A09977:451
Life eternalLife eternall
Life eternal or, A treatise of the knowledge of the divine essence and attributes Delivered in XVIII. sermons. By the late faithful and worthy minister of Jesus Christ, John Preston, D. in Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty, master of Emmanuel College in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inn.Life eternall or, A treatise of the knowledge of the divine essence and attributes Delivered in XVIII. sermons. By the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, D. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Majestie, master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inne.
London: printed by Richard, 1631
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Answ. 1 You must search out the pollution of the spirit.1 For the spirit of a man is a deep thing, and hidden, full of corners and crane, a lust and pollution will easily hide it self in […]; therefore thou must find it out and confess it. Do as ⟨p. 11⟩David ••d, go to God, and say, Lord search, and try me, see if there be any wickedness in me ▪ as if he should say, if I could, I would search my own heart, but I cannot do it enough, therefore do thou come and do it; I will open the doors, as a man useth to say to the officers that come to look for a traitor, Do you come in, and search if there be any here, I will set open my doors; so faith David here. So, when a man would cleanse his heart from the pollutions of his spirit, let him do on that manner; remember, that to hide a traitor is to be a traitor himself; therefore labour to find it; and, when it is found, confess it to the Lord, and lay a just weight upon it. What though it never breaks forth into outward actions? say to the Lord, O Lord, I know that thou lookest to the spirit, and art conversant about it: to have a polluted spirit, is an abomination to thee. This is a thing that we would do, and we are oftentimes to blame in this, in our prayers: for we confess our actual sins, and do not confess the pollution of our spirits to the Lord.
Answ. 1 You must search out the pollution of the spirit.1 For the spirit of a man is a deepe thing, and hidden, full of corners and cranne, a lust and pollution will easily hide it selfe in 〈…〉; therefore thou must finde it out and confesse it. Doe as ⟨p. 11⟩David ••d, goe to God, and say, Lord search, and try me, see if there be any wickednesse in me ▪ as if he should say, if I could, I would search my owne heart, but I cannot doe it enough, therefore doe thou come and doe it; I will open the doores, as a man useth to say to the officers that come to looke for a traytour, Doe you come in, and search if there be any here, I will set open my doores; so faith David here. So, when a man would cleanse his heart from the pollutions of his spirit, let him doe on that manner; remember, that to hide a traytour is to be a traytour himselfe; therefore labour to finde it; and, when it is found, confesse it to the Lord, and lay a just weight upon it. What though it never breakes forth into outward actions? say to the Lord, O Lord, I know that thou lookest to the spirit, and art conversant about it: to have a polluted spirit, is an abomination to thee. This is a thing that we would doe, and wee are oftentimes to blame in this, in our prayers: for we confesse our actuall sinnes, and doe not confesse the pollution of our spirits to the Lord.