The Disciple being very earnest to be more fully instructed how he might arrive at the Supersensual Life; and how, having found All Things, he might come to be a King over all God's Works; came again to his Master the next Morning, having watched the Night in Prayer, that he might be disposed to receive and apprehend the Instructions that should be given him by a Divine Irradiation upon his Mind. And the Disciple after a little Space of Silence, bowed himself, and thus brake forth:
Disciple:
O my Master! my Master! I have now endeavoured to recollect my Soul in the Presence of God, and to cast myself into that Deep where no Creature doth nor can dwell; that I might hear the Voice of my Lord speaking in me; and be initiated into that high Life, whereof I heard Yesterday such great and amazing Things pronounced. But alas! I neither hear nor see as I should; there is still such a Partition Wall in me which beats back the Heavenly Sounds in their Passage, and obstructs the Entrance of that Light by which alone Divine Objects are discoverable, as till this be broken down, I can have but small Hopes, yea, even none at all, of arriving at those glorious Attainments which you pressed me to, or of entering into that where no Creature dwells, and which you call Nothing and All Things. Wherefore be so kind as to inform me what is required on my Part, that this Partition which hinders may be broken or removed.
Master:
This Partition is the Creaturely Will in thee; and this can be broken by nothing but by the Grace of SELF-DENIAL, which is the Entrance into the True Following of Christ, and totally removed by Nothing but a perfect Conformity with the Divine Will.
Disciple:
But how shall I be able to break this Creaturely Will which is at Enmity with the Divine Will? Or, what shall I do to follow Christ in so difficult a Path, and not to faint in a continual Course of SELF-DENIAL and RESIGNATION to the Will of God?
Master:
This is not to be done by thyself; but by the Light and Grace of God received into thy Soul, which will, if thou gainsay not, break the Darkness that is in thee, and melt down thine OWN Will, which worketh in the Darkness and Corruption of Nature, and bring it into the Obedience of Christ, whereby the Partition of the Creaturely SELF is removed from betwixt God and thee.
Disciple:
I know that I cannot do it of myself. But I would fain learn, how I must receive this Divine Light and Grace into me, Which is to do it for me, if I hinder It not my own SELF. What is then required of me in order to admit this Breaker of the Partition and to promote the Attainment of the Ends of such Admission?
Master:
There is Nothing more required of thee at first, than not to resist this Grace, Which is manifested in thee; and Nothing in the whole Process of thy Work, but to be obedient and passive to the Light of God shining through the Darkness of thy Creaturely Being, which reaching no higher than the Light of Nature, comprehendeth It not.
Disciple:
But is it not for me to attain, if I can, both the Light of God, and the Light of the outward Nature too; and to make use of them both for the ordering of my Life wisely and prudently?
Master:
It is right, I confess, so to do. And it is indeed a Treasure above all earthly Treasures, to be possessed of the Light of God and Nature, operating in their Spheres; and to have both the Eye of Time and Eternity at once open together, and yet not to interfere with each other.
Disciple:
This is a great Satisfaction to me to hear; having been very uneasy about it for some Time. But how this can be without interfering with each other, there is the Difficulty. Wherefore, fain would I know, if it were lawful, the Boundaries of the one and the other; and how both the Divine and the Natural Light may in their several Spheres respectively act and operate, for the Manifestation of the Mysteries of God and Nature, and for the Conduct of my outward and inward Life?
Master:
That each of these may be preserved distinct in their several Spheres, without confounding Things Heavenly and Things Earthly, or breaking the golden Chain of Wisdom, it will be necessary, my Child, in the first Place to wait for and attend the Supernatural and Divine Light, as that superior Light appointed to govern the Day, rising in the true East, which is the Center of Paradise; and in great Might breaking forth as out of the Darkness within thee, through a Pillar of Fire and Thunder-Clouds, and thereby also reflecting upon the inferior Light of Nature a Sort of Image of Itself, whereby only it can be kept in its due Subordination; that which is below being made subservient to that which is above; and that which is without to that which is within. Thus there will be no Danger of interfering; but all will go right, and every Thing abide in its proper Sphere.
Disciple:
Therefore without Reason or the Light of Nature be sanctified in my Soul, and illuminated by this superior Light, as from the central East of the holy Light-World, by the Eternal and Intellectual Sun; I perceive there will always be some Confusion, and I shall never be able to manage aright either what concerneth Time or Eternity; but I must always be at a Loss, or break the Links of Wisdom's Chain.
Master:
It is even so as thou hast said. All is Confusion, if thou hast no more but the dim Light of Nature, or unsanctified and unregenerated Reason to guide thee by; and if only the Eye of Time be opened in thee, which cannot pierce beyond its own Limit. Wherefore seek the Fountain of Light, waiting in the deep Ground of thy Soul for the rising there of the Sun of Righteousness, whereby the Light of Nature in thee, with the Properties thereof, will be made to shine seven Times brighter than ordinary. For it shall receive the Stamp, Image, and Impression of the Supersensual and Supernatural; so that the sensual and rational Life will hence be brought into the most perfect Order and Harmony.
Disciple:
But how am I to wait for the Rising of this glorious Sun, and how am I to seek in the Center, this Fountain of Light, which may enlighten me throughout, and bring all my Properties into perfect Harmony? I am in Nature, as I said before; and which Way shall I pass through Nature, and the Light thereof, so that I may come into that Supernatural and Supersensual Ground, from whence this true Light, which is the Light of Minds, doth arise; and this, without the Destruction of my Nature, or quenching the Light of it, which is my - Reason?
Master:
Cease but from thine own Activity, steadfastly fixing thine Eye upon one Point, and with a strong Purpose relying upon the promised Grace of God in Christ, to bring thee out of thy Darkness into His Marvelous Light. For this End gather in all thy Thoughts, and by Faith press into the Center, laying hold upon the Word of God, which is infallible, and which hath called thee. Be thou then obedient to this Call; and be silent before the Lord, sitting alone with Him in thy inmost and most hidden Cell, thy Mind being centrally united in itself, and attending His Will in the Patience of Hope. So shall thy Light break forth as the Morning; and after the Redness thereof is passed, the Son Himself, which thou waitest for, shall arise unto thee, and under His most healing Wings thou shalt greatly rejoice; ascending and descending in His bright and salutiferous Beams. Behold this is the true Supersensual Ground of Life.
Disciple:
I believe it indeed to be even so. But will not this destroy Nature? Will not the Light of Nature in me be extinguished by this greater Light? Or must not the outward Life hence perish, with the earthly Body which I carry?
Master:
By no Means at all. It is true, the evil Nature will be destroyed by It; but by the Destruction thereof you can be no Loser, but very much the Gainer. The Eternal Band of Nature is the same afterward as before; and the Properties are the same. So that Nature hereby is only advanced and meliorated; and the Light thereof, or human Reason, by being kept within its due Bounds, and regulated by a superior Light is only made useful.
Disciple:
Pray therefore let me know how this inferior Light ought to be used by me; how it is to be kept within its due Bounds; and after what Manner the superior Light doth regulate and ennoble it.
Master:
Know then, my beloved Son, that if thou wilt keep the Light of Nature within its own proper Bounds, and make use thereof in just Subordination to the Light of God; thou must consider that there are in thy Soul two Wills, an inferiour Will, which is for driving thee to Things without and below; and a superiour Will, which is for drawing to Things within and above. These two Wills are now set together, as it were, Back to Back, and in a direct Contrariety to each other; but in the Beginning, it was not so. For this Contraposition of the Soul in these two is no more than the Effect of the Fallen State; since before that they were placed one under the other, that is, the superiour Will Above, as the Lord, and the inferiour Below, as the Subject. And thus it ought to have continued. Thou must also further consider, that answering to these two Wills there are likewise two Eyes in the Soul, whereby they are severally directed; forasmuch as these Eyes are not united in one single View, but look quite contrary Ways at once. They are in a like Manner set one against the other, without a common Medium to join them. And hence, so long as this Double-sightedness doth remain, it is impossible there should be any Agreement in the Determination of this or that Will. This is very plain; and it showeth the Necessity that this Malady, arising from the Dis-union of the Rays of Vision, be some Way remedied and redressed, in order to a true Discernment in the Mind. Both these Eyes therefore must be made to unite by a Concentration of Rays; there being nothing more dangerous than for the Mind to abide thus in the Duplicity, and not to seek to arrive at the Unity of Vision. Thou perceivest, I know, that thou hast two Wills in thee, one set against the other, the Superior and the Inferior; and that thou hast also two Eyes within, one against another; whereof the one Eye may be called the Right Eye, and the other the Left Eye. Thou perceivest too, doubtless, that it is according to the Right Eye that the Wheel of the superiour Will is moved; and that it is according to the Left Eye, that the contrary Wheel in the lower is turned about.
Disciple:
I perceive this, Sir, to be very true; and this it is which causeth a continual Combat in me, and createth to me greater Anxiety than I am able to express. Nor am I unacquainted with the Disease of my own Soul, which you have so clearly declared. Alas! I feel such irregular and convulsive Motions drawing me on this Side and that Side. The Spirit seeth not as the Flesh seeth; neither doth, or can the Flesh seeth as the Spirit seeth. Hence the Spirit willeth against the Flesh; and the Flesh willeth against the Spirit in me. This hath been my hard Case. And how shall it be remedied? O how may I arrive at the Unity of Will, and how come into the Unity of Vision?
Master:
Mark now what I say: The Right Eye looketh forward in thee into Eternity. The Left Eye looketh backward in thee into Time. If now thou sufferest thyself to be always looking into Nature, and the Things of Time, and to be leading the Will, and to be seeking Somewhat for thyself in the Desire, it will be impossible for thee ever to arrive at the Unity, which thou wishest for. Remember this; and always be upon thy Watch. Give not thy Mind leave to enter into, nor to fill itself with, that which is without thee; neither look thou backward upon thySELF; but quit thySELF, and look forward upon Christ. Let not thy Left Eye deceive thee, by making continually one Representation after another, and stirring up thereby an earnest Longing in the SELF-Propriety; but let thy Right Eye command back this Left, and attract it to thee, so that it may not gad Abroad into the Wonders and Delights of Nature. Yea, it is better to pluck it quite out, and to cast it from thee, than to suffer it to proceed forth without Restraint into Nature, and to follow its own Lusts. However there is for this no Necessity, since both Eyes may become very useful, if ordered aright; and both the Divine and natural Light may in the Soul subsist together, and be of mutual Service to each other. But never shalt thou arrive at the Unity of Vision or Uniformity of Will, but by entering fully into the Will of our Saviour Christ, and therein bringing the Eye of Time into the Eye of Eternity; and then descending by Means of this united through the Light of God into the Light of Nature.
Disciple:
So then if I can but enter into the Will of my LORD, and abide therein, I am safe, and may both attain to the Light of God in the Spirit of my Soul, and see with the Eye of God, that is, the Eye of Eternity in the Eternal Ground of my Will; and may also at the same Time enjoy the Light of this World nevertheless; not degrading but adorning the Light of Nature; and beholding as with the Eye of Eternity Things Eternal, so with the Eye of Nature Things Natural, and both contemplating therein the Wonders of God, and sustaining also thereby the Life of my outward Vehicle or Body.
Master:
It is very right. Thou hast well understood; and thou desirest now to enter into the Will of God, and to abide therein as in the Supersensual Ground of Light and Life, where thou mayest in His Light behold both Time and Eternity, and bring all the Wonders created of God for the exterior into the interior Life, and so eternally rejoice in them to the Glory of Christ; the Partition of thy Creaturely Will being broken down, and the Eye of thy Spirit simplified in and through the Eye of God manifesting Itself in the Center of thy Life. Let this be so now, for it is God's Will.