must learne to wait on God from day to day it is thy obedience his glory if thou bee rich thy account will bee the harder to make Things themselves are not good to thee but in their lawfull use they serve not thy turne except thou serve God with them make not that a snare to entangle thee in vanity which is given thee for the exercise of vertue Alas why complainest thou when any crosse interrupts thy worldly proceedings and dost not feele the losse of spirituall grace whiles thou art thwarted in a good course by sinne why art thou so well pleased at good successe and dost not rejoyce rather for the good seedes of thy regeneration for the fruits of thy faith hope love zeale patience chastity meeknesse temperance sobriety and the rest for that thou hast found or art directed in the way to find the treasure of inestimable worth and value to wit the keeping of a good conscience this that thou dost not ought to make thee mourne and lament and thou shouldest not take comfort in that wealth which keeps thee from feeling thy dayly want and enjoying sound prosperity Meditation 20. Of Giving GAining is good if it bee to give for Giving is better God gaines nothing by any yet gives all that is his perfection the light of the Sun and Moone the influence of the Planets the sweetnesse of the aire the variety of seasons the fatnesse of the cloudes the fruitfulnesse of the earth the fulnesse of the Sea the vertue of herbes the beauty of flowers the profit of beasts and cattle the price of Gold Silver and pretious stones are nothing to him nay the redemption of mankind the gathering of the Saints the gifts of the Church the graces of men our regeneration sanctification prayers sacrifices and services are nothing to him for he is his owne perfection ours it is to gaine and give receive and bestow of all things besides God it may be said what have they which they have not received yea the creatures which have most as Angels and men have received most and are the more bound to the giver wherefore their first perfection is to receive but because to give to bestow is a farther extent of perfection and more answerable to the perfection of him which is the giver of all good therefore is it a better thing and as our Saviour said by Pauls report a more blessed to give rather then to receive a better good the chiefe good a better good that 's vertue the chief good that 's happinesse the life of every vertue is action and happinesse the perfection of actions and action of vertue is nothing else but a giving of good in some kind as the act of justice to give every one his owne of fortitude to give courage against death of temperance to give a measure to pleasures of prudence to give order to affaires of liberality to give gifts where and when it is convenient and therefore as wee say there is a kind of justice in all vertues so is there a kind of liberality though one kind of giving for his use and excellency be so specially called for he which giveth of his owne to relieve another doth it most freely without any consideration to move him besides the love of vertue and for the good which comes thereof is deemed a God amongst men for which cause Princes are by a speciall title termed Gods because as their places require them to doe all vertuous actions more then others so above all they are enabled to give liberally and by giving to helpe many he that doth good unto his neighbour according to the action of any vertue gives him his helpe more worth then goods and therefore gives in the true nature of giving and if his helpe be for the soule and the life to come the gift is greater then if it pertained to this life only and yet I know not how they which give out their goods freely to the comfort of others win a more deep affection and excellent reputation then they which doe good according to any other vertue yea a liberall man hath the commendation of all vertue hee is thought wise because he knowes the true use of riches valiant because he can overcome the covetous desire which rules too many just because hee willingly makes that to be anothers which is his owne because he thinkes it more due unto him for the good which may come thereof temperate because hee doth withdraw much from superfluity and excesse that he may have wherewith to doe others good and hee will spend the lesse to give the more Wee must gaine then that wee may give and wee must receive that wee may bestow and doe good with that wee have the one is blessed for the other and therefore the latter rather blessed then the other but hee which thinkes that to keepe in his gaines is the only way to doe himselfe good as if they were all lost if others should occupy with him hath as poore a trade as he which hid his talent in a napkin of which came no advantage for lack that it was not put out every Christian must know himselfe to bee as it were the stomach to digest and disperse those gifts which he receiveth to the good of Christs body Christ emptied himselfe to fill us hee being rich saith Paul for your sakes became poore that you through his poverty might bee made rich What he got of his Father by his holy life or patient death he bestoweth on us and what he might justly claime at our hands for his gifts bestowed on us he leaves to bee disposed by us to the good of our mother as the Tithes of our goods on the Ministers which watch not for his but our good Almes of our goods which the poore receive and hee accepteth and rewardeth as if they were bestowed on himselfe and if he bestow a spirituall grace on mee he looks not for the returne but puts it over to the brethren as when he said I have prayed for thee Peter that thy faith faile not strengthen thy brethren and for the good instruction which wee receive in the Church to our soules health hee bindes us to teach and exhort one another A Christian then hath a life both active and passive the one all in receiving the other all in giving he doth receive faith hope charity and all this while nature doth nothing grace doth all then after by grace he liveth in doing good according to his faith hope and love the first life brings him into the favour of God the second into the possession of his kingdome to doe thy selfe most good is to depart with thy goods unto others and in this cause they are kept better to serve thy turne then if they were in thine owne keeping for if thy treasure be in the hand of the poore Christ is thy treasurer who will make thee good account of all such expenses I speak strange things to the eares
law had figures for the time of grace the law came by Moses so grace and truth is come unto us by Jesus Christ whose Gospell is Preached in all the world what divisions and strife are risen up about it as was foretold how many enemies hath it which with open force resist it how many false brethren which undermine it how many loose libertines which live under the shadow but will not be ruled by the power of it how doth faith waver and charity waxe cold the world sway and the Church suffer heresy prosper and truth pine If all the works of God hitherto have had their just course and time will he faile trow yee in the last act nay some part of this act is begunne already by the comming of Christ into the flesh for after this comming of him it is said He that beleeveth not in the Sonne of God is condemned already but the second comming of Christ shall be a full consummation Is he come in humility to suffer and save and will he not come in glory to put downe all his enemies I will not say oh foolish and slow of heart that were too mild for such mockers but oh hard hearted and desperate wretches who because they will not now beleeve the truth of a finall judgment shall hereafter feele the terror and punishment of eternall condemnation Meditation 36. Afflictions AFflictions are ever profitable to the godly but there are very few of such and it is commonly seene that men after a long and strong disease are much worse then before so that the fire of naughtinesse which for a while lay covered under the embers of their disease having gotten but a little vent breaketh forth the more forcibly and the floud of their corruption stopped for a while by the opposition of their paines having gotten some small passage doth recover his course with the greater violence It is very true that in our troubles wee can call our selves to account and pray to God with many vowes and promises of amendment but no sooner doth he remove his hand then wee start aside from our new resolutions and follow our old by as and how commeth this to passe because wee were brought unto it by constraint wee did complaine and cry but more for feeling of anguish and paine like beasts then any inward remorse or touch of conscience wee were not offended at our sinnes but wee are sorry for the losse of our health and liberty wee humble not our selves before the Lord but it is grievous unto us that his hand is heavy on us wee long not after the health of our soules but wee enquire after all meanes to remove the disease from our bodies therefore as soone as wee have our will satisfied in this respect and seele our strength returne wee get cut as men shut up long in Prison and forget all the good thoughts which came to us in extremity and as it fell out with the children of Israel that because they were neare the good land and might have entred into it by the conduct of God and would not therefore returned they back againe and their carcasses perished in the wildernesse so in this cause because wee were neare to amendment of life and might have beene partakers thereof through the mercy of God and would not therefore fall wee back to our old sinnes and in them wee perish A godly mind may thrive well in trouble but he that is not prepared before hand shall find little comfort in it the sunne which melteth the wax hardneth the clay spices when they are beaten smell the better but there are other things which never smell so ill as when they are most handled these sudden flashes terrify many but they enlighten none but such as live in the inward light Alas what an interest hath sinne in us when wee have once yeelded unto it wee beare not only the guilt of what is past but wee are ever after the more prone to doe the like againe So that there is no purgation so strong no Affliction of such force to cleanse us of it without the speciall gift of his heavenly grace which no sooner said but Lazarus comes forth Therefore are wee to look to our very beginnings and if wee have made any entrance to draw back with speed for sinnes of custome are like an old Gout which knowes no remedy yet despaire not at any time rather resist then give place if the tempter suggest unto thee the greatnesse of thy sinnes let it serve this way to make thee humble thy selfe more and to aske pardon if thou desire heartily to amend and commit thy cause to him which died for thee thy sinne cannot hurt thee for he which giveth the desire will bring it to effect but herein beware of hypocrisy if God point unto thee particularly by any Affliction take it as a medicine from thy heavenly Physitian for thy soules health and let it be more displeasing that thou hast offended God then that the crosse is offensive to thee seek the health of thy soule more then the removing of outward crosses and use all meanes to be such a one in health as thou didst desire to be in sicknesse in all Afflictions look not so much to the rod as to the â—miter who if thou take it patitiently doth correct thee in love if otherwise in anger and indignation Meditation 37. Humane society MAn is by nature sociable and framed thereunto by reason and speech whereunto he doth the more willingly apply himselfe though with some particular disadvantage because of the necessities of life which seeme to require Society for many commodities necessary to life are had in a Society not otherwise to be obtained this hath drawne men from wandring up and downe to certaine places of abode from dennes to houses from Woods to Townes and Cities from barbarous manners to civility and rather to commit themselves to the authority of an orderly government by Lawes for their safety then to languish in an idle and unprofitable loosnesse without the use of one anothers helpe and Society hence have beene erected so many States and Common-weales the glory of all ages But yet this Society how agreeable soever to mans nature doth not fully content it neither doth man find in man that which may satisfy his desire for man being made after the Image of his maker doth take more delight to see himselfe in the patterne of his first beauty then to see his owne face in the face of his brother and though he need not for this purpose the use of his eyes so much yet doth the soule more perfectly discourse and understand when it lifteth it selfe up to God then when it doth converse with man Againe the happinesse which wee are to receive in a humane Society doth proceed from the Society which wee must first seek for with God and from the duty wee owe unto him wee rightly learne how to frame ourselves in all inferiour duties
drop taken out of the sea of Gods mercy Love is a briefe of the Law a legacy of Christ the cognizance of a Christian the life of a good conscience the assurance of prayer the strength of devotion the prop of patience and in a word the band of perfection The love that we owe is unto God but God will have the duty discharged to his image our neighbour to his members our brethren specially where this duty may give most evident token of love as when wee provide for the poore which can make no recompence or pray for our enemies which hate us Indeed thou losest nothing by giving to the poore for it is put on his score to whom thou owest thy selfe it is repaied by him who hath given himselfe for thy redemption and will give himselfe unto thee for thine eternall salvation Thou findest no cause to love thine enemy neither did God to love thee God loved thee without an example but hath left it to thee for thy imitation for so well hee loves thee that he would have thee like himselfe Hee loved thee freely for himselfe thou must love freely too but for his sake is not this cause enough God bids thee shall the countenance of an enemy dismay thee this is the way pointed out by God and blessed by him to make thy foe thy friend fall it out otherwise he is thy friend more than his owne he gives place to thee in goodnes strive not thou with him who shall be worst After love hath dispatcht her duties abroad she returneth home and doth privately converse with God and this is an entring into the chamber of her well beloved Let mee dye if the wealth of the covetous or the honours of the ambitious or the delicates of the voluptuous be to be envyed and not rather contemned in respect of this if thou know it thou desirest nothing else if not any thing Meditation 3. Of Passions Passions are originall and naturall they are bred with us they are a part of us wee can no more leave to be without them then to be mâ—n yet are they the baser part of the minde for their familiarity with the sanses and hence the Philosophers thoâ—…ht did arise their disorder but if the minde it selfe be insected how can there he cleane And if the eve be darknesse what light can there be in the members yet vertue is the government of Passions and all vertues whereby man doth imitate Gods holinesse or righteousnesse are but well governed Passions Mans vertue is in the middest of much weakenesse and therefore his victory the more commendable And of all victories it is the best when one overcomes himselfe Many have been invincible abroad which have beene overcome by their owne weakenesse at home I feare nothing so much as treason within I speake it without pride through the gift of God I know more than many though I know nothing as I should and yet practise but little according to my knowledge I know what piety what common duty doth require yet stand I unresolved or slow I have much bettered my judgement by hearing but am a very Infant in performing what I have heard I am more sound alone than in company more upright for strangers than in my owne or friends cause I am not so bad in intent as in event What I do not prevent I would gladly amend I thought not on that which after makes mee wonder how I could forget all this I impute to passion Religion sanctifies passion by opposing a fit object as love as much as you list so you love God hate as much as you list so you hate sinne rejoyce alwayes but rejoyce in goodnesse be sorry too but let it be the sorrow of repentance Wee may bee full of hope but as pilgrimes bound for heaven Wee ought to feare so that it be to offend God Will we envie it must bee that others goe not beyond us in well-doing will we be jealous it must bee that nothing defile our conscience Wee have wherein to trust if it be in Gods grace and wherein to distrust if it bee in our owne nature Likewise there is a holy confidence a holy despaire the one claimes Christs merits the other denies her owne That revenge also is just whereby wee debarre our selves of the occasions which led us into sinne Yea passions here doe passe into another nature as anger into zeale for Gods glory love into charity sorrow into repentance pity into almesdeeds hope into patience feare into watching and prayer mirth into thanksgiving confidence into perâ—everance The inconstancy of the wind makes the Pilâ—t at sea watchfull and the disorder of our affections ought to make us advised As is a horse without a bit so are our affections without understanding let reason rule the reines lest thou bee overthrowne Hast thou to deale with a cunning man which is like to overtake thee or a great man which will be too hard for thee or a hasty man which will offer to hurt thee or with a lewd man which may corrupt thee looke well about thee there is more danger from thy owne passions then from any or all these It is good to doe nothing in passion give time to reason and use the helpe of prayer and thou shalt anon espy the depth of some temptation which lies commonly hid under an ordinary passion There are tentations of all sorts and for all sorts of passions for merry men unlawfull pleasures for sad men uncomfortable despaires for presumptuous crying sinnes for angry men quarrels and brawles Looke to thy passions and thou maist prevent many though not all temptations Meditation 4. Of Providence Thou art not able to change the course of nature it is only in the power of God who made it The second cause is tied to the first but the first worketh freely either with it or without it Hath God taken order for one part of his worke and not for all Thou hast a free will not to be constrained true yet is this thy will subject to the highest and first will which moving all our willes is moved of none Thou must needs follow it that will not follow thee God made mee in the first man as in my cause and hee made the first man for himselfe Wherefore the fall of man did not crosse his supreme counsell for then should not that have beene which notwithstanding he did most willingly and justly suffer Is it Gods will then that all men should be concluded under sinne that hee might have mercy on whom hee would and whom hee would he might justly forsake so it followes Yet is his will no cause of sinne but a rule of all righteousnesse so ought I to beleeve Well doth God looke on mee in the face of his well beloved do I beleeve the Christian Faith doe I desire to doe all Christian duties strive I against mine owne corruptions this is Gods speciall favour unto mee it is his worke in mee for which
I am bound to bee thankfull unto him in which I am to take comfort this is my duty to follow his calling to be obedient to his government herein standeth my eternall happinesse or bee it that I doe not beleeve or love God or live in his feare yet is not this in my power to amend or have I any just cause of excuse examine not Gods decrees by thine owne reason or those lawes of justice which wee are bound to observe feare his Majesty humble thy selfe before his presence seeke his mercy receive not grace in vaine there is no way to heaven but a holy life and hee that purposeth thou shouldest besaved doth call thee to faith and repentance If thou avoid the meanes to attaine unto either thou â—…est thy selfe out and art an â—…my to thine owne Soule if thâ—… come unto God he will not reject thee wherefore aske for grace that thou maist come without which thou shalt never come and it is necessary for thee to know this lest thou shouldest trust to nature and not seeke grace or despaire when thou seest thou canst not attaine unto it by thine owne strength Aske not how he is mercifull which saveth a few and condemneth many how he is just which by his will so bringeth it about that wee are all in the cause of damnation but beleeve it aske not why God doth not change the wills of wicked men with whom and in whom hee doth not cease to worke but reverence his decree whose judgments are just though unknowne But thou art much troubled and vexed to heare this doctrine and so are many others this trouble this vexation if thou belong to God shall turne to thy good for it shall so humble and cast thee downe that thou shalt wholly depend on God and give him his glory but if thou belong not to him thou shalt complaine and murmure more and more and be nothing the better nothing the neare for God will not cease to be God though wee beleeve not nor good though we be wicked But who will care to beleeve to amend his life to strive against sinne if it be not in us if without us God have disposed of us surely none of himselfe can or will they only doe whom God doth vouchsafe to enable The word of God which is his revealed and conditionall will is unto some the savor of life unto life and unto others the savor of death unto death to none the savor of life but to those that beleeve to none the savor of death but to those that beleeve not he will have all men to be saved if they will them selves and hee forsakes none but they that forsake him these things are for us to marke and observe yet to beleeve or not to beleeve to will salvation or to will it not doe depend upon a higher will whose law is unknowne to us wee must live by that which is revealed and adore that which is hidden from us so shall wee neither neglect our duty nor deprive God of his glory and majesty Meditation 5. Of Patience THere is none which can bee merry none rich none well friended none in authority none have ever good successe more safely then a Christian for in all these he useth a good conscience yet because such a streame of prosperity is dangerous to mans frailty hee is not to looke for his heaven here but elsewhere because he is now in triall not in triumph a pilgrim and not at home that many troubles must bee suffered either to purge him of vice or for his better exercise of vertue and both to Gods glory I see nothing more necessary for him then Patience a vertue which doth harden him to follow Christ willingly and quickly in bearing the Crosse and if wee consider our Saviours life wee may observe that he used no one vertue more then Patience not only in his Passion but in the whole course of his life which as it were nothing but a Passion throughout so was it but an exercise of his continuall patience wee must suffer many things of our adversaries which will oppose themselves to our vocation it is not in our power to put them by and take them quietly wee cannot without patience Yea which is worst of all God will seeme sometimes to be against us and taking from us inward consolation will leave us to sorrow and sadnesse of spirit as if we were forsaken these things befell unto our Lord who used Patience as the best remedy teaching us not only to beare his Crosse but how to beare it also till it shall please God to returne againe unto us with comfort Wee must have patience to beare great tentations as well as small and to beare them as long as it pleaseth God whether great or small great troubles will need great Patience and small troubles enduring long no small Patience Now the Christian is to be exercised grievously continually because God meanes to make him partaker of a great victory a great reward Faith is necessary for our entrance into the Church hope to nourish faith and love is the fruit of faith and briefe of all the Commandements see here the summe of divinity But without Patience wee cannot abide in the Church for being once offended wee shall lose them except we have Patience Why is it said Woe bee to him that hath lost patience belike it is the last losse If a Master of a Ship lose his Anchor or Maine-mast or a Saile those are great losses yet to be repaired but if it be said once he hath lost his Ship wee know hee hath lost all and perhaps himselfe too so if wee lose a time of Prayer or the exercise of reading and meditation an occasion of doing good if wee stagger in faith these are heavy losses indeed yet particular and recoverable but if it be said wee have lost Patience what meanes it but that wee have lost all and our selves too Wherefore well is it said Woe be unto him that hath lost Patience Patience is as it were the second concoction of all vertues and drawes from them whatsoever is for the strength and nourishment of a Christian life if this be weake in working our strength is small From faith Patience drawes confidence from Hope perseverance from Love cheerfulnesse They which are Saints in Heaven are said to have Palmes in their hands a resemblance of Patience by which they are victorious Patience is a remedy in those causes which nothing else can remedy Shew thy faith to the persecutor he will not suffer thee to enjoy it except thou wilt lose liberty goods friends and life what will become now of thy faith except thou have Patience shew thy charity to thine enemy hee will despise it hee will wrong thee still more and more what then will become of thy charity if thou have not Patience let it bee knowne that thou art an upright man the Devill will tempt thee outwardly and inwardly and what will become
past have not refused to be Shepheards and they which at this day doe rule in the State have this as no meane title of their authority to be stiled Shepheards of the people yea God himselfe doth vouchsafe to expresse the Government which he taketh over his people under the title of Shepheard and Christ Jesus our Lord who died for mankind is called the great Shepheard of our Soules And indeed the charge over a flock or people are much like wee in England have a great desire to deale on Sheep and it is one of the chiefest commodities in the Countrey they are so profitable their Wool is in great request at home and with strangers their bodies are good for meat or medicine yea their very excrement have their use they are gentle of nature not dangerous to be handled as other beasts which are armed to defend or offend howbeit in this doth not the resemblance hold so well but if you respect the weaknesse and necessities of Sheep it may notably expresse the care the faithfullnesse the diligence which God useth in governing his people God is desirous to rule his servants as a flock of Sheep not for any great profit he can make of them neither is it intended of him which needs it not or lookt for there where it cannot be had for though their bodies were of excellent imployment by creation yet what are they of themselves since Adams Fall but cages of uncleane Birds nests of sinne grievously tainted with a sicknesse that in Sheep makes carcasse and Wool unprofitable It is alone then for our profit that hee will have us under government the Laws which he makes are not for his owne good which is infinite goodnesse in himselfe but for ours neither the courses which wee undertake under his direction for his happinesse who is eternall happinesse himselfe but for ours True it is that he addeth unto his Law authority to make us the rather yeeld unto that which is for our benefit and from his authority doth proceed reward or punishment that wee may know hee commandeth not in vaine Moreover the government of men as they best know which know State matters is the men themselves being so variable full of discontent and malice above all Creatures if wee will count them tame because of reason wee shall find them wild and savage by evill course and custome of life notwithstanding God doth make them so his owne whom he rules as his flock that none shall be able to pull them out of his hands he will not lose one of the least of them he leaveth the ninety and nine to seek out the wandring and lost Sheep and when he hath found him layeth him on his shoulders with joy and returning home maketh merry with his Neighbours for the Sheep that was lost but is found he knoweth his Sheep and is known of them he will lay downe his life for his Sheep and will not forsake them he bringeth them into the sweet pastures of his holy Word and refresheth them with the coole Waters of his Spirit he hath a rod and a staffe the rod keeps in his Sheep and the staffe keeps out the Wolfe by all which it commeth to passe that no flock is in such state as his they have a comely order in their going forth a provident provision of needfull things and sure safety all about them happy is he that can say The Lord is my Shepheard he that is not of this fold is of the Devils wast Christ hath many promises of good to be done unto his flock and for his flockes sake it is he cannot abide the Wolfe of which one is no good Neigbour and the other a deadly enemy to Sheep I count him the Wolfe which is the knowne adversary and the Goat is the loose Christian the adversary hath a bloudy mind and the loose Christian is offensive by an ill life Meditation 13. Dulnesse of Spirit THere is no disease more dangerous to a religious Soule then dulnesse or heavinesse of Spirit which makes the ground of the heart so cold that the seed of grace lyeth for a time as it were dead and hath no growth it makes the Christian either fearfull or slow to doe good and layeth him open to tentations it ariseth from the corruption of nature which is froward increaseth by diseases and discontentments and groweth to a head by particular doubts and uncertainties it hath strange Symptomes even in those which have beene well schooled and trained up in Christianity it suggesteth and would perswade them well-neare that it is all as well with the godlesse as the godly that he is in as good cause that sweareth as he that feareth an oath that an upright conscience is but a ceremonious scrupulosity formality and complement may serve as well that the world is not so unworthy a thing as lightly to be set by and the joyes of Heaven belong rather to Angels then men it is offended at hearing or reading Gods word prayers good workes holy meetings and hath some exception against them all it will perswade thee in particular that God doth not regard or so much as respect thy service and close with thee this at last if thy calling bee so worthy as thou wouldst make it yet art thou unworthy of thy calling unfit and so farre from speeding in it that it were better for thee to doe any other thing or just nothing I know not whereunto I may better compare this disease then to that which in women yong with child they call Longing when the stomach stopt with ill humours the appetite is altered and the Patient importunately desireth strange meats so in this cause naturall inbred corruptions striving against grace and abounding within doe alter the godly appetite making Gods servant loath his ordinary diet and exercises as being uncomfortable unsavory and to affect strange things contrary to the health of the Soule They which travell by Sea when they see it once calme and on a sudden to dance and shake and know no cause why looke for a tempest shortly after so this dulnesse or heavinesse which is so unquiet and out of order goeth many times before some greater sinne let it be considered whether such a kind of dulnesse came not on David before his adultery and numbring the people on the Disciples before they forsooke their master and specially on Peter before he denied his Lord. I put a difference betweene this heavinesse or dulnesse of spirit and that hardnesse of heart deadnesse or benumming which is proper to the wicked in cause for that proceeds from customes and habits in sinne from wilfull stubbernesse this from the reliques of corruption yet abiding in Gods children in degree that is without sense or feeling Like a lethargy this hath some resistance and like the fit of an Ague in event that doth make them worse and in the end overcome them this the godly doe overcome and after grow the better advised The meanes to avoid
carelesly and idlely bestow themselves on all occasions of sinne whence it is that the good man though he be many waies hardly tempted to sinne by the Devill and wicked men doth alwaies resist and becomes the better but the bad man having many faire occasions offered to amend doth prove the worse and lightly assaulted doth yeeld to vice to wish our selves such as wee ought to be to desire vertue and goodnesse to purpose well to adde to our purpose care and industry is not only a beginning but a going forward and procureth constancy in goodnesse If thou wilt not so much as wish to thy selfe the thing that good is if thou make not speciall choice therof above Gold and thine own appetite how canst thou labour for it and if thou wish the contrary how canst thou not chuse but hate it and in this cause who is in fault but thy selfe doe not ill and say I cannot doe better but rather I will not change thy purpose adde thy indeavours heartily beg and desire for it and hee which commands will give thee grace to turne and obey Meditation 35. Selfe deceit TWo motives there are why men sinne the more boldly because it will be longer as they thinke before they be called to account and when the account must be made amongst so many what hard matter is it for thee or one to escape scot free Thus use they to dally with their owne dangers which have made sinne their inheritance and seek shifts to avoid sounder causes wherin they are the lesse to bee pitied because they grosly deceive themselves Be it that it is long before we be called to account yet the length takes it not away but makes it the more heavy when it comes wee abusing the meane time unto sinne which God hath granted for our repentance so that wee should rather feare to sin because wee shall be called to account then be bold because of the delay for look how much scope the one giveth to our sinnes no lesse revenge doth the other take when they are growne to ripenesse and it is indeed as dangerous for the wilfull sinner that it is long before there be an account as that there is one Now what if that time which men count long bee very short to omit that no sinne is committed but the conscience doth call us forthwith to a reckoning though the act passe yet the guilt is eternally recorded in that booke as also that the life of man is but short after which every one hath his particular judgment and put it over as farre as may be to that generall Inqâ—…est and the latter end of the world what can be long which hath an end and is alwaies running to that end when the end is once come what is all that worth which past before whether they be 1000. or 2000. yeares and what is that continuance worth which is so full of ends that every part thereof passeth away whiles thou hast it minute after minute and houres after minutes daies after houres monthes after daies and yeares after moneths and after some few yeares which as they begin in a minute so end they in a minute perchance not a yeare not a moneth not a day not an houre in a moment comes death when most unlooked for Hast thou spent 7 yeares in sinne if thou be not a man past all shame thou art by this time much the sorier Why then should the hope of living so much longer make bold againe to sinne will not thy sorrow be doubled when thou commest to fourteen and what use returnes to thee of all these fourteen yeares are they not quite lost by following sinne and thou hast now more to doe if ever thou thinke to bee saved then when thou didst first hegin to say then I will sinne because the time of account is farre of as if one would say because I have much wealth I will spend all as though prodigality could find no bottome He that hath a long time by spending it in sinne doth barre himselfe from all time for if thou continue at all times in thy sinne what time can there be betweene sinne and the time of account and if not at first yet at last by a continuall course of sinne let the time of sinning be never so long sinne and judgment will come together and then thou wilt change thy voice and say Oh this long time is past and the account is at hand now that there will be much to doe at this time and where there are so many it is not likely but that some may escape without their triall though God doe teach us familiarly as men by such ordinary matters amongst us as wee may best understand his meaning as when he setteth downe unto us in his word the forme of a judgment yet must wee not tie him to these necessary circumstances whereunto mans judgment is subject for he executeth his judgment as God and not according unto mans weaknesse he is not bound to time or place or examination of witnesses all things are present before him which shall be our Judge as every mans conscience doth condemne him so shall he feele and know the sentence of the Judge neither shall one prevent or interrupt the other If thou canst not run from thy owne conseience how canst thou escape his judgment who is greater then thy conscience A sheep may stray from the flock amongst strangers but he beares a marke which tries him from the rest and discovers him to the owner in like manner the conscience hath its mark which wheresoever thou runne or thinkest to hide thy selfe will dog thee back to judgment and there lay open thy most secret crimes sins and enormities But these the former surmises of thine proceed not so much from ignorance as infidelity and impiety and doe sound in their true meaning this farre The day of account will never come therefore wee may well say it will bee long in comming it is impossible there should be such a generall judgment therefore some must needs escape This is that bitter root which springeth up now and then amongst carnall professors first to sinne and then to deny God against whose majesty wee sinne for if there be a God which were the greatest blaspemy to think otherwise there must needs be a judgment and his judgment cannot be just which were most wicked to imagine if he be partiall to any or not able to punish all and marke to this purpose the order of Gods workes first that is the creation then there followed the fall of man after a generall corruption of man and last of all the deluge and desolation of sinners the old world is a figure of succeeding ages the law was published by Moses betweene God and the people the covenants broken on the peoples part the punishment of the disobedient to the utter rooting our of that people and their Temple which was the visible signe of Gods presence amongst them the
and they shall receive right which would not doe right Princes and Popes which none did dare to call in question shall be here both examined and censured and the more mighty men have beene to do wrong the more mightily shall they be confounded Lastly the sentence is very short Come yee blessed Goe yee cursed but of the greatest weight and strength that ever was for this doth not passe on one man or a family or a Nation onely but on all mankind at one time neither is it touching goods and lands or credit or limme or life of the body but it doth concerne bodies and soules too for salvation or damnation and that not for a day or yeare to continue but for ever without any repealing And are these things so what manner of persons ought wee to be then in holy conversation and godlinesse looking for and hasting to the comming of the day of God for these things must so come to passe not to feare or trouble Gods children but to take revenge on his enemies As when some mighty Prince commeth towards a Castle of his besieged by the enemy and bringeth a great army with him to raise the siege this putteth them in no feare which are within but is to them a great comfort and therefore they looke over the walls and rejoyce at it with shouts and cryes but they which are without are perplexed with feare for the hurt which is neare unto them know yee not that to the worlds end the Church is besieged by the devill the world and the flesh then God will come to raise this siege and bring all his enemies under his feete and his comming is not to put them in feare which are within his Church but which assault it and therefore Christ said to his owne Lift up your beads for your salvation draweth nigh and in another place he saith Behold I come shortly and my reward is with mâ—e to give every man according to his worke Blessed are they that do his Commandements that their right may be in the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the City for without shall be dogges and enchanters and whoremongers and murtherers and Idolaters and whosoever loveth or maketh lies Meditation 45. Hell A Thought of Hell is sad not so sad as to feele the paine and they shall certainly feele it which thinke not oft on it and that sadly too make thy choyce if thou like mine goe forward with mee it is a punishment which shuts us out from the presence of God that is a losse of all good it is a paine of griefe in all parts of man according as their dispostion is to take griefe easlesse that 's the extremity comfortlesse it findes no pity endlesse it hath no remedy it is called the second death a worme of the conscience a bottomlesse pit utter darknesse fire unquenchable a river of brimstone which is kindled by the breath of the Lord of Hoastes there is no order but confusion weeping and gnashing of teeth Wilt know where it is how spatious the rage of the tormentors the fury of the torments the dispaire of the tormented God keepe thee and mee from this experience But is God so infinitely angry will hee so unmercifully forsake so hardly handle these which might have knowne and loved him had hee so listed and can never do him hurt though they would Dispute not vaine clay thou art in the Potters hand to deale with thee as hee pleaseth his judgements are too high for thee beleeve his word obey thy calling follow him which descended into hell to fetch thy condemnation thence and thou shalt find God mercifull to thy soule yea nothing but mercy and in this cause I put thee over for a conclusion of all to the meditation of Heaven Meditation 46. Heaven and the heavenly inheritance THis is not meate for all mouthes art thou truly humbled for thy sinnes persecuted for the truth oppressed in thy right dost thou hate the world and art thou prepared for death then art thou a Gomer fit to keepe this Manna without corrupting but thou must beleeve else shalt thou not understand for most true is that which the Apostle saith We walke by faith and not by sight the things which are seene are temporall but the things which are not seene are eternall and as Saint John saith Now are wee the sonnes of God but yet it doth not appeare what wee shall be and wee know that when hee shall appeare wee shall be like him for we shall see him as he is If a King can do so much what trow you will the King of Kings do for that man which hee meanes to honor he hath already given his Son for thee and by him forgiven thy sinnes he hath given unto thee the priviledg of thy calling the honour of thy profession the liberty of thy conscience the helpes of his Sacraments the use of his Word the communion of Saints the counsell of the wise the familiarity of the good the beginnings of regeneration the proceedings of faith hope and love the fruits of patience peace joy and conscionable dealing last of all that great prerogative the intercession of Christ in all thy prayers if he have done so much for thee in this pilgrimage what will hee do for thee in thy country if thou have had such benefits in the wildernesse what art thou to hope for in Canaan The eye hath not seene the heart of man is not able to conceive how then can the tongue utter them but beleeve thou in thy soule which loves God the things which he hath provided for them that love him this world was made without any provision what a world will that be which God doth provide so long before hand and hee tels thee hee hath provided it that thou mightst know thou canst not be deceived before we have it we have the earnest of it and when wee have it nothing can take it from us so that there is presently an immunity from evill and a security never to returne to evill and there is also plenty and community we enjoy all good yea God himselfe the well of goodnesse therefore wee live still but what wee were is a shadow to what we are yea the best we were is almost nothing to that we are wee were in grace wee are in glory wee live still but more in God than in our selves we rejoyce as much for others as for our selves we are not onely reformed in bodies and soules but also transformed into a divine nature as the Angels free from necessities as Christ highly favoured in Christ as God eternalnally blessed such is the heavenly inheritance of the Saints which although it be common to many yet every one of the family hath his proper right in it and though it be divided yet is not the propriety of any the lesse or the communion the weaker for every one is fully content with his part and doth rejoyce as much in
of men addicted to this life where plenty is before want and prosperity before poverty to whom giving seemes spending and receiving a fruitfull harvest but to the spirituall man whose life is in God it is plaine as grounded upon a true contempt of the world and is the right exercise of charity which Christians must regard and Christ at the last day will confirme it to be true by that finall judgment when hee shall pronounce them blessed which have given and others cursed which have had more care to gaine then give Oh my soule think nothing thine that charity bids thee spare or if it be thine it is by the right of using it well to the good of others for the rest thou shalt answer as for things stollen Meditation 21. Say well and doe well LEt every man speake as hee meanes but first let him meane well for he which useth to speak well and hath no good meaning doth soone prove a dissembler it is simply good alwaies to meane well for that causeth a man to speak well and to be the same in deed which he is in word let every man speak as he list so he live well saith another as though men could speak without affecting as many times they speak without truth He that doth use to speak ill will shortly bee the man he speakes of transforming himselfe by little and little into the Image of his owne words such a man indeed speakes plainly but dangerously to himselfe and others for his meaning being no better then his speech he imboldens himselfe and corrupts others and this is the rule Custome of good speech doth not alter the meaning which is ill but the use of ill speech doth alter the meaning which is good and make it naught whence it is if I heare a man speak well I am still uncertain but if I see him do well then I certainely know him though he bee silent because his meaning is shewed truly in deed which in words is dark or doubtfull It is the proverb Say well is good but do well is better How is it good if it make not a bad man the better or prove not one to be good nay it is oft times the vizard of a foule face the curtaine of an uncleane bed the plaister of a festered soare the seeling of some rotten wall and is first a countenance to sinne which lyeth hid under it and in the end a disgrace to goodnesse as though it were nothing else but verball Wherefore say well is good not positively or simply of it selfe but privatively that is lesse hurtfull then doing or saying ill respectively as it is joyned with a good meaning so say well is good when it shewes a man as he is affected but doe well is better for that is the fruit of a good affection The vessell doth yeeld such liquor as it hath and as the mans trade is so is his talke oh my soule conceive thy thoughts according to the Idea of that divine goodnesse which thy mind doth behold and when they are borne into words Jacobs lambes shall not be more like the party-coloured stickes laid before the Ewes in time of conception then thy words and deeds shall be unto that Idea but if thou suffer thy selfe to talke without good meaning thy words shall be without feeling and rather to condemne thy selfe then to amend others Another proverb is that true meaning hath no fellow there is none to whom thou maist commit thy selfe more safely and which will doe thee more good then true meaning it will save thee from sinne and shame and make thy word and deed both one and it will cause thy friend safely to commit himselfe unto thee and to find as much good in thy words and deeds as thou dost in thy owne true meaning by it thou shalt free thy selfe from much lip-labour and study of cloquence for true meaning shall teach thee to speak in few words and yet to bee well understood and shall adde such grace and force to thy words as if perswasion her selfe did speak for thee but who speakes without true meaning hath lost his voice because he speaketh from an hollow heart which yeelds an uncertaine sound and if men heare any thing it is the least part and as an eccho it is presently gone A sound heart makes a sound tongue the tongue in nature cannot and in reason should not move without the heart and therfore if the tongue move of it selfe or before the heart order is broken and it is ominous to say as wee meane is to follow God who is truth it selfe but to doe otherwise is to imitate the practice of the Devill who by this deceived our first parents Meditation 22. Of Obedience THere is an Obedience of the Law and an Obedience of Faith the Obedience of the Law tels mee what I ought to be the Obedience of faith leades mee unto it the Obedience of the law condemns mee for not being as I ought the Obedience of faith doth quit mee from the law the Obedience of the law doth bring mee into bondage of the curse the Obedience of faith makes mee an inheritor of the blessing in my mind I doe allow the obedience of the law but in my conscience I trust to the Obedience of faith I am cotent that my life be ordered by the Obedience of the law but look to be censured by the Obedience of faith The Obedience of the law hath boasting and merits repentance pardon acceptation desire unfaigned belong not to the Obedience of the law but of faith I have nothing to boast of except I should boast of my owne shame and I have no claime but mercy Except God look on my repentance and forgive my sinnes in Christ except he do accept what is done in his feare and pardon what is left undone except he regard my desire more then my deserving and measure my desires rather by their sincerity then their strength what will become of mee Meditation 23. Temptation SHake not hands with any Tentation but turne quickly and fly speedily from it as Joseph did from his Mistresse it is a greater hap not to goe downe into such a pit then any sure hope to returne out of it Oh my soule thou knowest what I meane and thou feelest the danger thou canst more truly dislike sinne then leave it and hate it then be rid of it yet he which commanded Lazarus forth of the grave can raise thee and hath he not done a like thing for thee Why dost thou still love danger to fall into it I neither love the danger nor the fall but sinne pleades custome and the more I yeeld the lesse able am I to resist I am only strong in opinion but weake in Tentation and I find more safety in flying then fighting while I stand on my guard my weapons to which I ordinarily trust are striken out of my hands the base towne of my senses is surprised the castle of reason so