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…

First, you must labour to get the saving knowledge of the word, because it is the means to humble you, that is, the Word with the Spirit enlightens ¹the soul: for as a man that is in the dark, cannot see any thing till he have a candle, so he that is ignorant of the Word, he is in darkness and cannot see his sins in such a manner, as to humble him: or as a man cannot see the motes that are in the house, till the Sun shine into the house, though they were in the house before; so he that hath not the saving knowledge of the Word in his heart, cannot see the several windings and twinings, and corners, & corruptions of his heart, till by the Spirit he come unto the saving knowledge of the Word. Ahab saw not the chariots and Horsemen of Israel which Micah saw, because he was Ignorant of the Word; and therefore the Lord saith, Jerem. 31. 34. they shall know me from ⟨p. 229⟩²the greatest unto the least, they think they do know me, but indeed they do not, but then they shall know me; that is, when I have given them my spirit, and by the spirit they have attained unto the true knowledge of the word, then they shall know me; they knew me before, and they knew sin before, but now they shall know sin by the word in another manner then they did: so Paul, Rom. 7. ³saith, I knew sin by the law, that is, I knew sin before, but now I know sin by the word in another manner then I did; I saw it, but not with that hew as I did, before the law had made me to see things in another colour then afore: Labour, as to get the spirit so to get the saving knowledge of the word: The Apostle saith 1 Cor. 2. 10. that the spirit ⁴searcheth the deep things of God; now these things are shown unto us by the word, they are plainly discovered unto the soul in another manner then before: Knowledge works a deep impression unto the soul of a Christian, and searcheth into the corruptions of the heart, into the divers lusts of the flesh, finds them poisonable and hence is humbled, for where there is the greatest knowledge, there is the greatest light, and where there is the greatest light, there is most filth seen; and where there is most corruption seen, there is greatest cause of humiliation; therefore that the word may humble you, labour to abound in knowledge.