Words whereby we may be saved. By Thomas Vincent, sometime minister of Maudlins milk-street,…

1. The meanest of you may attain this salvation, and that 1. Such of you as are of the meanest parts, though you have neither humane learning, nor capacity or ability for it; though your judgement be shallow, your fancy and invention dull, your memory weak, and so could never understand and retain the many Arts and Sciences in Philosophy, and the divers kinds of Languages, which learned men have written their books in; yet you are capable of being made the Scholars and Disciples of Jesus Christ, and he can teach the dullest and shallowest of you all the deep mysteries of salvation by his Spirit; yea and he can give you a greater understanding in them, than the wisest and most learned men that are without the Spirit do attain unto; For he hideth those things from the wise and prudent which he revealeth unto babes, Matth. 11. 25. And the natural man, let him be never so learned a man, receiveth not the things of the Spirit, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned, 1 Cor. 2. 14. And therefore when not many wise men after the flesh are called, God chooseth the foolish things of the world to exalt the riches of his free grace in their salvation, 1 Cor. 1. 26, 27, 31. Surgunt indocti & rapiunt coelum, quum nos cum omni doctrina in Gehenna detrudimur, saith one. The unlearned arise, and take Heaven by violence, when we with all our learning are violently thrown down ⟨p. 23⟩into Hell. So that you who are of no learning, and but mean natural abilities, have encouragement to seek after this salvation of the Gospel, seeing the Lord can teach you by his Spirit, and it doth better suit with his design of glorifying his free grace in bestowing it upon such as you, rather than on the wise and learned men of the world, who would be apt to ascribe the glory unto themselves. 2. Such of you as are not only of the meanest parts, but also of the meanest condition in the World, may attain this Salvation; the poor have the Gospel preached unto them, Matth. 11. 5. If with poverty in regard of Estate, you are also poor in spirit, the riches of grace and salvation are tendered freely unto you; read for your encouragement what the Apostle saith,