OF SPIRITUAL MINDEDNESS. 199 endeavoring such a cure of this spiritual distemper, as that we may be able to discharge all the duties of the life of God. But if men, in all other things, feed the vanity of their own minds, if they permit them to rove continually after things foolish, sensual, and earthly; if they wilfully supply them with objects to that end, and labor not by all means for the mortifica- tion of this evil frame ; in vain shall they desire or expect to bring them, at any time, on any occasion, to be steady in the thoughts of heavenly things. If it be thus with any, as it is to be feared it is with many, it is their duty to mind the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in the first place, make the tree good, and then the fruit will be good, and not before. When thepow- er of sanctifying grace pathmade the mind habitually spiritual and heavenly, thoughts of such things will be natural to it, and accompanied with delight. But they will not be so, until the God of peace have sanc- tified us in our whole spirits, souls and bodies, whereby we may bepreserved blameless, to the coming of .Jesus Christ. 2. Be always sensible of your own insufficiency to raise in your minds, or to manage spiritual thoughts, or thoughts of things spiritual and heavenly, in a due manner. But in this case, men are apt to suppose, that as they may, so they can, think of what they please. Thoughts are their own, and therefore, be they of what sort they will, they need no 'assistance for them. They cannot think as they ought, they can do nothing at all. And nothing will convince them of their folly, until they are burdened with experience of the contrary, as to spiritual things. But the advice given is expressly laid down by the apostle, in the in- stance of himself. 2 Cor. iii. 5. ' Not that we are
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