Heaven Upon Earth, Declaration 8 – Declaration 1
VIII. Experiences of J. C.
UPon a Lords Day at Night, I being earneſtly Praying to be confirmed in Faith, & in the right ways of God; After Prayer I went to ſleep, and about five in the Morning, I had the following Dream, and preſently upon my waking, I made haſt to write it down, leſt I ſhould forget any part thereof, it ſeeming very ſtrange to me, and I believing there was ſomething extraordinary therein. My Dream was to this purpoſe.
I thought I was in the Company of Mr. R. the Miniſter, Coll. H. and my Lord C. and that we were all going together upon a fine green way, in which we Travelled a long time; and then Mr. R. turns back to us and ſaid; Brethren you may ſee what a great comfort it is to walk in the Paths of Righteouſneſs; for though we have Travelled ſo long, yet we are not at all weary, And Brethren, be aſſured that I will lead you to a place of great Joy and Comfort before it be long, if you will but follow me; Then I Dreamt we went a little further, till we came to a very long and ſpacious place, wherein there was a great Gate, and there Mr. R. made a Prayer, and as ſoon as he had concluded, the Gate was opened, and being entred, we went into a great Garden, where was a large pair of Stairs, and going up we ſaw a great many dead Mens Bones, which appeared to Mr. R. in full and perfect ſhapes of Men as ever any were, as I conceive, for at thoſe Bones he made a ſtand, and ſaid unto us; Look Brethren, and take good notice of the Handy-work of our Great God; For here you may ſee that they are in as perfect ſhapes, as they were in the lower World. We then proceeded further, and Mr. R. made another ſtand, and ſaid unto us; Brethren, now I ſhall ſee whether you are ſtrong in Faith or no; So we came to a place where we muſt needs go over, which appeared to be like a deep Pit, and a ſmall Pike ſeemed to be laid over, it, and Mr. R. ſaid; Come Brethren, our Journey is in vain, unleſs we go over this Pike, for they that will ſee the Habitation of the Lord, muſt go through many Dangers, and I, by the Grace of God will be your Leader. He then went over with as much Safety and Eaſe, as if he had walked on the Earth; Next Coll. H. went over with much eaſe alſo, and after him my Lord … It came next to my Turn, but ſeeing ſo dreadfull a downfall, and the Pike to bend and ſhake ſo much, I was extreamly afraid, and durſt not ſet a foot upon it, whereupon Mr. R. cryed out to me, O Friend, Friend, you have walkt in the Paths of Ʋnrighteouſneſs! He then made a Prayer to Almighty God, that he would permit me to go over, and afterward bowed three or four times, and cryed out with a loud Voice: Oh thou Great God, how much am I bound unto thee, for thy Loves and Manifeſtations towards me; So taking me by the Hand, he bid me come over and not fear, and then I walked over with as much Safety as the reſt; we then went a little further, and came to a very fair Room, and I could not ſee any one in it, but I conceive that Mr. R. and the other two ſaw, and ſpake with God, for after they had done ſpeaking, they gave many Bows and Thanks; And then Mr. R. ſaid; Come we will ſing praiſes unto the Lord, for all his Promiſes and great Gifts to us; Hereupon I Dreamt, we began to ſing, and I heard a Multitude of Voices, with rare Muſick; yet could ſee none but our ſelves. When Mr. R. had done giving God his Glory, in ſinging his Praiſes, he roſe up and Saluted us, ſaying, Well Brethren, I have but a ſhort time to ſtay here with you: and whilſt I have been amongſt you, I have endeavoured to bring you to the right way to Worſhip God, and for the time I continue with you, I ſhall by the help of God, make known unto you greater things then I have done yet, ſo I deſire you to follow my Counſel, and it ſhall be for your own profit and advantage.
Then I waked, or elſe might have known more; This Dream had ſuch an effect and influence upon me, that I could not reſt till I had declared it; and now I find my Heart ever ſince taken off from Sin, and the Luſts of the World, and have experienced ſo great a change in being called home to God, as I am not able to expreſs it in words; and am now deſirous to pleaſe God, and to walk in his ways, having been long before wrought upon by the Word Preached, and by Prayer; and now have given my ſelf up to God, in whoſe Mercy alone, through the Merits of Jeſus Chriſt, I expect Joy and Peace here, and Eternal Happineſs hereafter.
J. C.
IX. Experiences of Mr. J. B. Preacher of the Goſpel.
AS to my Life, and Experiences, I muſt declare; That when I was but a little one, God began to work upon me; for going to School, I once happened to Swear an Oath, as I was playing with my Companions, which I had no ſooner uttered, but I was inſtantly ſtruck with horror for it, and the ſence thereof was ſo terrible, that I doubted I ſhould be preſently thrown into Hell for it: In which Fear and great trouble, I left my School Fellows playing; the Sorrow and Miſery I thought I was in, would not permit me to ſtay any longer; Away I went into the Church Porch not far off, and ſitting down alone, for ſome time wept bitterly to my ſelf; But at length, I know not how, I began to have ſome hopes of Pardon, and thereupon grew chearful and fearleſs, till a which after, I went to ſee ſome Malefactors Executed; For after I came home, the ſight of their Deaths ran ſo much in my Mind, and appeared ſo continually before my Eyes, that my ſias, and the horrors of Hell came freſh upon me again, ſo that I was exceedingly caſt down, and cryod out: Oh! What ſhall I do? How ſhall I be Saved? Which I had often in my mouth, and in the hearing of my Friends; In this condition I could take no comfort from them, till the Lord himſelf brought me out of it, and inclined me to give up my ſelf to Jeſus Chriſt, by the Life of Faith which I now live; Notwithſtanding which, I was under ſeveral Temptations, and oftentimes they came very thick upon me; but even then I reſolved, that if I were thrown into Hell, yet I would ſtill lay hold upon my Lord and Saviour Jeſus Chriſt, and would never let him go; and upon his Merits and Satisfaction, I have been Eſtabliſhed through his Grace ever ſince; So that I take Chriſt for my King, Prieſt and Prophet, and do believe him to be a Propitiation for my ſins, and my Portion and Inheritance both here and for ever.
J. B.
Experiences of VV. VV.
I have much reaſon to acknowledge a great work of God upon my Heart, in delivering me wonderfully from ſeveral deſtroying ſins, which once I thought ſlight, but were really ſo great, that I can ſcarce expreſs them; I was very Extravagant, and brought very low both in Body and Mind, and extreamly ſenſible of Diſobeying my Parents from what the Scripture ſays of Men in the latter times, that they ſhall be Lovers of themſelves, Heady, Diſobedient to their Parents, &c. The Serious conſideration hereof caſt me down, afflicted my Conſcience, and ſo troubled me, that I was altogether comfortleſs; Thus I continued a long time, till it pleaſed God that once in a Sermon I heard Jeſ… Chriſt freely offered even to the worſt of ſinners, and then I began to look up a little with hopes of comfort, and applied theſe offers to my own Soul, being ſenſible that I had real need of them; and ſo at length I began to be ſatisfied with peace and reſt, and followed the hearing of the Word, and rejoyced in it, and loved the company of good People. And yet for all this I was under much temptation, and too much inclined to drinking, till my Brother Strong reproved me, ſaying, Brother, I hear ſtrange things of you, that you are given to drinking; This ſo ſmote me, together with the abuſes I received from the prophane ſort, who cryed out after me, O this is one of Powler's followers! that I was wounded in my ſpirit a long time, to think that I ſhould bring ſuch a ſcandal upon the Goſpel; For two months I was wofully tormented in my mind, till the Lord recovered me, and gave me reſolution and power againſt this and all other ſins, which hath continued with me ever ſince, and for which I acknowledge his great love, and merey to me, and do live upon Chriſt the true Meſſiah, whom I believe to have died for my ſins, and that he will ſave my Soul.
W. W.