of Christ we think had we lived in his dayes we would have gone to him and acknowledged our sins and craved pardon and direction and scarce doubt but we should have obtained both but we consider no◠we have as neer and as certain a way to obtain them now as then nay we have the same way as they had for it was their faith that made them whole and by faith we may be made so too in respect of spiritual diseases So if an Angel should bring a message from heaven to us how would we observe and follow it The Scripture should be of as great power and authority with us as that Message and indeed more for if it were possible that such a Message should contradict any thing in the Scripture the Scripture must be beleeved before it But of this more largely in the fifth Consideration Secondly Read every verse in the Bible with this consideration that the holy Spirit of God when hee inspired the Apostle Prophet or other Pen-men of the holy Scriptures to write that place did particularly intend thy good in it for wee must not conceive that the Scripture was written for their good only who lived in those times when those severall Books were published but to all ages for every particular man that should live in those severall generations The Scripture it self is plain in this particular Rom. 15. 4. For whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope Deut. 29. 29. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God but these things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever that we may do all the words of the Law Nay we read of a particular promise made to a particular person upon a speciall occasion if any part of Scripture were not to extend to every particular person that should live while the world lasts one would think it should be that yet even that very promise the Apostle brings even that as a promise particularly to be applied to every Christian compare but these places Heb. 13. 5. Josh. 1. 5. The Scripture like a well made Picture looks upon every one in particular so directly as if it looked upon none else we generally read the Scriptures as we hear Sermons without a particular and personall application of them if a godly Minister should come home to any one of our houses and take one aside and tell one privately and feelingly you professe your selves Christians but there is little or nothing of Christianity appears in your lives you live not as becomes the Gospel of Jesus Christ it would startle us we hear the same in the Pulpit and we let it passe as a thing not concerning us if one should come from an house of uncleanenesse and hear a voice from Heaven saying Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge it would strike terrour into that mans heart he reads the same words in the Scripture and they are a dead letter to him Thirdly Read the Scripture to a right end for which it was written not for custome or that you might be able to discourse and because you are ashamed to be ignorant of those things which you conceive every Christian should know and having an occasion divers times in company to talk of such matters then you would be loth to be able to say nothing but consider what end the Scripture was writ for Rō 15. 4 Rev. 3. 10. 1 Pet. 2. 2. 2 Tim. 3. 16. and many other places set them down our knowledge our affectionss and our lives are quite out of frame and thou must go to the holy Scriptures there to finde out directions to cure these distempers and in a word that thou may'st be able to know admire love fear trust and serve God more then thou doest thou should'st never read any part of the word of God without a particular intention to advantage thy selfe in these particulars by thy reading Fourthly Thou must humbly and earnestly pray to the Lord to give thee his Spirit to understand what thou readest in his Word take heed of going with thine own humane spirit and in the strength of thy learning to search out the deep things of God go to the shallowes of the workes which wee call the works of Nature and thou shalt finde that thou art not able to fathome them the winde thou hearest the sound thereof but knowest not whence it comes nor whither it goes and how canst thou presume to understand the great mysteries of God which the Angels themselves desire to look into without the help of the Spirit of God which teacheth wisdome secretly let thy desires be fervent for the things written in the Word of God are thy life desire the Lord to give thee a powerfull spirituall and experimentall knowledge of the truths that thou shalt read Fifthly Promise to the Lord that if he will but reveal to thee his will thou wilt do it and obey him in it whether it be good or evill Jer. 42. 6. whether it be pleasing or displeasing to thine own will we do not use to tell any one a receipt to cure a disease he is sick of if we know he is resolved not to take it nor do thou satisfie thy selfe with a neutrality to finde thy selfe neither resolved to follow nor not to follow what thou shalt understand it is an hard thing when one whom God hath loved so much shall give no other return of all his goodnesse but this that he doth not finde his heart to hate and rebell against him many people do little better then use the Scripture as a charme they think by reading so many Chapters a day they shall be cured of all spirituall diseases had they not as good think that by hanging some Chapters or two about their neck they shall be cured of some corporall disease if one should have a receipt to cure the gout and he should read it over every day twice or thrice and think thereby to be cured though he never took what was prescribed so it is with him that thinks the bare reading of the Word of God will do him any good without being beleeving and doing accordingly Sixthly When thou art thus prepared read that place which thou intendest to meditate of and consider what the true meaning of the place is to thy understanding thereof before thou didst crave the assistance of the Spirit of God but if the place be knotty and hard to be understood passe it by for such places are not proper places of meditation but of study thou must choose those places of Scripture as are fit for the affectionate not the speculative part of Divinity such as may more affect the heart then busie the braine to understand it and thou must not be curious to raise nice observations from the words but take those truths that lie open in the Text First Because those truths that lie hidden in one
the sins of the wicked there is a book of remembrance writ of all thy good words and there is a bottle to bottle up all thy teares now how easie is it for thee to cast into this treasury a thousand holy thoughts a day to what a numberlesse number would they arise to in few years and by these not any businesse is hindred thou mayest ride thou mayest eat and drink thou mayest sell and buy thou mayest walk for all them now if every holy thought do adde something to thy grace here and to thy glory hereafter and since they do not hinder but sweeten and sanctifie all imployments why doest thou not treasure up these against the day of the Lord 5. Consid. Fifthly Consider seriously the excellencies of the Scriptures for we are not sensible enough of their worth nor do we firmly nor feelingly enough believe that they are the Word of God Suppose that by some infallible arguments it might be demonstrated that there were a Prophet now in England with what extraordinary care and observation would you observe his words that he spake in the Name of the Lord if when thou werâ— pouring out thy soul before God humbly begging of him that he would discover to thee more the things that belong to thy peace and thou shouldest have an Angel from Heaven coming unto thee as one did to Cornelius or that our Saviour should himselfe speak to thee from Heaven as he did to Paul when thou shalt say as he did Lord what would'st thou have me to do With what reverence and attention would'st thou observe and what obedience to a tittle would'st thou give to such Messages Wouldest thou not mark every word and every syllable and wouldest not vary from them one jot Well thou shouldest give no lesse reverence nor obedience unto the Word of God then unto them If thy friend speaks to thee or writes to thee so thou art sure that it is his hand they are both of equal authority with thee and why should not the word of God immediately spoken from Heaven or written be so too of equall authority with thee to have an Angel from heaven to tel thee what thou should'st do is a stronger temptation to pride but there is no more of reality in it to move thee to obedience then there is in the written word nay may I not say lesse for the word of God is the rule by which we must judg their Messages and not their Messages the rule by which we must judg the Word of God for if an Angel from Heaven should preach another doctrine let him be accursed Now there is no reason thou believing the Bible to be the Word of God which we all professe but thou shouldest with as much care endeavour to understand and practise what therein is written If wee will do but as Luther did that hee might understand Rom. 3. 25 26. fast and pray when wee finde any place of Scripture too difficult to be understood or when we found our corruptions so strong that wee obeyed not when it is understood If wee sought the Lord by prayer and fasting a duty generally neglected and by some condemned though by the Apostles commended and practised surely wee should both understand more of the minde of God and live more sutable to what what wee know 6. Considerat Sixthly Consider that howsoever we esteem it it matters not without question the enjoyment of God is infinite happinesse for doe but truly and really consider wherein doth the happinesse of Angels consist Doth it not consist in the vision fruition and union with God Is not God their all and shall he not be ours when we come thither How comes it to passe that it is not so now Nay it is so but how comes it to passe that it is not so to us Either the Angels are deceived in making of it their happinesse or wee must be deceived in not making of it ours we cannot have the face to say That if the Angels knew what pleasure there were in eating and drinking and other vain and wicked pleasures of the word they would never spend their eternity in singing the praises in beholding the face and admiring the excellency of God yet though we are ashamed to say thus yet by our lives we generally hold forth this blasphemy and proclaime it to the whole world nay let me raise this one step higher the blessednesse of God wherein doth it consist the creature is not his happinesse but himselfe and if God be enough for himselfe shall be not be enough for thee of dust and ashes his enjoyment of himself is his happinesse how comes it to passe that it is not thine God doth command invite thee entreat thee to enjoy him nay indeed what is it that God requires of thee but this even to admire love and enjoy him in the secret of thy soul thou wilt not thou preferrest every trifle before him thou wilt go and see a carnall friend for carnall ends rather then spend thy time in the enjoyment of him who is the praise and above the praise of men and Angels to all eternity pray to him who onely can discover his love and excellencies to thee that he would make thee taste of this hidden Manna that he would draw away the vail before thine eyes that thou mayst be no longer ignorant of this truth that he would purge out those corruptions out of thy heart that thou mayst relish and experiment the sweetnesse of it 7. Consid. Seventhly Consider that we have three enemies the world the flesh and the Divel Consider this I say fully and feelingly for few there are that live so much as a tittle of this truth or who lives as if the World was his implacable enemie for do we not generally into all our actions put something of that poysonous ingredient viz. a desire to please men and to get their good word and will Wee ought not to scandalize any one as much as in us lies we ought to be all things to all men but it is that we may gain them to God not to our selves If this truth was ingraven on our hearts That it is as possible to go to heaven and please the Divel as go to heaven and please the world I say if we were fully perswaded in our hearts of that Truth we would neither wonder the World hates us nor endeavour that it should love us we should not endeavour nor cast away our pains to do that which is absolutely impossible So then if we resolve to be Christians wee must neither fear nor care what the World can say of or do unto us And we should in all our actions of Religion not so much as once bring it into our consideration to think what men will say or do unto us if we do so or so except it be by their dislike to help our selves to know what is right for though it is not an absolute rule yet it is a generall
not wanting to our selves and to God for he is not wanting unto us we might live many days without doing or speaking any thing that materially is a sin I do assuredly know that no one thought word or action but in some respect or other is sinful either the ground is not spirituall or not so spirituall the end is not heavenly or not so heavenly we do not purely aim at the glory of God nor purely do it out of obedience to God and in the name of Christ c. as wee should therfore I do not say we can live one minute without sinning against God but one may live many hours and dayes without doing such actions which materially and in their own nature are sins as now for those which are accounted grosse sinnes in the world and are so as adultery murder theft blasphemy swearing it may be some of Gods people live their whole life without actually committing any one of them What is meant by that that is said of Zachary and Elizabeth that they lived blamelesse Luke 1. 6. And what is meant by that of St Paul 1 Cor. 4. 4. That he knew nothing by himself well certainly those that love not to keep a strict communion with God and love not the truth may finde excuses enough to bolster themselves up in their carelesse walke nay let them take heed least they so provoke the Lord that he sends them strong delusions to beleeve lies It may be they will plead the infirmities and falls of the Saints Noahs drunkennesse Davids adultery Peters deniall and so encourage themselves in their owne wickednesse surely these failings of the Saints are set downe as sands and rocks to avoyd not as our Compasse whereby we should steer our course 't is true if after prayers and strivings against those sins through the strength of our corruptions we fall into some sin we may take comfort from the infirmity and failings of the Saints but before our fall what use have we of such failings but onely rocks as I have said comforts they may be after but not encouragements before otherwise our spots are not the spots of Gods people 2. Consid. The second consideration is that no art science or trade whatsoever is attained without some yeares being Apprentice or studying of it and can we imagine that we can attain to any measure of perfection in Religion without spending either time or thoughts about it but making it a thing meerly by the bie The unreasonablenesse of this conceit appears the more if we consider that wee have no such impediments to hinder us from the attainment of excelencies in Trades Arts and Sciences nay those things that are hinderances in the attainment of holinesse do further us in the attainment of such kind of excellencies to be an excellent workman in any trade or to be an excellent Physician neither the world nor our corruptions nor Satan are against it the World generally doth promote and imploy such persons when they have an occasion to use any one of any trade or calling they use the skilfullest and so they are an encouragement to them and for our corruptions they do not hinder but rather further for wee pride our selves generally in such kind of excellencies and if the World nor the Flesh be not certainly Satan is not against them neither but against holinesse they are all enemies Now if we should see a man rowing having both wind and tide with him and should row with all his might and yet with much adoe come to such a place by night and the next day being to row back again against winde and tide should take no pains at all but lie sleeping in the boat as if the streame that was against him should carry him back of it self wee should much wonder at such a mans folly Much more then may we wonder when men shall spend so much pains so many thoughts to get an estate and in things concerning God and eternity should carry themselves as if they were either not worth having or as if holinesse like weeds should grow of it self 3. Consid. The third Consideration is That there is no pain nor trouble in it's self in Religion nor no true pleasure nor profit in sin or what pleasure or pain soever there is in them it is so short and so small that it deserves not the name of either Do but truly and seriously consider what pain or trouble is there in spending an hour in reading meditating or praying I speak to the most disadvantage for indeed one should rather say what wonderfull delight there is in a strict and constant communion with God in such duties but let it be supposed it be troublesome the trouble is nothing but the comfort and the benefit is exceeding great when thou hast spent a day in humbling thy soul before God I pray next day is it any pain or trouble to you in respect of them it is as the way of a Serpent upon a stone there is nothing of the trouble that did accompany those holy duties doth remain when they are ended but the comfort and profit of them thou maist meet withall twenty years hence and so for sin the pleasure of it is momentany but the guilt and sting of it is eternall the poor empty pleasures of sinne what are they while they do continue but sure I am they are bitternesse at the last To have a guilty conscience and a wounded spirit but one hour in any extremity as poor souls in desertion or despair have hath so much horrour in it that doubtlesse whosoever hath had any experience in such things would not edure them for all the pleasures in the world for Methusalems age But alas we look not afar off consider neither the end of holinesse nor of sin nay to speak the truth we consider not the essentiall excellency of the one nor filthinesse of the other 4. Consid. Fourthly Consider that there is not the least sin nor the least holy thought that shall vanish into aire or into nothing for if God shal call us to account for every idle thought or word shall not every holy thought or word through his mercy tend to our good also The wicked do treasure up wrath against the day of wrath as a man that should cast in every day many pieces of silver and gold into a room for twenty years together or more when he should come to look in that room at the twenty years end he would finde many a piece which he had forgotten so it is with one that treasures up sin when the book of conscience shall be opened at the last day and the baggs wherein God sealed up his sins as Job speaks how many sins will he meet withall that he never thought of untill that day not one of them shall be lost that ever he cast in so surely it will be with thee that treasurest up prayers and holy thoughts God doth as safely seale up them as he doth