William Wake

“ Put on a firm and powerful faith: for faith promises all things and perfects all things. But doubting will not believe that it shall obtain any thing by all that it can do.
10. Thou seest therefore, says he, how faith cometh from above from God; and hath great power. But doubting is an earthly spirit, and proceedeth from the Devil, and has no strength.
11 Do thou therefore keep the virtue of faith, and depart from doubting, in which is no virtue, and thou shalt live unto God. And all shall live unto God, as many as do these things. ”

“ COMMAND VIII. That we must flee from evil, and do good works.
I HAVE told thee, said he, that there are two kinds of creatures of the Lord, and that there is a two-fold abstinence. From some things therefore thou must abstain, and from others not.
2 I answered, Declare to me, sir, from what I must abstain, and from what not. Hearken, said he, Keep thyself from evil, and do it not; yet abstain not from good, but do it. For if thou shalt abstain from what is good, and not do it, thou shalt sin. Abstain therefore from all evil, and thou shalt know all righteousness. ”

“ Prepare for the judgment that is about to come upon you.
100 Ye that are the more eminent, search out them that are hungry, whilst the tower is yet unfinished. For when the tower shall be finished, ye shall be willing to do good, and shall not find any place in it.
101 Beware, therefore, ye that glory in your riches, lest perhaps they groan who are in want, and their sighing come up unto God, and ye be shut out with your goods without the gate of the tower.
102 Behold I now warn you who are set over the church, and love the highest seats, be not ye like unto those that work mischief. ”

“ Canst thou for thy estate, or for any of those things which thou hast provided, deny thy law? But if thou shalt deny it, and wilt afterwards return into thy own city, thou shalt not be received, but shall be excluded thence.
5 See therefore, that like a man in another country, thou procure no more to thyself than what is necessary, and sufficient for thee; and be ready, that when the God or Lord of this city shall drive thee out of it thou mayest oppose his law, and go into thine own city; where thou mayest with all cheerfulness live according to thine own law with no wrong. ”

“ What thickest thou within thyself? Why art thou disquieted, and fillest thyself with care?
19 Do not seem to consider, as if thou wert wise, what thou doest not understand, but pray unto the Lord, that thou mayest have ability to understand it. What is to come thou canst not understand, but thou seest that which is before thee.
20 Be not therefore disquieted at those things which thou canst not see; but get the understanding of those which thou seest. ”

“ Wherefore prove that man by his life and works, who says that he hath the Holy Spirit. And believe the Spirit which comes from God, and has power as such. But believe not the earthly and empty spirit, which is from the devil, in whom there is no faith nor virtue.
13 Hear now the similitude which I am about to speak unto thee. Take a stone, and throw it up towards heaven; or take a spout of water, and mount it up thitherward; and see if thou canst reach unto heaven.
14 Sir; said I, how can this be done? For neither of those things which you have mentioned, are possible to be done. ”

“ And I answered, Sir, if a man that is faithful in the Lord shall have a wife, and shall catch her in adultery; doth a man sin that continues to live still with her?
5 And he said unto me, As long as he is ignorant of her sin, he commits no fault in living with her; but if a man shall know his wife to, have offended, and she shall not repent of her sin, but go on still in her fornication, and a man shall continue nevertheless to live with her, he shall become guilty of her sin, and partake with her in her adultery. ”

“ She replied, I said before to thee that thou wert very wise to inquire diligently concerning the building, therefore thou shalt find the truth.
42 Hear therefore why the tower is built upon the water: because your life is and shall be saved by water. For it is founded by the word of the almighty and honourable name, and is supported by the invisible power and virtue of God.
43 And I answering, said unto her, These things are very admirable; but, lady, who are those six young men that build? ”

“ Wherefore join thyself to this spirit, which has the power; and depart from the other which is empty.
COMMAND XII. Of a two fold desire: that the commands of God, are not impossible: and that the devil is not to be feared by them that believe.
AGAIN he said unto me; remove from thee all evil desires, and put on good and holy desires. For having put on a good desire, thou shalt hate that which is evil, and bridle it as thou wilt. But an evil desire is dreadful, and hard to be tamed. ”

“ And if thou shalt propose any similitudes, and not expound them, I shall in vain hear them.
38 He answered me again, saying: Whosoever is the servant of God, and has the Lord in his heart, he desires understanding of him, and receives it; and he explains every similitude, and understands the words of the Lord which need an inquiry.
39 But they that are lazy and slow to pray, doubt to seek from the Lord: although the Lord be of such an extraordinary goodness, that without ceasing he giveth all things to them that ask of him. ”

“ When their riches shall be cut away, says she, in which they take delight, then they will be profitable unto the Lord for his building.
71 For as a round stone, unless it be cut away and is cast somewhat of its bulk, cannot be made square, so they who are rich in this world; unless their riches be pared off; cannot be made profitable unto the Lord.
72 Learn this from thy own experience: when thou wert rich, thou wast unprofitable; but now thou art profitable, and fit for the life which thou hast undertaken; for thou also once was one of those stones. ”

“ And he answered, Therefore as these things cannot be done, so is the earthy spirit without virtue, and without effect.
15 Understand yet farther the power which cometh from above, in this similitude. The grains of hail that drop down are exceedingly small; and yet when they fall upon the head of a man, how do they cause pain to it.
16 And again, consider, the droppings of a house; how the little drops falling upon the earth, work a hollow in the stones.
17 So in like manner the least things which come from above, and fall upon the earth, have great force. ”

“ The Lord of the farm is he, who created and finished all things; and gave virtue unto them.
46 His son is the Holy Spirit; the servant is the Son of God: the vineyard is the people whom he saves. The stakes are the messengers which are set oven them by the Lord, to support his people. The weeds that are plucked up out of the vineyard, are the sins which the servants of God had committed. ”

“ Why then dost thou imagine these wicked things against me?
9 Then she, smiling upon me, said: the desire of naughtiness has risen up in thy heart. Does it not seem to thee to be an ill thing for a righteous man to have an evil desire rise up in his heart. ”

“ He replied, those who have transgressed the law, which they received from him, are left in my power, that they may repent of their sins: but they who fulfilled this law and kept it, are under his power.
28 But who then, said I, are those, who went into the tower crowned? He replied, all such as having striven with the devil, have overcome him, are crowned: and they are those, who have suffered hard things, that they might keep the law.
29 But they who gave up their rods green, and with young branches, but without fruit, have indeed endured trouble for the same law, but have not suffered death ”

“ For they that are full of faith, ask all things with confidence, and receive from the Lord, because they ask without doubting. But he that doubts, shall hardly live unto God, except he repent.
6 Wherefore purify thy heart from doubting, and put on faith, and trust in God, and thou shall receive all that thou shalt ask. But if thou shouldest chance to ask something, and not immediately receive it, yet do not therefore doubt, because thou hast not presently received the petition of thy soul. ”

“ Ye know that ye who are the servants of the Lord, live here as in a pilgrimage; for your city is far off from this city.
2 If, therefore, ye know your city in which ye are to dwell, why do ye here buy estates, and provide yourselves with delicacies, and stately buildings, and supurfluous houses? For he that provides himself these things in this city, does not think of returning into his own city.
3 O foolish, and doubtful, and wretched man; who understandest not that all these things belong to other men, and are under the power of another. For the Lord of this city saith unto thee ”

“ When, therefore, both these spirits dwell together, it is destructive to a man.
5 As if one should take a little wormwood, and put it into a vessel of honey, the whole honey would be spoiled; and a great quantity of honey is corrupted by a very little wormwood, and loses the sweetness of honey, and is no longer acceptable to its Lord because the whole honey is made bitter, and loses its use.
6 But if no wormwood be put into the honey, it is sweet and profitable to its Lord. Thus is forbearance sweeter than honey, and profitable to the Lord who dwelleth in it. ”

“ He that marries says he, sins not: howbeit, if he shall remain single, he shall thereby gain to himself great honour before the Lord.
27 Keep therefore thy chastity and modesty, and thou shalt live unto God. Observe from henceforth those things which I speak with thee, and command thee to observe, from the time that I have been delivered unto thee, and dwell in thy house. ”

“ Thou seest therefore, said he, that in the repentance of sinners there is life; but for those who repent not, death is prepared.
56 Hear now concerning those who gave in their rods half dry and full of clefts. Those whose rods were only half dry, are the doubtful; for they are neither living nor dead.
57 But they who delivered in their rods, not only half dry but also full of clefts, are both doubtful and evil speakers; who detract from those that are absent, and have never peace among themselves, and who envy one another. ”

“ Here ye have the figure of the great tribulation that is about to come; which, if you please, shall be nothing to you.
29 When she had spoken thus much, she departed; but I saw not whither she went. But suddenly I heard a noise, and I turned back, being afraid, for I thought that the beast was coming toward me. ”

“ But when he cometh into the company of just men, who are full of the spirit of God, and they pray unto the Lord; that man is emptied, because that earthly spirit flies from him, and he is dumb, and cannot speak anything. ”

“ Thou art indeed guilty of many sins, yet not so many that thou shouldest be delivered to this messenger.
5 But thy house hath committed many sins and offences, and therefore that good messenger being grieved at their doings commanded that for some time thou shouldst suffer affliction; that they may both repent of what they have done, and may wash themselves from all the lusts of this present world. ”

“ Howbeit they have not departed from God, but continued in the faith; only they have not wrought the works of faith.
72 Many therefore of these have repented; and begun to dwell in the tower. Yet others still living among the heathen. people, and being lifted up with their vanities, have utterly fallen away from God, and followed the works and wickedness of the heathen. These kind of men therefore are reckoned among strangers to the Gospel. ”