7 other, till in a short time he arriv'd to that height, which many longer live~ could never reach, and had I but the power of rightly disposing and relating them, his single example would be more instructxve then all the rules of the best morallists, for his practise was of a more devine extraction, drawne from the word of God, and wrought up by the assistance of his Spiritt; therefore in the head of all his vertues, I shall sett that which was the head and spring of them all, his Christianity-for this alone is the true royall blood that nms through the whole body of vertue, and every pretender to that glorious famely, who hath no tincture of it, is an imposter and a spurious bratt. This is that sacred fountaine. which baptizeth all the gentile vertues, that so immortalize the names of Cicero,. Plutarch, Seneca, and all the old philosophers; herei n they a re regenera ted and t ake a new name and nature ; dig'd up in the wildernesse of nature, and dipt in this living spring, they are planted and flourish in the Paradice of God. By Christianitie I intend that universall habitt of grace which is wrought in a soule by the regenerating spiritt of God whereby the whole creature is resign'd up into the divine will and love, and all its actions design'd to the obedience and glory of its maker. Assoone as he had improov'd his naturall understanding with the acquisition of learning, the first studies he exerc is'd himselfe in, were principles of religion, and the first knowledge he labour' cl for was a knowledge of God, which by a dilligent examination of the scripture, and the severall doctrines of greate men pretending that ground he at length obtein'd.- Afterward when he had layd a sure and orthodox foundation in the doctrine of the free grace of God given us by J esus Christ, he began to survey the superstructures, and to discover much of the hay and stubble of man's inventions in God's worship ' vhich his spirit t burnt up in the day of their trial!. His faith being establ ished in the truth, he was full of love to God and all hts ll
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