The souls exaltation A treatiseThe soules exaltation A treatise

First, every believer under heaven, both the weakest and the strongest, even he that hath the strongest measure of grace, is bound to this, to the uttermost of his power to see and examine the sinful carriages of his soul: whether distempers inwardly, or ungodly practices outwardly: he is bound to consider of them, and to judge of these his sins, and every of them, knowing that even the least of them is sufficient to make him guilty of eternal death, and to bring condemnation ⟨p. 183⟩upon him; as he must see what his sin is, so he must judge that it hath the power to make him guilty, and also to condemn him, should not the Lord by the power of his grace prevent it. Every sin in his own nature, and power, doth and will procure guilt and condemnation to the soul, by the sin committed, unless the Lord in mercy do prevent it, and Christ by the power of his merits stop the power and condemnation of sin, as the Apostle saith, Rom. 1.31. which men though they knew the Law of God, how that they which do these things are worthy of death: that is, that in the least sin which a man commits, there is a fitness in it to make a man guilty, and it hath a power to condemn him, unless the Lord did marvellous graciously stop the power of corruption: as the Text saith, the repenting Church shall judge themselves worthy to be condemned: every sinner may say of every sin he commits, that there is enough in it to damn him, if God should deal with him after his own deservings; If I should be left to the power of my pride, and malice, & hatred, & dead heartednes, it were enough to condemn me for ever. The wife Physician that sees his Patient is in a pleurisy, will say, here is enough in this man to kill him, if I should neglect him but a few days, it would kill him: but now if the Physician lets him blood, he stops the power of it, that so the corrupted blood cannot bring death upon him: so every sin that a man commits, both the distempers of the heart inwardly, and the abuse of the means of grace ⟨p. 184⟩and the practice of sin outwardly, there is enough in that pleurisy of sin to take away a mans comfort and happiness, unless the Lord be pleased to hinder the condemning power of them, that they cannot hurt us:

First, every beleever under heaven, both the weakest and the strongest, even hee that hath the strongest measure of grace, is bound to this, to the uttermost of his power to see and examine the sinfull carriages of his soule: whether distempers inwardly, or ungodly practices outwardly: he is bound to consider of them, and to judge of these his sinnes, and every of them, knowing that even the least of them is sufficient to make him guiltie of eternall death, and to bring condemnation