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, others follow the Lord, ¹but they follow him in a dull, heavy manner; there is no spirit, no heat, no life in their following of him, & therefore they do not follow him fully: They rest themselves in a middle temper, in a lukewarm course; they like well of Religion, and profession, but what need men go so far, what need they do so much? As Pharaoh said to the Israelites, Exod. 8. 28. I will let you go, only you shall not go far away. The judgement of these men is for a middle way; they are mixed spirited men, like Ephraim, Hosea 7. 8. mixed ⟨p. 332⟩with the people, as a cake not turned, half baked and half dough; they go on in an ordinary track of performing the duties of Religion without any growth, or any sensibleness of the want of growth; they set upon some fair way of Religion, which they persuade themselves is enough, and that they mean to hold to; they are content to make use of Christ, and the profession of Religion, so far as may serve their own turns; but to entertain Christ, and his truth, as an absolute Lord to rule them, that their spirits cannot bear; in their converse there is no ribaldry, no filthiness; so there is no warmth, no heat to refresh and quicken any gracious spirit, that hath to deal with them; in all the Duties of Religion that they perform, they take no pains with their hearts, to work them to God. Luther calls such kind ²of men, Cainists, that is, such as Cain, who offered to God the work done, but do not offer themselves to God; they content themselves with general ⟨p. 333⟩hopes of Gods mercy upon weak, and unexamined grounds; they never trouble themselves in calling things into question, about their conditions and their eternal estates; they never lay to heart the miseries of Gods Church; and the public cause of God is not dear unto them; they have not heat enough to cause a melting spirit, for the dishonour that God hath by themselves; much more is that heat wanting, that should keep their hearts melting for that dishonour which God hath from others.