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…

Fourthly, nourish and make good use of those common works of ¹Gods Spirit you have already; they have much excellency in them; & if they be not rested in, but improved, they may be very serviceable for the work of Gods grace; but as Christ says of the riches of the world, If you be not faithful in them, who will trust you with the true riches; so if you be not careful to make use of the common works of Gods Spirit, how can it be expected that the Lord should bless you with further mercy this way? Be sure you do not wilfully go against the rules of right ⟨p. 241⟩reason you are convinced of; do not darken that light of reason that God hath set up in you; do not extinguish those sparks in natural conscience that God hath kindled there; do not dead those principles you have received in your education; use that strength of reason, resolution, and natural conscience you have, to keep in your spirits, that they be not let out to feed upon sinful delights. With what face can you complain of weakness, and yet feed your distempers? There is little hope of such as have extinguished the light of their common principles, which once they had in an eminent manner; their light of reason once was at least as a fair Candle-light, but now it is like the snuff in a socket, almost drowned & quenched with their filthy lusts. How just with God were it, that these men should be left to die and perish for ever in their filth?

Fourthly, nourish and make good use of those common workes of ¹Gods Spirit you have already; they have much excellency in them; & if they be not rested in, but improved, they may be very serviceable for the worke of Gods grace; but as Christ sayes of the riches of the world, If you bee not faithfull in them, who will trust you with the true riches; so if you be not carefull to make use of the common works of Gods Spirit, how can it be expected that the Lord should blesse you with further mercy this way? Bee sure you doe not wilfully go against the rules of right ⟨p. 241⟩reason you are convinced of; do not darken that light of reason that God hath set up in you; do not extinguish those sparkes in naturall conscience that God hath kindled there; do not dead those principles you have received in your education; use that strength of reason, resolution, and naturall conscience you have, to keepe in your spirits, that they bee not let out to feed upon sinfull delights. With what face can you complaine of weaknesse, and yet feed your distempers? There is little hope of such as have extinguished the light of their common principles, which once they had in an eminent māner; their light of reason once was at least as a faire Candle-light, but now it is like the snuffe in a socket, almost drowned & quenched with their filthy lusts. How just with God were it, that these men should be left to die and perish for ever in their filth?