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…

Fifthly, where there are only ¹moral principles, there the soul sees not into, is not sensible of, turns not from the evil of sin, as the greatest evil; it sees not such evil in it, as to make it subscribe to the righteousness of God in all those dreadful things that are threatened against it, but thinks they are too hard; Surely, God is not so severe a God; God forbid things should be so as those we read of in the Gospel. When Christ spake that Parable concerning those who smote the servants of the Lord of the Vineyard, Luke 20. 16. and told them, that the Lord should come & destroy those Husbandmen, and give his Vineyard to others: It is said, When they heard that, they said, God forbid: So many when they hear the dreadful wrath of God denounced against sin, ⟨p. 234⟩they say, God forbid; they think indeed, that sin ought not to be committed; but they do not think it so great an evil, as to procure so great miseries; but if their spirits were right, they would apprehend sin, as opposite to an infinite good, and so having a kind of infiniteness of evil in it; they would not only yield to the Justice of God revealed, but acknowledge, that there are greater and more fearful miseries due to it than can be conceived: yea, they would see cause, that if God should bring those evils upon them for their sin, that there is infinite equity that they should lay their hands upon their mouths, and take shame to themselves, and acknowledge the Lord to be righteous for ever.

Fifthly, where there are onely ¹moral principles, there the soule sees not into, is not sensible of, turnes not from the evill of sinne, as the greatest evill; it sees not such evill in it, as to make it subscribe to the righteousnesse of God in all those dreadfull things that are threatned against it, but thinkes they are too hard; Surely, God is not so severe a God; God forbid things should bee so as those wee read of in the Gospell. When Christ spake that Parable concerning those who smote the servants of the Lord of the Vineyard, Luke 20. 16. and told them, that the Lord should come & destroy those Husbandmen, and give his Vineyard to others: It is said, When they heard that, they said, God forbid: So many when they heare the dreadfull wrath of God denounced against sinne,