A heavenly conference between Christ and Mary after His resurrection. Wherein the intimate familiarity,…

Having spoken before of common favours which Devils and Castaways may have, as well as we, I shall enlarge ¹my self a little in this, because it is a point of concernment. As in other sins we be like the Devil, so in this sin a man is worse then the Devil himself, if a man will be a common swearer, and opposer, and malicious against goodness, being only in love with some idle conceit of his own, which he will have God himself stoop to, else he will not to Heaven: he ⟨p. 204⟩will not be saved but by his own foolery. A man that hath a bitter spirit against the power of grace, that is a common blasphemer, that carrieth a spite against Religion, for him to say, God is his God, the Devil will as well say so. He will say of Paul and Silas, these are the people of God; but he will not say himself is. For a man to live in sins against Conscience, defend them, oppose all that opposeth his sins, and yet claim an interest, while that disposition standeth in him, it is more then satanical impudency, and it is extreme hardening of the heart against all goodness; for how many thousands in the Church perish, and sink to Hell under this presumptuous conceit, I am Gods, and God is mine, when the title is false, and the evidence false. And therefore is is a point deserving throughly to be examined continually, what those evidences of graces be, that we venture our souls and salvation upon. I will not stand much to press the point. But you see the necessity of it, consider therefore I beseech you wha• I have s•id. If God ⟨p. 205⟩be ours, there will be a separation, where there is an owning of God for our God; There will be a separation from all that is not his, as well as a gathering to them that be his. The work of Gods spirit in his Children, is like fire, which hath two properties, to sever all heterogeneal and strange stuff and dross, and the like, and gather all the homogeneal stuff of one nature. And so the works of the spirit gathereth to the soul so much as is good, and refines that, and severeth that which is contrary. That spirit of God, that telleth them that ²they be Gods, it is is a severing spirit, and a uniting spirit, it severs contraries, and it uniteth things of the same nature, there is a joining to what is good, and a separating of what is evil.