Riches of mercy to men in misery, or, Certain excellent treatises concerning the dignity…

The fifth sign whereby you shall know whether you ¹have the sanctifying Spirit is this, examine whether it be the Spirit of adoption, That is, if it make you to call God Father, Then it is the sanctifying Spirit: in Galat. 4. 6. We have received the spirit of adoption whereby ²we cry Abba Father; That is, this is the property of the holy man: no wicked man can call God Father, because he hath not any such relation unto God, he neither loves God, nor God loves him. The Apostle saith unto the Church, ⟨p. 102⟩I do this to prove or know the naturalness of your ••ve. That is, they that have the spirit, they have as it were a natural inclination wrought in them to love God again, to delight in God, and in the Communion of Saints. And therefore our Saviour saith in John 4. It is my meat and drink to do the will of my Father. That is, he that hath God for his ³Father, will serve him willingly without constraint: as willingly as a man will eat and drink, without wages; that is he needs not to have wages to do that: so he that hath the spirit, he will delight in doing Gods will, he will serve God though he should give him nothing. And in this that God is our Father, it will raise some like affections in us to love God again; so likewise in prayer to have God to be our Father, it likewise raiseth Son-like affections in us, whereby we do not only believe that the things we pray for, we shall have, but we have also boldness to come unto him as unto a Father, which no man can do till he have this spirit of adoption. Therefore examine with what confidence, and boldness you pray, with what reverence you hear, with what affection you love. That is examine, whether you have the spirit, that doth make you to call God Father.

The fifth sign whereby you shall know whether you ¹