Chap. 8. Showing the Second Special Character of the Godly: Thinking of God

2. THe Second Character of the Godly in special is,they thought upon Gods name; these Saints when they were together did speak of God, when they were alone they did think of God; That Thought upon his name.

What is meant by Gods name?

1. By the Name of God is meant his Essence; Gods Name is put for God himself.

2. By the Name of God is meant his Glorious Attributes, which are the several Letters of his Name.

3. By the Name of God is meant his Worship and Ordinances where his Name is called upon, Jeremiah 7:12. Go ye to my Place which was in Shiloh where I set my Name at first: That is, where I first set up my Public worship.

Now this Name of God, the Saints in the Text did contemplate, they Thought upon his Name. Thoughts are the first-born of the Soul, the conceptions of the mind, the immediate Fruit and Issue of a rational being. Thoughts are the Images of things in the Fancy. These devout Souls in the Text were chiefly busying their Thoughts about God and Heaven.

It is the inseparable sign of a Godly man to imploy his chief Thoughts about God, Proverbs 12:5. The Thoughts of the Righteous are Right. That is they are set upon the Right Object. 'Tis natural to Think. Thoughts fly out of the Mind, as Sparks out of a Furnace. The Hebrew word▪ for a Thought, signifies the Boughs of a Tree; Because Thoughts shoot out from our Minds, as branches do from a Tree. 'Tis I say natural to Think, but it is not natural to Think of God, this is proper to a Saint: his Thoughts are Sublime and Seraphical, they fly to Heaven. The Mind is a Mint-house where Thoughts are Minted. David minted Golden Cogitations, Psalm 139:18. I am still with you. That is (as learned Ainsworth expounds it) by Divine Contemplation. Thoughts are Travellers in the Soul. Davids Thoughts kept Heaven-road, Psalm 73:23. I am continually with you. As the Mariners needle turns to the North-pole: so a Saints Thoughts are still pointing towards God.

Whence is it that the Saints thoughts mount up to God?

There will be this Thinking on God, 1. From those intrinsecal Perfections which are in him. The loveliness of the Object attracts the thoughts: God is the supreme Good. There is nothing but God worth thinking on. Psalm 119:57. You art my Portion, O Lord. Will not a mans thoughts run upon his Portion? A gracious Soul has found Pleasure in thinking on God, Psalm 63:5, 6. He has had those Transfigurations on the Mount, those Illapses of the Spirit, those Incomes of Gods Love, those praelibations and foretastes of glory, that he cannot keep his thoughts off from God: To hinder him from thinking on God, is to bar him of all his Pleasure.

2. There will be thinking on God from the powerful. Operations of the Holy Ghost. We cannot of our selves think a good thought, 2 Corinthians 3:5. but the Spirit elevates and fixeth the heart on God. Ezekiel 3:14. The Spirit lifted me up. When you see the Iron move upward, there has been some Load-stone drawing it: so when the thoughts move upwards towards God, the Spirit has, as a divine Load-stone, drawn them.