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…

that ever there should be such malice in the hearts of men, against the grace of God, ever to have such vile conceits of it; pray, if it be possible, that this thought of thy hart may be forgiven thee. Did not malice blind men, they might see that the Lord hath had, and still hath, some of his Saints as eminent in any outward true excellency, as any in the world; as great Scholars, as brave Courtiers as any living; as deep in policy, as profound in learning, as complete every way as any whosoever. Who ⟨p. 134⟩more eminent in learning than Moses, who was learned in all the learning of the Egyptians? who ever had a higher strain of eloquence than Isaiah? who ever more profound than S. Paul? And in later times, yea, even in our days, the Church hath not wanted worthy and glorious lights, who have been exceedingly eminent in all, that natural excellency could make them, even their enemies being Judges. What braver Courtiers ever lived, than Joseph, Nehemiah, and Daniel? Could godliness in the power and life of it, in the strictness of it, stand with braveness of spirit, & natural excellencies, then? and can it not do so now? Though God chooseth oft-times the poor in the world, to be rich in faith; the foolish things in the world, to confound the wise; and weak things of the world to confound the strong; and base things, and things despised, &c. 1 Cor. 1. 26, 27. Yet when men are godly, their parts are not by their godliness ⟨p. 135⟩debased, but raised; many poor weak men, who before were of mean natural abilities, yet put them now upon spiritual things, and what strength of parts do they show, in prayer, in conference about the mysteries of God, in discerning the subtleties and wiles of Satan, in finding out the corruptions of their own hearts, in wisely ordering their affairs for God, and the furtherance of their own eternal good? Wise in the right choice of the highest end, and prudent in the right disposing of the best means tending thereunto; These things are not the works of fools, of poor silly, simple men; they require quickness of understanding, depth of judgement. There are five reasons why godliness must needs raise a mans parts:

that ever there should bee such malice in the hearts of men, against the grace of God, ever to have such vile conceits of it; pray, if it be possible, that this thought of thy hart may be forgiven thee. Did not malice blind men, they might see that the Lord hath had, and still hath, some of his Saints as eminēt in any outward true excellency, as any in the world; as great Schollers, as brave Courtiers as any living; as deepe in policie, as profound in learning, as compleat every way as any whosoever. Who