THE Condemned man's REPRIEVE, OR God's 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 eternal happiness, through the Merits of Christ his Saviour. Recommended by him (being a condemned Prisoner for manslaughter 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 cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 
LONDON, Printed by Richard Bishop, Anno Dom. 1653.   

The condemned man's Reprieve.  
God's tokens of Love, sealed and locked up in the heart of a Saint, by the Spirit of God, with the key of Love: The riches of God's grace flowing in upon the soul of a Saint, expressed with joy and thankfulness to his ability, finding himself unable to speak what sweet taste, what infinite consolation, he finds in Christ Jesus.  
What tempests! what fiery darts of Satan have been thrown at me! what wounding of conscience! what flames of Hell fire flashing in my face upon remembrance of my sins, 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 find comfort! how long did the devil 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 emptiness, and vild condition by nature, I had both self love and spiritual pride within me; how willingly would the devil have posted me to Hell with those sins, hadst not thou, O my God, humbled me, and made me see myself in the looking glass of thy Word, with thy Spirit, I was mere vanity, as the dust that fleeth away! I confess to thee (my most just God) my repentance was not true, my sorrow and tears thou regardest not, because I was self, till thou threwest me down in myself, and madest me humble; I perceive thou delightedst not in me, nor had I such delight as now, (I bless thy Name) I do find; and do 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, didst thou come and refresh my fainting soul with a still, low, but sweet voice, son 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 me in my prayers, when I found by faith in thee, comfort from thee! how hast thou strangely, 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 do I feel in my soul in my meditation of thee! and yet Lord, when I look back upon the World, and my own natural thoughts and consultations with flesh and blood, what rough & tempestuous 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 tribulation, didst not thou keep up my heart by true saving Faith in thee my God, in and through Jesus Christ the true consolation of my poor soul, in this weak creature?  
O my God, I cannot express 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 itself in thee! the more I express to thee, the more thou fillest me, how lovingly dost thou refresh my soul with thy blessed Spirit! and how blessedly my soul yieldeth to the love of thee my Love, by thy Love in me: my Love, my Joy what melody do I hear! what sweet low music, doth thy Spirit sound in my heart! O that thou wouldest make it an Instrument, that it live yet till it breathe 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 faithful 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 me hear thy voice, 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, do what thou wilt Lord I am thine, command willingness 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 vild and impure, mutable, but oh my God thou art holy, and just, pure, unchangeable immutably good, my chiefest good; my God I am uncertain, but thou art certainly my most merciful God: my ways are not like thy ways: 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 wilderness 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, warm my soul that it cool not, cherish me my Love, my heart will else fail me, O God make me constant, faithful, as thou art faithful, 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 liberal to others, as thou art liberal to me, express more of thy Love to me, that I may extol 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 fruitful, 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 do 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 sunbeams of thy Love sweetly warming my soul; my eyes are watery with looking up to thee, the very apprehension of thy Beauty, the sunbeams of thy Love force tears from my eyes, thou art the cause I weep, and joy of my weeping, thou makest me 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 itself with thy Love! my Love, my Joy, hide not thyself from me, but hide me in thee, let me find thee always in me, that I may always find myself in thee; let me hear thy voice pronouncing me fair, then shall I enjoy all thy hidden treasures, all thy vast possessions, all thy sparkling Beauty, glorious holiness, 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 me more than 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 do enjoy thy Love? thou possessest my soul, and defendest me from my enemies with thy power: What shall separate me 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 me, he hath mortified sin in me, he hath subdued my sins in me, I find no more proneness to sin, my desires are made conformable to thine, I desire no longer to live in myself, but in thee my Christ; I regard not iniquity in my heart, the love of my Christ makes me loathe myself and my base corruptions, I have a base esteem of myself, 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 me, hath mortified my sins, they have no rule over me, my Love, my Christ is my Ruler by his Spirit, I can accept of no other Guide; though sin be in me, yet I am out of my sins in my Christ.  
O World, O Flesh, O devil, let me alone, you have nothing to do 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 transgress the Law, yet my Saviour he hath pleaded for me, he hath procured a pardon for all my sins, and sealed it, he hath set his hand to it, and hath put it safe locked up with the key of his Love, in my heart by his Spirit, all the devils in Hell can never get it from me; I fear not, you can but kill my body, you can do no more; the Lord will raise me up again at his coming, and then my corruptible body will be made incorruptible, and this body which is mortal shall be made immortal, and glorious; then will this his Spirit which bids me write, here come again and own me, by the virtue of my Beloved shall I be raised up again to meet the Lord my God, with joy and rejoicing, to the praise and glory of his great and holy Name; this is true, for Christ himself (in whom only I trust for salvation) hath told me so, whatever you plead against me it is to no purpose, for I have a righteous Advocate at God's right hand; nay further, I have God's discharge within mine own heart, which is my acquittance, you have nothing to require (O Law) but death the wages of sin, 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 arms of mercy, I am his darling his jewel, i see plainly that he delighteth in me, he lives in me by his Spirit, and I in him by my Faith: although I have (I confess) 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 myself; as my Saviour was beloved of God the Father, so am I through faith in him: You'll say I transgress 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 me patience and courage to war against my enemy, it shall have no power, it may take the best Saint cowardly and unawares, but I bless God I have strength from Christ by his Spirit that beats him out of doors, he lodgeth not in my heart, I have no room but for my Love, my Christ, I am wholly his, and he is mine; for should I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not hear my prayers, I see by the eye of my faith that I am freed from sin, though not free from sinning, I will rejoice though sin dwell in my flesh, O my beloved Christ, I see there is more good in thee for me, than there is evil in sin against me: O my eternal God, thou art more pleased with me thy poor creature for my Christ thy Son's sake, than ever thou were displeased with me for my sins sake, O my God I lay them all open before thee, I confess and forsake them, to come to thee my God for mercy; thou hast promised me forgiveness, 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 comfortless, 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 subtle temptations, hath the Devil to ensnare the soul of thy Servant if he could! how fearful am I when I think of any thing but thee! be thou therefore the continual meditation of my heart; how fearful am I to look on, orcommune with the World, or the vanities of the World, lest they should draw away my mind and affections! but Lord I bless thy holy name I see thy Love and mercy in this, thou lettest me see all things besides thee to be vanity and vexation 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 always, of glorious eternities: and O sweet God, let me think upon my sins, and the vildness of my base heart, to humble me in the sight of my own nothingness, lay me low, to raise me high in faith, to rely wholly on thee, O that I might never act but as thy faithful servant, as becoming thy Son, that I may be able to cry unto thee Father; though my actions seem to me (as they are) unfaithful, yet Lord thou art faithful, 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 sinful, but let it much more rejoice my soul that thou my Lord Christ art holy, oh let the Love of thee be my love, that thy holiness 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 sometimes my communion, yet let i● never separate my union with thee: how dost thou make me rejoice even while I mourn over sins because I see through Faith in thee sweet Jesus they can be no prejudice to my everlasting safety in thee, so much I perceive thou lovest me, 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 me faithful as thou art faithful, because I trust in thee. O my God let me have more encouragement from thee, than 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 righteousness so cover my sins 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 ebb let me feel the high Springs of my inward joy, and consolation in thee, flowing in upon my soul: drown thou all my sorrows 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 sunshine 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 conform myself unto, so come what will 'tis welcome: Oh my God let me have any thing or nothing, let me abound with friends or have none, let me rejoice or be sorrowful, let me be in prison or at liberty, let me live or die, 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 me; O my God I desire not to be at my own dispose or choice▪ my choice is thee, to rest quiet in thy determination; 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 comfortless, though I pass through many sorrows and tribulations, yet by the light of thy grace thou dispercest the clouds of my sins, and lettest me see my way, its Heaven-ward to thee.  
Dear sister, wouldest thou have such enjoyments? seek then, and thou shalt find, 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 allows dogs under the table such bones to pick.  
But let Jesus Christ be thy daily bread, let it be thy meat and drink, to do the Will of our Heavenly Father: by this you may perceive (if Christ incline your heart) and see by the eye of your faith in Christ & find 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 darkness: 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 unbelief, they do not believe on him; every one is apt to sail do, let me ask that man or woman then, did you willingly and readily obey his voice? how do you love him? do you testify your love by your actual obedience, to the utmost of your abilities to keep his commandments? are you out of yourselves? 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 God's Grace, accounting no want like to the want of grace? do you not more mind the riches of the World, the devices and desires of your own base treacherous hearts deceitful carnal hearts, more than the Will and mind of my God? in brief, 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 senses be locked 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 stopped from hearing those things which savour not of graces which edify not, but hear readily diligently the true & sound speakings of God, listen to the sweet low voices, and secret whispers of his Spirit: taste how sweet Jesus Christ is to hungry and thirsty souls; smell how sweet his garments are: feel the smooth, fine, wrought, and silken linen of the Saints; see you mind what I have taken pains to write you; hear, taste, smell, see, feel, in your soul that you have in your body, the marks of my sweet Jesus; Gall: 6 and 17 verse, and then you will not account, or call gold and silver, riches; nor advancement, honour; nor learning, wisdom; you will be rich, honourable, and wise without them, within yourself 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 fancy, gold but dust, fame but breath, praise but a blast, the world's sweet is bittrernes: have you not found it so? its love, lovelesse; its splendour, darkness; its fullness, emptiness; 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 farewell welcome Heaven upon Earth, I have no comfort no happiness nothing without thee sweet Jesus, I am thine, and thou art mine.  
Oh my dear Sister, believe me for my Christ's sake, there is no consolation 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, John 1. 16. beware of spiritual 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 yourself in nothing, quiet yourself in nothing but in God himself: our graces are but wedding attire, oil in lamps; joy and consolation but wedding cheer, we are not satisfied with it, the soul is infinite: Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, until you come to enjoy God fully, in the very bosum of Christ, coheirs with him: the seeds of his word sown in our hearts here, are but gleanings to what we expect; our best summer days here are but as nipping winters, in comparison of that everlasting summer: we look to enjoy an eternity of the Sunny-shinings of God's face, love, and glory, to shine upon us in glory with and to him for ever.  
Those rivers of joy we swim in here towards him, are but as a few drops in comparison of that height and depth, length and breadth, that bottomless 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 city unto which thy Brother is going, endeavour to get in at the strait gate, remember it is not every one that calleth Lord, Lord, shall enter, but he 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 we 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 be 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 we are more than conquerors; to whom only (as is most due) be ascribed by thee and me, 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 mind 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 jail June 25. 1653.