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heart_n artery_n spirit_n vital_a 3,442 5 11.1088 5 true
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A42552 The mount of holy meditation: or a treatise shewing the nature and kinds of meditation the subject matter and ends of it; the necessity of meditation; together with the excellency and usefulnesse thereof. By William Gearing minister of the gospel at Lymington in the county of Southampton. Gearing, William. 1662 (1662) Wing G436B; ESTC R222671 88,628 217

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superiour to others or contrary to the good of the persons or chastity or good name of others though it be but in secret corruption or secret working of heart still the Word of God doth oppose it in every thing the Pharisees forbad the outward act of uncleannesse but the Law of God forbids the impurity of the thoughts they make the Law like John Baptist who had a leathern girdle about his loins but the Gospel represents Christ to have a golden girdle about his Paps they represented only the first risings and motions of sin this makes the Saints mourn for the first conceptions of sin though they prove abortive saith Chrysostome Chrysost making them to pray with David to be purged and freed from secret sins and sinfull cogitations 4. Meditate upon the operativenesse of the Word it is not a dead letter but hath a quick power in it to work upon the heart the Spirit of God accompanies it making it active and mighty in operation as in the frame of a man's body under every vein there runs an artery full of spirits so under every vein of truth in the Word of God there is an artery of Spirit quickning searching cutting discovering condemning What 's the reason most mens spirits rise up against the Word it is because as the Elephant troubleth the waters before he drinketh that he may not see his ugly visage so the Word of God troubleth the mind of a sinner it terrifies his conscience making his sin appear very sinfull to him it makes a man a burden to himself these spectacles are too true for the sinners false eyes Ahab cannot endure to talk with Michajah nor meet with Elijah men can endure the generalities of the Word well enough but when it comes near them toucheth their Copyhold corrupt hearts run away from it because for want of serious meditation they are unacquainted with the spirituall nature of the Word of God Oh study I pray thee ●regor Moral saith Gregory and daily meditate on the words of thy Creatour and learn the mind of God in his Word that thou maist look up to eternall things for so much shall thy rest be the greater in Heaven by how much the more it hath been even now from the love of thy Creatour here on earth Sect. 3. Of meditating on Man The third subject of meditation is man his Creation his body his soul his priviledges his Creation his body his soul his priviledges Man cometh in the next place as a fit subject for our meditation and consideration man was the last of God's creatures as the end of his Creation all made for him and all represented in him the rest by his word commanding whereas his body by his hand-working and his soul by his breath-quickning became alive and here let us meditate first on man's Creation who is as Plato saith Plato the miracle of all miracles and as it were the soul of this world and you will see how every circumstance sheweth the Creatours goodnesse and man 's many obligations Let us begin with the meditation of man's body which is as one saith More 's demonstrat the pattern of the universall world 1. Meditate on the provision God made for man before he made him God sets up an house and furnisheth it then puts man into this house ready furnisht to his hand other things are but as essayes of God's power man the perfection Adam the last of all God's works and the Lord and soveraign over them under his soveraign Lord Heaven would have nothing wanting to man that he might wholly mind the things of Heaven 2. Meditate on God's proceeding hereunto the Father as it were calls a Councell God deliberateth upon the enterprize of this work and the Councell is held in the conclave of the most holy Trinity Let us make man Gen. 1.26 Adam is businesse for the whole Trinity all were imployed about this creature to the end that being created he might be wholly imployed about the service of God 3. Meditate on the form of man's body God hath neither made us to lye along on the earth as beasts ●truth Obser●at 36. Cent. 2. or stick on it as trees but by upright stature set our head to Heaven and our feet to the earth as one observeth Os homini sublime dedit coelumque videre Ovid. Jussit erectos ad sidera tollere vultus God with a lofty look did man endew And made him Heavens transcendent glory view God hath given us an upright stature not like other creatures that look downwards to the earth to teach us to look up to Heaven by holy meditations and to look up to the hills whence our salvation cometh our face is toward Heaven to teach us that our hearts should not be nuzzeling in the earth man hath one muscle in his eyes more than any other creature which may teach him still to look up toward Heaven 4. Meditate on the matter of man's Creation Ad coelestia magis rapiatur ad terrestria minùs capiatur Columella l. 5. c. 9. Ecce pulchrum lapidem putre cadaver tegentem Gasp. in Heraclito Homo bis creatus 1. Seminaliter seu causaliter 2. Formaliter seu visibiliter Aug. de Genes he was made of the dust of the earth so as howsoever we appear beautifull and amiable in the eye of man which is fixt only on the externall part yet when the oyl of our lamp is consumed and we reduced again to our first originall matter there will be left us no better Epitaph than this Behold here a spetious shrine covering a stinking corps man is twice created saith St Augustine Seminally or causally Formally or visibly The first according to his soul the second according to his body man's body of earth doth represent whatsoever is between Heaven and earth yea the very Heavens themselves are figured all naturall causes contained and their severall effects produced therein The three Heavens are resembled by the body of man the lower serving for generation and nutriment are like the lowest Heaven within the compasse whereof the elements are found for as from them all beasts plants trees and other things have being receive nourishment growth motion and sense so of four humours there engendered all the members are made fed moved and augmented the same agreeing in nature and number with the elements and producing effects in all answerable to them the upper part which is the seat of the heart may be compared to the middle Heaven the eighth sphere wherein the Stars are fixt which holding one even and constant motion giveth light and life to the world beneath through its rayes and comfortable influences so the heart being still in motion preserveth the whole body in life and health by sending forth the vitall spirits dispersing themselves into all the parts by veins and arteries Lastly the head the highest part of the body and noblest seat of the soul where she acteth