must live again that his Life may be remember'd Nor yet is it so much the Terror of Death as the Horrors of a Guilty Conscience the formidable Prognosticks of a Future Etetnity that affrights the departing Soul The Pangs and Anguish of expiring Nature are insignificant to those Stings that attend the Memory of our Crimes The deep Sorrows of the Grave and our being Extinct here for ever are Joys to the Miseries which remain behind but will certainly come IV. INFORM me now thou that art so indulgent to the World and hunts for Paradise in a Park of Sins thou that makest Terrestrial things thy Treasure and foldest up the Riches of thy Hopes in the Bosom of Old Time or the Compass of a Span when those lucid and swift Guides of Life thine Eyes shall wax dim with Age or tired with Pain when every Member shall become Sorrow's Object and those Parts which were so employ'd in the Operation of Sin shall become Instruments of Despair when that delectable Frame that magnificent Darling Edifice thy Body shall by its shivering Qualms and trembling Convulsions consternate its disconsolate Owner how will the Fulgurations of a Future Justice and the Terrours of thy Ultimate End confound thee V. CAN those transitory Enjoyments that allured away thy Immortal Part restore it in convenient time Can those Pleasures which bereft thee of Heaven recover it again before Death puts a period to thy Life Can thy Pomps and Vanities asswage or allay thy deep Sorrows or the Memento of thy Sins the Destruction of thy End Where 's that soft Musick whose select Airs like David's Harp might charm the Cries of a Guilty Conscience and by its skilful Strains drop a pleasant Harmony that might pacifie the Trouble of thy anguish'd Soul IV. WHERE are those expanded Trophies of empty Glories thy Ambition has purchas'd at the easie Rate of only sinning for greedy Honour for which thou hast traffiqu'd and sold Heaven That Sovereignty for which thou enslavest thy self and lost the perfect Freedom of thy Immortal Soul Cannot all thy Grandeur excite thee up a little and by a fumy Power once so formidable and applauded reprieve thee from the unsatisfy'd Grave or a more Eternal Prison VII Where are those Goods of Fortune thou hast forfeited thine Inheritance for whose transporting Lustre deprived thee of thy Eye-sight and render'd thee dimmer than themselves Can they by their utmost Skill neither bribe nor purchase thy Pardon Or will the silent Grave require no other Fee than so rich a Miser Where are all those fine Diversions that divested thee of thy Piety and the Thoughts of thy Creator those pleasing deluding Vanities that swept away all sense of Heaven and fore-sight of thy Future State Are all shrunk into a Tomb and an unwelcom Period Are all thy Jocularities terminated in the Confines of a Sepulchral-Urn and no other Objects left for thy Concomitants but thy Crimes and those Terrours thy Guilt presents VIII BEHOLD now and stand amaz'd ye Adorers of the World more than of the Almighty and view the Portraiture of your End those Ruines you have so smoothly built on Try if your imaginary Felicities are Proof against this Arrow or can protect you from this Invader the only Conqueror of the World whose general Prison is but a Reserve for a worse and its Execution here but a Reprieve for a more durable and yet vital Mortality He that reign'd in Pleasures must expire in Flames and having long revelled it in Sin must expect to riot it in Torments and the misery is that wishing not to live he can never die IX AND yet how foolish and vain are our Desires still after the World How easie and alluringly O Lord are we led by the counterfeit and transitory Pleasures of this Life from Thee We cannot plead Ignorance but fully attest That the Wages of Sin is Death and yet how absurdly do we preferr its Service before Thine whose Recompence of Reward is Life and Immortality But The Period of Profaneness is Eternal Destruction and the Delights of Impiety end in Confusion and yet we eagerly embrace the fawning Proffers of Sin before the never-failing Promises of Everlasting Glory X. Have Pity O Holy Jesu upon the weak Frailties of our Humane and Corrupt Natures And we humbly implore Thee to pardon and forgive the profuse Irregularities of our whole Lives Grant unto us O Lord a perpetual Supply of noble and ardent Defires to run after Thee that the Pomps Vanities and Tinselware of the World may become Objects of our Scorn and Derision and that the bright Splendour of Thy Eternal Glory may create our Ambition to serve Thee all the Days we remain here that we may not for a present temporal Enjoyment in this transitory Life lose the blessed Hopes and future Inheritance of the Saints in Light but at last having finished our Course here we may arrive with Joy and Gladness at Thy Heavenly Kingdom MED XXVI Upon Judgment 2 Cor. v. 10. For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad IT is an Axiom confirm'd by woful Experience That the generality of them which bear the Name of Christians and pretend to fight under Christ's Banner against the Enemies of the Apostolick Faith are by their profligate Impieties the greatest Scandal to that glorious Profession They live in such a Universe of Wickedness as if the Redeemer of the World descended from Glory not to subvert but to establish the Empire of Sin as if the main Design of their State in this World were only to fulfil that voluptuous Maxim of the Licentious Epicure Let us eat and drink for to morrow we mst die II. BUT if these Proficients in Atheism had a serious Memento That there is a Deity inthron'd in Heaven who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity and so jealous of his Honour that he will not remit the least Guilt with Impunity could they be perswaded to devote a few Minutes of the Time which they consume away to finish their Debaucheries to a solemn Reflexion upon that inevitable Account which will be exacted from them at the General Resuscitation when not only their Words and Actions but the most occultest of their Cogitations shall be brought to Judgment it were impossible for them unless given over to a reprobate Sense to perpetuate under the Dominion of their Carnal Appetites and Infections III. THE very Apprehension of the Vengeance to come would fright 'em into an immediate Repentance and produce such an admirable Reformation that living soberly righteously and godly in this present world they might be found Unblameable in the Great Day of the Lord Jesus And what a Day will that be at whose Appearance the Sun shall be turned into Darkness and the Moon into Blood Act. 2. 20. When the Heavens shall be rolled together as a Scroll Isa. 34.
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
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
and Gladness in the Day of the Lord Jesus MED X. Of a Good Conscience Act. xxiv 16. And herein do I exercise my self to have always a conscience void of offence towards Ged and towards men WHATEVER thou undertakest consult thy Conscience and if Satan excites thee to any Evil stand in awe of the Checks within thee for the Internal Testimony is of more Efficacy than the External Thy Conscience that Angel-Guardian which Divine Omnipotence hath fixed within thee shall be register'd in those Books which will be opened at the Great Day as is testified by St. Iohn Rev. 20. 22. II. THE First is the Book of God's Omniscience wherein thy Thoughts Words and Actions shall be demonstrated The Second is the Book of Life Rev. 13. 8. wherein those that are found written by Verity and Faith shall be safely conducted by the Angels into Heaven's Imperial Court The Third is the Book of Holy Writ according to which Golden Rule our Faith and Good Works shall be measured The Fourth contains the Testimony of the Indigent whom we have defrauded or relieved The Last Book contains the Internal Testimony of the Voice of Conscience wherein all Offences are noted and indeed the Volume must be large and exactly written by the Finger of Truth III. SINNERS in that Day will be fully convinced by the Terrour within 'em and they can no ways shun so just an Accusation A Mind undefiled is the Crystal-Glass of the Soul and is so transparent that she evidently by the Opticks of Faith beholds the Idea of the Almighty for a sordid Eye cannot view the Splendor of a true Luminary As a well Complexion'd and good Featur'd Countenance is esteem'd in the Eye of the World so an unspotted Conscience is acceptable in the sight of the Almighty But that Conscience which abounds with Putrefaction generates that Worm which continually Vulture like corrodes but never dies IV. O THEN let us while it is Day with a true Remorse have a sense and feeling of this never-dying Worm and diligently labour to use all Arts to destroy it and let us not indulge it by any means lest it abide with us to all Eternity VVhat can it advantage thee if thou wer 't a Proficient in all the Arts and Sciences in this Microcosm nay though thy Skill did extend so far as to number the Stars and to trace out the ways of the Planets and did'st enjoy no Peace within to comfort thee Let it be thy care to square the Actions of thy Life according to that Rule prescrib'd by the Holy Jesus Let Purity reign in the Centre of thy Heart Verity possess thy Tongue and embrace Justice that it may attend thee in all thy Proceedings All which will evidently demonstrate whether thy Life be Good or Evil. V. ALL the Applause and Breath of the VVorld is insignificant if thy Bosom Friend thy Conscience accuse thee And what can all their Detraction prejudice thee if she defend thee This potent â—udge thou carriest about thee is sufficient to Accuse Testifie and to Condemn thee This Justice holds the Balance even and will not be bribed with unjust Rewards never will she be mollified with fruitless Prayers but she indefatigably follows thee whithersoever thou goest and will attend thee where-ever thou art carrying about her that Charge which thou hast committed to her custody whether it be good or whether it be evil VI. AND as the Testimony of thy Conscience evidences against thee such Judgment must thou expect from the Judge of all Men. Sinners themselves at last shall become their own Accusers though no other Testimony appeared against them For Instance The Drunkard when he is overwhelm'd with VVine or Strong-drink hath no sense of the Prejudice he hath receiv'd by his Intemperance but having slept away his Drunkenness the charm of sensuality is fractur'd and he feels the smart of his own Imbecillity VII So Sin that Diabolical Treasure whil'st it is agitating darkens the Mind and like a condense Cloud obscures the Lustre of perspicuous Judgment but at length the Voice within is rouzed up like a Lion and rendeth more vehemently than any other Accuser Oh let us all betimes mortifie this Worm by the fervour of our Devotion that it may not gnaw upon us to our Destruction and lead us to Eternal Horrour Extinguish this internal Fire by thy Prayers and Tears that so thou may'st enjoy Heaven in the Cool of the Day VVhich God of his infinite Goodness grant that we may attain by fighting a good fight finishing our course and keeping the faith 2 Tim 47. MED XI Of a Wounded Spirit Prov. xviii 14. But a wounded spirit who can bear NONE on this side Eternity not the vastest Heap the Universe it self that Theatre of Humane Frailty cannot for it groans and travels in Pains it self to be delivered Celestial Mansions was no longer a Residence for those ambitious rebellious Spirits who forfeited their Glory for those infernal Flames which Torment is not equivolent to that infinite Despair which for ever secludes and interdicts them from it It is no surprizing wonder that many imagine there is no Infernal Place like this for its Torments are not to be parallell'd II. FIERY Furnaces Stakes Gridirons or Phalarus's Bull are but Trifles to this greedy Vulture Tortures of the modernest Invention are delightful Penalties compar'd to this Crulty Those inhumane dying Miseries do but inrage and stupifie Sense whil'st this vital Death this destroying Life exercises its Malice on a more Celestial Object and contending to demolish and ruine an Immortal Part makes Death it self a Principal and gentle Murtherer to it III. CROAKS of Ravens Shrieks of Owls and Houls of Wolfs that adds Obscurity to the dismal Night Groans of departing Souls that invade the Ear and fill the Apartment with trembling Epitaphs transcribed in Characters mournful as the Grave and Silence are well-tuned Harmonies to the dying Elegiacks of a wounded Spirit that vents nothing but bloody Satyrs against it self Behold how with the disconsolate Psalmist it goes mourning all the Day and Night inviron'd with Sorrows and surrounded with dismal and fatal Idea's and inverts his Bed into a Bath which those weeping Fountains of Tears his Eyes have distilled and instead of splendid and gentle Airs evaporates nothing but dark and trembling Accents which busie Satan labours to retort in doleful and despairing Eccho's IV. HOW contritely doth it expostulate with Heaven My dearest Redeemer is that amiable Attribute of thy Mercy lost Is the Fountain of it dried up from a poor and wretched Sinner And wilt thou be a Jesus of Mercy to the whole Universe and become none to me Oh let me descend from the loftiest Precipice and for ever dwell in noisom Dungeons inhabited by none but loathsom Toads Snakes and Serpents beyond the reach and sight of all the World so I may but enjoy the Light of thy Countenance Let me live more poor and despicable than patient Iob upon his Dunghill perplex'd