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

CHAP. II. Earthly-mindedness discovered in Nine particulars.

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 mouthed 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 eminency on any earthly thing; he never made any earthly things to be any great Conduit, ⟨p. 6⟩or means of Conveyance of any great good from himself 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 excellency? according to what any man or woman accounts their excellency to consist in, so are their hearts, their hearts are suitable; 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 suitable 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: