things of no moment
how your memories can retain them, and your understandings receive other
purposes very perplexed and laborious, but for the knowledge of your sin
and misery, or of that blessed remedy showed in the gospel we cannot make
you capable of a few questions about them, and if you learn the words by
heart, (as you use to speak,) yet, alas! the matter and thing itself is
not in the heart or mind, you have nothing but words, as appears. If we
ask about the same matter in other words and terms, it is as dark and new
to you, as if you had never heard it. I beseech you consider, if you do
not then mind the things of the flesh most when you are not only most
capable to know these things that concern this life, but most ready to
entertain such thoughts. You have no difficulty to mind the world whole
weeks and years, but you can never find leisure or time to mind the life
to come, and yet vainly you say, you mind it always. I beseech you, how do
you mind God, and the things of God, when, if you will but recollect your
thoughts, and gather the sum of them, you will not find one serious
advised thought of him or his matters in a whole week! I profess I wonder
how so many can enforce upon themselves a persuasion that God is always in
their heart. I think it is the height of delusion! I am sure he is not in
one of ten thousand thoughts, that travel, walk, lodge, and dwell in the
souls of men, and yet they will needs bear upon themselves that they
always mind him. I am sure most of you cannot say, that ever you shut the
doors of your hearts upon other vain objects, that you might retire to
secret meditation on God, or conference with him, and I am as sure, that
many men have God oftener in their mouths, by oaths and blasphemies, and
irreverent speaking, and taking his holy name in vain, than in their
minds, prayers or praises, or any holy meditations of him. Are you not as
unwilling to fix your minds upon any sad solemn thoughts of God's justice,
of hell, of heaven, of sin or misery, of death, as boys, whose heads are
full of play, are loath to go to their books? Doth not your practice in
this speak with these wicked men, who say, (Job xxi. 14.) "Depart from us,
we desire not the knowledge of thy ways?" How constrained are all your
thoughts of religion! They are entertained as those whom you would not
desire to come again. But how unconstrained, how free are all other
thoughts! Our minds can rove whole days about vanity, ab