Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
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A23773
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The whole duty of divine meditation described in all its various parts and branches : with meditations on several places of scripture / by the author of The whole duty of man.
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Allestree, Richard, 1619-1681.
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1694
(1694)
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Wing A1168A; ESTC R43055
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62,234
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194
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Profession only but our daily Practises too that must proclaim us Heralds of this Faith V. ALTHOUGH our Merits can never reach Heaven yet our pious Endeavours may if they are sincere because there is a Mercy hangs over our Heads that will pardon our Deficiency All the Blossoms and Buds of our Piety spring forth from this Stem and he that either believes or loves his Saviour that died for him cannot imagine he is too much industrious to live well This was the Female Sex's Faith here and she had scarce effus'd it out with floods of Tears when the Infernal Fiend in a Consternation forsakes his hold unable to endure the Eccho of that Sound which was repeated by the diviner Accent of our Redeemer's Lips and this Faith must be a Preservative against Sin and by its diviner Charms chase Satan to his Chains of Darkness 'T is this that prepares Heaven for us that makes us survive our Monuments become Immortal in our Graves and promises Eternity to our Dust and Ashes 'T is this that consummates our Happiness and will safely arrive us where the Blessed Jesus shall receive us into His Glory VI. O MOST Divine Omnipotence Thou sentest Thy Son Christ Jesus to die for us that by Believing in Him we might attain to Everlasting Life He under whom Thou hast put all things in Subjection was pleas'd to condescend to level Himself with them and dethron'd Himself to undergo a Crucifixion for our Souls that we might receive the Benefits of His Death and Passion and be Partakers of His Glory Oh let not those Miseries of our depraved Nature which petitioned Thy Mercy and Compassion make us uncapable of it Let not those that plead Ignorance of Thee but by Thy Miracles be more ardous in acknowledging Thine abundant Goodness than we who by the Manifestation of Thy Love claim an Interest in Thy precious Blood VII BUT grant O Lord that we may live in a perpetual Thanksgiving to Thy Merits who camest down from the Bosom of Thy Father to purchase and save our Immortal Souls To this end do Thou inspire into us that Faith without which it is impossible we should please Thee and with which Thou annexes all other Graces Teach us so to rely on Thy Mercies that we may not neglect the Means or imagine that a dead Faith will conduct us to that Life which Thou hast promised to none but them as work out their Salvation with Fear and Trembling MED XVII Of Love and Charity 2 Pet. i. 7. And to brotherly-kindness charity TRUE and Sincere Love is an inseparable Property of a Pious Person No Christian can subsist without Faith and where that Vertue is Charity is not wanting Where the Lustre of Charity is extinguish'd the Heat of Faith must consequently be quenched Thou may'st as well rob the bright Luminary the Sun of his Light as deprive Faith of the Gift of Charity Charity is the External Act of the Internal Life of a Christian. The Body is dead without the Spirit and Faith is dead without Charity Jam. 2. 26. He is not a Member of Christ that is not inspired with his Spirit and he is not endued with his Holy Spirit that is destitute of the Gift of Charity II. THIS Theological Vertue is the fruit of the Spirit Gal. 5. 22. And by the Goodness of the Fruit the Tree is demonstrated Charity is the bond of Christian perfection saith the Apostle Col. 3. 14. As the Bodily Members are united together by the Spirit so the true Members of the Mystical Body are united by the Holy Spirit in the Bond of Charity Solomon's Temple was all covered with Gold within and without 1 King 6. 21. So our Bodies and Souls which are the Almighty's Spiritual Temples ought in like manner both within and without to be beautified with Love and Charity Let this regent Vertue exercise its Efficacy in moving thy Heart to Compassion and thy Hand to Contribution For one without the other is not effectual III. FAITH receiveth all from God the Fountain of all Goodness and from that Stream Charity as a Channel conveys it to her Neighbours By Faith we are made Partakers of the Divine Nature who is Love 1 Joh. 4. 8. Therefore where Charity manifesteth not Externally Faith Internally doth not inhabit No Man believes in the Lord Jesus which doth not express Affections of Love to Him and none can fulsil that New Commandment except he loves his Neighbour None can really apprehend the Benefits of Christ with a Heart unfeigned which has not Bowels of Compassion to the distressed IV. CHARITY is the Seminary of all Vertues and nothing can be of good growth which proceeds not from that Root And this Vertue truly delineated is the Soul 's Spiritual Relish for unto it alone are all things dulcified all Adversity Pain Anguish Trouble nay even Death it self And And the Wise Man confirms this That Love is as strong as Death Cant. 8. 6. And indeed I think I may invert the Wise Man's Text and with Assurance proclaim That Love is stronger than Death For Love brought down a Saviour to die for us Sinners that the Sting of Death might be removed from us He when he had overcome the sharpness of death did open the kingdom of heaven to all believers Oh let us then embrace this Love and die unto Sin daily that we may live unto Righteousness V. ALL the Works of the Most High proceeds from this lovely Attribute even Punishments Denunciations and Judgments The Two great Luminaries and the Constellations of Heaven illuminate not themselves but us wretched Creatures Fire Air Earth and Water were created for our Necessity The Beasts Herbs Plants Trees Birds Fish and Fowls were all for our Use. And as God has been so gracious to give thee Plenty of these Blessings so do thou distribute to thy Neighbours according to their Necessities And this must be done freely with true Amity Affection and Compassion else all our Charity is nothing worth but will prove like sounding Brass or a tinkling Symbal VI. CHARITY is patient 1 Cor. 13. 4. For no Man is easily enraged with those whom he truly affects Charity likewise is bountiful And he who has been so liberal as to resign his Heart to his Friend will without all question not with-hold from him any temporal Enjoyments for the Relief of his Necessity Charity envieth not it thinketh no Evil is not puffed up and behaveth not it self undecently Next she seeketh not those things which are her own neither is she provoked to Anger she imagineth no Mischief nor rejoyceth not in iniquity but she beareth all things believeth hopeth and endureth all things she refuseth not to do unto others as she desires them to perform unto her Tongues and Prophecies shall cease and Arts and Sciences be destroyed but Charity shall never be extinguished VII LET us then study this Lesson of Love and Charity and howsoever thy Friend or Neighbour be qualified towards thee yet remember
THE Whole Duty OF DIVINE MEDITATION Described In all its various Parts and Branches WITH MEDITATIONS ON Several Places of Scripture By the Author of The Whole Duty of Man Psal. cxix 16. I will meditate on thy precepts and have respect unto thy ways London Printed for Iohn Back at the Black-Boy on the Middle of London-Bridge 1694. LICENSED Decemb. 20. 1693. THE PREFACE THE Whole Duty of Prayer having met with so good a Reception in the World I have at the Request and Importunity of some Friends recommended to the Press this remaining Tract bearing the Title of the Whole Duty of Meditation by that Reverend and Worthy Author of the Whole Duty of Man The Subject I need not commend for it carries its Worth along with it and to every Christian will appear both pleasant and profitable For by Meditation the truly Religious may converse with the Almighty and from the Throne of Grace find Help and Comfort in time of Need to those which are Aery and are the Darlings of the World this Gift may procure a well-compos'd Mind For if he who by often looking on a Ring with a Death's Head at last grew sober who knows but by often Meditating their Hearts may be brought into a more serious and heavenly frame The Royal Prophet stiles Meditation the Food of the Soul Psal. 63. 4. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness while I meditate on thee The Heart never willingly fixeth upon Heaven till the Almighty is the Treasure of it for where any Man's Treasure is there will his Heart be also Now it cannot easily meditate but where it doth delight Psal. 119. 97. Love is the Weight of the Soul it readily moves to its beloved Object Mary will not depart from the Sepulchre where Christ had lain before she had made Enquiry where she might see him whom her Soul loved It is the Duty of every good Christian to observe the Prophet David's Rule Psal. 16. 8. to set the Lord always before him that he may be in his fear all the day long There is nothing more unstedfast than the Mind of Man and therefore nothing can so well compose it as True Sanctity which brings such great Advantages that with holy Job it makes the Soul both serious and willing to acquaint it self with God that it may be at peace Iob 22. 21. He is the Rest of the Soul and the more it knows of him the more desirous it is to reside with him that it may know more The more it tasteth of his Favour the more it longeth after his Glory as Moses did Exod. 33. 17 18. What the Philosopher said of all Knowledge is true only of the Knowledge of God that it is Quies Intellectus And therefore our Saviour calleth it Eternal Life Iohn 17. 3. in which alone the Soul doth rest Now one excellent Means of fixing the Heart on God is Meditation whereby the highly Pious summons together all that is within them to bless his Name Psal. 103. Meditation is the Wing of the Soul which carrieth the Affections thereof to Things Above By this with Moses it goeth up to the top of Mount Pisgah to take a Prospect of the Promised Land It is as Clemens Alexandrinus saith of Prayer a Conversing with God And as St. Chrysostome saith of Faith so may we of Meditation it makes God and Christ and Precepts and Promises ours by giving us a fuller Possession of them Hereby we hold fast what we have learned we awaken our Faith inflame our Love strengthen our Hope revive our Desires encrease our Joys in God we furnish our Hearts and fill our Mouths with Materials of Prayer we slacken our Affections from the World we pre-acquaint our selves with those Glories which we yet but hope for and get some knowledge of that Love of Christ which passeth Knowledge The Necessity Excellency and Usefulness of this Christian Duty the Reverend Author of this Tract hath Elegantly described which is therefore worthy Perusal of such as desire to acquaint and furnish themselves with so excellent a part of Christian Skill whereby we may be filled with the Fulness of God and be always able continually to say My Heart is fixed O God my Heart is fixed I will sing and give Praise G. B. Advertisement THere is lately publish'd The Whole Duty of Prayer Containing Devotions for Every Day in the Week and for Several Occasions Ordinary and Extraordinary By the Author of The Whole Duty of Man Necessary for all Families The Third Edition Printed for Iohn Back at the Black-Boy on the Middle of London-Bridge THE Whole Duty OF DIVINE MEDITATION SECT I. What Meditation is FIRST Divine Meditation differs from Occasional by these Examples When you hear the Hour of the Day or Night think with thy self What Thoughts O my God have I had of thee this Hour I am now nearer the silent Grave and know not how soon I may be arrested by the Hand of Death THESE are like Ejaculatory Prayers which tho' they are as Parenthesis in our Worldly Employment yet they signifie more than all the rest of the Business we are employed in but Meditation is of longer Duration than solemn Prayer upon Ordinary Occasions II. SECONDLY It differs from Study For Study consists of those things that are most knotty and difficult and generally such as afford little Spiritual Nourishment but the Subject of Divine Meditation concerns our Eternal Happiness The End of Study is Knowledge but the End of Meditation is Sanctity III. THIRDLY It differs from Contemplation For Contemplation is applicable to the Beatifical Vision where the Angels behold the Face of the Almighty Now Meditation is like Fire kindling and Contemplation the flaming of it when fully kindled The one is like the Spouses Seeking of Christ and the other like her Enjoying of him IV. FOURTHLY To conclude Meditation is a a serious and solemn considering of Heavenly Things to the end we may understand how much it concerns us and that our Hearts thereby may be raised to some holy Affections and Resolutions Now there are Four kinds of Solemn Meditation according to their several Subjects V. FIRST Some Solemn Meditations are upon the hearing of Sermons which is a very useful and necessary Practice amongst Christians and it is better to hear one Sermon and meditate on it than to hear two and meditate of neither Now to prescribe a Method for Meditating on Sermons is neither necessary nor possible since the Methods of Sermons are various therefore the Mediatours are to observe the Method of the Sermon they meditate upon and the Fruits of such Meditations is to work those Truths Advices and Motives c. upon our Affections that are propos'd to us in the Sermon VI. THE Second kind of Solemn Meditation is when upon some Providential Occasion spiritual Distemper or Temptation we retire and pour out our Souls in Prayers Soliloquies c. Which connot but in a very large sence be styled Prayer