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 it be this choiceness of spirit, ¹that is the only thing that will fully ⟨p. 428⟩carry after the Lord, then let us learn to look to our spirits: Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it come the issues of life: Do not so much complain of temptations, oppositions, troubles you meet withal; but look to your spirits, & all is safe and well. If there be the spirit of love & of a sound mind, there will be the spirit of power; for these are joined together by the Apostle; there need not be ²the spirit of fear; for the spirit of a sound mind, & the spirit of fear, are opposed one to another in the same place. But wherein should we look ³to our spirits? First, take heed to your judgments, keep your judgements clear for God & his truth; as it is said, Es. 33 ⁴that wisdom and knowledge should ⁵be the stability of those times; so, true wisdom and knowledge preserving the judgments of men right & sound, are the stability of mens hearts. Take heed your judgments come not to be altered, to think otherwise of Gods ways, than you did before, to have other opinions of them. Though there ⟨p. 429⟩may be many weaknesses, yet if the judgement be kept right, all may do well; but if the Leprosy be got into the head, then the soul is in a dangerous condition: as Lev. 13. 44. when the Priest shall look upon a Leprous man, and see the plague is got into his head, the Text saith, he shall pronounce him utterly unclean, for the Plague is in his head. The Priest was to pronounce none to be utterly unclean, but such who had the plague in their heads.

If it be this choicenesse of spirit, ¹