in believing God would raise them again, and he doth it not; there Condition is worfe than the Wicked, which thing I was afraid to think of.

13. Alfo I was afraid to queftion, or doubt of God's prerogative Power in raifing the Dead at the laft Day, or performing his Promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the reft of the Seed of the Lord: But I could have been glad if there had been no Refurrection at all, neither of the Righteous, nor Unrighteous.

14. But thought I, what is that to me, if I be raised to Hell-Fire. Then I reafoned in myself, faying, It is above Five Thousand Years fince the Creation of this World, and perhaps it may laft Five Thousand Years more; then fhall I lie ftill in the Earth a great while before I am raifed; fo that I fhall escape the Torments of Hell for a long time, thinking to have Hope in this Argument.

15. But I was thrown out here immediately, and my Hope cut off; for the Anfwer faid, What if it should be Five Thoufand Years before thou art raised again, confider it will not be a quarter of an Hours time before thou art raifed again.

16. For there is no time to the Dead, all time is to the Living; for it will not be thought a quarter of an Hour by Adam the firft Man, when he is raifed from the Dead; he shall not think he hath been in the Grave one quarter of an Hour.

17. Then I conceived if a Man flept a found Sleep three Days, that is no time to him; time is known to him that was awake that three Days.

18. So this yielded me no Comfort, but increafed my Fears of Hell the more.

19. One Argument more I had arifing in me, thinking to have got fome Eafe and Hope here; thought I, this World hath been fo many Thousand Years already, and may be as many more, for ought I know.

20.

And there hath been many Millions of People fince

the

the Creation, more than can be numbered, and more than can be numbered hath been drowned in the Sea, and other Places.

21. Sure, faid I in myself, God cannot remember every particular Perfon fince the Creation thereof: Thought I, perhaps God may forget me, and not raife me again, then fhall I lie ftill and be quiet, and be as happy, never to be as those that are raised to eternal Joys.

22. But the Answer to this fpake, with a ftrong motional Voice, faying, How wilt thou know whether any is miffing

when God doth raise the Dead? How can't thou tell whether any particular Perfon is wanting by Sea or Land that is not raifed.

23. But however, faid the Voice, if there be any wanting that is not raised, God will be sure to raise thee.

24. Then had I no more to fay, nor to plead for myfelf, but muft yield and submit to the prerogative Will of God; if he would Save me he might, if he would Damn me he might, I could no ways prevent his Will.

25. And this was my Refolution, feeing the Cafe in matter of Salvation, fo with me, that it lay in God's prerogative Will only; I was refolved to feek after him in Forms of Worship no more.

26. But as I had been always kept innocent and upright in Heart, towards that God I knew not, and juft between Man and Man, and never had committed any deadly Sin to trouble my Confcience, fo I was refolved to keep myself free from Sin, to the end of my Life.

27. Thinking that if I were Damned meerly by God's prerogative Will, my Torment would be the more easy.

28. Here a fecret Voice faid, Tho' thy Torment may be cafier than Others, yer it is Eternal.

29. This Word Eternity caufed my Heart to fail within me, yet I refolved in myself to live Juftly, and get as good a

Lively

Lively hood as I could in this World, and let God do what he would with me after Death.

30. All this Difpute which I have written before, and a great deal more, it was in one Day.

XXXX

CHAP. XIII.

The Prophet's fubmitting to God's prerogative Power, immediately wrought in bim Peace and Quietness of Mind, even to all Admiration in Wisdom, and ravishing Excellencies.

I.

I

2.

N the next Place I fhall give the Reader a little account of the Effects of this Difpute, as follows,

When I had done this I was quiet and ftill in my Mind, but very Melancholy, and faint and fickly with the Trouble of my all Day in this Difpute, which was in my Mind.

3. Neither could I quiet my Thoughts untill I did fubmit to God's prerogative Power.

4. There was abundance more of motional Voices fpake in me that Day, befides what I have here fet down, but these were the most remarkable to be taken Notice of by the Reader; yet it was a bleffed Day to me, as it will appear hereafter, by that which followeth.

5. After this, that very fame Night, the Windows of Heaven were opened to me, and the Fountains of the Water in Heaven were broken up, and the Water of Life run down from Heaven upon me.

6. And the Spirit of Faith in my Heart here on Earth, did arife up with sweet Waters of Peace, fo that I faid in myself, as Peter did in another Cafe, It is good for me to be bere, for I was in the Paradife of Heaven, within Man upon Earth; neither could I defire any better Heaven.

7. Then

7. Then was the Scriptures opened unto me fo fwiftly, and more swiftly than my Understanding could receive it; and the Waters of Life run down from the Understanding of the Scriptures abundantly: And the Knowledge of the Scriptures flowed in upon my Understanding fafter than I could receive it, and yet I thought my Mind was very fwift.

8. Then was no faying of Scripture too hard for me to understand; then I faw that the affurance of eternal Life, here on this fide of Death; it lay in understanding the Scriptures.

9. Then I marvelled no longer at the Fathers of Old, in their expreffing their Faith in God, and depending upon God's Promifes to them.

10. Alfo I faw the Excellency of the Prophets Prophecies; neither did I wonder any more at Paul's Expreffions, when he was wrapt up into the third Heaven, and faw things unutterable. Neither could I utter the Revelations of the Scriptures as was poured upon me at that time, nor the Joy and Peace I received from the Revelation of the Scriptures.

12. Fot it brought unto my Mind all my Experience I had formerly, and fhewed what did uphold me at that time, even a fingle, upright Heart before God and Man.

13. Then the affurance of eternal Life caft out all Doubts and Fears of Condemnation; neither did I ever doubt of that more after that Day.

14. Then I praifed the Scriptures highly, which I had laid afide feveral Years before.

15. Then did I fee it was not in vain to fubmit to God's prerogative Will, and to wait in Patience.

16. Here was that faying of Scripture fulfilled in me, laiah xlii. 16. And I will bring the Blind by a Way that they know not; I will lead them in Paths they have not known; I will make Darkness Light before them. Though this Scripture was fulfilled in Chrift's time, yet it was fulfilled in me now.

17. For I was led by a Faith now, which I did not know : That was by the Revelation of Faith. This was a Path I did not know; for I never knew what Revelation was before.

18. Alfo this Revelation of Faith, it made that Darkness of the imagination of Reafon, be Light before me, to fee the Truth of thofe fayings of Scripture, Matt. iv. 16. The People that fat in Darkness faw great Light; and to them which fat in the Region and Shadow of Death, Light is sprung up.

19. This Scripture alfo was fulfilled in me at that time, for I fat in Darkness and in the Shadow of Death, but the Day before.

20.

But in the Evening the Light of Faith fprung up in my Soul, and the Revelation of it took me, as it were, by the Hand, from place to place in Scripture, and shewed me the meaning of it.

21. Alfo it led me to that place of Scripture, Luke i. 79. To give Light to them that fit in Darkness, and to guide our Feet into the way of Peace.

22. Here did I fee that the Day before I fat in Darkness, and in the Shadow of Death, but now the Light of Life is rifen in me, and gave me Revelation to guide my Feet in the Path of Peace, where no Fear nor Doubt fhould lie in my Way, never to stumble more.

23. Thefe, and many more, places of Scripture was fet before me, and the Light of them fhined clear about my Understanding, and gave me the Interpretation of all Scripture, and all Queftions in Spiritual Things, that could arife out of the Heart of Man, was eafy to me to answer.

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