the Character as well as the Practice of a good Man That he delights himself in the Law of the Lord and in that Law he doth meditate Day and Night Psalm 1.2 Meditation is the consequence or effect of delight and what any man loves and delights in he is often thinking and meditating upon and certainly much Reading without Meditation seems to favour more of formality and custom than of any real delight in it Reading is like the Manducation or Chewing of our Food and Meditation as the Concoction of it and if both these go before there is no doubt of a good and salutary Reflection to follow and as one affords wholsome laudible Chyle for the nourishment of the Body so will the other give forth strength and spiritual Refreshment for the Soul But if a Man have the Lientery that his Meat pass from him quickly and unchanged what strength and vigor of Body is he like to receive by it He may indeed eat more than a sounder Man but he will draw thence but a small faint and languishing Nutriment Even so is it with such as have this Spiritual Boulimos who have great Appetites and strong Desires after Reading and Hearing but they never suffer it to digest it suddenly passes through them and the poor Soul is like to starve in the midst of so much plenty Meditatin is stiled by a Learned Author 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a kind of augmentation a beating out of the Gold into Plate and Wire An Enlargement of the Object we look upon which by our continual Survey of the Beauty of it we make it more clear and visible than before Our study and desire of this holy Exercise wants no opportunity of time and place Sed inter medios Rerum actus invenit aliquid vacui In the midst of our Employments and Business finds leisure and makes its Closet in the very Streets I cannot therefore think any person totally excused from this Duty Indeed those whose leisure is greater and opportunities more God will expect more from According to that of the Apostle Luke 12.48 Vnto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required but if thou hast less time and thy occasions are more pressing yet thou may'st cast in thy Symbole thy Mite too and no doubt but God will accept it Meditation I take to be a serious Cogitation or Consideration of any Divine or Spiritual Subject and a particular Application of it to our selves so as to work upon and raise our Affections It is not a meer Employment of the Brain but an Act of the Heart and engages the Affections and all the Powers of the Soul Of it there are two sorts the one set and deliberate the other occasional or sudden Both these have a large Field to walk in and are as unconfined as the Matter and Subjects of them are but principally the former is taken up in Contemplation of the Love Wisdom Power Justice and other Attributes of God in Consideration of the great and miraculous Love of Jesus Christ in his Incarnation miserable yet senseless Life bitter Death Resurrection Ascension continual Intercession and all the benefits of our Redemption of the Miseries of Life the Certainty of Death and Uncertainty of the Time of it the glory of Gods Saints the dreadfulness of Judgment the Terrors of Hell Or else in Meditating of any part of Gods holy Word c. The latter is only conversant about sudden and occasional things whereby the busie active Soul makes particular Applications and Reflections according as the Subject or Occasion offers it self The benefits of both these are very great Meditatio quasi mentis ditatio Meditation is an inriching of the Soul By this means you have a sufficient Treasury or Stock of Scripture fit for all Occasions and Conditions to strengthen your Faith to encourage your Hope to incite your Love both to be the matter of and also to quicken your Devotions and to comfort you in all your Tryals and Afflictions c. I shall begin with the former of these set or deliberate Meditation and here according to my slender capacity I shall give you some brief Instructions for it and Examples of it This work is of all others the most spiritual and sublime and therefore the person most fit for this Heavenly Employ is the most holy most heavenly Christian He only can extract the Elixir and Quintessence from this precious Mineral As to the time and place for your Meditation it matters not much so you make choice of that time when you may have the greatest vacancy and recess from your worldly Concerns and Business and when the Temper of your Body and Mind is most fit for Contemplation and that place where you may have the most privacy and retirement Nunquam minus solus quam cum solus said Scipio Africanus The time of Isaack's Meditation was in the Evening and the place was the Field Gen. 24.63 David's time was at Midnight and in the Bed Psalm 63.6 Our blessed Saviour we read used both these times Matth. 14.23 Mark 1.35 His place was either in a Mountain Wilderness or solitary Garden insomuch that even Judas when he came to betray him knew where to find him John 18.1 2. And though he took his Disciples there with him yet he separated himself from them for more private Devotions Luk. 22.41 And though his Meditation be not directly named but only his Praying yet it is very clearly implied Matth. 26.38 39. his Soul is first made sorrowful with the bitter Meditations on his Death and Sufferings and then he poureth it out in Prayer Mark 14.34 Our Saviour then had an accustomed place for this accustomed Duty whose holy Example we ought to imitate And if thou be a Man who canst dispose of thy Affairs at thy pleasure it will be convenient at least that thou observe the same time for this holy Exercise A stated time is a hedg to Duty and defends it from many Temptations to Omission The more frequent thou art in it the better because seldom conversing with God will create a strangeness betwixt thy Soul and him and will take off much of that life heat and pleasure which thou formerly hadst in the discharge of this Duty Being then retired at a convenient time to this solitary place which thou choosest for thy Meditation endeavour in the first place to disband all vain and worldly thoughts and to work up thy Soul to a due frame and temper of seriousness to help which thou may'st use this or the like short Prayer LEt the words of my Mouth and the Meditations of my Heart be now and always acceptable in thy sight O Lord my Strength and my Redeemer O Most gracious God without whom I am not able so much as to think a good thought be thou pleased to be present with me at this time by the preventings and assistances of thy holy Spirit that the course of my Meditation may be guided aright and
my Heart unto Wisdom when I awake up I am ever with thee Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the ginning is now c. Then have an especial care that no vain filthy or impure thoughts have any entertainment within thy Breast but if any such endeavour to crowd themselves in presently discard them with detestation and abhorrency emembring that the First Fruits belong to God and he ought to have the râ—ime of all thy Thoughts then cast thy self out of Bed and whiles thou art dressing thy self desire God to cloath thee with the Righteousness of his Son Christ Jesus and use the following Ejaculations O Lord grant that I may put on the whole Armour of God that I may be able to stand against all the Fiery Darts of the Devil Above all things O Lord give me the Shield of Faith the Breast-plate of Righteousness the Sword of the Spirit the Girdle of Verity the Helmet of Salvation and let my Feet be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace O grant that I may put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no Provision for the Flesh to fulfil it in the Lusts thereof Before thou art throughly dressed kneel down by the Bed-side and say In the Name of the Father and of the the Son and of the Holy Ghost prevent me O Lord in all my doings with thy most gracious Favour and further me with thy continual Help that in all my works begun continued and ended in thee I may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy Mercy obtain everlasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Our Father which art in Heaven c. On Combing your Head or Plaiting the Hair you may use such Ejaculaions as these Grant O Lord my Ornament may not be that of the Hair but that of a lowly meek quiet and humble Spirit Let it not be that of the outer but of the inner and hidden Man of the Heart Make me a clean Heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me While you are Washing you may Ejaculate thus O Lord wash me throughly from mine Iniquities and cleanse me from my Sin O cleanse me from all Filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit Not only my Hands and my Face O Lord but my Heart also Purge me with Hysop and so shall I be clean O Lord wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow I am unclean I am unclean but O Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean O touch me and say I will be thou clean Being now compleatly dress'd withdraw to thy Closet or place of Retirement and there lift up thy Soul to God in this or the like manner O Lord I beseech thee let thy holy Spirit direct me how I may spend this day most of all to thy Glory and my own and others benefit And then ponder a while on the business of the day and consider what sins either thy natural Temper Business or Company may most subject thee to to what dangers thou art most liable and what opportunities thou art like to have either of doing God Service or thy Neighbour good Against the former implore Gods Aid and Assistance in a particular Petition which you may find a convenient place to insert in your Morning Devotions and also Arm your self before-hand with Resolutions and the best Means you can to prevent them that so you may avoid the occasions of Sin And for the latter resolve to embrace all opportunities for the discharge of your Duty and then use this Ejaculation Thus thus O Lord I purpose by thy Grace to spend this day O be thou pleased to be present with me by the preventings and assistings of thy Grace and Holy Spirit that so I may perform what I intend to the Glory of thy Name the discharge of my Duty the benefit of others the comfort of my own Soul here and everlasting happiness hereafter in and through Jesus Christ Let thy Grace be sufficient for me Consider also seriously what Sins have passed from thee since thy Evening Devotions Being thus prepared take Gods Holy Book into thy hands yet not without Reverence and to put a distinction between this and other Books it will be commendable if thou uncover thy head in the reading of it or stand up even the Hearhens pay it Reverence the Jews hear the Law with Adoration and the Turks kiss the Alcoran thou maist also use one of these or the like Ejaculation or the Collect of the second Sunday in Advent Assist me I pray thee O Lord with thy Holy Spirit in the reabing of thy holy Word enlighten the Eyes of my Vnderstanding that I may understand the same give me a retentive Memory and Grace to reduce the same into Practice in my Life and Conversation through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour Amen Open thou mine Eyes O Lord that I may see the wondrous things of thy Law Blessed art thou O Lord O teach me thy Statutes O Lord sanctifie unto me my present Reading and Meditations for Jesus Christ his sake Then read that portion of Scripture that is either accommodated to the day or most fitted for your own condition and that with much seriousness attention and particular application of it to your self When you have ended use the common Doxology of Glory be to thee O Lord. Then re-collect what things observable you have met with in your reading and spend some time in Meditation of them and consider what use you may afterwards make of them either to encourage to Vertue or deter from Vice without this Post Meditation you will reap no more benefit by this â—alutary Word than a Body by the reception of the most nutritious Aliment which is not well digested in the Stomach Nay as this will be apt to turn into Crudities and Diseases to the Body so will the other prove fatal to the Soul and that which should have been the savour of Life unto Life will be nothing else than the savour of Death unto Death Meditation being ended betake your self decently and reverently to your knees and with great fervency offer up your Morning Devotions unoâ— the Throne of Grace which being done follow your lawful Studies or Employments still having an awful sense of Gods Omnipresence But if you be a Master of a Family then call your Family together and let they as well as you serve the Lord. Read a Chapter unto them and Pray again with them before you dismiss them to their business And if you live in a place where Publick Prayers are Celebrated and your manner of Life be such that you can without considerable inconveniences dispense with it think your self not excused from the Prayers of the Church in the Congregation At Noon when you see the Table spread you may meditate concerning Gods Mercy and Bounty towards thee and all mankind and use those or the like Ejaculations hereafter prescribed for that purpose and then receive
my head and my Trespass is grown up even unto Heaven All the thoughts and imaginations of my heart have been Evil and only Evil and that continually I have wrought many and great provocations in thy sight especially O Lord c. Here enumerate thy old capital Sins and that in the mosâ— provoking manner They have not been only single but repeated acts of sin for O Lord of this black Cataloguâ— which I have now brought forth before thee how few are there which I have not often times committed nay which are not become even habitual and customary unto me And to this frequency I have added both agreediness and obstinacy in sinning turning into my course as the Horse rusheth into the Battel doing evil with both hands earnestly yea hating to be reformed and casting thy words behind me quenching thy Spirit within me which testified against me to turn me from my evil ways and frustrating all those outward means whether of Judgment or Mercy which thou hast used to draw me to thy self Nay O Lord even my Repentances may be numbred amongst my greatest Sins they have sometimes been feigned and hppocritical always so slight and ineffectual that they have brought forh no Fruit in amendment of Life but I have still return'd with the Dog to his vomit and the Sow to the mire again and have added the breach of many resolutions and vows both at thy Table and in private to all my former Guilts Yea O Lord I desire to confess to my own shame and confusion that since the last time that I humbled my self in thy sight and so solemnly vowed and purposed to forsake every Sin and not to regard any iniquity in my heart I have returned unto the same if not worse Sins than I then came to confess before thee and to beg pardon at thy hands for for my thoughts O Lord have been vain c. Here enumerate the sins My Words have been inconsiderate c. my Actions have been unweighed c. And besides all this O Lord I have still the same proneness to that which is evil aversness and obstinacy towards what is good I have still an impenitent hard heart which is not sufficiently mollified with the sense of my Sins or thy wrath due unto me for them O God! God be merciful to me a Sinner yea I know not how often I have offended O cleanse cleanse thou me from my secret faults Thus thus O Lord am I become out of measure sinful and since I have thus chosen death I am most worthy to take part in it even in the second death the lake of Fire and Brimstone which burneth for evermore This this O Lord is in Justice to be the portion of my Cup to me belongs nothing but shame and confusion of face and that eternally But to thee O Lord God belongeth mercy and forgiveness though I have â—â—belled against thee O remember not my Sins and Offences but according to thy mercy think thou upon me O Lord for thy goodness Thou sentest thy Son to seek and to save that which was lost be hold O Lord I have gone astray like a Sheep that is lost O seek thy servant and bring me back again to the Shepherd and Bishop of my Soul Let thy Spirit work in me a hearty sense and detestation of all my abominations that true contrition of heart which thou hast promised not to despise And then be thou pleased to look upon me in mercy to take away all my iniquity and to receive me graciously into thy favour and for his sake who hath done nothing amiss be thou reconciled to me who have done nothing well Wash away the guilt of all my Sins in his Blood bury them so deep in his grave and hide them in his Wounds that they may never rise up in Judgment against me either here to shame me or hereafter to condemn me and subdue the power of them by his grace and grant O Lord that I may from this hour bid a final adieu to all Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts that I may never once more cast a look toward Sodom or long after the Flesh Pots of Egypt but consecrate my self intirely to thee to serve thee in righteousness and true holiness all the days of my life reckoning my self to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our blessed Lord and Saviour Amen After this go on with your Devotions and pray over the One and fiftieth Psalm HAve mercy upon me O God after thy great goodness according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences Wash me throughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sins For I acknowledg my faults and my sin is ever before me Against thee thee only have I sinned and done these Evils in thy sight that thou mightest be justified in thy saying and clear when thou art judged Behold I was shapen in Wickedness and in sin hath my Mother conceived me But lo thou requirest Truth in the inward parts and shalt make me to understand Wisdom secretly Thou shalt purge we with Hysop and I shall be clean thou shalt wash me and I shall be whither than Snow Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Turn thy face from my sins and put out all my misdeeds Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me O take away this stony this hard heart of mine and give me a heart of flesh O give me the comfort of thy help again and stablish me with thy free Spirit Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked and sinners shall be converted unto thee Deliver me from blood-guiltiness O God thou that art the God of my health and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness Thou shalt open my lips O Lord and my mouth shall shew thy praise For thou desirest no Sacrifice else would I give it thee but thou delightest not in burnt Offering The Sacrifice of God is a troubled Spirit a broken and contrite Heart O God shalt thou not despise O be savourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the Walls of Jerusalem Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice of Righteousness with the burnt Offerings and Oblations then shall they offer Young Bullocks upon thine Altar Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be World without end Amen Conclude your Penitentials with the following Collects ALmighty and everlasting God who hatest nothing that thou hast made and do'st forgive the sins of all them that are penitent create and make in me a new and contrite heart that I worthily lamenting my sins and acknowledging my wretchedness may obtain of thee the God of all mercy perfect remission and forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O
blessed Remove from me all Distractions by worldly Thoughts enlighten my Judgment quicken my Invention rectifie my Will and increase my Affection to heavenly Things that my Heart may be more enlarged towards thee and my Devotion so enkindled that I may find my Corruptions abated and my Graces thriven and my Life every way bettered by this holy Exercise Grant this O Lord for Jesus Christ his sake Amen Next consider seriously with your self what the thing is whereof you meditate and endeavour rightly to understand it in its definition then proceed to the division and explication of it from thence if it be an Attribute of God proceed to the Admiration and Love of God for such his infinite Perfections and if it be such as is imitable stedfastly resolve to seek to attain it in part which thou canst not in degrees if it be a Vertue thou art meditating of represent it to thy Soul in the most amiable dress by comparing it with the contrary deformities of Vice If a Vice uncover its nakedness and shew all its ugliness and evil consequences freely confess thy former Follies resolve against it and beg Gods Assistance against future Backslidings If it be Mercies or Providences thou art meditating of be sure to mention all the Circumstances of them and to raise thy Soul to the highest pitch of gratitude for them And in all these remember that if the Sacrifice wants a Heart it will not be accepted by God never therefore leave considering and meditating until thou hast ingaged thy Heart and Affections in the Work Throughout the whole time of thy Meditation be frequent in Soliloquies and Ejaculations and at length conclude all with Thanksgiving and recommending thy self to God It will be impossible for me and I think for any other to prescribe an exact method for proceeding in this Duty because of the different matter and various subjects of Meditation Every pious Soul after some constancy in it will know best how to adapt it to his own greatest profit However take in good part Reader those following Exemplifications The Thanksgiving after Meditation O Blessed God the fountain of all Mercies I give thee most humble and hearty Thanks for this present Expression of thy love and kindness for the Assistances of thy holy Spirit and inward Comforts which I have now received by â—his holy Exercise O that Men would praise the Lord for his goodness and declare the wonders â—hat he doth for the Children of Men for he satisfieth the empty Soul and filleth the hungry Soul with goodness Grant me O Lord an unweariedness in well-doing and let it be the delight and joy of my Soul to do thy will and let thy comforts always encourage and refresh my Soul Pardon O Lord all my sins pity all my Infirmities especially those of my present performances and receive me into thy gracious protection both now and ever through Jesus Christ Amen Divine Meditations Concerning Gods Omnipresence BY the Omnipresence or Ubiquity of God is meant Gods being present in every place and at all times Gods most glorious presence is in the highest Heavens where he is encircled with Myriads of Angels and beautifi'd Spirits who continually behold and admire his Majesty and Glory yet he is not here Circum Scriptivè or as confined only to that place for then he were not God but he is here also on the lowest Earth and we daily discover him in his Providences Nay he is in Hell too and that the Devil and Damned discover by their Torments his Center is every where and his Circumference no where Though no place can contain him yet none can exclude him for he fills Heaven and Earth â—rem 23.24 Whither shall I flee from â—y presence saith David if I ascend 〈◊〉 into Heaven thou art there if I â—ake my Bed in Hell behold thou art â—ere also Psalm 139.7 8. No place no time can bound his preâ—â—nce The most wild and untrodden â—aces of the Desart the solitary Caves â—nd Recesses of the Earth the thickest â—nd more than Cimmerian darkness of â—e Night are no shelter from thy All-â—eing Eye the darkness is no darkness â—ith thee yea the day and night to â—â—ee are both alike Psalm 139.12 God is present in the Church beholdâ—â—g our Order and Behaviour there He 〈◊〉 present in the Closet when the door 〈◊〉 closest shut to inspect our seriousâ—ess and devotion there He is present â—t our Tables and at our Merry Meetâ—ngs at our Feasts and at our Fasts â—e is about our Beds and about our â—aths he takes particular notice of all â—ur Actions and weighs all our words â—n a ballance Nay thoughts secret â—houghts are not hid from him but he â—nows them long before we do or can Our flesh alas is too pervious to hinder â—im from entring into the secret recesses â—f our hearts 1. This then should teach thee O my Soul to revere and adore the God of such infinite Perfections and firmly to believe what thou canst not comprehend We know a humane Body the perfection of the whole Creation cannot be in two places at one and the same time yet blessed God I am assured by Faith and by the constant dispensation of thy Providences in all places that thou art Omnipresent at the same time That there is not any Creature that is not manifest in thy sight Heb. 4.13 but all things are open and naked unto the Eyes of thee with whom we have to do for in thee we live and move and have our being Acts. 7.28 2. Thou may'st learn hence O my Soul to have continually an awful sense of the Divine Majesty to tremble at the apprehensions of his presence Jereuâ— 5.22 and to behave thy self always as in his sight not to dare to commit any even the most minute sin in secret because God sees and is present who will be both thy Witness and thy Judge How shall I do this Wickedness saith Joseph and sin against God Genesis 39.9 Though no Eye saw him yet he was conscious that God was a Spectator and therefore he dares not offend in his presence Do thou therefore good God throughly convince my Soul of this great Truth that I can never abscond my self from thy presence that thy Eye is watchful over all my Actions that thy Ear is ever open to hear all my words and that thou discernest the most secret of my thoughts that so looking upon thee as a Witness of my whole Conversation I may always keep a Conscience void of offence towards thee and towards all Men. 3. Be careful O my Soul because thou art in the immediate presence of God to be sincere towards him in all thy Religious Duties as well private as publick and approve thy self to thy Father who seeth in secret Matth. 6.6 4. This will be a comfort to thee O my Soul in all the Afflictions in all the Troubles thou can'st meet withal here in this World Psal 91.15 Gen. 17.1 God is present with