THE first is this, When a man looks upon earthly things as the greatest things of all, when he hath a high esteem of earthly things, as THE things: as thus, Oh if I had such and such things as others have, Oh how happy should I be, how happy are such and such men that do enjoy such earthly things at their will, in their dwellings, their furniture, their comings in, Oh these are the brave things, these are the delightful things, these are THE things wherein felicity and happiness doth consist. When men shall promise to themselves felicity in any earthly things, then they mind earthly things. I remember golden mouth’d Chrysostom hath a speech of a covetous man, That he looks upon his Money, and he sees more beauty in his Money than in the very Sun it self that shines in the Firmament: When men look upon the things of the earth as the most beautiful things in their eyes: Certainly that man is in a distemper, when he puts such a high esteem upon any earthly things, this esteem is not according to what God and his Saints do put upon earthly things, God never puts any great eminencie on any earthly thing; he never made any earthly things to be any great Conduit, or means of Conveyance of any great good from himsel unto his Creature; If you would know what your heart, are, you may know it by this one sign as much as any What do you account your excellencie? according to what any man or woman accounts their excellency to consist in, so are their hearts, their hearts are sutable; in the 27. chap. of Genesis, 28. 39. verses. You shall find there Isaac blessing of Jacob and Esau, he blesses them both: but now, what I would observe is this, the difference in the placing of them, you shall observe, the blessing of Jacob in the 28. verse, therefore God giveth of the dew of Heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of Corn and Wine, that*‘s Jacob’s* blessing: Now look to Esau’s blessing, for the blessing was sutable to their disposition, and Jacob’s father answered and said unto him, behold thy dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of Heaven from above: mark, Isaac blesses them both with the dew of Heaven and fatness of the earth; but now, in Jacob’s blessing the dew of Heaven is first, and the fatness of the earth is in the second place; but in Esau’s blessing the fatness of the earth is first, and then the dew of Heaven: noting this, That a godly man indeed, doth stand in need of the things of the earth, as Christ saith, your father knows you stand in need of this things; I but the great thing in the first place that a godly heart doth mind, it ts, The dew of Heaven, and then in the second place, The blessing of the earth; But now, a carnal heart doth think it hath some need of the things of Heaven, it will acknowledge that: I but in the first place it’s the fatness of the earth they desire: and secondly the dew of Heaven, So that that’s the first thing: Earthly minded men look upon these things as the high and chief things, and hence it is that the choise of the thoughts of an earthly-minded man is carried out on worldly objects.
Secondly, When the Cream and choise of the thoughts of men and women are busied about earthly things then they mind earthly things in a sinful manner: You may know what your hearts are by your thoughts as much as any thing, the thoughts are the immediate ebulitions or risings up of the heart (as I may so call them) that is the bubbles that come from the heart immediately; a man cannot know what is in his heart so much by words and actions, as by the thoughts, because the thoughts immediately spring from the heart, as thus, I can tell what the water is in such a fountain better from that that bubbles up immediatly from the fountain-head, than I can tell by the water that runs in the stream a mile or two off, for there may many things intervene in the stream a mile or two off that never came from the fountain-head, but that that immediately bubbles from the fountain-head, that discovers of what nature the fountain is: So the thoughts are as it were the first born of the heart, and therefore the heart may be known what it is by the thoughts, Prov. 23. 7. saith the holy Ghost there, As he thinketh in his heart, so is he; That which is here spoken in a particular case may be applied in the general, As a man thinks in his heart so is he, as his thoughts are so is he: So is the heart as the thoughts of the mind are, Men may keep in words and actions out of by-respects, I but if you could know what the heart is, and look into the haunts of it in secret, that would discover to your selves what you are: as now, Many of your servants, when they are in your presence before you or before others they may out of divers respects carry themselves fairly, but if you would find them out, labour to know what they do when they are alone in their private haunts: So, would you know your own hearts? do not so much look at them, and take a scantling of them by how you behave your selves in words and actions before others, but what they are in your private chambers, what they are in the inward thoughts of the mind, there the heart comes to be discovered most; And by these thoughts I do not mean every kind of injection, or suggestion, for sometimes the Devil may cast in evil thoughts into the most holy; but I mean such thoughts as are sweet to the soul, whereby the soul comes to suck out sweetness, and contentment, for that’s the minding earthly things, when you find the strength of your thoughts to be upon the things of the earth: and they are more sutable to your hearts than any other: It is not when through weakness the mind may be wandring this way or that way, or through suggestions or temptations; but now, when men or women are most themselves when alone and free, then for to examine what are the most sutable thoughts to their hearts, Can you say when you are alone, Oh the very thoughts of God are sweet to me, immediate in his Law day and night, and suck out sweetness there as from an hony comb? But an unclean wretch will suck out sweetness of his unclean thoughts when he is alone; and so the earthly minded man will suck out the sweetness of his earthly thoughts, and so the Ambitious man the sweetness of his pride when he is alone, and these are the most contentful thoughts to him, he can run along if it be two or three hours together and take delight and pleasure in them: here’s Earthly-mindedness.