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…

The sixth sign, whereby you shall know whether ¹you have the Spirit, or no, is this; you shall know it by the manner of working; if it change you, and lye combating in you, as Gal. 5. 17. The ²flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: if you have the spirit you will have a continual fighting, and striving in the soul, and this will not only be against one, or some more particular lusts, but it will be against all that it knows to be sins: I say not, that there is only a striving or a suppressing, but a lusting, or a striving and suppressing by way of lusting; because a natural man that hath not the sanctifying Spirit, may keep down a lust for some by-respects, but it is not by lusting, it is not because his heart hates it, or suppresses it by another power then a natural power; for they retain the love of sin still: but the opposition and resisting of sin in the godly, is by way of lusting; because they hate the ⟨p. 155⟩sin and they fight against it with courage. Therefore examine, what lusting there is in you, what hating of sin, and then see with what courage and power you go about the subduing of it. It is said, that John Baptist came in the Spirit of Elijah, that is, he came with that Spirit, that is full of power: you will fight but faintly against sin, except you have the Spirit. Acts 4. they spake with great boldness, that is, they had greater power to ³speak then before, therefore the Lord exhorts all men, in Esa. 31. 3. trust not in them, they are men and not Gods: as if the very name of men were ⁴weakness, they are men they have no power, it is God that hath power, and therefore trust not in them, but in every thing labour to see the power of God in it, and seek for all spiritual power to good from God, and examine your selves, what power you have when you pray, what power have you to go through it to the end, when you hear, what power have you to edification; when you see evil, what power have you to avoid it, when you are offered the profits and pleasures of the world, what power have you to forsake them if they may prove hurtful unto the inward man; if you have strong lusts in you, what power have you to suppress and lust against them; therefore you shall know by this, whether you have the sanctifying Spirit or no, by the manner of working of it.