divers Gestures and Expressions which are not requisite or necessary for any but God and the Soul to be privy to Now what Place soever you find to be necessary for this important Duty be sollicitous to make choiee of II. As for the Time the best Opportunity is in the Morning for the First Fruits of the Day being Holy all the rest are Sanctified Moreover our Thoughts being then not polluted with worldly Affairs they are not so liable to distraction and the Body it self is more serene than after Meals and this Duty requires a vacuity in the Stomach not only because the Head will be more perspicuous and apt for Meditation but also because many Passages of Meditation require so much Attention of the Mind and Fervency of Affection that they do hinder Digestion And this Duty being performed in the Morning it will have an influence upon the whole Day But this Rule is not universal for we read that Isaac went forth in the Evening to medirate Gen. 24. 63. And if the Subject of your Meditation be a Sermon then perhaps the properest time is immediately after the hearing of it before your Affections cool or your Memory fail you III. FOR the Duration considering the Parts of Meditation are so many as Preparation Considerations Affections Resolutions and the like And not one of these are to be past slightly over for Affections are not quickly raised nor are we to cease blowing the fire if it flame until it be well kindled Half an Hour may be reckon'd to be the least for Beginners and an Hour for those that are Proficients in this Duty IV. But in this Particular there is Two Rules especially to be observed First That as we ought not to desist from our Prayers before that temper and frame or heart is wrought which is suitable to the Requests of our Petitions so we should not desist in our Confession of Sin till our Hearts are truly sensible and humbled for Sin neither should we slacken our Praises until our Hearts are filled with holy Admirings and inflamed with the Love of the Almighty Now the End of Meditation are Affections and Resolutions therefore we should not desist till those are effected V. SO in Private Prayer when we find our Hearts enlarged by the Effusion of the Spirit of Supplication upon us we are not to desist unless by our persisting in that Duty we omit another to which we are more particularly obliged at that juncture so in Meditation when we perceive the Heart affected we are to continue it But this Caution must be observ'd That in our Enlargements we must not continue them longer than while they flow freely without much Straining and Compulsion for Honey which comes freely from the Comb is pure but forced by Heat and Pressure is not so well relish'd Now if the Heart is dead we must use our utmost diligence to awaken it and when once our Hearts are inflamed and enlarged by holy Affections in an extraordinary manner 't is but an impediment to our Affections to return to the Meditation of those Points that raised them SECT IV. Of the Subject and Method of Meditation FIRST Avoid Controversie for that will convert Meditation into Study and nice Speculations for they are sapless without Nutriment besides being so light they fluctuate in the Brain and want ponderosity to sink them down into the Heart and inddeed were they admitted they are so insignificant as the Heart by its reception could acquire no Affectation But let the Subject of your Meditation be the plainest powerfullest and usefullest Verities of the Almighty as Death Iudgment Hell and Heaven the Mercies of God our own Sins and the Love and Sufferings of a crucified Saviour Contemplate on that which is most suitable to your Spiritual Wants as in the time of Desertion meditate most of the Love and Mercies of God and thy own Unworthiness c. II. NOW the Rules for Meditation are these Three 1st Preparatory 2dly For the Body of the Duty And 3dly The Conclusion In our Duty of Preparation besides the choice of the Subject we are to be convinced and affected with the Presence of the Deity and to use fervent Prayer for the Divine Assistance Secondly For the Body of Meditation it consists of Three Parts The First is Consideration which is the convincing our Hearts of several Verities appertaining to that Subject whereof we meditate III. IF the Subject of our Meditation be Death the Considerations may run thus Alas O my Immmortal Soul the Manner Time and Place where we shall expire we are ignoraut of generally Mens Lives come to a period sooner than they expect and certain it is whensoever that Hour or Minute approaches we must bid adieu to Honours Pleasures Riches Friends and at last our own frail Bodies c. The Second Part is Affections whether it be Love of God Christ or Spiritual Things despising of the World admiring of the Omnipotency or any other Spiritual Affection The Third Part are Resolutions to perform that which is agreeable to God's Command and to desist from all manner of Evil. IV. NOW that this is the most proper and genuine way of Meditation evidently appears First Because it is not Artificial and such as requires Learning as those Instructions are which advise us to consider the Efficient Final Formal Material Cause of Defunction with the Adjuncts Concomitants and Concatenations c. which though they perhaps may please the Learned yet such difficult words astonish the Ignorant Now this is the Method by which every one that is brought home to God is converted V. AND the first thing in Coversion is our being convinced of some Truths which Conviction raiseth Affections For if the Verities of the Divine Omnipotence end in Conviction and go no further nay if they end in Aflections only and never arrive to Resolutions of shunning Evil and performing of Good Conversion can never be perfected As for Example One is convinced that he is a miserable undone Wretch by reason of Original and Actual Abomination Upon this Conviction Fear and Sorrow are excited yet if these do not operate in us a fixed Resolution of forsaking those Sins we are yet in our Sins and unconverted Thirdly There are several things for the concluding of Meditation which I shall treat of in its proper order SECT V. Of being affected with the Divine Presence WE are to consider God is present in all places as really and Essentially as he is in Heaven For Omnipotency did not create Heaven for his Confinement but to manifest his Glory for the Heaven of Heavens are not able to contain him neither is the Almighty included by nor excluded from any place And though Iacob said Surely the Lord was in this place and I knew it not Gen. 28. 16. yet we must not imagine that Iacob was ignorant of the Verity of it but did not actually consider it but the the Psalmist in the 139th Psalm is perspicuous in explaining and
THE Whole Duty OF DIVINE MEDITATION Described In all its various Parts and Branches WITH MEDITATIONS ON Several Places of Scripture By the Author of The Whole Duty of Man Psal. cxix 16. I will meditate on thy precepts and have respect unto thy ways London Printed for Iohn Back at the Black-Boy on the Middle of London-Bridge 1694. LICENSED Decemb. 20. 1693. THE PREFACE THE Whole Duty of Prayer having met with so good a Reception in the World I have at the Request and Importunity of some Friends recommended to the Press this remaining Tract bearing the Title of the Whole Duty of Meditation by that Reverend and Worthy Author of the Whole Duty of Man The Subject I need not commend for it carries its Worth along with it and to every Christian will appear both pleasant and profitable For by Meditation the truly Religious may converse with the Almighty and from the Throne of Grace find Help and Comfort in time of Need to those which are Aery and are the Darlings of the World this Gift may procure a well-compos'd Mind For if he who by often looking on a Ring with a Death's Head at last grew sober who knows but by often Meditating their Hearts may be brought into a more serious and heavenly frame The Royal Prophet stiles Meditation the Food of the Soul Psal. 63. 4. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness while I meditate on thee The Heart never willingly fixeth upon Heaven till the Almighty is the Treasure of it for where any Man's Treasure is there will his Heart be also Now it cannot easily meditate but where it doth delight Psal. 119. 97. Love is the Weight of the Soul it readily moves to its beloved Object Mary will not depart from the Sepulchre where Christ had lain before she had made Enquiry where she might see him whom her Soul loved It is the Duty of every good Christian to observe the Prophet David's Rule Psal. 16. 8. to set the Lord always before him that he may be in his fear all the day long There is nothing more unstedfast than the Mind of Man and therefore nothing can so well compose it as True Sanctity which brings such great Advantages that with holy Job it makes the Soul both serious and willing to acquaint it self with God that it may be at peace Iob 22. 21. He is the Rest of the Soul and the more it knows of him the more desirous it is to reside with him that it may know more The more it tasteth of his Favour the more it longeth after his Glory as Moses did Exod. 33. 17 18. What the Philosopher said of all Knowledge is true only of the Knowledge of God that it is Quies Intellectus And therefore our Saviour calleth it Eternal Life Iohn 17. 3. in which alone the Soul doth rest Now one excellent Means of fixing the Heart on God is Meditation whereby the highly Pious summons together all that is within them to bless his Name Psal. 103. Meditation is the Wing of the Soul which carrieth the Affections thereof to Things Above By this with Moses it goeth up to the top of Mount Pisgah to take a Prospect of the Promised Land It is as Clemens Alexandrinus saith of Prayer a Conversing with God And as St. Chrysostome saith of Faith so may we of Meditation it makes God and Christ and Precepts and Promises ours by giving us a fuller Possession of them Hereby we hold fast what we have learned we awaken our Faith inflame our Love strengthen our Hope revive our Desires encrease our Joys in God we furnish our Hearts and fill our Mouths with Materials of Prayer we slacken our Affections from the World we pre-acquaint our selves with those Glories which we yet but hope for and get some knowledge of that Love of Christ which passeth Knowledge The Necessity Excellency and Usefulness of this Christian Duty the Reverend Author of this Tract hath Elegantly described which is therefore worthy Perusal of such as desire to acquaint and furnish themselves with so excellent a part of Christian Skill whereby we may be filled with the Fulness of God and be always able continually to say My Heart is fixed O God my Heart is fixed I will sing and give Praise G. B. Advertisement THere is lately publish'd The Whole Duty of Prayer Containing Devotions for Every Day in the Week and for Several Occasions Ordinary and Extraordinary By the Author of The Whole Duty of Man Necessary for all Families The Third Edition Printed for Iohn Back at the Black-Boy on the Middle of London-Bridge THE Whole Duty OF DIVINE MEDITATION SECT I. What Meditation is FIRST Divine Meditation differs from Occasional by these Examples When you hear the Hour of the Day or Night think with thy self What Thoughts O my God have I had of thee this Hour I am now nearer the silent Grave and know not how soon I may be arrested by the Hand of Death THESE are like Ejaculatory Prayers which tho' they are as Parenthesis in our Worldly Employment yet they signifie more than all the rest of the Business we are employed in but Meditation is of longer Duration than solemn Prayer upon Ordinary Occasions II. SECONDLY It differs from Study For Study consists of those things that are most knotty and difficult and generally such as afford little Spiritual Nourishment but the Subject of Divine Meditation concerns our Eternal Happiness The End of Study is Knowledge but the End of Meditation is Sanctity III. THIRDLY It differs from Contemplation For Contemplation is applicable to the Beatifical Vision where the Angels behold the Face of the Almighty Now Meditation is like Fire kindling and Contemplation the flaming of it when fully kindled The one is like the Spouses Seeking of Christ and the other like her Enjoying of him IV. FOURTHLY To conclude Meditation is a a serious and solemn considering of Heavenly Things to the end we may understand how much it concerns us and that our Hearts thereby may be raised to some holy Affections and Resolutions Now there are Four kinds of Solemn Meditation according to their several Subjects V. FIRST Some Solemn Meditations are upon the hearing of Sermons which is a very useful and necessary Practice amongst Christians and it is better to hear one Sermon and meditate on it than to hear two and meditate of neither Now to prescribe a Method for Meditating on Sermons is neither necessary nor possible since the Methods of Sermons are various therefore the Mediatours are to observe the Method of the Sermon they meditate upon and the Fruits of such Meditations is to work those Truths Advices and Motives c. upon our Affections that are propos'd to us in the Sermon VI. THE Second kind of Solemn Meditation is when upon some Providential Occasion spiritual Distemper or Temptation we retire and pour out our Souls in Prayers Soliloquies c. Which connot but in a very large sence be styled Prayer
clearing up the Omnipresence of the Almighty II. NEXT we must consider That the Almighty doth more peculiarly observe his Servants while they are performing of heavenly Duties Yet this is to be understood not as if God observ'd us more at one time than another in respect of his Omnisciency but we may inferr That God is much more offended with us if our Deportment and Frame of Heart be more irreverent and unholy in the Duty of Prayer and Meditation than in the Duties of our particular Calling III. WE may consider with our selves That Christ doth actually behold us especially in these Duties of Sanctity For it is not the remoteness of Place that doth obstruct Christ's Omnisciency and exact observing of us Little did Nathanael think that Christ saw him under the Fig-Tree Nathanael did not perceive Christ neither then was he corporally present yet Christ beheld Nathanael when he prayed So Christ beheld St. Stephen before the Heavens were opened and the opening of the Heavens was not that thereby Christ might be enabled the better to behold St. Stephen but that this holy Proto-Martyr might thereby be the better enabled to discern that Christ looked on him IV. AND without all controversie the Almighty observes and knows with what Reverence Faith and Love we address our selves to him for else our Prayers would be fruitless and our Faith ineffectual For how could he distribute to us according to our Faith if he knew not the extent of it If the inferiour frame of our Hearts were not observed by Omnipotency we may then inferr that an Hypocrite which can utter extraordinary Expressions should acquire more by his Addresses to the Almighty than a true Nathanael in whom there is no guile V. Suppose that thou hadst lived in that Age when Christ was upon Earth or that he were corpotally present now near thy Habitation consider with what Joy Reverence Alacrity and Assurance thou wouldst address thy self to him for the Pardon of thy Sins or for any other Mercy thou stoodst in need of After the same manner thou mayst now address thy self his remoteness from thee in respect of a Corporal Presence doth not diminish his Power to discern thy Wants or give an Audit to thy Petitions nor his being now glorified doth not derogate his Benevolence to grant thy Requests than if he were corporally present in the Room with thee in the form of a Servant as he was once at Ierusalem VI. THE Glory of Christ doth not slacken his Love and Goodness for Christ is the express Image of his Father and God's Attributes are all consonant The Majesty of Heaven doth not set Limits unto his Goodness and make that finite nor doth his Bounty make his Omnipotency less glorious His Goodness makes his Deity more amiable and his Omnisciency makes his Mercies more wonderful so neither doth the Exaltation of Christ excite him to abate or diminish his Goodness to any that serve him according to his divine Precepts VII BUT if in any method his Love is mutable it is by an Augmentation For when our blessed Lord was in the flesh you must have approached him by Faith or expected no Mercy and by Faith though he is inthroned in Heaven you may obtain Mercy in time of need Thus you may ponder upon any of these Considerations until your Heart be so convinced of and affected with the Presence of God that you thereby may be the better fitted for the carrying on the Duty of Meditation more effectually SECT VI. Of Preparatory Prayer Before Meditation THE next Preparatory Consideration is Prayer which thou mayst perform to this or the like purpose LORD my design at this time is not to be sequestred an Hour from worldly Enjoyments for that were to be guilty of a Cessation and to encrease the number of my Sins not my Graces but my Sollicitation at this time is to be so convinced and affected with those spiritual Verities revealed in thy Sacred Word that I may fully resolve by thy Strength and Power to reform my Life for I can neither understand the things that belong to my Peace not understanding them be convinced of the Certainty and Verity of them II. NAY Lord though my Understanding is illuminated yet without thee my Affections cannot be enflamed I can neither know resolve nor perform any Good without thee for from thee proceeds both the Will and the Benefit of thy good Pleasure Lord I humbly implore 〈◊〉 to replenish me with thy Grace that I may be consciencious in performing this Duty with my whole Strength and not negligently and inconsiderately And Lord do thou illuminate me and convince me with thy Sacred Truths and so affect my Heart with the Love of Sanctity and a Detestation of all Sin and Wickedness that I may thereby be fully and firmly resolv'd notwithstanding all the Oppositions that the Flesh the World or the Devil can procure to run the ways of thy Commandments with joy and celerity III. AND Lord grant that when thou hast operated in me the Will so to perform give me also the Benefit and let me not trust to the Strength of my Resolutions but to the continual gracious Assistance of thy holy Spirit for the Performance of those Duties that through thee I shall resolve to pursue Grant this O holy and blessed Father even for the Merits of thy dear Son who hath commanded me to approach to thee in his Name for any Mercies I stand in need of O let these my Petitions reach thy merciful Ears even for his sake who is my only Lord and Saviour Amen IV. THIS or the like Prayer thou art to send up to the Throne of Grace But this must be done with thy whole Heart for thou must believe that it is by the Strength which thou shalt acquire from God by Prayer whereby thou shalt be enabled to perform this or any other Duty profitably for it is he that teaches us to be Proficients Now he that begins a holy Duty without God will end it without him also It is a pernicious thing to imagine that we can by our Natural Parts Learning or by the strength of Grace already received without the Almighty's further Assistance perform any thing that can please him or edifie our own Souls for though our Mountain be made strong yet if he withdraws the Light of his Countenance we are in Obscurity V. WE may with much more reason declare Now the Sun is in his full Meridian and the Air is so serene that now we can transact well enough for a space though that Solar Luminary be eclipsed than to testifie though our Hearts be never so much inflamed with the Love of the Almighty now we are so supplied and inflamed with his divine Love we can subsist by our own Strength and for the present we want not God's further Assistance afford us but Subject Matter to meditate of and we shall be of Ability to continue and encrease our Flames Do not possess thy self
being mix'd of such variety as sometimes speaking to the Great Majesty of Heaven and humbly acknowledging how we stand affected to Him and his Ordinances sometimes we examine our Soul chiding encouraging or instructing it sometimes we reason with our selves what holy Resolutions we design to put in practice and what we intend to supplicate the Almighty Many Instances of this nature you may find in Psal. 42. and other Psalms which cannot properly be called Prayers but Solemn Meditations VII THE Third kind of Solemn Meditation are those that are upon Scripture which is the Word of God and his words are pure even as the silver tried seven times in the fire Psal. 12. 6. Our Saviour's Precept is That we should search the Scriptures Joh. 5. 39. And St. Paul bids us prove all things 1 Thes. 5. 21. And if we meditate on God's Word which is the Golden Rule of all our Devotions we shall acquire that Peace to our Souls which the World cannot give nor none upon Earth can take from us for all his Promises are Yea and Amen 2 Cor. 1. 20. VIII THE Last kind of Meditation is upon some Practical Truth of Religion which is the planting and nourishing of all true Vertue among Men to grow in grace 2 Pet. 3. 18. to cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit 2 Cor. 7. 1. And endeavouring to take hold of St. Paul's pressing Argument to his Corinthians to be stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord then this Assurance will infallibly appertain to us That our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord 1 Cor. 15. 58. SECT II. That Meditation is a Duty THAT Isaac did not neglect Solemn Meditation is evident by reason he went out into the Fields to perform it and to shew that it was a Set-Duty 't is said that he went on t to meditate And God commanded Ioshua to perform this Duty as a chief means for the keeping of the Law Iosh. 1. 18. And indeed we ought not to forget so important an Exercise for the Occasion of Sin is the want of Consideration and not want of Knowledge Isa. 1. 3. For who is there almost in the World that knows not but that he must die but how few are they that consider it Deut. 32. 29. II. NEXT The Necessity of Meditation is very material For none can enter into a State of Conversion who thinks it insignificant To confirm which we have it recorded in Scripture the Story of the Prodigal Son who listed himself in Harlots company but upon his submissive return was receiv'd again into his Father's favour Now this is the Method of the Converted First He hears the sacred Truth of God's Word and is convinced by it Secondly He considers and meditates upon it and sees how much it concerns himself Thirdly He is affected with them and being thus affected it raiseth holy Resolutions of better Obedience III. BUT some will object and say I am Illiterate and cannot attain to it and therefore I must relinquish it and leave it to the Learned who is best able to perform a Duty of so great Importance To which I answer as in the Mathematical Science He that is a rational Man and does but improve his Reason though he hath neither Tongues nor Arts to assist him may understand and grow to an extraordinary Excellency in any Art if he has God's Assistance and does but exercise and improve it he may reap the Benefit and Fruit of Meditation IV. OTHERS will object and declare It is a very hard Duty To which my Replication is this That the harder any thing seems it is the more excellent when it is attained but the Obstacle is apparent and inferrs it not to be consonant to our perverse Wills and Affections and the more dissonant any thing is to that which is Evil the more congruous it is to sublimer Actions For it cannot reasonably be expected that any Duty should be performed at the first with much facility For Example the Seven Liberal Sciences which are of great Excellency in Temporal Enjoyments are not so easily attained without Sollicitation and Sedulity V. NOW the reason is evident for this Duty is powerful in mortifying Corruptions dulcified things nourish and pamper the Body and bitter things gives a purgation Therefore if you will only perform those Duties that are pleasant and delectable they will only nourish not purge out Corruption Therefore implore the Almighty to inflame your Hearts with his divine Love and then this Duty will not only be facile and delightful but will so affect the Undertaker that it will be very difficult to avoid a Duty of so great importance for it is as great a difficulty to take our Affections off from what we admire as it is to place 'em upon what we abhorr For bid the covetous Person forsake his Gold and Silver and bid him entertain the Thoughts of Things Celestial and he 'll find an equal Difficulty in both VI. INDEED the Love of the Almighty and Desire of Spiritual Things are acquired by Meditation and when once our Hearts are inflam'd by that Exercise then our Meditations are inflam'd by Love For as Sparks of Fire 〈◊〉 is first blown up before the Flame encreases so the Difficulty of Meditation appears at the beginning when there is but as it were a Spark of divine Love in the Heart it will require some Pains by Meditation to blow it up to a Flame but afterwards the Heart will be so fervent with these Conflagrates of Love that it will so inflame all the Thoughts and create in us not only Facility but a Necessity to meditate on Things Spiritual VII Now some will object If it be a Duty so Necessary how comes it to pass that it hath been so geeerally Neglected by most Christians To which I answer That it hath been practised by many in ancient Times and by many modern Christians The Sacred Scriptures inform us and it is evident that the Psalms of the Royal Prophet are frequently digested into Meditations But this being a Private Closet-Duty the Omission nor Performance of it could not be taken notice of and so the Omission of it could not be reprehended nor Performance observed Lastly The Directions and Instructions for Meditation have been generally very abstruse and intricate SECT III. Rules and Directions for Meditation AS to the Place that must be apart remote from Society and Disturbance the Patriarch Isaac went into the Fields our Blessed Saviour into a Garden and the Prophet David adviseth us to enter into our Chamber and be still Psal. 4. 4. And Christ commands us to enter into our Closet and shut the door Now the reason of the Privacy is this that we might receive no Interruption or any Distraction nor be forced to break off abruptly before the Duty be ended next that we may be recluse from the Observation of all Mortals that we may neither be heard nor seen for there are
that Vice he advises him not to look upon the Wine for as the Beauty of a prostitute Harlot so the Colour of Wine will inflame our Desires after it Prov. 23. 31. After this method Iob resolv'd I have made a covenant with mine eyes why then should I look upon a maid Job 31. 1. VI. NEXT You must observe this Caution If you find your Heart never so much resolving against and detesting of any Sin yet be very circumspect that you confide not upon the strength of Resolution but earnestly deprecate the Almighty that he would enable you by his Divine Power and that as he has given you the Will so he would give you his Grace to perform it SECT IX Of Vows AS your Resolutios are so let your Vows be rather against the Occasions of Sin than against Sin it self In things Indifferent beware of making any Perpetual Vow but rather let it be Conditional As First That you will abstain from such a thing or perform what you design'd unless you shall be otherwise advised by some discreet sober Person Secondly Add this Caution if thou art guilty of Drinking viz. If I think of it I will not drink Wine this Month. Now if a Breach of this Vow be made though you did not think of it you sin if your Vow be absolute II. THE next Caution concerning Things Indifferent is this Add a Penalty upon the Breach oâ— your Vow which may be to this purpose I resolve to set a-part one Hour in the Day in Prayer for the Church to the End of this Month or else give Alms to the Poor In such a case if we perform either we sin not And the reason of our Penalty is because some Inconveniences may arise which may prove very prejudicial to us and then we have liberty to take the other part of our Vow viz. To give so much to the Poor III. NOW this Penalty we inflict upon our selves must not be too light and trivial but of such consequence as may be obligatory yet not of that ponderosity to be prejudicial For a rich Man to vow he will bestow a small Matter on the Poor is inconsiderable yet perhaps by a poor Man the same Value may be of too large an extent But let your Penalty be according to the Rules of Scripture and Reason and opposite to those Sins which are most prevalent in thee For Example If Covetousness reigns in thee exercise thy Penalty in Alms If Voluptuousness Prayer and Fasting or abstaining wholly for a time from thy greatest Delight and Recreation IV. LASTLY Let your Vows be rather against the External than the Internal Acts of Sin rather against Speaking angrily than being Angry For though External Acts of Sin are worse yet we have not so much dominion over them If your Vows extend to the Performance of Holy Duties let it be as to the Time not the Quantity For Example Should'st thou bind thy self to read such a number of Chapters perhaps thou art tempted to read them too hastily over whereas if thou dost allot thy self so much Time thou art not so liable to this Temptation SECT X. How to Conclude your Meditations FIRST Thou must earnestly beseech the Almighty to give thee Strength to perform whatever thou hast resolv'd to act in his Service This must be perform'd fervently though briefly and humbly from an earnest Desire to act what thou hast promised and resolved and also from an humble sense of thine Inability in the Performance Next express thy Thankfulness and when thou findest any Alteration wrought in thy Hearr to detest Sin give God the Glory and rejoyce not in thy self except it be with trembling at thy own Pride and Arrogancy II. NEXT We are to remember what Parts of our Medtation did most affect us and lay them up so in our Thoughts that frequently we may ponder on ' em Lastly When thy Meditations are ended depart not hastily to thy Temporal Employments Go not from the Presence of the Almighty as a Bird out of the Snare of the Fowler with alacrity and speed but go vigilantly and warily from Holy Duties The Collects to be said Before or After Meditation O LORD from whom all good Things do come grant to me thy humble Servant that by thy holy Inspiration I may Think those things that be good and by thy merciful guiding may Perform the same through our Lord Jesus Christ Amen GRANT to me Lord I beseech thee the Spirit to Think and Doe always such things as be rightful that I who cannot do any thing that is good without thee may by thee be enabled to live according to thy Will through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen I BESEECH Thee Almighty God look upon the hearty Desires of me the humblest of thy Servants and send forth the Right-hand of thy Majesty to be my Defence against all my Enemies through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen MED I. Confession of Sin 1 John i. 9. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness OMNIPOTENT God my Sins ever appear in my sight and are a Torment unto my Mind every Day I think of thy Judgment because Death threatens me every Hour And when I remember I must appear before the Iudgment-seat of Christ 2 Cor. 5. 10. then I exaamine my whole Life and find it is altogether Vanity my Actions are vain my Words profane and my Thoughts unprofitable If the shadow of some Vertue appears it is imperfect because Original Sin and my vitiated Nature hath polluted it II. IF all our righteousness are as filthy rags Isa. 64. 6. what can we expect our Unrighteousness should be Our Saviour tells us When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you say we are unprofitable servants Luk. 17. 10. And if we are so unprofitable in our Acts of Obedience certainly we are abominable in our Transgressions St. Gregory in his Morals tells us A diminutive Light may shine in Obscurity but being set in the Sun is darken'd Wood not measured may appear strait but applied to the Rule is found oblique The Impress of a Seal may appear perfect in the Eyes of the Spectators and yet be very imperfect in the Eye of the Artificer So that which glitters in the Estimation of the Performer is often-times sordid in the Discretion of the Judger For the Thoughts of God are different from the Thoughts of Men Isa. 55. 8. III. THE Memory of many Sins affrights me and yet there are divers I am ignorant of Who can tell how oft he offendeth O cleanse thou me from my secret faults Psal. 19. 12. I dare not look up to Heaven because I have offended him which inhabits there In Earth I enjoy no Refuge expecting nothing from the Creatures because I have offended the Lord of the Universe My Adversary the Devil accuseth me to the Almighty and desires him the most Just Judge to condemn me to Chains of
accomplish their Designs were driven out of Paradise Gen. 3. 6. So may we expect it that Immortal Part our Souls should forsake him who hath so dearly purchas'd 'em and cleave unto the World but that we must undergo the same if not a worse Punishment V. THEY which neglect our Saviour's candid Invitation of Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden shall not avoid hearing of him pronounce that Sentence of Go ye cursed into everlasting fire Mat. 25. 41. The Sodomites were consumed with fire Gen. 19. 24. for refusing to hear Lot's Doctrine and without a speedy Repentance the Fire of God's Anger will consume them which have despised his Gospel and rejected all Reproof The five Foolish Virgins who neglected trimming their Lamps were excluded the Bridegrooms Presence so those whose Hearts are not inspired with Celestial Oyl must expect to be debarr'd the Participation of Eternal Joy and Comfort VI. CHRIST internally calls to us by his Holy Spirit and secretly affords us Motives to holy Desires devout Affections and pious Cogitations and happy is he whose Soul is invested with these Ornaments When thou perceivest the least spark of the Divine Goodness in thee which doth excite thee to the performance of any good Duty then labour to cherish it that it may break out into a flame and take heed that thou quench not the Spirit and by that means extinguish the Operation And the Apostle affirms If any man defile the Temple of God him shall God destroy 1 Cor. 3. 17. VII THE Heart of a Man is the living Temple of the Lord and he is guilty of the Destruction of it who refuseth to give place to his Holy Spirit The Prophets in the Old Testament diligently hearkned unto the Word of the Lord and were prophetically inspired as a Reward for their-Obedience And in the New-Testament the Disciples and Apostles were punctual in preaching the Gospel and they were inspired by the Holy Ghost and were at last Crown'd by the Merits of Christ as a Recompence for their Labours and to those which shall imitate such good Examples blessed are they which shall hear and persevere in such good Performances MED XV. True Contentment Phil. iv 12. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry both to abound and to suffer need NONE but this happy Apostle such a divine Saint as St. Paul was could become a Proficient in this Lesson How few is there that have desired to learn it 'T is a Lecture the World hath long ago been weary of not so much because 't is so hard a Task but because 't is so unpleasant a Theme Were the Way to Everlasting Happiness strewed with Roses of Pleasure for our sensual Appetites to range and revel in 't would quickly become a frequented and an easie Walk Were there no Difficulties no skilful Trials to be past through who of a Mortal would not become a Saint The Crown of Eternal Glory would be as common as a Garland of Flowers did not that of Thorns carry the precedence II. THE World values not a Religion which disanuls all Splendour whose strict Discipline abrogates all Pomp and Pleasure and instead of all Temporal Delights which affects the Senses preaches Temperance Patience and the Judgement to come This Doctrine possesses us with an aguish Fit and then we like Felix fall a trembling and desire to be excused from so piercing a Duty He that invites us to see Heaven first informs us That to desire Temporal Enjoyments is the Wish of an Ethnick For after all these things do the Gentiles seek Mat. 6. 32. And shall Christians follow the Examples of Heathens and aim not at sublimer Things than what this sublunary World can afford Shall they who can by the Eye of Faith take a prospect of Eternity look down upon this Lower World with Affectation III. AND was that the Occasion of this Invitation we gave the Most Highest Did He which made the Heavens bow them come down and unthrone himself to convey us thither and do we lie wallowing in our Sins for ever How Vile Base Vain and Senseless a Creature is that Person that winds up his Felicity in the fruitless Enjoyments of this Life and eagerly resigns himself to sordid Sense But tell me O Thou that reignest in Plenty and obscurest Heaven in Oblivion should the two bright Luminaries be invested in their Purple Robes and transforming their Lustres like bleeding Meteors change their Rays into Crimson Streams were the Air now crouded with Sounds of the last Trumpets ecchoing audibly in our Ears an approaching Judgment How prodigious would that Mutation appear What vast and horrid Consternations would the remembrance of thy Profane and Atheistical Plenitude then strike and amaze thee with IV. INDEED these Mundane Enjoyments are so trivially poor empty that he which fixes his Hopes in their Fruition will speedily find himself but an eternal Mendicant a wretched miserable and deplorable Dives And yet such is the apparent Sanctity of the whole Universe to scoff at Religious Poverty and deride the Exigencies of a Devout Life as an Adversary to Nature He is ignorant of the Joys of a Future State and of an Expected Eternity that thinks there 's no Felicity beyond this Hands Breadth no Happiness beyond this slender Span. V. WERE we but sensible of the glorious Reward which shall Crown the World for that which she terms Misery that Felicity that attends on the most suffering and dejected Devotion we should glory in our Wants be affected with Hardship and inure our selves to Poverty with Delight we should be willing not only to depart but to live Martyrs rejoyce even in the lowest State to purchase Heaven and chearfully learn that Art with the holy Apostle to suffer Want here and to labour how to abound in that Plenitude which is infinite VI. AND yet how hard a Task is it for us to endure even the pettiest Affliction for Thy sake O Lord So senseless are we of Thine abundant Goodness so wilfully forgetful of Thy Omnipotency that we not only in our greatest Necessities arraign and condemn thy vigilant Providence but are ready even to turn Pagans in our unhappy Misfortunes Open Thou our Eyes O Lord that we may behold the Vanity of this transitory World and the Deceitfulness of our own Hearts that the alluring Pleasures of it may neither swallow us up nor the Losses of it overthrow our Hope or discourage our Obedience Let that illuminated Glory which Thou hast freely promised to those that vanquish the World for Thy sake be ever in our sight that in whatsoever State we are in we may still be found triumphing in Faith and at last receive as a Recompence of Reward a Crown of Righteousness MED XVI Of Divine Faith Heb. xi i. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen LET us