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…

Now this temper is so far from following the Lord fully, as it is loathsome and abominable to the Lord; so loathsome, as he threatens to spue such out of his mouth. It is ¹observable, that of all the seven Churches we read of in the Revelation, there is some good said, every one is commended for something; only this Church of Laodicea excepted which was a luke-warm Church; and of this there is no good at all said; and yet none of the Churches had ⟨p. 334⟩that high esteem of it self as this had; none of them conceited themselves ²to be rich, and increased with goods, and to have need of nothing, as this did. No people doth so bless themselves in their way, as luke-warm people do; and yet no people more abominable to God than they. What a dishonour is this luke-warm temper to God, as if God were such a God, as such flat, sleight, dead-hearted formal services, as are performed by them, were sufficient to honour his holy, great, dreadful and infinite Majesty? God pronounceth a curse in Malac. 1. verse 14. against those who do not offer the best that possibly they can, in sacrifice to him; and gives this Reason of it, Because my Name is dreadful, and I am a great King, saith the Lord: As if he should say, Therefore only the most high and excellent things that can be performed by the creature, are fit for to be tendered up to me. This luke-warm temper wrongs Jesus Christ exceedingly, as if there ⟨p. 335⟩were no other life and virtue in Jesus Christ, than to enable a man to do as they do. What? hath Christ laid down his life, & shed his precious blood for the renewing of Gods Image in man, and is it nothing but this? if Christ had never come into the world, men might have done as much as this comes to. It is a wrong to the Holy Spirit likewise, for it is the special office of the Holy Ghost, for to be a Sanctifier, to frame the heart to God, to quick the soul with the life of grace, and holiness; and is this all it doth? this were a poor work, if there were no other but this. It dishonours holiness, which is the most glorious thing in the world; the life of God, the Divine Nature; this makes it as if it were nothing but a moral, lifeless, dead-hearted, empty thing; this puts holiness in subjection to humane reason, to carnal wisdom; it must bow to their discretion, to the opinions and ways of men;