THERE  having been a Promise made in the Preface to the Ark of Faith, that the Diary of this Author {Jane Lead} should follow, the First Volume of the same is now accordingly Published for an Universal Good.    For the Author, or the Instrument rather made use of by the Divine Wisdom, is known to be of so Universal a Spirit;  that nothing less hereby can be designed.    And howsoever, what is herein Delivered, as well as the Manner of the Delivery it self, may come to be opposed either on this hand, or on that;  I think I can say, that I am more than Morally Assured, That the All-wise God hath hereby Ends to bring about, which the most Acute and Vulturous Eye of the Greatest Rationalist shall never be able to dive into:  and that all will serve but to a Fuller Breaking out of the Truth, and the Divine Light;  that True Light, which Enlightens every one that comes into the World, so far as it is not Resisted, and according to the Degree of Purity in the Vessel, for the Reception and Reflexion of its Rays.

This is an Age that thinks it self to excel all that have ever went before it, in the Discovery and Improvement of Truths:  and it cannot be denied, but that of these late years Mechanical Knowledge hath been brought up to a very great Height, which hath had both its Good and Bad Effects in the World.     But notwithstanding all the Fancied or Real Light, in matters either Physical or Theological;  which the Present Age doth so much boast of;  it may perhaps not unfitly enough be said of those that make the chiefest Cry, that the Veil is still before their Eyes.    And let these Imagine what they please, and Pride themselves in the Penetration of their Sight, they must all sooner or later be convinced, that it will be impossible, without the Immediate Hand of Christ, to rend away the Veil:  or to penetrate through it into the Sanctuary of God, or of Nature;   without the Great High Priest, bearing the Oracle of Truth upon his Breast, do make a way for them to enter in:  and do both open their Eyes and Ears, that seeing, they may see;  and hearing, they may hear, whatever is written by his finger, or spoken by his Mouth.    Let not the Blind think they see, or the Deaf believe they hear:  but especially let both take heed not to be Offended at those Little ones (as the Jews were of old) whose Eyes, or Ears have been Opened by the Word and Power of JESUS.

And that there may be some Such even in This Day, wherein Materialism and Sadducism do certainly no less, (if not much more) eminently, than in the First Day of Christ's Appearance in a low corporeal Form, Reign, and Triumph;  will not seem perhaps so very strange, or incredible, as to many it may at first appear to be, when what is Now here Published, as well as what hath been already Published of this Nature through the same Hand, shall come to be Thoroughly examin'd, and scan'd into, by any Impartial Inquirer.    Yet indeed such are justly to be esteemed worthy of all Commendation, that shall not from any evil Propension, but purely from an Holy Jealousie for the Honour of God, and out of a true Tenderness and Veneration for the Sacred Scriptures (which undoubtedly do contain his Revealed Will to Man,) withhold giving their Assent hereto;  if they yet Oppose not, what they may not at present comprehend.    Who, if they do indeed take heed to that most sure Word of Prophesy, and do suspend any Positive Determination in this Matter, while they have no other but this Light, as of a Candle or Torch, shining in a Dark Place, are in a good disposition to receive whatever further Manifestations of himself the most wise God may please to communicate:  And will be then fully satisfied, when the Day shall dawn, and the Day-star arise in their own Hearts.     Which it will not fail to do, according as they shall be found true to what they have already received, and believing in the Promises, that are therein given for their sakes, from Him who is the Faithful Witness, and that is the same Now as he was Yesterday, in the days of the Patriarchs, the Prophets, and the Apostles;  and will be the same for ever, the Yea and the Amen.

For in all Ages of the World God hath had some special Friends, though perhaps hidden for the most part from the World, because they were not of it:  with whom in a more Familiar and Intimate manner he hath chosen to converse, and manifest himself.    In all Ages God hath been known to be the God of the Prophets:  and for his Honour some have been confident to say, That he never did any Great Thing in the Economy of his Church, or in the Kingdoms of the Earth in order thereto, but that he hath always before revealed his Secret unto his Servants the Prophets:  and given express Manuductions, and Rules, for the Effecting of every such Work;  as particularly in the days of Moses, of the Tabernacle with all its Vessels;  in those of Solomon, of the Temple;  in those of Ezra, of the restitution of That and of the Law;  and in those of the Apostles, of the Foundation of the Spiritual Kingdom of Christ:  which is now in the Fullness of Time about to be revealed, at His Second expected Coming, in the Power and Glory of the Father, to Judge both the Quick and the Dead, according to everlasting Righteousness and Equity, and to put down all Enemies under his Feet;  that so he may not only for a Thousand Years, which are to him but as One Day, but for Ever sit upon his Holy Hill of Sion, governing all Worlds with a Scepter of Holiness, as the LORD of LORDS, and KING of KINGS.

Wherefore the Spirit of the Lord, which hath more, or less, in all Ages thus moved (as in a particular Treatise on this Subject shortly to be Published is at large Proved) upon the face of the meek and deep silent Waters, in the Souls of such, as have been first made clean through the Washing of the Word;  will certainly not fail to move upon them in this Last Age, in order to a New and Glorious Creation of New Heavens and a New Earth.    And the Inspiration of the Almighty, which giveth man Understanding, may with some reason be hoped not to have been quite Exhausted in the former Ages, but that he will appear even unto Us, as he did appear unto Them; opening Variously the Springs of all Spiritual, and even Natural Knowledge:  and will thereby renew also those Noble Works, and Deeds of Royal Power, that he did in the days of our Fathers, the holy Prophets and Apostles;  and in the Old time before them, even in the beginning of the Creation of God:  Before Man had corrupted his way;  or had alienated himself from the Image of the Everlasting Light, and the Unspotted Mirror of the Power of God.    While not having cut himself off from the pure Streams, flowing from the Glory of the Almighty, he might, as His Representative, Oversee, and Govern all the Creatures of this Globe, whether in the Earth, or in the Water under the Earth, or in the Air above it;  by virtue of that Sovereign Charter committed to him, Gen. 1.28.

Which Charter having been forfeited, the Divine Character expunged, the Seals broken, all the Ensigns of Royalty defaced, the Virgin Image deflowered, and the Angelical Life and Might exchanged for that contemptible weak Form, which we now wear, that is subject to the curse of Mortality and Sin;  It is again renewed to us, much more strongly than at first, through the Pure Humanity of Christ, which is exalted above all the Principalities and Powers in the Heavenly Places;  the express Character of the Father afresh imprinted, as in the very Forehead;  a new and everlasting Commission established, to go forth and act in the Tri-un name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, which is sealed with the Heart of Jesus;  All the Royal Ensigns are redelivered, the Crown of Immortality, the Scepter of Righteousness, and the Love Imperial Standard of JEHOVAH;  the Violated Image is restored, the Image of the Beast ground to Powder, and his Number perfectly raced {erased}.    So that the Bestial and Antichristian Kingdom being hereby brought to an end, a new AEra of the Kingdom of Christ doth thereupon Commence;  first in particular Souls, then in the whole Family of the First-born, after that in the Great Assembly of the After-born, and so on till the whole Mass be Leavened and Transmuted by the Ferment of the Divine Nature passing through the Glorified Body of Jesus, that is able to subdue every thing unto it self.     This verily is that Kingdom, which is so much talked of, and so little every where understood, but less still pressed after:  which is in this Book, and in that also of the Revelation of Revelations (Published now ten years Ago,) so Essentially and Fundamentally declared;  as nothing Higher, nothing Deeper can upon this Subject be ever laid down, whether in Time, or Eternity.

And because Solomon, (whose Reign was as a faint Sketch or Type, of the Glorious Reign of the true Jedidiah, or Beloved of the Lord) built himself a Royal Palace in Lebanon, which was a fruitful and a well-watered Soil, and most beautiful for its scituation, where he made Gardens and Orchards, planting in them Trees of all the variety of most excellent Fruits, also Cedars and Fir-Trees for Building;  with great Water-works, Pools of Water, and Fountains;  with a fair Tower also looking toward Damascus;  and with a Vineyard of Red-wine, where he entertained his Shulamite Queen, and her Honourable Women:  Therefore is the Palace, or Mansion-house of the Great KING, the true Solomon, or Prince of Peace, here Parabolically represented to be raised up as a New Lebanon, whereinto the Tabernacle of the Eternal Wisdom, coming down from God out of Heaven, with all its Furniture, is brought;  and the Children of the Lamb's Bride are figured out to grow up by the sides of this House, as the Branches of a fruitful Vine, or as so many several Lilies, from one Stock, or Olive-Plants from one Root;  according to the manifold proportion and diversity of the Divine Seed cast into the Ground of Nature, by the Great Seedsman.    Whence the expected Kingdom of the Messiah in Restored Nature, which is called the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of Heaven, is according to the Spirits Mystical Dialect, compared to a Vineyard, to a Garden of Lilies, and to a Corn-field;  and is expressed by the various figurations of a New Eden;  of a New Canaan;  of New Heavens and new Earth;  of Fountains and Trees, and Plants of all sorts;  of Canals, Aqueducts, and Rivers of Pleasure;  of Tents, Palaces, and Temples;  of a Mountain, of a Rock, and of a City;  of  Sion, Lebanon, and the Hills of Spices;  of new found Countries descended out of the Heavens, or by the Creating Word in the Divine Magia made to appear, as a new Sharon, and a new Havila, and a Beulah;  of Jerusalem, of Bethel,  and of the Southland of Eternity;  of the Pleasures and Grandeur of a Rich, Powerful and Wise Prince, such as Solomon, and of all the Badges of Royalty, and Scenes of Magnificent Glory, that do, as in a shadow, precede, attend, or follow the Marriage and Reception of a Royal Bride.    But this Heavenly Kingdom, this Marriage-supper of the KING, this Inauguration and Coronation of the Lamb, and of his Bride, to the Kingdoms of the Earth, and to the lost Dominion and Sovereignty over the whole Six days Work, is not to be expected but after very great and mighty Preparations;  many forerunning Signs of the Son of Man coming to us in his Fathers Glory, and the Six Ascending Steps to the Throne of the Great Solomon.    All which are most difficult to pass; so that few, if any, have been able in many Centuries to hold out to the last Degree, or Ascension-step to this Throne.    But they have fell short of the PHILADELPHIAN Crown, and of the high Prerogatives thereof, viz. the being made Pillars, and Principal Supporters, in the Descending Temple of the Most High God;   the bearing the Name of JEHOVAH, by an Essential communication of the Properties, Powers, and Dignities of their Eternal Father, opened to such in JESUS, and by a most Real, Intimate, and Vital Penetration of that most glorious wonderful Name, burning in the Bush of their Humanity, and putting forth it self in Imperial Acts and Deeds;  Their bearing the Name of the New Jerusalem-Mother that Free-woman which is above, and demonstrating livelily {in a lively manner} its Inscription, by an utter defacing of that of the Mother of Babylon, and of the Beast upon which she rides;  and by Majestick environing Brightness as of the Sun, a subduing the Moon, with all that is sublunary and mutable, under their Feet, and a wearing upon their Heads a Crown of Twelve Stars, wherein so many Royal Pre-eminences and Ghostly Powers are contained;  The bearing the Names of the Foundations of this City, the Names of the Tribes of Israel, and the Names of the Apostles of the Lamb;  and the bearing lastly the New Name of Jesus, that no Man knoweth but he himself, who with his own Finger hath written it on their Vestures, and on their Thighs, that so in all things they may be made like unto him their Head-Life, by the all-powerful working of His Spirit, with which they are sealed.

There are but few found, who have so much as an Ear to hear what the Spirit saith to this Church of Philadelphia, the First-fruits of the Lamb:  or even but to receive the Promises of the Holy and True One, who is now at this instant with the Key of DAVID, Opening gradually this blessed State in a few chosen Names;  so that none shall ever shut it more.     And he is shutting up in such the Dark Abyss, and wrathful depraved Nature;  so that it can never be again Opened.     But still fewer are they, who have not only an Ear to hear, but also an Heart and Hands to Act whatever the Spirit saith:  and who dare to adventure on, to the laying hold of such a weighty Crown, as in that of the First-born.     And even of those that do so adventure forward for this most High Prize, some do stop having attained to the First Degree, others rest in the Second, and others in the Third, as thinking that they are already got to the Sixth, and so want nothing but to be taken presently to sit with their Lord in his Throne.     Some are willing at the end even of the first days work of Regeneration, or Spiritual Creation, to enter into their Sabbath:  and without having passed the Works of the other Five Days, to sit contented with the first productions of Divine Light upon the Soul.    Some who have beheld one, or two, or perhaps three Signs of the coming of the Son of Man, have not had patience longer to wait for all the Signs:  but have thence peremtorily concluded, that he was come to them, and that his Kingdom was in them, before a Redemption has been wrought out from the lapsed Nature;  or before the very Head of the Serpent has been bruised in them, and slain by the Virgin Seed of the Wisdom of God, in the meek Second Holy Principle of Light and Love:  which by the Inspired Penmen of Old, is expressed by that most soft and yet most victorious Name JAH.    Hal-lelu-JAH.

For the prevention therefore of all such Miscarriages, and for the undeceiving of those who think it a light thing to be a King's Son, or a King's Daughter, it hath seemed good to the Most Wise God and Father of our Spirits to raise up, according to the necessity of this present day, an Instrument by him fitted, through many Fires and Waters, and through all manner of Temptations, both in the Heighths above and the Depths beneath, and immediately instructed at Wisdoms Oracle, for so great a Work, as the education of the King's Children, and the leading them up step by step to their Fathers Throne, that they may be Kings and Priests upon the Earth unto God, and unto the Lamb for ever;  and may from the Righteous Virgin Earth spring up as Plants of mighty Renown in a well-watered Paradise, and as Olive-branches, continually empty the Golden Oyl out of themselves, and drop their fatness, for maintenance of a Perpetual Light in the Sanctuary, that was before darkened.

This will easily be seen to be the Drift of these Writings, by any one that is but a little skilled in their Dialect.    And it is no contemptible Providence of the All-seeing Eye of Eternity, that this Book, after having laid so many years as in the dust, should now come to be brought forth into the Light, in such a Critical Juncture of Time, and in this very Year, which is full of great Expectations on this hand, and on that.    To which nothing is given me in Particular to say, but only this Word of Caution to the greedy Expectants and Waiters for some Outward visible Revolution in Church or State:  Let such be Sober in their Hopes, and take good heed to themselves of their Observations, or Calculations:  and let them not lay too great a stress upon any external Deliverance how great soever, or upon the rise or Fall of any Earthly Monarch, Potentate, or State:  neither let them seek for the Kingdom of Christ in their own Will, nor according to certain preconceived Notions and Images, nor binding it down to any Sect or Party in the (so called) Christian World:  for they shall find it no where but in the Triumphant Resignation of Jesus Christ.     When therefore they shall be certain that they have drunk of the very same Cup which he did drink, that they have passed through the strait and wrestling Gate of Death, that they are entirely passed from all their Own, into the Liberty of the Divine Will, and have broken down every Image and Boundary, that Man, as Man, hath set up;  then let them know that the Kingdom of Christ is near to them, and upon its very breaking forth in much Glory, Majesty and Power.     And when they themselves are thus got without the Walls of the Great City, Babylon;  then, and not before, let them expect the Descent of the New Jerusalem out of Heaven.     For most assuredly, to none but Virgin Souls;  to the true Nazarites, that for the Hope of Israel do wait in the Inward Temple Day and Night, with their Lamp-spirits ever burning, that so they may be ready to go forth at their Bridegroom's Call to meet him;  to the Lilies of the Valley, who, though they neither Reap or Spin for themselves, are yet arrayed more gloriously than Solomon, in the Immaculate Robe of the Lord their righteousness; yea to none but the Undefiled Doves, that are in him made all beautiful and fair, and that having washed themselves seven times in the Pool of his Blood, are thereby set apart, and redeemed from the Earth, to be His Companions;  will this Beloved City come down.    Of the Truth of which every one must necessarily be convinced, that doth but consider seriously the Process that this Author hath been Led in, according as the same from these ensuing Memoirs may be gathered, in order to the drawing down the Powers of the Heavenly Worlds, and the unsealing the Fountain of the Holy Ghost, and the Book of the Resurrection.     Neither can this Jerusalem Glory be discerned by any others, or after any other method than is herein laid down from the Opener of that Principle, let them look never so long about, crying Lo here in the East! or, Lo there, in the West.    For this High Promotion of Wisdom's Children cometh neither from the East, nor from the West;  neither out of the North, (as some are gazing after it at present,) nor yet from the South.     But the Lord cometh from TEMAN, where the glorious Virgin Principle is Unlocked;  whence the warm, holy, Supernal South-wind doth blow upon the Gardens of Lebanon, and cause the Spices to flow out;  whither the Patriarch Abraham always directed his Travels; and where Jacob saw the Ladder of Heaven, and the Gate thereof.    The Key of which Gate is there presented by the Hand of Divine Wisdom to all her Children, to whom she crieth aloud, standing at the entry of the Celestial City, and proclaimeth the Joyful JUBILEE;  inviting them to return now from their Captivity, and Presently to come forth from the tottering Babel, which is founded upon the Sands, and to enter with her Key into this City, which hath Foundations.    For this She standeth in the top of the Heavenly Places, and putteth forth her Voice to them at the coming in at the Doors:  for this She meeteth them in every Path, layeth hold on them that, having tried them with her Laws, they may enter in Hereby, and feast at the Table which she hath furnished for them.     But, alas!  I see, that the most even of those that have been enroll'd under her Discipline, will be not a little afraid to lay hold on this Key of the Kingdom, when it is reached out to them:  and will shrink from it, beholding how large it is, and that it is made full of all Solid Gold;  even as this very Author did at its first Presentment, as thinking it impossible for any ever to bear the Weight of it.    Besides this, there is a Mercurial Serpent which twineth himself about it, whose Life can be destroyed no otherwise but by the Royal Antidote of the Unicorns Horn.

Let not any therefore think it a Light thing, or easily Attainable, to bear the Key of the Government on their Shoulders.     But let them examine thoroughly the several Progresses and Steps of this Author, in order to its Attainment;  that are Recorded for the space of about Six Years, in This present Volume.   Of which it must be confessed that much has been Lost;  so that the Links of Wisdom's Chain may often seem to be broken.     But as the greatest Architect, Statuary, and Painter of the last Ages, is said to have become so Excellent, merely by his Observations drawn from a most Imperfect maimed Statue, or Bust, being the Work of a most Exquisite and Masterly Hand:   so it is not at all to be despaired, but that there may be found also in This Day some of Rare and Excellent Abilities of Spirit, who, notwithstanding any Imperfections or maimings of this Spiritual Register, or any Defects in its Exterior Habit of Language or Style, may by the assistance of their Supream Tutor' draw forth, even from the Disjointed Parts of This Work, such an excellency of Knowledge and Skill in all True Learning and Solid Wisdom;  that they may be found ten times better, and more Skilful, than all the Magicians, and Men of Fame, that are in the Universities through out all Europe.   For when Wisdom's Key is obtained, and her Book unsealed in any, according to the Process here described;  then may all the Depths of Philosophy, as well as of Divinity, and all the Hidden Treasury of Wisdom;  in all Worthy Arts and Sciences, be successively broken up.     And thus, as from one Foot of the Rhodian Coloss, (which is to this Day preserved) every one that is but skilled in the Proportions of the Human Body, can exactly Calculate what the Whole should be, and Know thence how to frame one accordingly:  so every one to whom God has given some good degree of Understanding in the Symmetry and Proportions of the Spiritual Body, will notwithstanding any Intervening Breaches, or Abrupt Transitions, be able hence to Frame some suitable Idea of the whole Design and Oeconomy of God, in the Manifestation of his Kingdom to Separated and Virginiz'd Souls.

Now the Manifestation of this Divine Kingdom is Various in Several Persons, and in the same Person at several Times.     Whence this Variety in the Descent of the Heavenly and Ghostly Powers, (whether in this Principle or in another) and of the Joys of the World to come, is here not unfitly Symboliz'd out by a Garden, or Paradise;  as it was by the King thereof himself in his truly Gracious Answer to the Penitent Thief.     And yet more Expressively is this Flourishing State of the Lamb's Elect Bride Cipher'd to us by a Fountain of Gardens, {Cant.4.15}or Paradises, planted with all Trees of Frankincense, Myrrh, and Aloes, and with all the chief Spices;   out of which the Royal Ointment is prepared for the Consecration of such Priestly Kings, as are to Reign upon the Earth in the Lamb's Nature, and Name.     Which shall make all the Wild Beasts of the Forest to fly into Dens and Lurking Holes and every Venomous Creature to hide it self from the Great Attick Joinin, in his Representatives, and from the Fiery Stream issuing out of his Mouth;  by which the Spirit of Antichrist, that Huge Leviathan, shall be utterly Destroyed.

So will the Kingdom of Christ manifest it self, by a Gradual, but Total, overthrow of that of him, who has Usurped all the Kingdoms of the Earth;  until all that which he has caused to be as a Wilderness by the Blast of his Poisonous Breath, be again Renewed, and made to be as a Garden of God, filled with Wells of Living Water, and Streams from the Upper Lebanon:  A Garden giving forth all the Variety of Flowers and Fruits of Life, according to the Seasons, and according to every ones Essential Ground, and Internal Soil:  a Garden in which there is not any mixt Tree, existing from the Root of the outward Elements, containing Good and Evil, Truth and Falsehood, Light and Darkness; but all whose Trees are Trees of Life, all whose Plants are Plants of Righteousness, all perfectly Good and True, All-beautiful and Lustrous.

How various the Manifestation of this Lebanon-Kingdom will be, no Pen can describe, no Tongue can express.    That is Various indeed:  but the Manifester all the while is but One;  and the Essential Word of God, which is the Worker of all these things, is most Uniform.     The Manuductions, Illumination, and Inspirations are very different, but still there is but one Way, one Light, and one Spirit;  one Lord, and one God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of us all;  who in these last Days is about to appear yet more fully to us by his Son, setting him Openly upon his Holy Hill.     Thus he who is the Abyssal Unity of all Beings, clotheth himself as with several Names, rideth forth in several Powers, weareth on his Head several Crowns, and glanceth from his Eyes several Lights.    And yet there is but One Crown, One Power, and One Name, as there is but One Light;  which diffuseth it self in all the variety of Colours.    Which Unity and Variety of Light is well to be heeded in the Reading of this Book, and of all other Spiritual Treatises whatever, of what Rank or Degree soever they be.    For God sometimes appears in the Darkness, and yet in that Darkness there is Light:  again he appears in the Light, and yet Darkness may be mixed with this Light, till the Perfect Day do spring from on High.     Thus he appears to some at a distance, as in a great and strong Wind;  to others in an Earthquake:  in both which Forms he eminently manifested himself through some, about the Beginning of the Last Century.     Then after this, approaching still nearer, he appears to a third sort in the Fire:  as at this very Day he powerfully doth to some, that are known to Wisdom's Disciplehood.    And lastly he demonstrates his Presence to some, as to this his Chosen Vessel, in a still small Voice, and in a sweet, gentle, lambent Flame.    Sometimes God manifests himself to the Eye or Ear of the Receptive Heart, according to the several Properties, Operations, and Influxes of this or that Name, which he puts on;  of this or that Attribute, which he communicates;  of this or that Sphere, in which the Living Wheels of the Creatures before the Throne of God do move.    Thus was he manifested to the Unregenerate Spirit of Balaam, according to the efficacy of the Name Shaddai; who saw the Vision of him in this Similitude or Vesture, falling into a Trance:   And this is the lowest sort of True Divine Prophesie.    Then was he Manifested unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the Name of El-Shaddai:  which is a much higher Degree than the former;  as that whereby is expressed, not only the Paternal Property in the Absolute Sovereignty of his Will, but also the Meek Love-Principle co-joined with it in a Federal Rite.     After this he was manifested under the Law, at sundry Times, and in divers Manners, by the Most Essential, and Great Name of the Covenant, Jehovah;  but still according to the variety of the Vessel, and its fitness to receive the Emanations thereof, either in a High or Low Degree.    Then lastly he was made known, under the Gospel, to the Apostles, to the Evangelists, to the Prophets, and to other Ranks mentioned in the Apostolical Epistles by the Name of Jesus:  which Name doth Unseal, and Open that of Jehovah;  whence the Miraculous Powers did so abound in the Early Days of the Church, while there was Faith in this Name.    But still it is the same One, Holy and True God that revealed himself both to the Vile Son of Beor, and to the most Heroick Father of the Faithful;  though not by the same Name.    And he is nevertheless One, and having Appeared after a Manner, and in that Name, to the Prophets of Old, and then speaking after another Manner, and by another Name to their Successors the Prophets.    Neither would he be the less so, should he even speak to us, after another Manner than he hath yet spoken either to the Prophets, or to the Apostles:  or should he make himself known to us by a Name, whereby he was not known to them.     He is still the same, let the Vessel be never so Different:  and is equally to be Adored and Believed, whether he takes up an Honourable or Dishonourable Vessel, Learned or Ignorant, Noble or Plebeian;  whether the Instrument be a Priest or Levite, Israelite or Proselite, Male or Female, Young or Old.    Some has he called from the Plow, others from gathering of Sycamore Trees, and others from their Drag-Nets;  whom he has set over the Nations and over the Kingdoms, to Root out and to Plant, to Throw down and to Build up by the mighty Power of his Spirit according to its various Operation, and Manifestation.    It matters not what the Subject is, into which the Divine Influences are receiv'd, and through which they pass:  even though it should be an Heathen, as in the Case of Jethro;  or a Brute Beast, as in that of Balaam.    The Gradation nevertheless of these Influences may be computed according to the Scituation, and according to the Proximity and Remoteness of the Subject which is to receive them, from the Source, or Center of Divine Light, and according to the several Channels and Ducts that they must first pass through, before they are therein received.    But the All-wise God is never wanting in the Preparation of such Vessels, as may be suitable for the Reception of such Degrees of his Light, as he designs to Communicate.     And this Beautiful Variety is, in the Writings of the Old Testament and also in those of the New, most Remarkable.    For it is one Degree of Inspiration that Moses had, and another that Isaiah had, and third that Daniel had.    Neither is the Inspiration of the Writer of the Chronicles the same with either of these Three:  And yet both the one and the other are all from the True Inspiring Breath of God.    The Like may also be observed in the New Testament.    But to Treat of this would require a large Discourse.     What has been here already said, will suffice for the Wise in Heart;   that they may understand the Voice of the Lord their Bridegroom, when he shall call to them, in the Cool of the Day, and present himself walking in the Garden;   that they may not seek to hide themselves from him, but may walk therein leaning upon his Breast, and refresh themselves with its Flowers and Fruits, that do there present themselves to be Plucked.

As for the Removal of that Great Millstone, which is thrown in the way, That God hath ceased to Reveal himself to Man since the Days of the Apostles, and that all Pretensions to the same are but illusions, and at best but the Dreams and Fancies of a Natural Enthusiasm;  I am not very solicitous, as well knowing that the same God, who hath already appeared in a most Wonderful manner to give his Testimony to Souls concerning what hath been hitherto Published from the same Spirit and Instrument, will not be wanting Now to give his Seal to This, or to what hereafter may come to be Published:  and even in a more ample and fuller manner to Vindicate his Honour, than he hath been yet known to have done since the Primitive Days of Faith.    But howsoever the Wisdom of God may, with respect to these Particular Writings, shew itself at present, this Millstone must shortly be cast into the Sea.    Otherwise the Kingdom of God, which we daily ought to pray for, can never come:  And it is little better but a Mockery of his Name to solicit him for the Calling of the Jews, and the Fullness of the Gentiles, and for Unity, Peace, and Concord to all Nations;  till this Beam be removed from before the Eye of our Spirits.    For which End there hath been some while since a Treatise writ, to Prove not only the Possibility, and the Expediency, but even the Absolute Necessity of Divine Revelation, both Private and Publick;  as in the Ancient Times, so no less in the Present Time, toward the Restitution and Winding up of All Things:  Which the Author of it undertakes to evince from plain and evident Principles, not disputed by the very Deists;  and having done with them, to Clear up many Passages throughout the Prophets, and throughout the whole New Testament, which are impossible, as he holds, to be Accounted for by any other Principles.    But how Successful such a New and Surprizing Attempt may be, is entirely submitted to the Disposal of the Infinitely Wise God, when he shall order it to come forth, for his Honour alone, and for no other Aim whatever.    And unless he gives this Order, and by his Blessed Spirit do Accompany it, let it never see the Day:  And whatever disagreeable to his Glory, or Inconsistent with his Truth, may have at any time been sent abroad of such a Nature, let it moulder away in Perpetual Obscurity:  and let it not be remembered by Him, when he maketh Inquisition, or even known among Men.     But whatever is consistent with his Eternal Truth, and makes for his Glory upon the Earth in this Latter Day, let that break forth with might and irresistible Power, to the Confusion of all Flesh.

Wherefore I do bow my Knees continually before the God of my Fathers;  that he would give me who Write, and Thee who Readest This, Wisdom that sitteth by his Throne:  and reject us not from among his Children, the Children of his Kingdom, and of his right Hand;  but Seal us, against the Great Day of Temptation, which is coming upon the Face of the whole Earth, with the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Jehovah, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, of Counsel and Might, and of a Sound Judgement;  Which is the Testimony of JESUS.     That so by the Inspiration of this His Holy Spirit, we being Preserv'd against all the Illusions of the False Prophet, and the Subtilty of the twisted Serpently Spirit, for the Day of His Appearance; may Perfectly Love Him, walking with Him as Enoch, or as John, in this Paradisiacal Garden, the Entrance whereto, that has been Shut up, is setting Open:  and may Worthily Magnifie His Holy Name, even as in Heaven it is magnified by the High Principalities and Thrones, and by the Harpers upon the Sea of Glass.

To which Burning Sea of LOVE these Secret Spicy Walks will lead thee:  while the Holy Angels and Perfected Saints will accompany thee all the way, reaching out to thee such fragrant immortal Flowers, and such Refreshing, Transforming, and Transubstantiating Fruits, as do spring forth from the very Root of the Deity.    Here therefore I would gladly leave thee.    If thou art not already Entered, Wisdom calls unto thee hereinto to enter, and to pass quickly the Sword of the Cherub:  which she will assist thee to Break.     But if thou art entered, then Here abide, and Walk, till thou art brought to the Shore of that Sea, by this Experimental Traveller described, which will waft thee over to the New Jerusalem.    Where I with thee, and with all those that follow the Lamb, do long to sing, Glory to God in the Highest, &c.  and to publish the Glad Tidings of the Kingdom of Our God and Saviour;  flying in the midst of the Heavens upon the Wing of the Dove-Spirit, and Proclaiming with a Loud Shout,

FEAR GOD:  AND GIVE
GLORY TO HIM.    FOR THE
HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT
IS COME.  Rev. 14.7.

Timotheus.
{Known to be Francis Lee, M.D.}