and gives sufficient grace accordingly at the hour of Death CXXXIII A Great Reprobate by the Grace of God become Regenerate can experimentally judge how much the felicity of Piety doth exceed his former Epicurisms Men in this World without putting Eternity into the Scales against moments and observes that the continual tranquility of a quiet Conscience is much more pleasant then all his past unlawful Fruitions attended with such Terrors as a guilty Soul is loaded with CXXXIV EVery Pious man that has forsaken his sins for fear to offend God who he pretends to love also does begin well And when God sees his sincerity to obey him in all things He will not let him rest there but adds Faith and Grace till his heart longs for a nearer Communion with Christ in Heaven and by a daily custom of such elevated Meditations God will bring this Pious man to despise this World and to overcome the Terrors of the Grave by his expecâ—ation of Heaven where his Soul longs to be CXXXV WE must not desire to die to be rid of affliction here But if we can obtain Grace for so Divine a Love to God as to be glad to go to Him when He calls for us That will be enough and such holy courage at the hour of death will bring great Joy to our expiring Souls CXXXVI THe Souls of Righteous men are said to be with God the moment they expire But to what degree of Bliss they are admitted before the Resurrection is not revealed unto men But it is enough for us to believe that God takes care of those Souls that served and trusted in Him as well as for his departed Saints We need to desire no more then to be with them CXXXVII THe Design of Reading the Scriptures Preaching Praying and Fasting is to bring us to lead such Pious Lives as may shew our Faith and Love to God And so to divert our hearts from Worldly vanities by constant Meditations on the Ioys of Heaven to invite us thither And also encourage our timerous Souls with grace from above to contemn the Grave where they shall not rest one moment Which if well considered our Holy Resolutions would scorn to fear and shrink back from the last step we must make to take possession of the Crown we seem to labour for which will shew that we have but cold desires to be with God CXXXVIII NO Regenerate man can be mistaken in Gods Service who sets his Hâ—art sincerely to that workâ— for God who sees our hearâ—s throughout will not lose such a Votarrâ— but will Sanctify his zeal and make hâ—m see that an humble contriâ—e heart is the Sacâ—ifice He likes And will shew by his 〈◊〉 of Comfort and Consolation to such a man that his Soul will be transported with Raptures of joy in his Divine Contemplations when he finds such inward assurance of Godâ— favor that he cannot doubt of his Reconciliation when thus enriched with Grace and thus led by the Holy Ghost his devout heart will rise higher with bright flames of Love aspiring to get into Christs bosom CXXXIX WE should in our Meditations often reflect on the unquiet and uncertain wealth and Honours of this World and how unworthy such fleeting fruitions are to be preferred before Eternal felicities that so we may not set our hearts and spend our time on such vain acquisitions when immortal happiness will be had on easier and more certain terms and we surely become the Sons of God CXL THe greatest business of our Lives is to learn to die with holy courage and not to start from the Grave nor repine at such means and methods as our kind God appoints to make us willing to come to Him and by such gentle corrections to withdraw us from the World that our hearts may be always working up towards his Throne of Mercy where Christ has purchased places for converted sinners amongst the Angels and has appointed his Holy Spirit to invite and conduct us thither by his inward comforts which grow from the Gospel-promises and is the Christian Faith that repented sins forsaken shall not be charged on us in this World nor the next which is the foundation of Divine valour in a dying convert CXLI THe generality of mankind are naturally inclined to love those who love them and to judge of Friendship and Hatred by the assisting or crossing our designs in this World and the universal object herein is Death So then we are to consider the real effects of this great Monarchs power that controuls the World and see whether he be a more general Friend or Enemy to mankind For as he cuts down some in their first Buds others in the prime Blossoms of their youth and surprizes many of ripeâ— years by hurrying them into unexpected destruction from such Wealth and Honours as their carnal hearts were most delighted with yet the same Death is kind to the most of men who are oppressed with various sorts of Agonies both of mind and body beyond the cure of the best Remedies until by Death released from all degrees of maladies and miseries Now if all this be well considered we may bring our selves to such an acquaintance with this mighty Monarch Death by a daily conversation and preparation for our submission to his unresistable command so as to rejoyce when we are freed from future evils and by Death conducted to our Eternal Rest. And the same moment that our Souls expire we shall conquer Him who conquers all the World and for ever Triumph over his Victories over us So that 't is our weak Faith and frail Nature that makes Death seem so terrible an Enemy unto unrighteous men only CXLII THe true joy of a good Soul in this World is the very joy in Heaven only there 't is superinvested with Glory which a Righteous man enjoys that moment he dies without any stop by the way CXLIII THere is nothing more worthy of our continual thoughts our utmost endeavours and hearty prayers then to obtain the Blessedness to become Regenerate For when the Holy Ghost sanctifies the heart of such a man with the comfortable marks of his Reconciliation and Adoption that man will soon find the continual feast of a good conscience while he lives to be more pleasant then all other things which this World affords and at his hour of death the felieity of his Adoption will fill his Soul with holy valour and accompany him to his Everlasting Glory Which joy no mortal fancy can conceive and is the highest works of our strongest Faith to think on and to prepare for CXLIV HE that can upon examination find such comfort in his Soul as to be ever ready and willing to appear at the day of Judgment must be enlightned and guided by the Holy Ghost and sanctified by a Spiritual Resurrection from sin to grace and from all worldly temptations so as his chief delight will be in a Divine conversation with God by frequent approaches for the continuance
full of storms and calms more dangerous untill He brings him unto his Glory For if we believe it to be Gospel-truth that our bodies are capable to become the Temples of the Holy Ghost dwelling in us we must also believe that He will manifest Himself so as we shall discern his being in us by such a Divine Life with such extasies of joy as no Soul can reach without his assistance which if we practise to observe we shall find will prove to be our greatest consolation that the heart of man can have XXIX WE talk of Death as we do of Eating Drinking and Sleeping and do flatter our selves too much by thinking we are as ready for the Grave without a full consideration how nice and great a preparation is fit for our appearance at the Resurrection when our whole Lives here spent in the service of God is not too high a price for the Crown of Glory we then expect And yet few men do afford the hundred part of their time to become capable to receive that inestimable Purchase which Christ has made for us by his bloudshed And nothing is more strange then that we should so much forget what we are always a doing which is dying and is God's great mercy to free our Souls from the Dungeon of this World to fix them in his Eternal Bliss XXX GOD sees our first intentional approches towards Heaven so that we cannot make more hast in our Addresses unto Him then He makes to meet and welcom our sincere devotions with Raptures and Extasies of joy to encourage and guide our frail nature to love and serve Him above the World that can in no degree afford so high delights as our Souls find when our whole hearts are offered up to Him in daily Sacrifice while that holy flame lasts XXXI OUr greatest concern is to live so Righteously as to be ever ready to die which no man can think of too often nor prepare to much for if he considers that every moment advances towards the Grave through which we must pass to Eternal joy or Eternal misery and is an argument enough not to mispend our time but Day and Night to call on God for his Divine guiding Light to shew us the way to Him XXXII SLeep is so like Death that it is no wonder if we Dream often that we are amongst the dead for though we are not now visited by Visions as of old yet such frequent conversation with dead friends when we Sleep may be looked on as kind notions from above to give us some reflections on the Grave towards which we do walk as fast in our Sleep as when we are awake so that we ought to imploy more of our thoughts on every minute that so hasts on to our Eternity then men generally do and by such Dreams we may learn to converse Day and Night with God in our humble Addresses to make us fit company for His departed Saints when we Die XXXIII IF we could attain to as great Faith as the first Martyrs had we might have as much felicity in Piety as they had who rejoyced so much to leave this World that no torments could deâ—er them from death to be with Christ. And if we could raise our Souls to fancy the Glory of Heaven as they did we should believe that nothing there is so dirty as our brightest Diamonds where the beauty of Holiness by Faith as by reflection does Eclipse all the beauty wealth honour and glory of this World in the hearts of such as are become Regenerate And if our Souls were so sanctified and advanced in Divine Love as those Blessed Martyrs were we should admit no Rivals with God in our hearts where He delights to Reign alone And then we should find our God every where with us carefully providing for all our wants and supplying all our defects as if He attended on us Dust and Ashes with his Providence to guard us while we sleep and to watch if our first waking thoughts be set on Him and to expect them as his due and his delight as if the Almighty courted us for favours more then we do him for his mercies and his blessings and when our Souls become thus enlightned by his Divine Rays from Heaven we shall find our hearts so full of Him that a Wilderness â— Prison or a Dungeon will seem a Throne and will be our Heaven here and then we shall know no joy like having God ever in our sight with hearts fixed on our Eternal Bliss already thus begun XXXIV IF we consider the extent of Miracles those we call the greatest are but as wonderful as the smallest for every thing we see all we think every motion that answers to our thoughts in every part of our selves is Miraculous as to Dust and Ashes and so in the same Ballance we may weigh our Birth and Dissolution and Resurrection to be equally Miraculous But if we consult our own consciences and throughly examine our own hearts we may be confirmed in the belief that there is no higher Miracle then when the Holy Ghost turns the hearts of men from their long habitual idolized carnal appetites into a Spiritual affection towards God with such Heavenly transports as do create the peace of conscience with such a settled joy in God's service as will accompany our Souls from hence to Heaven which Spiritual Resurrection from sin being God's work in us is a sure mark of our Adoption and by this Miracle of mercy to become thus Regenerate we may account it the highest because of highest concern to us to be so raised from Hell to Heaven And a greater Miracle to confirm the Christian Doctrine no man needs to seek after then what he may thus find in himself if thus led by the Holy Ghost and thus exalted from Reprobate Dust to be the Adopted Son of God XXXV PIety is the best policy because by it we obtain all that the heart of man can wish in this World and the next which every Pious man has a great proportion of here and the Fool only thinks he can mock God or flatter Him while he does only deceive himself in hoping to serve God and the Devil at once to satisfie vitious natural appetites and enjoy Spiritual felicities at the same time as if the way to Heaven were through Hell But if we do doubt whether Eternal happiness is preferable before short fruition on Earth we may enquire of a Voluptuous sinner when he is become truly Reâ—generate if he does not find that the peace of conscience is a more constant delight then the greatest Momentary gratifications of flesh and bloud For when he is so called to an assurance of his Sonship by his Spiritual comforts from the Holy Ghost within him and such transports as do afford Heavenly joys with some glimps of that Glory which he shall participate of at the Resurrection He will perceive it is the same gift of God beyond humane acquisition so that
as careful how to manage his Piety as a sinner is to obtain it XLIV WHen we are assaulâ—ed by any temptations to sin we may recollect our thoughts thus shall I for this moment of sensuality part with my interest in God shall I quit my Sonship now I am reconciled and my Title to an Eternal Crown of Glory in Heaven to satisfie my vitious fancy and a few momentary appetites on Earth and now cast off the felicity and security I have by peace of conscience while I Love fear and serve God and by my trusting Faith in Christ do stand fast fixed above the reach of malice and all the storms this World can raise Shall I depart from this Regenerate state so full of Blessedness to become a trembling Coward frightned at every shadow of every evil that approaches me and so become justly terrified with the horrour of a despairing Soul when Death approaches which may be this minute to step into that Eternal woe denounced against the sin I am tempted to commit Such reflections with such sincere prayers as such Mediations will suggest are surely good guards to defend and free us from the danger of yielding to any temptations to sin XLV A True penitent sinner whose heart is touched by grace from Heaven with remorse for his wicked life and a sence of God's many mercies to him He repents and recollects to the best of his memory all the actual and mental transgressions of his whole life and offers them up to God in confession with an humble sincere contrition and makes new vows for an universal cleansing from all iniquiâ—ies with a total resignation of himself Soul and body in a full obedience unto all the Gospel Laws for the future Thus this Penitent sets himself with holy vigour and his utmost endeavours to walk after his Saviours steps submitting his will to God's will in all things whose favour he now seeks with so great hungering and thirsting affection that God in mercy has cancelled all the Records of his long neglects and insolent repeated sins so as to remember them no more and also by his Divine power does raise this Penitent to a Spiritual Resurrection from sin to grace and so fills his contented converted heart with frequent comforts and such assurance of his Adoption as to encourage him to perform this new Covenant unto the end of his Life By whiâ—h infinite mercy and grace this Penitent does become so Regenerate as to perceive the Spirit of God at work within him raising his Soul to such a Sacred Love of his great Maker as to think all time mispent that is not imployed in gratitude to God for his diliverance from Hell and his Promotion towards Heaven of which Glory he has now some prospect and from hence he grows higher in Gods favour until his holy ambitions do increase desiring to be always in his Creators â—ight and aiming at a Favourites Sons place in the Court of Heaven Thus by degrees his Soul becomes so elevated and transported with these Celestial honours that he contemns the Empires of this World with all the glistering objects here below as unworthy to divert his thoughts on such perishing trifles as he did admire before his heart was fixed above on his Eternal Bliss which now fills his Soul with such continual joyful extasies in Devotion that he is sometimes frighted at the joy he feels lest he may embrace presumptuous Enthusiasms by such high consolations as his Soul delights in when his Meditations and Addresses do ascend in such bright flaming zeal unto the Throne of Mercy But when he considers that God who sees his sincerity through his heart will not reject such sinâ—ere Sacrifices He then hopes that these joys do arise from the Emanation of the Holy Ghost to let him see how God receives and welcoms a whole heart offer'd up to Him with such Divine Lights as Earthly Souls can neither see nor comprehend and by this tast of Bliss and by this beam of Glory here he judges how much greater he shall have in Heaven And thus upon a full search of his whole heart throughout this Penitent now finds with great felicity that God is pleased to dwell in his heart where Satan did so long triumph until these new transports for his Celestial Bliss have quite extinguished those dim shadows of delight that formerly misled him to neglect his God without a serious thought of Heaven or Hell or the least concern for his Eternity until his Soul was thus raised above the reach of his iniquities by his conversing day and night in Heaven And thus the Soul of this new Convert is caressed with bright Seraphick joys by Grace so fixed and so enlightned from above that his inward dependance on God is his continual consolation and support full of such high comforts as he must think do proceed from the Holy Ghost to furnish this his new Temple with sufficient Grace where he now intends to dwell And by all these Blessed guiding Lights this Penitent is invited to live such a Righteous Life as will give him an humble assurance to trust and rejoyce in his reconciliation with a settled Faith that he shall see the face of God in the face of Death the moment that he dies his Soul shall be with Christ where his departed Saints abide until the Resurrection XLVI WE need no better Argument for God's Love to us then our Love of Him which is the highest work of his Grace planted in our hearts by which only we are enlightned to know how to love and serve God as we ought that we may be capable to enter into his Eternal Glory prepared for his Lovers XLVII A Prayer LOrd Jesus I beseech thee forgive my transgressions and now send down thy Holy Spirit to cleanse my heart from all impuriâ—ies and then dwell there to guide my Meditations and Prayers aright with such servent Zeal as will encrease my Faith my Love and trust in thee my God that I may know no joy on Earth like my approaches to thy Throne and from thence impower me so to practise these great Lessons I have writ as to live with holy courage ever ready to die and fit to appear at thy Tribunal on the great day of Judgment with such reconciled Sinners as by thy infinite mercy are become the Sons of God Lord I beseech thee let my heart be now so filled with Divine transporting thoughts of Thee and thy Salvation as to leave no place for Satan there that my enlightned Soul may be ever on the wing hasting towards that Eternal Bliss which Thou hâ—st purchased for me at so high a rate And though my Zeal supported by thy Grace do now encrease let me never think my self near enough to Heaven till I am there For now I find that no repulses will make Satan quit the Field nor my Rebellious Sences to obey that I may gain a perfect Victory beyond the reach of a surprize nor can I alone
by a constant graâ—â—â—ude which is as acceptable as prayers and the pious use of his Creatures and daily Blessings we shall fiâ—d a double delight in all the good things we receive from God's hand because we do enjoy Him in them and shall avoid all such evils as we dare not own to come from God And if we consider that our lâ—ves here are only to make our journey to Heaven we cannot have a better Guide thither then the Holy Ghost who will never mislead them who desire to be guided by Him and from whom we shall get such a habit of Holiness as will bring us to such an intimate acquaintance with Christ as will in a short time wean us so much from the Love of this World as to be chearfully ready to die when we see that the end of our journey is God's call to take possession of the Crown of Glory prepared for us LXVII APious man that lives ever ready to die has a continual prospect of his glorious Resurrection and can have no greater happiness on Earth then his inward assurance of being one of God's Elect who Christ says shall sit on his right hand in Heaven when the Reprobate are cast down into Everlasting flames LXVIII IT is said in Scripture that when Iacob found God was so near him he was afraid which may teach us that no man ought to think himself fit for a familiar acquaintance with his great Maker such as to remove the reverential fear that is due unto so high and supreme a Majesty and yet we may believe and find that His Kingdom of Grace is already come and is amongst us now so that we may with humble hearts say as Iacob did Surely the Lord is in this place and in our hearts too when we are led by his Holy Spirit to study Him and can fully consider that though all our senses are naturally inclined to like and covet varieties of all sorts and that our busie fancies are as readily subservient to work the same way and as eagerly do pursue the various desires of every appetite though we every day find that all objects do by fruition soon decay and cloy our highest desires that are not Rooted in Eternity How fit is it then to consider this and how much better it will be to perswade our Immortal Souls to rob our perishing senses of their depending fancies and imploy them on things above as far as they can reach towards the glorious Habitation of God where such objects are as Immortal as our Souls are and where our variety of joys will increase by such fruitions as never fade but will grow and multiply the more for gathering so as to be ever filling our hearts with high delights but yet never so full but still to admit of more and more felicity as our desires rise until we reach the Fountain of Eternal Bliss where our Souls will be replenished with Celestial joys but never so to overflow as to be weary of them And thus we may be as happy as Iacob was if we can perswade our hearts to throw out Satan with all his disguised flattering Troops and entertain the Holy Ghost as chearfully as we have indulged our blind affections that led us on towards our Eternal ruine And when we have thus discarded Gods Enemies as our own we must approach His glorious Majesty with fear and trembling though we do adore and worship Him at the same time with comfort LXIX IF we did well consider of dying and the joy our Souls will have as they expire when reconciled to God before that hour comes it will be ample reeompence for our whole lives spent in his service and 〈◊〉 worthy of our continual Meditation and devotion to prepare for so immense a mercy to penitent sinners such as will turn the terrours of the Grave into a joyful assurance of a blessed Resurrection to Glory beyond which no man can fancy a concern fitter for his thoughts to work on and his utmost eudeavours to obtain of God who never rejects a sincere heart offer'd up to Him in a daily Sacrifice which the Pious man never fails to do with delight and never misses of the consolation he seeks at his hour of death and in his way to it LXX THe true Idea of Holiness is Divine Love which we may judge of by entirely resigning our wills to the will of God and the perfection of Righteousness is to live a Divine Life such as takes delight to abhor the crimes we have loved and to press on in our devotions until we obtain a full Victory over all our carnal passions and by worthy receiving the Holy Sacrament to fix and confirm our Christianity on the assurance we find by a lively Faith thus qualified to live ever ready for our call unto Eternal Bliss which may be the next minute and cannot be too often thought on by those who love God and desire his Love on whose free mercy our Eternity depends LXXI WE may flatter our selves with a mistaken belief of Holiness which we have not and we may abuse the World with a disguised shew of Holiness which we know we have not but when Death comes such Vizards vanish and our hearts will be display'd in their true colours to our selves and others So that the best marks for Regenerate men to know themselves by is strictly to observe if they love God with their whole hearts with an universal delight therein that is with thankful hearts to praise his holy Name to fear obey worship and trust in Him with such a lively Faith and clear affection as to be ever ready to forsake all we have in this World and chearfully to breath our Souls into God's bosom when He calls for them And whoever shall obtain this Treasure of Grace to find these marks in himself will have such a proportion of that joy and that glory as will encourage him to persevere in Righteousness until he arrives at God's Eternal Rest where such blessed Souls desire to be who do know no diversions so delightful here on Earth as a daily preparation for Heaven LXXII TO think and try are two small words of great consequence because that man who will not think or dares not think what he has done or what he is doing or what he intends to do is in a sad condition for he can neither confess his sins nor repent nor forsake nor ever hope for a pardon for them while he neither thinks nor trys to learn to think of his Eternity He is past cure without a miracle of mercy for his conversion which is seldom afforded to such stubborn hearts as will not think nor ever try to think seriously of their Salvation before it be too late LXXIII NO Christian in his senses will own to love God's Creatures better then we love Him yet we do it and see it not that is not observe how often and how long we lay God aside to enjoy them for nothing can
our own hearts strictly how they stand towards God and with what sincere delight we serve him in our Devotions for the bright flaming zeal of a sincere sigh will pierce Heaven when luke-warm words uttered aloud can find no entrance nor is at all regarded by Almighty God who allows us to knock hard at Heaven gates for entrance when our groaning hearts express our desires for He loves to be pressed with violence for his favours to shew that we value what we pray for XCIX ENdeavour above all things while thy Soul is in communion with God to keep thy affection up to Him and strive not so much for long eloquent language as to be heart-wounded in thy Petitions for when thy Devotion flags thy Prayer is done We ought always to pray as if we were that moment to die which will keep our hearts intent on the great work we are about And he that in praying can adorn his sorrow for past sins with penitential tears before he parts from God will wash them off with tears of joy for that sorrow C. THere is nothing in our view more destructful to the Souls of men then the false opinion that Christianity does impose slavish Laws upon us as if Piety only consisted in heavy burthens to be poor miserable dejected Cyphers in the World made up for sorrows and sufferings with self-denial vows against all humane natural fruitions and felicities For most men being bred up in these mistaken prejudices cannot easily be perswaded that the true Christian Gospel Rules for a Spiritual life does exceed those carnal appetites we so much struggle for and the Regenerate man as much despises in comparison of his Souls continual feasting on the expectation of Heaven whose firm belief of his Eternal joy as an adopted Son of God is a felicity above all the fading enjoyments this World can afford the most ambitious luxurious person who has all that his heart can wish that way So that no man can have a more chearful Soul then he whose faith in Christ and trust in God makes participate of all the lawful pleasures this World affords and when piously used is a delight far above what the wicked can pretend to when the terrors of an evil conscience must imbitter his fruitions And this no man can so well judge of as a converted sinner become Regenerate who has tasted and forsaken the most voluptuous pleasures this World has for the present joys his Soul finds by Faith in his Eternal Bliss which shews that a good Christian lives more pleasantly in this World then a vitious man can do CI. WHen Christ has wrought his great miracle of Conversion in the hearts of the most obdurate sinners those near lost men by his grace becoming truly Regenerate such Evangelical sincerity will grow in their hearts towards God as to take more pleasure in his service then all their past carnal fruitions did afford them So that whoever is enriched with this Grace will find Divine comforts in their retirements to be alone with God such as will beget Heavenly Raptures and preserve their hearts the whole day after from Satanical assaults and by the custom of such early Morning exercise will in time beget an habitual delight to begin the day with God and never forget those high Ejaculations until they meet the Lord again to renew and confirm their commerce for Heaven But it is no wonder that men generally great sinners are so hard to be converted because they cannot set a true value on what they understand not But most wretched those who have been thus enlightned and for some moments rais'd to Heaven yet are so frail by nature and by custom prone to evil as to forsake these Seraphick joys and return to fordid Earthly fruitions rather then continue in the assured everlasting joys of Heaven by persevering in that Righteousness which they have tasted and like not CII THough David did commit some great faults he was a man after God's own heart after that and one of the best patterns in Holy Writ fit for us to imitate for his love and gratitude to God who by custom grew to such a pious friendship with his great Maker that much of his life was spent with God alone in his retirements with whom he consulted all his affairs made all his complaints to and humbly begged whatever his needs were with such a familiar trust in God as his only support and only delight So that if we now consider David's great affairs as a King full of troubles ever in Wars though glorious by his Atchievements yet in frequent dangers vexed by a stubborn People hard to govern besides the disorders of his own Family so that we may think he omitted no opportunity to be with God that hath left so many Psalms full of such high Divine Raptures extant to manifest his great piety that it is a wonder he could get so much time for so many prayers praises and contemplations By which we may learn that in what calling so ever God has set us and what troubles so ever He appoints for us we may find time to converse with God by day and night So that if we repent confess and forsake our sins with hearts as servent towards God as David did no doubt we shall be as well received though neither Kings nor Prophets We may also call to mind that David as the least considerable person of his Family had the lowest imployment to keep his Fathers Sheep yet his heart was then set high on God or he might have been devoured by that Lion or that Bear he slew if God had not been with him And we may also think that he was better acquainted with God at his Flock then Saul was on his Throne else he had not escaped Saul's surious malice and so soon ascended that Throne By which we may see that the greatest King and meanest man may learn of David to love serve honour worship and trust in God with such a delight as will grow to a friendship with his Creator and raise his Soul up unto Heaven whatsoever his imployment on Earth is and those hours and years of our life which we trifle away as a burthen to be rid of not knowing how to spend idly enough we may imploy as David did and never be alone when most alone Thus we may enjoy a happy and blessed security on Earth and have a true courage above all such accidents as make ill men tremble And thus a pioâ—â— man enjoys a present communion with God and Christ by a lively Faith to such a degree as doth assure his Soul of Eternal Bliss in Heaven and when Satan finds us always in such company he will have small hopes to get an Audience for his Addresses to destroy us So that if we can live thus like David we may hope to die in God's favour like him and as chearfully resign our Souls into God's hands who loves us more then we can love him
no Conversation no diversions can come into competition with a Divine Life and Divine Love to God So to fix our Interest in this world and the next for we shall fall as we live and shall rise to everlasting Judgment as we fall For though Christ came into the world to call and to enable the greatest of sinners to become capable of this Felicity here and Salvation after We must repent and forsake our Iniquities or can have no part in him CX WE cannot make too strict a Covenant with our Eyes and Hearts to waâ—ch the deceitfulness of Sin And observe how every look and every thought is naturally apt insensibly to convert innocent intentions into evil before we discern the subtle enemy undermining of our Souls with the fair appearances of harmless diversions if too much indulged until they become destroying Snares CXI GOd often treats his professed Lovers as we do one another when we find that a professed friend has some concealed Jewel that he prizes above his professions though he offer up all the rest which we desire not we reject his Complement and still desire to have that reserved beloved Jewel which he values above our Favours And so God rejects all our Complemental Services until our reserved darling Lust be offered up to him as the Jewel we most prize and the only sacrifice he will accept Then in return of our whole hearts he will give himself to us for ever CXII LEt him that thinks he stands most fixed in Heaven take heed lest he fall and remember that David and Solomon both of them Gods Favorites could not stand longer then by his Grace supported nor were our Saviours beloved Disciples all free from stumbling by which and many more examples we are taught not to presume on our own righteousness but to look on our Frailties as inherent to us lest Dust and Ashes should presume on our own performances without continual Addresses to God for such Supplies as we do every moment need And we may also think that God permits some good men to some relapses to awaken and quicken them to the frequent duty of his Worship so to own him that no man may hope to serve him as he ought without him For Satan is most busie and ambitious to reduce a Convert out of Christs flock to become his slave again rather then to continue his Celestial freedom such a victory he accounts his Master-piece so to subdue careless men who too much trust unto their own Integrity and take no heed how they stand lest they fall CXIII WE cannot Pray too often because frequent sincere Prayers do bring down Blessings from Heaven but when we makâ— negligent Addresses they shew such a disrespect that the Glorious Majesty we approach turns from us in contempt of such careless Petitions For when we are excited to Divine Worship by the Holy Ghost God looks for such intention of Spirit with vigour in our Devotion that shews how much we value what we pray for He admits of our frequent zeal at all times though he sees our unworthiness and never fails to cherish an humble contrite Spirit when he rejects a presumptuous Babbler So that when we approach to Pray our first Petition should be for Grace to prevent all diversions from Satan and our selves who where his publick temptations fail is ever busie to disturb our Devotions with frivolous or foul suggestions CXIV HOw can we think that God doth believe the frequent Professions we make that we love Him above all things when we forsake him so often for trivial and vain fruitions for though no man is free from such Frailties as we ought to Watch and Pray for amendment of by Grace from above For to be absolutely perfect is impossible because our Nature will not admit of such Angelical perfection yet no man ought to question his sincerity because he cannot do that which is impossible for men to do CXV WE spend much of our time in laying foundations for Happiness on Earth when our Happiness is that we have none here but what we can raise from our Hopes to find in Heaven which we are seldom inclined to think on but when we find we are not so well provided for here as we Hope to be there CXVI ALl men know that every moment of our Lives every step we make does advance us towards the Grave but we do not seriously enough consider of this our greatest concern while we march on with merry hearts towards our Eternal Habitation of Rest and happiness in Heaven as we think but in our careless journey thither do entertain our Souls with such worthless Vanities or such known Wickedness for our Diversions that we do often mistake the way if not quite lose it and so arrive at a dismal Habitation of Woe before we see whither we are going CXVII WE cannot Love or Fear God too much we cannot Thank Him or Trust in Him too much nor Think of Him too often from whom we have all that we enjoy and on whose free Mercy our Eternal Doom depends and this Moment may be that Doom to every one of us So then he is the most Happy man in this World that Lives ever the most ready to Die With a sincere desire to be with God which is a sure mark of his Reconciliation and Adoption To love God thus and to be thus beloved of Him will bring us to delight in God above all his Creatures which is the highest Felicity our Pâ—ety can aim at CXVIII A Prayer LOrd Enrich all Hearts with Divine Love that desire it and inflame their Souls with such desires towards Thee as to Live Righteously and to value such enlightning Comforts as flow from those Transports thou doest afford unto Reconciled sinners become Regenerate so to encourage them to Inform and Reclaim such as go Astray by seeing the vast delights that do attend thine Adopted Sons in their way to Heaven And by that bright Light from above to judge of thy Celestial joys prepared for them there CXIX NOt to think at all is impossible and to think too much of what we ought not to think of is too Natural to us but to think of the Everlasting Torments in Hell comparatively with our peâ—ty short Pains here will Fright us into some Care not to offend God so as to send us thither Puâ— to think of the Ioys of Heaven as we ought and by our Faith in Christ to bring us thither with our Love to God our Christian Charity our Purity of Heart and our Humility to God and Man Which is the Divine Lovers part who is ever thinking on his Eternal Bliss and how to please God most so to prepare for Heaven which he sees every moment is at hand and the joyful expectation of that Happy Hour is his Souls continual Consolation as those will find who do Sincerely labour for it CXX IT is one of the Devils chief Arts to cheat men into a belief that it is a
Melancholly thing to be Religious But a man truly Regenerate will need no other arguments to convince the contrary then what he finds in his own Heart of Delight when the Holy Ghost has taken possession there and when his Retirements with God will furnish him so fully with his Loving Kindness and those Enlightning Gifts those Beatifying Graces and Refreshing Comforts those Divine Manifestations of his presence creating such a Ioy with such Peace of Conscience that no Carnal Appetites nor all the Malice of Men and Devils can remove him from his firm Station of Bliss which he participaâ—es of in this prospect of Heaven only But no man can believe this nor guess at the Felicity of a Pious Life until he do obtain Grace to become Regenerate CXXI WHoever considers that his day of Death is his day of Judgment for his Eternal Being will find that his time yet to Live is little enough to ask God Pardon for the time he has mispent Whoever doth closely and seriously set to this great work of Conversion will find that his Sighs and Tears will produce more Joy in his Latter-days then re-acting his former Crimes would be when the two Eternities are put into the Scales CXXII LEt us not please our selves with presumptuous Thoughts That we are the Temples of the Holy Ghost till we have examined our Hearts strictly to find if we are free from all Habitual Sins in Thought Word and Deed for God will not dwell in a Polluted Temple We must next examine what proportion of Divine Ioy the Holy Spirit â—ills our New Hearts with to Confirm and Sanctify our Souls in the Love and Service of God thus dwelling in us And then observe what a new kind of entertainment it is to Delight in God with the peace of a quiet Conscience which by frequent Meditations will hold us up above the reach of any storms that Satan can raise or the malice of Men can contrive against us And then we are to fix all this Happiness by worthy receiving of the Holy Sacrament So as Christ may be Born within us and be so Vnited unto us as to confirm our Spiritual Filiation Thus qualified we may look on our selves as Temples of the Holy Ghost In all humility rejoycing to be so Blessed when we are so CXXIII WE ought to enter Caveaâ—s in â—ur Hearts against the approaches of such sorts of Temptations as we fear most and on all occasions to search the Register of our Vows made to God to see if we do not stand pre-ingaged to Him to resist the Temptation then Assaulting us and if so how unworthy shall we be so to break our Word with God upon Record and how dangerous to provoke his anger by such a Contempt thus we may destroy many designs from Satan and our selves oftentimes the worse Devil of the two CXXIV WE are too often abused by flattering diversions as if Holy Meditations were not more pleasant and more durable then vain delights Which rob us of our real Essential Joys for shadows of Pleasures that ever abuse us CXXV WE ought often to consider of how little value all is that we have on Earth which we must for ever depart from when we die and should therefore set our selves to secure a Blessed Eternity where we go And which God invites us to on the easie terms of repenting our past sins and forsaking those Crimes which we have been so often cloyed with CXXVI LEt thy Spiritual Resurrection from sin which is Gods works within thee assure thy reconciliation and confirm thy Election so as to fill thy heart with bright flames of a sincere Evangelical Devotion that thou mayest live and serve God chearfully until thy time comes to die And then with a Holy valour pass through the Grave with a lively Faith to participate of His Glory at the Resurrection For by a ready submission thou wilt Conquer that great Tyrant Death by a foresight of those Celestial joys that raise thy Soul to know thou shalt be with God the moment that thou diest CXXVII WE ought to Pray continually for the Holy Ghost to dwell in us to inform and enable us to do our duty in all things with the Spirit of Faith which will improve our zeal and to contemn this Worlds Glories and will fill our hearts with higher thoughts for a joyful expectation of a Crown in Heaven prepared for those who value it CXXVIII WE should always have in mind when the Spirit and the Flesh contest within us That our Will is the Judge between those two Solicitors and that God leaves the option of our Eternal Bliss or Eternal Woe to us that is whether we will become Spiritual Disciples or Carnal Sinners for no Temptations can make us guilty unless we consent to sin CXXIX THe greatest argument against Despair and for a Pious Life is very short That if we do repent and forsake our sins with a sincere universal obedience for the future we shall be as certain to partake of Gods promised Mercies as if we had never gone on in those former sins Though great and frequently repeated which is great comfort unto all such as Hope to go to Heaven CXXX THe generality of mankind do spend most part of their Lives on the delightful Acquisition of Wealth Honour Learning or the like and are but unskilful Merchants that purchase Rich Jeweâ—s with more hazards and at higher Rates then their intrinsick value will afford them to be gainers by when obtained And for which we pay most part of our precious time that is the only Treasure we have and of much more worth then all we can purchase in this World by the profuse expence of that time on such glistering Triâ—les as must perish with us if not before us When a tenth part of our mis-spent time would procure Eternal Wealth Hoâ—our and Ioy beyond expression for our Immortal Souls if we would devoutly Traffick for Heaven But we are naturally inclined to set our hearts on present Fruitions more then a hundred times their value in reversion because Heaven is or may be far off and we have time enough to think of that when we have nothing else to do though this minute we may be called to our Eternal Doom and too late find the difference between a Reprobate and a Regenerate Life CXXXI A Man truly Regenerate will not admit of the least contest from Carnal Appetites his heart being so fixed on Heavenly joys that he detests all approaches to divert him as below the pleasure he has in his Conversation with God in private Who he believes will assuredly bring him to Heaven if he prefer his Service before the fading Bubbles of this World CXXXII OF all the Blessings that God bestows on men There is none greater then the Peace of Conscience which a Pious man finds when he is dying with great comfort And which ought to invite all men to live Divine Lives with assurance that God sees our sincerity
of such mercies as have so raised him from the terrors of Hell unto the joys of Heaven CXLV THe truly Pious man is always blowing up his smoaking Flax to flaming Love for those daily mercies and blessings he receives from God so to teach others the felicity he finds therein to invite them to Heaven CXLVI TO hear to read to wâ—ite and meditate and to pray often are the means to understand our Duty unto God as also to â—ix our Faith But if we do not live and practise accordingly our great knowledge will aggravate our crimes and provoke God's anger against us for slighting those Divine Instructions which the Holy Ghost inspires us with and for which God expects an account from us CXLVII HE that can make a total resignation of himself with all his Interests into God's hands has made a great advance towards Heaven and may trust in God so the foundation of his Trust be laid deep in a fixed heart on a Spiritual Resurrection universally cleansed from all known sins and so Reconciled that God will accept of the Trust But we are too apt to mistake such Resignations and to flatter our selves with Peace of Conscience on that account without a due Examination whether all our actions and affections do justifie such a Resignation as we offer up to God without which it is a great presumption to pretend to Trust in God CXLVIII TO be Regenerate does include all Blessedness that we are capable of in this World with a joyful prospect into those Eternal felicities we shall have in Heaven and is a sure Testimony of our Reconciliation CXLIX THere is nothing more clear then that Holiness is the foundation of true Happiness even in this World and cannot be doubted in the next for whoever lives a Divine life will have his heart full of Divine love to God and then will soon find the felicity of Piety to be so much more pleasant then all other Diversions that he will take all the opportunities he can both day and night to approach God in Holy Meditations and humble Prayers as the most delightful entertainment his Soul is capable of on this side Heaven and will find God's favour confirmed to him by Grace sufficient to support his contented heart through all the Storms this World can raise and fill him with joyful thoughts of his Salvation at the hour of death which is our highest Aim by the perfection of Piety to obtain CL. A Prayer LOrd give us Grace to discern the bottom of our own hearts that we be not deceived by too slight a search for Divine Love there nor flatter our selves with hopes of being Favourites in Heaven while we prefer thy Creatures before Thee and see it not Lord guide us by thy Divine Light and make us see that true Devotion is the most satisfying diversion we can have and will enrich our hearts with desires to be with Thee in Paradise and will create courage to pass chearfully through the Grave so to â—ustifie our Faith by our last step out of this World into a glorious Eternity with Thee our God CLI IF we consider how many times we have stumbled in our Christian course and how many times fallen and by what small Rubs been overthrown we should take more care to stumble no more at such Straws but pray for Grace to enable us to run over all Mountainous temptations if they cross our way to Heaven and when God sees a vigorous sincerity to serve love and trust in Him He is then ready to support us through the whole course of our lives which no man can doubt of that observes how God admits of our many risings after so many great and wilful falls as most men make and yet He still invites us to repair past Evils by running out our new course better with a due prospect to our last step into the Grave from whence we must arise to claim the Crown we run for And this will raise all devout hearts to the brightest flame of Faith and Love that men are capable of when we consider that every moment of our life may be that last step by which we must gain or lose the Crown we run for CLII. BEcause Angelical obedience is a perfection of Holiness above the capacity of Humane Nature God does make allowance for sincerity in performance of Duties bâ—t Himself holds the Scales to see that our sincerity be full weight according to the grains He allows us And the Holy Ghost within us has a continual Treasury where those grains are so reposited as to be ever ready to supply our sincerity and to turn the Scales for our advantage according to every mans utmost endeavours which will never be rejected for want of weight CLIII LEt no man despair of the forgiveness of his sins if he do confess them to God and do turn from them to Him with sincere contrition and repentance devoutly practised for the future in Obedience Love and Faith trusting in Gods Mercy and Grace with our reliance on Christs Righteousness imparted unto us on which assurance we may live with comfort and die with joy And whoever doth entertain himself with such frequent Meditations will find them to be the most delightful diversions he can have to consider that though we may fail in our best endeavours Gods Mercy and Christs Righteousness can never fail can never be exhausted on our sins by supporting sincere Penitents until brought unto Heaven so that in this high expectation of future Eternal Bliss we ought to be contented with our Lots on Earth whatever they be trusting in Gods free Mercy and Christs Merits without despairing of our Salvation if we can repent past crimes and forsake them for the future But if we have not a Resurrection from sin in this World we shall have no Resurrection to Glory in the next World CLIV. PIety and Faith include all Christianity but we often mistake Praying Preaching and Godly talk for Piety which are but steps towards it for we are obliged to do Righteousness or else we are not of God and so it is with those who think their Faith sufficient that can Parrot-like repeat their Creed when 't is our active Faith that is required to do what the Gospel teaches So that if a due regard to Faith and Piety be settled in our hearts we should find more time for Meditations on those great concerns whatever our Callings or Imployments be for our Bodies cannot be so engag'd to labour or in any Courtcrouds so imploy'd but our Souls may be raised up to God in â—ervent Ejaculations without any Tongue-noise or Facediscovery to inform God who knows our hearts better then our selves do So that by Faith and Piety we may converse with God here and begin our Eternal happiness on Earth CLV IT is a wonder to see that all mankind should be loth to leave this World where so few are truly happy or that think themselves so as to be contented The weak
there Though it sometimes happens that some men fail and that some mens most lawful acquisitions by honest industry obtained may be torn from them by Envy and undue means who may also undergo such severe censures as they deserve not from the misguided tongues of malicious men who see not the true cause of every Ruine which often does proceed from Gods Justice for some concealed past sins to punish us by such means for such crimes as we have hid from men but cannot hide from Him So that we may charge our punishment for sin on the perverse nature of our own improvident selves who do neglect the Redeeming of our mis-spent time while we may and by Repentance obtain Gods pardon on which depends our present happiness with our future Eternal Bliss or Eternal Woe not enough thought on to make us Redeem our time in time And hereon we may with shame consider of and guess at what the fallen Angels would give if they had whole Worlds to dispose of what would they not do how many thousand years with joy suffer the Torments they are in to have the time we value not allowed them to be admiâ—ted unto a possibility of repentance and pardon by Redeeming their mis-spent time of their Rebellion in Heaven before they fell from thence to Hell While we careless men do pamper our viâ—ious frailties so as never to value the time we have until it be gone beyond recall unâ—il the despairing terrors of a Deaâ—h-bed state do let us see that God in Justice gives us over unto perdition because we would not Redeem our mis-spent time and seek His Mercy before the Evil day overtakes us which we all know is every moment hasting on ready to swallow us up into everlasting flames But to such men as the terrors of Hell cannot fright nor the joys of Heaven invite to Redeem their time in time nothing more can be said but Lord have mercy on them who will not have mercy on themselves for no misery can be greater then when miserable men will not commiserate their own misery but will hope from a Death-bed to jump up into Heaven at once But they will find the ascent too high too steep and too hard for those to climb up in such hast who never learnt to know the right way thither CCII. WHen a Soul is in fervent conference with God about its Eternity the Holy Ghost will be working that Soul up to see that Eternity gives an addition of joy to the joys in Heaven and those joys do also increase the Glory of Eternity all which Eternity Joy and Glory there Christ has purchased for penitent sinners become Regenerate and reconciled unto God by Faith in his Bloud and as our proportions of Faith do increase our desires will increase to be with God as often as we dare remember that we must die and are every moment dying Although we cannot attain to be inspired Prophets like David nor reach the first Rank of Saints with St. Paul we may become Penitents and Divine Lovers in some degree like them though not to shine so eminently on Earth as they did yet we may follow their steps here so as to share in the â—ame Glory with them at the Resurâ—ection when converted reconciled sinners are invited to the same Eternal happiness as the departed Saints enjoy there And what can be more wish'd for to encourage us to live piously and die chearfully then to be with God in Glory CCIII WE should avoid many great crimes if we could dâ—scern the deformity of sins through the Devils gay Curtains always drawn close to hide them until Death displays them in their true colours which then will fright us into despair at the sight of such griâ—ly Aspects as we so joyfully embraced for prime felicities But if we can learn the pious skill to draw such Curtains timely those Fiends behind them will vanish on a full view not able to endure the Test of such a discovery CCIV. DId we believe Heaven to be what Heaven is we could not prefer this World before it and if we did love God better then his Creatures we should not forsake Him so often as we do for them and if we did think of Eternity as we ought we should grudge every moment that diverts our hearts on trifles when every minute may be our last here and the next may crown us with Eternal Glory So that we should set our hearts to raise our thoughts on frequent and full consideraâ—ions of our Death-beds and think seriously how the terrors of unrepented sins will bite then and what a joyful passage our Souls will have if reconciled before and then we should need no other Arguments then such thoughts to perswade us to live so Righteously as to be ever ready on the shortest summons to step into that Eternity of Bliss CCV IT is said in Scripture that as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God which is a sure foundation to raise high structures on by which we may climb to Heaven in a constant conversation with our great Maker in most delightful Addresses for if we can by frequent practice follow this Divine-guiding Light we shall learn that Celestial Road so perfectly that we may travel day and night safely without mistaking of our way or failing of our happy Rest at our Journeys end which we shall more then guess at here by the present joy we find in our way thither And if we observe our sleeps also our very Dreams will entertain our Souls with pleasure above the reach of any waking fancies and by all this we shall certainly find something from above that will beget a consolation in a purified heart to testifie that it is Gods work within us who mocks no mans sincere ardent desires with false hopes of a felicity he shall not find for by a righteous life and lively Faith His improved Grace will bring our natural frailties to die so chearfully that we shall leave no pleasures behind us so great in this World as we shall have by going out of it to Him CCVI. A Dream of Heaven THough sleep Deaths Image be I have been now I know not where convey'd I know not how Where something did appear so dazling bright I could not see its Glory for the Light My Soul surpriz'd with wonder and amaze Methought I pray'd and did forbear to gaze Frighted and pleas'd at what I lik'd and fear'd I found it was a Dream of Heav'n appear'd Which waking fled but did my fancy fill With bless'd Idea's which abide there still With such transporting joy that I can weep To think of what I had and could not keep CCVII. HE that would improve the pleasure of Piety is to consider how his Body does every moment descend towards the Grave which will invite him to excite his Soul to mount much faster towards Heaven by such a continual devout contest which shall move fastest that he will
practice on Deaths Image sleep every night when we lye down to Rest that we may learn to compleat our preparation for that mighty work of dying chearfully which is so much discours'd of and so seldom seen though our last Pangs do frequently seem to comply with what we cannot hinder and nothing can more conduce to cure this natural frailty then setting our hearts to love the Law of God and to shew it by word and deed and holding a constant conversation with our Creator in the daily raising of our Faith and our affection to our Resurrection from Deaths Dominion unto His everlasting Bliss in Heaven CCXVI THere is no felicity in this World without a contented mind and there can be no full contentment without such a fixed dependance on God as to be pleas'd with whatever He appoints as best for us Which Divine contentment will raise our hearts to such a gratitude to God with such a conversation in Heaven as will beget an holy courage to contemn all the crosses and all the allurements this World can afford and this Spiritual contentment we ought to cherish as Gods great favour for us to delight in while we live and to trust in when we die as a mark of our Election thus to divert us from longing after the perishing Glories of this World that never can assure us any lasting contentment by their enjoyment nor any comfort when we expire CCXVII HE that writes Devotion walks on a narrow Plank with Precipices on either side and is in danger to slip into the Gulf of Spiritual Pride on his own Righteousness or else in too much humility for his own unworthiness may presume to think that some things from the Holy Ghost informs him with Evangelical Rapsodies when his Soul soars so high towards Heaven So that in our best Actions we are with humble and grateful hearts to give the honour and the glory unto God for all that we do well CCXVIII TO love God and to be beloved of God is an immense Meditation which by practice must needs improve our Interest in Heaven for when God sees our Souls set to seek him this way He will send his Holy Spirit to raise our ambitions higher and higher to gain his favour in hope of such an union with Christ as our nature is capable of by which such elevated enlightned hearts will find a felicity on Earth that no mans thoughts can guess at that does not feel it with a joyful assurance of being received into Heaven when he dies so that we cannot have a better Argument to invite us to live Piously and to die chearfully then to love God thus for the true joy of a good Soul in this World is the very joy of Heaven which Death shall not take away nor interrupt it one moment CCXIX. WE may do well to observe Davids method in his Victory over his sins when they were his declared Enemies He did not retire from his charge and calling to hide himself from their assaulting temptations but forced them to fly from him and pursued them so as they might never be able to return upon him And having thus vanquished and discarded all those his old Companions when he perceived them to be his Enemies He soon became a man after Gods own heart and then found that he had strength company power joy wealth and honour enough in God alone with whom he spent the most of his time after in Prayers and in Praises So that as He did we should discard our old evil habits and all our old Companions workers of Iniquity and make them fly from us as David did and then we shall find all those joys in our conversation with God which David had CCXX DAvid says that God heard the voice of his weeping which shews that the sighs and tears of penitent sinners are heard in Heaven without words and that devout tears which cannot speak do speak aloud in Gods ears nay when we desire to weep but cannot pour out tears themselves Doctor Dunne says that God sees tears in the hearts of men before they blubber on their faces and He is said to hear the tears of a sorrowful Soul which for sorrow cannot shed a tear the very lifting up our Eyes to God in a sincere sorrow opens Him windows through which He sees a wet heart through the driest Eyes and by his returns of Grace gives comforts with the blessed peace of a quiet conscience to assure our Reconciliation unto Him that we may with chearful hearts expect Deaths summons unto our Eternal Rest in Heaven CCXXI THe supine Epicure the practical Atheist and the divine Hypocrite have gained so great a Vogue in some parts of the World as hath almost worn true Christian Religion out of Fashion and out of Countenance too while those are thought ill-bred men that practice any Piety and none so well accomplish'd as they who have those three eminent Vertues in most perfection which do very often dwell together in such careless Hearts as do not at all consider or not enough examine their integrity towards God CCXXII VVE do generally wonder at and pity the Melancholy Lives of some devout Hermits who are retir'd into desolate Habitations from the converse of Men But do not consider the blessed contentment which their Souls enjoy in a conversation with God as if themselves were then in Heaven with such an ambitious Zeal as fills their Hearts with Happiness and holds up their Souls so fixed on Christ as to despâ—se all the Glories of this World So that we ought not to pity those happy men but to look on them as Divine Objects fit for our devout Envy and immitation who do enjoy felicities above the reach of Earthly minds to judge of But yet every pious man that can give his whole Heart to God needs not give his whole time too for we are required to serve God more waies than one and may convert our Closets into Cells where we may be sure to find God as often as we desire to meet him there as well as on the tops of Rocks who will not be confin'd to time or place that is ever with us every where So that the Mountain Hermit and the City Hermit may have Spiritual entertainments and comforts alike while they Live and may Die with as high delight to be with God and may shine equally as bright in Heaven when they meet there CCXXI LEt us redeem the time we have mis-spent while we have time to do it by making ready for our summons to the Grave as our prime business here and when God sees our hearts are fully fixed on Him He will guide and conduct us through the dark rugged paths of Death by the bright consolations of his Holy Spirit to entertain us with comfort and delight in our passage unto His Eternal Rest. Let us then set our Souls joy on this great work and observe how Gods Grace and our felicity does increase together upon the
remission of all our sins and Reconciliation to God CCXXII AN habitual sinner that perseveres in his wickedness unto the end of his days seems to think that his Baptismal Vow was to serve the World the Flesh and the Devil and to forsake God and all his Commandments CCXXIII. IT is not to be thought that any man can die chearfully that does not believe he is then going to God and no man can believe that he is then going to God but he that loves God and fears to offend Him so that he only can be truly happy here who can so fix his heart on God as to find that his highest Happiness in this World is in preparing to go out of it but most men in health are too apt to think themselves ever ready to die and do not find that they are not until the Bell tolls them to their Grave CCXXIV. IF there be one sin more predominant then all the rest that by its frequent Victories over thy frail Nature is now grown too strong for thy controul stand always on thy Guard hereafter to watch its first Assault and be so well Arm'd against surprizes as to have time to call in Aid from Heaven to assist when such an Usurping Enemy appears as thy own strength cannot resist But let not thy new courage fail fight bravely on to thy last gasp and rather die then yield never submit never comply with such a known Enemy for when it cannot compell thee to consent as formerly 't will quit the Field asham'd to be so baffled by its Slave so frequently subdued before And thus by a stout resistance thou wilt find inward unseen Aids to humble that Triumphant sin that has so often Tyrannized over thee CCXXV. TO die while we are dying is not strange But to be so unwilling to exchange Our anxious days in a distracted time For an Eternal Rest and joy sublime Is want of Faith or value for our God To shun his presence and embrace his Rod Pretend to Heav'n but still do from it fly Because we will not dare not learn to dye Though we can only when our Souls expire Obtain long life which we so much desire Could we divide a moment to the Eye We should see Life the moment that we dye And Faith does fully that defect supply For though my Body dies it is not I. CCXXVI POSTSCRIPT THe conceal'd Author doubting that he may be too soon known does think fit to make some Apology for exposing so many loose Lines unto the censure of the World and does only hope that all good men will in charity look on his Mid-night Thoughts as rough Oar found in a rich Golden Mine from which they may wash away the Soil and lay up the pure Gold for use FINIS CCXXVII NO man can guess at the felicity of holyMeditations but those who constantly converse with God that way and who have obtained grace to be admired at all times to such near aproaches that their souls seem to be entertained amongst the Angels in Gods presence while those Divine Addresses last by which God also seems to manifest his Mercy unto the souls of men in shewing them some glimps of that Eternal glory they shall share in at the Resurrection to fill our hearts with blessed Ideas of his Celestial Joyes CCXXVIII HE that would know true joy on Earth must secure his Eternal Bliss unto his own heart not only by confessing bewailing and forsaking his known sins in hope of pardon but must express his Love to God and his gratitude for that pardon with a true value of it by improving his peace of conscience thereon with a Continual Conversation in Heaven for the future and thereby raising his soul to such a delightful Love of God as to find that the prime entertainment of his heart is to be so retired with his Creator and Redeemer that he may observe how the Holy-Ghost is ever present with them to improve his delight in them unto as high joy as man is capable off on this side of Heaven And whoever can obtain grace thus to make his Devotion his prime pleasure on Earth will perceive a new kind of felicity by such an exaltation in his soul as will raise his affection to God above all other Divisions And then if such Meditations do shew him such a prospect of his Eternal Bliss as doth create a Faithful expectation of Heaven so delightful here He may presume that he shall not want Divine Valour to die cheerfully when he is called to take possession of that glorious purchase which Christ had made for him there CCXIX. IT is worthy of observation and our most serious Meditations to see how much all men of all humors and all conditions Young and Old are generally of one mind in our great Journey through this world Where we are humbled together and tossed and tumbled in rough rugged ways up and down steep Hills full of hopes and fears still entertained with more storms than shun-shine and never free from such dangers as do fill most mens hearts with unquiet thoughts through their own Journey though some good men well Armed can smile and sleep it out with patience while others sighing groan and weep the whole way through And too many there be in this great Caravan who Laugh and sing and merrily pass their whole time without a thought of whether they are going until their turn comes to be tumbled out into the Pit with as little regard as they went thither But almost all are all the way of the same mind to Linger on in their uneasie passage rather than once heartily to wish to see their Journeys end and very few there are that do entertain any joyful thoughts of their arrival there at Last So that till Time by Day and Night of course transports them thither though tied and Cripled by various hardships in their long travels very many do wish they might return the rugged way they came to endure another age of sorrows pains and troubles rather than to alight from their Woren-out Waggons to rest a while in their own Homes though they know there is no other way to pass unto Eternal Bliss But when they find the wheels and Axel-trees that bore them up do crack under their heavy burdens past all hope to carry them any Longer on then to late they flatter themselves with vain hopes to flatter God as if they did desire to be with Him When they do know that God doth see that nothing could by them be done to keep them longer from Him For which great frailty in Mankind the only sure cure is to think of and prepare for our journeys End all the way we travel thither And then the expectation of that joy and that Glory we march towards will sweeten all we suffer on our way to God And happy are those men that can obtain grace to travel so to Heaven as to get such a tast of those Celestial joys in their
and though we cannot reach David's highest perfections as an inspired Prophet we may like him give continual thanks to God for all we have and sing praise honour and glory to his Holy Name whose mercy endureth for ever CIII DId men watch the deceitfulness of sin and would heartily check the first appearance of evil thoughts with the remembrance that our All-seeing God is ever present to observe if we do fight or do invite our long known Enemies to their accustomed conquest of us such precautions would make us either fear to offend or joy to please our God and would soon teach our careless hearts how to subdue those Tyrant appetites a far off which so often do enslave us when permitted to approach at a nearer distance who do hold such a natural intelligence within that if we but admit a Parley to Treat with those subtle Enemies they will with fair pretences lead us on until they undermine our Souls and blow us up before we can discern the danger we are in and when once entred at such a Breach 't is then too late to grapple with a Foe that is in possession of a Fort without resistance gained Yet this sad truth by long experience taught is seldom learnt because we too much love those glistering Fetters and consent to put them on before they be imposed and then fear to be too soon freed from such a pleasant Bondage vainly thinking we can at our own pleasure shake such shackles off and be at liberty until surprized by some unlook'd-for Doom from whence is no redemption CIV A Frequent examination of our hearts is of use to keep men close up to Godliness and some Rules are very necessary to examine our hearts by to know when we walk aright as well to check remissness as to cherish those Divine motions which do raise hearts up to Heaven and may keep them there when so raised which is a great assurance for flesh and bloud when converts and will beget a joyful hope of being received into God's Bosom when become so Regenerate as to find a sincere delight to dwell there which is a great degree of blessedness and a good assurance that we shall be so for ever in the next World What labour then or what time spent can be too much to obtain Grace to become so universally cleansed from sin and universally obedient to Gods commands as will produce a total resignation of our selves and all our Interests into Gods hands and keep our hearts close up to Heaven until we arrive there For when God is the prime object of our Souls desire we shall take all opportunities to retire from the World to converse with God in humble Addresses for our Eternal hâ—bitation with Him in Glory But if this Duty of Meditation be used as a servile Drudgery to avoid a Rod held over us we are not right at heart and far from being Regenerate far from loving God if we take no delight in being with him for though Humane Nature cannot reach to Angelical Holiness yet Evangelical sincerity may be acquired by the Divine assistance if rightly sought and then as many as are led by the Spirit of God are become the Sons of God beyond which no man can wish nor think and when this state of Bliss is obtained with what diligence ought we to keep it up to the highest pitch of love and gratitude that our fancy and our Faith can reach for by such emanations from the Holy Ghost we may judge of Gods love to us and thereby guess what immense Glory we shall have in Heaven And thus we may daily feast our Souls with Angels food if we can conveâ—se with God aright So that to be Regenerate multiplies our joys here and assures our happiness in Heaven and though no man can of himself attain to this state of Grace without the Divine assistance it is never denied if sincerely begged nor was â—ver given in vain to deceive any man in the point of being Regenerate CV WE have no better way to express our love and gratitude to God for all his Mercies and Blessings then by our self-denyals For our obedience to his Laws is duty and no virtue to forbear a sin that we take no delight in but to crucifie a beloved darling Lust rather then offend God by it that is self-denyal And unto whomsoever God gives grace to do so he gives a joyful satisfaction to his Soul for so great a victory as lays a firm foundation to raise his Thoughts to Heaven on And is a good argument to shew that he fears Gods Threats and trusts in his Promises as the greatest Testimony of an active Faith so much required And when all this is done our Christian Warfare is not done For when Carnal sins do cease and our Appetites are overcome by Grace Satan still pursues in hope to frustrate the felicity of our Conversion by disturbing our Piety with Spiritual Pride or some Enthusiasms to reduce us into his power again So that when we are best we must Watch and Pray most for supplies of Grace to enable us to fight on lest we end worse then we begun The sum of all that can be taught is to bring men to Godliness and Honesty which is the perfection of Christianity CVI. IT is said in Scripture That without holiness no man shall see the Lord By which we may observe that Gods Injunctions are designed for mans greatest Happiness because Holiness is certainly our only true Felicity in this World and cannot be less in the next For if by Righteousness and Faith we may see a glimpse of Gods Glory here We shall see him in fulness of Glory at the Resurrection and enjoy him too on Christs account CVII NO man did ever seek God with a sincere heart that missed to â—ind him God loves to be so sought and to be so found as we shall be sure we have found him by our delight in him All which is the work of the Holy Ghost within us to our great comfort here always to enjoy God if our delight be set on him above all earthly fruitions And thus we may find God and enjoy him as well in Courts of Princes as in a Wilderness if we prefer nothing before the finding of him and so the greatest Courtiers may live like Saints on Earth and be Saints in Heaven when they die CVIII 'T Is not amiss for a Righteous man sometimes to fancy himself on hâ—s Death-Bâ—d with his Friends bewailing his deparâ—ure from them while he pities their mistake who pities him that is going to see the face of God in the face of Death and to meet Christ who with open Arms comes to receive his Soul into his Eternal rest Such Meditatations will raise our hearts to endeavour to die so and will bring us great Consolation while we live so in Gods favour that our Faith fail not at the last gasp CIX THere is no Felicity like Piety no Peace no Security