Benefits of visitations of Christ by His Spirit

As he was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows, so doth he give of his ointments to the Bride which is joined in communion and fellowship with him.  For of his fulness, does she receive, even grace for grace.The precious ointment drops from this head, unto his body, the Church, and thereby she is made all glorious she is now within by grace; and she will hereafter be glorious, both within and without with perfect glory.

1.  Among the benefits of this glorious Grace, wherewith the church is inwardly beautified, when the Bridegroom visits her with his spiritual ointments, this is a great one, that the heavenly oil gives light to the soul: the soul is a lamp, and with this oil is the lamp of the wife Virgins trim’d, and becomes a burning and a shining light.

They have that light from the bridegroom, by which they look out for the bridegroom.  The eye salve is gotten from Christ, by which the eyes of the Church being anointed do see him, and all things that concern him.  Spiritual things are spiritually to be discerned; and Christ and his spouse are one Spirit, and by that Spirit whereby she is one with Christ,  doth she discern spiritual things.  The husband of the Church, is the wisdom of his Father and when wisdom goes into a soul he gives wisdom to the soul. John 17:14. The Spirit by which he enters into us, takes of his, and gives it to us.  Therefore as he is wisdom in himself, so is he also made wisdom to us, 1 Cor. 1:30

Christ is light and when Christ and the soul are knit together by that union with light, there is a communion of light.  The wine of the Spirit is herein quite contrary to the bodily wine.  The bodily wine when it inebriates, darkens the understanding, and being grosser than the soul, casts a mist upon the soul.  But the spiritual wine, being purer than the soul, enlightened and clarifies her,  and even then when it brings her to an ecstasy, it does it, not by the diminution, but by the excess of light.

Wherefore let the soul make special use of this precious light which shines within her, in the access of her husband, let her mark, and learn, and record the discoveries of that light; for a Spirit so enlightened will discover more than seven men upon a watchtower.  There are some mysteries and secrets which your husband will whisper unto you by his spirit in the bed of love, and then let him that has an ear, hear what the Spirit says.

But if he does not speak to you, doe you speak to him; know of him those things that are needful for thee to know, and bring to his light those things that you would have truly seen and discerned.  Go into this sanctuary, and there receive Oracles and Answers; for there will you find resolutions for those things that were before too high and too hard for you Ps. 73:17

And when you have truly seen them, believe them to be that which by this light you see them to be, and resolve never to believe the flesh hereafter, when the flesh will put other shapes upon them.  in his light we see light (truth, knowledge of God) For darkness puts false and imaginary shapes upon things, but it is light that makes all things truly manifest.

For example, when this light shines in upon the soul, look out for your happiness; and that you may find it,  set all things before this light, which are briefly these, The creator and the creature, God and the world: and having done this, you may plainly see, where is true solid and permanent felicity; and where is vanity, transitoriness and misery:   And when you have seen it, know it to be the very truth which you have seen;  and that which is once truth is truth for ever.

If you lack the skill of truly measuring time and eternity, so that a short life seems to you like eternity, and eternity less than a short life;  When this light shines in your soul, bring the life of man and eternity together in one view before it,  and you will quickly learn the art of numbering the few days of this life, and with all the days of eternity cannot be numbered.  Psalm 90:12

There is not so much proportion of likeness between them, as there is between the very lowest and least point of the earth,  and the circle of the uppermost sphere.  And what you have now seen to be true, believe to be true ever, even when this light is so obscured, that you see not the truth of it.  If you doubt which is better, the prosperity of the wicked, or the adversity of the Godly, bring them before this light, even into the sanctuary and temple of thy soul,  Wherein the holy Ghost dewelleth and shineth; and there will you see that prosperity ending in a never-ending misery, and that adversity ending in a never-ending felicity.

Besides, you will see the prosperity to be but a light vanity, yet followed with a weight of misery 2 Cor 4:17  and you will see adversity to be but a light affliction, yet followed with a weight of glory.  And having seen this, you may easily judge which is the better, and as hey appear now to you judgement, such let your memory present them to you forever!!!

If you are doubtful of your way, and your path seems to be covered with darkness, search you way by this light, for it shall be to you instead of a voice, saying, This is the way, walk in it.  Is 30:21  When after some dark nights the soul is visited ( through the lovingkindness of her beloved) with these day springs and mornings of grace, then let her say “Cause me to see and know the way wherein I shall walk”; and then the good spirit will lead you into the land of uprightness.  Follow him or die.

John 1:14; 2 Cor. 4:6 If the word written be dark to you, bring it to the light, and  if it be fit for your measure, and the glory of the Lord, this light will reveal it: for the Spirit reveals the hid things of God.  If the infidelity of men without you, or of you won flesh within you, cast a mist of doubts on the Gospel of Christ Jesus, with this light behold this Gospel, and you will see in it a plot of divine wisdom, and mystery of high and supernatural truth.  yea you will see the face of him who is the sun of Gospell, as the face of the only begotten Son of God, full of grace and glory.   For God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

It is an ancient promise, They will be all taught of God. Is. 54:13 And when will God sooner teach than when he visits a soul with his Spirit, which communicates both his light, and his love unto her?  For both light and love are discoverers of secrets: light makes manifest things hidden in the darkness, and love tells councils unto the beloved. It is our Saviours own inference, I have called you friends, therefore I tell you my counsels.  John 15:15

But remember that the knowledge that you learned from this teacher of hearts, be laid up by you safe, as a precious stock or treasure, and account it you best learning, which you have learned of the best Teacher.  Having bought this truth sell it not; keep it, and it will keep you;  When you go, your steps will not be stl.., and when you run you will not stumble; Therefore take fast hold on this instruction, let her no go, keep her, for shed is you life.

2.  Secondly, These seasons of love, are seasons of prayer.  If you want anything now, ask it, for in these heats of love, your husband will deny you nothing.  These be the times when the spirit moves the waters;  Therefore now cast in your portion, and whatsoever grief it has in it,  you will be cured of it.  Mat. 6:33 Now the King holds out his golden scepter, therefore let the queen come in boldly with her request, though it be for a kingdom;  Yea this King likes it best, if you do first seek a kingdom: wherefore whatever you ask, be sure to ask this kingdom, yea to ask it first, and the righteousness inseparably annexed to it.  Desire His rule and reign in your heart.  It were a madness in you to offend him by asking a less gift, when you may please him by asking a greater, especially, since if you ask and obtain the greater, the lesser by promise is annexed to the greater.

And accordingly you may come down in your petitions, that the king of glory may be glorified, by the coming of his kingdom of grace, with the righteousness thereof, then after may you petition for daily bread to be given you.  Yea, know that you are now in a high degree, the temple of the holy Ghost;  and whatsoever prayer or supplication shall be made in this Temple by a man that will know the plague and grief of his own heart, He that dwells in heaven will hear the prayer made on earth, he will forgive and do according to that prayer.  The Spirit of Prayer and supplication is in this temple, and he is most powerful in these seasons of love, and he who gives this spirit of prayer, will hear the prayer of the spirit which He Himself gave.  For he gave this Spirit of purpose, to make those prayers in us, which himself might approve and grant.

We know not how to pray as we ought, for we are carnal, and flesh will not ask so,  as it may be pleasing to a spirit.  A spire loves a spiritual prayer; and therefore he gives the Spirit, that he may have that Spiritual prayer which he loves.  So when he hears his spouse, he hears himself, and how can anyone deny his own holy desires and prayers?  Christ and his spouse are now, (and that in a height of eminence) one Spirit.  And if a man who is flesh, do not hate his own flesh, but cherishes it, surely much more assuredly the Lord who is a spirit, can not hate his own spirit, but loves and cherishes, and consequently hears it.

Thirdly, when the soul is visited by the Spirit of the Bridegroom, then set upon some good, yea upon some great work.  The Spirit which we receive is a Spirit of Power, and when the Spirit flows much into us in these tides of grace, we receive much power.  Now great power can do a great work, and it were both a loss and a shame to you, with a great power to do a little work, when you may do a great one.

Therefore if there be a work which before was to great and too hard for you, yet now set upon it; for when your strength is greater, you may do that work, which you could not do when you strength was less.  Our Saviour says to Peter,  you can not follow me yet, but you will follow me hereafter;  you can not follow me yet, until your strength is greater, by a greater portion of the spirit:

But when you are more strengthened by the Spirit, then you will follow me.  And accordingly he that before Christs resurrection denied Christ at the voice of the maid, after his resurrection confessed him in the face of a council;  And no wonder, for it is then said of Peter, that he was filled with the holy ghost. Acts 4:8.  Neither is it true of Peter alone, that a great measure of the spirit enables to a great work, but in others also.  When the Spirit of the Lord comes mightily upon Sampson, he doth might works; for he breaks cords as flax, and slays thousands with a bone of an ass.  And Paul being filled with the holy Ghost, worth a miracle, by which at once he confounded Elymas, and converts the Deputy. Though two talents gain but two, yet five can gain five:  Therefore mark when the Spirit comes mightily upon thee, and then attempt some mighty work.  aS the seaman watches the natural wind and tide, so do thou watch the wind and tide of the Spirit:

The spirit blows when he wishes, and when he wishes to blow, then set forth on some noble action:  When the tide of the spirit floweth, then put thy hand to the oars, for then if you row strongly, you may advance mightily.  The soul lying in flesh and blood, is like a boat on ground, all the rowing in the world will not move it, but let the tide come and set him afloat, the same tide that enables him to move, will also mightily advance the motion, which it first enabled.  Wherefore if there be any virtue, or any work of excellence, not yet well done, think upon it in these times and tides of grace: now set upon them, that so you ;may go from virtue to virtue, until you be skillful, and active in all virtues: and having attained the full number of them, then strive to the fullness and perfection of degrees. on the Contrary, if you have some mighty enemy, that has been to hard for you, even some raging and wasting concupiscence, fear, distrust, or other temptation, now set upon him mightily, for now can you best see the way to conquer him, and now have you most might to effect this conquest, and to do what you see.

Having tasted this honey, thine eyes shall be opened, and your strength revived;  wherefore make you now a more mighty slaughter of the enemies of God and your soul.  (gain some shields!).  and let your fighting be against all these enemies though chiefly against the chiefest.  There are some little foxes that have strong holds, and these will ask some strength, to be rigged out and taken.  Remember that your warfare is against the whole nation of the Canannites, you may not suffer a little one to live.  You must strive against all sin, and strive for all righteousness; for the fruit of the Spirit is all goodness, righteousness and truth. Eph. 1:9  It is the saying of a Saint, I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.  If therefore Christ strengthens you, strive to do all things also.

Neither have you in these times, only a greater strength to encourage you to great works, but also a great joy.and indeed the joy of the Lord is our strength.  The joy that is in us is a piece and pattern of the joy set before us, and by this piece of joy within us, beholding the joy set before us, we may despite the shame, and endure the cross, and run with patience the race set before us: As sure as we have this pawn, so sure shall we have the performance: and therefore we may labor comfortably in the works of doing and suffering, because our labor is not in vain in the Lord. the joy which we have excites us to labor, because as this joy is followed with labor, so shall the labor be followed with an overweighing joy: and the greater the labors are to which this joy of the spirit encourages us, the greater shall those joys be which follow these labors; for her that soweth plentifully to the spirit in labors, will reap plentifully of the spirit in the joys life everlasting.

Though no life everlasting can be longer than another, yet one life everlasting may be more joyful than another, and this greater joy shall follow those that dying in the Lord do rest from greater labors.  And as the joy precedent, and the joy subsequent do encourage us to the labors of holiness, so does also the joy concomitant.  The spirit thrives, grows fat, prospers and rejoices in the doing of good works, even like the might man in the running of his race.  As the natural man pleaseth himself in eating and drinking, so does the spiritual man delight himself in well-doing; and it is meat and drink to an heavenly Son,m to do the will of his heavenly father.

When a thing works naturally, it works pleasantly, and it is natural to the godly nature to work godliness. 2 peter 1  Therefore by all these ways, Blessed is the people that knows the joyful sound, they will walk in the light of your contenance, o Lord Psalm 89:15.  They that know the joyful sound, are blessed, and they are walkers:  The joyful sound is a precedent blessedness it is, to walk in the light of God’s contenance, and the future is to walk by that light unto the countenance itself, which is perfect blessedness.  The joyful sound, and the light of God’s countenance, do no allow any to take up their rest here, but they call on them to walk, eve to walk cheerfully in good duties, by these streams of blessedness, unto the ocean and fullness of blessedness.  Wherefore let us make this use of the precedent, present, and following joys, even to walk and run that race of piety which is here presented/prevented with that sound, accompanied with gladness and the light of God’s contenance, and shall be followed with the never-ending fight of that countenance, and shall be followed with the never ending fight of that countenance which is the fountain of that light, and which to behold is true felicity.

4.  Fourthly, in these times of plenty lay up a stock of confidence and comfort for times of scarcity.  It has been told you before, and you will find it true, that the Bridegroom sometimes hides his face, and holds back his ointments, and the Spirit which blows not when he wishes, and blows not when He wishes not.  Therefore go unto the ant, and learn of him in the summer of consolation, to provide for the winter of desertion.  If with Thomas you have seen and felt Jesus to be Jesus in his near and palpable approaches and visitations; and have then truly called him, My Lord and my God:  lay up this truth for the times of desertions, an believe that truth to be then true, when thou see not the truth to be then true, when you see not the truth of it; and that though you are changed, yet Jesus Christ is yesterday, today, and the same for ever.  And for the better help of your memory, and assurance of your soul, set down upon record these testimonies and tokens of love, and seal of union which Jesus gave to your soul when he visited her in the bed of love.  In an ill matter Tamar Gen. 38:25 kept a seal and a staff for the safeguard of her life: in a good matter you will much rather keep these seals for the safety of you soul

2 Pt. 1:16, 1 John 1, Romans 8:16, Gal. 4:6-7.  And if your enemy, who is both a Tempter, and an accuser, and in these times of desertion does commonly tempt by accusing, do call your soul into question for her life, accusing her to be an adulteress of the flesh, and not a spouse of Christ Jesus, bring forth you seal and tokens which lay by you, and tell him, that whose these are, His you are, your well-beloved is yours, an you are His:  Tell him, that you have not followed cunningly devised fables, but have been an eye-witness of Christ Jesus and His love: and what you have seen and heard, and felt, that declare and show to the face of your accuser: tell him, The spirit of Jesus has left a testimony with your Spirit, that you have been one spirit with Jesus in a heavenly marriage; and then say also, wherefore we are no more two but one Spirit;  let no tempter, nor temptation put asunder, what God has put together.  Thus in laying up the seals of union, you lay up a stock of confidence; and you may see Saint Paul making the same provision, and the same use of it; God hath given us the earnest of the Spirit,  Therefore we are always confident!  2 Cor. 5:5.

Not only do you from these memorials gather confidence but comfort.  True it is that confidence itself will bring comfort, for hope is the juice of confidence, and this juice is an especially comfort and cordial to the soul.  But besides this comfort which arises from the apprehension of the things to come, you may take comfort in that which is past, and therewith refresh your soul in times of drought and weariness.  By these memorials and pledges, call to remembrance his loves his sweetness, his kisses of love, His ointments.  Renew the images and keep them fresh in you soul, and these will comfort you, when the things themselves are absent.  It will be a pleasure to you, to taste over his loves, again and again by renewed remembrances of them. It will be a pleasure to you to repeat the pleasure your soul has enjoyed, and to say, His love was more pleasant than wine, and I ate under His shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.  (God was feeding Irsael and Solomon’s wife His love through Solomon.)

You have tasted and by tasting seen that you Lord was gracious, and now see and by seeing fast how gracious you Lord was,  For as tasting brought forth seeing at the the first, so now a revived seeing will also bring forth a revived tasting; each mutually begetting other.  Yea, many times when you do this only by remembrance and representation of that which is past, you shall bring into you, the substance of that whose shadow you recall:  And so while Jesus and his sweetness are represented to you, as they have been before seen and tasted, they will even now present themselves afresh to be tasted and seen by you,  While the disciples going to Emaus talked Luke 24:15,19 of Jesus as of one that was absent,  Jesus became present unto them, and then their hearts burned with an heavenly fire.

And so while you talk with your soul of Jesus, of his beauty, of his graces, of his sweetness, he will present himself to you, and you who would have accounted it a great comfort, to sit under the shadows of His remembrance, will now enjoy His recall presence, and eat of his most pleasant fruits; for when he comes, he comes with abundance of life and of consolations.  Your remembrance of him, brings him into you whom you do remember, and then you need not to borrow comforts out of the stock of your former remembrances, for you have the Comforter himself to give you new comforts, and so may add them to the stock of your memorials and remembrances, for future encouragements and consolations.

Lastly, let the pieces and earnests of heavenly joys stir up your desires and affections, to the fruition of the fullness of joys; let these drops of God’s sweetness enflame your soul with a thirst and longing to enjoy God the fountain of this Sweetness.  Let these kisses of Christ Jesus kindle in you such a fervent love of Christ, that your soul may pant to be united to him in a perfect and consummate marriage.

And out of the heat of these longings and enflamed desires, sen up the aspirations and breathings of your burning soul on vehement wishes, and groaning complaints: Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, when will I come and appear before God?  My tears have been my meat day and night, while the flesh says to the Spirit, Where is thy God?  desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, which is best of all, and therefore is it best of all to be with Christ.  You have tried in the drops of his sweetness which you have tasted, that he is best of all, for the taste of Christ in them has distasted all the taste of the creatures.  You have tasted and seen that the goodness creating is better than the goodness created; and therefore Christ is best of all.  These drops of the Creator are better than all the visible creature, and he that is the fountain is better than the drops that distill from the fountain, and so he is better than the creature, and therefore is best of all:  and if he be best, surely it is best for you to be with him; the enjoying of the best is the best enjoying.  Therefore call unto him, O send out your light and your truth, let them lead me, let them bring me unto your holy hill:  let your good spirit lead me and bring me to your blessed presence, that as I have seen you in these models, and mirrors, and earnests, so I may behold you face to face.  And though your pilgrimage be prolonged, and being present in the body, you are absent from the Lord, ye derive rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord.  Accordingly let your affections be ever rowing in these streams of the Deity to the Deity Himself: by theses patterns of rich oar, having discovered a far richer mine, do not stand gazing on the patterns, nor think yourself rich enough in them, but by them be stirred up to get and possess the full riches of the Mine.

Indeed the pattern shows you the richness of the Mine, it being a part of that riches which the Mine will give you. But remember it is but a piece, and a piece cannot be equalled to the whole; for the whole has an infinite fulness of such pieces in it.  And hereby there is such odds between a piece and the whole, that a piece is more valuable for being an earnest of the whole, than for his own value.  It is more to be prized for that which it promises, than for that which it exhibits.

Therefore value it highly for the worth which it has in itself, but value it infinitely more highly, for that excessively exceeding weight of glory which it promises.  Look upon it for the goodness that is in it, but much more on the goodness without it, which the goodness within it promises.  So by looking on it, look from it, even beyond and above it; for though these earnests first do call your affections, then do they remove your affections, to that whereof they are earnests: our rest is not in them, but in Him!!  that gave these earnests, who gave them for this end, that they might direct our faith and hope to him who is or rest. Wherefore as God spake to Irsrael by Moses, so speaketh He to the true Israel by these earnests, “Go forward”.  Ex. 14:15

Why stand ye still gazing and resting on these earnests, when even the earnests themselves call on you to go forward?  the earnests, call on you to go forward from earnest to full performances, from grace to glory, from faith to vision, from the drops of the Deity to the Deity itself, the only true rest and Sabbath of the soul.  And when God says, Go forward, if any man draw back, his soul will have no pleasure in him.  But of all drawing back, let us most of all beware of drawing back from God to the world.  This were yet a father degree of going back from God to the world.  For whereas the drawing back from God to the earnests is one degree, this going back from the earnests to the world is a second and a most fearful degree.  This is a true returning from canaan to Egypt: but let us remember what the Apostle says of the right possessors of these earnests: Heb. 10:39 “We are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

If we believe, we do look forward, and go forward, for faith looks not on things seen, but on things not seen,  and such are the things before us; yet because the strong taste of the onions of Egypt, (even of fleshly lust) do stick still in or teeth, and often make Manna to seem but a dry meat, it is not amiss, that this word Go Forward, be often sounded in the ears of the heavenly pilgrims.  These earnests are Manna, and this Manna is not such a dry meat, as the flesh would make it, for it serves to carry us unto the land of eternal felicity: it both calls upon us to go to our husband who is our happiness, and it enables us to go that journey, whereunto it calls us.  Therefore let us hearken to the voice of it when it calls, because the same that calls us, doth also enable us.  We have received the earnest of the Spirit, therefore are we always bold, and willing to be with the Lord, whose earnests we have received.  We would put off these bodies of dust and lust, that our souls may put on Christ in a full and furtive union.  Yet neither would we wholly be unclothed of our bodies, but put them off, to put off their baseness and sinfulness, and to put them on again glorious and holy.  And then shall it be a fit garment for the soul in the day of her gladness, and capable with her of the consummate marriage with the King of glory.  And for this marriage the Spirit and the bride say , Come: the bride says it by the Spirit, and the Spirit says it in the bride: This is the voice of the bride, and not of her tounge only, but of her Spirit; and not of her spirit only, but of the Spirit in her spirit. If then you have the same spirit of love, because you loves, do you also speak and say, come Lord Jesus, come quickly.

This is page 179-237  “Benefits of Visitations”

Page 238-256  “First sign of a true and right visitation”