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…

And thus much of the first branch of the Use, which was the reprehension ⟨p. 141⟩of the vile conceits that men had of this other spirit; Now the second follows, which is the rebuking of the men of the world, for the ill use they give to men who are of such excellent spirits. The excellencies of the spirits of the godly, do challenge all the good use that can be, but it is little they meet withal; they are for the most part abused by the men of this vile world, as if they were the vilest scurf and filth of the earth: yea, so indeed they account them; so saith S. Paul. 1. Cor. 4. 13. We are ¹made as the filth of the world, and are the off-scouring of all things unto this day. Why? what was S. Paul, and what were those that were with him, who was so accounted of, were they not men of most excellent and admirable spirits? S. Paul was one of the most excellent spirited men that ever lived upon the earth, and did as much service for God, as ever any mere man did since the beginning of the world; and yet how vilely was he thought of? how contemptibly ⟨p. 142⟩was he used? put into stocks, and whipped; wanted clothes and victuals? And for the others that were with S. Paul, they were men of whom the Holy Ghost gives this witness, that they were the very glory of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. 8. 23. Oh unworthy world, that ever they should have such men live amongst them! Those who are the delight of Angels, yea, of God himself, how are they abused in this wicked world, as if they were dogs, or the basest scum and filth of the earth? What scorn and contempt is cast upon them? the most abject of men think themselves good enough to reproach and abuse them. Were it not a grievous sight to see some base drudge to have power over the body of some noble Prince, to abuse it by stripes, or any other contumelious sordid manner? but a more grievous thing it is to see the vile and base spirits of the world, who are nothing but sinks of filth themselves, to abuse men of such noble and excellent spirits, ⟨p. 143⟩