The excellency of a gracious spirit Delivered in a treatise upon the 14. of…The excellency of a gracious spirit Deliuered in a treatise upon the 14. of…

CAP. V.

Learn to have a right esteem of such precious spirited men.

Learne to have a right esteeme of such pretious spirited men.

IF the godly be of such excellent spirits, learn we then hence to have a right esteem of them; they surely are worthy of precious account, of most honourable esteem, who are men of such excellent spirits: Let them be what they will, in ⟨p. 117⟩regard of their outward condition, though never so mean and poor. No matter what the Ring be, if the Pearl in it be precious. Many most precious spirits have very mean outsides. The Tabernacle was beaten Gold within, but the out side covered with Badgers skins. If the treasure be rich, what though the vessel be earthen? Surely, these are the excellency of the earth, the very light and beauty of the world, the glory of Gods Creation; they give a lustre to the places where they live, to the families in which they are; especially if they walk close and faithfully with God indeed, manifesting the excellency of their spirits in their ways; so that when they are taken away, the very places where they lived, are darkened. This other spirit of the godly makes a Job scraping his soars on the dung-hill, and a Jeremiah sticking in the miry dungeon, more glorious than Kings and Princes sitting crowned upon their Thrones: these are glorious within. ⟨p. 118⟩God is a Spirit, and he looks on men, to see what they are in their spirits; and he esteems accordingly of them; and so should we. What doth brave clothing, what doth money, what do titles of honour raise the dignity? what? are these to the excellency of mans nature? No certainly; the excellency of man must be that which must make the most excellent and noble part truly excellent, which is the spirit of a man. If a man would know the excellency of any thing, as of a sword, or of any other instrument, he judges it not by the Hilt, or the inferior part; but by what excellency the principle part hath. There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration is from the Almighty; a spirit inspired by the Almighty, and beautified with his heavenly graces; this ennobles a man indeed; it is the ornament of the hidden man of the heart, the glorious clothing of that which makes truly beautiful and glorious. How did many of the Heathen highly prize those, in whom they saw any