Remains of that reverend and learned divine, John Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplain in…Remaines of that reverend and learned divine, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in…

for when men do not delight in the inward man, they never grow in grace and holiness; they are not as trees planted that bring forth seasonable fruit but barren: do what you will to it, the soil is naught, for the spirit hath not yet tilled the heart, and sown in it the first beginning of the seeds of grace, which is a desire after it: now, as it is good in the bodily sickness to know the means of recovery, so in the sickness and weakness of the inward man: it is good to know the means by which it may be strengthened, therefore we will now come unto the particular means for the strengthening of the inward man.

for when men doe not delight in the inward man, they never grow in grace and holinesse; they are not as trees planted that bring forth seasonable fruit but barren: doe what you will to it, the soyle is naught, for the spirit hath not yet tilled the heart, and sowne in it the first beginning of the seeds of grace, which is a desire after it: now, as it is good in the bodily sicknesse to know the meanes of recovery, so in the sicknesse and weakenesse of the inward man: it is good to know the meanes by which it may be strengthned, therefore we will now come unto the particular meanes for the strengthning of the inward man.

The first means to strengthen the inward man is to abound in spiritual knowledge: because the ¹more knowledge the more strength, for the spiritual knowledge of divine truths is the strength of the soul; for as the soul is unto the body, so is the knowledge of the word unto the inward man. The body is dead without the soul, not able to do any thing, so the inward man without this spiritual ⟨p. 108⟩strength which is wrought in the soul by the saving knowledge of the Word, is nothing but weakness, therefore the Apostle saith, 1 Pet. 2. 2. As new borne Babes desire the sincere milk of ²