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A47662
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Lemmata meditationum, or, The contents of a few religious meditations given as directive and incentive to that invaluable duty / by Philo-Jesus Philo-Carolus.
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Philo-Carolus, Philo-Jesus.
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1672
(1672)
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Wing L1043; ESTC R41777
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67,493
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199
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Lemmata MEDITATIONUM OR The Contents of a few Religious MEDITATIONS Given as Directive and Incentive to that invaluable DUTY By Philo-Jesus Philo-Carolus Psal 11.148 Mine eyes prevent the Night-watches that I might meditate in thy word Psal 139.18 When I awake I am still with Thee DVBLIN To be sold by Joseph Wilde Bookseller in Castlestreet 1672. IMPRIMATUR Mich De Laune Rmo in Christo Patri ae Domino Dno Michaeli Archiepiscopo Dubliniensi nec non summo Hibernie Cancellario è sacris To my EXCELLENT MOTHER Grace and joy in the Holy Ghost be multiplyed My Dearest Mother THese Papers were long written for my own peculiar use and laid abbout the shelves of my study in a dress whose hue they yet retain and indeed so sensible I am of the unfitness of such Youth as mine to appear in Print that were I not under the Press my self I would not suffer my Soliloquy's ever to come under it and the rather because intending them purely for my own service in their draught I expended my whole industry in getting affections and neglected that accuracy in the contexture of my Expressions which otherwise I had taken Renewing the Copy is a Task that I a poor Day-labourer can by no means set on and sith I comply with those who think this worthy to be sent abroad a necessity is laid upon me to send it as ' t is You know I never affected taudry fashions in my own Garb nor indeed do I in my Books and I have a satisfaction to my self in that those judicious Christians who gat it out of my hands esteem it as clad at the least decently A very aged and learned Doctor an eminent Dignitary of this Church of Ireland whom I never yet saw save once and that but on an occasion which gave me no more than a half-hours Discourse with him Dr. W.S. hath in an affectionate Letter to me these very words In these Papers I now with many thanks send you you have made choice of acceptable words choice arguments and superexcellently expressed no language ever better You have spoken your own thoughts by Gods words so that no enemy not the Devil himself can say but that you have said as well as may be though among the English Theology is cultivated in most of its parts beyond what is found among Foreigners yet I think the Papists outgo us in Devotionary Books We are forced to English and alter some of theirs to make them 〈◊〉 Thomas de Kempis Bellarmine Parsons c. But so far as you have gone you have outgone them they have spoken holily and very usefully but what you utter is Bible all your thoughts are apples of silver are placed in pictures of gold Your last Book i. e. a sheet of Christs satisfaction I sent him acquainted me with that argument better than I was before but this hath gone deeper into my heart I have taken this with me when I went to God and like Hezekiah's Roll I spread some of these Papers before me and if like him I did not weep sore I have the more reason to grieve that I did not so grieve Had I been younger and my eyes better I would have Transcribed if not all yet some of these so pious Meditations But if my Head be not laid before they come out in Print I shall with the first get one of the Books The good God bless your holy endeavours with suitable success c. My honoured good Mother this with like encouragements hath emboldened me to present you thus publickly what I thought to have done in my own Hand-writing It is true the excellent Mr. Rob Boâ—l's occasional reflections were put into my hand more than a year agon by a Lady happy in a near relation to that truly honourable both Gentleman and Christian and I had thoughts of presenting you the fruits of my plowing with his heifer but they being catcht from me by a Friend who liked them too well or too ill to restore them I had not till now any Essay of a Subject and language proper to send you The illustrious Gentleman I last named hath very praise-worthily set upon the reducing of both Philosophy and Divinity from aery opinionative and talkative to solid experimental and demonstrative As for Philosophy though I rejoyce in his and the Royal Societies labours for it if I had brains I have nor time nor affection to the extreme studies thereof but as for Divinity I should have a thousand joyes if this or any endeavour of mine should make for its reclaiming from controversial to practical in any one soul for sure I am the exercize of my heart in pouring out such Soliloquies to the Lord in my Closet stand me in much more stead than a thousand Disputes about that Mint and Cummin which slayes the general regard of the weighty things of the Law in Great Britain and Ireland But to so mean a Present why preface I so many words I will end with onely congratulating my self this That whereas the glory of some Children is onely their Fathers mine is my Mother too for as I glory in having a Father who is able better to serve the Faith and Joy of Christians so I do in having a Mother who ere now has and I am sure will again encourage by her kindest acceptance the weak endeavours of My gracious Dearest Mother Your very affectionate Son and obedient Servant Philo-Jesus Philo-Carolus AN EPISTLE TO THE READER LOng before the World was perplext with unprofitable Subtilties in Philosophy and destructive Controversies in Divinity Solomon complain'd of multiplicity of Books But surely not of such as were design'd to mend the World and were likely to answer the end of the Authors for he wrote much himself of Beasts Foules creeping things and Fishes and of Trees from the Cedar in Lebanon to the Hyssop that springeth out of the Wall moreover beside these books of natural Philosophy his books which belong to the Canon are a considerable part of the Hagiographa If that which is written be upright even words of truth and delightfully composed or contrived for efficacy like the words of the wise which are as Goads and nails fastned by the Nailers of Assemblies no man of Solomons mind will complain Books are faulty it must be acknowledged many of them so faulty either as unsound or prophane or ridiculously senseless that they are more fit for Fuell then the Library of any man But were all such condemn'd to the flame executed it cannot be expected that any one of the surviving books in all its parts should find Catholick accptance nor indeed that any one except the mysteries of the Holy Ghost should please all men of unquestionable fidelity and skill to peruse it yet Reader Allow it to be said of this book uot as peculiar to it If it be impartially read and rightly understood according to the intendment of the Author it will commend it self The words and phrase where
figurative and Tragical require not a profound judgment to discern the meaning unto such as are well acquainted with the Author and able to judge of his excellent endowments it is a sufficient commendation of this book that though it bear not his name he will own it yet because it will come to the hands of divers strangers especially in this City to them much may be said concerning it and him Samuel sayes of the vertuous woman Many have done well but thou excellest them all Reader if thou art apt to take offence perhaps thou wilt now take off thine eye and close the Book lest it follow in the next line After the same manner may be spoken of the Authour of this Book But discreet persons being better pleased with a just Title to a good character than to find it upon record The Friends of the Authour although they know his mind is inriched far beyond the ordinary rate of men of his years and that he made good improvement of his time while he was exercized in this work which he offers to thy service will forbear giving him this Encomium yet without offering any violence to his modesty or the credit of former Publishers of their soliloquies it may be said that among all the Discourses of this kind imparted to the world a more pure Scriptural stile is not to be found That spirit of Atheism and blasphemy that haunts the Wits of our times displays it self most impudently in quibling and drolling upon the Bible making a mock of all that is sober and Sacred depreciating debasing and what in them lyes debauching the very lip and language of the Holy Spirit himself This Authors innocent abuse of Scripture is so far from countenancing that it rather shames and condemns that licencious and abominable practise Nor can we admit of the most useful allusions without that harmless nay helpful and advantagious 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or abuse here practiced Wherein the words are indeed used to another but yet to an Holy end purpose besides that for which they were at first instituted and intended The author not playing with that Edge-tool but indeavouring only to cut with both sides of that two edged-sword The Beautiful Captive was to have her head shaved and her nails not pared but made to grow and the shaving her head was the readiest way to make her nails to grow Deut. 21.12 All means were to be used to make her ugly and deformed It is a shame for a Woman to be shorn or shaven 1 Cor. 11.6 So to take off an Israelites affection from her Let it be so still with all humane Wit and learning that Divine truth alone may be fair and lovely but when the former of these is no Enemy no Competitrix no Rival but an Handmaid to the latter then let both grow together until the Harvest yea let both Run together and be Glorified It is hoped that the Candid Reader will understand things up otherwise then is intended by the pious Author as when he saith of Meditation that it hath told him all that ever he did yea and all that ever his God did also undoubtedly his meaning is that so far as he knoweth aright either his own or his Gods doings he is beholding for it to self reflection and Meditation what he has written with a Sober and unprejudiced mind and of all the profit which thou shalt receive give the glory to God and thou wilt please the author and also Thine to serve in any Office of love Thomas Harrison Daniel Rolls READER BEfore thou turnest to the following pages I could wish for thy regards to these few particulars 1. Though my youth and sins and sufferings therein make my acquaintance with Books much narrower than I could desire yet on that acquaintance I have I dare humbly to give it thee as my opinion that our modern writers have very much departed from this way of Insinuating Piety by religious meditations and soliloquies in which the fathers and ancient Hero's of divinity were very happy and have been for some centuries very serviceable 2. I should for reasons seventy seven think that this Age were to be dealt with in it much more congruously than in those other more insisted on of the regular of which I cannot think of one which might not receive full great advantages from this from this I say which with the catechetical one I pray God revive among us Let ancient records come out of their dust and they shall bear me witness that there was never age from Christ to our own which stood in more need of reductives from an Aery professional I know not what called religion unto devotional and Practical Piety the power of Godlinesse At this the following essay drives the good Lord succeed it 3. Sith the joynt Justice and clemency of Magistrates the preaching and writing of Minister s the unparallell'd Judgements of the great God on us these late Years have bin all too little to keep Cities Towns Villages or very families from bandying into factions and mens baiting each other with the epithets of Praelatist Episcopalian Presbyterian Independent Anabaptist Arminian Antinomian Legalist and who can tell how many like I have thought it as vain to interest my self in the contentions of any so very proper to commend the Practicks of Piety to all in such a way as this which some judicious believe will offend none I cannot think but that there is of Israel in each of those Parties and my hearts desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved As far as I know my heart I suffer these sheets to go abroad to serve the faith and joy of each of them let them all forgive me this wrong I confess my self The worst Servant of Christ P P. ERRATA IN the Epistle to the Reader Pag. 15 For Nailers read Masters of Assemblies P. 16. for Tragical read Tropical for Samuel read Lemuel in the Epistle to the Reader 1. A Soliloquy with Soliloquy it self OH Meditation I see thee and now I will leave my (a) Joh. 4.28 29. water-pots and go call all mankind to come and see the Duty that told me all that ever I did ay and that my God ever did (b) Lu. 11.27 Blessed is the womb of that Grace that bears thee and the paps that gave thee suck (c) Mat. 5.6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled with thee (d) Mat. 2.18 The fair Rachel of piety may cry out her eyes for children and holy seed and break her heart because they are not if she be not impregnated by theel (e) Psa 113.9 Thou makest barren Graces to keep house and to be the joyful mothers of children Thou sufferest no (f) Psal 105.44 man nor devil to do them harm thou rebukest the Prince of darkness for their sakes They that will be (g) 1 Ti. 6.9 rich in thee will not fall into