Chapter 6

Directions to the Exercise of our Thoughts on things above; things future, invisible and eternal; On God himself, with the Difficultyes of it, and Oppositions to it, and the way of their Removal. Right Notions of future Glory stated.

WE have treated in general before of the proper Objects of our Spiritual Thoughts as to our present Duty. That which we were last ingaged in, is an Especial Instance in Heavenly Things; Things future and invisible, with the Fountain and Spring of them all in Christ and God himself. And because men generally are unskilled herein, and great Difficulties arise in the way of the Discharge of this Part of the Duty in hand, I shall give some especial Directions concerning it.

1. Possess your Minds with right notions and apprehensions of things above, and of the state of future Glory. We are in this duty to look at the things which are not seen, Cor. 4:16. It is Faith only whereby we have a prospect of them; for we walk by Faith and not by sight. And Faith can give us no interest in them, unless we have due apprehensions of them. For it does but assent and cleave to the Truth of what is proposed to it. And the greatest part of Mankind do both deceive themselves, and feed on Ashes in this matter. They fancy a future Estate which has no foundation but in their own Imaginations. Wherefore the Apostle directing us to seek and mind the things that are above, addes for the guidance of our Thoughts, the consideration of the principal concernment of them, where Christ sitts at the right hand of God, Col. 3:1, 2. He would lead us to distinct Apprehensions of those Heavenly things, especially of the presence of Christ in his Exaltation and Glory. Wherefore the true Notion of these things which we are to possess our minds withal, may here be considered.

All that have an Apprehension of a future State of Happiness do agree in this matter, that it contains in it or is accompanied with a deliverance and freedom from all that is evil. But in what is so, they are not agreed. Many esteem only those things that are grievous, troublesome, wasting and destructive to Nature to be so; that is, what is poenal, in pain, sickness, sorrow, loss, poverty, with all kind of outward Troubles, and Death it self, are evil. Wherefore they suppose that the future state of Blessedness will free them from all these things, if they can attain to it. This they will lay in the Ballance against the Troubles of Life, and sometimes it may be against the Pleasures of it, which they must forego. Yea Persons profane and profligate will in words at least profess, that Heaven will give them rest from all their Troubles. But it is no place of Rest for such Persons.

Unto all others also, to Believers themselves, these things are evil, such as they expect a Deliverance from in Heaven and Glory. And there is no doubt, but it is lawful for us, and meet that we should contemplate on them, as those which will give us a Deliverance from all outward Troubles, Death it self and all that leads thereunto. Heaven is promised as Rest to them that are troubled. 2 Thes. 1.7. It is our Duty under all our. Sufferings, Reproaches, Persecutions, Troubles and Sorrows, to raise up our minds to the contemplation of that state, wherein we shall be freed from them all. It is a blessed Notion of Heaven, that God shall therein wipe away all tears from our eyes, Rev. 7:17. or remove far from us all causes of sorrow. And it would be to our Advantage, if we did accustome our minds more to this kind of Relief than we do; If upon the Incursion of fears, dangers, sorrows, we did more readily retreat to Thoughts of that State wherein we shall be freed from them all; even this most inferiour consideration of it, would render the Thoughts of it more familiar, and the thing it self more useful to us. Much better it were, than on such occasions to be exercised with heartless complaints, uncertain hopes, and fruitless contrivances.

But there is that which to them who are truely Spiritually minded, has more evil in it than all these things together, and that is sin. Heaven is a state of Deliverance from sin, from all sin, in all the causes, concomitants and effects of it. He is no true Believer to whom sin is not the greatest burden, sorrow, and trouble. Other things, as the Loss of Dear Relations, or extraordinary pains, may make deeper Impressions on the Mind by its natural Affections at some seasons, than ever our sins did at any one time, in any one Instance. So a man may have a greater Trouble in sense of pain, by a fit of the Tooth-ache, which will be gone in an hour, than in an Hectick Feavour or Consumption, which will assuredly take away his Life. But take in the whole course of our Lives, and all the actings of our souls in Spiritual Judgment as well as natural Affection, and I do not understand how a man can be a sincere Believer, to whom sin is not the greatest Burden and sorrow.

Wherefore in the first place it belongs to the true Notion of Heaven, that it is a State wherein we shall be eternally freed from sin, and all the concernments of it, but only the exaltation of the Glory of Gods Grace in Christ, by the pardon of it. He that truely hates sin and abhorrs it, whose principal Desire and Design of Life is to be freed from it so far as it is possible; who walks in self Abasement through a sense of his many Disappointments, when he hoped it should act in him no more, cannot as I judge but frequently betake himself for Refreshment to Thoughts of that state wherein he shall be freed from it and triumph over it to eternity. This is a Notion of Heaven that is easily apprehended and fixed on the Mind, which we may dwell upon, to the great advantage and satisfaction of our Souls.

Frequent Thoughts and Meditations of Heaven under this notion, do argue a man to be Spiritually minded. For it is a convincing Evidence that sin is a Burden to him, that he longs to be delivered from it and all its consequents; that no Thoughts are more welcome to him, than those of that state wherein sin shall be no more. And although men are troubled about their sins, and would desirously be freed from them, so far as they perplex their Minds, and make their Consciences uneasie; yet if they are not much in the prospect of this Relief, if they find not Refreshment in it, I fear their trouble is not such as it ought to be. Wherefore, when men can so wrangle and wrestle with their Convictions of sin, and yet take up the best of their Relief in hopes that it will be better with them at some times or other in this world, without longing Desires after that state wherein sin shall be no more, they can give no evidence that they are Spiritually minded.

It is quite otherwise with sincere Believers in the exercise of this Duty. The considerations of the Grace and Love of God, of the Blood of Christ, of the Purity and Holiness of that good Spirit that dwells in them, of the Light, Grace and Mercy which they have attained through the Promises of the Gospel, are those which make the Remainders of sin most grievous and burdensom to them. This is that which even breaks their hearts, and makes some of them go mourning all the day long, namely, that any thing of that which alone God hates. should be found in them, or be remaining with them. It is in this condition an Evidence that they are Spiritually minded, if together with watchful endeavours for the universal mortification of sin, and utter excision of it both root and branch, they constantly adde these Thoughts of that blessed State wherein they shall be absolutely and eternally freed from all sin, with Refreshment, Delight, and Complacency.

These things belong to our Direction for the fixing of our Thoughts and Meditations on things above. This the meanest and weakest person who has the least spark of Sincerity and Grace is capable of apprehending and able to practise. And it is that which the sense they have of the evil of sin will put them on every day, if they shut not their eyes against the Light of the Refreshment that is in it. Let them who cannot arise in their minds to fixed and stable Thoughts of any other notion of these Invisible things, dwell on this consideration of them, wherein they will find no small Spiritual Advantage and Refreshment to their Souls.

2. As to the Positive Part of this glorious future State, the Thoughts and apprehensions of men are very various. And that we may know as well what to avoid, as what to embrace, we shall a little reflect on some of them.

1. Many are able to entertain no rational Conceptions about a future state of Blessedness and Glory, no notions wherein either Faith or Reason is concerned. Imagination they have of something that is great and glorious, but what it is they know not. No wonder if such Persons have no delight in, no use of Thoughts of Heaven. When their Imaginations have fluctuated up and down in all uncertainties for a while, they are swallowed up in nothing. Glorious and therefore desirable they take it for granted that it must be. But nothing can be so to them, but what is suitable to their present Dispositions, Inclinations and Principles. And hereof there is nothing in the true Spiritual Glory of Heaven, or in the eternal enjoyment of God. These things are not suited to the Wills of their minds and of the flesh, and therefore they cannot rise up to any constant desires of them. Hence to please themselves, they begin to imagine what is not. But whereas what is truely Heaven pleass them not, and what does please them is not Heaven, nor there to be found, they seldom or never endeavor in good earnest to exercise their Thoughts about it.

It were well if Darkness and Ignorance of the true nature of the future State and eternal Glory, did not exceedingly prejudice Believers themselves, as to their Delight in them and Meditations about them. They have nothing fixed or stated in their Minds, which they can betake themselves to in their Thoughts when they would contemplate about them. And by the way, whatever does divert the minds of men from the power and life of Spiritual Worship, as do all pompous Solemnities in the performance of it, does greatly hinder them as to right Conceptions of our future state. There was a Promise of Eternal Life given to the Saints under the Old Testament: But whereas they were obliged to a Worship that was carnal and outwardly pompous, they never had clear and distinct Apprehensions of the future state of Glory; For Life and Immortality were brought to Light by the Gospel. Wherefore, although no man living can see or find out the infinite Riches of Eternal Glory; yet is it the Duty of all to be acquainted with the Nature of it in general, so as that they may have fixed Thoughts of it, Love to it, earnest Desires after it, all under its own true and proper Notion.

2. So great a Part of Mankind as the Mahumetans, to whom God has given all the principal and most desirable parts of the World to inhabit and possess, do conceive the state of future Blessedness to consist in the full satisfaction of their sensual Lusts and Pleasures. An Evidence this is, that the Religion which they profess, has no power or Efficacy on their Minds to change them from the Love of Sin, or placing their Happiness in fulfilling the Desires of the Flesh. It does not at all enlighten their Minds to discern a Beauty in Spiritual things, nor excite their Affections to the Love of them, nor free the Soul to look after Blessedness in such things as alone are suited to its rational Constitution. For if it did, they would place their Happiness and Blessedness in them. Wherefore, it is nothing but an Artifice of the god of this World, to blind the Eyes of men to their Eternal Destruction.

3. Some of the Philosophers of old did attain an Apprehension that the Blessedness of men in another world does consist in the Souls full satisfaction in the Goodness and Beauty of the Divine Nature. And there is a Truth in this Notion which contemplative men have adorned with excellent and rational Discourses. And sundry who have been and are Learned among Christians, have greatly improved this Truth, by the Light of the Scripture. From Reason they take up with Thoughts of the Goodness, the Amiableness, the self-sufficiency, the alsufficient satisfactoriness of the infinite Perfections of the Divine Nature. These things shine in themselves with such a glorious Light, as that there is no more required to a perception of them, but that men do not wilfully shut their eyes against it, through bestial Sensuality and Love of Sin. From Reason also do they frame their Conceptions concerning the Capacity of the Souls of men for the immediate Enjoyment of God, and what is suited therein to their utmost Blessedness. No more is required to these things, but a due consideration of the Nature of God and Man, with our Relation to him and dependance on him. By the Light of the Scripture they frame these things into that which they call the Beatifical Vision, whereby they intend all the ways whereby God in the highest and immediate Instances, can and does communicate of himself to the Souls of men, and the utmost Elevation of their intellectual Capacities to receive those Communications. It is such an Intellectual Apprehension of the Divine Nature and Perfections, with ineffable Love, as gives the Soul the utmost Rest and Blessedness which its Capacities can extend to.

These things are so; and they have been by many both piously and elegantly illustrated. Howbeit they are above the Capacities of ordinary Christians, they know not how to manage them in their Minds, nor exercise their Thoughts about them. They cannot reduce them to present usefulness, nor make them subservient to the exercise and encrease of Grace. And the Truth is, the Scripture gives us another Notion of Heaven and Glory, not contrary to this, not inconsistent with it, but more suited to the Faith and Experience of Believers, and which alone can convey a true and useful sense of these things to our Minds. This therefore is diligently to be enquired into, and firmly stated in our Thoughts and Affections.

4. The principal Notion which the Scripture gives us of the State of Heavenly Blessedness, and which the meanest Believers are capable of improving in daily practice, is, That Faith shall be turned into Sight, and Grace into Glory. We walk now by Faith and not by Sight, saith the Apostle, Cor. 5:7. Wherefore this is the Difference between our present and our future state, that Sight hereafter shall supply the room of Faith, Joh. 3:2. And if Sight come into the place of Faith, then the Object of that Sight must be the same with the present Object of our Faith. So the Apostle informs us; Cor. 13:9.10, 12. For we know in part, and when we Prophesie in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away. For now we see through a Glass darkly, but then face to face. Those things which we see now darkly as in a glass, we shall then have an immediate sight and full comprehension of; for that which is perfect must come and doe away that which is in part. What then is the principal Present Object of Faith as it is Evangelical, into whose room Sight must succeed? Is it not the Manifestation of the Glory of the infinite Wisdom, Grace, Love, Kindness and Power of God in Christ, the Revelation of the eternal Councels of his Will, and the ways of their Accomplishment to the eternal Salvation of the Church in and by him; with the glorious exaltation of Christ himself? Wherefore, in the full satisfactory Representation of these things to our Souls, received by Sight or a direct immediate Intuition of them, does the Glory of Heaven principally consist. We behold them now darkly as in a glass; that is, the utmost which by Faith we can attain to; in Heaven they shall be openly and fully displayed. The infinite incomprehensible Excellencies of the Divine Nature, are not proposed in Scripture as the immediate Object of our Faith, nor shall they be so to Sight in Heaven. The Manifestation of them in Christ is the immediate Object of our Faith here, and shall be of our Sight hereafter. Only through this Manifestation of them we are lead even by Faith ultimately to acquiesce in them; as we shall in Heaven be lead by Love perfectly to adhere to them with Delight ineffable. This is our immediate Objective Glory in Heaven, we hope for no other. And this if God will I shall shortly more fully explain.

Whoever lives in the exercise of Faith, and has any experience of the Life, Power and Sweetness of these Heavenly things, to whom they are a Spring of Grace and Consolation, they are able to meditate on the Glory of them in their full enjoyment. Think much of Heaven, as that which will give you a perfect view and comprehension of the Wisdom and Love and Grace of God in Christ, with those other things which shall be immediately declared.

Some perhaps will be ready to say, that if this be Heaven they can see no great Glory in it, no such Beauty as for which it should be desired. It may be so, for some have no Instrument to take a view of Invisible things but carnal Imaginations. Some have no Light, no Principle, no disposition of Mind or Soul, whereto these things are either acceptable or suitable. Some will go no further in the consideration of the Divine Excellencies of God, and the Faculties and actings of our Souls, than Reason will guide them, which may be of use. But we look for no other Heaven, we desire none, but what we are lead to and prepared for by the Light of the Gospel; that which shall perfect all the beginnings of Gods Grace in us; not what shall be quite of another nature and destructive of them. We value not that Heaven which is equally suited to the Desires and Inclinations of the worst of men as well as of the best; for we know that they who like not Grace here, neither do nor can like that which is Glory hereafter. No man who is not acquainted experimentally in some measure, with the Life, Power and Evidence of Faith here, has any other Heaven in his aim, but what is erected in his own Imagination. The Glory of Heaven which the Gospel prepares us for, which Faith leads and conducts us to, which the Souls of Believers long after, as that which will give full Rest, Satisfaction and Complacency, is the full, open, perfect Manifestation of the Glory of the Wisdom, Goodness, and Love of God in Christ, in his Person and Mediation, with the Revelation of all his Councels concerning them, and the communication of their effects to us. He that likes it not, to whom it is not desireable, may betake himself to Mahomets Paradise, or the Philosophers Speculations, in the Gospel Heaven he has no Interest. These are the things which we see now darkly as in a Glass, by Faith; in the view of them are our Souls gradually changed into the likeness of God; and the comprehension of them is that which shall give us our utmost conformity and likeness to him whereof our natures are capable. In a sense and experience of their Reality and Goodness given us by the Holy Ghost, do all our spiritual Consolations and Joyes consist. The Effects produced by them in our Souls are the first fruits of Glory. Our Light, Sense, Experience and Enjoyment of these things however weak and frequently interrupted, our Apprehensions of them however dark and obscure, are the only means whereby we are made meet for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light.

To have the eternal Glory of God in Christ, with all the fruits of his Wisdom and Love, whilest we are our selves under the full participation of the effects of them, immediately, directly, revealed, proposed, made known to us in a divine and glorious Light, our Souls being furnished with a Capacity to behold and perfectly comprehend them, this is the Heaven which according to Gods Promise we look for. But as was said, these things shall be elsewere more fully treated of.

It is true, that there are sundry other things in particular that belong to this State of Glory. But what we have mentioned is the Fountain and Spring of them all. We can never have an immeditate enjoyment of God in the Immensity of his Nature, nor can any created understanding conceive any such things. Gods communications of himself to us, and our enjoyment of him, shall be in and by the manifestation of his Glory in Christ. He who can see no Glory, who is sensible of no Blessedness in these things, is a stranger to that Heaven which the Scripture reveals, and which Faith leads to.

It may be enquired, what is the Subjective Glory, or what Change is to be wrought in our selves that we may enjoy this Glory? Now that consists principally as to our Souls in the Perfection of all Grace, which is initially wrought and subjectively resides in us in this world. The Grace which we have here, shall not be done away as to its essence and nature, though somewhat of it shall cease as to the manner of its Operation. What Soul could think with Joy of going to Heaven, if thereby he must lose all his present Light, Faith, and Love of God, though he be told that he should receive that in lieu of them, which is more excellent, whereof he has no experience, nor can understand of what nature it is. When the Saints enter into Rest, their Good Works do follow them, and how can they do so, if their Grace do not accompany them, from whence they proceed? The Perfection of our present Graces which are here weak, and interrupted in their operations, is a principal Eminency of the State of Glory. Faith shall be heightned into Vision as was proved before, which does not destroy its Nature, but cause it to cease as to its manner of Operation towards things invisible. If a man have a weak small Faith in this Life, with little Evidence, and no Assurance, so that he doubts of all things, questions all things, and has no Comfort from what he does believe; if afterwards through supplyes of Grace, he has a mighty prevailing Evidence of the things believed, is filled with Comfort and Assurance; this is not by a Faith or Grace of another kind than what he had before; but by the same Faith raised to an higher Degree of Perfection. When our Savior cured the Blind man, and gave him hls sight; Mark 8. at first he saw all things obscurely and imperfectly, he saw men, as Trees, walking; ver. 24. But on another application of Vertue to him, he saw all things clearly; ver. 25. It was not a sight of another kind which he then received, than what he had at first; only its imperfection whereby he saw men like Trees walking was taken away. Nor will our perfect vision of things above, be a Grace absolutely of another kind from the Light of Faith which we here enjoy; only what is imperfect in it will be done away, and it will be made meet for the present enjoyment of things here at a distance and invisible. Love shall have its Perfection also, and the least Alteration in its manner of Operation of any Grace whatever. And there is nothing that should more excite us to labor after a growth in Love to God in Christ, than this, that it shall to all Eternity be the same in its Nature and in all its Operations, only both the one and the other shall be made absolutely perfect. The Soul will by it be enabled to cleave to God unchangeably, with eternal Delight, Satisfaction and Complacency. Hope shall be perfect in Enjoyment, which is all the Perfection it is capable of. So shall it be as to other Graces.

This subjective Perfection of our Natures, especially in all the Faculties, Powers, and Affections of our Souls and all their Operations, belongs to our Blessedness, nor can we be blessed without it. All the Objective Glory in Heaven would not in our beholding and enjoyment of it (if it were possible) make us blessed and happy, if our own Natures were not made perfect, freed from all disorder, irregular motions and weak imperfect Operations. What is it then that must give our Nature this subjective Perfection? It is that Grace alone whose beginnings we are here made partakers of. For therein consists the Renovation of the Image of God in us. And the perfect communication of that Image to us, is the absolute Perfection of our Natures; the utmost which their capacity is suited to. And this gives us the last thing to be enquired into, namely by what means in our selves we shall eternally abide in that state. And this is by the unalterable Adherence of our whole Souls to God, in perfect Love and Delight. This is that whereby alone the Soul reachs to the essence of God, and the infinite incomprehensible perfections of his Nature. For the perfect nature hereof, Divine Revelation has left it under a vail, and so must we do also. Nor do I designedly handle these things in this place, but only in the way of a Direction how to exercise our Thoughts about them.

This is that notion of Heaven which those who are spiritually minded ought to be conversant withall. And the true stating of it by Faith, is a discriminating character of Believers. This is no Heaven to any others. Those who have not an experience of the Excellency of these things in their initial state in this World, and their incomparable Transcendency to all other things, cannot conceive how heavenly Glory and Blessedness should consist in them. Unskilful men may cast away rough unwrought Diamonds as useless Stones; they know not what polishing will bring them to. Nor do men unskilful in the Mysteries of Godliness, judge there can be any Glory in rough unwrought Grace; they know not what lustre and beauty the polishing of the Heavenly hand will give to it.

It is generally supposed that however men differ in and about Religion here, yet they agree well enough about Heaven, they would all go to the same Heaven. But it is a great Mistake, they differ in nothing more; they would not all go to the same Heaven. How few are they who value that Heavenly State which we have treated of; or do understand how any blessedness can consist in the enjoyment of it? But this and no other Heaven would we go to. Other notions there may be, there are of it, which being but fruits and effects of mens own Imaginations, the more they dwell in the contemplation of them, the more carnal they may grow, at best the more superstitious. But spiritual Thoughts of this Heaven, consisting principally in freedom from all sin, in the Perfection of all Grace in the vision of the Glory of God in Christ, and all the excellencies of the Divine Nature as manifested in him, are an effectual Means for the improvement of spiritual Life, and the encrease of all Graces in us. For they cannot but effect an Assimilation in the Mind and Heart to the things contemplated on, where the Principles and Seeds of them are already inlaid and begun. This is our first Direction.

Secondly, Having fixed right Notions and Apprehensions of Heavenly things in our minds, it is our Duty to think and contemplate greatly on them, and our own concernment in them. Without this all our Speculations concerning the nature of eternal things, will be of no use to us. And to your Encouragement and Direction, take these few short Rules relating to this Duty. (1.) Here lyes the great Trial whether we are spiritually minded or no, by vertue of this Rule; If we are risen with Christ, we will mind the things that are above, Col. 3:3. (2.) Here lyes the great Means whereby we may attain further degrees in that blessed frame of mind, if it be already formed in us, by vertue of that Rule; Beholding the Glory of God as in a Glass, we are changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory, Cor. 3:18. (3.) Here lyes the great Evidence whether we have a real interest in the things above or no; whether we place our Portion and Blessedness in them, by vertue of that Rule; Where our Treasure is, there will our Hearts be also. Are they our Treasure, our Portion, our Reward, in comparison whereof all other things are but loss and dung? we shall assuredly be conversant in our minds about them. (4.) It cannot be imagined, that a man should have in him a Principle cognate and suited to things above, of the same kind and nature with them, that his Soul should be under the conduct of those habits of Grace, which strive and naturally tend to Perfection, labouring greatly here under the weight of their own weaknesses, as it is with all who are truely Spiritually Minded, and yet not have his Thoughts greatly exercised about these things, Joh. 3:3.

It were well if we would trye our selves by things of so uncontroulable Evidence. What can any object to the Truth of these things, or the Necessity of this Duty? If it be otherwise with us, it is from one of these two causes; either we are not convinced of the Truth and Reality of them, or we have no delight in them, because we are not spiritually minded. Do we think that men may turmoyl themselves in earthly Thoughts all the day long, and when they are freed of their Affairs, betake themselves to those that are vain and useless, without any stated converse with things above, and yet enjoy Life and Peace? We must take other measures of things, if we intend to live to God, to be like him, and to come to the enjoyment of him.

What is the matter with men that they are so stupid? They all generally desire to go to Heaven, at least when they can live here no longer. Some indeed have no other regard to it, but only that they would not go to Hell. But most would dye the Death of the Righteous, and have their latter end like his, yet few there are who endeavor to attain a right Notion of it, to try how it is suited to their Principles and Desires; but content themselves with such general notions of it as please their Imaginations. It is no wonder if such Persons seldom exercise their Minds or Thoughts about it, nor do they so much as pretend to be Spiritually minded. But as for those who are instructed in these things, who profess their chiefest Interest to lye in them, not to abound in Meditation concerning them, it argues indeed that whatever they profess, they are earthly and carnal.

Again; Meditate and think of the Glory of Heaven, so as to compare it with the opposite state of Death and eternal Misery. Few men care to think much of Hell, and the Everlasting Torments of the Wicked therein. Those do so least, who are in most danger of falling thereinto. They put far from them the evil day, and suppose their Covenant with Death and Hell to be sure. Some begin to advance an Opinion that there is no such Place, because it is their Interest and Desire that there should be none. Some out of Profaneness make a Scoffe at it, as though a future Judgment were but a Fable. Most seem to think that there is a Severity in thoughts about it, which it is not fit we should be too much terrified withal. Some transient Thoughts they will have of it, but not suffer them to abide in their minds, lest they should be too much discomposed. Or they think it not consistent with the Goodness of Christ to leave any men in that condition; whereas there is more spoken directly of Hell, its Torments and their Eternity, by himself self [〈◊〉] in all the Scripture besides. These Thoughts [•••…]ost proceed from an unwillingness to be troubled [〈◊〉] their sins, and are useful to none. It is the height of Folly for men to endeavor the hiding of themselves for a few Moments from that which is unavoidably coming upon them to Eternity; and the due consideration whereof, is a means for an Escape from it. But I speak only of true Believers. And the more they are conversant in their Thoughts about the future estate of Eternal Misery, the greater Evidence they have of the Life and confidence of Faith. It is a necessary Duty to consider it, as what we were by nature obnoxious to, as being Children of Wrath; what we have deserved by our Personal sins, as the wages of sin is Death; what we are delivered from through Jesus the Deliverer who saves us from the wrath to come; what expression it is of the Indignation of God against sin, who has prepared this Tophet of Old; that we may be delivered from sin, kept up to an Abhorrency of it, walking in Humility, self-abasement, and the Admiration of Divine Grace. This therefore is required of us, that in our Thoughts and Meditations, we compare the state of Blessedness and Eternal Glory, as a free and absolute effect of the Grace of God in and through Christ Jesus, with that state of Eternal Misery, which we had deserved. And if there be any spark of Grace or of holy Thankfulness in our Hearts, it will be stirred up to its due exercise.

Some it may be will say, that they complained before that they cannot get their minds fixed on these things. Weakness, Weariness, Darkness, Diversions, Occasions do prevalently obstruct their abiding in such Thoughts. I shall speak further to this afterwards, at present I shall only suggest two things. (1.) If you cannot attain, yet continue to follow after; get your minds in a perpetual endeavor after an abode in spiritual Thoughts. Let your minds be rising towards them every hour, yea an hundred times a day, on all occasions, on a continual sense of Duty; and sigh within your selves for deliverance, when you find Disappointments, or not a continuance in them. It is the sense of that Place; Rom. 8:23, 24, 25, 26, 27. (2.) Take care you go not backwards and lose what you have wrought. If you neglect these things for a season, you will quickly find your selves neglected by them. So I observe it every day in the hearing of the Word. While Persons keep up themselves to a diligent Attendance on it where they find it preached to their Edification, they find great Delight in it, and will undergo great Difficulties for the enjoyment of it: Let them be diverted from it for a season, after a while it grows indifferent to them, any thing will satisfy them that pretends to the same Duty.

The objects of spiritual thoughts — what they are occupied with — as evidence that those who have them are spiritually minded. Rules for maintaining steadiness in contemplating heavenly things. Motives for fixing our thoughts on them with steadiness.

Before I move on to the next major topic — which is the principal thing, the foundation of the grace and duty we are examining — some further discussion is needed to make what has already been said more practically useful. This involves inquiring into what the proper objects of those thoughts should be — the thoughts which, given the qualifications already laid out, are the evidence of being spiritually minded. This may prove helpful to many by assisting them to fix their wandering minds, which tend to drift into all kinds of uncertainty. This has happened to us because of the disorder and weakness of our souls' faculties: sometimes what the mind guides and directs toward in spiritual and heavenly things, the will and affections — through their depravity and corruption — will not comply with, and so the mind's good intentions come to nothing. Other times, what the will and affections are inclined to and ready for, the mind through its weakness and instability cannot lead them to accomplish — so the desire is present, but we do not know how to carry it out. Many are barren in this duty because they do not know what to fix upon, or how to exercise their thoughts once they have chosen a subject for meditation. They waste their time in fruitless longing to use their thoughts more profitably, rather than actually making progress in the duty itself. They exhaust themselves not because they are unwilling to go, but because they cannot find the way. Therefore, both of these things will be addressed: what are the proper objects of our spiritual thoughts, and how we can maintain steadiness in contemplating them. To that end, I will first give some general rules, and then some specific examples by way of guidance.

First, pay attention to the special calls of God's providence and apply your minds to thoughts about the duties required by them. There is a voice in all significant providential dealings. "The voice of the Lord calls to the city, and it is sound wisdom to fear Your name; hear the rod and who has appointed it," Micah 6:9. There is a call, a cry in every rod of God, in every chastening providence — and in it He makes a declaration of His name, His holiness, His power, His greatness. Every wise and grounded person will work to discern this and respond to the call. God is greatly provoked when this is not done. "Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, they do not see it. Let them see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame," Isaiah 26:11. If therefore we would apply ourselves to our present duty, we must wisely consider what God is saying in His current providential dealings in the world. Do not listen to anyone who would interpret them as anything other than plain declarations of His displeasure and anger against the sins of people. Is not His wrath being revealed from heaven against the ungodliness of people — especially those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, or who are false and hypocritical professors of the Gospel? Does He not also clearly declare the uncertainty and instability of all earthly things, from life itself down to the least possession? And how vain and foolish it is to cling to them inordinately. The fingers that appeared and wrote the doom of Belshazzar on the wall did so in letters no one could read and words no one could understand except Daniel. But God's present call in these things is written plainly on the wall — clear enough for a runner to read as he passes. If the heavens are gathering black clouds, and thunder is rolling over us, anyone continuing on their journey who refuses to believe a storm is coming will have to bear its full fury.

Grant then that this is the voice of providence — that these are indications of the mind and will of God — what duties are we being called to by them? They can be grouped under two headings.

First, a diligent inward examination and a holy watchfulness over ourselves with regard to those ways and sins against which God's displeasure is being declared. We take it for granted that present providences are indications of God's anger and displeasure. But once that is established, most people tend to lay the causes on others and excuse themselves. As long as they see others more wicked and shameless than themselves — people openly guilty of crimes they find revolting even to think about — they lay all the blame on those others and fear only that they will suffer along with them. But when the storm came on the ship at sea — where there was only one man who feared God — when lots were cast to find whose fault it was, the lot fell on him, Jonah 1:7. The cause of the present storm may just as well be the secret sins of professing Christians as the open provocations of ungodly people. God will punish severely those He has known, Amos 3:2. Therefore it is certainly our duty to search diligently, so that nothing be found resting in us against which God is declaring His displeasure. Beware of negligence and complacency here. When our Savior told His disciples that one of them would betray Him, the one who was actually guilty was the last to say, "Lord, is it I?" Let no sense of spiritual security, no conviction of sincerity in any duty, no visible contrast between yourself and others in the world, divert your mind from diligence in this duty. The voice of the Lord calls to the city, and the person of wisdom will heed His name.

Second, a diligent effort to live in a holy surrender of ourselves — our persons, lives, families, and all our possessions — to the sovereign will and wisdom of God, so that we may be ready to give up all things at His call without complaint. This too is plainly declared in the voice of present providences. God is putting wings on people's wealth, shaking their homes, stripping away the visible protections of their lives, and proclaiming the instability and uncertainty of everything below. If we are not determined to contend with Him, there is nothing left to give us even a moment's rest and peace except a holy surrender of all to His sovereign pleasure.

Do you want to know what to fix your thoughts on so that they may be evidence of your being spiritually minded? I say: dwell frequently on these things. They lie before you, they call out to you, and they will give you a worthwhile occupation. Count them part of your responsibility, give them some portion of your time, and do not stop until your conscience bears witness that you have sincerely settled both of these duties in your mind — which will never happen without much thinking about them. Unless it is so with you, God will be greatly displeased at your neglect of His coming and His call, now that it is so plain and clear. Fear the terrible warnings recorded in Proverbs 1:24-28 and Isaiah 56:12 and 66:4. And if any calamity — public or private — overtakes you while you are neglecting these duties, you will be terribly unprepared and will not know which way to turn for relief. This present season, therefore, is a special opportunity for you to test and discover whether you are spiritually minded. The wisdom of faith is to stir up and draw grace into active exercise in response to present occasions. If this grace dwells habitually in you, it will express itself in many thoughts about these present duties.

But unfortunately, for the most part, people are prone to walk contrary to God in these things, as the wisdom of the flesh is contrary to Him in everything. We see a striking example of this with regard to these duties, especially the second one. First, who among us makes a diligent inward search and examination of heart and ways with respect to the causes of God's displeasure and judgments? Generally, when the signs and evidences of that displeasure are most prominent, the world is full of outrageous and provocative sins. These visibly announce themselves as the causes of God's coming wrath on the children of disobedience. Hence most people tend to lay all blame for present judgments on them and to remove it entirely from themselves. And so, typically, self-examination is never less practiced than when it is most needed. I will not deny that the open, brazen sins of the world are the procuring cause of God's temporal wrath against it. But the wisest course for us is to refer those people's final judgment to the great day of judgment. The apostle directs us to this in 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10. Our duty is to consider in what ways judgment begins at the house of God, and to examine ourselves in light of that.

The other part of our present duty in responding to the voice of providence is a humble surrender of ourselves and all our concerns to the will of God, holding our earthly and temporal possessions loosely in our affections. We neither do this nor can do it — whatever we profess — unless our thoughts are greatly exercised about the reasons for it and the motives to it. For this is how faith puts its power to work in the mortification of self and all earthly attachments. Without this exercise of thought, we cannot make any true surrender of ourselves to the will of God. But how many at present openly walk contrary to God in this? The ways, expressions, and conversations of people make this plain. Their love for present things, their schemes for increasing and preserving them, grow and thrive under God's very calls to the contrary. So it was in the days of Noah: they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, right up until the day Noah entered the ark. Can the majority of professing Christians today give testimony to exercising their thoughts on things that would dispose them to this holy surrender? That they are meditating on God's calls, and from that preparing themselves to relinquish everything at His time and pleasure? How can people claim to be spiritually minded when the current of their thoughts runs in direct opposition to the mind of God?

Here lies the root of their self-deception. They are professing Christians in a special sense — they consider themselves believers, hope they will be saved, and have many evidences for it. But one negative piece of evidence will cancel a hundred positive ones. "All these things I have kept," said the young man; "One thing you still lack," said our Savior. And the lack of that one thing made all the rest useless to him. Many things you have done, many things you are doing, many grounds of hope remain with you — neither you nor others doubt your condition. But are you spiritually minded? If this one thing is lacking, all the rest will not help you — you have in fact neither life nor peace. And what grounds do you have to judge that you are spiritually minded, if the current of your thoughts runs in direct opposition to God's present calls? If at such a time as this your love of the world is as strong as ever — perhaps even stronger; if your desires to secure the things of this life for yourself and your family are intense; if the daily work of your mind is not focused on how you may attain a constant surrender of yourself and all you have to the will of God — something that cannot be achieved without much thinking and meditation on the reasons for it and the motives to it — then I cannot understand how you can judge yourself to be spiritually minded.

If anyone therefore says they would abound more in spiritual thoughts but simply do not know what to fix them on, I propose this in the first place as something that will lead them to the proper performance of their present duties.

Second, personal trials and temptations call for the exercise of our thoughts in a particularly focused way. If a person has a physical illness, pain, or disease, it will cause him to think about it whether he wants to or not — and certainly if he is wise, he will do so. And he will not merely complain about how it hurts but will inquire into its causes and seek its cure. Yet there are some diseases — like lethargy — that by their very nature remove all sense and awareness of themselves; and some progress so slowly and secretly, like a wasting fever, that they go unnoticed. But both of these are fatal. Shall people then be more negligent about the spiritual diseases of their souls? — so that they are beset with many temptations, the root of all spiritual diseases, and give no thought to them at all? Is it not to be feared that where this is the case, those temptations are either of the kind that by their own nature have taken away spiritual feeling, or by their deceptiveness are quietly leading a person toward eternal death? To have one's mind unoccupied with these things is to be dangerously asleep, Proverbs 23:34-35.

I acknowledge there is some difficulty in how to exercise our thoughts rightly about our temptations. For the primary way temptations gain power is by stirring up multiplied thoughts about their objects, or about what they are leading toward. This is brought about or occasioned in several ways. First, through the prior power of lust in the affections. This will fill the mind with thoughts. The heart coins imaginations in compliance with them. These are the ways and means by which lust draws the heart away from duty and entices to sin, James 1:14 — at the very least the means by which people come to have eyes full of adultery, 2 Peter 2:14, or to live in constant contemplation of the pleasures of sin. Second, they arise and are occasioned by renewed presentations of the object of sin. This is twofold: real, as when Achan saw the gold bar and coveted it, Joshua 7:21 and Proverbs 23:31 — against which is the psalmist's prayer, "Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity," and Job's covenant in chapter 31:1; or imaginary, when the imagination — infected and tainted by lust — continually presents to the mind the pleasure of sin and the acting out of it. In this way people make provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts, Romans 13:14. Third, through Satan's suggestions — he uses all his craft and strategies to stir up thoughts about the very sin to which the temptation is leading. And a temptation seldom fails of its purpose when it can stir up a multitude of unprofitable thoughts about its object. For when temptations multiply thoughts about sin — proceeding from some or all of these causes — and the mind has accustomed itself to welcome them, those in whom this happens need nothing more than the opportunity and occasion of having external restraints removed to go ahead and commit the actual sin. Having devised wickedness in their minds, they practice it when it is in their power to do so, Micah 2:1. It is in no way safe to advise such people to dwell in thoughts about their temptations — all such thoughts will only work against them.

I speak only to those for whom their temptations are their affliction and their burden. Even such people must be very careful about how they allow their thoughts to dwell on the subject matter of their temptation, lest it become a snare and prove too much for them. A person may begin thinking about an object with abhorrence and disgust — and if it concerns a temptation, may end in pleasure and approval. The deceitfulness of sin latches on to something in the mind that lust then lingers on with delight, and so corrupts the whole frame of spirit with which the person began. There have been cases where people entered a situation with the resolve to condemn sin and were instead trapped by the occasion into committing the very sin they intended to condemn. Therefore, it is rarely safe for someone who is actually engaged in a temptation to dwell in sustained thoughts about what the temptation is about or the sin it is leading to. Sin has a thousand ways of doing harm and is able to infuse its poison into the affections through everything it has ever used as bait — especially if it has already defiled the mind with pleasurable contemplations of it. Indeed, sometimes a person of some spiritual strength who is engaged in performing duties, when the subject matter of his temptation is suddenly presented to him so as to take hold of his thoughts — in that instant, as they say of one who has looked at Medusa's head, he is turned to stone. His energy freezes, his strength is gone, all actings of grace cease, his armor falls away, and he surrenders himself as prey to his temptation. Only a fresh supply of grace can bring him any deliverance. Therefore, while people are engaged with a temptation, I do not advise them to spend time in thoughts about the temptation's subject matter. For sometimes memories of past gratification of their lusts, sometimes fresh ambushes from the pull of corruption not yet mortified, sometimes Satan's craft in fixing their imagination on it — all of these can prove too strong and carry them into fresh compliance with the very sin they want to be delivered from.

But this season calls in a special way for the exercise of thoughts on the ways and means of deliverance from the snare in which you are caught, or the danger you find yourself exposed to. Think about the guilt of sin, so that you may be humbled. Think about the power of sin, so that you may seek strength against it. Do not think about the substance of sin — the worldly things suited to the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — lest you be further entangled. The present direction is this: think deeply about the ways of relief from the power of your particular temptation, which is leading you toward sin. But this is something people are very reluctant to come to, unless they are spiritually minded. I am not speaking of those who love their chains, who glory in their yoke, who are actually comfortable enough with their temptations because those temptations give the most satisfying entertainment to their minds. Such people hardly know what to do unless they can dwell in their thoughts on the objects of their lusts, and multiply such thoughts continually. The apostle calls this making provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. Their chief trouble is that outward restraints prevent them from acting on those lusts to the fullest extent. These people dwell close to those fools who mock at sin, and will before long take up their residence among them.

But I am speaking, as I said before, only of those whose temptations are their affliction and who groan for deliverance from them. Let such people be made aware of the great — indeed the only — way of relief in this distress, as expressed in Hebrews 2:17-18: "He is a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God; for since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted." And Hebrews 4:15-16: "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Let them know that their only way of deliverance is through the active exercise of faith — thoughts directed toward Christ, His power to aid those who are tempted, and the ways by which He provides sufficient grace for that purpose. Retreating to Him for relief when temptations press hard — that is what they can hardly be brought to do. They are ready to say: are not the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? Would it not be better to trust our own promises, resolutions, and efforts, along with other escape routes within our own power? I will say nothing against any of those in their proper place, insofar as they are supported by Scripture. But this I say: no one will ever be delivered from tormenting temptations to the glory of God and their own spiritual benefit, except through the active exercise of faith in Jesus Christ and the sufficiency of His grace for their deliverance. But when people are not spiritually minded, they cannot fix their thoughts on spiritual things. Therefore people waste away daily under their temptations — their temptations gain ground on them, until the breach grows as wide as the sea and there is no healing it.

I mention this only to show the weight and necessity of the duty being proposed. For when people under the power of conviction are pressed by temptation, they will do anything rather than turn to the only effective relief. Some will groan and cry out under their distress from the torment of the conflict between their temptations and their convictions. Some will turn to the counterfeit relief offered by any false religion. But to apply themselves in thoughts of faith to Jesus Christ, whose grace alone is sufficient for all — that they will not be persuaded to do.

We are all subject to temptations. Those who are unaware of it are already under the power of what the temptation leads to. Temptations are of two kinds. First, there are extraordinary temptations, in which God's hand is involved in a special way for our rebuke. It is true that God does not tempt anyone in the formal sense of leading them to sin. But He orders temptations insofar as they are afflictions and chastisements. This is what happens when He allows a particular inward corruption to come together with a particular outward temptation, and permits that combination to gain some power. Of these, there is no doubt that any person who is not judicially hardened can recognize both the disease and the remedy. But the ordinary pattern of temptations that we encounter requires diligent attention both to discover them and to find deliverance from them. And it is to be feared that many are kept in spiritual weakness, uselessness, and darkness all their days through the power of their temptations, yet never know what those temptations are or where they lie. These gray hairs are scattered on them, yet they know it not; some people even take satisfaction in the very things and ways that are their temptations. Yet through due watchfulness, diligence, and wisdom, people can know both the disease of their hearts in their prevailing corruptions, and the ways by which temptation excites that disease — including the occasions it uses and the advantages it exploits. For example: a person may have outstanding gifts and usefulness or success in his labors, which gains him great esteem with others. Such a person will hardly avoid a double temptation. First, spiritual pride and self-exaltation. This is why the apostle does not permit a novice — someone inexperienced in the ways of grace and the deceits of sin — to hold the office of ministry, lest he be lifted up with pride and fall into the condemnation of the devil, 1 Timothy 3:6. Paul himself was not without danger of this, 2 Corinthians 12:7. The best of people can hardly guard their minds against the secret workings of pride after success and praise, unless they keep those thoughts continually balanced by thoughts of their own vileness in the sight of God. Second, slackness in pursuing thorough mortification — which they justify by their acceptance and success in ministry above others. It would be greatly to be desired that all of us who are ministers would be careful in these things; for although some of us may not much please others, we may please ourselves sufficiently to expose our souls to these snares. And the effects of carelessness here openly damage the Gospel. Others are much occupied with the world and its affairs. Negligence in spiritual watchfulness, vanity in conversation, love of earthly things, and conformity to the world will on all occasions impose themselves upon them. If they do not understand their temptations in this, spiritual-mindedness will be steadily eroded in them. Those who are rich have their own particular temptations — usually many, plausible, and effective — and those who are poor have theirs as well. Some people's snares lie in their constitutions, others in their company, most in the various circumstances of life. Those who are maintaining any reasonable watch over themselves — who are exercising any wisdom and self-observation — can know where their temptations lie, what advantages those temptations use to perplex their minds and endanger their souls.

In these cases, people are generally taught what the ways and means of deliverance and preservation are. Three things are required for this duty, and spiritual wisdom for all three. First, know what your particular temptations are — the ones through which you suffer, and by which the life of God is being hindered in you. If this is neglected or disregarded, no person can maintain either life or peace, or be spiritually minded. Second, know your remedy and your relief — what it consists in alone. Many duties are required of us for this purpose, and they are useful. But know with certainty that not one of them — not all of them combined — will bring relief to the glory of God and your own peace without a direct application of faith to Him who is able to aid those who are tempted. Therefore, third, here lies your great duty with respect to your temptations: a constant exercise of your thoughts on the love, care, compassion, and tenderness of Christ, and on His ability to help, aid, and save those who believe — in such a way as to strengthen your faith and trust in Him. This will prove surely successful and victorious.

The same duty applies to any pressing, prevalent, widespread temptation. There are seasons when an hour of trial comes upon the earth to test those who live in it. What if a person should judge that such an hour has now come — and that the power of darkness is at work in it? What if he should be persuaded that a widespread spiritual deadness, coldness, sluggishness, and decay in grace — especially in the vigorous exercise of zeal, love, and delight in God — along with a general indifference to holy duties, are the effects of this hour of trial? I do not say definitively that this is the case — let others judge as they see fit. But if someone does judge this to be so, it is undoubtedly his duty to exercise his thoughts on how he may escape in this day of trial and be counted worthy to stand before the Son of Man. He will find it important to dwell in his mind on the reasons and motives for watchfulness, and on how he may obtain such supplies of grace as will effectively preserve him from such decay.

Third, all things in religion — both in faith and practice — are to be objects of such thoughts. As they are presented or come to mind in great variety on all kinds of occasions, we ought to give them room in our meditations. To hear things, to have them presented to us — perhaps through a divine ordinance — and then to let them slip away like water poured into a leaking vessel, is the ruin of many souls. I will therefore select some specific examples, as was proposed before, of things which I judge those who would be spiritually minded ought to dwell on and abound in thought about.

First, it is our duty to keep our minds focused on the things that are above — eternal things — both in regard to their reality, their present condition, and our future enjoyment of them. In this the life of this grace and duty consists. To be heavenly-minded — that is, to mind the things of heaven — and to be spiritually minded are the same thing. Or heavenly-mindedness is the effect of being spiritually minded in terms of its origin and essence, or the first proper expression of it. It is the cause of spiritual-mindedness as to its growth and degrees, and it is the evidence of spiritual-mindedness in lived experience. I cannot understand how it is possible for someone whose chief interest lies in things above not to have many thoughts of them. This is the apostle's great counsel, based on our share in Christ and our conformity to Him, Colossians 3:1-2: "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." It is fitting for those who, through the power of Christ's resurrection, have been raised to newness of life to have their thoughts exercised on the state of things above — on the presence of Christ there. And the singular benefit of looking toward these things and meditating on them is explained in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." Not to give way to despair under the daily decay of the outer man and the approach of death, to bear afflictions as light and momentary, to thrive inwardly through it all — these are unspeakable mercies and privileges. Can you attain a better frame of mind? Is there anything you would more desire, if you are a believer? Is it not better to have such a mind than to enjoy all the peace and security the world can provide? One of the chief means by which we become partakers of these things is a proper meditation on things unseen and eternal. These are the things that lie within the veil — on which we should cast the anchor of our hope in all the storms we encounter, Hebrews 6:19-20 — about which we will speak more later.

Without doubt, the majority of Christians are greatly lacking in this duty — partly for want of understanding of these things, partly for want of delight in them. They think little of an eternal country. Wherever people are, they typically do not neglect thoughts of the country where their inheritance lies. If they are away from it for a time, they still work to acquaint themselves with its most important matters. But this heavenly country, where our eternal inheritance lies, is not regarded. People do not exercise themselves in thoughts of things eternal and invisible as they ought. If they did, it would be impossible for their minds to remain so earthly and their affections to cling so strongly to present things. A person who gazes steadily at the sun — though he cannot bear the full brightness of its beams — will find his eyes so affected by it that when he looks away, he can see almost nothing around him; everything appears dark to him. And the person who gazes steadily in his meditations on things above — eternal things — though he cannot fully comprehend their glory, will find that a veil is cast over all the desirable beauties of earthly things, drawing his affections away from them.

People live and act under the conviction that a state of immortality and glory is coming. This belief greatly comforts them in their sorrows, sufferings, and temptations. Yet for many, it is only a reserve to fall back on when they can remain here no longer. As for daily contemplation of the nature and causes of that glory, or any real entrance into it through faith and hope, most are complete strangers to it. If we are spiritually minded, nothing will be more natural to us than to have many thoughts of eternal things — both because all our chief interests lie there, and because those things are excellent and glorious in themselves. The direction therefore is: make heavenly things — the things of the future state of blessedness and glory — a primary object of your thoughts. Think about them deeply. Meditate on them often. Many are discouraged in this by their ignorance and spiritual blindness, and by their inability to form steady and clear conceptions of invisible things. Hence one of two things tends to befall them when they try to meditate on things above. First, the glory of those things — the glory of God in them, being essentially infinite and incomprehensible — immediately overwhelms them and in a moment leaves them completely at a loss, unable to frame a single thought about them. Or second, they lack the skill and ability to form proper conceptions of invisible things, and to arrange them in their minds in such a way as to think about them calmly and steadily. Both of these will be addressed later. For now I will only say this:

Whoever sincerely engages in this duty according to what he has — and persists in it consistently — will make such a refreshing and satisfying progress in his understanding of heavenly things that he will be greatly encouraged. We are kept in darkness, ignorance, and unsteadiness in meditation about them not because of the nature of the things themselves, but because of our own laziness, negligence, and readiness to be turned aside by the perception of difficulties — by the lion in the road. Therefore I will consider two things: first, what are the chief motives to this duty of fixing our thoughts on things above, and what advantages do we receive from it; and second, some directions for how and on what specific aspects of things above we may exercise our thoughts.

First, faith will be increased and strengthened by it. Invisible things are the proper objects of faith. Faith is "the evidence of things not seen," Hebrews 11:1. Therefore, in our thoughts about them, faith is exercised in its proper sphere — which is the chief means of its growth and increase. Two things will follow from this.

First, the soul will arrive at a more settled and satisfying sense of the reality of these things. Things born of imagination — which maintain their appeal through obscurity — cannot withstand careful examination. They lose their reputation with every serious inquiry. If rational people would simply give themselves the freedom to think through these things thoroughly, they would quickly demolish Muhammad's fool's paradise, the purgatory of Rome, and all such products of imagination and superstition. But where things are real and substantial, the more they are examined, the more they demonstrate their existence and solidity. It is not merely professing belief in a future state of blessedness that makes it real to our minds. For the most part, what people have of heavenly things is only a concept they do not contradict, rather than any solid satisfaction in or spiritual sense of their reality. These are things no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has been able to conceive — their existence, nature, and true state are not easily grasped. But through the continual exercise of holy thoughts about them, the soul obtains entrance into the midst of them and finds in them both lasting substance and riches. There is no way to strengthen faith to any meaningful degree except through daily contemplation of these things themselves. Those who do not think about them frequently will never believe them sincerely. They will not be established by any indirect evidence when they have not given their own evidence to our souls. Faith, as we said, exercised in this way will give them a substance — not in themselves, which they already have apart from our faith — but in us, in our hearts, in the minds of those who believe. Imagination creates its own object; faith finds it already prepared. Faith will not leave a bare concept in the understanding, but will give these things a spiritual reality in the heart — just as Christ himself dwells in our hearts by faith. Two things will reveal this reality of them in us. First, when we find them in constant readiness to rise up in our minds on all occasions when the thought and remembrance of them is needful and useful. There are many seasons — some of which will be addressed shortly — and many duties in which faith in invisible and eternal things is necessary to us, so that we cannot rightly use those seasons or perform those duties without them. If on all such occasions these things present themselves to us from the inner frame of our minds — or through familiarity and acquaintance with them, we naturally turn our thoughts to them — then they seem to have been given real substance in our souls. But if on occasions where they alone would yield us help and relief, we habitually turn to other thoughts instead — if thoughts of eternal things are, as it were, out of the way and do not rise in our minds of their own accord — then we are still strangers to this effect of faith. Second, they are made real to us — they have substance in us — when the soul continually longs to be in them. When these things have given the heart such a taste and relish, as the firstfruits of glory, that the soul cannot help desiring on every fitting occasion to be in their full enjoyment — then faith seems to have done its effective work in us. For lack of these things many among us walk in discouragement all their days.

Second, steady meditation will gradually give the heart a true acquaintance with the particular nature and significance of these things. General ideas and notions about heaven and glory simply float through the mind and have very little influence on us in other duties. But persistent contemplation will give the mind such clear and distinct perceptions of heavenly things as to affect it properly with their glory. The more we perceive the glory and excellence of these things in their own nature — their suitableness to our own nature as our only proper rest and blessedness, as the perfection and completion of what grace has already begun in us, and the restless longing of all gracious dispositions and inclinations of our hearts toward enjoying them — the more firmly will faith be established in clinging to them. In this contemplation, therefore, consists faith's chief food, by which it is nourished and strengthened. We should not expect much work from laborers who have no provision of proper food. It is no wonder that we find faith faint and weak in the work it has to do — which is often great and demanding — when we neglect to lead it daily to what ought to supply it with strength.

Second, this will give life and exercise to the grace of hope. Hope is a glorious grace, to which blessed effects are attributed in Scripture, and it has an effective operation in supporting and comforting believers. By it we are purified, sanctified, and saved. And to sum up its excellence and power: it is a primary way in which Christ, who lives in us, works, Colossians 1:27 — "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Where Christ reveals His presence with us, He gives us an infallible hope of glory — He provides an assured pledge of it and shapes our souls to a confident expectation of it. Hope in general is merely an uncertain expectation of a future good that we desire. But as a gospel grace, all uncertainty is removed from it — uncertainty that would otherwise rob us of the benefit it is intended to give. It is an earnest expectation flowing from faith, trust, and confidence, accompanied by longing desires for enjoyment. It is through a misunderstanding of its nature that few Christians pursue it, exercise themselves in it, or enjoy the benefit of it. For they suppose that living by hope implies a condition not only inferior to the life of faith and all assurance in believing, but actually excluding them. They think that hoping to be saved is the condition of people who have no grounds for faith or assurance. But this is to turn a blessed fruit of the Spirit into a common emotion of natural desire. Gospel hope is a fruit of faith, trust, and confidence. Indeed, the fullest and highest actings of all grace issue in a well-grounded hope — and grace cannot rise higher than this, Romans 5:2-5.

The reason people make so little use of and receive so little benefit from this excellent grace is that they do not persist in thoughts and contemplation of the things hoped for. The special object of hope is eternal glory, Colossians 1:27 and Romans 5:2. Its particular purpose is to sustain, comfort, and refresh the soul in all trials — under all weariness and discouragement — with a firm expectation of a speedy entrance into that glory, and with an earnest longing for it. Therefore, unless we familiarize ourselves through continual meditation with the reality and nature of this glory, it is impossible for it to serve as the object of a vigorous and active hope — the kind of hope by which, as the apostle says, we are saved. Without this, we can have neither that evidence of eternal things, nor that valuation of them, nor that readiness of mind for them, as should keep us in the exercise of gracious hope about them.

Consider a group of people on a voyage to a very distant country, all of them believing that a place of rest and an inheritance has been prepared for them there. With this belief they all set out on the voyage to take possession of what awaits them. But some of them have only a general idea of these things — they know nothing specifically about them, and are so occupied with other matters that they have no time to inquire, or they suppose they cannot come to any satisfying particular knowledge of them, and so are content to press on with general hopes and expectations. Others, by every possible means, have made themselves specifically acquainted with the nature of the climate where they are going and the excellence of the inheritance and provision prepared for them. The voyage proves long and exhausting, the difficulties are many and the dangers are great — and they have nothing to relieve and encourage themselves with except the hope and expectation of the country toward which they are sailing. Those in the first group will be very prone to despair and give up; their general hopes will not be sufficient to sustain them. But those who have formed a clear and specific understanding of what awaits them — and of its incomparable excellence — always have in readiness something with which to cheer their minds and hold themselves up.

In the pilgrimage in which we are engaged toward a heavenly country, we are certain to encounter all kinds of dangers, difficulties, and perils. A mere general idea of blessedness will not stir up in us a spiritually refreshing hope. But when we think and meditate on future glory as we ought, that grace — which for the most part is neglected as to its benefit and dormant as to its exercise — will above all other graces be most vigorous and active, expressing itself on every occasion. This therefore is an invaluable benefit of the duty urged here, and it is one that those who are truly spiritually minded discover for themselves.

Third, this alone will make us ready for the cross — for whatever sufferings we may be exposed to.

Nothing is more necessary for believers in this season than to have their minds supplied with what will prepare them for the cross and for sufferings. Various indications of God's will, the circumstances of providence, the present state of the world, and the immediate dangers of these latter days all call them to this. If they are not prepared, they will at some point be terribly caught off guard and will find their trials strange, as though something unusual had befallen them. Nothing is more useful to this end than constant thoughts and contemplation of eternal things and future glory. From there alone can the soul have in readiness what to place in the balance against all kinds of sufferings. When a storm begins to rise at sea, the sailors busy themselves with managing the rigging and applying their skills for safety. But if the storm intensifies and reaches its full fury, they are forced to give up all other measures and rely on the sheet anchor to hold the ship steady against its violence. So when a storm of persecution and trouble begins to rise, people have various thoughts and measures they turn to for relief. But if it comes to full extremity — if sword, nakedness, famine, and death are inevitably upon them — they have nothing to turn to that will give them solid relief except the consideration and faith in things invisible and eternal.

So the apostle describes this in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, the passage already quoted: "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." He places all kinds of afflictions in one scale and, having weighed them, declares them to be light and momentary. Then he places glory in the other scale and finds it weighty, substantial, and eternal — an exceeding weight of glory. In the one scale is sorrow for a little while; in the other, eternal joy. In the one is pain for a few moments; in the other, everlasting rest. In the one is the loss of a few temporary things; in the other, the full enjoyment of God in Christ, who is all in all.

The same apostle adds up the accounting and gives his verdict in Romans 8:18: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." There is simply no comparison between them — as if one had as much evil and misery in it as the other has of good and blessedness; as though a person's situation were in any way to be complained of who must undergo the one while having a share in the other; or as though in order to escape the one, he should risk losing the enjoyment of the other.

It is inseparable from our nature to fear and shrink from great distressing sufferings that surpass what human nature can bear. Even our Lord Jesus himself — having taken on all the sinless properties of our human nature — felt fear and aversion, though His were holy and grace-filled with respect to His own nature. Those who through a kind of toughness despise sufferings before they arrive — boasting of their ability to endure them and criticizing those who will not rush into them recklessly — are the very ones who rarely glorify God when they actually have to face them. Peter alone trusted in himself that he would not forsake his Master and seemed almost offended by the warning that they would all do so — and he alone denied Him. All church history is filled with examples of those who carried themselves with great confidence before trials came, only to fail shamefully when the trials arrived. We are therefore also permitted to use all lawful means for avoiding suffering. Both the rules and examples of Scripture give sufficient warrant for this. But there are times and seasons when, without evasion, sufferings are to be endured for God's glory and in the discharge of our duty — confessing Christ before people, as we desire to be owned by Him before His Father in heaven. Everything now calls us to prepare for such a season — to be martyrs in resolve, even if we should never actually lose our lives by violence. Nothing will give us this preparation except having our minds exercised in the contemplation of heavenly things — things invisible and eternal. The person who is thus spiritually minded, who has his thoughts and affections set on things above, will always have in readiness something to set against any circumstance of his sufferings.

The glimpses that such a person has received by faith — of the uncreated glories above, of the things in heavenly places where Christ sits at the right hand of God, of the glory within the veil — glimpses that have made those things real and present to his soul, will now visit him at every moment, abide with him continually, and exert their power to support and refresh him. Alas, what will become of many of us who are constantly groveling on the earth — whose bellies cleave to the dust, who are strangers to thoughts of heavenly things — when distressing troubles come upon us? Why should we expect refreshing thoughts of things above to visit our souls in times of crisis, when we resisted their entrance in days of peace? "Do you come to me in your distress," said Jephthah, "when in the time of your peace you drove me away?" When we then want to think of heavenly things for refreshment, we will find it hard to get them to dwell with us. I know that God can come in by the mighty power of His Spirit and grace to support and comfort the souls of those who are called — and even suddenly thrust — into the greatest sufferings. Yet I also know that it is our duty not to test Him by neglecting the ways and means He has appointed for communicating His grace to us.

Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, as the author and perfecter of our faith, "for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame," Hebrews 12:2. His mediatorial glory in the salvation of the church was the substance of the joy set before Him. This He kept in view and prospect throughout all His sufferings, to His refreshment and support. And His example, as the author and perfecter of our faith, is more powerfully instructive than any other rule or precept. Eternal glory is also set before us. It is the design of God's wisdom and grace that by the contemplation of it we should relieve ourselves in all our sufferings — indeed, rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. How many of those blessed souls now in the enjoyment of God and glory, who passed through fiery trials and great tribulations, were enabled to sing and rejoice in the flames by a foretaste of that glory already possessing their minds through faith? — indeed, some were so filled with it as to lose all sense of pain even under the most exquisite tortures. When Stephen was about to be stoned, to encourage and comfort him in his suffering, the heavens were opened and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Who can conceive what contempt of all the rage and madness of the Jews — what indifference to the pains of death — that vision raised his holy soul to? To obtain such visions frequently by faith, as those who are truly spiritually minded do, is the most effective way to courage us for all our sufferings. The apostle gives us the force of this encouragement by comparison with earthly things in 1 Corinthians 9:25: "Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable." If people, when a perishable crown of vain honor and applause is set before them, will do and endure all that is necessary to attain it and sustain themselves through the hardship with thoughts of attaining it — grounded on uncertain hope — shall not we, who have an immortal and imperishable crown set before us with the highest assurance of its enjoyment, cheerfully undergo, endure, and suffer what we must go through on the way to it?

Fourth, this is the most effective means of weaning the heart and affections from things here below, and of keeping the mind in an undervaluing — indeed, a contempt — of them when the occasion requires. For there is a season when such a degree of detachment from all relationships and earthly enjoyments is required of us that our Savior calls it hating them — not absolutely, but comparatively, in comparison with Him and the Gospel, and the duties belonging to our profession, Luke 14:26: "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." Some, I fear, if they were to really consider this, would be ready to say: "This is a hard saying, who can accept it?" and others would cry out as the disciples did in another situation, "Lord, then who can be saved?" But this is the Word by which we will be judged, and we cannot be disciples of Christ on any other terms. Yet this is precisely where the wound and weakness of faith and profession lie in our own day. People's bellies cleave to the dust — their affections cling to earthly things.

I am not speaking here of those who through extortion, deceit, and oppression strive to enrich themselves; nor of those who aim at nothing more than rising to greatness and advancement in the world, even if not by openly wicked means; and least of all of those who make religion — and perhaps their ministry in it — a means of securing worldly gain and advancement. No wise person would suppose any of these to be spiritually minded, and it is very easy to expose all their pretensions. I am speaking only of those whose ways and means of pursuing wealth are lawful, honest, and blameless — who use that wealth with some moderation, and profess that their real portion lies in better things. These are people against whom it is hard to pin a specific charge about their manner of life. Whatever seems to reflect on them, they regard as something whose omission would make them foolish in their affairs or negligent in their duty. But even among these, there is often such a disordered love for present things — such a valuation and preoccupation with them — as is incompatible with being spiritually minded. For some it is their relationships; for some it is their possessions; for most it is both together — an idol set up in their hearts before which they secretly bow down. Their hopes and fears revolve around these things; their love is in them; their delight is in them. They are wholly consumed with their own concerns, count everything lost that is not spent on them, and regard all time as wasted that is not devoted to them. Yet the things they do, they judge to be good in themselves — their hearts do not condemn them for any of it. The value they place on their relationships and possessions they regard as lawful and within the limits they have set. Their care about these things they consider simply to be their duty. It is no easy matter — it requires much spiritual wisdom — to fix the right boundaries on our affections and their exercise toward earthly things. But let people argue and excuse as they will, I offer one rule in this case that will not fail. When people are so confident in the proper state and measure of their affections toward earthly things that they will weigh those earthly engagements against known duties of religion, piety, and charity — and let earthly things win — they have gone into sinful excess. Is there a situation among the poor that calls for their generosity and liberality? They must be excused — they have families to provide for. And yet what is expected of them would make no measurable difference to providing for their families, and would not reduce their estate or inheritance by a single penny in the end. Are they called to attend seasons of religious duty? They are so busy it is impossible for them to find the time for such occasions. By all of this they declare themselves to be under the power of a dominant and prevailing affection for earthly things. This fills every community with lifeless, fruitless, useless professing Christians who are satisfied with their condition while it is visibly unspiritual and withering.

The heart will always have something on which, in a way of priority, it fixes itself and its affections. In all its constant activity, the heart seeks rest and satisfaction in something. Every person has a cutting edge — the edge of their affections is set one way or another, though it is sharper in some than in others. Since everything the heart can fix on or turn the edge of its affections toward is divided by the apostle into things above and things beneath — things heavenly and things earthly — if we do not have such a view and prospect of heavenly things as to cause our hearts to cleave to them and delight in them, then whatever we may claim, it is inevitable that we will be under the power of a dominant affection for the things of this world.

This is where the great danger lies for multitudes at this present season. For whatever people may profess, while under the power of this frame their eternal state is in danger at every moment. People are caught up in it in great variety of degrees. We can group them under two headings.

First, some do not at all understand that something is wrong with them or that they are much to blame. They plead, as noted before, that the things their hearts cling to are all lawful things, and that it is their duty to care for and attend to them. May they not delight in their own relationships — especially at a time when others are breaking and canceling every duty and bond of relationship in the service and provision of their lusts? May they not be diligent and hardworking in honest ways about worldly affairs, when most people are either wasting their time in the pursuit of base lusts, or heaping things up through deceit and oppression? May they not make plans to advance their children in the world — to add another hundred or thousand pounds to their advancement, to put them in as good a position as others — seeing that the one who does not provide for his own family is worse than an unbeliever? By such reasoning and secret thoughts many justify their earthly-mindedness. And they are so firmly settled in their own approval that if you press them toward their duty, you will lose their friendship — if they do not make themselves your enemies for telling them the truth. Indeed, they will avoid even those duties that do not directly threaten their earthly interests, because those duties lead to others that do. They will not join in religious gatherings or maintain consistency in their duties, for fear that duties of charity might be required or expected of them. On what grounds such people can satisfy themselves that they are spiritually minded, I do not know. I will leave only one rule with people who think this way. When love of the world has, by its arguments, pleas, and pretenses, succeeded in removing our fear and suspicion over our own hearts — lest we should love it too much — then it is assuredly dominant in us.

Second, others are aware of the evil of their hearts — at least they are anxious and afraid that their hearts may be clinging to these things too tightly. They therefore try to contend against this evil — sometimes by forcing themselves into acts of piety or charity that go against that frame of heart, and sometimes by laboring to change the frame itself. They are especially likely to do this when God is pleased to awaken them through trials and afflictions that write "vanity" and "emptiness" across all earthly enjoyments. But for the most part they do not strive rightly, and so do not attain what they appear to be aiming at.

This disease is fatal for many, and will not be thoroughly cured in anyone except through the proper exercise of this dimension of spiritual-mindedness. Other duties are also required toward the same end — namely, the mortification of desires and affections for earthly things, which I have addressed elsewhere. But without this — without a settled contemplation of the desirableness, beauty, and glory of heavenly things — it will not be achieved. To further establish this, we may note two things. First, if by any means a person appears to have detached his heart from love of present things, but at the same time has not been caught up in love for heavenly things, his apparent mortification is of no benefit to him. People have frequently left the world — its affairs and cares — through discontent, disappointment, dissatisfaction with relationships, or simple natural weariness, and have taken themselves off to monasteries, convents, or other retreats suited to their principles, without any spiritual benefit to their souls. Second, God is not such a harsh Lord and Master as to require us to detach our affections from and mortify them toward those things which the law of our nature has made precious to us — wives, children, houses, land, and possessions — without offering us something incomparably more excellent to fix them upon. So He invites the chosen of the Gentiles to Christ in Psalm 45:10: "Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house" — that is, come into the faith of Abraham, who left his country and his father's house to follow God wherever He pleased. But He sets this before them as an encouragement in verse 11: "Then the King will desire your beauty. Because He is your lord, bow down to Him." The love of the Great King is an abundant and satisfying recompense for parting with all things in this world. When Abraham's servant was sent to take Rebekah as a wife for Isaac, he required her to immediately leave her father and mother, her brothers, and all she had, and come with him. But so that she would know she was losing nothing by it, he not only assured her of the greatness of his master, but right then he gave her jewelry of silver and gold and clothing, Genesis 24:53. And when our Savior requires that we part with all things for His sake and the Gospel's, He promises a hundredfold in return — even in this life — in a share in things spiritual and heavenly. Therefore, without persistent meditation on heavenly things as a better, more noble, and more suitable object for our affections to be fixed on, we will never be properly freed from an inordinate love of the things of this world.

It is sad to see some professing Christians who will maintain spiritual duties in churches and in their households, who will speak and converse about spiritual things and keep themselves from the open excesses of the world — yet when tested by duties that impinge on their love and attachment to earthly things, they quickly reveal how far they are from being truly spiritually minded. If they were tested as our Savior tested the young man who made such a profession of his conscientious and devout way of life — "Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and come, follow Me" — something might be offered in excuse for their shrinking back. But they decline their duty when they are not touched to even a hundredth part of their possessions.

I thank God that I am not speaking this of many whom I know personally; and I may say to most of those to whom I usually speak in this way what the apostle says: "But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way," Hebrews 6:9. Indeed, the same testimony may be given of many in this city that the same apostle gives to the churches of Macedonia in 2 Corinthians 8:1-3: "We wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord." There is nothing that has been done among us that may or should be boasted of, yet considering all the circumstances, it may be that there have not been more instances of true evangelical charity in any age or place for many years. For those who have been useful and generous in this, may the Lord remember them for good and spare them according to the multitude of His mercies. It is true that many of them have not founded colleges, built hospitals, or erected works of public magnificence. For a great many of them are such that their deep comparative poverty has overflowed in the wealth of their generosity. The backs and bodies of multitudes of poor and needy servants of Christ have been warmed and refreshed by them, blessing God for them. "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift," says the apostle in this connection, 2 Corinthians 9:15. Blessed be God who has not left the Gospel without this glory, nor its profession without this evidence of its power and effectiveness. Indeed God has brought honor out of persecutions and afflictions. For many, since they have lost much of their possessions through them and have been in constant jeopardy, have abounded in acts of charity beyond what they did in the days of their fullness and prosperity. So out of the eater has come forth food. If the world only knew what fruits of charity and generosity — to the praise of God and the glory of the Gospel — have been brought about by their making so many poor, it would diminish their satisfaction in their successes.

But with many it is not so. Their minds are so full of earthly things, and they cling to them in their affections so tightly, that no sense of duty, no example of others, no concern for the glory of God or the Gospel can make any impression on them. If there is still so much life and light of grace in them that they desire deliverance from this miserable condition, the means urged here must be used.

This advice is especially needful for those who are rich — who have large possessions or abound in the goods of this world. The poor, the afflicted, and the sorrowful are prompted both by their outward circumstances and stirred by inward grace to think frequently of things above, in which lies their only reserve and relief against the pressure and urgency of their present condition. But the abundance of earthly enjoyments is accompanied by a twofold evil that works directly against this duty.

First, the desire to increase and add to what one has. Earthly possessions expand earthly desires, and the love of them grows with income. A moderate supply of water, enough for one's needs, can be kept within ordinary banks. But if a flood is turned into those banks, the water knows no bounds and overflows everything around it. The increase of wealth and riches enlarges people's desires for more, beyond all limits of wisdom, sobriety, or safety. The person who works hard for his daily bread rarely has such intense and driving desires for more than he has, as many already possess who have more than they know what to do with. They must have more — and the latest gain serves only to spur them on to look for the next. And yet such people would want to be esteemed, on other grounds, as good Christians and spiritually minded, as all good Christians are thought to be.

Second, wealth draws the heart to value and esteem earthly possessions as things that provide satisfaction and set a person apart from those they see to be poor and miserable. Now these things are contrary to being spiritually minded, and where they habitually prevail, they are utterly incompatible with it. Nor is it possible for anyone who is under their power to the slightest degree to ever find deliverance, unless their thoughts are fixed and their minds are thereby filled with proper conceptions of invisible things and eternal glory.

These are a few of the many advantages we may obtain by fixing our thoughts and meditations — and thereby our affections — on the things that are above. And there are some considerations that make me want to give a few practical directions for this duty. For whatever else we are and do, we neither are nor can be truly spiritually minded — on which life and peace depend — unless we actually exercise our thoughts in meditations on things above. Without it all our religion is empty. And as I fear people are generally lacking and deficient in the practice of this, so I also fear that many — through the darkness of their minds, the weakness of their understanding, and ignorance of the nature of all things unseen — rarely set themselves to the contemplation of them. I will therefore give some practical directions for this duty.