Those that are in this state, of either sort, the first. or the latter, are.remote from being spiritually minded, nor is “ God in all their thoughts” as he ought to be; for,—
First, They will not so think and meditate on God. Their delight is turned another way. ~ Their affections, which are the spring of their thoughts, which feed them continually, do cleave unto the things which are most adverse unto him. Love of sin is gotten to be the spring in them, and the whole stream of the thoughts which they choose and delight in are towards the pleasures of it. If any thoughts of God come in, as a faint tide for a few minutes, and drive back the other stream, they are quickly repelled and carried away with the strong current of those which proceed from their powerful inclinations. Yet may such persons abide in the performance of out- ward holy duties, or attendance unto them. Pride of, or satisfaction in, their gifts may give them delight in their own performances, and something in those of others they may be exceedingly pleased withal, as it is expressly affirmed, Ezek. xxxiii. 31, 32. But in these things they have no immediate real thoughts of God, none that they de- light in, none that they seek to stir up in themselves; and those which impose themselves on them they reject.
Secondly, As they will not, so they dare not, think of God. They
» will not, because of the power of their lusts; they dare not, because of their guilt. No sooner should they begin to think of him in good earnest, but their sin would lose all its desirable forms and appear- ances, and represent itself in the horror of guilt alone. And in that
362 ' OF SPIRITUAL MINDEDNESS. [PART L
condition all the properties of the divine nature are suited to increase the dread and terror of the sinner. Adam had heard God’s voice before with delight and satisfaction; but on the hearing of the same voice after he had sinned, he hid himself and cried that he was afraid. There is a way for men to think of God with the guilt of sin upon them which they intend to forsake, but none for any to do it with the guilt of sin which they resolve to continue in. Where- fore, of all these sorts of persons it may be said that “ God is not in all their thoughts,” and therefore are they far enough from being spiritually minded; for unless we have many thoughts of God we cannot be so. Yea, moreover, there are two things required unto those thoughts which we have of God, that there be an evidence of our being so :—
[1.] That we take delight in them: Ps, xxx. 4, “Sing unto the Lorp, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.” The remembrance of God delighteth and refresheth the hearts of his saints, and stirs them up unto thankfulness :—
Ist. They rejoice in what God is in himself. Whatever is good, amiable, or desirable; whatever is holy, just, and powerful; what- ever is gracious, wise, and merciful, and all that is so,—they see and apprehend in God. That God zs what he is, is the matter of their chiefest joy. Whatever befalls them in this world, whatever troubles and disquietment they are exercised withal, the remembrance of God is a satisfactory refreshment unto them; for therein they be- hold all that is good and excellent, the infinite centre of all perfec- tions. Wicked men would have God to be any thing but what he is; nothing that God is really and truly pleaseth them. Wherefore, they either frame false notions of him in their minds, as Ps. 1. 21, or they think not of him at all, at least [not] as they ought, unless sometimes they tremble at his anger and power. Some benefit they suppose may be had by what he can do, but how there can be any delight in what he is they know not; yea, all their trouble ariseth from hence, that he is what he is. It would be a relief unto them if they could make any abatement of his power, his holiness, his righteousness, his omnipresence; but his saints, as the psalmist speaks, “give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.”
And when we can delight in the thoughts of what God is in him- self, of his infinite excellencies and perfections, it gives us-a threefold evidence of our being spiritually minded:—(1st.) In that it is such an evidence that we have a gracious interest in those excellencies and perfections, whereon we can say with rejoicing in ourselves,“7his God,” thus holy, thus powerful, thus just, good, and gracious, “is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide unto death.” So the psalm- ist, under the consideration of his own frailty and apprehensions of
CHAP, VIIL] OBJECTS OF SPIRITUAL THOUGHTS IN HEAVEN. 363
death in the midst of his years, comforts and refresheth himself with thoughts of God’s eternity and immutability, with his interest in them, Ps. cii. 23-28. And God himself proposeth unto us his in- finite immutability as the ground whereon we may expect safety and deliverance, Mal. iii. 6. When we can thus think of God and of what he is with delight, it is, I say, an evidence that we have a gracious covenant interest even in what God is in himself; which none have but those who are spiritually minded. (2dly.) It is an evidence that the image of God is begun to be wrought in our own souls, and that we approve of and rejoice in it more than in all other things whatever. Whatever notions men may have of the divine goodness, holiness, righteousness, and purity, they are all but barren, jejune, and fruit- less, unless there be a similitude and conformity unto them wrought in their minds and souls. Without this they cannot rejoice in the thoughts and remembrance of the divine excellencies. Wherefore, when we can do so, when such meditations of God are sweet unto us, it is an evidence that we have some experience in ourselves of the excellency of the image of those perfections, and that we rejoice in them above all things in this world. (8dly.) They are so also in that they manifest that we do discern and judge that our eter- nal blessedness doth consist in the full manifestation and our en- joyment of God in what he is, and of all his divine excellencres. This men for the most part take for granted, but how it should be so they know not. They understand it in some measure whose hearts are here deeply affected with delight in them; they are able to believe that the manifestation and enjoyment of the divine excel- lencies will give eternal rest, satisfaction, and complacency unto their souls. No wicked man can look upon it otherwise than as a tor- ment, to abide for ever with “eternal holiness,” Isa. xxxiii. 14. And we ourselves can have no present prospect into the fulness of future glory, when God shall be all in all, but through the delight and satisfaction which we have here in the contemplation of what God is in himself as the centre of all divine perfections.