Two treatises of Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs. The first of earthly-mindedness

The Fourth Reason.

God hath so ordered things in this world on purpose, that he might wean the hearts of the Saints from the world. The Lord loves to have the hearts of his Saints to be in Heaven where he hath treasured up such glorious things for them, and because that the Saints while they are here in the world, & have so much of the world in them, they would feign be living here in the world; therefore God doth so order things that they shall meet with little content in this world, that they may be weary of it, and be wearied from it: and indeed, here's the reason why Gods people have met with such crosses in the world, why the Lord hath kept his Saints so low and mean in the world: It may be you are ready to draw ill conclusions from thence, and to think, I am afraid God doth not love me that he keeps me so low and mean, and I meet with such crosses, and others do not. Oh! gather not such ill conclusions as these are; It is, because he would gather your hearts to Heaven, and wean you from the world, that you might long to be with him in Heaven, for you are absent from him here in this world, and the Lord would have the full stream of your affections to run after those things that you shall have with him in Heaven. This use you are to make of those afflictions you meet withal, and those crosses that befall you in this world, And thus we have gone through the Doctrinal point, of the Saints having their Conversations in Heaven.

God hath so ordered things in this world on purpose, that he might wean the hearts of the Saints from the world. The Lord loves to have the hearts of his Saints to be in Heaven where he hath treasured up such glorious things for them, and because that the Saints while they are here in the world, & have so much of the world in them, they would feign be living here in the world; therefore God doth so order things that they shall meet with little content in this world, that they may be weary of it, and be wearied from it: and indeed, here's the reason why Gods people have met with such crosses in the world, why the Lord hath kept his Saints so low and mean in the world: It may be you are ready to draw ill conclusions from thence, and to think, I am afraid God doth not love me that he keeps me so low and mean, and I meet with such crosses, and others do not. Oh! gather not such ill conclusions as these are; It is, because he would gather your hearts to Heaven, and wean you from the world, that you might long to be with him in Heaven, for you are absent from him here in this world, and the Lord would have the full stream of your affections to run after those things that you shal have with him in Heaven. This use you are to make of those afflictions you meet withal, and those crosses that befall you in this world, And thus we have gone through the Doctrinal point, of the Saints having their Conversations in Heaven.