Therefore God chose him King, and gave him the purest Wisdom of Reason, according to his Desire in his Prayer to God, that his Wisdom might resemble Heaven for Glory, as it did; for what Glory could a King have upon Earth greater than he had? Which was a true Resemblance of the Glory of Heaven; and this Glory was procured by that Power and great Wisdom of Reason in him; yet for all this he was ignorant of the Revelation of Faith, and of spiritual and heavenly Things, ignorant of the true God, and of the right Devil, and of some things in Nature.
As that the Spirit of a Man should return to God that gave it without a Body; when as God never gave any Spirit to Man without a Body, nor to no other Creature: But Solomon being ignorant, that the Spirit or Soul of Man is generated and begotten by the Law of Generation as well as the Body; this was in the Creation when God made Man in his own Image, the Ignorance of this caused him to speak thus; for he knew not where the Spirit went when the Body is laid in the Earth, no more than the learned Philosophers do, who say, A Spirit cannot die; as if the Spirit and Life of every Creature were the Spirit or Life of God, else they think no Creature could move and have a Being.
And though Solomon was a wise Man, as the Heathen Philosophers were wise Men in Nature; yet they were all ignorant in this one thing, of the Law of Generation or Procreation, to increase and multiply, as God hath placed in Nature, when he created the World in the beginning; for every Creature as well as Man, were to increase and multiply by the Law of Generation; and this I am sure, they begot Spirit, Life, and Soul by Generation, as well as Bodies.
But if it be objected, that God breathed into Man the Breath of Life, and he became a living Soul; and so Man's Spirit is of a more noble divine Life or Spirit than any other Creature.
To this I say, the Law of Generation to increase and multiply, was placed in Man's Seed and Nature by God the Creator, as in other Creatures: For this is to be observed, that Adam did not come to be a living Soul by Generation, as we do ever since; but he and Eve were first made as a Foundation for Generation; so that God made or created but one Man and one Woman, all Men and Women that have been generated and begotten ever since, cannot properly be said to be made nor created, but begotten by Generation; for God never made and created but one Man and one Woman, all others are generated and begotten.
Therefore when Man begets a Son or Daughter in the way of Generation, he begets the Soul or Spirit of the Child as well as the Body; and the Soul or Spirit came out of the Man's Loin well as the Body: As it was said by Jacob, Seventy Souls came out of his Loins; if so then that Spirit or Soul that is begotten by Generation, it must and doth die: For this I say, God never breathed the Breath of Life into no Man, but into Adam: The Spirit of Life in all Men and Women else or since have been generated and begotten, and what Spirit and Soul of Man that is generated, it doth die and turn to Dust, till the Regeneration, when God shall raise it again, which will not be a Minute of an Hour to the dead Spirit, as I said before. So it may be clear to those that have the true Light of Faith in them, that the Soul or Spirit of Man doth die as well as the Body: They both came into the World together alive, and they shall both go out of the World again dead, as I have shewed before. Also the Reader may see, that those Scriptures have been misunderstood through the Ignorance and Darkness of Mens Minds, to think that the Soul or Spirit of Man doth not die, but slips out of the Body; but to imagine that Spirits may walk without Bodies, or that any Witch can raise any Spirit without a Body; and many other Conceits that do arise out of the dark Mind of Man; which have been grounded upon those Scripture Words; therefore I have given the Interpretation of all those Places of Scripture that are of most Concernment, and seem to bear such a Sense, as is generally conceived among Professors of the Scriptures: So that whoever understands the Interpretation, may receive great Satisfaction in their Minds in this Point; so much for Satisfaction of the Understanding in Heart, and for the Discontent of the Ignorant and Dark-minded People, who believe by Tradition that their Spirits do not die, but slide out of the Body at the time of Death; and if they have been evil and wicked Livers, their Spirits do walk afterwards, and cannot be at rest. These Conceits have been exceeding brief in the World heretofore, when People were in Darkness, and so is still where the Darkness of Mind ruleth.
CHAP. XVI.
There is one thing more that would be necessary for the wise in Heart to know, which the Scriptures speak of in several Places; but I never heard any of the Ministry tell what that Satan is the Scriptures speak of, therefore I shall speak a Word or two to shew what Satan is, and so conclude. 1 Chron. xxi. 1. And Satan stood up against Israel; and Job i. 6. And Satan came also among them; and Chap. xxi. 22. And the Lord said to Sathan, From whence comest thou? And God said to Satan, Hast thou considered my Servant Job? Ezek. iii. 1. And Satan standing at his right Hand. Mat. xvi. 23. Get the behind me, Satan. Luke x. 18. I beheld Satan as Lightning fall from Heaven.
1 Chron. xxi. 1. And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. This Satan that provoked David, it was the Motions of Reason in himself, being lifted up in his own Mind, in that he had overcome the Children of Ammon, he thought to make nothing of the Philistines; therefore the Thoughts of his Heart moved him to number the People, to know his Strength. And this Motion that did arise in his Heart, it was Satan, it is called Satan, because those Motions proceed from the Spirit or Seed of Reason in him. In 2 Sam. xxiv. 1. it is said, The Anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel: that is, the Lord suffered the Motions of Reason in David to be powerful and strong in him, that no Arguments should disswade him from it, but the People must be numbred; and this was that Satan in David, and no Spirit without him.
So Job i. 6. The Sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. To this I say, the Book of Job is no Scripture, neither are Men to build their Faith upon it, because the Book of Job was written before Moses, therefore no Scripture; for Moses his Writing is the first Foundation of Scripture. Yet this I do confess, that Job was a good and faithful Man; and because he was afflicted by Satan, and Satan is spoken of in several Places of Scripture, yet none of them did declare what this Satan is, therefore I shall declare now what that Satan was, that came among the Sons of God.