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, there is that uprightness of the soul, as it doth not only desire and endeavour to attain, but doth indeed attain to the truth of that I shall deliver.

Fourthly, there is that uprightnesse of the soule, as it doth not onely desire and endeavoure to attaine, but doth indeed attaine to the truth of that I shall deliver.

First, the heart is fully set and resolved for God, there is fuln[…] of ¹resolution; so the Septuag[…] slates that place in Joshua 14. vers. 8 where Caleb speaks of his following of God fully; they turn it thus, I decreed, ⟨p. 249⟩I determined to follow him: The heart is fully taken off from shiftings, from hankerings after other ²things, from the engagements that before it had; from disputings reasonings for the ways of the flesh: it doth not hang between two, as unsettled, irresolved, wavering; but is truly and fully taken off, and the resolutions are fully set upon, and for the ways of God. Many have some convictions, some stirrings, some makings towards the ways of God, some approbation of them; thinking with themselves, it were well, if we could do thus: Surely, they are the best men who can do thus; but still some engagement holds them fast; they have thoughts flitting up and down; they would and they would not; they could like well, were it not for this thing and that thing; this inco[…]jence and the other trouble w[…] follow; and so they delay and put off, and think, it may be they may hereafter do better; their good desires and inclinations they hope, may ⟨p. 250⟩serve turn for the present. And thus they stand baffling with God and their own souls: they are, as Seneca speaks of some, always about ³