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…

if he follows God for a broken heart, he will pray and meditate, and pray and meditate again, and again, if it were a thousand times, and a thousand times over again, till the work comes to some effect: And so for power over a corruption, and strength in any grace; where there is truth of grace, there will be working, like fire that never leaves working till it breaks forth, and gets the victory. Hence that place of our Saviour Matth. 12. 20. where he says, he ⟨p. 297⟩will not quench the smoking flax, nor break the bruised Reed, till he send forth Judgement into victory. If we observe the place of the Prophet from whence this is taken, which is Isaiah 42. 3, the words are, He shall bring forth judgement unto truth: noting that wheresoever there is truth, there will be victory: Christ will nourish the smoking flax, that is, the least work of grace, till Judgement, that is, this work of sanctification be brought into victory, and overcome what opposeth it. If he brings any beginnings of grace to truth, the victory is already gotten. It is reported of Master Bradford, that he would never leave off when he was in holy duties, till he found something coming in; as in confession of sin, till he found his heart melt and break for sin; in seeking pardon, till he found some quieting of his spirit, in some intimation from God of his love; and so for grace, till he found his heart warmed and quickened. It is an excellent thing ⟨p. 298⟩indeed, to resolve to follow the Lord in duty howsoever, though nothing should come in by it to our selves: but yet the heart that is right, will never be satisfied in the performance of a duty, till it find some manifestation of Gods presence in it; some work of God put forth upon it, by it; it will not rest in duty performed; it is not satisfied in good inclinations, in good desires it hath, nor in gifts it receives, nor in comforts it finds in the creature, nor in enlargements and more inward joys, but it must have grace, and God; it must have some impression of God upon it, to carry with it as a Seal of that presence of God it did enjoy in the duty: it so strives with the Lord, as it resolves not to let him go, till it hath got a blessing.

if he followes God for a broken heart, he will pray and meditate, and pray and meditate again, and again, if it were a thousand times, and a thousand times over again, till the worke comes to some effect: And so for power over a corruption, and strength in any grace; where there is truth of grace, there will bee working, like fire that never leaves working till it breakes forth, and gets the victory. Hence that place of our Saviour