The condemned mans reprieve, or Gods love-tokens, flowing in upon the heart of William Blake, a pentient sinner, giving him assurance of the pardon of his sins, and the enjoyment of eternall happinesse, through the merits of Christ his saviour. Recommended by him (being a condemned prisoner for man-slaughter within the statute) unto his sister, and bequeathed unto her as a legacy. Blake, William, prisoner in "Exon Jayle" This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A76826 of text R207110 in the English Short Title Catalog (Thomason E705_18). Textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. The text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with MorphAdorner. The annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). Textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. This text has not been fully proofread Approx. 26 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 9 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. EarlyPrint Project Evanston,IL, Notre Dame, IN, St. Louis, MO 2017 A76826 Wing B3154 Thomason E705_18 ESTC R207110 99866181 99866181 118445 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A76826) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 118445) Images scanned from microfilm: (Thomason Tracts ; 109:E705[18]) The condemned mans reprieve, or Gods love-tokens, flowing in upon the heart of William Blake, a pentient sinner, giving him assurance of the pardon of his sins, and the enjoyment of eternall happinesse, through the merits of Christ his saviour. Recommended by him (being a condemned prisoner for man-slaughter within the statute) unto his sister, and bequeathed unto her as a legacy. Blake, William, prisoner in "Exon Jayle" 16 p. printed by Richard Bishop, London : Anno Dom. 1653. Annotations on Thomason copy: "once my family servant" inserted with a caret between 'Blake,' and 'a pentient'; "J [sic] July. 14" . Reproduction of the original in the British Library. eng Blake, William, -- prisoner in "Exon Jayle" -- Early works to 1800. Salvation -- Early works to 1800. A76826 R207110 (Thomason E705_18). civilwar no The condemned mans reprieve, or Gods love-tokens, flowing in upon the heart of William Blake,: a pentient sinner, giving him assurance of t Blake, William, prisoner in "Exon Jayle." 1653 5280 5 0 0 0 0 0 9 B The rate of 9 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the B category of texts with fewer than 10 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-06 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2007-06 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2008-03 Elspeth Healey Sampled and proofread 2008-03 Elspeth Healey Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion THE Condemned Mans REPRIEVE , OR Gods Love-Tokens , flowing in upon the Heart of WILLIAM BLAKE , a penitent Sinner , giving him Assurance of the pardon of his Sins , and the Enjoyment of Eternall Happinesse , through the Merits of Christ his Saviour . Recommended by him ( being a condemned Prisoner for Man-slaughter within the Statute ) unto his Sister , and bequeathed unto her as a Legacy . Galathians 6. 14. 17. God forbid that I should glory save in the Crosse of our Lord Iesus Christ , by whom the world is crucified unto me , and I unto the world . LONDON , Printed by Richard Bishop , Anno Dom. 1653. The condemned Mans Reprieve . Gods tokens of Love , sealed and lockt up in the heart of a Saint , by the Spirit of God , with the key of Love : The riches of Gods grace flowing in upon the soul of a Saint , expressed with joy and thankfulnesse to his abillity , finding himselfe unable to speak what sweet tast , what infinite consolation , he finds in Christ Iesus . VVHat tempests ! what fiery darts of Sathan have been thrown at me ! what wounding of conscience ! what flames of Hell fire flashing in my face upon remembrance of my sinnes , which I have acknowledged to my God , in prayers and tears ! how long did I pray and desire others to pray for me , before I could finde comfort ! how long did the Devill lead me away captive in sins which I knew not to be sin , when I thought I had comfort , and it was no true comfort ! till thou O my most lust and Loving God didst by the convincing power of thy Spirit , discover to thy poor creature his own emptinesse , and vilde condicion by nature , I had both selfe love and spirituall pride within me ; how willingly would the Divell have posted mee to Hell with those sinnes , hadst not thou , O my God , humbled me , and made me see my self in the looking glasse of thy Word , with thy Spirit , I was meere vanity , as the dust that fleeth away ! I confesse to thee ( my most just God ) my repentance was not true , my sorrow and tears thou regardest not , because I was selfe , till thou threwest me down in my selfe , and madest me humble ; I perceive thou delightedst not in mee , nor had I such delight as now , ( I blesse thy Name ) I do find ; and doe here set down in writing to the praise of thy Name , to the exalting the eternal infinite mercies of thee my Eternal Loving God in Jesus Christ ; living in me to the sole praise of thy Name : how long was I under the spirit of bondage ! how long did I fear the grand enemy of mankind the Devil ! but Lord thou hadst compassion upon me when I was afar off , and how sweetly at last in the midst of tears , and groans , didest thou come and refresh my fainting soule with a still , low , but sweet voyce , Sonne be of good choar , thy sins are forgiven thee : how often Lord hast thou turned my tears of sorrow into tears of joy ! what comfort hast thou given mee in my prayers , when I found by faith in thee , comfort from thee ! how hast thou strangly , and powerfully , with faith in the Lord Jesus taught me to pray unto thee , with thine own Spirit ! how hath my soul often melted into tears from the apprehensions of thy Love , and many manifest tokens of thy Love ! thou hast put my tears into thy bottle , my heart makes an ekko , as thou emptiest it , so thou fillest it again , and every heart-tear sounds a heart-filling joy , Blessed are they that mourn , for they shall be comforted : oh what a calm doe I feele in my soul in my meditacion of thee ! and yet Lord , when I look back upon the World , and my own natural thoughts and consultacions with flesh and blood , what rough & tempestious waves , do arise in my mind ! but Lord I trust in thee , and did I not constantly servently call aloud to thee in my prayers , ( Lord help me or I perish ) it were impossible I should be saved : and how could I find such joy in tribulacion , didest not thou keep up my heart by true saving Faith in thee my God , in and through Jesus Christ the true consolacion of my poor soul , in this weak creature ? O my God , I cannot expresse thy Love to my poor soul , it is infinite ! I am but finite , I can but wonder , and not enough , thou breathest into me full streams of thy Love : how doth my soul earnestly desire to empty it selfe in thee ! the more I expresse to thee , the more thou fillest me , how lovingly dost thou refresh my soul with thy blessed Spirit ! and how blessedly my soul yeeldeth to the love of thee my Love , by thy Love in me : my Love , my Joy what melody do I hear ! what sweet low musick , doth thy Spirit sound in my heart ! O that thou wouldest make it an Instrument , that it live yet till it breath forth its sound , and praises to thy Name : name me for one of thy faithful servants to whom thou intendest to say , well done my good and faithfull servant : Lord not my will , but thy Will be done by me thy poor , and unworthy servant , on Earth , as it is in Heaven , Lord I am thine , do with me what thou wilt , Lord let mee heare thy voyce , let me know it , that I may run willingly if thou call , presently let me be ready with my wedding garment , to meet thee sweet Jesus , if thou bid me stay , give me patience , let thy Will be done by me , in me , with me , doe what thou wilt Lord I am thine , command willingnesse in me to obey thee in all thy Commands , command what thou wilt my faith is such in thee , thou wilt enable me ; thou wilt not forsake them that trust in thee , Lord my trust is wholly in thee , Lord thou knowest I am feeble , and weak , but thou art strong and powerful , oh my God uphold me with thine Almighty power , that I fall not from thee : I am vilde and impure , mutable , but oh my God thou art holy , and just , pure , unchangable immutably good , my cheifest good ; my God I am uncertain , but thou art certainly my most mercyful God : my wayes are not like thy wayes : O that thou wouldest direct my feet according to the revealed Will of thee my God , but ( O my God ) I have not kept thy Statutes , I have walked out of the way in the Wildernesse of sin , but ( sweet Jesus ) thou sweetly tellest me thou art the way , the truth , and the Life , I will therefore lay hold on thee , thou hast promised me thy Love ; I am thine , stay me , I am sick : thou art my life , comfort me , or I shall die , warme my soul that it cool not , cherish me my Love , my heart will elce fayl me , O God make me constant , faithfull , as thou art faithfull , give me more golden apples of thy Love ; give , that I may give thee the praise of thy Love , give me yet more of the riches of thy grace , that I may be liberall to others , as thou art liberall to mee , expresse more of thy Love to me , that I may extoll thee in my expressions to others , who are thy Saints and Servants , who are part of my life , thou hast made us one in thee and thou art one in us , thou art the Vine , we but branches , O make us fruitfull , water our hearts , bathe our souls in the Ocean of thy Love , open the Fountain of thy Love , that we may swim pleasantly in the streams of thy Love , till we come to thee the water of Life , the head Spring of all our joy , with thee for evermore . O my God , what joy doe I already see by the eye of my Faith ! I know not where I am ; I see but dim light , but my comfort is , I shall come to more glorious light , I shall one day see thee perfectly , enjoy thee more fully ; I feel the reflexes and the glittering Sun-beames of thy Love sweetly warming my soul ; my eyes are watery with looking up to thee , the very apprehension of thy Beauty , the Sun-beames of thy Love force teares from my eyes , thou art the cause I weep , and joy of my weeping , thou makest mee weep with thy Love , I am sick with thy Love , and thou healest me with it , thou emptiest and fillest me , thou throwest me down , and liftest me up , how doth thy Love play with my soul ! and how doth my soul play and delight it selfe with thy Love ! my Love , my Joy , hide not thy selfe from me , but hide me in thee , let mee finde thee alwayes in mee , that I may alwayes finde my selfe in thee ; let me heare thy voyce pronouncing me faire , then shall I enjoy all thy hidden treasures , all thy vast possessions , all thy sparkling Beauty , glorious Holinesse , divine Wisdom ! make sure to me thy promises , thy all-in-all in me , that I may be all in thee , who am thine : What need I fear , that have thee for my Defence , that hast made mee more then a Conqueror through thee , therefore I shall want nothing ; who shall lay any thing to my charge , being thou hast freed me from my sins ? what should daunt me , or discourage me , that doe enjoy thy Love ? thou possessest my soul , and defendest me from my enemies with thy power : What shall separate mee from thee , who art my God , and I am thy creature ? the Law cannot pronounce me cursed , for my Saviour hath kept it for me , and so pronounceth me blessed ; I am no more my own , I am Christ's , and he is mine , he died for mee , he hath mortified sin in mee , he hath subdued my sins in me , I finde no more pronenesse to sinne , my desires are made conformable to thine , I desire no longer to live in my selfe , but in thee my Christ ; I regard not iniquity in my heart , the love of my Christ makes mee loath my selfe and my base corruptions , I have a base esteem of my selfe , I have a perfect hatred of sin , that I see lives in me , I live not in it ; the death of my Beloved that once died for mee , hath mortified my sinnes , they have no rule over me , my Love , my Christ is my Ruler by his Spirit , I can accept of no other Guide ; though sinne be in me , yet I am out of my sinnes in my Christ . O World , O Flesh , O Divell , let mee alone , you have nothing to doe with me , let me serve the Lord my God , for I am his , I was yours too long , get you gone , I command you in the name of my beloved Christ ; though it be true that I did often transgresse the Law , yet my Saviour he hath pleaded for mee , he hath procured a pardon for all my sinnes , and sealed it , he hath set his hand to it , and hath put it safe lockt up with the key of his Love , in my heart by his Spirit , all the Divels in Hell can never get it from me ; I fear not , you can but kill my bodie , you can doe no more ; the Lord will raise me up again at his comming , and then my corruptible bodie will be made incorruptible , and this bodie which is mortall shall be made immortall , and glorious ; then will this his Spirit which bids me write , here come againe and own me , by the vertue of my Beloved shall I be raised up again to meet the Lord my God , with joy and rejoyceing , to the praise and glory of his great and holy Name ; this is true , for Christ himselfe ( in whom only I trust for Salvacion ) hath told me so , whatever you plead against me it is to no purpose , for I have a righteous Advocate at Gods right hand ; nay further , I have Gods discharge within mine own heart , which is my acquittance , you have nothing to require ( O Law ) but death the wages of sinne , that pray take whensoever it pleaseth God you shall have it , as for my soul my God by his free Grace hath clasped it in his armes of mercy , I am his darling his jewell , J see plainly that he delighteth in mee , hee lives in me by his Spirit , and I in him by my Faith : although I have ( I confesse ) broken the Law , yet Jesus Christ kept it , and he hath satisfied the justice of God it makes as much to my discharge , as if I had kept it my selfe ; as my Saviour was beloved of God the Father , so am I through faith in him : You 'l say I transgresse the Law daily in thought , word , or deed , I say no , it is not I but sin that dwelleth in me : I have a bad neighbour , but Christ will give mee patience and courage to war against my enemie , it shall have no power , it may take the best Saint cowardly and unawares , but I blesse God I have strength from Christ by his Spirit that beats him out of doores , he lodgeth not in my heart , I have no room but for my Love , my Christ , I am wholly his , and hee is mine ; for should I regard iniquitie in my heart , the Lord would not heare my praiers , I see by the eye of my faith that I am freed from sin , though not free from sinning , I will rejoyce though sin dwell in my flesh , O my beloved Christ , I see there is more good in thee for me , then there is evill in sin against me : O my eternall God , thou art more pleased with mee thy poore creature for my Christ thy Son's sake , then ever thou were displeased with me for my sins sake , O my God I lay them all open before thee , I confesse and forsake them , to come to thee my God for mercy ; thou hast promised mee forgivenesse , forsake me not my God , for I am resolved ( by the assistance of thy Spirit ) never more to forsake thee ; do not thou leave me comfortlesse , but support me by the Almighty power of thy Spirit within me : how odious doth sin appear to my soul ! how fain would the enemy of my soul undermine it , and weaken my faith in thee ! what strivings , and subtill temptacions , hath the Devil to ensnare the soul of thy Servant if he could ! how fearfull am I when I think of any thing but thee ! be thou therefore the continual meditacion of my heart ; how fearfull am I to look on , orcommune with the World , or the vanities of the World , least they should draw away my minde and affections ! but Lord I blesse thy holy name I see thy Love and mercy in this , thou lettest me see all things besides thee to be vanity and vexacion of Spirit , O let me see thee and delight in nothing but thee : instead of thinking of vain transitories , let thy Servant meditate , as now , so alwaies , of glorious eternities : and O sweet God , let me think upon my sins , and the vildnesse of my base heart , to humble me in the sight of my own nothingnesse , lay me low , to raise me high in faith , to rely wholly on thee , O that I might never act but as thy faithfull servant , as becoming thy Son , that I may be able to cry unto thee Father ; though my actions seem to me ( as they are ) unfaithfull , yet Lord thou art faithfull , a Father to me in Jesus Christ ; oh sweet God that thou wouldest cause the sight of my sins to be as a means to kill sin in me , let it make much to my sorrow , that my heart is false , but let it make much more to my joy , that thou ( my joy my God ) art true ; let it sad thy Servant , that I am so sinfull , but let it much more rejoyce my soul that thou my Lord Christ art holy , oh let the Love of thee be my love , that thy holinesse may be made mine , when wilt thou oh my God ? thou art my comfort , thou wilt shortly set me free , that by thy strength I may triumph over this body of death : oh my God though sin break off somtimes my communion , yet let i● never seperate my union with thee : how dost thou make me rejoyce even while I mourn over sinnes because I see through Faith in thee sweet Jesus they can bee no prejudice to my everlasting safety in thee , so much I perceive thou lovest mee , for thou wouldst not have given me so much Faith in thee , didst not thou love me : my Love I am thine , and thou art mire , I have vowed to thee , and thou wilt make mee faithfull as thou art faithfull , because I trust in thee . O my God let mee have more encouragment from thee , then discouragement from sin ; for though my sins reach the clouds , yet I see by the eye of my faith the mercies of thee my God are above the Heavens ; though my sins do overflow me , yet the free graces of my God overflow my sins : Oh sweet Jesus let thy Love and Righteousnesse so cover my sinnes and imperfections , that the Lord may see no iniquity , which thou hast not satisfied for , and pleaded for , and procured pardon for me that am thy servant . Oh my God thou knowest my wants , and troubles , suffer me at no time to be troubled at them , let me bid all welcome , thy will be done , though thou cause sorrow , yet wilt thou have compassion according to the multitude of thy Mercies ; when my outward comforts eb let me feel the high Springs of my inward joy , and consolacion in thee , flowing in upon my soul : drown thou all my sorrowes in the Ocean of thy Love : O my God though I am not the subject of comfort , yet is my comfort sure in thee the object of my faith , Lord I perceive thou laidst it for me , when thou laidst it from me , thou lettest me see by the Sun-shine of thy Love , what this imprisonment , malice of men , persecuting me meaneth , as liberty , or the best contentment : I will not therefore be discontented , I could not be content , did I not see it is thy Will , it is thy Will that I desire to conforme my selfe unto , so come what will 't is welcome : Oh my God let me have any thing or nothing , let me abound with friends or have none , let me rejoyce or be sorrowful , let me be in prison or at liberty , let me live or dy , it is all one to thy servant ; for Lord thou knowest , I account nothing my joy but thee my God , and to be in all things as thou wilt have mee ; O my God I desire not to bee at my own dispose or choyce ▪ my choyce is thee , to rest quiet in thy determinacion ; though thou send me comforts , yet will I not account them my comfort , but thee my comfort , though I have no outward comfort , yet thou hast not left me comfortlesse , though I passe through many sorrowes and tribulacions , yet by the light of thy grace thou dispercest the clouds of my sins , and lettest mee see my way , its Heaven-ward to thee . Deare sister , wouldest thou have such enjoyments ? seek then , and thou shalt finde , but thou must seek diligently , remove all lets and impediments , that may hinder thy sweet union a●d comunion with my Christ , he is worth seeking , worth finding , trifle not away your precious time with the things of the World , know that God allowes Dogges under the table such bones to pick . But let Jesus Christ be thy daily bread , let it be thy meat and drink , to doe the Will of our Heavenly Father : by this you may perceive ( if Christ incline your heart ) and see by the ey of your faith in Christ & finde the way to Heaven is by Christ , by him only : saith he to you , I am the Way , the Truth , and the Life ; one of the fathers ( I remember ) saith ; the Way , without which we wander : the Truth , without which we shall run into error : the Light , without which we shall sit in darknesse : there is no other reason I can give to any that are out of Christ why they are out , but it is becaus● of their unbeleif , they doe not beleive on him ; every one is apt to sayl do , let me ask that man or woman then , did you willingly and readily obey his voyce ? how doe you love him ? do you testifie your love by your actuall obedience , to the utmost of your abillities to keep his commandements ? are you out of your selves ? do you live above the World ? have you left off feeding upon the vanities thereof ? are you fed with the bread and waters of life ? are you delighted with the riches of Gods Grace , accompting no want like to the want of grace ? doe you not more minde the riches of the World , the devices and desires of your own base treacherous hearts deceitfull carnall hearts , more then the Will and Minde of my God ? in breif , wou●d'st know whether thou art in Christ then have regard to him ; where the treasure is , there the heart will be also . My dear sister , let not the World ( which leads away captive so many ) draw thee away : let all thy sences bee lockt up in thy soul , and let that be full of Christ , let thine eyes be delighted in the reading of the Word of God : let your ears be stopt from hearing those things which savour not of graces which edefie not , but hear readily dilligently the tru & sound speakings of God , listen to the sweet low voyces , and secret whispers of his Spirit : tast how sweet Iesus Christ is to hungry and thirsty souls ; smell how sweet his garments are : feele the smooth , fine , wrought , and silken linning of the Saints ; see you minde what I have taken pains to write you ; hear , tast , smell , see , feele , in your soul that you have in your body , the markes of my sweet Jesus ; Gall : 6 and 17 verse , and then you will not accompt , or call gold and silver , riches ; nor advancement , honour ; nor learning , wisdom ; you will bee rich , honourable , and wise without them , within your selfe all in Christ , Christ in you ; and you will see all the glory of the World , but skin-deep ; a Sun blast defaceth it , like Time , not abiding , passing away ; a mear nothing but vanity and vexation of Spirit : pomp is but fancie , gold but dust , fame but breath , praise but a blast , the worlds sweet is bittrernes : have you not found it so ? its love , lovelesse ; its splender , darknesse ; its fullnesse , emptinesse ; it s all , nothing , but vanity , and pray what 's that ? a Saint may as well live and feed on the wind , as on the things of the World , it may fill the fancy and starve the soul , it may starve and leave the soul empty of grace ; therefore have I bid the World fare-well welcome Heaven upon Earth , I have no comfort no happinesse nothing without thee sweet Iesus , I am thine , and thou art mine . Oh my dear Sister , beleeve me for my Christ's sake , there is no consolacion but in my Christ ; love nothing , look upon nothing , enjoy nothing , have no contentment in any thing but what is of him , from him , and by him , all to his praise : let God have all the glory in Christ , let him be glorified for all , Iohn 1. 16. beware of spirituall pride , thy selfe-flattering heart , rest not upon what you have received : read Rom. 11. 6. Ephes. 2. 8. 9. build not your Tabernakle here , let not that be your light , but let God be your light ; eye not your comforts so much as the God of comfort ; look not so much on your graces as on the God of grace , repose your selfe in nothing , quiet your selfe in nothing but in God himselfe : our graces are but wedding attire , oyl in lamps ; joy and consolacion but wedding chear , we are not satisfied with it , the soul is infinite : Work out your Salvacion with fear and trembling , untill you come to enjoy God fully , in the very bosum of Christ , co-heires with him : the seeds of his word sown in our hearts here , are but gleanings to what wee expect ; our best summer dayes here are but as nipping winters , in comparison of that everlasting summer : we look to enjoy an eternitie of the Sunny-shinings of Gods face , love , and glory , to shine upon us in glory with and to him for ever . Those rivers of joy wee swim in here towards him , are but as a few drops in comparison of that heigth and depth , length and bredth , that bottomlesse Ocean of his Love laid up in Christ for us ; our greatest light here below , is but as a dark Vault to God and the Lamb : He is the light of that Citie unto which thy Brother is going , endeavor to get in at the strait gate , remember it is not every one that calleth Lord , Lord , shall enter , but hee that doth the will of our Heavenly Father which is in Heaven : be pressing forward to the mark of our high Calling , to arrive to the knowledge of that Love which passeth knowledge , to apprehend our God as wee are apprehended of God : Rest not ( dear Sister ) till you come to Heaven , where our faith shall be seeing , and our hope possession . Observe , let your love bee pure for God , seek not God for heaven , but heaven for God , that heaven which is God who is the heaven of heavens : God only in all , above all , and beyond all : let him be our all-in-all in our Lord Jesus Christ , by whom wee are more then conquerors ; to whom only ( as is most due ) bee ascribed by thee and mee , the sole glory and praise of this my writing to thee : I beseech the Lord , to give us heavenly wisdom , to understand spiritually the will and minde of God revealed in his Word : so I pray daily , fervently , and sincerely , for thee and all the Saints and Servants of God , with faith in the Lord Jesus , whose servant I am , and in him , Thy assured loving Brother WILLIAM BLAKE . Exon Iayle June 25. 1653.