The Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded

Men live and act under the Power of a Conviction, that there is a State of Immortality and Glory to come. With a persuasion hereof they much relieve themselves in their Sorrows, Sufferings and Temptations. Yet with ⟨p. 77⟩many it is only a Reserve when they can be here no more; But as unto daily Contemplation of the Nature and Causes of it, or as unto any entrance into it by Faith and Hope, the most are Strangers thereunto. If we are Spiritually minded, nothing will be more natural unto us, than to have many Thoughts of Eternal things, as those wherein all our own principal Concerns do lye, as well as those which are excellent and glorious in themselves. The Direction thereon is, that we would make Heavenly Things, the things of the future State of Blessedness and Glory, a principal Object of our Thoughts; that we would think much about them, that we would Meditate much upon them. Many are discouraged herein, by their Ignorance, and Darkness, by their want of due conceptions and steady apprehensions of Invisible Things. Hence one of these two things do befall them, when they would Meditate on things above. (1.) The Glory of them, the Glory of God in them, being essentially Infinite and Incomprehensible, doth immediately overwhelm them, and as it were in a moment, put them unto an utter loss, that they cannot frame one Thought in their minds about them. Or, (2.) They want Skill and Ability to conceive aright of Invisible things, and to dispose of them in such order in their minds, as that they may sedately exercise their Thoughts about them. Both these shall be afterwards spoken unto. At present I shall only say, that

Men live and act under the Power of a Conviction, that there is a State of Immortality and Glory to come. With a perswasion hereof they much relieve themselves in their Sorrows, Sufferings and Temptations. Yet with ⟨p. 77⟩many it is only a Reserve when they can be here no more; But as unto daily Contemplation of the Nature and Causes of it, or as unto any entrance into it by Faith and Hope, the most are Strangers thereunto. If we are Spiritually minded, nothing will be more natural unto us, than to have many Thoughts of Eternal things, as those wherein all our own principal Concerns do lye, as well as those which are excellent and glorious in themselves. The Direction thereon is, that we would make Heavenly Things, the things of the future State of Blessedness and Glory, a principal Object of our Thoughts; that we would think much about them, that we would Meditate much upon them. Many are discouraged herein, by their Ignorance, and Darkness, by their want of due conceptions and steady apprehensions of Invisible Things. Hence one of these two things do befall them, when they would Meditate on things above. (1.) The Glory of them, the Glory of God in them, being essentially Infinite and Incomprehensible, doth immediately overwhelm them, and as it were in a moment, put them unto an utter loss, that they cannot frame one Thought in their minds about them. Or, (2.) They want Skill and Ability to conceive aright of Invisible things, and to dispose of them in such order in their minds, as that they may sedately exercise their Thoughts about them. Both these shall be afterwards spoken unto. At present I shall only say, that