I, a poor unworthy Creature, come before Thee, O Great and Holy God and lift up mine eyes to Thee. Though I am not worthy, yet Thy great Mercy, and Thy faithful Promise in the Word, have now encouraged me to lift the Eyes of the Desire of my Soul up to Thee. For my Soul hath now laid hold on the Word of Thy Promise, and received It into itself, and therewith cometh to Thee. And though it is but a strange Child which was disobedient unto Thee, yet now it desireth to be obedient; and doth now infold itself with its Desire into that Word which became Man, which became Flesh and Blood, and hath broken Sin and Death in my Humanity. Which hath changed the Anger of God into Love unto the Soul, hath deprived Death of his Power, and Hell of its Victory over Soul and Body; and hath opened a Gate for my Soul to the clear Face of Thy Strength and Power. O Great and Most Holy God, I have brought the Hunger and Desire of my Soul into this most Holy Word, and now I come before Thee, and in my Hunger call unto Thee, Thou living Fountain, through Thy Word which became Flesh and Blood. Thy Word being made the Life in our Flesh, I receive It firmly into the Desire of my Soul as my own Life; and I pierce into Thee with the Desire of my Soul through the Word in the Flesh of Christ; through His holy Conception in the Virgin Mary, His Incarnation, His holy Nativity, His Baptism in the Jordan, His Temptation in the Wilderness - where He overcame the Kingdom of the Devil and this World in the Humanity. Through all His Miracles, which He did on Earth; through His Reproach and Ignominy, His innocent Death and Passion, the Shedding of His Blood, wherein God's Anger in Soul and Flesh was drowned. Through His Rest in the Sepulchre, when He awaked our Father Adam out of his Sleep, who was fallen into a dead Sleep as to the Kingdom of Heaven. Through His Love, which pierced through the Anger and destroyed Hell in the Soul. Through His Resurrection from the Dead, His Ascension, the Sending of the Holy Spirit into our Soul and Spirit, and through all His Promises; one of which is, that Thou, O God the Father, wilt give the Holy Spirit to them that ask It, in the Name and through the Word which became Man.

O Thou Life of my Flesh and of my Soul in Christ my Brother, I beseech Thee in the Hunger of my Soul, and entreat Thee with all my Powers, though they be weak, to give me what Thou hast promised me, and freely bestow upon me in my Saviour Jesus Christ, His Flesh for Food, and His Blood for Drink, to refresh my poor hungry Soul, that it may be quickened and strengthened in the Word which became Man, by which it may long and hunger after Thee aright.

O Thou deepest Love in the most Sweet Name JESUS, give Thyself into the Desire of my Soul. For therefore Thou hast moved Thyself, and according to Thy great Sweetness manifested Thyself in the Human Nature, and called us to Thee, us that hunger and thirst after Thee, and hast promised us that Thou wilt refresh us. I now open the lips of my Soul to Thee, O Thou Sweet Truth, and though I am not worthy to desire it of Thy Holiness, yet I come to Thee through Thy bitter Passion and Death; Thou having sprinkled my Uncleanness with Thy Blood, and sanctified me in Thy Humanity, and made an open Gate for me through Thy Death, to Thy Sweet Love in Thy Blood. Through Thy five holy Wounds, from which Thou didst shed Thy Blood, I bring the Desire of my Soul into Thy Love.

O Jesus Christ, thou Son of God and Man, I pray Thee receive into Thyself Thy purchased Inheritance, which Thy Father hath given Thee. I cry within me, that I may enter through Thy Holy Blood and Death into Thee. Open Thyself in me, that the Spirit of my Soul may reach Thee, and receive Thee into it. Lay hold on my Thirst in me with Thy Thirst; bring Thy Thirst after us Men, which Thou hadst upon the Cross, into my Thirst, and give me Thy Blood to drink in my Thirst. That my Death in me which holdeth me captive, may be drowned in the Blood of Thy Love, and that my extinguished or suppressed Image, which as to the Kingdom of Heaven disappeared in my Father Adam through Sin, may be made alive through Thy powerful Blood, and my Soul clothed with It again as with the new Body which dwelleth in Heaven. In which Image Thy Holy Power and Word that became Man dwelleth, which is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, Who dwelleth in us according to Thy Promise, saying We will come to you and make Our Abode with you.

O Thou Great Love of Jesus Christ, I can do no more than sink my Desire into Thee; Thy Word which became Man, is Truth; since Thou hast bidden me come, now I come. Be it unto me according to Thy Word and Will. Amen.

A Warning to the Reader

Beloved Reader, out of Love to thee, I will not conceal from thee what is here earnestly signified to me. If thou lovest the Vanity of the Flesh still, and art not in an earnest Purpose on the WAY to the new Birth or Regeneration, intending to become a New Man, then leave the above-written Words un-named; else they will turn to a Judgement of God in thee. Thou must not take the Holy Names in vain, thou art faithfully warned: They belong to the thirsty Soul. But if thy Soul be in earnest, it shall find by Experience what Words they are.

A Direction how the Soul must meet its Beloved, when She knocketh in its Center, or Shut-Inner-Chamber

Beloved Soul, if thou wilt be earnest without Intermission, thou shalt certainly obtain the Favor of a Kiss from the Noble Sophia (or Divine Wisdom) in the Holy Name JESUS; for She standeth ever before the Door of the Soul, knocking, and warning the Sinner of his wicked Way. Now if it once thus desireth Her Love, She is ready for it and kisseth it with the Beams of Her Sweet Love, from whence the Heart receiveth Joy. But She doth not presently lay Herself in the Marriage-Bed with the Soul, that is, She doth not presently awaken the extinguished Heavenly Image in Herself, which disappeared in Adam in Paradise. No, there might be Danger to Man in that; for if Adam and Lucifer fell, having it manifested in them, the same may easily happen to Man, who is still so strongly enthralled in Vanity.

The Bond of thy Promise must be firm and steadfast. Before She will crown thee, thou must be tempted and tried: She taketh the Beams of Her Love from thee again, to see whether thou wilt prove faithful; also She letteth thee stand as it were aloof, and answereth thee not so much as with one Look of Her Love. For before She will crown thee, thou must be judged, that thou mayest taste the bitter Potion of Dregs, which thou hast filled for thyself in thine Abominations. Thou must come before the Gates of Hell first, and there show forth thy Victory for Her in Her Love, in that Strength wherewith She upheld thee in Opposition to the Devil's malign influence.

Christ was tempted in the Wilderness; and if thou wilt put on Him, thou must go through His whole Progress or Journey, even from His Incarnation to His Ascension. And though thou art not able, nor required to do that which He hath done; yet thou must enter wholly into His Process, and therein die continually from the Corruption of the Soul. For the Virgin Sophia espouseth not Herself to the Soul, except in this Property, which springeth up in the Soul through the Death of Christ, as a new Plant standing in Heaven. The earthly Body cannot comprehend Her in this Life-time, for it must first die from the corruptible Vanity; but the Heavenly Image which disappeared in Adam, viz. the true Seed of the Woman, wherein God became Man, and into which He brought His living Seed, the Heavenly Substantiality, is capable of the Pearl, after the Manner wherein it came to pass in Mary, in the End or Fulfilling of the Covenant.

Therefore take heed what thou doest. When thou hast made thy Promise, keep it, and then She will crown thee more readily than thou wouldst be crowned. But thou must be sure when the Tempter cometh to thee with the Pleasure, Beauty, and Glory of the World, that thy Mind reject it, and say, I must be a Servant and not a Master in the Vineyard of Christ; I am but a Steward of God in and over all that I have, and I must do with it as His Word teacheth me; my Heart must sit down with the simple and lowly, in the Dust, and be always humble. Whatsoever State and Condition thou art in, Humility must be in the Front, or else thou wilt not obtain the Noble Virgin in Marriage. The Free Will of thy Soul must stand the Brunt as a Champion; for if the Devil cannot prevail against the Soul with Vanity, nor catch it with that Bait, then he cometh with its Unworthiness and Catalogue of Sins. And there thou must fight hard, and the Merits of Christ must be set in the Front, or else the Creature cannot prevail against the Devil. For in this Conflict it goeth so terribly with many a poor Sinner, that outward Reason thinketh him to be distracted, or possessed by an evil Spirit. The Devil defendeth himself so horribly in some, especially if he hath had a great Fort of Prey in them, that he must be stoutly assaulted before he will depart and leave his Castle. In this kind of Combat, Heaven and Hell are fighting one against the other.

Now if the Soul continue constant, and getteth the Victory over the Devil in all his Assaults, disesteeming all temporal Things for the Love of its Noble Sophia, then the precious Garland will be set upon it for a Token or Ensign of Victory.

Here the Virgin, (which manifesteth Herself in the dear Name of JESUS CHRIST, the Treader upon the Serpent, God's Anointed) cometh to the Soul, and kisseth it with Her Sweetest Love in the Essence most inwardly, and impresseth Her Love into its Desire for a Token of Victory. And here Adam in his Heavenly Part riseth again from Death in Christ. Of which I cannot write; for there is no Pen in this World that can express it: It is the Wedding of the Lamb where the Noble Pearl is sown with very great Triumph; though in the beginning it be small as a Grain of Mustard-Seed, as Christ saith.

Now when the Wedding is over, the Soul must take heed that this Pearl-Tree, or Tree of Faith spring and grow, as it hath promised the Virgin; for then the Devil will presently come with his furious Storm, the ungodly People, who will scoff at, contemn, and cry down this WAY for Madness; and then a Man must enter into the Process of Christ, under his Cross. Here it will appear indeed and in Truth, what Sort of a Christian he is. For he must suffer himself to be proclaimed a Fool and ungodly Wretch; nay, his greatest Friends, who favored him, or flattered him in the Lusts of the Flesh, will now be his Enemies, and though they know not why, will hate him. Thus it is that Christ hideth his Bride wholly under the Cross, that she may not be known in this World: The Devil also striveth that these Children may be hidden from the World, lest haply many such Branches should grow in the Garden which he supposeth to be his.

This I have set down for the Information of the Christian-minded Reader, that he may know what to do, if the same should befall him.

A very earnest Prayer in Temptation

Against God's Anger in the Conscience; and also against Flesh and Blood, when the Temptation cometh to the Soul, and wrestleth with it.

Most Deep Love of God in Christ Jesus, leave me not in this Distress. I confess I am guilty of the Sins which now rise up in my Mind and Conscience; and if Thou forsake me, I must perish. But hast Thou not promised me in Thy Word, saying, If a Mother could forget her Child, which can hardly be, yet Thou wilt not forget me? Thou hast set me as a Sign in Thine Hands, which were pierced through with sharp Nails, and in Thy open Side whence Blood and Water gushed out. Poor Wretch that I am! I am caught in Thy Anger, and can in my Ability do nothing before Thee; I sink myself down into Thy Wounds and Death.

O Great Mercy of God, I beseech Thee, deliver me from the Bonds of Satan. I have no Refuge in any Thing, but only in Thy Holy Wounds and Death! Into Thee I sink down in the Anguish of my Conscience; do with me what Thou wilt. In Thee I will now live or die, as pleaseth Thee; let me but die and perish in Thy Death; do but bury me into Thy Death, that the Anguish of Hell may not touch me. How can I excuse myself before Thee, that knoweth my Heart and Reins, and settest my Sins before mine Eyes? I am guilty of them, and yield myself unto Thy Judgement; accomplish Thy Judgement upon me, through the Death of my Redeemer Jesus Christ.

I fly unto Thee, Thou Righteous Judge, through the Anguish of my redeemer Jesus Christ, when He did sweat the bloody Sweat on the Mount of Olives for my Sake, and was scourged by Pontius Pilate for me, and suffered a Crown of Thorns to be pressed upon His Head, so that His Blood came forth.

O Righteous God, hast Thou not set Him in my Stead? He was innocent, but I guilty, for whom He suffered, wherefore should I despair under Thy Wrath? O blot out Thy Anger in me through His Anguish, Passion and Death; I give myself wholly into His Anguish, Passion and Death; I will stand still in His Anguish and Passion before Thee; do with me what Thou pleasest, only let me not depart from His Anguish. Thou hast freely given me His Anguish, and drowned Thy Wrath in Him: And though I have not accepted it, but am departed from Him and become faithless, yet Thou hast given me this precious Pledge in my Flesh and Blood. For He hath taken my Flesh and Soul upon His heavenly Flesh and Blood, and hath satisfied the Anger in my Flesh and Soul in Him, with His Heavenly Blood. Therefore receive me now in His Satisfaction, and put His Anguish, Passion and Death in Thy Wrath, which is kindled in me, and break Thy Judgement in me in the Blood of His Love.

O Great Love! in the Blood and Death of Jesus Christ, I beseech Thee, break the strong Fort of Prey which the Devil hath made and built up in me, where he resisteth me in the WAY of Thy Grace. Drive him out of me, that he may not overcome me; for no one living can stand in Thy Sight, if Thou withdraw Thy Hand from him.

O come, Thou Breaker-Through the Anger of God, destroy its Power, and help my poor Soul to fight and overcome it. O bring me into Victory, and uphold me in Thee; break in pieces its Seat in my Vanity, that is kindled in my Soul and Flesh. O mortify the Desire of my Vanity in Flesh and Blood, which the Devil hath now kindled by his false Desire, by hellish Anguish and Desperation. O quench it with Thy Water of Eternal Life, and bring my Anguish forth through Thy Death, I wholly sink myself down into Thee; and though Soul and Body should this hour faint and perish in Thy Wrath, yet I will not let Thee go. Though my Heart saith utterly, No, no, yet the Desire of my Soul shall hold fast on Thy Truth, which neither Death nor the Devil shall take away from me; for the Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanseth us from all our Sins. This I lay hold on, and let the Anger of God do what It will with my Sin, and let the Devil roar over my Soul in his Fort of Prey which he hath made, as much as he will: Neither the Devil, Death, nor Hell shall pull me out of my Saviour's Wounds. Thou must at length be confounded in me, thou malicious Devil, and thy Fort of Prey must be forsaken, for I will drown it in the Love of Jesus Christ, and then dwell in it if thou canst. Amen.

An Information in Temptation

Beloved Reader, this is no jesting Matter; he that accounteth it so, hath not tried it, neither hath he yet passed the Judgement; but his Conscience is still asleep; and though it should be deferred to his latter Days, which is very dangerous, yet he must pass through this Judgement or fiery Trial. Happy is he that passeth through it in the Time of his Youth, before the Devil buildeth his Fort of Prey strong; he may afterwards prove a Labourer in the heavenly Vineyard, and sow his Seed in the Garden of Christ; where he shall reap the Fruit in due Time. This Judgement continueth a long while upon many a poor Soul; several Years, if he doth not earnestly and early put on the Armour of Christ, but stayeth till the Judgement of Tribulation first drive him to Repentance. But to him that cometh by himself, of his own earnest Purpose, and endeavoreth to depart from his evil Ways, the Temptation or Trial will not be so hard, neither will it continue so long. Yet he must stand out valiantly, till Victory be gotten over the Devil; for he shall be mightily assisted, and all shall end in the best for him; so that afterwards when the Day breaketh in his Soul, he turneth it to the great Praise and Glory of God, that his grand Enemy and Persecutor was overcome in the Conflict.