ready and go into Egypt, that is, into repentance, and seek divine food, and pray for it, and desire it, from the true householder Joseph, or Jesus, and in such prayer and desire fall on his face of great humility before Joseph, or Jesus, and desire food of him.
15. But that Jacob's sons must go twice into Egypt for corn, and at the first time receive corn enough, and yet they came into danger thereby) and were kept as a pledged has inwardly this figure: when man at first turns into repentance, then first the terrible figure or aspect of his sins stands before him, for they rouse him up, and the conscience stands in the anger of God.
16. As the brethren of Joseph stood the first time before Joseph, when he held them for spies, so also man stands before God as a spy of divine grace; for he thinks he will this once enter into repentance, that his old sins may be forgiven him; but he has not yet so strongly tamed his will, that the will should think all days of its life while the body lasts to remain in such begun repentance, but it thinks only for once thus to destroy sin in the conscience, and to drown the old sins in repentance and sorrow.
17. And it comes also to that pass, that his conscience, though perhaps at first it be terrified, is in the end appeased, and divine food is given to him from the heavenly Joseph, into the sack of his desire, so that the anger of God lets him go. But the anger of God in his righteousness takes a pledge 2 from the conscience, and keeps it, to see whether man would continue to rest satisfied with this burden of food; if not, then the anger of God has [in the pledge] its first right in soul and body.
1 Were kept in pawn, or custody. 2 Or, pawn.
18. As it happens to us poor men, that we very slightly and lavishly spend the first food which the heavenly Joseph gives us in repentance, and come again with great hunger, want and misery of conscience, and must come to be poor again; and even therefore, because we did not the first time bring along with us our Benjamin, viz. the most inward ground, in that our will was not quite broken, and that we suppose we shall continue till our end in repentance and divine resignation. But if it were done in the first repentance, then could not God's righteousness in the anger take any pledge, but must leave us quite free.
19. This figure now, that Jacob's children must go down into Egypt for food twice, and at the second time Joseph was first manifested unto them, and the third time they took along with them their wives and children, and all that they had, together with their father, prefigures that when man through sin has spent and consumed the first divine food, that he must hunger again and be in want in his conscience, so that his conscience presses him and complains (as a hungry belly complains for food), then he thinks on the first repentance again, how grace happened to him before.
will become of it, when its spirit must go along into conversion. Then thinks the earthly Lucifer in it, viz. the fleshly desire, Hereby you will lose temporal honour and good things, and be the fool of the world; this will not serve your turn and lust.
14. But the great famine, viz. sin, presses the poor life in all the three Principles, that it must make ready and go into Egypt, that is, into repentance, and seek divine food, and pray for it, and desire it, from the true householder Joseph, or Jesus, and in such prayer and desire fall on his face of great humility before Joseph, or Jesus, and desire food of him.
15. But that Jacob's sons must go twice into Egypt for corn, and at the first time receive corn enough, and yet they came into danger thereby) and were kept as a pledged has inwardly this figure: when man at first turns into repentance, then first the terrible figure or aspect of his sins stands before him, for they rouse him up, and the conscience stands in the anger of God.
16. As the brethren of Joseph stood the first time before Joseph, when he held them for spies, so also man stands before God as a spy of divine grace; for he thinks he will this once enter into repentance, that his old sins may be forgiven him; but he has not yet so strongly tamed his will, that the will should think all days of its life while the body lasts to remain in such begun repentance, but it thinks only for once thus to destroy sin in the conscience, and to drown the old sins in repentance and sorrow.
17. And it comes also to that pass, that his conscience, though perhaps at first it be terrified, is in the end appeased, and divine food is given to him from the heavenly Joseph, into the sack of his desire, so that the anger of God lets him go. But the anger of God in his righteousness takes a pledge 2 from the conscience, and keeps it, to see whether man would continue to rest satisfied with this burden of food; if not, then the anger of God has [in the pledge] its first right in soul and body.
1 Were kept in pawn, or custody. 2 Or, pawn.
18. As it happens to us poor men, that we very slightly and lavishly spend the first food which the heavenly Joseph gives us in repentance, and come again with great hunger, want and misery of conscience, and must come to be poor again; and even therefore, because we did not the first time bring along with us our Benjamin, viz. the most inward ground, in that our will was not quite broken, and that we suppose we shall continue till our end in repentance and divine resignation. But if it were done in the first repentance, then could not God's righteousness in the anger take any pledge, but must leave us quite free.
19. This figure now, that Jacob's children must go down into Egypt for food twice, and at the second time Joseph was first manifested unto them, and the third time they took along with them their wives and children, and all that they had, together with their father, prefigures that when man through sin has spent and consumed the first divine food, that he must hunger again and be in want in his conscience, so that his conscience presses him and complains (as a hungry belly complains for food), then he thinks on the first repentance again, how grace happened to him before.
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