posted 03-29-1999 05:52 PM         

"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." Hosea 10:12

You must dive deep in your heart, for therein the Lord is hid, and cast out perfectly all loves and likings, sorrows and fears of all earthly things, and so shall you find the Lord. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16). And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. (2 Corinthinas 6:16-17)
But because you have not fully forsaken sin nor fully surrendered to the Lord, therefore when your soul draws into herself from all bodily things and delights, you find nothing but emptiness, darkness and heaviness; so that you think it an hundred years till you be out again to some bodily delight or vain thoughts. [b] But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2) Nevertheless, in this dark conscience you must persevere to humble yourself before the Lord by faith and draw your thoughts into yourself from all bodily things as much as you can, and then when you find nothing but sorrow and pain, and blindness in this darkness, if you will find the Lord, you must suffer the pain of this dark conscience, and abide awhile therein, crying out to the Lord to purge you from secret faults. Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. (Psalm 19:12)
And here also you must beware that you take the Lord into your thoughts against this darkness in your mind, by busy prayer and fervent desire to God, not setting the point of your thoughts on that aforesaid darkness, but on the Lord whom you desire. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?(Psalm 42:1-3) For within this darkness is the Lord hid in His joy, whom you shall not find with all your seeking, unless you pass this darkness of conscience, and hunger and thirst after God and His righteousness. vBlessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
This pain and travail is somewhat strait and narrow, nevertheless it is the way which Yeshua (Jesus) teaches in the Gospel, saying: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14) How strait this way is, He tells us in another place: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26). That is to say, forsake all fleshly love and hate his own carnal life for love of Me; and take up the cross, that is suffer the pain of this awhile and follow Me. This is a strait and narrow way that no bodily thing can pass through it, for it is a slaying of all sin, as Paul says: Mortify your members that are upon earth, (Colossians 3:5) not the members of our body only but of our soul, as uncleanness, lust, evil concupiscence, avarice, fond love to ourselves and earthly things. Therefore as your endeavor has been to resist bodily sins and open temptations of the enemy, and that in matters as it were from without; now, in this spiritual work within yourself, you must batter down and destroy the ground of secret sins in yourself as much as you can.
For example: if loving, praising or worshipping, or human favors of worldly men or the brethren, be pleasing to your heart, and you turn them into vain gladness, thinking secretly in your heart, that men should praise your life, and reward your speeches more than other men's; and also on the contrary, if it be so, that when men reprove you, and set you as nothing, and hold you for a fool, or an hypocrite, or slander you, or speak evil of you falsely, and in any other way disease you unreasonably, and for this you feel in your heart a grievous heaviness against them, and a great rising in your heart, with an unwillingness to suffer any shame or disgrace in the sight of the world or the Church; if, I say, it be thus with you, it is a token that there is much pride in you, though you may seem to yourself never so holy in the sight of men. These stirrings, with many more, spring so fast out of you that you scarcely can do any good deed but it will be mingled with some pride or vain delight in yourself, and so with your pride you defile all your good deeds, and make them loathsome in the sight of he Lord. And, therefore, if you will have cleanness of heart, to come to the love and knowledge of God, you must not only flee the rest and repose of your heart in vain-glory, but also willingly make an effort to avoid consenting to pride and the wretched liking therein as well as you can, which will not be done unless you be diligent about humbling yourself, acknowledging your sin, and crying out to the Lord. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.(2 Chronicles 7:14) Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.(Psalm 51:1-3)
Through faith and deep prayer to the Lord slay and break down pride, and set up humility; also break down anger and envy, and raise up love and charity to your neighbor. Also instead of covetousness, raise up simplicity and moderation and contentment; instead of sloth, fervor in devotion with cheerful readiness to serve others; and instead of gluttony and lechery, sobriety and charity in body and soul. Paul considered this when he said thus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)
Who will help you to break down the old man? Yeshua. He was manifest to destroy the works of the devil and to save you from your sins. (See 1 John 3:8; Matthew 1:21). In the Spirit and in the name of Yeshua shall you break down this idol, pray to Him earnestly, and desire it, and He will help you. It is written that He will succor those who are tempted if they run to him for help and trust in him. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. (Hebrews 2:17, 18) Think stiffly on the blood of Yeshua, and through the might of His Spirit you shall arise.
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:16-26)
Lift up the desire of your heart to Yeshua and pray for His help, cry to Him with great desires and sighings that He will help you to break the old man. I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.(Psalm 18:1-6)
And this may you do the better, and the more readily, if you be diligent and careful to set your heart upon one thing, and that is nothing else but a spiritual desire after God, how to please Him, love Him and know Him, to see Him and to enjoy Him in a deeper way. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3) Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8).
Whenever you rise against the ground of sin in general, or against the ground of any particular sin, hang fast upon this desire for deeper intimacy with God, and set the point of your thoughts more upon God whom you desire than upon the sin which you abhor. And if you do so, then God fights for you, and will destroy sin in you. Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.(Psalm 28:6-7)
You will much sooner come to your purpose if you do this, than if you should leave your humble desire after God, and set your heart only against the stirrings of sin, as though you would destroy it by your own mastering of it, but you will never so bring it about. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)
And, therefore, when you rise against yourself by a fervent desire to attain to a deeper knowledge of the Lord within you, and to draw away your love from all bodily things, insomuch that you are even a burden to yourself, and it seems to you that all creatures are risen up against you, and all the things, which you once took delight in, do now turn you to pain and heaviness; I say, when you have thus forsaken yourself, and cannot likely, for all that, as yet find God, your soul must needs endure and suffer pain in this case. Nevertheless, I hope that he that will suffer this pain awhile, steadfastly cleaving to the Lord by faith and crying out to Him, will not lightly depart therefrom, nor seek any other comfort from without for a time (for it lasts not long). Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (Psalm 61:1-2) When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. (Jonah 2:7)
The Lord is nigh to him who humbles himself and prays and seeks His face and turns from his wicked ways and evil thoughts; the Lord will soon ease his heart, for He will help him to bear his body or sensuality, which is full of corruption; and will, with His merciful power and gracious presence, break down the old man and nature of sin; not all at once, but by little and little, till he be in some measure changed to His likeness.
After such a total rising and resolution made by you against yourself, when it is passed you will more soberly, more gently and more easily rule yourself, and more diligently keep and guard your thoughts and your affections, and will note and discern them, whether they be good or bad. And thereupon if afterwards you feel (I put this for an example) a stirring of pride in any manner rent it and break it by calling on the name of Yeshua. Blessed be the LORD my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.(Psalm 144:1-2)
And if you be diligent to do this, you will, by the grace of Yeshua, within short time, stop much of the spring of pride and much abate the vain delight thereof. And when you feel it, it will be so weak and, as it were, half dead, that it will not much trouble you. And then you will have a spiritual sight of the virtue of humility, and see how good and how fair it is, and you will desire it and love it for its goodness, so that you will take pleasure in being reproached, falsely accused and slandered for Yeshua’s sake.
In like manner when you feel any stirrings of wrath, or anger, or of melancholic risings of heart, or any other evil will against your neighbor, for any manner of cause, though it seem reasonable, and not to be against charity, beware of it, and be ready with Yeshua in your thoughts to restrain it, that it turn not into a further liking or consent; resist it as much as you can, and follow it not neither by word nor deed, but as it rises, smite it down again, and so shall you slay it with the sword of the fear of God, that it shall not trouble you, for know well in all these stirrings of pride, vain-glory, envy, or any other, that as soon as you perceive it, and resist it with displeasure of your will, you slay it.
In like manner shall you do against all evil stirrings of covetousness, sloth, gluttony and lechery; that you be always ready to cast them out. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.(Psalm 40:1-3)
Now that you are in the way, and know how you should go, beware of your enemies, that will be busy to stop you if they can. For their intent is to put out of your heart that desire, and that longing that you have for God, and to drive you home again to the love of worldly vanities; nothing grieves them so much as this desire. These enemies are principally fleshly desires, and vain fears, which rise out of your heart, through the corruption of your fleshly nature, and would hinder your desire of the love of God, that they may fully and peaceably possess your heart; these are your nearest enemies. Also other enemies there are, as unclean spirits, which are busy with slights and wiles to deceive you. But you have one remedy, which I mentioned before, and that is, that whatever they say, believe them not; but hold on your way, and only desire to get closer and closer to the Lord. Answer them on this wise: I am nothing, I have nothing, I covet nothing only the love and holy Spirit of God.
And after this, when they see that you are so well willed, that you are not angry, nor heavy, nor wroth, nor much moved against any creature that they can do or say against you, but set your heart fully to suffer all that may fall, ease or unease, praise or dispraise, and that you don't esteem or regard anything so that you may keep your thought and your desire anchored on the love and mercy of God, then are they much abashed. But then will they tempt you with flattery and vain pleasing by setting before you all your good deeds and virtues. They will tell you that the brethren praise you and speak well of your holiness, and how they worship you for your holy living.
Thus will your enemies do, that you may believe them, and take delight in this vain joy, and rest therein. But if you do well you shall esteem all such janglings and suggestions to be false flatterings of your enemy, therefore refuse it, and say you will have none of it. It is the Lord that enables you to resist these tempting thoughts. Let Him be exalted. The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.(Psalm 18:46-49)
He that uses not his effort, but thinks thus with himself: To what end should I take pains? Why should I pray, or meditate, or watch, or fast, or do any other bodily mortification to attain to such grace, seeing it cannot be gotten or had but only by the free gift of Yeshua? Therefore I will continue in my sensuality as I am, and do nothing of any such corporal or spiritual works; but expect till He give it, for if He be pleased to give it, He asks no working of me, no matter how much or how little I do, I will have it, and if He be pleased not to give it, labor I never so hard, I shall get it never the sooner. He that says this will never come to full conversion and intimacy with God, for he draws himself willfully to idleness of the flesh, and keeps himself from receiving the gift of grace, inasmuch as he lays aside and forsakes the lasting desire and longing after the knowledge and love of God, and he also forsakes the exercising of his body in outward deeds, so that he quenches grace.
The Lord reforms and changes us with our willing cooperation; He gives grace, and the applying our will to grace works a true change in our life. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.(Philippians 2:12-13)
When He gives Himself to us; we do well to suffer Him and assent to Him; for that is the most that we do to assent willingly to His gracious working in us.
As we yield to His word, commands, convictions, guidance, counsel, wisdom and grace He will manifest Himself to us and make His abode with us in a deeper, more experimental way. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Yeshua answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:21-23)
By faithfully yielding to the teachings of Yeshua and His grace He fills the soul more and more with His Spirit and shows the soul the sight of Yeshua wonderfully, and the knowledge of Him as much as the soul can suffer it by little and little; and by that sight He ravishes all the affections of the soul to Him, and then begins the soul to know Him spiritually and to love Him burningly. The Spirit brings into the soul the perfection of all virtues, and makes it zealous of good works. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Titus 2:11-14)
The holy Spirit draws the soul from vain beholding of worldly things to the beholding of Yeshua in a deeper way; But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18).
See then and behold what the Lord, by His Spirit, works in a chosen soul. Then He brings into the soul the perfection of virtues, and turns them all into quietness, and into liking, as it were, without working of the soul; for the soul strives not much for the getting of them, as it did before; but it has them easily, and feels them restfully, only through the gift of love, that is, the Holy Spirit. And that is a very great comfort, and gladness unspeakable, when she feels suddenly in herself (and scarce knows how) the virtues of humility and patience, sobriety, chastity and purity and love to her neighbor. And all other virtues which were sometimes very hard to practice, painful and hard to keep, are now turned into easiness, and liking, and into wonderful lightness, insomuch that she thinks it no mastery nor difficulty to keep every virtue, but it is most pleasing to him to keep it, and all this is made by love.
Other men that stand in the way of common charity, and are not yet got so far in grace, but work under the command of reason, they strive and fight all day against sins for the procuring of virtues; and sometimes they be above, and sometimes beneath as wrestlers are. These men do well, they have virtues in reason, and will, not in savor, nor in love. For they fight with themselves as it were by their own might; therefore they cannot fully have rest. They are not yet humble enough. They have not yet put themselves altogether into God's hand, for they see Him not yet. But a soul that has spiritual sight of the Lord takes no great care of striving for virtues. He is not busy about them particularly, but he makes it all his business to keep that sight, and that beholding of the Lord, and bind his love only to it, that it fall not from it, but forgets all other things as much as he can. I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. (Psalm 16:8) And when he does this, then is the Lord Master against all sins, and overshadows him with His blessed presence and raises him up with Himself, and gives him all virtues. And thus does the Spirit generally slay all sins in the soul, and enables her to freely set her affections on things above. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colosians 3:1-3)
I shall tell you more particularly how the Spirit kills sins in a soul, and reforms virtues. And first of pride, and the virtue contrary thereto, namely, humility. You must understand that there be two kinds of humility; one is had by working of reason; another is felt by the special gift of love. The first is imperfect, the other is perfect. The first a man feels from the beholding of his own sins and wretchedness, through the which beholding he thinks himself unworthy to have any gift of grace, or any reward of God, but thinks it enough that He would of His great mercy, grant him forgiveness of his sins. And also he thinks himself, because of his sins, to be worse than the greatest sinner that lives, and that every man does better than he. And by such beholding thrusts himself down in his thoughts under all men. And he is busy to withstand the stirrings of pride as much as he can, both bodily and spiritual pride, and despises himself so that he assents not to the feelings of pride. And if his heart be taken sometimes with it, that it be defiled with vain joy of worship and praise from others; or from the conceit of his wit, or of any other thing, as soon as he perceives it he is displeased with himself, and has sorrow for it in heart, and asks forgiveness for it of God, and accuses himself humbly. This is good humility, but it is not yet perfect humility; for it is of souls that are beginning and profiting in grace caused by the fear of God and the beholding of their sins.
Perfect humility a soul feels from the sight and spiritual knowing of Yeshua; for when the Holy Ghost lightens the heart and mind into the sight of how Yeshua is all, and that He does all, the soul has so great love and so great joy in that spiritual sight (for it is really so indeed) that it forgets itself, fully leans to the Lord with all the love that it has to behold Him. It takes no heed of any unworthiness of itself, nor of sins done before, nor of good deeds, but sets it all as nothing, as if there were nothing but Yeshua. For all the goodness that is done in himself, or in others, is only of God, whom he beholds as all in all.
Therefore when once the holy Spirit opens the inner eye of the soul, to see this truth, with other circumstances that attend it, then begins the soul to be really humble; for then through the sight of God it feels and sees itself as it is; and then does the soul forsake the beholding and leaning upon itself; and fully falls to the beholding of God. And when it does so, then the soul sees all the joy and worship of the world, as nothing, for the joy of worldly worship is so little in comparison with the joy and love that it feels in the spiritual sight of Yeshua and knowledge of the truth. Though men would worship him, praise him, and favor him, or set him in great state, it would not please him. No, though he had great skill in all the sciences, and of all skill under the sun, or had power to work all manner of miracles, yet would he take no more delight in all this, than to gnaw on a dry stick. He had rather forget all this, and to be alone out of the sight of the world, than to think of them and be worshipped of all men; for the heart of a true lover of Yeshua is made so much, and so large through a little sight of Him, and a little feeling of His spiritual love, that all the liking and all the joy of all the earth cannot suffice to fill a corner of it.
That reverend sight, and that lovely beholding of Yeshua comforts his love so wonderfully, and bears it up so mightily and so easily, that it cannot like, nor fully rest in any earthly joy, nor would he if he could. It does not matter whether men praise him or dispraise him, worship him or despise him, as to himself he sets it not to heart, neither to be displeased when men despise him, nor to be wellpleased when men worship him or praise him. He rather forgets both the one and the other, and only thinks on Yeshua. For when he does so set his mind on Yeshua, then he forsakes himself utterly, and casts himself wholly under Yeshua, and then is he in a secure place; for the shield of Truth which he holds keeps him so well that he will not be hurt through any stirring of pride, as long as he holds himself within the refuge. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. (Psalm 46:1-5)
All this the holy Spirit does, but not in all lovers alike fully; for some have this grace but short and little, as it were in the beginning of it, and a little assaying toward it; for the conscience is not yet cleansed fully through grace. And some have it more fully, for they have clearer sight of Yeshua, and they feel more of this love. And some have it most fully, for they have the full gift of beholding the Lord.
Love, where it works, works wisely and easily in a soul; for he slays mightily anger and envy, and all passions of wrath and melancholy in it, and brings into the soul the virtues of patience and mildness, peaceableness and amity to his neighbor. It is a hard and a great mastery for a man that stands only in the working of his own reason and willpower to keep patience and holy rest and softness in heart and charity to his neighbor, when they treat him roughly and do him wrong. Truly he desires to have forgiveness and patience and labors busily in restraining his unruly passions to the end that he may have it, and also is sorry that he has it not as he should, but he has it not truly until he comes to the high Tower, and takes refuge in Yeshua. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. (Psalm 61:3-4) The holy Spirit will then fight for him, and slay easily such stirrings of wrath and of melancholy; and make his soul so easy and so peaceable, through the spiritual sight of Yeshua, with the feeling of His blessed love, that though he be despised and contemned of other men, or suffer wrong or harm, shame or villainy, he heeds it not, he will not be angered nor stirred against them.

The more I sleep from outward things, the more I am awake in knowing of Yeshua and of inward things. I cannot be awake to Yeshua, except I sleep to the world. And therefore the grace of the Holy Ghost, shutting the fleshly eye, causes the soul to sleep from worldly vanities, and opening the spiritual eye, keeps it awake to the sight of God's majesty. The more that the eyes are shut in this manner of sleep from the appetite of earthly things, the sharper is the inner sight in lovely beholding of heavenly beauty. But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Yeshua the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things that that of Abel.(Hebrews 12:22-24)
He who would hide himself from the love of the world, but cannot readily feel the light of spiritual love, let him not despair, nor turn again to the world, but hope in the Lord, and rely upon Him; that is, trust in God, and cleave to Him by desire, and abide awhile, and he shall have light. For it falls out therein as it does when a man has been a great while in the sun, and after that comes suddenly into a dark house where no sun shines, he will be as it were blind. But if he will abide awhile, he shall be able presently to see about him; first great things, and then small things, and afterwards all that is in the house. Just so is it spiritually: he that obeys the Lord and forsakes pride and the love of the world, and comes to himself into his own conscience, at first it is somewhat dark and blind to his sight; but if he stand still, and hold out by serious praying, and often meditating on Yeshua, he shall be able afterwards to see both great and small things which he knew not before.
You that truly forsake the light of all worldly love and love of self, and hide your thought in this darkness, light of blessed love and spiritual knowing of God shall spring up to you, and your darkness shall be as midday; that is, your darkness of painful desire, and your blind trust in God, that you have at first, will turn into clear knowledge, and into security of love, and God shall give rest to you; that is, your fleshly desires, and your painful fears and doubts, and wicked spirits that have before time vexed you, all these shall grow weak, and lose much of their might, and you will be made so strong that they will not trouble you, for you will be hid in God's rest and habitation. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. (Hebrews 4:10-11) And when your old man is fully dead and you are brought into this spiritual rest, then will you more easily attend to God, and do nothing else but love Him. He will fill all the powers of your soul with beams of spiritual light, and you will have entered in through the gates into heavenly Jerusalem – here and now. vBlessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Yeshua have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:14-17)

* I have heretofore told you somewhat of reforming in faith, and also I have touched concerning your proceeding from that reforming to a higher reforming which is in the beholding of Yeshua. Not that I would by these discourses limit God's working by the law of my speaking, as to say that God works thus in a soul and no other wise. No, but I speak after my simple feeling that the Lord works thus in some creatures as I conceive. And I hope also that He works otherwise, which passes my understanding and my feeling. Nevertheless, whether He works thus or otherwise by several ways, in longer time or shorter, with much travail or little, if all come to one end, that is, the perfect love of Him, then is it good enough. For if He will give one soul on one day the full grace of beholding Yeshua, and without any travail, as He well may; as good is that to that soul as if he had been tried, pained, mortified and purified twenty years.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. (Psalm 91).

{For the most part this document was condensed from a book that was written in the 15th century. Most of the verses have been added. The title is not that of the original book.}

{The following quotes (except the bible quotes) were selected from various lectures that were given by a man who practiced what he taught. I have chosen to leave the name anonymous. (He died in 1952). The focus is on seeking and finding God.}

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one Lord. And Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Deut 6:4, 5

God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Acts 17:24-28

"I don't come here merely to give you lectures on philosophical or theological ideas about God, but to encourage you to know Him. Whatever I say to you, I speak from my Father - not from my will or ego - to help you on the path of finding God. It is not my wish to develop a large, mechanical organization, but a hive filled with the spiritual honey of God. A minister should never try to attract a large congregation solely to fill the seats of His church. The desire for big crowds and temples melted away from me like snow. I rejoice only in God and in serving those whom He directs me to help. Blind belief in religious dogma keeps people spiritually ignorant and stagnant. "Churchianity," with its social diversions and bigotry, is taking souls away from the spirit of Christ. We should go to church for one purpose only: God communion.
"Seekers should be taught to find God first. A true spiritual teacher knows and loves the Lord; his supreme interest is in God. True teachers will always seek to interest you in knowing the Lord. They will not take you up a blind ally.
"Without God-communion, the lifeblood of religion is missing. Church is not the place for dances, movies, and frequent social gatherings. These divert people from God. Go to church for one reason: communion with God. If I tell you of a wonderful fruit I have found, and describe it in detail to you every day for a year without ever giving you a taste of it, you won't be satisfied. Hearing about truth cannot relieve the soul's hunger; if you are content to hear truth without making any effort to know God, it has falsely satisfied you. You must hunger so deeply for God that you will seek Him out in earnest. The purpose of religious lectures and sermons is to awaken in you that irresistible soul-longing for Him. When your joy in prayer and communion becomes greater than any other joy, you have found God.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6

"God is eager to bring you to His kingdom, for He craves something too: that you spontaneously seek Him and cling to Him. The one reason behind His creating us is His desire that we love Him and return to Him. Resolve now to go home to your Father. You are fearfully wasting your time, and you can't afford to. You have your freedom to seek Him and you won't use it. You kneel a little while in prayer and your mind wanders away. But when you pray and pray, and pray again, heaven opens.
"I speak not from book learning, but from perceptions of God. I could not speak of Him this way if I didn't see or feel Him; He wouldn't let me. As I speak to you I see before me whatever I am talking about. I wouldn't tell you anything at all if I didn't know Him. But I am here to tell you that the very joy you are seeking in sex, money, wine, love, fame - that joy is only found in God. You have to pray to Him sincerely and lovingly, "Come to me."
"You are not determined enough. As the miser loves money, as the lover loves the beloved, so should you love God; then you will find Him, without fail. It is difficult, but if at night you kneel long in prayer you won't know time. Even when I don't get any sleep, I never miss it. When God comes, where is sleep? Nothing matters but His presence. Hasten to Him. To be ever conscious of Him is the most wonderful existence. As I am talking to you, again and again the whole world melts away and I feel only His bliss.

I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8

"It seems so simple now; but when as a boy I sat praying night after night, no answer came. On one side I beheld unenlightened humanity and on the other side Eternity, which would not speak to me. It was a very cruel state - forsaken by God, I thought. But I was not forsaken by Him; He was hiding behind my thoughts, behind my feelings all the time. Again and again I cried and prayed, day and night, and when nothing any longer meant anything to me, when inside I renounced everything - even happiness, lest it be material happiness - then He came to me. Now He is with me ever more. The world may forsake me, but He forsakes me never. I don't know why I am telling these things to you, but I feel I must do so. I used to talk of them, but in the presence of those who became indifferent I couldn't speak - my mouth wouldn't open. This time He has made me tell, that you may know there is nothing to live for except Him. All else will go. Pray only for that which is abiding. Those who want to love the Lord and yearn to enter His kingdom, and who sincerely wish in their hearts to know Him, will find Him. You must have an ever-increasing desire for Him, day and night. He will acknowledge your love by fulfilling His promise to you throughout eternity, and you shall know joy and happiness unending. All is light, all is joy, all is peace, all is love. He is all.

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. Hosea 10:12

"Is it not true wisdom to do His will and to be directly helpful in bringing others back to Him? My greatest joy is to remind others of the importance and necessity of remembering God. In an instant you may be required to leave this world; you will have to cancel all your engagements. Why then give any other activity first importance, with the result that you have no time for God?

Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. Psalm 5:1-3

"To reach God you must find some time every day to be alone with Him; you must get away from too many distractions, too many fruitless engagements, to many desires, to much waste of time. Practice long prayer with depth. That is what takes you to God's kingdom. Until you learn to pray both long and deep, with love and yearning, God will not reveal Himself to you. Along with periods of intense prayer you should think day and night of God.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isa. 26:3

"Use the night hours as much as you can, and the early morning, and all free moments to pray inwardly to God with all your soul: "Reveal Thyself!" Find God, and anchor yourself in Him. Before anyone else was with you only God was with you. And when you leave this earth only God will be with you. But you won't be able to know Him then unless you make friends with Him now. If you deeply seek God, you will find Him. You must give your deepest love to Him. He wants you to surrender heart, mind, and soul. He wants to know that you love Him.

"God is more tempting than any earthly temptation. If you attain even a glimpse of Him you will realize this; and you can find Him by inner prayer and by strong determination. Your resolutions with God must be firm; He will not come so long as your mind is roaming elsewhere. He wants to come to you but you don't let Him; you would rather seek a little sense pleasure or spend your time on books or parties. So God says, "All right, My child, play on."
"If God is seeking anything, it is our love. He knocks at every heart and asks us to come unto Him, but most persons don't want to go. Yet when they get into trouble or become sick, they are quick to call for Him. He who makes friends with the Lord while he is prosperous and happy will always find God near when he needs Him. But he who procrastinates in forming that relationship will have to fight his tests alone until, through wisdom and unconditional surrender, he finds the Eternal Friend.
"Out of this great mass of humanity only a few are deeply seeking God. Where are they who thought this earth was theirs two hundred years ago? All are gone - and from among them perhaps only a few understood the truth about life and became true disciples and lovers of God.
"People try to find happiness in drink, sex, and money, but the pages of history are filled with tales of their disillusionment. The time I have spent in prayer has made my life unimaginably fruitful. A thousand bottles of wine could not produce the joy it has given me. In that joy is the conscious guidance of God's wisdom.
Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:6,7

"The world environment will try to prevent you from remembering that the only worthwhile desire is to have God. But everyday you should remind yourself of this. And when you have made up your mind not to smoke, or eat unwisely, or lie or cheat, be firm in these good desires; don't weaken. Wrong environment saps your will and invites wrong desires. Live with thieves and you think that is the only life. But live with spiritual persons, and after having divine communion with God, no other desires can tempt you. All become stale. Even a few moments of prayer, or the company of a saint, will be a raft of inspiration to carry you across this ocean of delusion to the shores of God.
"The hardest obstacle to overcome is yourself. When you pray at night, your nervousness and restlessness are still with you. Learn to control your mind and body.

Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. Psalm 4:4-5

"Carry within you a portable heaven. Pray deeply, sincerely, "O God, I yearn to know You. You must answer me!" and pray again the next night in the same way, in the language of your heart; if you keep on, He must respond. But when you pray halfheartedly, while thinking in the back of your mind about something else, He knows He is not first with you, and He does not respond.

"Have God first. Have God now. Don't wait, because delusion is very strong. Before you know it, the time will have come for you to quit this world. Whenever you have a moment, pray. No matter how many times your prayers have not been answered, don't worry; keep on praying. If you are willing to sacrifice an hour or two for prayer every night, you will enter the kingdom of God. Don't watch the time. With deep sincerity pray, "Lord, I want you alone." Bad habits and restlessness will try to shake you from your effort, but keep your mind on God and you will find His presence with you.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. Psalm 28:7

...because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him... Psalm 91:14

"Be engrossed in Him in spite of any troublesome circumstances. Even as I am engaged in talking to you now, my mind is ever on God. I am with Him inwardly all the time. I live in His joy. Loving and craving naught else but that joy, I find that all obstacles to God-union give way before me. This declaration is not a fairy tale; it is true. But not until God has received all of your love will He come. It will seem that He has forsaken us sometimes, but such tests are inescapable; if we steadfastly refuse to give up our search for Him, He receives us as His own.
"The greatest enemy of seeking God is the body; it becomes easily tired and wants to give up. Continuous vigilance is required. We must believe, against all seeming odds, that He will come. Persevere. If the Lord responded easily and openly to our prayers for His presence, all men would immediately seek Him - not for love of Him, but for His rewards. Because our search is not easy, we tend to forget Him. Even when we see our loved ones pulled away into the mysterious unknown, we don't think seriously about our having to go too, sometime. But one should not wait for the approach of death to realize the importance of seeking God. It is every man's supreme and immediate duty. Each minute of life should be a divine quest. The burning question in our hearts should be: "When shall I find Thee, O Lord?"
"Get busy now; time is passing, and one day the fearful realization will come that life has gone by as though in a twinkling, and still He has not been found. Let no day pass without your having made an effort to meditate on Him. Soon, surprisingly little effort will be needed. Great happiness comes to those who are steadfast. Without unquenchable enthusiasm nothing can be gained. Don't miss your daily appointment with God. The mind may suggest the movies or some other distraction; but when the time comes for God each day, keep that sacred engagement. Otherwise you will be a long time finding Him.
"The heavenly Father wants to be sure that His children desire only Him, that they will not be satisfied with anything else. When God is made to feel that He is not first in a persons life, He stands aside. But to him who says, "O Lord, it matters not if I lose sleep tonight, so long as I am with Thee," He will come. Positively!

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go... Song of Solomon 3:1-4

"Not until you feel in your consciousness the absolute importance of God will you reach Him. Do not permit life to cheat you. Pray to Him every day, "Lord, even if I die, or if the whole world crumbles away, I am going to find time daily to be with Thee."
"Within your heart cry constantly for God. When you have convinced the Lord of your desire for Him, He will send someone to teach you how to know Him. Only he who knows God can show others how to know Him. The teacher who accepts personally the adoration of others is merely a worshiper of his own ego. A teacher who has not been with God cannot show you the kingdom of God, no matter how large his following. The blind cannot lead the blind. But he who follows a true spiritual teacher, and keeps faith with him by adhering to his counsel and instructions, will transform his whole life.
"Egotism, pride, greed, anger, and other ugly outgrowths of self-centeredness are barriers to spiritual growth. The right course is to follow the teachings of a spiritual teacher who has wisdom and loves God above all else, and to tune in with the counsel of such a teacher. That way leads to freedom. He is not a true spiritual teacher who is self-proclaimed as such; he is a true teacher who has sought and found God and is directly asked by God to bring others back to Him. There is complete surrender, there is no compulsion, when the disciple accepts his teacher's training.
"Let no one fool himself, nor think that someone else can "give" God to Him. Whenever I fell into a state of mental stagnation, my spiritual instructor could do nothing for me. But I never gave up trying to keep in tune with him by cheerfully performing whatever he asked of me to do. "I have come to him so he can lead me to God," I reasoned, "and I must listen to his advice." At his spiritual community we young disciples seemed to be always cooking, and there were many other excuses not to pray. Perform your labors as an offering to God. You have to seek God in both activity and prayer.
"Make a solemn promise in your heart and pray to the Father that He bless you with the desire to find Him, that you may not waste any more time in the useless diversions of this earth. It is foolish to spend your life seeking things you must forsake at death. You will never find happiness that way. But every effort you make towards the contact of God in deep prayer will bring you an everlasting gift of the soul. The desire of the soul for God is behind all other desires. Worldly desires camouflage the longing of the soul to be reunited with God. Only God can satisfy all the desires of this life. I have found it so. Start now those of you who are real lovers of God, seeking not your own glory, but the glory of God.

…If thou shall seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Deut 4:29

"Wait no longer! Whoever hears this message, know that I am speaking truth. It is His voice, His power, His authority. If I were to display all the powers God has given to me, throngs would come. But I do not seek that kind of following. Not powers, but the love of God must attract you; for only then will you change and make an effort to know Him. That is my aim. I could not preach about God in this way if I did not know Him. In the same way you can know Him.
"What is the use of my telling these truths to you unless you practice them? It is so easy to be inspired momentarily, and then forget what you heard. My loving attention on you is not wanting; but even if I were to remind you each day of these truths, they would not help anyone who does not himself make the effort to earnestly pray. Yet God does not force us to seek Him. He has given us free will. To forget God is to miss the whole point of existence. God does not want to impose Himself on anyone. You must take the initiative to seek Him through your own fervent desire, preferring Him to all other desires.
"Joy lies in continually thinking of God. The longing for Him should be constant. A time comes when your mind never wanders away, when not even the greatest affliction of body, mind, and soul can take your consciousness from the living presence of God.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. Malachi 1:10-12

"Bounty of this world only makes my heavy heart heavier. Now I pray to you with my naked soul – hiding nothing from You – that You may show me Your tender mercy and abide with me forever.”

"Hush! This is the hour of silence when soul seeks its refreshment. Turbulent mind, you are ever restive for sport and gain; You are ever mad for new sensation and are in feverish plight. Would you rob me of true happiness? Be still, that you may not miss this new and bless joy.”

"O Lord, grant unto me calmness of spirit and serenity of heart, deliver me from the entanglements of my lower nature. Help me to seek You with perseverance and unswerving consecration. May I never tire in my search after You or turn aside or forget You.”

“Take my hand and lift me to that plane where abide harmony and unbroken union with You. I was not ready when You gave Me your hand of mercy; Now I come ready to follow You. Lift me and lead me! I will follow You; I will not look back nor fear.”

“Lover sit still and wait. He whom you desire will come. Waiting is for preparing; watching with longing is sweet; And when He comes all this will end and you yourself will be lost in love.”

“In the glow of my sacred lamp I caught a glimpse of Your countenance, which has raised in me an all-consuming longing to see You again. I keep vigil – My alter light burns day and night with the hope of Your coming.”

“Your love’s lightning struck me; I was dazed and motionless. The fear of death, like a dark shadow, hung over me; But your lightning danced and glowed and in its flash I found life again. For this new gift I am more wholly Yours than I am mine.”

“Once this heart of mine was barren like yon desert, lacking in grace and lacking in life. Till the stream of Your holy Spirit made it fertile, it was full of waste and unlovely land. At first I did not believe that ought could soften it: But the stream of Your Love has transformed my barren grounds to a flower garden and a fruitful orchard.”

"Love! Great immensity! Unfathomed mystery! Sacred current of life! Vibrant resplendent flame that burns eternally, consuming all our imperfections, healing all our wounds, and bestowing peace upon our turbulent heart! Hail to Thee, Thou holy Spirit! Hail to Thee again and evermore, Thou Giver of pure sight! Let me live in Your protecting arms and sleep in the warmth of Your bosom, and in waking behold Your beneficent face that never changes its tender mercy. To You I turn my face. And on You I fix my eager gaze now and let it be through eternity."

“Long have I traveled, long have I struggled following the impulse of my restless will. Seeking! Seeking! Seeking! In quest of happiness I sought through life’s mansion,…But happiness I found not there. I found happiness no where till my self-will was lost in His will.”

“I know now that in storm or calm, in light or dark, the passage of my life without You is ever fraught with danger. I need Your hand of mercy to guide me every hour of the day and night. When I place my hand of faith in Your hand of mercy and grace, I feel secure and walk with a free spirit. When I walk with You, mountains of obstacles melt before my feet. I am always safe when You lead me by Your hand of grace.”

Only as we seek Him whom does not shift or change do we find our fulfillment.

The spiritual life requires great steadiness and endurance. Realization comes when we endure. Hold to your faith that the Lord will manifest Himself and never let it grow weak.

The light goes out through lack of care and we fall into depression, moodiness, lust, vexation, confusion, unsteadiness. We need vigilance and steadfastness and it comes when our thought is fixed on something abiding – faith in a living God.

He who is steadily the same in pleasure and pain, in hardship and easy-goingness – he lives a fruitful life, he lives fixed in God where circumstances and trials don’t waver his attitude. It is this that gives us balance – intimacy with our Creator. But when we live in the flesh and yield to fleshly desires and moods, balance is destroyed and we are easily confused and agitated. But when we live in the Spirit we maintain our poise and balance, going from strength to strength, under all circumstances.

Anyone can be good when things go smoothly. The real way is not to run away from hardship but to turn at once to the Source of strength for help and guidance. The more we are connected to God the less we give way to weakness. When we connect ourselves to God we do the right thing spontaneously, without calculation.

As long as we maintain an unbroken consciousness of God’s presence we will remain steadfast under all circumstances. But as long as there is unrest and turbulence within us we can never reflect the Spirit of holiness. Only when all unrest in our heart ceases do we sense God and a sense of holiness arises. True holiness arises out of steadfast, one-pointed communion with God. This holiness is not reached by pretences, calculation or intellect, but by silence, stillness, and communion.

All through the day be preparing yourself, be fervent and watchful always, living in the consciousness of God, moving in harmony with His will.

When day after day we strive to cultivate this inward beholding of God, we cannot fail to unfold it. Without this contact our actions are full of self and never truly productive. But when we find our inner point of contact with God, we can take our place in the world and fill it wisely. You have nothing to give until you have learned to shut the door and commune with God.

When, without any calculation, doubt or question, we learn in simple, humble, childlike spirit to lose ourselves and be used as God pleases, we become a light to others. It is the fullest blessing to remain in constant mindfulness of our Creator. Evil does not touch one who is mighty in the might of God. When a person loses trust in himself and trusts only in God, he is free himself and brings others freedom.

We must nurture and foster our contact with God, then we will grow and not wither.

Borrowed knowledge is fluctuating. We must make it our own by experience. It is only when we have not reached the depths that we make much wordy noise, going about to teach others, disturbing our peace, and the peace of others.

Paramananda

b]

“Be still and cool in your own mind and spirit from your own thoughts, and then you will feel the principle of God to turn your mind to your Lord from whom comes life; whereby you may receive the strength and power to ally all storms and temptests.”

“We are taught to wait for the stirring of the waters, for the moving of God's Holy Spirit upon our spirits; and then healing virtue and ability is felt and received from Him, to perform what He requires.”

“He that would be saved from sin and condemnation, must wait for the inward manifesting and revealing of the grace and truth in his heart; and must receive it, and be subject to it, learning of the grace, to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts in every kind; and he must learn of the truth as it is in Yeshua, to deny whatever is contrary to the life, nature, and Spirit of Yeshua. He must likewise learn of the grace and truth to fear God; to turn from all false, invented worships and ways of men, and to worship God, the Father of spirits, in spirit and in truth: and as he learns and practices this, he will also learn of the grace and truth to live soberly and righteously in this present world.”

“For the purpose of the scriptures is to turn men to the holy life and power from whence the scriptures came; and thither man is to travel, and therein to center, waiting on the Lord, in the way of His judgments and tender mercies, to witness a translation from darkness to light, and from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of Christ.”

“Every man that will be sanctified, and inherit God's kingdom, must be born of the will of God. He must deny his own will, he must suffer in the flesh, die to the flesh, and live in and to the holy nature and Spirit of God. Now thus a man comes to be born of the pure will; to wit, by hearing the word nigh in the mouth and heart, and becoming subject to it. This cuts down his own will day by day, and brings up the will and nature of God in him, through which he is changed and sanctified, and becomes a new creature.”

“Yea, the new creature, which springs from God's Holy Spirit, is contrary and death to the old. Now he that comes hither, out of his own wisdom, out of his own will, out of his own thoughts, out of his own reasonings; and comes to a discerning of God's Spirit, and to the feeling of His begetting of life in the heart, and His stirrings and movings in the life which He has begotten; and waits here, and receives counsel here; he is taught to deny himself, and to join to and take up that, by which Christ daily crosses and subdues in him that which is contrary to God. And here is the fight of faith, and the good travel under the cross, whereby the holy journey is gone, and the enemies (which rise up to oppose in the way) vanquished and overcome. For here is the power revealed; the preserving power, the leading power, the conquering power.”

“Men are to wait for the shining of His pure, heavenly light in their hearts, that with it the darkness may be resisted, overcome, and subdued in them, and scattered and dispelled from them, and their hearts filled with the light and power of life. Following this light, and abiding and walking in it, they cannot be overcome by the enemy of their souls; but must needs conquer and overcome him. The light will discover all that is of God, and likewise all that is against Him. It will discover the very mystery of death, and the most subtle workings of secret sins in the innermost thoughts and intents of the heart. And it will discover the mystery of life, and the mystery of the way of holiness that no vulture's eye has seen nor the unclean have tread upon. So that not only the precepts of holiness, but the way of the precepts, the way of obeying the Spirit of God in every thing, is here learned. Nor can the mind break out from the Lord, which keeps in the sense, savor, and seasoning of the light of His Spirit.”

“The way to come to the holy hill is by the light and truth of the holy Spirit sent into our spirit. He that receives the convincer of sin, and follows His leadings, out of the sins he is convicted of (and into the paths of righteousness and holiness, into which He is the Leader), cannot miss of the Comforter, or of His comforts; for he is one and the same with the Reprover.”

“Now we were directed to turn inwards (even thither where we thought no good was to be found) to mind the appearance of God there, the Spirit of God testifying to us (according to the Scriptures of truth) that the kingdom was within; and there we were directed to search for the least of all seeds, and to mind the lowest appearance thereof; which was its turning against sin and darkness; and so by minding and observing that in us which turned against sin and darkness, we came by degrees to find we had met with the pure, living, eternal Spirit; and by observing the movings, stirrings, guidings, directions, and law thereof, we found, ere we were aware, that we had met with the law of the new covenant, the law of the Spirit of life, which had life and virtue in it, to enable us to do the holy will; and then our hearts rejoiced, being made truly sensible that we had found that which we had mourned after, and longed for all our days. And then we began to see our way more clearly, and to wait on our God for His teachings, and to follow the Lamb, our Leader, with joy and comfort. For indeed, this experience greatly settled our spirits; knowing assuredly, that as none but Christ could do those works outwardly which He did in the days of His flesh; so none beneath His Spirit could do these works inwardly, enlighten inwardly, enliven inwardly, bind up and heal inwardly, open the inward eye, the inward ear, the closed heart, and loosen the dumb tongue, so as the touch of His power, and virtue of His life and holy presence among us, has done very frequently.”

“Christ came to regenerate that Birth of His own Life, which was lost in the natural sons of Adam, within which is written the law of God but is not legible to fallen humanity because of the impurity of flesh and blood.”

“This should be your return, to sink down to that which is holy and pure in the light, and to that give up your whole man, and all you are and have; and no more consult with your wisdom, nor follow your own understanding, but let the little thing in you that is pure and simple, lead you, and there to bow and bend and confess; and this will be your restoration to God, to give all you have to the Holy, who when He has befooled and cursed your wisdom, and brought down your high conceits, then will He arise in power, who is meek and holy and you will be restored again manifold.”

“Obey the Spirit of life until the house be cleansed and the unclean wrought out and the pure exalted. Sink down into the faith, hope, love, and patience of Christ, waiting for the resurrection of that Life that never sinned. As you grow in Christ the nature of sin will be rooted out...Christ is learned in the faithful following of His Spirit, in watching, praying, fastings, and spiritual wrestlings.”

“They that are born of the light, when they are shown the evil-one and his temptations, then is their diligence, watchfulness and sobriety used against it in the fear of God that they be not enticed; and with all their faith and power they join in obedience to the Light, so that there is a war and a wrestling ere the thing be over, and being resisted steadfast in faith, he flees, and the Glory returns to God who dwells in the Light...And thus is experience gained through tribulations and trials, which they who endure not the temptations, never come to learn of God, but fall under the temptation through unfaithfulness to the Light, and are ever captives at his will who tempts to evil, and the enemy of all righteousness ever reigns over the members, leading out their eyes, ears, hands, and heart to iniquity and vanity and the tongue to plead for it, against every reproof...And this is the cause why some are always kept without feeling of God and His Power, and knowledge of His Word and the mysteries of His powerful counsel are hidden from such, which he reveals to the faithful, who overcome through faith and patience.”

“He that receives the teaching of grace, comes therein to the leading of the Spirit, and so becomes free from sin and is no longer under the law but under grace.”

“To that seed you should die which rules in self-will, and runs to and fro to seek for itself, and seeks not God first; and to that which is pure you must turn, and therein wait for the Anointing, and the rising of the holy Seed...ere you can know Christ in you. Without Christ you can do nothing; and that seed which is neither willing or able, is not He, but is the seed of the evil-doer, as is manifest by his fruits, which must be denied his thoughts, words, profession, prayers, lusts, sins, self-righteousness. For it is all one nature and stands up in you to withstand the coming of the Seed of the covenant, Christ Yeshua the Life of God and the Light of humanity, which has God's power. Christ’s Light shows you His law...and your hidden subtle ways are made plain. The refiners fire must pass through your house...for till filth be purged out and an end made of sin, God comes not to His holy temple nor is everlasting righteousness brought in for an inheritance of eternal life.”

“Nothing gives life but the Spirit, it is the pure Spirit that feeds the hungry soul with life, and to that you should give up all you have and are: in hearkening and obeying spend your time to increase in the Life that is bread indeed, but to get above that Life and give your strength to custom's, forms, carnal rudiments, vain pleasures and delights you spend your strength for that which is not bread...but in that which is pure wait that He may open to you the door of life.”

“O, how safe, how quiet, is that state where the soul stands in pure obedience to the voice of Christ, humbly waiting for the heavenly Counselor, and a watchful care is maintained not to follow the voice of the stranger! Here Christ is felt to be our Shepherd, and under His leading people, young and old, are brought to a stability; and where He does not lead forward, we are bound in the bonds of pure love to stand still and wait upon Him.
In the love of money and in the wisdom of this world, business is proposed, then the urgency of affairs push forward, and the mind cannot in this state discern the good and perfect will of God. The love of God is manifested in graciously calling us to come out of that which stands in confusion; but if we bow not in the name of Yeshua, if we give not up those prospects of gain which in the wisdom of this world are open before us, but say in our hearts, "I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused…, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused…, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come." (see Luke 14:17-21), the mind remains entangled and the shining of the light of life into the soul is obstructed. But in an entire subjection of our wills the Lord graciously opens a way for His people, where all their wants are bounded by His wisdom; and here we experience purification from sin.
The Lord, in His infinite love, is calling to His visited children, so to give up all outward possessions and means of getting treasures, that His Holy Spirit may have free course in their hearts and direct them in all their proceedings through the wilderness to the promised land - the kingdom of heaven. As death comes on our own wills, and a new life is formed in us, the heart is purified and prepared to understand clearly, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (John Woolman)

"There is a spirit which I feel, that delights to do no evil, nor to avenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things in hope to enjoy its own in the end. Its hope is to outlive all wrath and contention, and to weary out all exaltation and cruelty, or whatever is of a nature contrary to itself. It sees to the end of all temptations. As it bears no evil in itself, so it conceives none in thought to any other: if it be betrayed, it bears it; for its ground and spring is the mercies and forgiveness of God. Its crown is meekness, its life is everlasting love unfeigned, and takes its kingdom with entreaty, and not with contention, and keeps it by lowliness of mind. In God alone it can rejoice, though none else regard it, or can own its life. It is conceived in sorrow, and brought forth without any to pity it; nor does it murmur at grief, and oppression. It never rejoices but through sufferings; for with the world's joy it is murdered. I found it alone, being forsaken. I have fellowship therein with them who lived in dens, and desolate places in the earth, who through death obtained this resurrection, and eternal holy life." ((Deathbed testimony of James Nayler – 1617-1660)

See also:

* Abiding In Mashiach

* Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem

* Meditations On The Scriptures {Foundational Teaching}

* The Way Of Holiness[/b]