A Treatise of Earthly-Mindedness

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Pulpit
Expositors
Keil & Delitzsch
Matthew Henry

by Jeremiah Burroughs

Chapter 4

Eight Additional Evils of Earthly-Mindedness

In the seventh place, earthly-mindedness causes many foolish lusts in the heart, and that's a great evil. I will expand them in six particulars. You have the same Scripture as was used previously for the temptations and snare, 1 Timothy 6:9, But they that will be rich fall into a temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, lusts that are very foolish and simple. First, it causes men to follow after things that are very vile and mean. It causes men to bestow the strength of their immortal souls on things that have no worth at all in them. That's a foolish lust, to bestow the strength of an immortal soul on vanities. If you should see men of excellent gifts spending their time on trifles and toys, like catching flies or chasing feathers, you would say that they had begun to be dull-minded. So the soul of man, capable of such excellency as it is -of communion with God, with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost -to have its strength spent on such poor, trifling things that cannot profit in the evil day. oh, this is a foolish lust!

2. Foolish lusts, or earthly-mindedness, cause you to be a servant to your servants. You would think a man is a fool who is a servant to his servants. God has made the things of the earth to be servants to you, and yet you come and place your neck under your servant's yoke and become a servant to your servant! Yea, is it not a great folly for a man to expect all his honors and respect to come from a servant rather than from any excellency in himself?

Suppose a man is traveling and is shown some respect, but for his servant's sake rather than for his own. Once he realized this, he would account it a great dishonor to himself. But an earthly heart puts itself into such a condition, since it is its greatest honor to have honors from its estate and riches. Earthly men do not respect other men for any worth that is in them, or for any excellency of their own, but for their riches alone, which is to say that a man is not respected for himself, but for his servant!

Take some men that have had estates, but are now deprived of them and have become as poor as almsmen or beggars. Who regards them now? But, let a man have grace and holiness, if he loses all and is made as poor as Job, yet he is one that the angels of heaven look upon with honor, and would glory in attending. This is the difference between the carnal, earthly heart, and the spiritual heart. It's a foolish lust to make yourself to be a servant to your servants.

3. Earthly-mindedness brings a man into foolish lusts, for a man might have much more of the earth if he did not mind it as much as he does. For a man to mind the earth and to endanger himself in doing so, when he might have it better not to do so, is surely a foolish thing. For a man to bestow a great deal of labor on a thing, when he might have it with less labor, is surely foolish. If you are one who belongs to God, you may expect God to bless you if you keep your hearts more spiritual. You might expect that God would grant you more of the good things of this world if you were less earthly-minded than you are. And it's your earthly-mindedness that makes God cut you short of these things. I am persuaded that there are many who have had bad success in their earthly affairs, and it's a fruit of God's displeasure upon them because their hearts are so much on worldly business. Were you to go on in your employment in obedience to God and commit it to God for success, you might be crowned with more success than you have been. Now what a foolish thing is this?

4. Yea, further, it's a great folly for any of you to buy a thing and pay a greater price for it than it is worth. Suppose you sent a servant to buy something, and when he returned you asked him what it cost, and he told you that he paid ten times more than it is worth. You would think you had sent a fool to the market. So an earthly-minded man manifests himself to God, His angels, and all the saints, to be a fool. How? You bestow upon this world that which is a thousand times more worthy than the things of this world. You bestow upon this world that which might bring you to heaven.

I may say to an earthly-minded man, "Those thoughts, cares, affections, and endeavors that you spend on the things of the world, had they been spent on the things of God, they might have saved your soul to all eternity! You might have gotten Christ, and heaven, and eternity. The Lord would have gone along with you, and you may come to say at the great day when all things shall be opened before men and angels, 'Had I spent those thoughts and cares and endeavors on understanding the ways and things of God and eternal life, my soul might have been saved forever!' " Not that our works will do it, but that God would have gone along together with you in those ways.

Now for you to spend those thoughts and cares on that which you may never have (for many men and women spend their souls on things of the world and never have them), this is a sad thing. Oh! Will this not be a folly? Will you not curse yourself hereafter for your folly? "Oh, that I should spend myself and be spent on that which I have not gotten, and I must be damned for that. Whereas, had I spent time on things that concerned my soul and eternal life, I would have been more likely to have gotten those things."

God does not fail men in spiritual things as He does in earthly things. A man may be as diligent as is possible in earthly business and yet miscarry. But show me a man or woman that was ever diligent in seeking the things of God and eternal life who miscarried! I truly believe that, at the day of judgment, there will not be found one man that shall be able to say, "Lord, I improved the talents that You gave me to the uttermost to save my soul but, Lord, because I was not able to do any more without Your grace. You denied Your grace to me and, therefore, now I must be damned." I believe there will not be any soul that will be able to say this. But in the matters of the world, men do say this, that they have done all they could, labored and toiled, and yet for all this they miscarry. Oh, what a foolish thing is this, then, to toil and labor on that which is so uncertain, for is it not a foolish thing for a man to bestow all his estate on buying stones and that which will not afford him any benefit at all? This folly is in the heart of man.

Two of you might go to the Indies, where there are precious stones. And one might purchase a cargo of precious stones and other rich commodities, while the other, with an equal amount of money, lays out all his money on baubles and trifles. Both went out with the same amount, both came home loaded, but one came home with precious stones that made him and his posterity great, while the other brought home nothing but stones which made his neighbors scorn and jeer him. O how would he tear his flesh for his folly in this matter!

This will be the difference between men and women at the day of judgment for, the truth is, what is this world but a seafare? We are sailing in this world, with either a load of pearls, or with that which has no worth at all. When you live in the times of the gospel, there is a market for pearls, for those things that will enrich you to all eternity. One man bestows all the strength of his thoughts and heart on those things for which he shall be blessing God in the highest heavens to all eternity, and the other bestows his thoughts and heart on the things of the earth, loading himself down with thick clay. There is a man or woman that shall be blessed for all of eternity, that shall join with angels and saints in the highest heavens to magnify the free grace of God in Christ. And there is another that, had he bestowed his thoughts and heart on the same things, he might have been blessed forever also, but he, minding the things of the earth, is a cursed fool and is the scorn and contempt of men and angels to all eternity.

Earthly-mindedness brings men into foolish lusts. Oh! Men of earthly minds think themselves the only blessed men and applaud themselves at home. Let men think what they will, but the Holy Ghost said that those lusts caused by earthly-mindedness are foolish lusts.

5. It is folly for a man to do that which he must undo to gain. This is especially true of those earthly-minded men who have this earthliness so prevailing upon them as to get some earthly thing by some false ways. Such men must undo all they have done. You have gotten so much of the earth in some cunning, cheating way, and you bless yourselves that you found out such a mystery of iniquity. This is ****a foolish lust. Foolish? Why? Because it must be done again. Either you must eternally be damned, or else you must restore as Zaccheus did, if you are able, even though it might make you impoverished. All the sorrow and repentance that can be will not be sufficient. You cannot be pardoned even with all your sorrow and repentance if you do not restore, if you are able, what you have gotten by means.

I do not know that there was ever any minister of the gospel on the face of the earth who did not hold to this, that it was of absolute necessity to salvation to restore. And this one reason cannot but satisfy any man's conscience, that A MAN CANNOT TRULY REPENT OF A SIN AND YET WILLFULLY CONTINUE IN IT! Unless you restore, you are willfully continuing in that sin. Why? You do not only wrong the man the first hour, but as long as you keep anything that is his, you wrong him still. If you are able to restore and do not, simply because you are loath to part with so much money or so many goods, you willfully continue in the sin. Now, no man or woman can truly repent of a sin and yet willfully persist in that sin. What a foolish lust is this, for a man or woman to get the things of this world in such a way that he must undo it all, though it is to his shame.

O consider what a folly it is! You deceitful servants that spend away on your lusts that which you cheat your master of. Afterwards, when you come to set yourself up, you must restore what you have stolen, and it may be that a great part of your estate must be repaid by way of restitution. It must be done, there's no way around it. Therefore, what a foolish lust it is to be so set upon the things of this earth as to get them in an earthly way.

6. By earthly-mindedness, they lose the comfort of earthly things before they have them. For example, suppose a man or woman has troubling thoughts about the things of the earth. It may be that, by their inordinate thoughts, cares, and affections about some earthly things, they contract much guilt. Yet after this, perhaps, God gives them that earthly thing. Now when they have it, if they have any light in their consciences, their convicted consciences will then reflect thusly, "I have this indeed, but do I have it with the blessing of God? I have it in my custody, but I got it dearly, it cost me such thoughts and cares and affections. Now I have it, but I cannot say it comes out of God's love. I rather fear that God has given it to me in His wrath, because I got it in such a way."

Now all the comfort is gone and lost whereas, had it come in the way of God and had you given up yourself to God and let Providence bring such a comfort to you, you might have enjoyed much of God in it and blessed God for it. "The Lord has blessed me in my trading. Oh, I have it from the love of God." But now, because your heart was earthly before it came, when it does come you have no com. fort in it. The comfort of all is lost before it comes, you have spent so much upon it. As when a man gets something, and after he gets it he thinks thusly, "What has this cost me? It has cost me a great deal more than it's worth; now the comfort of it has vanished."

THE EIGHTH EVIL. Earthly-mindedness is the root of apostasy. I'll give you but one Scripture and compare it with another. II Timothy 4:10 is a notable text that shows how earthly-mindedness breeds apostasy. 'Tis the example of Demas. The Apostle said that Demas hath forsaken me. What was the matter? Having loved this present world. It was that which made Demas to be an apostate. Why? What was Demas before this? Compare this Scripture with the Epistle to the Colossians, and you shall see what he was before this. He was an ardent disciple of Paul's, and the Apostle held him in high esteem. Read Colossians 4: 14, where Paul was directed by the Holy Ghost, Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you. Paul ranks Demas here among the famous professors of religion. The Apostle, writing to the Colossians, said, Demas greets you among the rest. When we write to our friends and say, "Such and such a one commends him to you," we usually do not name them unless they are good friends.

The interpreters think it was the same Demas, and the word gives some ground for this. In Timothy, you find that he names Luke there, too. It seems that Demas and Luke were two great associates. Paul mentions them together. When Demas had forsaken him, Luke still rode with him, and when Paul sends them the greetings of Luke, the beloved physician, he sends the greetings of Demas, too. But one was truly godly and, whatever sufferings Paul met with, one cleaved to him and would not forsake him. But when Paul began to suffer, Demas thought, "There's no thriving for me if I follow this persecuted Apostle." Demas would have no more of Paul; he thanked him for his company and departed from him. He hath forsaken me. What's the reason? He has embraced this present world. Another note: though he was an ardent professor, Paul's heart was not very affectionate towards him, for he said Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you. He did not say "the beloved Demas." It's true, Demas was an ardent professor, and he seemed to wear a cloak of religion, yet Paul was directed by the Holy Ghost only to speak of him as a professor.

The Holy Ghost directs Paul to speak of the two as companions together, giving one an epithet, "beloved," while only giving the other's name. Two men, both very ardent, and companions together, yet those that are godly, old disciples can savour one more than the other. They are both professors, and both have excellent parts and gifts, yet there's more spirituality and greater experiences in one than in the other, for it appears that there was more in Luke than in Demas. Your earthly-minded men afterwards prove to be apostates. Usually, before their grand apostasy, they manifest some deadness and waywardness of spirit to that which is good. Yes, their spirits reveal them to be earthly spirits. They smell of the earth.

Before a man dies, his breath will smell very earthy. You will say, "Oh, such a one cannot live, his breath is so earthy!" So it is with those that are great professors of religion. Those that have an intimate acquaintance with them before they apostatize smell their breath to be earthly in their duties, in their conferences. Oh, take heed of earthly-mindedness, lest it be the root of apostasy. This may be written on an apostate's grave, "THIS WAS AN EARTHLYMINDED MAN OR WOMAN IN SPITE OF THEIR PROFESSION." And hence it is that they fell from the truth in times of danger. When they were brought to the trial, they were base backsliders from God and His truth.

THE NINTH EVIL. Earthly-mindedness wonderfully deadens the heart in prayer. It sinks the spirits of men and straightens them out in spiritual duties. Indeed, it defiles every duty of religion. In Psalm 119:37, David prays there to God that He would turn away his eyes from beholding vanity, and that He would quicken him in His Law. Certainly, the vanity of which he speaks there means the things of the world, and by his eyes he means the eyes of the mind, chiefly working on the thoughts of his heart after earthly things.

If you look at the 36th verse, he says, Incline my heart to Thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Oh, Lord, let not my heart be inclined to covetousness, turn away my eyes from beholding. vanity, so that my heart may not be inclined to covetousness. Lord, let not my thoughts be busied with such vain things, but quicken me in Thy Law. It is as if he were to say, "Lord, while my mind is turned to vanity or my heart to covetousness after the things of the earth, I always find my spirit dull and heavy in any holy duties. I have no quickness at all in my inward man when I come into Thy presence, and, by experience, I find this to be the reason that my heart is so drossy, because my thoughts and mind are set on earthly things that are vain." Therefore, "Lord, let not mine heart be inclined to covetousness, nor mine eyes after vanity, but turn away mine eyes from these things and quicken me in Thy Law."

If you would have your hearts quickened in God's Law, in the duties that God sets you on, take heed of your eyes that they look not after vanity, and your hearts that they follow not after covetousness, for an earthly spirit will be a dead spirit. As the dust of the earth is the most sluggish, dead element of all, so earthliness in the heart makes the heart sluggish, dead, and lifeless to any holy and spiritual duty. I appeal to your consciences in this. When you have let your hearts out after the things of this earth, and have been exercised in the world and in business, then when you have come to have communion with God, oh, how dead have you found your hearts! A drossy heart must be a dead heart in heavenly exercises. You complain many times of your vain thoughts in the performance of holy duties. You cry out of dead spirits then, but here lies the cause. You have given yourselves up so much to the things of the world at other times, that when you come to converse with God, your hearts are so dead and dull. This is the ground of it, this is the great root of all, it lies here in your earthly-mindedness. Oh, how many prayers have been spoiled by an earthly heart! Whereas those who have spiritual hearts have enjoyed blessed communion with God at the throne of His grace, and have been sweetly refreshed, while you have gone with a dead heart and continued there, and come away with a dead heart without any quickness and life. This is that which comes by your earthly-mindedness, which is such a restraint to duties.

THE TENTH EVIL. Earthly-mindedness is so great an evil, wherever it prevails, that it would be just of God that your name should be written in the earth. Those that are earthly-minded and have this prevailing upon their hearts, and who are not sensible of it, have cause to fear God lest He should write their names in the dust, yea, lest God already has written their names in the earth. In Jeremiah 17:13, we read such an expression, Oh, Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from Thee shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters. It's apparent that he speaks of earthly spirits here, for in the 11th verse he says, As the partridge sitteth on eggs and hatcheth them not, so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

Then he goes on to describe the excellency of God and His sanctuary, A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary, etc. It is if he should say that there are a company of foolish vain men that seek after nothing but getting richer in the things of the earth, but a glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of Thy sanctuary. O Lord, we see an excellency in You, and in Your ordinances, and in Your sanctuary. O Lord, the hope of Israel, in whom there is such excellency, is there any that forsake You, who have so much excellency in Yourself, who are the hope of Israel? O Lord, it would be just that their names should be written in the earth, that they should never come to partake of those good things that are in You, the excellent things that are in Your ordinances, and in Your Gospel. But, Lord, let their names be written in the earth, let God write concerning such a man or woman, "EARTH SHALL BE THEIR PORTION." Their mouths shall be filled with earth one day, and that's all the good they shall have from the Almighty. O those who have known God and the things of eternal life cannot but apprehend this to be a sad and grievous evil, to have their name Written in the earth!

THE ELEVENTH EVIL. An earthly-minded man has the curse of the serpent upon him. What is that? Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat. You have the curse of the serpent, you grovel upon the earth, as it were, upon your belly. Your soul cleaves to the ground in a sinful way, and you feed upon dust. While the saints are feeding upon Jesus Christ, upon the very flesh and blood of Christ, refreshing themselves with the hidden manna, angels' bread, corn from heaven, you satiate yourself with the earth. That's your food, and that's the very curse of the serpent. It's a sign of a serpentine brood, and of the old serpent, to be groveling upon the earth and to feed upon it.

THE TWELFTH EVIL. Earthly-mindedness is a dishonor to God and a scandal to religion. What, do you profess an interest in Christ, and are there no higher things to be had in God than the base things your heart is set upon? What, do you hold forth the everlasting gospel in your hand to others, and openly profess to be nearer to God than others, and is there no difference between the workings of your heart and the workings of others after the things of this world? Oh, how does this darken the excellency of grace! If there is any grace at all, it very much clouds it. Like the mixing of earth and drossy stuff with pure metal takes away the excellency of the pure metal, so the mixing of the earth with the profession of religion blemishes the beauty and splendor of the profession of religion.

You will never be the man or woman who is likely to convince any by your conversation; you are never likely to be a means to draw any to the love of the ways of godliness, because there is so much darkness and earthliness in your conversation. "Oh," they will say, "indeed he or she makes a great blaze in the world and talks much of religion and ordinances and such things, but they are as worldly as any and groveling in the earth as much as any." People that are bystanders will think that profession is but a mere verbal thing, or a pretence, when they see as much earthliness in your conversation as in the conversation of those that are without the profession of religion. You bring a bad report upon the things of God, as did the spies about the land of Canaan.

Every professor of religion should endeavor to put a luster on religion, and to make the ways of God to be beautiful, amiable, and glorious in the eyes of all who behold them. But to give a lie about a gospel profession by your earthly conversation is a very great scandal to the name of Christ that is upon you, and to His gospel that you seem to stand up for! Oh, there's a great evil in this, and a very bad report comes upon the ways of religion by this. Many that have had little religion in them have some kind of generosity of spirit, so that they scorn such base sordidness as some professors are given to. Oh, for shame! Let not those that have only common gifts of nature and education outstrip you that seem to be the followers of Christ. Away with that base, muddy, earthy, saving, pinching disposition. It becomes none but Judas that carried the bag and betrayed his Lord and Master for eighteen shillings and four pence.

Let me argue with you who have to deal with friends or neighbors who you are afraid do not have the power of godliness in them that you desire. You see they have much ingenuity, generosity, and a concern for the public good. Take heed of scandalizing such men, for certainly if such men could be brought to the love of religion, to the power and strictness thereof, had they the work of the Holy Ghost upon their hearts to humble them for sin, and to show the excellency of Jesus Christ, they would be glorious instruments in the church of God and the Commonwealth. Therefore, it's a very great evil to scandalize such men as these. No, you should labor to walk so that they might see a beauty and excellency in the ways of religion by your conversation. Oh, it would be a thousand times better for you to be cut short of the things of this world, than that you should scandalize the ways of God, and the profession of the name and gospel of Jesus Christ.

THE THIRTEENTH EVIL. Earthly-mindedness exceedingly hinders preparation for death, and it is likely to make death very grievous and terrible when it comes. "Take heed to yourselves," Christ said to His disciples, "lest any time your hearts be overcharged or filled with indulgence and drunkenness and cares of this life." Note how He puts them all together. It's•very strange, you might say, that Christ should say this to His disciples, to forewarn them of this. We do not think that they were drunkards, following after taverns or ale houses, or reeling in the streets. But by this drunkenness, He means any excessive use of meat or drink, and professors of religion may be subject to that, to give themselves up too much to sensual delights and excess in the use of the creature.

But besides that, though there are many that would abhor gluttony and drunkenness, yet the cares of this life take up their hearts. Therefore Christ said, Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with the cares of this life. Why? What evil would come from filling the heart with the cares of this life? Mark, says the text, And so that day will come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come upon all them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always.

I may apply this to death, though the Scripture is speaking of Christ's coming. In the time of death, Christ comes particularly. There is a particular day of judgment at the day of death. It may likewise be applied to the time of any affliction. Then the evil of earthly-mindedness appears in this, that it hinders the preparation of the soul for affliction. Oh, earthly-mindedness will make your affliction grievous and heavy to you. An affliction is a very grievous thing to an earthly spirit. If God comes to take away any comforts of this world because your heart cleaves so closely to them, there must be a rending of them from you, and that will put you to pain.

A man that wears loose garments can easily put them off when he goes to bed at night, but if a man has a sore upon his body, and his inward garments cleave to the sore, when he pulls them off, it puts him to a great deal of pain. Oh, then he cries out in his pain! Truly, this earthly-mindedness comes from distemper of spirit, and the things of the earth cleave to the hearts of men and women that are earthly like the inward garment would cleave to a sore on a man's body.

Now, when afflictions or death come to take away the things of the earth from them, or them from the things of the earth, it's painful to them, it's grievous to them. For one who has an earthly spirit, it's a hundred to one against him having any light of conscience left in him. But his conscience will trouble him in time of sickness, and then tell him how he has spent his time and strength of spirit on the things of the earth, when they should have been spent on more excellent things.

When he comes to die, then, his spirit will be troubled thusly, "I am now to leave all these things that I have spent my care and thoughts on and let my heart go after, and what good is it to me now? What good is it that I shall leave so much more than my neighbor does, what great content is this to me when I am upon my sick and death bed? What comfort can I have in all the good things I have enjoyed? Yea, through the earthliness of my spirit, I have enjoyed little of them, yet I have troublesome thoughts. But now death is likely to be to me as a strainer, that strains out the good and leaves the dross and the dirt behind it. So all the good of the things of the world is gone, but the guiltiness that I have contracted upon my spirit with my immoderate care and affections is now upon my spirit."

I remember a man that lived in a place not far from where I formerly lived who had a covetous, earthly spirit. When he was about to die, he called for his money and fell to swearing, "Must I leave you now?" He was speaking to his bags of money and hugging them! What! "Must I leave you now,?" Here was an earthly man who had spent his spirits and strength upon these things, and indeed, let out his heart to them as his portion. Then he saw that he must be stripped of all. He must bid an eternal farewell to all, no more houses, no lands, nor money. Oh, death is grievous to such a man!

Now, what should the life of a Christian be but a continual preparation for death? Many of the heathens said of philosophy that it was but a preparation for death. It is a special excellency of Christianity that it is a preparative for death, and therefore you should let out your hearts to the things of this world, and be continually thinking of death, so that when God calls you to part from these things, you may do it with as much ease as a man who is going to bed casts off his loose clothes. The grave is a bed to the saints where they fall asleep when they die, and so they may lay down all things and go to their sleep with ease and peace.

A man or woman can have their consciences tell them, "I have been diligent in my calling, but God knows through faithfulness to Him rather than love to the world. And I have kept my heart close to God and faithful to Him. I can bid the world farewell now. As the world has done with me, so I have done with it. So long as my time was to work for God, God continued those things that this frail nature of mine needed. Now my work is done; farewell to the comforts of this world. I expect other comforts where I am going." Such a one that is spiritual may die with comfort, but those that have their hearts filled with the cares of this life will have the day of Christ come upon them unawares.

THE FOURTEENTH EVIL. Earthly-mindedness is that which will bring destruction at last, as it will drown your soul in perdition. There are two texts for it. The first is here in this text. The Apostle says here, speaking of men who mind earthly things, their end is destruction. He joins both together: earthly-mindedness will bring destruction at last.

And the other place, for our purposes, is 1 Timothy 6:9, where the Apostle speaks of bringing them into snares and foolish lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. Some who are washing themselves in the Thames River go a little way at first, and then venture a little further and further, and at length, they are over their heads and ears. There they are drowned and cannot recover themselves. So it will be with your hearts if you look not to them.

You think you may venture so far to the things of this world. Why? Are they not good and in themselves lawful? "I did not get my estate by wrongdoing or cheating." And so by degrees your hearts are stolen away from God and are taken with these earthly things. You get deeper and deeper into the world until, at length, you are plunged in over your head and ears before you are aware, and then you cannot recover yourselves. That man who gives his heart to the things of this world and thinks that he will go no further, I bet a hundred to one that once these things have taken up his heart, he gets more and more advantage, until this man is drowned in destruction and perdition.

A man or woman may be undone as much by earthliness and be damned and perish eternally as by adultery, drunkenness, murder, or any notorious sin. Many who are great professors of religion, it's very likely that the earthliness of their minds will be the sin by which they will perish to all eternity. Do not deceive yourselves into thinking that because you keep from those gross and notorious sins that others live in, therefore you hope to be saved. Your earthliness may damn you as well as anything else. Upon dung-hills, you cast not only carrion and such nasty stuff, but the dust that you sweep from your houses. I may compare hell, which is the place where God casts those damned out of His presence, to the common dunghill upon which filthy creatures are cast. Now upon that dunghill, there are not only carrions and filthy blasphemers, whoremasters and thieves, but there will also be dust upon that dunghill, and scrapings from your houses cast upon the dunghill of hell from the presence of God. Therefore, do not satisfy yourselves that you do not lie in such filthy, abominable lusts as others do.

If you have foul, earthly hearts, you may be cast upon the dunghill as well as those that have lived most notoriously wicked. Therefore take heed of earthly-mindedness.

There is a great deal of evil and danger in earthly-mindedness, may the Lord keep us from it. I shall enlarge my meditations upon this subject by opening some proofs, to further convince men and women that there is a great deal of earthly-mindedness in them. And for preparation, I will lay this down. First, that a man or woman may be earthly-minded, and yet little think of it themselves, not knowing that they are so. Yea, and it may be even perish eternally through their earthly-mindedness, and not know it of themselves.

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