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A77888
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A treatise of divine meditation, by that faithful servant of Jesus Christ Mr. John Ball, late minister of the Gospel at Whitmore in Staffordshire. Published by Simeon Ashe, preacher of the Gospel at Austins, London.
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Ball, John, 1585-1640.
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1660
(1660)
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Wing B575; Thomason E1875_1; ESTC R209786
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79,889
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304
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is abased in our esteem Love the Lord Oh my soul and give thy self to the obedience of his Commandements thou art the perfection and end of all creatures the Lord thy life perfection comfort what thou art is of him that thou shalt bee happy is of his goodness thou owest him thy self thou wast created for his glory defile not his Image pollute not his workmanship bee not unthankful for what thou hast received forget not thy own estate O heavenly Father I heartily desire to follow thee whithersoever thou shalt lead mee to do what thou shalt command and to cleave unto thee as long as I live But I finde the flesh rebellious solliciting daily yea and violently haling to those things that are evil Ah miserable wretch that I am who shall deliver mee from this body of death Thou Thou Lord onely art able and willing to vouchsafe help and succour To thee therefore do I flye I pray thee have mercy upon mee in Jesus Christ and repair the lost image of thy self Thy hands have made mee and fashioned mee give mee understanding and I shall live thou createdst mee pure thou canst restore mee though corrupt Create in mee a clean heart and renew a right spirit within mee Breathe into mee the Spirit of Life and establish mee in the way of thy Precepts Heal my soul for I am defiled and cause mee to grow up unto the perfect stature of a spiritual man I have wounded my soul but cannot cure it defaced thy Image but cannot fashion it anew Look upon my misery dear Father forgive my sin and make mee a new creature for thy infinite mercy begin in mee this good work and perfect it to thy praise in thee do I trust to thee I seek for grace for in thee the fatherless finde mercy Quest I would know in the fourth place how wee might proceed to meditate on Gods infinite greatness Answ God is infinitely good without quality infinitely great without quantity his excellency is incomprehensible and surpasseth what wee can speak or think But for our proceeding in this Meditation according to our capacity wee may consider what it is what bee the parts of it and how incomparably it exceedeth whatsoever might bee likened unto it Great is the Lord and worthy to bee praised Psa 145.3 and his greatness is unsearchable Our God is the God of Gods and Lord of Lords a great God mighty and terrible who being both the original and end of all things Deut. 10.17 cannot rightly bee said to bee any thing for hee must needs bee above all and better than all Such is his greatness that hee is that one infinite and eternal being See how that I even I saith the Lord am hee Deut. 32.39 and there is no God with mee I lift up my hand and say I live for ever Thou Lord art so great that thou art most perfectly one in essence one in number The Lord hee is God and there is none besides him As thou art * Deut. 4.35 Mark 12.32 1 Cor. 8.4 5 6. one in essence so art thou one in thy purpose determination promise For how shouldest thou that art one in number and essence bee otherwise than thy self All things do turn upon this point and hasten to this center if it were not unity multiplicity would destroy it Thou Lord art infinite without all limits of essence without matter or form efficient or end thou art without all dimensions of length breadth or thickness thou art without all limits of place and yet fillest all places in Heaven or Earth Thou art wholly without and within all and every place no where excluded and no where included and that without all localmotion or mutation of place a Job 11.8 9. Thou art higher than the Heavens deeper than Hell longer than the Earth broader than the Sea b 1 King 8.27 Psa 139.7 Isa 66.1 Act. 17.27 Simply and purely every where by essence and presence A God at hand and a God a far off Thou movest or changest all things without either motion or change in thy self thou art in every place present in every place entire within all things and contained in nothing without all things and sustained by nothing but containest sustainest and maintainest all things Thou art unspeakably present in every place by essence power wisdome and providence but thy glory is specially manifested to the Angels and Saints in Heaven thy grace power and mercy to the Saints on earth whom thou dost favour with whom thou dwellest Job 36.22 c. 1 Tim. 1.17 2 Pet. 3.8 for whose deliverance thou wilt arise and have mercy into whose hearts thou wilt shine comfort Thou art eternal before and after all beings without all limits of time past present and to come Thou art at all times but without respect of time an everlasting and immortal God before and after all times and in all times for ever and ever Thou art the King of ages the maker of times the Inhabitour of eternity a Psa 90.1 2. Isa 57.15 Psa 92.7 8. 102.12 13 26 27. Isa 41.4 43.10 11. Jer. 10.10 Isa 40.28 Before the mountains were made and ere ever thou hadst formed the earth from everlasting to everlasting thou art God Everlasting in thy self in love in the fruits of thy favour towards thy people which thou hast chosen in wrath and indignation against the obstinate and disobedient O God thou art great and wee know thee not neither can the number of thy years bee searched out Isa 40.15 16. All powers on earth come short to bee shadows of thy greatness The Nations are as a drop of a bucket less than nothing and vanity before thee Quest How must wee apply these things to the heart Answ Wee must stir up our selves to magnifie the Lord love fear reverence and trust in him for ever Great is the Lord and worthy to bee praised for hee sitteth upon the circuit of the earth and stretcheth out the Heavens like a curtain He bringeth the Princes of the earth to nothing and lifteth up the meek to honour Great is our Lord and of great power his understanding is infinite The men of this world labour to set forth the state and magnificence of earthly Monarchs the largeness of their dominions greatness of their power continuance of their house Oh my soul why art thou so silent awake and sing aloud of the praises of God whose greatness is infinite eternal incomprehensible thou canst not by searching finde him out but remember to magnifie his work which men behold Every man may see it Man may behold it afar off Love the Lord Oh my soul and stick fast unto him as thy life and treasure Hee is that infinite unbounded eternal goodness passing all humane both search and sight that filleth and includeth all things Alass how do wee affect a thousand things that cannot bee effected or if obtained do vanish or cloy and can no more