caries with it the impurities designed in the 10. of Leviticus by strange fire, which is there devoured by that which proceeds from the presence of the Lord. And should bee as much, as thereby to draw from it selfe a judgement of his offences that must not be renewed in the sanctification of the Sabbath, for feare that the fire of Gods wrath do not devour and consume that of our iniquities, and us at once, if this our fire be not first purged by a stronger fire, that consumeth and devoureth the lesser and more feeble: Zohar runs through all that, and upon the passage of the foresaid fourth of Deut. Thy God is a consuming fire; he speakes further,

There is a double fire, the one stronger, that devoures the other. He that will know it, let him contemplate the flame that parteth and mounteth from a kindled Fire, or from a Lampe or Torch; for it mounteth not, except it be incorporated to some visible substance, and united with the aire, whereupon it feedeth. But in the flame that mounteth there are two lights, the one white, which shineth and illightneth, having its root somewhat blew; the other red, fastned to the wood, or to the weik that it burneth. That which is white, mounteth directly upwards, and underneath the red remaineth firme, and departs not from the matter, administring wherewith to flame and shine to the other; but they come upon the point to joine and unite together, the one burning, the other burned, till they bee converted into that which predominates and playes the master, namely the white, alwayes the same without variation and change, as the other doth; which now growes blacke, after becomes red, yellow, peach colour, sky colour, azure reinforced above and below, above with a white flame, below with the blacknesse of the matter, which furnisheth it wherewithall to burne, and at the last is therewith consumed. For this azure, red, and yellow flame, the more grosse and materiall it is, endeavours alwayes to exterminate and destroy that which nourished and maintained it: as sinnes do the conscience which harbours them, to the end to make them the perdition and ruine of all that which adheres to it here below, so long, till at the last it remaines extinct; there where the light annexed thereunto, is not eternally extinguished but goes freely upward, and returnes to its proper place of abode, or residence; having accomplished its action below, without changing its brightnesse into any other colour then white. In the like case is it of a tree, whose roots are fastned within the earth, from whence it takes its nourishment, as the weik takes his from the tallow, waxe, or oyle, which makes it burne.

The branch that drawes its juice or sap, by the root, is the same as the weik, where the fire is maintained by the liquor which it drawes unto it, and the white flame, are the branches and boughes, clad with leaves, the flowers and fruits, whereunto tends the finall end of a tree, are the white flame when all comes to bee reduced: wherefore Moses said that thy God is a consuming fire, as it is true; for the fire consumes and devoures all that which is under it, and upon which it exerciseth its action. And therefore very proper in the Hebrew text Elohenu, thy God, and not Anonenu, thy Lord, because the Prophet was in this superiour white light, which neither devoureth, nor can be devoured. And the Israelites were the blew lights, who endeavour to lift up themselves, and unite to him under the law: for the ordinary of this blew light, inclining rather to blacknesse, then to whitenesse; it is true that is constituted as in the midst, and to ruine and destroy all that it layes hold on, and whereunto it adheres.

But if sinners submit thereunto, then the white light shall bee called Adonenu, our Lord, and not Elohenu, our God, for that it domineers and devours it. And it is this blew flame designed by the little and last ה He of the sacred venerable foure lettered Jehovah, which assembles and unites with the three first והי Jehu the white light, which shineth in a most cleare simplicity Trin-one, having under it the blackish, ruddy, & azure colour of the little ה He, which is the humane nature consisting of the four Elements, for that it is sometimes represented by 4 ד, the fourth letter of the Alphabet, and which marketh the number of 4. You will say I have brought you here a prolixe place of Zohar, I do avow it, but it must have a more ample explication, for there are great mysteries covered thereunder. This Rabbi superlative to all others, endeavouring in his profound and abstracted meditations which transcend all to elevate our spirits by the similitude of a light, to the knowledge of spirituall things, which differs not from our principall purpose, which is fire and its effects.

Of this white light, and of its collaterals; other Rabbins speake, as Kamban, Gerundensis; That by the Caballe it appears unto us, that the Scripture was an obscure and darke fire, upon the backe of white fire, and marvailously resplendent.

It is the fire (say they) of the holy Spirit, consuming our iniquities, denoted by the red inflamed ardor, and the blew and azure flame, which is the strange fire, as Saint Ambrose very well expounds it in his fourth Epistle to Simplician.

Strange fire, is all the ardor of slippery concupiscence, of avarice, hatred, rancour, and envy; And of this fire no man is purged nor expiated, but well burned, which if men offer in the presence of the Lord, celestiall fire will devour, as it did Nadab and Abihu; and therefore, he that will purge his sinne, he must cast off from him this strange fire, and let him expiate therefrom; whereof it is said in the 6 of Esay 6. One of the Seraphims flew to me having a live coale in his hand, which he had taken with the Tongs from off the Altar, and touched my lips, saying, Lo this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sinne purged. Having said a little before, that all the house was filled with smoake, which is as an excrement and vapour of fire, bee it before it be lighted, or inflamed, or after it be mortified, and extinct; from whence it comes to procreate soot, then which, there is nothing more troublesome and hurtfull to the eies, having carryed away with it a parcell of adustible corruption; which administred to the fire its nourishment and food. This may bee seen in the distillation of soote, where there appeares a notable quantity of inflamable oyle, which causeth it yet to burne; and of this burning there will arise a smoake, which will againe be concreted into a burning smoake, as aforesaid, but not so much.

These are the remnants of sinne, whereof remained some staines printed in the soule, untill at the last, by a successive repurgation of fire, it be reduced to a point of compleat purity; whereof it is spoken in the 4. of the Canticles, Thou art faire my welbeloved, there is no blemish in thee; which the white flame notifies, which is the highest degree of burning. Those also well know it that maintaine a fire, for when a Fornace begins to bee hot, it waxeth blacke, then enforcing the fire, it becomes red, and at last it waxeth white when it is in the supreame and high degree of heat, where it persisteth in whitenesse more and more. Such are the actions of fire, but there are great mysteries thereunder,