The thoughts of spiritual things, are with many as guests that come into an inn, and not like children that dwell in the house they enter occasionally, and there is great ado to provide proper entertainment for them; presently they depart, and are not looked or inquired after any more; things of another nature are attended to, and new occasions bring in new guests for a season: but children are owned in the house, are missed if they are out of the way, and daily provision is always made for them. So is it with those occasional thoughts about spiritual things; by one means or other they enter into the mind, and are there entertained for a season; on a sudden they depart, and men hear of them no more. But those that are genuine and natural, arising from a living, internal spring, they dispose the mind to them, and are as the children of a house; they are expected at their places and seasons, and if they are missing they are inquired after; the soul calls itself to account, whence it is that it hath been so long without them, and summons them to its wonted converse and fellowship.

CHAP. III.

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Of the abounding of spiritual thoughts, shewing how far they are an evidence of spiritual mindedness."

HAVING considered the first particular requisite to render our thoughts a certain indication of the state of our minds; that they be NATURAL, arising from ourselves, and not merely from outward occasions; I come to the

II. Essential characteristic, or evidence that our thoughts proceed from an internal spiritual fountain, which is, “That they abound and abide in us," our minds being filled with them.

There is a measure of abounding which is necessary to evidence our being spiritually minded: it is the character of all men in the state of depraved nature, "that every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts is only evil continually.” Gen. vi. 5. Some as to the matter of

them, some as to their end, all as to their principle; for out of the evil treasure of the heart can proceed nothing but what is evil. We can therefore have no greater evidence of a change in us from this state, than a change wrought in the course of the thoughts; a change herein, is a strong evidence of a blessed change of state; and the more the stream of our thoughts is turned, and our minds are filled with those of a contrary nature, the greater and more firm is our evidence of a translation out of that depraved state and condition.

There is nothing so unaccountable as the multiplicity of thoughts in the human mind: they fall from men like the leaves of trees, when shaken with the wind in autumn. To have all the thoughts, all the conceptions that are framed and agitated in the mind, to be evil, and that continually, what a hell of confusion and horror must it needs be! A deliverance from this loathsome, hateful state is more to be valued than the whole world; without it neither life, nor peace, nor glory can be attained.

The mighty stream of the evil thoughts

of men, will admit of no bounds or dams to put a stop to it: there are but two ways of relief, the one respecting the moral evil of these thoughts, the other their natural abundance. The first, by throwing salt into the spring, as Elisha cured the waters of Jericho; get the mind seasoned with grace, for the tree must be made good, before the fruit will be so. The other is to turn their streams into new channels, fixing them on new objects, so shall we abound in spiritual thoughts; for abound in thoughts we shall, whether we will or no.

The spiritually minded abound in thoughts of spiritual things; unless we abound in' them, spiritual thoughts will not evidence we are of that class; therefore our grand inquiry should be, what measure ought to be assigned; or how to know when we so abound in spiritual thoughts, as that they may be an evidence of our being spiritually minded?

As a general answer, read over, among other Scriptures, the 119th Psalm; consider what David expressseth there of himself, as to his constant delight in, and continual thoughts of, God and his law. Try

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yourselves by that pattern; examine whether you can truly speak the same words with him, if not in the same degree of zeal, yet at least with the same sincerity of grace. We must be like him in this respect, if ever we intend to reach the heavenly place where he is. Our souls will be ruined, if when we read in the Scripture, how the saints express their experience in faith, love, delight in God, and constant meditations on him, while we grant that it was so with them, we should imagine there is no necessity that it should be so with us. These things are not written to shew what they were, but what we ought to be; all things concerning them, were written for our admonition," 1 Cor. x. 11. And if we have not the same spiritual mindedness in thoughts and meditations of heavenly things, we can have no evidence that we please God as they did, or that we shall go to that place whither they are ascended. Profession of the life of God and of Christianity, passeth with many now at a very low and easy rate; their thoughts are for the most part vain and earthly, their communication unsavoury

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