Background Image
Table of Contents Table of Contents
Previous Page  208 / 1054 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 208 / 1054 Next Page
Page Background

2 o

on

the

Excellency

of the

Soul.

The Excellen-

cy

of

che

Soul

difcovered,

z

In

its

rela-

x;on

to God.

ráife them very

high

above thofe

poor emptyvanities

that

they

have

ininded

all

this

while

:

7herefcrethere

is

in man

not

onel

y

afoul,

but

that

that

is more worth

than

all

the'.

world,

that

if

it

(hould

bee

loll,

that

man that gained

the

whole

world,

would

bee

a great

lofer

in

his

bargain.

Know-therefore

this

,

that-there

is

not the

pooreff

man

or woman living

,

nay

not

the poorer

childe

that

lyes

beg-

ging

'a

cruft of bread

at

your

door

,

but

this

childe

hath

a

foul in

iothat

is

more

worth than heaven and

earth,

this

poor

ragged

tattered childe-that

Ives

in

rags

,

I

fay,

crying

at

your

threshold,

and

begging

a

peece

of bread,

it

hath

a

foul

init

that

hath

greater excellency

than the

Sun,

Moon,

and

Stars

, thud all the Heavens

,

than

the

Sea

,

than

die

Earth,

put

all

the

creatures in

the

world

together,

that

are

under

Angels

,

the fpirit of this

poor

childe

hath

more

ex-

cellency

no

it,

than

all

thefe things, and that

is

the

thing

that

I

am

to

make out

unto

you.

Why natural

life bath

More

excellency

in

it

than

any

creature that bath

no life.

I

remember

Auflin

faith

of

a

Flye,

becaufe ithhath

life,

that

it bath

more excellency

in

it

than the

Sun

its

felf

, becaufe though the

Sun

bee

a

glori-

ous

creature ,

yet

it

hath

not

life

in

it; life in

the

meaneft

creature

hath

a

greater excellency than

any

thing elfe

that

harh.not life.

But now the

foul

hath

the

highefi

natural

life

that

is,

and

capable

of

The

higher

happinefs

that

any

creature

is

capable of,and therefore more excellent

than

all the

world;

But

that

wee

4iall

come

top

in

its

order.

The excellency of

the

foul may bee

difcovered,

firfl,

In

the

relation

it filih

to

God

God

Both chal

lenge

a

peculiar

relation to the

fpirits

of

men;

and

therefore in

beb.Y

2.9.

Cod

is

called the Father

of-

'fpirits

,

Shall

wee

not

much ra-

ther lee

in

fubjealon

to

the

F7-Cher

of fpirits

and live

?

As

if

God

did

üöt

fo much-166k

after

,

and regard

your

bodies,

the

outward man,

but

hee

is

the

Father

'of

fpirtrs.

And

in

Zeck. 12.1. There

is

likewife an

expreílon

to

the

faine

purpofe

,

T

hat

God

did form

the

fpirit

of

man within him:

God