• To the Reader
• Chapter One - The Text Opened
• Chapter Two - Earthly-Mindedness Discovered in Nine Particulars
• Chapter Three - Six Evils of Earthly-Mindedness
• Chapter Four - Eight Additional Evils of Earthly-Mindedness
• Chapter Five - Five Things May Be Wrought In A Man, and Yet Earthly-Minded
• Chapter Six - Seven Reasons of Men's Earthly-Mindedness
• Chapter Seven - Eleven Considerations to Take the Mind Off of Earthly-Mindedness
• Chapter Eight - Five Directions How to Get our Hearts Free from Earthly-Mindedness

A Treatise of Earthly-Mindedness

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by Jeremiah Burroughs

Chapter 7

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A Treatise On Earthly Mindedness

Jeremiah Burroughs (1624) was an English Congregationalist and a well-known Puritan preacher.

Eleven Considerations to Take the Mind Off of Earthly-Mindedness

The main thing we have tried to do thus far is to take the minds of men and women off of the things of the earth. This will prepare us for the next point which is of infinite concern, our conversations in heaven. But because a man's conversation cannot be in heaven until his mind is taken off of the earth, until the disease of earthly-mindedness is cured, we must now propound those things that may help take off men's minds from the earth.

First consider this: if you could possess all the things of the earth that your mind and heart are upon, there is still not enough good in them as to undo the evil of the least sin, not the least sin of thought. Your heart is muddling upon the earth, and you think that you would be blessed if you had thus and thus as others have. Let me tell you if you had but one sinful thought, there is more evil in that than there is gocx:l in all that you shall get all the days of your life. And, if this is so, it concerns you rather to have your mind on how to avoid sin, how to get the evil of sin removed, and how to get your sin mortified. That ought to concern you more than minding and plodding about the things of the earth. That's one consideration.

A second consideration that may take off the hearts of men from the things of the earth is this: the chief things that are in the earth have been the portion of reprobates heretofore and are to this day, and shall be the portion of multitudes whom God hates and has set apart to glorify His infinite justice eternally. Shall your mind and heart be set upon such things as are the portion of reprobates? Will a reprobate's portion satisfy you? Will it serve you? Are you satisfied with dog meat? If it will not content you, why is it that your mind is so much upon the things of the earth?

It may be that you are poor and low in the world. Your mind is upon some little matter. You never expect to have any great things in the world and yet you mind these little matters as if that were your portion and your happiness, some small pittance to furnish your house, to provide for yourself and your family. Oh, friend! If it were possible for you to get the empire of the whole world under your foot, still you would get no more than has been the portion of such as God has hated, and if kingdoms and empires have been the portions of reprobates, why do you abundantly mind things that are lower and let the strength of your heart flow out upon such things as these are?

A third consideration is this, surely God has made man for higher things than the things of this earth. Oh! If you had your thoughts working this way, "For what end do I think God has made the children of men? Why has He sent them into the world?" Of all the creatures God has here upon the earth, none are capable of knowing Him, the infinite First Being of all things, except the children of men. And God has given them a nature that is capable of conversing with Him. Surely, then, there are other things that God made man for, than to have meat, drink, and clothes, and to live here awhile just to enjoy creatures.

Do we not read often that Jesus Christ was God and man, took man's nature upon Himself, and died for man? Surely there must be some other manner of things that are the fruit of the purchase of the blood of Christ than the things of the earth! Oh, my brethren, if you only had this settled upon you: that God has great, glorious, high, and wonderful thoughts about mankind. This would be a mighty means to take your hearts off of the things of this earth, when you have your hearts groveling here. Oh, but are these the things God made man for? Had not God higher thoughts in making the children of men? Do not I find in the Word that when man was made there was a kind of Divine consultation with the Trinity? Come, let us make man according to our Image. God had higher thoughts of man than of other things. And if man were made for nothing else but to dig in the earth, certainly, the thoughts of God about man have been very low and mean (as I may so speak with holy reverence), for these are but low and mean things here that men enjoy on the earth.

Fourthly, as God has higher thoughts concerning man, so the dignity of man's nature, the rational soul of man, is of too high a birth to have the strength of it spent on things of the earth. God breathed into man His soul. It is a kind of a Divine spark. The soul of man is of the same nature as angels, a spirit as angels have. The thoughts of the mind, the faculties and powers of the soul are more precious than to be poured out as water upon the ground.

If a man had a golden mill, he would not use it just to grind dirt, straw, and sticks in. The mind of man, the thinking faculty, is too high to be exercised in the things of this earth. The mind of man is of a most excellent, capacious nature. It is fit to converse, not only with angels, but with the eternal God Himself, with Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and to bestow the strength of such a faculty upon such dirty, drossy, low, base, mean things as earthly-minded men and women do, this is a great evil Know this, the dignity of your nature, the excellency of your mind, and the soul of man is that of a transcendent being. Put all the world into the balance with it, it is nothing. Therefore you know what Christ said, What shall it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and lose his soul?

The soul of the lowest galley-slave is more precious than heaven and earth, sun, moon, stars, and all the host of them and, let me add, than all the silver and golden mines underground, and all the unsearchable riches of the great and wide sea. Yea, put all together, and the soul of the most contemptible beggar that cries for a crust of bread at your door is unexpressedly worth more than all these. Now if man's soul is of such a high-born nature, if God has put such a spirit, which is a spark of heaven, into the bosom of man for him to employ in no other use and service but to merely be an earthworm to creep upon the ground, this is a great evil.

The fifth consideration is the uncertainty of all these things, uncertain riches. Any casualty come and take away from you all the things of the earth that your mind is on. God sends a little too much heat into the body and puts you into a fever, and where is your delight then? Your body will either be too hot or too cold, and what's become of all your comfort in this life? You go abroad and are wounded by an enemy, and what refreshment do you receive from all these things? Let me tell you, you are in the midst of a thousand thousand casualties here, every moment ready to take away all the comforts of the earth. Usually, at the time when most minds of men and women are fixed upon the earth, that's the time God has to strike them in those things. That's when they are closest to being deprived of the comforts of the earth, when their minds are most fixed upon them.

As you know, when the rich man in the gospel was blessing himself and crying to his soul, Soul, soul, take thine ease. Thou hast goods laid up for many years, that very night, the text says, this message came to him, Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be taken away from thee, and then, whose shall all these things be? And at the time that Nebuchadnezzer was blessing himself in the palace he had built for his honor, a message came to him from heaven so that he was ousted from all his court vanities to graze among the beasts of the field.

You may find in your own experience that God has many times most crossed you in the things of the earth when your minds and hearts have been most glued to them. And it may be that He has done it in mercy. It's a greater mercy to be crossed in these things at such a time than to prosper in the midst of them, for it may be a good argument that God intends good to a soul to cross him at the time he is most earthly. Oh, many that have been godly indeed, but have been earthly-minded and have found God coming at such a time and crossing them in some earthly contentment, have seen cause to bless God for thus dealing with them. Where was I going? I was going altogether to the earth and minding such things. My heart was set upon them and God came to me in a seasonable time to show me the vanity of my heart, and of those things that my mind was busied upon. Oh, it was a happy cross that I had at such a season! There was much of Christ that hung upon it.

Sixthly, consider what has become of those that have been earthly heretofore, that enjoyed the greatest accommodations of the earth. What has become of those men in former ages of the world that lived here, and vapored so much in their generation, who had all the earth according to their desires? What's become of Agrippa and Bernice with all their pageantry and greatness? Now they have acted their parts and are gone off the common stage of the world, and all their vanity is buried with them in one grave. What difference is there between the poor and rich when they die? They all go the same way. They lived for a little time and flourished in the things of the earth and now are gone, but have left a great deal of guiltiness behind them. Look to their example, and what's become of them? Consider that your case must be as theirs within a short while. The wheel is turning around which will bring you as low as them, so that you, before long, must be numbered among the dead. Oh, it's a mighty means to take our hearts from the things of this earth!

Seventh, consider how short the time is that you have in this world. That's the argument of the Apostle, because the time is short. Therefore, let us use the world as if we used it not. Therefore, let our hearts be taken off these things. We have only a little time and a great deal of work. We have in this short winter's day of life to provide for eternity. Considering the great weight of the work that depends on us here in this world, it may be a mighty reason for us to bid adieu to all the things of this world. If we had enough time for our work, and were sure of our time, then we might spend it on trifles.

If a man comes into the city to do some business of great weight and consequence, and has only a little time to spend on it, he does not mind anything he sees in the city, he does not mind anybody that comes by him, but goes up and down the streets minding his own business. Oh, it should be so with us, brethren. Consider the great work we have to do, and the little time we have to effect that work in. Upon our little, short, uncertain inch of time, depends matters of more consequence than ten thousand, thousand worlds are worth, and if we miscarry in this little time of our lives, we are lost and undone forever. Better we had never been born, or had been made toads or serpents, or the vilest beasts, than unreasonable creatures.

Oh, have you so much time for spending the very spirits of your souls upon the things of this earth, can you spare so many hours? Certainly, if God made known to you what eternity means, if the Lord caused the fear of eternity to fall upon you, you would not misspend as much time as you do. Many times, though, you complain of a lack of time for spiritual things. Oh, how much time do you spend in letting out your thoughts and affections upon the things of the earth? More than you need!

In the eighth place, consider that a little will carry us through this world. We are here but as on a pilgrimage or a voyage. A little will serve to carry us through this world. Men will not take more on a journey than may help them. If a man who is going on a journey should get a whole bundle of sticks and lay them on his shoulder, and you ask him the reason why he is carrying that bundle, he might say that he is going on a great journey, and he does not know how many sticks he will need to help him. Now, it's true, to carry a staff in a man's hand will help him, thus Jacob was helped by his staff over Jordan, but to carry a bundle upon his shoulder will hinder him.

A little will serve your purpose. If you have only meat and drink, food and clothing, be content, said the Apostle. The servants of God in times past, passed through this world with very little, and many of them, the less they had, the more peace and comfort they had in God, and the more fit they were to die. I remember Ecolampagius was very poor when he was to die. He professed that he would not have been richer than he was, for he saw what a hindrance it was, and so he could pass out of the world with more ease and quiet. Certainly a little will serve your purpose here.

We say that nature is content with a little, and if there were grace, it would be content with less. Therefore, we do not let our minds be on the things of the earth. We do not have as much need for the things of the earth as we think we do.

Ninthly, consider that there is no comfort. no good to be had in things of the earth any further than God will be pleased to let Himself through them. They are but channels to convey the blessing and goodness of God to us. Man lives not by bread, nor meat only. You are deceived to think that if you had such and such things you should certainly have a comfortable life. I say you are deceived in this, for it is God in these that comforts the heart.

There is a notable Scripture for this in Psalm 62, where the Holy Ghost says in the 10th verse, Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery, if riches increase, set not your hearts upon them. Do not mind them, but why not? In the 11th verse, God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this. That power belongeth unto•God, if riches increase, set not thy heart upon them. Let not your hearts and minds be upon riches or anything in this earth. Why not? God has spoken again, twice have I heard, that is, again and again. God has spoken effectually to me that all power to do any good belongs to Him. It is not in riches; there is no power there to make you happy, but all belongs to Him.

This, I confess, is a spiritual meditation in which earthly-minded men will have little skill, yet where earthly-mindedness prevails in anyone of the saints, this may do him good. Whereas the truth is, this power is not in the creature, or creature comforts. Neither can do me any good. If I had a thousand times more than I have, I might be miserable in the earth and have as little comfort as those that have least. Therefore. let me set my affections upon things above. and not on things on the earth.

Tenthly, lay this to heart. If you are godly, God promises to provide the things of the earth for you, and to that end He might ease you of the burden of your care. Cast your care upon God for He careth or you, and take no thought for these things, for your Heavenly Father knows you have need of them. Your Heavenly Father takes care, see how He clothes the lilies, and are not you much better than they? Children do not much mind the things of the earth, to provide for themselves, because they know they have their father to provide for them. A child that has his father and friends to make provision for him is very much eased by this. But those that are left fatherless and friendless seem to have some excuse, "I have to take care of myself for I have nobody to provide for me." Aye, but the saints cannot say so, they have a Father to provide for them, and all the earth is the Lord's, as well as heaven, the earth being your Father's. The earth being the Lord's, as well as heaven, the earth being your Father's, why should your care be so much on things of the earth? Let your care be to do your duty to your Father, to walk as a child, but do not let it be for things of the earth. You as much as disavow the care of your Father for you. Can you believe that God shall give His Son to you, and not give you all things else? Does not godliness have the promises of this life as well as of that to come? Oh, you unworthy child that professed an interest in such promises, and hoped that God had done such things for you as He has done, and yet have your heart in things of the earth. As if the

Lord had settled you here only, and left you to shift for yourself from door to door. No, certainly, the care of God is over His people in the things of the earth as truly as it is over them in regard of spiritual and eternal things.

Some men think, or at least believe, that they trust God for their souls, but cannot trust for their bodies as well But surely faith teaches you to trust God for your body as well as your soul, for God has care of both, and both were redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. I have told you that he that fears the Lord shall never want anything that is good for him. Now these considerations may mightily prevail to take off the hearts of men from the things of the earth.

The last consideration I shall name is this, that all who are professors of religion are dead to the world, or should be so. Nay, if you are truly religious, you are so. By profession, you profess yourselves to be dead to the world. The Scripture makes this argument in Colossians 3:2-3, Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Why? For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. You are dead, the Apostle writes to the Colossians, and yet he tells them they were dead. The Scripture speaks much of the death of the saints. It's said of women who lived in pleasures in I Timothy that they were dead while they lived. So it may be said of Christians that they are dead while they live, dead to the world. I am crucified to the world, says the Apostle, and we are dead with Christ. I find that some interpret the Scripture in I Corinthians 15:29, Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead? as that all those that came in, which were heathens and converted to Christianity and were baptized, were baptized for dead men, that is, by their baptism. Now there was a profession. They professed themselves, from that time forever as dead men to the world, "baptized for the dead." You have it in some of your books "over the dead," but the word is fur, and so it is translated in this last translation, for dead men. Your baptism is administered to you as a sign of your profession, to live henceforth as if they were dead.

This is the profession of Christians, to be as dead men to the world. Oh, do not dishonor your profession of religion, for, indeed, it is a greater evil for professors of religion to be earthly-minded than for any others, and yet how many are guilty of this? It's an observation of Luther that when God revealed Himself to Abraham and told him that He would multiply his seed He made use of two similitudes. One was this, that He would make his seed as the stars of heaven, and at another time God said that He would make his seed as the sand upon the seashore. Now, said Luther, by these two expressions are signified two sorts of Abraham's seed. There are some that are as the stars of the heaven, that are heavenly-minded. There are others that are as the sand of the sea, that is, there are some who profess themselves to be of Abraham's seed, but are of earthly spirits.

Oh now, my brethren, we should labor to have such minds and hearts so as to appear to be the seed of Abraham, as the stars of heaven, to be of the number of those that are as the stars of heaven, that is, through heavenly-mindedness. But we shall come to that when we speak of the conversation of Christians, and how it ought to be in heaven.

But now, may not someone ask, "May we not mind earthly things and heavenly things, tooT' There is a great mistake here. You cannot serve two masters, God and mammon. It's very plain that the text of Scripture in Colossians 3:2 marks the opposition, Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. They are opposed to one another. Set your affections or minds, for I think it is the same word as that in my text, who mind earthly things. A man cannot look up to heaven and down to earth both at the same time. There is an opposition between these two, between the earthly-mindedness that has been opened to you, and minding of heavenly things.

But you will say, "We have a need for these things while we are on the earth. How can we do otherwise but mind them? When we come to heaven, then we shall have dispositions suitable to heaven, and not until then." To that I answer, though Christians live upon the earth, they are not of the earth. There's a great deal of difference between one that is of the earth, and another that lives on the earth. Christ said, concerning Himself, that He was not of the earth. It's true, He did live awhile on the earth, but He was not of it. In John 3:31, He that cometh from above is above all, he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth. While Christ spoke these words He was on the earth but He was not of the earth. And so it is with Christians, they are upon the earth but they are not of the earth. They are a people redeemed from the earth! It's true, these are things we need; therefore, we must not mind them, for in Matthew 6, where Christ speaks against taking thought for what we .shall eat, or drink, or put on, He said, Your heavenly Father knows you have need of these things. You have some need, aye, but you have need of other things, and greater need of other things than of these things. What need is there for you to live upon the earth, but in order to provide for eternity, and of living to the honor of Christ and the praise of His gospel? I say, you have no need of anything on the earth but in subordination to higher things. There is no need that you should live, except for some other end. Therefore, do not let that be an argument to plead for earthliness, as indeed an earthly spirit is very witty in pleading for itself. I shall close this point with some exhortation to you, and directions about this point of earthly-mindedness.

EXHORTATIONS

Considering what has been delivered, I beseech you, lay it seriously upon your heart, especially you that are young beginners in the way of religion, lest it proves to be with you as it has with many that are digging veins of gold and silver underground. While they are digging in those mines for riches, the earth, many times, falls upon them and buries them, so that they never come up out of the mine again. And so it is with many that are beginning in the way of religion, that are digging in the mines of salvation, for unsearchable riches, for that is abundantly better than gold and silver.

Now while you are thus seeking for grace and godliness, take heed that you are not covered with the earth while you are digging in the world. Keep wide open some place to heaven, or otherwise if you dig too deep, noxious gas vapors will come up from the earth, if it doesn't fall on you first. There will be noxious gas vapors to choke you if there is not a wide hole to let in the air that comes from heaven to you. Those that are digging in mines are very careful to leave a place open for fresh air to come in. And so, though you may follow your calling and do the work that God sets you here for as others do, be as diligent in your calling as any. But still keep a passage open to heaven, that there may be fresh gales of grace come into your soul. If, at any time, you are in the world just one day, and have not some spiritual air from heaven, take heed, there's a vapor coming up that will choke you. Oh, that Christians would consider this while they are here below.

I remember reading Austin's comments on Psalm 72:19, They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him, and his enemies shall lick the dust. In a witty way he applied it to earthly-minded men by saying, "If you lick the dust, by this you will come to be counted as one of the enemies of God." It's true, the scope of the place is different, but take heed that, in this metaphorical sense, you do not lick the dust and so come to be counted as an enemy of God. You who would be counted as friends and seek a reconciliation with God, do not lick the dust to be always here as moles upon the earth. Moles, though blind, are said to have their eyes open if they are on top of the ground, and then they shake and tremble. So, though the earth may close the eyes of men here for awhile, certainly there will be a day when their eyes shall be opened, to see how they have guiled and deceived themselves. It's worse, too, in the time of the gospel to be an earthly-minded man than at other times. It was not such an evil thing to be an earthly-minded man in the time of the Law, when all the promises of God were carried in a kind of earthly way.

This is not to say that all promises that were made under the Law were merely earthly, but that they were carried out in an earthly way. Therefore you shall find that when God promised His people great mercies in the time of the Law, it is done by earthly expressions, like gold, silver, and such kinds of things. Their promises for heaven went under the expression of living in the land of Canaan, as being a type of heaven. They were taken with earthly things, though, when God revealed Himself to them in an earthly manner.

Now in the time of the gospel, lift up your hearts for your calling is from above. Now there are heavenly things revealed. He that is from above is come among us, and the heavens are broken open, and the glory of it shines upon the churches in a far brighter manner than it did before. Therefore, gospel light aggravates the sin of earthly-mindedness, and now, above all times, should the hearts of men and women be disengaged from the things of the earth.