pleased to put these things in practice will find his heart will never want matter to meditate upon So much for the Intellectual part of Meditation which is the knotty and difficult part 2. Now I come to that which is the easiest part of Meditation I mean easie to understand but not easie to practice I come to that which is the best part of Meditation the very life and soul of Meditation and that is to help you to get your affections warmed and heated by the things you meditate upon for the work of the understanding is nothing else but to be as a Divine pair of bellows to kindle and inflame the heart and affections the work of the understanding is to chew and prepare matter to help the affections Now then I am to give you some directions and helps for the affectionative part to get your affections warmed and heated so as to stir up piety and devotion in your souls Now for the working upon your affections learned men that write upon this subject propound six common-place-heads as so many ways to raise the affections and to get them so excited as to increase grace and holiness in the soul. 1. You must labour to get a relish and a savour of the things you meditate upon 2. You must complain before God for the want of that relish 3. You must wish you had a supply of what you want of this relish and taste of the things you meditate on 4. You must confess your inability as of your selves to do this 5. You must petition to God for help 6. You must confidently believe God will help you Here are six helps for the affectionative part of Meditation now that you may know the use of these helps I shall crave leave to go over them all by way of instance I have given you an instance concerning the sinfulness of sin I went over nine common-place heads and shewed you how you should enlarge in every particular about the sinfulness of sin now I will proceed further in this instance and shew you how you should make use of these Particulars to get your affections raised and warmed and stirred up to more holiness After that I have traversed all the heads of reason and have considered the description the distribution cause and effects of sin now I come to the work of the affections And here 1. I will labour to get my heart affected with the bitterness of sin I will labour to taste the bitterness of it and to get my heart in a mourning frame and I will thus say to my self Oh my soul is sin so odious to God that no sacrifice but the sacrifice of the blood of God can appease Gods wrath and shall it not be odious to me was sin so displeasing unto God and so defiling to the soul that no bath but a bath of Christs blood can wash away the stain of it and shall I make a mock of that sin that cost the blood of Christ was sin a burden to Christ and shall it not be a burden to me Thus I would reason with my self Did sin make Christ shed drops of blood and shall it not make me shed a few tears Did Christ cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me for our sins I mean for our sins he took upon him and shall I make a sport of sin shall I make a mock of sin Doth David complain That his sins was a burden too heavy for him to bear And doth Paul cry out Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of sin And shall not sin be bitter to me shall not I mourn that I have sinned against so gracious a God so merciful a Redeemer so holy a Sanctifier 2. I would proceed to the second and begin to complain of the hardness of my heart and of my unaffectedness with the sins I am guilty of and I would thus say to my soul Oh my soul how is it that thou canst mourn for any outward loss if thou losest but a child though it may be thou hast half a score if thou losest but one of them thou canst mourn immoderately if thou losest thy wife thy husband any part of thy estate thou canst mourn too much but thou hast not one tear for thy sins how is it Oh my soul that thou shouldest be thus hard-hearted and unaffected with thy sins Is not sin Deicidium is not sin a murdering of God in as much as in us lies is not sin animaecidium that which slays the soul is not sin a dethroning of God a robbing of God an injuring of God how is it then that I am no more affected with my sin how is it that after so many Sermons so many Sacraments so many years being in the School of Christ after so many mercies received from God so many afflictions the Lord hath inflicted upon me yet my heart should be so hard and so flinty and so stony I can easily hate my enemy too too soon which I should not do but Sin that is my greatest enemy I cannot hate that which I should hate most of all I must love my outward enemy but God bids me hate my Sin God doth not bid me love the Devil or the works of the Devil I can hate that which I should love but I cannot hate that which I should hate I cannot hate my Sin 3. I would proceed to stir up my affections to a passionate wish and I would say to my soul thus Oh that my heart were more soft Oh that I could mourn with a godly mourning not with a legal mourning but with a mourning that is out of love to God Oh that I could mourn with repentance unto life with a Gospel-sorrow for all my sins of omission commission my Sacrament-sins my family-sins my Closet-sins the sins of my youth the sins of my riper age for all my unkindness against my God Oh that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I could mourn day and night for my sins and the sins of the times and the sins of the place wherein I live Oh that rivers of tears would run down my eyes because I have sinned against my God! Thus would I wish and passionately express my self that so I might get my heart raised up Oh that the Lord would pour down the spirit of mourning upon me 4. I would make an humble confession of my own inability to mourn and I would say thus O Lord thou knowest it is not in man to direct his own ways it is not in man to guide his own steps I know Oh Lord that I am not able of my self to think a good thought it is easier for me to cleave a rock in pieces than to cleave my rocky heart by my own strength there must be an Almighty power to get my heart to be soft for my heart Oh Lord is harder than the nether milstone and I cannot soften it I would mourn that
case is thy soul now that is on the Sea of this world and then to go to the Ensuring-office you know you have your Ensuring-offices wherein you ensure your Ships at Sea to get your souls ensured by reconciliation with God and by true faith manifested by holiness and righteousness to get your souls assured that they may come safe to the haven of Happiness In a clear bright frosty Winter-night when thou goest out and beholdest the bespangled heaven multitude of bright Stars what a rare thing were it to meditate This glorious bespangled Firmament is but the stable as it were but the out-houses of that Heaven where I am to go it is but the outward Court but the Wash-house as I may say and if the Stable and Out-houses be so glorious Oh what is the inward palace above the spangled Heavens is my Fathers house where I hope to live for ever with God and there my Christ is now interceding for me and by the power of his Spirit shall I be brought one day to that house Oh when will that time come when will my soul mount thorough these Heavens into the heaven of Heavens Now is not this comely for a Christian will not this heavenlize you and spiritualize you And then when you go to bed at night to remember I have one day more to answer for to remember there will a last night come after which there will be no day but the Resurrection of all Remember thy last night thy concluding night the end of thy life But I have been over-long in this a great deal more than I thought but I do it because here I shall put an end to this discourse of occasional meditation There is a second sort of Meditation and that is that that I call set solemn and deliberate when a man sets apart an hour a day it may be sets a part some time and goes into a private Closet or a private Walk and there doth solemnly and deliberately meditate of the things of Heaven Now concerning this meditation I shall handle by Gods assistance these two Particulars 1. I will shew you the nature of it 2. I will shew you the necessity of it 1. The nature of this duty what this meditation is that I would press you to I will describe it in two Particulars 1. This holy meditation is a dwelling and abiding upon things that are holy it is not only a knowing of God and a knowing of Christ but it is a dwelling upon the things we know as the Bee that dwells and abides upon the flower to suck out all the sweetness that is in the flower so to meditate upon God and Christ and the Sacrament it is to dwell upon God and the Sacrament to suck out all the sweetness we can in the things we meditate upon As we read of Anna Luk. 2. 37. She continued in the Temple praying and fasting day and night To meditate is to continue and fix our selves and our hearts upon the things we know this meditation in Scripture is called a holy musing Psal. 39. 3. My heart was hot within me while I was musing to meditate is to muse or else it is to commune with our own hearts Psal. 4. Stand in awe and sin not commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still It is a communing a consulting with our own hearts or if you will it is a bethinking our selves so it is expressed 1 King 8. 47. If they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captive and repent The Hebrew word is if they shall bring back to their hearts if they shall reflect upon themselves for meditation is a reflecting act of the soul whereby the soul is carried back to it self and considers all the things that it knows Meditation is an inward act of the soul a spiritual act whereby the soul doth recoil upon it self and looks back upon it self and considers all the things that concern its everlasting happiness and if I be not mistaken it is rarely typified under the Law two manner of ways 1. By those beasts that did chew the cud you shall read Lev. 11. of the clean beasts and the unclean beasts now the clean beasts were such as did chew the cud of those they were to eat now the unclean beasts were those that did not chew the cud a meditating Christian is one that chews the cud that chews on the Truths of Jesus Christ that doth not only hear good things but when he hath heard them chews them over ruminates upon them that so they may be fitter for digestion and concoction and spiritual improvement an unclean Christian is one that doth not chew the cud that doth not ruminate and ponder and bethink himself of the things of Heaven 2. Another type of this rare grace of Meditation is that of the Beasts Ezek. 1. that Ezekiel saw that had eyes within and without Vers. 18. their wings were full of eyes round about them And so likewise the Beasts Rev 4. 6. Round about the Throne were four beasts full of eyes before and behind A notable and a rare type of Meditation for meditation is nothing else but a looking thoroughly into the things of God a looking before and behind as I may so speak a meditating Christian is a man full of eyes that doth not only know God but sees much of God There is another metaphor to express it Psal. 119 59. I thought on my ways and turned my feet unto thy testimonies The word in the Hebrew is taken from Chapmen that when they buy a commodity they turn it over and over and over again they look all about it into every part of it Meditation is a thorow contemplation and a thorow consideration of the things of God a meditating Christian is full of eyes full of heavenly understanding 2. It is an act of the heart as well as of the head it is not only a speculative knowledg of things Divine but a practical knowledg it is not only an act of the intellect and understanding but of the will and affections it is an affective grace as well as an intellective grace and therefore it is said of the Blessed Virgin Mary She pondered all these sayings in her heart she did not only think of them with her head but she pondered on them with her heart and you shall read Deut. 4. 39. Know therefore this day and consider it in thy heart A true meditation is when a man doth so meditate of Christ as to get his heart inflamed with the love of Christ so meditate of the Truths of God as to be transformed into them and so meditate of sin as to get his heart to hate sin when it is such a musing of God as kindles a fire in the whole soul as David doth express it Psal. 39. 3. While I was musing the fire burnt When a man doth so contemplate on God that his heart is all on fire with the love of God
Souldiers Generals and Captains 5 4. Learned Men. Ib. 5. Women Ib. There be two sorts of Meditation of heavenly things 1. Sudden short occasional 6 2. Solemn set deliberate Ibid. 1. Of Occasional Meditation three Things viz. the Excellency Examples and Practise Ibid. 1. The Excellency of occasional extemporary sudden and ejaculatory Meditation from Scripture and humane Testimony 7 8 2. The Examples from Scripture and humane Testimony 9 3. Motives to perswade to the Practise of it viz. 13 1. It may be performed at all times Ibid. 2. Practic'd in all places and companies 14 3 It is easie to spiritualized ones Ibid. 4. 'T is the excellency of a Christian to spiritualize natural things herein exceeding a Bruit 15 All wicked men Ibid. 5. 'T is the greatest affront we can give to God not to make a spiritual use of his creatures 17 6. 'T is a Soul-destroying sin not to observe the Works of God and make a good use of them 18 II. Of Solemn Meditation the Nature and Necessity 22 1. The Nature of solemn Meditation in two particulars 23 1. 'T is a dwelling and abiding upon things that are Holy being typified two ways By the Beast That did chew the cud 24 That had eyes within and without 25 2. 'T is an act of the heart as well as the head Ib. It must enter into the door of the understanding heart and conversation 28 2. The Necessity of it evinc'd from the Mischiefs of neglecting this Duty 29 Advantage of practising this Duty 29 1. The mischiefs and inconveniencies of neglecting this duty It is the cause of sin and punishment 30 1. The want of practising this Duty causeth sin As particularly Ibid. 1. 'T is the reason of hard-heartedness Ibid. 2. Unprofitableness of hearing Sermons 31 3. Not relishing of sweetest promises 33 4. No impression from threatnings 34 5. No bettering by mercies Ibid. 6. No amending by afflictions 36 7. No heart softning by Providences Ib. 8. Reason of distrustfulness of Gods Providence 37 9. Censoriousness of others not of our selves Ibid. 10. Offering the sacrifices of fools in worship 38 2. The want of practising this duty causeth punishment 40 2. The advantages and benefits by a conscientious practise of this duty in begetting and increasing of grace and arming against temptations 42 1. 'T is a mighty help to the begetting and working of grace in 9 particulars Ibid. 1. To work repentance and reformation of life 43. to 55. 2. A love to God 43. to 55. 3. A fear of God 43. to 55. 4. A love to Jesus Christ. 43. to 55. 5. Faith and trust in God 43. to 55. 1. In his Providence in all outward streights 2. Promises in all spiritual troubles 6. A contempt of the world and worldly things 43. to 55. 7. Thankfulness for mercies and blessings 43. to 55. 8. A Preference of Gods house to our own 43. to 55. 9. A Keeping of all Gods Commandments 43. to 55. 2. 'T is helpful to preserve and increase grace 55 3. 'T is helpful to arm and defend against all the temptations of the Devil 56 The Application of this Doctrine concerning this necessary duty of Meditation may be for 1. The Reproof of those Christians that are utterly unaccustomed to and unacquainted with this duty and these are of four sorts viz. 1. The ignorant Christian that knows not how to set about the work 58. 2. Forgetful Christian that remembers not God 61 3. Rash-headed Christian that acts without consideration where are four evils viz. 63 1. Such is a spiritual fool in offering sacrifices to God 64 2 Often speaks that he 'l wish he had not 65 3. Quickly runs into error and by-paths 66 4 Will never persevere and hold out to the end 67 4. A slight-headed Christian that cannot dwell long upon any thing which argues a slight Christian. 68 Q. Are then all who have slight heads Hypocrites Ibid. A. There is a double slightness of head viz. 69 1. That which is a natural disease when a child of God of a weak head cannot think long of any thing at all Ibid. 2. That which is sinful when a man can be serious and dwell long upon the things of the world not on the things of heaven this is reprov'd Ibid. 2. The Reproof of those who meditate upon things that are evil and wicked 70 1. Such as design and do evil 2. Such as delight in the evil they have done 71 3. An Exhortation to all to accustom themselves to the duty of meditation viz. To 1. Ministers 2. Nobles 3. Souldiers 4. Young Gentlemen 5. Merchants 6. Women In speaking to this Exhortation six particulars proposed viz. 1. Place 2. Time 3. Properties 4. Companions 5. Materials 6. Helps 72 73 74 1. Concerning the Place to chuse one convenient which is freest from distractions 76 2. Time which proves seasonable in due circumstances Here four Rules are suggested 81 1. It behoves all not hindred to endeavour the setting apart of some time every day morning afternoon or night 82 2. To set a sufficient proportion of time a-part every day 84 3. The Sabbath-day especially all should busie themselves in this duty 86 4. A Sacrament-day more especially 87 Here 12 Things suggested as instances of Sacramental Meditation viz. 88 1. The great and wonderful love of God the Father in the giving of Christ. Ibid. 2. Love of Christ in giving himself 89 3. Hainousness of sin 90 4. Excellency of the Sacramental feast Ibid. 5. Our own unworthiness 91 6. Our spiritual wants and necessities Ibid. 7. The cursed condition of an unworthy receiver Ib. 8. The happy condition of those that come worthily 92 9. The Sacramental Elements of Bread and Wine Ib. 10. The Sacramental Actions 93 11. Sacramental Promises Ib. 12. What retribution to make to Christ. 94 3. Properties ingredients and qualities of Meditation viz. 1. Divine Meditation must be often Because 96 1. We shall know more of the best things 97 2. Have more near and intimate acquaintance with them 99 3. Heavenly Duties will become more easie to us 2. It must be solemn and serious not only formal 101 102 3. Not only notional and speculative but practical and reflective It must be in the understanding heart and affections yea and the conversation 105 4. It must be particular and applicative 108 5. It must be calm and quiet 110 6. It must be persevering 112 There be four Arguments to persevere Viz. From the 1. Necessity 2. Excellency of it 113 3. Mischiefs by not practising of it Ibid. 4. Easiness attainable by persevering in it 116 4. Companions of Meditation which are two 117 1. Praying must be joined with Meditation ibid. 2. Reading will do well to accompany in weak Christians with two Cautions viz. 118 1. Not to read much lest it hinder 120 2. Not to read at the Sacrament ibid. 5. Materials of Meditation 121 The four last things Death Iudgment Heaven Hell 1. Death 1. The certainty 2.
when a man doth so think on the Sacrament that his heart is all on a fire with a holy thirsting after the Sacrament When the heart is affected with the meditation of the head and therefore David saith Psal. 104. 34. My meditation of him shall be sweet this is the true meditation when we do so meditate of God as to taste a sweetness in God when meditation doth not rest in the intellectual part but flows into the will and affection that the heart is all inflamed with the things we meditate on There are many great Scholars that meditate much of God and Christ and Heaven and yet they are never the holier for their meditation and the reason is because they meditate on these things meerly to find out curious notions of God and Christ and Heaven but they do not meditate on these things to get their hearts affected to get Heavenly and Divine hearts and therefore you shall see many Scholars as undevout and as unholy as other people though they know more and meditate more And I have found it by experience that there are many poor lay-people that get more good by meditation than great Scholars for the great Scholar his meditation many times vanisheth into empty speculations and into notions and opinions but the honest godly man his meditation is all for practice he meditates of sin to hate it of the Sacrament to hunger after it of God to love him of Christ to be inflamed with a desire after him And therefore he gets the more good many times by meditation The Butterflie will dwell upon the flower as well as the Bee but the Butterflie only sucks the flower that she may paint her wings with it she is not useful to make honey she doth not suck honey from the flower so there are many Scholars many men that meditate much of the things of God to paint their wings that is to get more knowledg of God and Heaven and more curious expressions of Heaven but it is the honest Christian the plain-hearted Christian that meditates of God like the Bee to suck out the sweetness of God that meditates on Christ so as to get his heart burning in love to Christ this is the rare grace of meditation Meditation must enter into three doors or else it will never do you any good 1. It must get into the door of the understanding and there it is seated there is the proper place of meditation but if it rest there thou art never the better for it 2. It must get into the door of thy heart and of thy affections and thou must never leave meditating till it get into that door likewise 3. The door of thy conversation for thy meditation must not rest in the affections but it must likewise have influence into thy conversation to make thy conversation more holy thou must so meditate of God as to walk as God walks and so to meditate of Christ as to prize him and live in obedience to him A nurse that hath a nurse-child will cut the meat and will many times chew the meat for the child but she will not eat the meat but give it to the child for if she should chew the meat and eat it up her self the child might starve for all her chewing of it and preparing of it so it is with the grace of meditation Meditation while it is in the understanding chews upon the things of God and of Christ and of Heaven but when the understanding hath chewed these things it must not devour all these things it self but it must convey the meat it hath chewed as the meat is conveyed from the stomack into the liver and then into the heart and then into all the other parts of the body into the heart and into the will and into the affections and into the conversation This is the first the admirable nature of this grace 2. I come to shew you the necessity of it and I do this the rather that I might provoke you all to the practice of it for I am very confident there are few people that do practise this duty of meditation there are few that know how to practise it but there are very few that make conscience to practise it even you that make conscience to praying twice a day in your family seldom make conscience once a day of meditation nay once a week And therefore that I might awaken my self and you give me leave to shew you the great necessity of practising the duty of meditation and I will shew it two manner of ways 1. By considering the mischief that flows from the want of practising this duty 2. By shewing you the advantage and spiritual benefit that you will gain by practising this duty 1. I shall shew you the woful inconveniences and the intolerable mischiefs that come from the want of practising this duty of meditation I will bring them to two heads 1. I will shew you that the want of practising this duty is the cause of all sin 2. It is the cause of all punishment 1. I will shew you that the want of practising this duty is the cause of all sin and I will instance in particulars 1. The reason why people harden their hearts in sin and do not repent of their sins but go on obstinately is for want of meditation Ier. 8. 6. I hearkened and heard but they spake not aright no man repented him of his wickedness saying what have I done They did not repent because they did not reflect upon what they did they did not bethink themselves so the phrase is If any man bethink himself and repent 1 King 8. 47. they did not say I am undone by what I have done I have lost God and Heaven by what I have done and if I do not repent I am an undone creature for ever No man repented of his wickedness because no man considered what he had done for did you consider the evil that is in sin did you dwell and abide upon it did you commune with your own hearts and seriously consider what an evil and bitter thing it is to sin against God you durst not willingly sin against God but the reason why men go on rashly heedlesly obstinately in sin is for want of the meditation of the evil of sin 2. The reason why all the Sermons we hear do us no more good is for want of Divine meditation for it is with Sermons as it is with meat it is not the having of meat upon your table will feed you but you must eat it and not only eat it but concoct it and digest it or else your meat will do you no good So it is with Sermons it is not the hearing Sermons will do you good but it is the concocting them digesting them by meditation the pondering in your hearts what you hear must do you good And one Sermon well digested well meditated upon is better than twenty Sermons without meditation As for example a
not so much to have the wrath of God upon us as not to lay it to heart it is a sign of the greatest fury of God for a man to be given over to slightness of spirit when he is under the judgments of God not to regard and lay them to heart And thus I have been somewhat long in setting out unto you the mischiefs that flow from the want of the practise of the grace of Meditation and I do this to provoke you all to be humbled before God for the not practising this duty for I am confident your consciences will tell you that you do not practise it and to convince you of the necessity of the practising of this duty which is quite dead and buried in the world That I may be Gods instrument to stir you up to a conscientious practise of this duty of Heavenly meditation 2. I shall shew you the necessity of it from the benefits and advantages that will come unto Christians by the conscientious practise of this duty and this I will shew in three Particulars 1. It is a mighty help to the working and procuring of all grace 2. It is a mighty help to preserve and increase grace 3. It is a mighty help to arm us against the Devil and all his temptations 1. Meditation when it is sanctified is a mighty help to the begetting of all grace this I will shew in divers Particulars 1. It is a mighty help to work in us repentance and reformation of life and therefore David saith Psal. 119. 59. I thought on my ways and turned my feet unto thy testimonies I thought on my ways that is I considered the evil of my ways and what a bitter thing it is to sin against God what a dishonour I have brought upon God by my evil ways and what a scandal I have brought upon Religion Ezek. 36. 31. Then shall you remember your own evil ways and your doings that were not good and shall loath your selves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations A conscientious meditation of the evil of sin is a Divine hammer to break your hearts for sin and from sin for did you consider the Majesty of God that is offended by the least sin did you consider the infinite wrath of God against sin did you consider the affronts that are offered to God by sin that every sin is a dethroning of God a robbing of God a striking through the name of God did you consider the pollution that is in sin that sin makes you like the Devil did you further consider the mischief that sin brings upon us sin deprives you of the Beatifical vision sin shuts you out of heaven sin binds you over to everlasting burnings Again did you consider the patience of God and the goodness of God towards you yet notwithstanding all your sins and what an unkind thing it is to sin against so good a God and did you further consider what Christ hath done to purchase pardon for your sins and how Christ hath shed his blood for such wicked wretches as you are did you sanctifiedly meditate upon these things it would mightily provoke you to repent of your sins and to turn unto God And therefore you shall read concerning Peter after he had denied Christ Mark 14. 72. The cock crew and Peter called to mind the word Iesus said unto him Before the cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice and when he thought thereon he wept The meaning of the Greek word is When he weighed the speech of Christ when he thought what an unkind thing it was to deny his dear Lord and Master this made him weep if he had not meditated of the evil that he had committed he had never wept And what made the Prodigal child return home to his father you shall see the reason Luk. 15. 17. And when he came to himself he said How many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare and I perish with hunger When he came to consider with himself the misery that he had brought upon himself and that there were many servants in his fathers house that had bread enough I will arise saith he and go to my father and I will say Father I have sinned against heaven all this was but his meditation he did but thus think in his heart to do this and he arose and came to his Father 2. Divine meditation is a mighty help to beget in us a love to God for as it is with a picture that hath a curtain drawn over it though the picture be never so beautiful you cannot see the beauty of it till the curtain be drawn aside to an unconsiderating an unmeditating Christian God is as a picture with a curtain drawn over it he cannot see the beauty of God but meditation draws the curtain and lets us in to behold all the beauty that is in God and he that beholds the beauty of God cannot but love God As it is said of Socrates he was so good a man that all that knew him loved him and if any man did not love him it was because they did not know him much more may I say of God All that meditate in and study God cannot but love him And the reason why you do not love him is because you do not study and meditate on God as it is said 1 Ioh. 4. 8. He that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love he that knoweth God loveth God What is the reason the Saints in heaven love God so perfectly because they always behold his face they see him they think on him And did you meditate upon the excellency of God that God is altogether lovely that all Excellencies are after an infinite manner concentered in God that there is nothing lovely in the Creature but it is to be found infinitely in the Creator Did you further consider all the good things that God hath done for you all the blessings and mercies that you have received from God did you not only think but did you dwell upon these thoughts did you sit at this fire it would kindle a mighty flame of Divine love in your souls therefore David saith Psal. 39. 3. My heart was hot within me while I was musing the fire burned Psal. 104. 34. My meditation of him shall be sweet Did you meditate much of God you would taste a sweetness in God that would be as a Loadstone to draw your hearts to the love of God 3. Divine meditation is a mighty help to work in us a fear of God the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom now did you study the Majesty of God that God hath all men all the Devils in a chain and that God only can do us hurt and that no man can do us hurt but God must give him leave Did you study the Omnipotency of God you would fear God and fear him only as it is Isa. 51. 12 13. I even I am he that
comforteth you who art thou that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die and the son of man that shall be made as grass and forgettest the Lord thy maker that hath stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth As if he should say If thou didst remember and think on the Lord thy God who made the Heavens and the Earth and hath all things in his hand Thou wouldest not fear a man that shall die c. Jer. 10. 6 7. first the Prophet breaks out into an admiration of God Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee O Lord thou art great and thy name is great in might who would not fear thee O King of Nations for to thee doth it appertain forasmuch as among all the wise men of the Nations and in all their Kingdoms there is none like unto thee The meditation of God stirs up the Prophet to fear God Ier. 5. 22. Fear ye not me saith the Lord will you not tremble at my presence which hath placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree that it cannot pass though the waves thereof toss themselves yet can they not prevail though they roar yet cannot they pass over it Did we meditate much upon the power of God we would fear him and stand in awe of him 4. This Divine meditation is a mighty help to beget in us a love to Iesus Christ for Jesus Christ is a fountain sealed a spring shut up a garden inclosed Now you know no man is the better for a book sealed up or a treasure lockt up to a careless Christian Christ is a fountain sealed a treasure lockt up but meditation is the key that unlocks the treasury of all the Excellencies of Christ and opens the book to let us read all the Excellencies that are in Christ. Meditation doth as it were open the fountain and did we study what Christ is that he is the choicest of ten thousand altogether excellent the brightness of his Fathers glory and the express image of his Person and did we study the love of Christ to poor sinners the height the depth the length the breadth of the love of God toward us did we study how Christ became poor to make us rich how he became a curse to free us from the curse how he was made sin that we might be made the righteousness of God thorough him did we bury our selves in this meditation did you take half an hour in a day to meditate on the Excellency of Christ did you when you walk in the fields meditate on the love of Christ I am confident it would beget in you a love to Christ. 5. Divine meditation is a mighty help to inable us to believe and trust in God To trust 1. In his Providence in all outward streights 2. In his Promises in all spiritual troubles 1. It will help you to trust in his Providence when you are in any streights when all creature-helps fail and you are ready to sink then meditation will raise your faith and help you to trust in Gods Providence for outward provision Mat. 6. 25 c. I say unto you saith Christ take no thought for your life what you shall eat or what ye shall drink nor yet for your body what you shall put on be not solicitous for your outward provision But how doth Christ argue what way should we take that we may not distrust God saith he Meditate upon the fowls of the air behold the fowls of the air for they sow not v. 28. Why take you thought for raiment consider the lillies of the field how they grow they toil not neither do they spin and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these The meditation of the lillies and the fowls of the air is a means to help us to trust in the Lord in the day of our streights 2. It will enable you to relye upon the promises for the good of your souls Did you when you read the promises of the Bible chew them how sweet would they be the reason why the Promises are not sweet to you is because you read them but you do not chew them by meditating upon them if you did meditate upon them they would be sweeter than the honey and the honey-comb especially if you did join application with meditation Abraham was the Father of the Faithful and he was strong in faith and what made him strong in faith because he considered not his own body now dead neither the deadness of Sarah's womb but he considered the promise of God Rom. 4. 19. And the reason why the Saints of God are so void of comfort and hang down their heads and walk so disconsolately is because they consider the deadness of their own souls they consider their imperfections but they do not meditate upon the promises the freeness and the riches of them Mat. 16. 8. Which when Iesus perceived he said to them Oh ye of little faith why reason ye among your selves because you have brought no bread Here Christ reproves them for want of faith but how came they to want faith Do you not understand neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets ye took up and do ye not remember the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many baskets you took up As if Christ should have said If you had meditated on my former miracles you would never have doubted this miracle but because you do not remember what I have formerly done therefore it is that you are so full of unbelief Now the way to fill your souls with comfort is to meditate upon the Promises of God 6. Divine meditation is a mighty help to beget in us a contempt of the world and all worldly things for the world is like unto gilded copper it is an easie matter for a man to mistake gilded copper for true gold unless he considers what he takes for if a man take gold without consideration he may quickly be cozened there is a glittering excellency in the world the wealth and riches of it are glorious things to a carnal eye but meditation of the world will wash away all the paint that is upon the world the studying the vanity of the world the nothingness of all earthly things the unsatisfiableness of them and the perishing nature of them this will take away the glittering excellency that seems to be in the world and certainly you would never be so covetous and so worldly and dote so much upon the world did you meditate upon the vanity of it as you should do this is the course Solomon takes the book of Eccles is called The Book of the Preacher and the subject of it is to wean us from the love of the world But what course doth Solomon take Eccles. 1. 3. I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things done under
heaven His course was to consider all the Creatures that were under the Heaven I have seen saith he all the works that are done under the Sun and behold all is but vanity and vexation of spirit After he had meditated upon the world he goes over the riches and the pleasures of the world and when he had reckoned them all he concludes in Chap. 2. 11. Then I looked on all the works my hand had wrought and on the labour that I had laboured to do and behold all was vanity and vexation of spirit I gathered me silver and gold and the peculiar treasure of Kings and of the Provinces I got me men-singers and women-singers and the delights of the sons of men as musical instruments and that of all sorts so I was great and increased more than all before me in Ierusalem also my wisdom remained with me and whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them And when he had looked upon all these glorious Excellencies what was his Conclusion Behold saith he all was vanity and vexation of spirit and there was no profit under the Sun Did we meditate much on the vanity of the world we would not idolize it so much 7. Divine Meditation is a mighty help to beget in us the grace of thankefulness for the mercies and blessings we receive from God Certainly it is a great duty that lyes upon us to be thankful for Gods mercies now there is no way to stir you up to thankefulness so much as meditation upon the mercies of God for he that forgets the mercies of God cannot be thankful for them and therefore mark the course that David takes Psal. 8. 3. When I consider the heavens the work of thy fingers the Moon the Stars which thou hast ordained then he crys out What is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou visitest him for thou hast made him a little lower than the angels When he considered what God had done for man then he admires the love of God to man and breaks out into thankfulness Certainly a Christian forgetful of Gods mercies can never be thankful for them and the way to beget thankefulness is to meditate on what God hath done for us 8. Divine Meditation is a mighty help to beget in you a preferring of Gods house before your own house It is the great sin of this age wherein we live that every man studies to build his own house and no man cares for the house of the Lord We may truly say as Ieremiah saith This is Sion whom no man regards every man seeks his own interest and no man almost cares what becomes of Religion There is a strange kind of lukewarmness that is upon the spirits of all men in this age that so men may grow great themselves they care not what becomes of the House of God Now Divine Meditation would make you prefer the building of Gods House before the building of your own house And for this purpose let me beseech you to read Hag. 1. 4. Is it time for you Oh ye to dwell in your cieled houses and this house lye waste It was the sin of the people of Israel that they neglected the building of Gods House and every man strove to grow rich in his own particular Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts consider your ways here the Prophet calleth them to consideration ye have sown much but bring in little ye eat but you have not enough ye drink but ye are not filled with drink ye clothe you but there is none warm And he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes What was the matter because they did not build Gods House therefore God did not build their house v. 7. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts consider your ways ye looked for much but lo it came to little and when you brought it home I did blow upon it why saith the Lord of Hosts because of my house that is waste and ye run every man into his own house therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew and the earth is stayed from her fruit God will never settle England God will never settle your houses till you make conscience to build Gods House and till you have more zeal for the House of God than for your own houses though you may dream of peace and plenty yet certainly the Lord will never build your houses until you build Gods House And therefore he saith further Hag. 2. 17. I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands yet ye turned not to me saith the Lord. Consider now from this day and upward from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month even from the day that the foundation of the Lords Temple was laid consider it from this day will I bless you And certainly the world is much mistaken the way to build your own house is to join together to settle Religion God will never prosper you till Gods House be setled And did you meditate on these two Chapters the first and second Chapter of Haggai it would by Gods grace beget in you a mighty zeal toward the setling of the House of God and to prefer that before the setling of your own house 9. Divine Meditation will beget in us a keeping of all the commandments of God There is no Commandment of God but Divine Meditation when it is sanctified I do not say otherwise will work in us and inable us to keep Deut. 4. 39 40. Know therefore this day and consider it in thy heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath there is none else thou shalt keep therefore his statutes and his commandments And David saith Psal. 119. 55. I have remembred thy name Oh Lord in the night and have kept thy Law 2. Divine Meditation is not only a means to beget grace but it is a mighty help to preserve and increase grace As the wood preserves the fire as the oil preserves the flame as the water preserves the fish so doth meditation preserve your graces It preserves every grace and it increaseth every grace for Meditation is a Divine pair of bellows to blow up the sparks of grace when there is but a little fire meditation will kindle this fire more and increase it when you find your love of God grows cold meditate upon the love of God and this will kindle the love of God in your hearts and when you find the fear of God to diminish in you meditate upon the power of God that thy breath is in his hand that he hath thee in his hand this will increase the fear of God and so when the love of the world increaseth upon you meditate upon the vanity and nothingness of it and this will decrease the love of the world 3. Divine Meditation as it is a means to beget grace and to increase grace so it is
practise of this duty be not always like Martha troubled with this and that business but remember Maries choice who chose the better part in attending upon Christ's Ministry I would have all rich men every day think of that Text Luk. 12. 20. Thou fool this night shall thy soul be taken from thee and what then will become of all thy possessions I confess God doth not require this at the hand of the daily labourer or at the hands of servants that are not masters of their own time and those that are very poor and are not able to set time apart for Meditation But you may remember I gave you a distinction between Ejaculatory Meditation and solemn Meditation a poor man when he is at his work may have a short Ejaculatory Meditation though he hath not time for this set and solemn meditation when he is at his work he may meditate upon the Promises and of Heaven and of Hell and of Death and Iudgment and the vanity of the world I have heard of a godly man was wont to say I thank God I can be in heaven in the midst of the croud of Cheapside I can meditate on the Rest I shall have in the other world 3. The third Direction is this The Sabbath-day especially is a day wherein all sorts of people are to busie themselves in this excellent work of Divine Meditation this is a day wherein the labourer ceaseth from his work the Plowmans yoke is taken off and the labouring-man and the serving man have their rest therefore it concerns all of us to spend some time every Sabbath-day in Meditation to meditate of the work of Creation or Redemption for the Lords-day is so called because Christ rose on that day and Christ set apart that day in memory of his Resurrection in memory of his Redemption therefore this is thy work Oh Christian not only to come to the publick Ordinances not only to pray in thy family but to set some time apart for Divine Meditation and the Lord forgive us this sin that we have omitted this duty so long Oh that I could be Gods instrument that there might be a resurrection of it that you would make conscience of it every Sabbath-day as you make conscience of attending upon publick and private duties so you would put this as one of your Sabbath-day duties for it is the very Quintessence the life and soul of all duty the Sabbath-day is a type of the eternal Sabbath which we shall keep for ever in Heaven and shall not I think of my eternal Sabbath upon the Sabbath shall not I be much in Heaven when I am keeping a rest upon earth that represents my eternal rest in Heaven let us upon our day of rest meditate much upon our eternal rest Oh let us upon our Sabbath-day meditate upon the everlasting Sabbath which we shall keep with God Almighty the Father Son and Holy Ghost for ever in Heaven 4. And last Direction is this That Sacrament-days are especially to be meditating-days to be set apart for this great work of Divine Meditation it is the great end why Christ hath appointed the Sacrament to shew forth the Lords-death till he come and saith Christ Do this in remembrance of me There are two things make us worthy receivers of the Sacrament Preparation before we come and Meditation when we are come and though thy Preparation be never so serious yet if thou dost not act aright in thy Meditation as well as thou hast done in thy Preparation thou maist lose the benefit of the Sacrament Now if any should ask me What are those things you would have us to meditate of when we are come unto the Sacrament or when we are at the Sacrament There are twelve Meditations which ought to take up our Sacramental-time which I call twelve common-place-heads I do not say we can meditate upon all of them at one Sacrament but my design is to give you matter sufficient that you may sometimes meditate of one sometimes of another I will but name them 1. You must meditate of the great and wonderful love of God the Father in giving Christ not only to die for us upon the Cross but in giving him to be our food at the Sacrament there was nothing moved God to give Christ but pure love and great love For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son So how so infinitely so inexpressibly the love of God in bestowing Christ is so great that the Angels desire to look into it And you that are not affected with this love I fear you have little share in it That is enough to take up one Sacrament 2. You are to meditate at the Sacrament not only of the love of the Father in giving of his Son but of the love of Christ in giving himself Ephes. 5. 2. Who loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour As God gave Christ so Christ gave himself as God gave himself as man the Godhead infused this will into the Manhood that Christ willingly laid down his life Ioh. 10. 17 18. Therefore doth my Father love me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again no man taketh it from me but I lay it down of my self I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it up this commandment have I received of my Father Now the love of Christ in giving himself to be a curse for us is a love that passeth knowledg yet it is a love that we must study to know It is a riddle but such a riddle as the Apostle himself doth in so many express words declare unto us Ephes. 3. 19. That we may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and heigth and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledg Great is the love of Christ which passeth knowledg great is the love of Christ in dying for us and being made sin for us and being made a curse for us 3. We must meditate of the heinousness of sin when we were all fallen in Adam we were ingulphed into such a bottomless abyss of misery that none but the blood of a God could deliver us for there was an infinite breach by sin between God and us and this breach could never be made up but by the blood of God That is a rare meditation at the Sacrament to meditate of the heinousness of sin when you see the bread broken it was sin that caused Christs body to be broken and when you see the wine poured out it was sin caused Christs blood to be poured out it was sin that caused Christ to suffer so much 4. You must meditate of the excellency of this Sacramental feast for the Sacrament is a commemorative Sacrifice it is a commemoration of that blessed Sacrifice that was offered on the Cross for our sins and it is an obsignation
the life of Christ and so to meditate of God as to obey the Commands of God And unless your Meditation get into these three doors it is of no use the understanding to the heart and affections is like the nurse to the child you know the office of the nurse is to prepare meat for the child to chew and cut it that the child may eat it so the work of the understanding is to prepare Divine Truths for the heart and affections that the heart may close with them and eat and digest them but if the nurse should eat the meat she chews and give nothing to the child the child may starve for all the nurse so though the understanding doth chew never such glorious Truths if it doth not convey them to the heart and affections it is of no use there is many a man spends his time in Meditation as a Butterflye feeds upon the flower sucks the flower not to be fruitful and useful but meerly to paint her wings so he studies and ponders of Divine things meerly to paint his wings to get curious language of God and Christ and curious notions of sin and the promises but because he doth not convey them into his heart and affections he is never the holier never the better for his Meditation but true Meditation is this when we so meditate of Christ as to find vertue coming out of Christ to cure the bloody issue of our sins to meditate of him so as to be transformed into him when we so meditate of God as to love God and desire after God and rejoice in God and live according to the Commands of God when we so meditate of sin as to hate and abhor it and turn from it so meditate of the promises as to close with them when by frequent musing of God there is a holy fire of Divine love kindled towards God as it is in Psal. 104. 34. My meditation of him shall be sweet When we so meditate on God as it gets into our affections to sweeten the thoughts of God unto our souls then the meditation of God is sweet this is the reason why many times an honest plain-hearted Christian finds more benefit by the practise of this Divine Meditation than a great Scholar for a great Scholar will meditate to find out some glorious expressions some curious notions As a man that reads a book meerly for the fine language and a man that hears a Sermon meerly to feast his ears because of the eloquence of the Sermon and goes home never the holier never the better but now the honest plain-hearted Christian meditates of the things of Heaven that he may be made the more heavenly he meditates of God that he may love and fear him more he meditates of Christ that he may prize him more he meditates of sin that he may hate it more and of the Promises that he may love them more though he cannot find out these curious notions that a Scholar doth yet his heart is more affected many times than the heart of a greater Scholar if he be not godly Divine Meditation is of no use unless it be practical and affectionative 4. Property is this Divine Meditation must be particular and applicative for generals will not work at all the Philosopher saith that fire in general doth not burn it is this fire that burns a sword in general doth not cut it is this sword cuts so confused meditation of heaven God and Christ will do you little good but if ever you would get good by the practise of meditation you must come down to particulars and you must so meditate of Christ as to apply Christ to thy soul and so meditate of Heaven as to apply Heaven to thy soul this is mine this is my portion Christ is my portion he is Iehovah my righteousness Nam quid est Deus si non est meus What am I the better for Heaven or for Christ if they be not mine what comfort can I have to meditate of Christ if I have no interest in him if I cannot apply him what comfort can I have to meditate of Heaven if I have no right to Heaven I meditate of a place that doth not belong to me Therefore the greatest part of Meditation is Application you must apply the things you meditate of to your own particular and that man that in his meditation of Christ can say with Thomas My God and my Lord is of all men the happiest blessed is that man that can say my God and my Lord. There are four things that work mightily upon the heart Necessity and Excellency Propriety and Perpetuity the heart is much taken with things that are excellent especially when they are necessary especially if I have a propriety in them and this propriety be perpetual and thrice happy is that man that can say all these four concerning God and Christ that when he meditates of the excellency of God and Christ and Heaven and the necessity of enjoying them when he can add a propriety all these are mine God is my God Christ is my righteousness and Heaven is my inheritance and my inheritance for ever Oh this man is in Heaven already that can make this application upon Scripture-grounds And therefore be sure in the practise of this duty your meditation be applicative though a medicine be never so soveraign it doth you no good unless you apply it the water in the fountain will never do you good unless it be brought to you by a cistern conveyed to you some way or other so the meditation of God Christ and Heaven will little avail unless you make application and this is especially to be used at the Sacrament the work you are to do at the Sacrament is meditation and in all Sacramental meditation you must be sure to join application when you meditate of the breaking of the bread of the body of Christ that was broken for you you must apply it it was broken for me and when you see the wine poured out you must meditate of the blood of Christ that was poured out upon the Cross you must make application by faith that is the great act of faith This blood was poured out for me this body was broken for me and now God offers Christ God gives Christ to me there is the sweetness in the Sacrament The fifth Property Divine Meditation must be calm and quiet there are many well affected Christians that in the practise of this duty will force themselves too much this is proper to young beginners that when they meditate of their sins will force themselves into tears and when they meditate of Christ will force themselves into joy it is ordinary when young Christians meditate because they cannot find their affections wrought upon they will use violence to their affections and force out tears or joy according to the nature of the thing they meditate upon just like the man Act. 3. 7 8. the lame man that was
a man that is ambitious you need not perswade him to think of honour and preferment but the love that he hath to preferment will force him to think of it So did you love God Christ Heavenly things you would be much in the meditation of them And the reason why you meditate no more of them is because you love them no more Psal. 119. 97. Oh how do I love thy law what then it is my meditation all the day What made David meditate all the day upon the Law of God because he loved it Psal. 1. 7. But his delight is in the Law of the Lord and in his Law doth he meditate day and night A man that is deep in love with a woman you need not bid him think of that woman Where the love is there the soul is Oh did you delight in the things of Heaven I need not lay down rules to perswade you to the practise of it the very love would be a loadstone love is a loadstone of Meditation and he that loves good things will think of them Cogitatione crebra cogitatione longa cogitatione profunda that is very often very long and very deep a man that is deep in love is deep in meditation of the party he loves The seventh Rule Labour to get an interest in Heavenly things labour by Scripture-evidences to make out thy interest in Heavenly things what comfort can that man have of meditating of Heaven that doth not know he hath a right to Heaven what comfort can that man have of meditating of Christ that doth not know that Christ is his what comfort can that man have in meditation of God that looks upon God as his enemy It is interest that will facilitate Divine Meditation a man that hath an interest in an inheritance will often think of it if he hath a thousand pound a year that is his own he is often thinking how to improve it and enjoy it but if he hath no title or right to it alas he will not think of it what doth he care for it It is your interest in the things of Heaven that will raise your meditation of them and as long as you have no assurance of a title to Heaven you will never heartily meditate of it you may know it by rote and by form but you will never heartily meditate of it till you know it to be your inheritance and you will never heartily meditate of the Promises till you know you have a title to them that they are Promises made to you The eighth Rule is this Labour to get a heart disengaged and disintangled from the world a man that is dead and buried in the world it is in vain to perswade him to go up the mount of Meditation a bird that is in a Lime-twig it is in vain to bid that bird fly alas poor bird she is intangled in the Lime-twig a man that is intangled in the lime-twigs of the world it is in vain to bid this man mount up in Meditation The love of the world is like the plague of flies that Pharoah had in Egypt he could not eat a bit of meat but the flies got into his meat and got into his drink so a man that is up to the ears in the world cannot pray cannot hear a Sermon and cannot receive the Sacrament but this plague of flies comes there the thoughts of the world is at the Sacrament with him in Prayer with him on the Sabbath-day with him The love of the world pray pardon me in this expression is just like a familiar spirit for indeed I cannot speak too much against it a Witch that hath a familiar spirit it will go along with her wheresoever she goes when she hath once entertained it she can never be rid of it but the Devil will haunt her so the love of the world is an invisible Devil and will haunt you wheresoever you go if you go to the Sacrament there the Devil will haunt you if you go to the mount of Meditation the Devil and the world will be there if you go to pray there the Devil will be And you that are in these lime-twigs it is in vain to preach to you the Doctrine of Divine Meditation and therefore let me speak to you as God did to Moses Put the shooes off thy feet for the place whereon thou stands is holy ground So do I say if ever you would be qualified for this duty of Divine Meditation put the shooes off your feet You must labour to be mortified to the world and worldly things you must labour to get a Heavenly frame of spirit it is in vain to perswade a worldly man to meditate of Heavenly things I do but beat the air for such as the heart is such will the man be if the heart be lustful the man will meditate of lustful things and act lustful things if the heart be worldly the man will be worldly such as thy heart is such is thy thoughts such are thy affections such are thy actions and till thy heart be Heavenly thou canst never be a fit practitioner of this duty and therefore labour for a Heavenly heart The ninth Rule is this Be not discouraged though you find a difficulty in the beginning of practising this duty but accustom thy self to it Custom will make perfectness usus promptus facit Custom will make it an easie thing as an Apprentice that is newly bound to his Master finds his Trade very hard at first but afterwards by custom when he hath been a year or two at it then it is very easie so at the first you will find it very hard to meditate of Christ to abide and dwell long at it but let me assure you accustom your selves to it and you will find it very easie through Gods mercy Have you not known many a man and woman that hath been by the Physician prescribed to walk up a hill every day at the first he finds it very hard he is not able to do it but within a month or two it begins to be easie and they that before could not go up the hill without resting almost twenty times now they can go up without resting at all Oh the hill of Meditation is hard for us to climb that are so full of the world so full of vanity and folly but if you did accustom your selves to climb up this hill by often doing of it you would find it very easie The tenth and last Rule is this Do all these things by power derived from Iesus Christ I do not think that it is in your power to do these things but I know there is power in Christ and Christ will give you power as the Apostle saith Phil. 4. 13. I am able to do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me Go to Christ for a Heavenly heart for a serious spirit to kindle in thee a love to Heavenly things to shew thee thy interest in Heavenly things for if thou didst
did to his servants Gen. 22. 5. He said unto the young men abide you here with the asse and I and the lad will go yonder and worship Tarry you here below while I go up to the Mount of God Now I know this is a hard matter I am not ignorant of it to drive away this plague of flies that pester our best duties and therefore we must do as the Priest did to King Vzziah he would needs offer Incense and the Priest hindred him and the Lord plagued Vzziah and the leprosie appeared in his forehead and the Priest came and thrust him out of the Temple So I would have you do when you go to your Closets to meditate your vain thoughts will croud into the Temple of your hearts I would have you do as these Priest did thrust out these vain thoughts out of the temple of your hearts or rather pray unto God to do it for alas it is above our power to get free from distracting thoughts in this duty pray unto the Lord who is the heart-maker that he would be the heart-preparer for when you go to meditate God looks especially at your hearts and if your hearts be full fraught with lustful vain worldly carnal covetous thoughts he scorns all your service Now do not mistake me I mean if you willingly yield to this if you strive against it God will accept of it let it be thy work that is my rule to keep thy heart with all keeping when thou beginnest this work And labour to get thy heart disengaged and disintangled from worldly things So much for the beginning and of the six Rules to direct you in the entrance upon this work 2. I will lay down Rules for the better proceeding in this work for this you must know there are two faculties of the soul that must always be set on work in the practice of Divine Meditation the one is the Understanding the other is the heart and affections for Divine Meditation is not only an act of the head but of the heart and true Meditation must not only be intellectual and notional but practical and affectionative The work of the Understanding is to blow up and increase to kindle and inflame the love of God and Christ in the heart the Understanding to the heart and affections must be as the nurse to the child as the nurse cuts the meat and many times chews it and prepares it for the child to eat so doth the Understanding by Divine Truths it prepares them for the affections and the heart to close with them to eat them and digest them and to turn them into a holy conversation These are the two faculties we must set on work and you never meditate aright unless the affection be raised as well as the understanding and therefore both heart and head are the parts that must be exercised in the practice of the duty of Divine Meditation Now the work of the head or understanding is serious consideration of the Truths we come to meditate upon the work of the heart is increase of devotion and holiness by these Meditations Now I will speak to both I will give you Rules to help the intellectual part your contemplation of Divine things and Rules to help the affectionative part 1. I will give you Rules for the helping the understanding to chew and prepare the things you meditate upon for the heart and affections Now here I must tell you I shall be somewhat difficult and hard to be understood this is the knottiest and difficultest part of Meditation and therefore learned men that write of this subject that labour to teach the art of Divine Meditation do give in nine common-place-heads as so many several ways of the enlarging the understanding in the consideration of the Truths that they meditate upon 1. They would have you describe the thing you meditate upon 2. They would have you divide and distribute the thing you meditate upon 3. They would have you consider the causes of the thing you meditate upon 4. The fruits and effects 5. The adjuncts qualities and properties 6. The opposites and the contraries to it 7. The comparisons to which it is compared 8. The titles that are given to the thing of which you meditate 9. All the Scripture-testimonies that may be brought concerning the thing you are to meditate upon Now there are nine common-place-heads and these I fear are very difficult but that I might help you a little I will give you an example I will go over these Logical heads only I will preface thus much That it is not the intent of these learned men that we should be over-curious in prosecuting all these Logical heads for the end of Meditation is not to practise Logick but to kindle devotion and there are many subjects that will not admit of all these nine When I meditate of God I cannot shew any cause of God and I cannot make any comparison to compare God to but the meaning of those learned men is this that we should not rack and torture our understandings to pursue all these heads of reasons but we should pick out so many of them as are most suitable to the subjects we are meditating upon As for example Suppose I would go into my Closet and meditate of the sinfulness of sin then I would go over all these nine heads and by going over them you will understand the use of them I would meditate of the sinfulness of sin that so I might get my heart to hate it more that so I might study to be more mortified to it to mourn for it Now for this purpose that I might enlarge my intellectual part of consideration 1. I will begin with the description of sin and I will say thus to my soul when I am alone Oh my soul why shouldest not thou hate and abhor sin is not sin the breach of the holy law of God and doth it not therefore deserve eternal damnation is not sin a walking contrary unto God and certainly that man that walks contrary to God walks contrary to Heaven and contrary to his own happiness Is not sin most opposite to the greatest good and therefore must needs be the greatest evil and why then should not sin have the greatest sorrow why should not I hate sin above all things if it be the greatest evil 2. I would proceed to the distribution of sin and thus I would say to my soul Oh my soul how art thou be-leper'd with sin how art thou all over bespread with iniquity thou art guilty of the first sin that ever was committed in the world of Adam's eating the forbidden fruit that sin was jusdy thine by imputation For in him saith the Apostle we all sinned Rom. 5. 12. And thou wilt never be free from the guilt of the imputation of Adam's sin till thou be by faith made partaker of the imputation of Christs righteousness Thou art guilty Oh my soul not only of Adam's sin by