2. Yea, as a man that is sick of a fever acquires a distempered appetite, and deems the coarsest trash more pleasant than wholesome food; so those that are sick of a spiritual fever, that is, of the love of the world, of pride and covetousness, loathe the good word of God as bitter and insipid food. Those, on the other hand, that have the Spirit of God, find in it a hidden manna, and a secret sweetness, which transcends all other delights; but then it is not to be tasted by such as are carried away with the pleasures of a profane world.
3. Many hear the glad tidings of the Gospel repeatedly, and yet are but little affected with what they hear. They do not feel any fervency of spirit, any sense of spiritual joy. The cause is plain; they are not led by the good Spirit of God, but by the corrupt spirit of the world; nor have they heavenly, but earthly minds, which cannot receive the things of God. Whoever, therefore, wishes to obtain a sound understanding in spiritual matters, to feel the power of the word of God, and to eat of the hidden manna, ought by all means to conform his life to the word which he reads, and to the life of Christ which is set before him. It is then that the Lord feeds the humble with grace (1 Pet. 5:5), satisfies the meek with his love, and supports the patient with his comfort; rendering his yoke pleasant, and his burden light unto them. For the sweetness of this heavenly manna cannot be tasted except under the yoke of Christ, according to the promise of the Lord: “He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away.” Luke 1:53.
4. “The words that I speak unto you,” saith the Lord, “they are spirit and they are life.” John 6:63. Whence it follows, that a carnal and voluptuous man, who has no spiritual understanding or taste, cannot possibly perceive or relish the words of Christ. These must be apprehended in spirit, and in an inward tranquillity of mind, attended with great humility and fervent desires after God. In this order, the Word of God must be received and digested, if ever it is to afford a vital nourishment to the soul; which, if it be neglected, then truly the Word is no more than an empty sound, and an external letter. As a man that hears the sound of a harp, and understands not its melody, receives no pleasure from it; so no man can perceive the virtue hidden in the Word, unless he endeavor to express it in his life, and thoroughly to conform himself to it in his spirit.