AS 4 OF SPIRITUAL MINDEDNESS. [PART IL.
is pleased with them, as the palate with suitable and proper food, when he finds that he receives nourishment by them in the inward | man, then doth he adhere unto them in a due manner.
This spiritual taste is the ground of all experience. It is not what we have heard or understood only, but what we have tried and tasted, whereof we have experience. This makes us long for what we have formerly enjoyed, and strengthens faith as unto what we pray for and expect.
In every darkness, in every damp of spirit, under every appre- hension of deadness, or the withdrawing of the sense of divine love, the soul knoweth what it wants and what it doth desire. “Oh!” saith such an one, “that it were now with me as in former days. I know he who then gave me such refreshing tastes of his own goodness, who made every thing of himself sweet and pleasant unto me, can renew: this work of his grace towards me; he can give me a new spiritual appetite and relish, he can make all spiritual things savoury unto me again.”
As aman under a languishing sickness, or when he is chastened with strong pain, so as that his soul abhorreth bread and his daily meat, can remember what appetite he had, with what gust and relish he was wont to take in his food in the days of his health, which makes him to know that there is such a condition, and to desire a return unto it; so is it with a sin-sick soul. It can find no relish, no gust, no sweetness, in spiritual things; he finds no savour in the bread of the word, nor any refreshment in the ordinances of the gospel, which yet in themselves are daily meat, “a feast of fat things, and of wine well refined:” yet doth it remember former days, when all these things were sweet unto him; and if he have any spark of spiritual life yet remaining, it will stir him up to seek with all diligence after a recovery. How is it with you who are now under spiritual decays, who find no taste or relish in spiritual things, unto whom the word is not savoury, nor other ordinances powerful? Call to mind how it hath been with you in former days, and what ye found in these things: “If so be,” saith the apostle, “that ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” If you have not, it is to be feared that you have never yet had the least sincere love unto spiritual things; for where that is, it will give a spiritual relish of them. If you have, how is it you can give yourselves rest one mo- ment without an endeavour after the healing of your blacksliding?
3. It is required that our affections be so set ‘on spiritual things as to be a continual spring of spiritual thoughts and meditations. No man can be so forsaken of reason as to suppose that he hath any sincere affection for what he thinks little on or not at all, or that he can have a true affection for any thing which will not stir up and
CHAP. XX.] THE SOUL’S APPLICATION UNTO SPIRITUAL OBJECTS. 485
ingenerate in him continual thoughts about it. Let men try them- selves as unto their relations, or their enjoyments, or the objects of their predominant lusts, and they will find how things are stated in their own minds. And, therefore, whereas all men pretend to love God, and Christ, and the ways of God, and yet know in their own hearts that they little think of them or meditate upon them, both their pretence and religion is vain. Where our affections are duly placed on heavenly things, so as that we are indeed spiritually minded, they will be a constant spring of spiritual thoughts and meditations. But this also hath been before spoken unto.
4. When our affections are thus applied unto spiritual things, they will be prevalent and victorious against solicitations unto the con- trary, or allurements to draw them off unto any other objects. The work of all our spiritual adversaries is to solicit and tempt our affec- tions, to divert them from their proper object. There are some temptations of Satan that make an immediate impression on the mind and conscience. Such are his injection of diabolical, blasphe- mous thoughts concerning God, his being, nature, and will; and the distresses which he reduceth men unto in their consciences through darkness and misrepresentations of God and his goodness. But the high road and constant practice of all our spiritual adversaries, is by the solicitation of our affections unto objects that are in themselves, - or in the degree of our affection towards them, evil and sinful. Of the first are all sensual pleasures of the flesh, as drunkenness, un- cleanness, gluttony, chambering and wantonness, with all sorts of sensual pleasures. Of the latter is all our inordinate love unto self, our families, and the whole world, or the things of it. Unto this end every thing in the whole world that may make provision for lust is made use of. Herein consists the nature and efficacy of most of those temptations which we have to conflict withal. Solicitations they are of our affections, to draw them off from things spiritual and heavenly and to divert them unto other things. Hereby do our enemies en- deavour to beguile us, as the serpent beguiled Eve, with fair and false representations of other beloveds, that our hearts be not pre- served as a chaste virgin in all their affections for Christ.