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…

Secondly, it works by another rule: every thing is guided to its end by some rule, which is a beam of Gods wisdom; ⟨p. 11⟩no creature under the reasonable, knows either its end or rule, but is acted by God to that it was made for: but the reasonable creature is of such a nature, as is capable of the knowledge of both, and therefore cannot be happy without the knowledge of both, and working accordingly. Now it is a great mercy not to mistake in the rule that leads to eternal life, to see it, and act by it; most of the world mistake here, their spirits are led by false rules, they go according to sense, according to their own carnal apprehension of things, according to their own wills, would have the rule of their actions from their own spirits, or else according to the common course of the world, as Eph. 2. 2. That which men bless themselves in, that they go according to the common course, is one of the most apparent arguments that is, that yet they are strangers from the way of life; but the godly they make the Word their rule, they look up to the mind of God, to see the beam of Divine wisdom let down from heaven, to guide them in their ⟨p. 12⟩way; they look to it for direction, give up themselves to it, dare venture their comforts, estates, safeties, souls upon it: Thou shalt guide me by thy counsel, says David, and so bring me ¹to thy glory, Psalm. 73. 24. A godly man thinks it a most dishonourable thing to make the examples of men his rules; it is for beasts to follow the Herd: Examples of men cannot satisfy his conscience. A godly man works for eternity: and therefore is careful to work by rule; as a man when he works in a work that concerns his life, erects a frame that must be for continuance; he makes sure of his rule, lays often his rule to his work. When God erected the frame of the world, which was to last but for a sew years, he made all by weight and measure: The frame of mans actions here, must be for eternity; and therefore a godly man dares venture upon no other rule but that which is divine; he looks at the Word, not only at the notions of it, and that excellency and beauty he sees in it, shining a great way off; but as a light to his feet,