Divine Presence and the Kingdom of
Heaven: at which it was so affrighted, that it fell into the greatest
anguish possible, for the Judgment of God was manifested in it.

WHAT CHRIST SAID

Upon this the Lord Christ spake unto it with the Voice of his Grace, and
said: _Repent and forsake Vanity, and thou shalt attain My Grace_.

WHAT THE SOUL SAID

Then the Soul with its ugly misshapen image went before God and
entreated for Grace and the pardon of its sins, and came to be strongly
persuaded in itself that the satisfaction and atonement of our Lord
Jesus Christ did belong to it. But the evil properties of the Serpent,
formed in the Astral Spirit, or Reason, of the outward Man, would not
suffer the Will of the Soul to come before God, but brought their lusts
and inclinations thereinto.

But the poor Soul turned its countenance towards God, and desired Grace
from him, even that he would bestow his Love upon it.

THE DEVIL CAME TO IT AGAIN

But when the Devil saw that the Soul thus prayed to God, and would enter
into repentance, he drew near to it, and thrust the inclinations of the
earthly properties into its prayers, and disturbed its good thoughts and
desires which pressed forwards towards God, and drew them back again to
earthly things that they might have no access to him.

THE SOUL SIGHED

The central Will of the Soul indeed sighed after God, but the thoughts
arising in the mind that it should penetrate into him, were distracted,
scattered and destroyed, so that they could not reach the Power of God.
At which the poor Soul was still more affrighted and began to pray more
earnestly. But the Devil with his desire took hold of the kindled, fiery
Wheel of Life, and awakened the evil properties, so that evil or false
inclinations arose in the Soul, and went into that thing wherein they
had taken most pleasure and delight before.

The poor Soul would very fain go forward to God with its Will, and
therefore used all its endeavours; but its thoughts continually fled
away from God into earthly things, and would not go to him.

Upon this the Soul sighed and bewailed itself to God; but was as if it
were quite forsaken by him, and cast out from its Presence. It could not
get so much as one look of Grace, but was in mere anguish, fear and
terror, and dreaded every moment that the Wrath and severe Judgment of
God would be manifested in it, and that the Devil would take hold of it
and have it. And thereupon fell into su