(2.) Musings, admiring their excellency and blessing, and applauding themselves in what they have, and hope for in the world : Dan. iv. 30, ' Is not this great Babel that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty ? ' and Ps. cxliv. 15, ' Happy is the people that is in such a case.' This self- blessing is a sign of carnal minding ; they never set their minds a work upon spiritual and heavenly things. Surely one that believeth heaven, and looketh for heaven, and longeth for heaven, will be thinking of it Shall an ambitious man find such a savour in thoughts of preferment ? a covetous man in the thoughts of wealth and riches ? a vain-glorious man in the echoes and supposition of applause ? the voluptuous man in revellings and eating and drinking, so that his heart is always in the house of mirth ? the unclean person in personating the pleasure of sin by imaginations Mat. v. 28 ? an envious man in thoughts of revenge ? and shall not a spiritual disposition discover itself in our musings ? Faith and hope will send the thoughts, as spies, into the land of pro- mise : Heb. xi. 1. Love will be thinking on the object loved. The treasures will take up the mind and heart : Mat. vi. 21. Can a man love God, and Christ, and never think of them ? Our pleasant musings should be regarded. A third sort of thoughts are —
(3.) Counsels, and contrivances or devices : Rom. xiii. 14, * Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.' They wholly bend their minds how to compass their worldly ends, and how to advance themselves in the world, carking and caring for these things, but ' God is not in all their thoughts : ' Ps. x. 4 ; care not whether God be pleased or displeased, honoured and glorified or dishonoured, nor how to come to enjoy him and carry on the spiritual life with more success, and assure their interest in eternal happiness. The spiritual life is not a thing of hap-hazard and peradventure, but to be carried on with con- trivance and heedfulness : ' ponder the path of thy feet : ' Prov. iv. 26. Now men employ their time and wit upon other projects than how to mortify sin, or ' perfect holiness in the fear of God.' Thus thoughts being the first issues of the mind discover the temper of it. Those that are after the flesh are thorough and true to their principle, they can freely employ their minds about things which are agreeable to their constitution of soul, and can hardly take them off for any serious and grave purpose ; they do most readily and delightfully entertain these thoughts, mind the world's weeks, years, days, but never find leisure or time to mind life to come. They never shut the door against vain thoughts ; but thoughts of God, Christ, and heaven and hell, sin and holiness, what strangers are they ? and when they rush in upon us are thrust forth as unwelcome guests. Any thing relating to the flesh is pleasing and welcome, but how to get our hearts washed and cleansed by the blood or Spirit of Christ, is not regarded by them ; how t<) be more holy, to be at peace with God, to keep that peace unbroken by an uniform course of obedience, this is not thought of, nor discoursed of, in the mind, nor the happiness mused on, nor our care and contriv- ance employed about it.
2. The word also corapriseth the will and afiections, desires, purposes,
462 SEKMONS UPON ROMANS VIII. [SkR. VIII.
choices. What we now read ' mind ' is in other translations ' savour,' the Vulgar reads sapiunt; Erasmus reads a^rcm^ ; Valla sew^tww^, have a sense or gust ; so in these things, we translate it savour : Mat. xvi. 33, ' Thou savourest not the things that be of God,' ov cjjpoveh to, tov 0eov.' We translate it elsewhere : Col. iii. 2, ' Set your affec- tions upon things above, ra avco ^povelTe, and not on things on earth.' But the word as it standeth in our translation will bear it ; for when men say they have a mind to it : Neh. iv. 6, ' We built the wall, for the people had a mind to the work.' So here it is true of the carnal minding, and the spiritual minding. The relish and taste, which are in the will and affections, floweth from the apprehension of the mind ; we relish and delight in objects suitable to that nature which we have ; as the constitution is, so are the gust and taste. Tell a carnal person of the joys of the life to come, the comforts of the spirit, the peace of a good conscience, the sweetness that is in the word and ordinances, they find no more savour in these things than in the white of an egg, or a dry chip ; but banquets, merry meetings, and idle sports, they have a complacency for these things, and soon find a delight free and stirring at the mention of them : ' their hearts are in the house of mirth ' Eccles. vii. 4. To be well clad, and well fed, maintained in pomp and state, these are the things which are most sweet and pleasing to them, and which they most desire and seek after, for they mind these things, and so bestow their care and delight upon them, and can spend days and hours without weariness in them. Carnal men relish no sweetness in religion : 1 Cor. ii. 14, ' But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.' As they do not perceive them, so not receive them : these are not the things which are likely to make an impression upon their souls ; but, on the contrary, the spiritual minding is discovered by this, because it is best pleased with spiritual things ; spiritual minds find a marvellous sweetness and comfort in the word of God, and the means of grace and salvation : Ps. cxix. 103, ' How sweet are thy words to my taste, yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth ; ' and Ps. Ixiii. 5, 'My soul shall be satisfied, as with marrow and fatness ;' and Job xxiii. 12, ' I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.' What gladness doth communion with God put into their hearts ! One day with him is better thaa all those flesh- pleasing vanities, wherewith others are deluded and' enticed from God. 3. It reacheth also to practice, and implieth earnest prosecution. And so, to be carnally minded, is to^make the things of the flesh our work and scope ; to be spiritually minded is to make that our work and trade, to seek after the things of the spirit ; therefore the course of men's actions, and the trade of their lives are to be considered. Our business showeth our bent ; and what we constantly, frequently, and (easily practise, discovereth the overruling principle. Wicked men have their good moods, and godly men have their carnal fits, the con- stant practice showeth the prevailing inclination. To mind the things of the flesh or spirit is to seek after thera in the first place, when men are seriously, constantly, readily, willingly carried to those things which please the flesh, without any respect to God and eternal life. Effects