OF SPIRÏTÜAL IVINDEDNESS. 341 , which God proposeth to them to draw their affections to himself. Nothing is more extravagant than the affections of men, tinctured with some devotion, if they forsake the rule of the scripture. Thirdly. There is considerable concerning them, the measure of their attainments, or what, throughdue exercise and holy diligence, they may be raised to. Now this is not absolute perfection. Not as. though I had already attained, or were already perfect, but I follow after,' as the apostle speaks, Phil. iii. 12. But there is that attainable, which those who pretend highly to perfection seem to be strangers to. And the state of our affections under a due exercise on heav- enly things, and in their assimilation to them,, may be fixed in these three things s (1.) An habitual suitableness to spiritual things upon . the proposal of them. The ways whereby spiritual things are proposed to our minds are various. They are so, directly, in all ordinances of divine worship ; they are so, indirectly, and in just consequence, by all the especial providences wherein we are concerned by our own thoughts and stated meditations; they are so by the motions of the Holy Spirit, when he causeth us_ to hear a word behind us, saying, this is the way, walk . in it; by holy converse with others; by all sorts of occurrences. And as the ways of their proposal are various, so the times and seasons wherein a represen- tation of them is made to us, are comprehensive of all, at least are not exclusive of any, times and seasons of our lives. Be the way of their proposal what it will, . and whenever be the season of it, if our affections are duly improved bar spiritual exercises, they are suited to them, and will be ready to give them- entertainment. Her.ce, or for want hereof, on the other hand, are ter- 29
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