It is necessary to show what these visitations are, to convince that they are, and so to undeceive those that think they are not.
It is also necessary to free those from error, who believing that they are, yet do mistake those that are not, for those that truly are gracious from the Holy Spirit.
Such visitations there are, for they are seen and felt by men seeing and waking not only with the bodily eyes, but with two better eyes, the one human reason, and the other far excelling that, divine and heavenly light. Spiritual light beholds these Spiritual lights, and shows them to the understanding, which being convoked by that which it sees, believes them itself, and would also deliver over the sight, and the belief of them to others.
But the thoughts of man are narrower than these joys, and words are narrower than thoughts. But, which is worse of all, the heart of an earthly man is narrower than the narrow words of a spiritual man; For the carnal man perceives not spiritual things, though they beheld up before his fleshly eyes; yet in the mouth of two or three eye-witnesses a word will stand, and stand it does, though blind men see it not standing before them, and therefore stumble at it.
But who knows whether an Ephatah my come down from heaven, that while a spiritual object is proposed, a spiritual light may be infused? However the words of heavenly wisdom are not spoken in vain to the children of wisdom; and especially those who are yet but children, and not perfect in the art of discerning good and evil, must not be left to the dangers of error and mistaking.
The black Angel sometimes changes himself into an Angel of light by deception, and then my he also make some shows of lightsome visitations. There is also a cheerful/confident and natural lightsomeness, and a bright beam of burning, that sometimes shines in the mind, and these also may be mistaken for the Divine.
But the Spirit is not flesh, much less is he that evil spirit, which is contrary to him. And because the spirit is that which these are not, the visitations are such, as those imaginations are not which come from these. and that this difference may the better be discerned, let us behold the true characters of a spiritual visitation, which the soul see’s when the husband of souls visits her.
A FIRST mark and sign of his presence is True Light; Jesus is the True Light. A light not fitted for the eye but the soul, even a light spiritual, and shining spirit and truth into the soul and spirit. For the Lord is a spirit, and when he comes into the soul, he comes with abundance of that spirit which leads into all truth revealed in Scripture. He is the light of the world, eve of the great world of mankind, and therefore when he comes into the little world of one man, how great is his light?
And when this light shines brightly, then the soul by it does see spiritual things as truly and assuredly, as the corporal eye see’s corporal things. For there is an agreement between a spiritual eye, and spiritual objects, as there is between the bodily eye, and bodily object. By this light, things formerly not shown are seen and discovered, and spiritual things known before only by a carnal, which is a false knowledge, are spiritually, and so truly discerned; for the light is that which makes manifest, and this light being spiritual makes spiritual things so manifest, that it gives a full assurance of understanding, and makes us know that we know them. Even those things which before seemed fables and foolishness to the carnal eye, to this spiritual sight and light, appear plainly to be deep mysteries, and most wise truths. Especially the great Bridegroom of souls, who to the jews is a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness, to this light appears clearly to be the wisdom of God, and the power of God. For the light begotten acknowledges the light begetting, and Christ is seen in the soul by his own beams. He is seen there as a Head and Husband to the Church, as a root of life; as an all-sufficient Saviour, and able to restore a decayed and lost creation, to disperse and and cast/beat down a combined association of adversary (page 247) and might spirits, and to unite and ecapitulate the scattered members of a mystical body both in heaven and earth, each to another, and all to the Deity.
He is beheld as the fairest of men, the souls well-beloved, an infuser of that blessed sap of spiritual life, by which the soul is purified here, and made capable of the beautific vision in an eternal life hereafter. And as this derived light shows us the primitive light which begat it, and being spiritual, shows us that Lord who is the Spirit from whom it proceeds , so does it also discover to us diver other spiritual truths, and is a kind of Oracle that gives divine answers and resolutions.
Now that we may know this light to be certainly truth, and not an imagination and with all to be truly spiritual and heavenly, and not carnal, earthly, much less infused by a counterfeit Angel of light;
Let us first observe that this light of the Spirit does agree with the light of the word: The same spirit of God which shines now in our souls in these heavenly visitations, did first shine in the word; so that the light of the word, and the light in our souls are twins, and resemble each other, and agree like brethren. If therefore there be this agreement, then there is this brotherhood, and if no agreement, then there is no brotherhood. Therefore to the Law, to the testimony, if thy thoughts speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them: for indeed if our thoughts be truly enlightened, we will find some words in the word of God confirming them; Yea many times this light within will call up some place of the word without for a witness to it, to confirm a truth which in that place was not formerly perceived. Such is the harmony and power of harmony between the spirit and the word, that when you hit a spiritual truth in your soul, there will often come a sound an echo from some place in the word agreeable to it. And as the word does approve this light, so does this light approve the word.
It loves to look on it, it see’s a heavenly wisdom in it, yea it see’s secret in it: yea many times it will in some short sentence, yea in some single word, find a Mine of heavenly doctrine, and as at a little crany discover a world of divine truths. And so the light of the spirit does approve itself, not only by being approved by the word, but by approving, and improving it. (“Spices” add flavor to the meat we chew on.)
This is a sufficient trial and touchstone of this heavenly light though if need were I might add, the willing resignation of reason, even of the natural light of the soul to the Sovereignty of this divine and heavenly light. the understanding is not fettered and bound by a violent hand, but it yields itself up freely to be subdued and captivated by a light that surpasses the light which itself has. The reasonable light of man continues in man, even when this supernatural light shines, it knows what other men know, and knows what itself knew and thought before this light came to it; but this light being come, it yields willingly to it, and surrenders both itself and the man whom it formerly guided.
This homage of reason shows a sovereignty in that spiritual light to which reason does this homage. The going out of the light of a candle, (not by quenching, but not-shining) “a smoking flax” perhaps. acknowledges a greater and more excellent light to be present. And indeed reason even with reason gives way, that a greater light should rather guide than a lesser; yea with reason it gives way, that this itself being a lesser light, should be increased and enlarged by a higher and greater, that so it may discern higher and greater things. And this increase it experimentally finds: for by this new and greater light, the soul sees the supreme light which begat it, she sees him to be her sovereign good; she sees the way to him, and is directed to union with him, and to the full fruition of him.
And because she see’s these excellent things now, which she saw not before, she justly and wisely resigns herself to that light by which she see’s those excellent things which she saw not before, and to that fight by which she see’s in a more excellent manner of seeing.
Marks of Divine Visitations Part 2
Thank you for your response. ✨
This is page 238-256
Part 2 pages 256-280 “Joy, food for the soul, and holiness”
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