Divine Breathings.
I. MEDITATION.
MEditation and Prayer are like the Spies, that went to search the Land of Canaan, the one views, and the other puts down, and both brings [...]ome à taste of the fairest and sweetest fruits of Heaven. Meditation like the [...]ye views our mercies, and Prayer like the hand reacheth [Page 2]in those mercies; or, Meditation is like a Factour, which lyeth abroad to gather in what we want; and Prayer like a ship goeth forth, and brings in what we desire, It is my misery, that I cannot be so perfect, as not want; but it is my mercy, that I cannot be so miserable, as not to be supplied. Meditation cannot find out-areal want, but Prayer will fetch in an answerable comfort. Lord! If mercy be so free, I will never be poor, but I will meditate to know it; never know it, but I will pray to supply it; and yet not rest until thou shalt do more [Page 3]for me, than I am able to ask or think.
II. Meditat.
SAint Bernard sweetly compares Contemplation to the Eagle: For as the Eagle is still fastening her eye upon the radiant beams of the beautiful Sun: So Contemplation is still viewing the glorious beams of the Sun of Righ [...]eousness, it is still con [...]ersant about the high and profitable things of Salvation: Or else I may compare it to those Birds, of whom David speaks, who [...]uild their nests by the Al [...]ar of God. This is that [...]elestial Bird, that builds [Page 4]her nest about the Throne of Glory. This is the Bee, which flyeth into the sweetest Gardens, and sucks Honey from every Flower of Paradise. By Meditation I can converse with God, solace my self in the bosome of my beloved, bathe may self in rivers of pleasure, tread the paths of my rest, and view the mansions of my eternity. What makest thou then O my soul! in this valley of tears? Up upon the mount and view the Land of promise. What makest thou in this wildernesse o [...] trouble? Up upon th [...] wing and take thy flight t [...] Heaven; let thy thought [Page 5]be where thy happiness is, and let thy heart be where thy thoughts are; though thy habitation may be on Earth, yet thy conversation shall be in Heaven.
III. Meditat.
WHat art thou? O my Soul! a spiritual Essence, an Incorporeal substance, the very breath of God, and Epitomy of Heaven. What satisfies thee, O my immortal Soul! none but the immortal God, in whom all fullness dwells, he onely [...]can fill the Soul, that fills Heaven and Earth; the insufficient creature [Page 4] [...] [Page 5] [...] [Page 6]may fill the Soul with vexation, none but the all-sufficient God can fill the Soul with contentation. O Lord, as no action of mine will satisfie thee without my self; so no creature of thine will satisfie me without thy self; therefore O Lord, take thou my heart, and give me thy self.
IV. Meditat.
WHat want'st thou? O my Soul! with what imaginable excellency would'st thou cloath thy self? What desirable object would'st thou pitch upon? Is it beauty? The righteous shall shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom [Page 7]of Heaven, and the wise as the brightness of the Firmament for ever and ever. Is it riches? Wealth and riches are in the house of God, every one in his family shall have a rich, a glorious, and incorruptible, and an eternal inheritance amongst the Saints. What is it then? Is it honour? What honour like to this, to be a friend and a favourite of God, and a spouse of Christ; to have a Crown of righteousness, of life, and of glory? Yet more, a farr more exceeding and eternal weight of glory set upon thy head. Yet again, is it pleasure? The Just shall enter into [Page 8]their Masters joy, and there are rivers of pleasures at his right hand for evermore. In a word, What would'st thou have, Oh my flesh? A confluence of all the glorious things, both in Heaven, and in Earth? Why, Godliness hath the promise of this life, and of that which is to come. If Heaven, and the righteousness thereof, be the thing that thou dost seek; both Heaven and Earth, with the excellencies thereof, is that which thou shall find. Lord, make me holy, and then I am sure I shall be happy!
V. Meditat.
WIse Agents do alwayes propound their Ends before they set upon their Work: And then direct their actions to that end they did propound. If the Mariner launch, it is that he may get to such a harbour: Therefore he sayls by Compass that he may compass that he sayls for. A Christian should have always one eye upon his end, and the other eye upon his way. That man lives a bruitish life, that knows not what he lives for; and he acts but a fools part, that aims at Heaven, and lives at [Page 10]randome. A wise Christian his end of living is, that he may live without end; and therefore his way of living is, that he may live continually to spend his life in the ways of life; he is alwayes walking in those paths where he sees Heaven before him. O my Soul! What is it that thou aim'st at? Is it a full enjoyment of thy God? Why, then whil'st thou art present in this body be always drawing near to the Lord; so when thou shalt be absent from this body, then thou shalt be always present with the Lord.
VI. Meditat.
HOw apt many are at the sight of a rich Worldling to envy him for what he hath: But for my part, I rather pity him for what he wants; he hath a Talent, but it wants improvement; he hath a Lamp, but it wants Oyl; he hath a Soul, but it wants grace; he hath the star, but he wants the Sun; he hath the Creature, but he wants the Creator. In his life he doth but float upon a Torrent of vanity which empties it self into an Ocean of vexation; and after death; then take this unprofitable servant, bind [Page 12]him hand and foot, and cast him into utter darkness; goe set his Soul adrift for ever in an impetuous Lake of fire and brimstone. Where now is the object of your envy? It is not his silver that now will anchor him, nor his gold that shall land him, nor his friends that can comfort him; therefore if he be worth the envying, who is worth the pitying? If this be felicity, then give me misery. Lord! rather make me poor with a good heart, than rich with a bad conscience.
VII. Meditat.
I Am frail, and the World is fading; but my Soul is immortal, and God is eternal. If I pitch upon the creature, either they may take wings like an Eagle that flyeth towards Heaven, or my Soul may take its way with the rich fool, and go to Hell; but if I choose God for my portion, then mercy and goodness shall follow me whil'st I live, and glory and eternity shall crown me when I dye. I will therefore now leave that which I shall soon lose, that so I may embrace that which I shall always enjoy.
VIII. Meditat.
I See the wicked have their Heaven here, and their Hell hereafter; and on the contrary, good men have their Hell here, and their Heaven hereafter. Dives had his good things in this life, and Lazarus evil; now Lazarus is comforted, and Dives is tormented, I will not therefore envy the prosperity of the wicked, nor be offended at the affliction of the righteous, seeing the one is drawn in pomp to Hell, whil'st the other swims in tears to Heaven.
IX. Meditat.
AS there is a sad mirth, so there is a joyful mourning; look upon the voluptuous man, however laughter may appear in his face, yet sadness ever centers in his heart; his carnal delights are not only vain, but vexing; like Musick they play him into a melancholly fit: whil'st the Banquet lasts, the Sensualist sings; but when the reckoning comes, his spirit sinks, his burning candle presently goes out in a stinking snuffe, his shining Sun instantly sets in a watery cloud. Solomon gives us the summe of it thus: [Page 16] Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth is heaviness. But now come to the penitential person as his tears, are the joy of Angels, so they are the joy of his heart, and the solace of his soul; the salter his tears, the sweeter his comforts; the deeper his sighs, the fuller his joy; the beams of consolation alwayes shine into this house of mourning, so that his soul is in travel with a Barnabas, and his labours bring forth the fruits of peace; insomuch, that I may truly say, to mourn for sin, is to weep for joy. These pure and pleasant streams of consolation [Page 17](which is the worldlings wonder) that flow and run in those Crystal rivers of eternal pleasure, at Gods right hand, they come from a weeping spring. Why then is the mouth of wickedness opened against the way of holiness? As if grace were the Calvary to intomb joy, and impiety the very womb to bring forth felicity; but if experience may be heard, my soul hath felt both, and I find such damps of spirit in worldly pleasures, and such refreshing of soul in the depth of godly sorrow, that I shall esteem one drop of such spiritual joy, [Page 18]better than an Ocean of their carnal mirth.
X. Meditat.
WHere thine happiness lyeth, there thy portion lyeth: If thou place thy felicity in a poor empty creature: If with Judas thy spirit run so low, that thou canst be content only to keep the Bagg, or with Reuben for some worldly convenience to quarter on this side Jordan; Why then, unworthy Soul, take that which is thine own, and goe thy way: If thou wilt be put off with a breath of honour, a blaze of pleasure, a snare of riches, or a parcel [Page 19]of vanity; Why then goe take thy fill, look for no more from God. Thou seest thy all, when thou goest from hence, then farewell all, in the mean while remember this, that when the breath shall be expired, the blaze extinct, and the soul for ever ensnared, then thy eternity shall be spent in bewailing thy folly. But now, O precious Soul! If thou place thy felicity in the highest excellency, thy portion lyes in the chiefest good: If it be thine happiness alwayes to behold the beauty of Gods face, it shall be thy portion for ever to behold the beauty [Page 20]of Gods presence. Lord, let the Worldling then be sent away with some poor worldly trifles; but for my part, since thou hast made me capable of such heavenly excellencies, I desire never to be put off with transitory vanities, my happiness lyes only in thy self: Therefore whatever I enjoy beside thy self, I will take it as a blessing, but not as a portion.
XI. Meditat.
UNsatiable desires in temporals, make a poor man in spirituals; a right Christian is only rich in outward things, when he is contented with what [Page 21]he hath. That man hath nothing of heavenly things, that thirsteth not after more. Worldly desires they alwayes leave us empty, either we get not what we covet, or else we are not satisfied with what we get; but he that thirsteth after heavenly things, is alwayes filled, and the more he receives, the more he desires. The richest and choicest mercies that God can give, sincere Desires will fetch them in. What a glorious improvement might we make of this affection, if we did but divert the streames, and turn them Heaven-ward? How many excellent mercies [Page 22]lye a ground, and only want this tyde to bring them in? Why then let I my desires run out in wast, I do but make my self poor, in thirsting after more of the World, and more of the Creature; whereas I might be rich, if I would but count more of Grace, and of Christ.
XII. Meditat.
USually when a worldling is dead, we ask, how rich he dyed? Oh, (say many) he dyed rich, he hath left a great estate: Alas! the poor man hath slept his sleep, lost his dream, and now he awakes, he finds nothing in [Page 23]his hand, where lyes his golden heap? Only the rust of that heap is gone to witness against him; his Mammon fails him, only the unrighteousness of it follows him; others have the use of it, onely the abuse of it, he carries to judgement with him; he hath made his friends, (as we say) but he hath undone himself, so that I may justly write this Motto upon every bagg, [This is the price of blood.] Shall I then treasure up the price of blood? No, Christ hath entrusted me as a Steward, therefore what I have, and need not, Christ shall have in his [Page 24]members that need, and have not. So the transitory creatures, when they shall slide away, shall not carry me with them; but when I shall pass away I shall carry them with me.
XII. Meditat.
GOod Lord! what a miserable creature is a wicked man? His very Manna turns to worms, his very mercies make him miserable; look upon him in his larger estate, and you shall find, either he hath not the benefit of enjoying it, (only the danger of keeping it, and this adds not to his comfort) or else if he doth enjoy it, he doth [Page 25]so miserably abuse it, that, as one saith well, he makes that which for use is but temporal, for punishment to be eternal. Alas! the pleasures of it are quickly gone, but the pain of it lyes in his bones for ever. Lord therefore help me to improve thy mercies, or else thy mercies will but improve my miseries!
XIV. Meditat.
WOuld'st thou know whether thy name be written in the Book of Life? why then read what thou hast written in the Book of Conscience. Thou needest not ask, who shall ascend up into Heaven, for [Page 26]to search the Records of Eternity; thou mayest but descend down into thine own heart, and their read what thou art, and what thou shalt be. Though Gods Book of Election and Reprobation be closed and kept above with God; yet thy Book of Conscience, that is open, and kept below in thy very bosome; and what thou writest here, thou shalt be sure to read there: If I write nothing in this Book, but the black lines of sin; I shall find nothing in Gods Book but the red lines of damnation: But if I write Gods Word in the Book of Conscience, I may be sure [Page 27]God hath written my Name in the Book of Life. At the great Day of Judgement, when all Books shall be opened, there I shall either read the sweetest or the sharpest lines; I will therefore so write here, that I may not be ashamed to read hereafter.
XV. Meditat.
BE not curious to search into the secrets of God, pick not the Lock where he hath allowed no Key. He that will be sifting every Cloud, may be smitten with a Thunder-bolt; and he that will be too familiar with Gods secrets, may be over-whelmed [Page 28]in his judgements: Adam would curiously increase his knowledge, wherefore Adam shamefully lost his goodness; the Bethshemites would needs pry into the Ark of God, therefore the hand of God slew above fifty thousand of them; Therefore hover not about this flame, lest we scorch our wings: for my part, seeing God hath made me his Steward, and not his Secretary, I will carefully improve my self by what we have revealed, and not curiously enquire into or after what he hath reserved.
XVI. Meditat.
NOthing is so sure as death, and nothing so uncertain as the time: I may be too old to live, I can never be too young to dye; I will therefore live every hour, as if I were to dye the next.
XVII. Meditat.
AS the Tree falleth, so it lyeth; and where death strikes down, there God layes out either for mercy or misery. So that I may compare it to the Red Sea, If I goe in an Israelite, my landing shall be in glory, and my rejoycing in triumph, to see all [Page 30]mine enemies dead upon the Sea-shore; but If I goe in an Aegyptian, if I be on this side the Cloud, on this side the Covenant, and yet go in hardned among the Troops of Pharaoh, Justice shall return in its full strength, and an inundation of Judgement shall over-flow my soul for ever. Or else I may compare it to the sleep of the ten Virgins, of whom it is said, they slumbred and slept, we shall all fall into this sleep; now if I lye down with the wise, I shall goe in with the Bridegroom; but if I sleep with the foolish, without oyl in my lamp, without grace in my [Page 31]soul, I have closed the gates of mercy upon my soul for ever. I see then this life is the time wherein I must go forth to meet the Lord, this is the hour wherein I must do my work, and that the day wherein I must be judged according to my works. I know not how soon I may fall into this sleep: Therefore, Lord, grant that I live every day in thy sight, as I desire to appear the last day in thy presence.
XVIII. Meditat.
WHat is said of the Mariner, in respect to his Ship, that he [Page 32]alwayes sayles within four inches of death, that may be said of the soul in relation to the body, that it is alwayes in four inches of Eternity; if the Ship splits, then the Saylor sinks; if our earthen vessels break, the soul is gone, plunged for ever into the bottomless Sea, and bankless Ocean of Eternity. This is the soul therefore that I desire to weep over, that shall preposterously launch into the deep, before he knows whether he shall sink or swim.
XIX. Meditat.
IT was a sad speech of a dying King, Nondum [Page 33]caepi vivere jam cogor vivendi finem facere, I must now dye before I begin to live. It is the sad condition of many a dying man, that their work is to do, when their hour is come; when the enemy is in the gate, their weapons are to look for; when death is at the door, their graces are to look for; when the Bridegroom is come, their oyl is to buy; the pursuer of blood is upon them, and the City of refuge not so much as thought of by them; In a word, the seven years of plenty are wasted, and no provision for the years of famine; time is spent, and nothing [Page 34]laid up for eternity. I will therefore now finish every work I have to do, that to dye might be the last work I have to finish.
XX. Meditat.
THis impudent age of ours is grown so eminently uncivil, that it is now a dayes counted one of the greatest shames to be ashamed of sin; but for my part, I had rather be accounted the Worlds fool than Gods enemy.
XXI. Meditat.
WOrldling, thou deridest to see a Ceristian melting at the Word, trembling at a sin; [Page 35]I tell thee, he is of a noble carriage, he can triumph in death, and in judgement, it is not the King of fears that can appall him, or Hell it self that can affright him; but as a Conquerour over both, he can leave the World with a smile; O Death, where is thy Sting? O Hell, where is thy victory? That is his triumphant valediction and farewell. But thou that gloriest so much, because thou canst silence Conscience, and out-face sin; I tell thee, thou art of a base cowardly spirit, let but a little sickness impair thy health, or the thoughts of death charge upon thy spirit, [Page 36]and what quick retreatings are there from thy bold resolutions? What heaviness clouds thy looks? What terrours shake thy joynts? What sadness sinks thy heart? So that a fancy frights thee, a shadow startles thee, Nabal-like thy spirits dye, and sink within thee like a stone. Therefore jeer on; for my part, I hold it better to fear while God threatens, than to fall when God judgeth.
XXII. Meditat.
THe nearer the Moon draweth into conjunction with the Sun, the brighter it shines towards [Page 37]the Heavens, and the obscurer it shews towards the Earth; So the nearer the Soul draws into Communion with Jesus Christ, the comelier it is in the eye of the Spouse, and the Blacker it appears in the sight of the World: He that is a precious Christian to the Lord, is a precise Puritan to the World: He that is glorious to an heavenly Saint, is odious to an earthly Spirit. But it is a sign thou art an Aegyptian, when that cloud which is a light to an Israelite, is darkness to thee: It is a sign thou movest in a terrestrial orb, when thou seest no lustre [Page 38]in such celestial lights; for my part if I shine to God, I care not how I shew to the world.
XXIII. Meditat.
IT appears not what we are to the World, and it hardly appears what we shall be to our selves; for did they know, that we are the jewels of God, the favourites of Heaven, the excellency of the Creation, the beloved of Christ, they would not mock and persecute us as they do: Or if we did but know, that we should be glorified together with Christ, his happiness shall be as our happiness, and that his joy [Page 39]shall be as our joyes, and his glories shall be as our glories, truly we should not be so much dejected as we are: when I consider, that my life is hid with Christ in God, I wonder not to see the World hate me; but when I consider, that when Christ shall appear, I shall be like him, I wonder it doth so much as trouble me.
XXIV. Meditat.
WHy should I fret my self at the prosperity of the wicked? Indeed, when I look upon the spreading Bay, and forget the withering Herb; when I view their Quails, [Page 40]and forget their Curse, my feet had almost slipt; but since I went into the Sanctuary of God, I find that all the blossomes of their glory must dis-flourish under the blastings of Gods wrath; and all their external felicity doth but only perfect the judgements of the Lord, and fill up the measure of their misery; for what's their pleasure, but just like the deceitful salute of Joab with Amasa? What's their honour, but like Absolom's Mule, it only mounts, and carries them to their Gallows? What is their riches, but like Jaels Present in a Lordly dish, it only makes [Page 41]way for the fatal nail, for their sad account at the day of judgement. This their. prosperity slayes them: Now who esteems that Oxe happy, that hath a goodly pasture to feed himself for the slaughter? Who envies that Malefactour, that has a fair day to ride to execution in? And why is it that the workers of iniquity flourish? Is it not, that they may be destroyed for ever? And the larger their pasture, the sooner they are fitted for the slaughter. I therefore, for my part, when I see a sinner prosper in his wickedness, will turn the [Page 42]flame of envy into a tear of pity.
XXV. Meditat.
THis is Heaven, to be for ever with the Lord; and this is Hell, for ever to be without the Lord. You that can see no beauty in Christ, nor glory in Heaven, do you likewise see no flames in Hell, no Hell in loss of God? You therefore that cannot be taken with his presence, Oh tremble at his absence; and you that care not to be with, Oh fear to be without him for this is Hell on Earth, Depart from us; and this is Hell when we leave the [Page 43]Earth, Depart from me. Lord, thou art my Heaven, and my happiness, unite me to thee, that I may be for ever with thee.
XXVI. Meditat.
THat good which is in riches, lyeth altogether in their use, like the Womans box of Oyntment, if it be not broken and poured out for the sweet refreshment of Jesus Christ in his distressed members, they lose their worth. Therefore the covetous man may truly write upon his rusting heaps, These are good for nothing. Chrysostome tells us, Thas he is not rich, [Page 44]that layes up much, bu [...] that layes out much; for its all one, not to have, a [...] not to use: I will therefore be the richer by a charitable laying out, whil [...] the Worldling hall be th [...] poorer by his covetou [...] hoarding up.
XXVII. Meditat.
WHo will part with his God? I will par [...] with my life, rather than with my God; no marvel then the covetou [...] man so hugs his Gold, i [...] is his God; if you take that from him, he may cry with Micah, when he lost his Gods, What have I more? His Heaven is gone, [Page 45]his Happiness is gone, his All is gone, if God be gone; I will not therefore wonder so much at the closeness of his hand, as at the vainness of his heart: We count it singular wisdome to keep that God we choose, but that is absolute folly to chuse that God we cannot keep.
XXVIII. Meditat.
OH my Soul! Thou art spiritual in thine essence, immensible in thy desires, and immortal in thy nature, so that there must be proportion and perfection of what thou [...]njoyest, with a perennity [...]f both; or else no full [Page 46]content, no real satisfaction: Now, were the universal World turned into a pleasant Eden, and that Eden refreshd with the living springs of immortality, and thou seated in the Throne of its choicest excellencies, crowned with the Diadem of its highest felicities, swaying the Scepter of thy glory over all sublunary creatures; nay, could'st thou give reins to the Sun, or guidance to the moving flames; did thy Territories board upon the highest Heavens, and the revenues of thy Crown flow in from the farthest parts of the Earth, yet what proportion doth a [Page 47]material World bear to an immortal Soul? Will a Lion feed upon grass? Or can the Soul be satisfied with dust? Thou mayest as soon feed thy body with grass, as thy soul with the creature; if it did bear proportion, yet it wants perfection: Could the Devil turn a Chymist, and extract the very vitall spirits and quintessence of the purest and desirablest excellencies under Heaven, yet it is of such an imperfect nature, that there is more lees than liquor, more thorns than flowers, more smoak than fire, more sting then honey; so [...]hat that soul shall be filled [Page 48]with a whirlwind of vexation, that thinks to be satisfied with an object of imperfection: For it is impossible, that such a scanty excellency, should any wayes fill such an enlarged capacity. Yet again, were there perfection, yet there is not perpetuity, it will fly away like a Bird from the perch, or melt away like Ice before the Sun, and so leave the immortal soul to sink for ever; so that the creature, will not onely make thee restless, but leave thee miserable: I see then, that I shall never rest, till I rest in God; he that is the Father of Spirits, the Fountain [Page 49]of Bliss, the Ancient of Dayes, he only is the adequate object for thine immortal soul, the rest of the creatures is in its end, the end of the soul is its God. Therefore, Lord, seeing thou hast made me for thy self, fill me fully with thy self, or take me wholly to thy self.
XXIX. Meditat.
DOth Sathan tempt thee, either by pleasures, dignities, or profits? O my soul! Stand upon thy guard, gird on thy strength with such thoughts as these, What can the World profit me, if the cares choak me? [Page 50]How can Pleasures comfort me, if the sting poyson me? Or what advancement is this, to be triumphing in honour befor [...] the face of men here, an [...] to be trembling for sham [...] before the throne of Go [...] hereafter? What are th [...] delights of the World, t [...] the peace of my Conscience, or the joy that is i [...] the Holy Ghost? Wha [...] are the applauses of me [...] to the Crown prepared b [...] God? Or what is the ga [...] of the World, to the lo [...] of my Soul? The vanity the creature is far benea [...] the excellency of my soul Therefore Sathan, you a [...] I must keep at an everla [...] ing [Page 51]distance, for you bid me loss.
XXX. Meditat.
A Black cloud makes the Traveller mend his pace, and mind his home; whereas a fair day, and a pleasant way, wasts his time, and that stealeth away his affections in the prospect of the Country: However others may think of it, yet I take it as a mercy, that now and then some clouds do interpose my Sun, and many times some troubles do eclipse my comforts, for I perceive, if I should find too much friendship in my Inn, in my pilgrimage, I [Page 52]should soon forget my Fathers house, and my heritage.
XXXI. Meditat.
There is a generation of men, that wi [...] praise and adore the Saint in Heaven, and yet moc [...] and afflict the Saint on Earth; so that were a [...] those Saints alive again whom they so much honour in their day, I da [...] affirm, they would persecute them in their person like the Jews, the can garnish the Sepulchre of th [...] Righteous, and yet pla [...] the Jew with the Person [...] the Righteous. Dissembling World, thy tong [...] [Page 53]embalms a dead Saint, whil'st thy hand strikes a wound into the living Saint; and thou canst praise God for those that are departed in the faith, and yet persecute God in those that will not depart from the faith. O foolish World! must thou needs condemn thy self, for thy praise hath lest thy practise without excuse.
XXXII. Meditat.
ALexander being asked where he would lay his Treasure? Answered very well, Apud Amicos, Among his friends; being confident, that there it would be kept with safety, [Page 54]and return'd with use. What needest thou enlarge thy Barnes? Knowest not thou where to lay thy plenty? Make the friends of Christ thy treasury, let the hands of the widdow, the bowels of the poor be thy store-house; here is is sure, no thief can steal it, no time can rust it, no change can lose it, and hear 'tis improved. A temporal gift is here turned into an eternal reward; no ground so fruitful as the bosome of the poor, that brings forth an hundred fold.
XXXIII. Meditat.
O My Soul! What makest thou groveling on the Earth? Every thing here below is too base for thine excellency, too short for thine eternity; thou art capable of a God, and must have a being, when these poor things are reduced to nothing; the creature is too base a metal to make thee a crow of glory, too rotten a bottom to carry thee through eternity. Oh fill thy self with God, so shalt thou raise thy dignity to perpetuity.
XXXIV. Meditat.
WHere any thing presents its self, think if Christ were now alive, would he do it? Or if I were now to dye, would I do it? I must walk as he hath walked, and I must live as I intend to dye; if it be not Christs will, it is my sin, and if I dye in that sin, it will be my ruine: I will therefore in every action so carry my self, as if Christ were on the one hand, and Death on the other.
XXXV. Meditat.
OUr life is but a moment of time, and yet [Page 57]in this moment of time we sow the seeds of eternity, in this transitory hour I am framing to my self either a good or a bad eternity. These words that now I speak, these works that I now act, though they here seem to rot, yet they shall spring up to eternity: Therefore, as the Poet answered one, upbraiding him for being three dayes about three Verses, whereas he could make an hundred in one day; Oh, saith he, At tui ad triduum modo, mei in omne aeternum dur aturi sunt: Thine are but for three dayes, as it were, but mine must continue for ever; according to my carriage [Page 58]now, my Name must either rise or fall for ever: So may we answer this foolish World, upbraiding us of too much strictness and preciseness; Oh! had not we need to be exact indeed, when the works we are about, are not to be written in sand, but in the records of eternity; the lines that now we draw, must run parallel with eternity; and according as we carry our selves in this moment of time, our souls must live or dye for ever. O Lord! help me so to improve the brevity of my life, by the integrity of my actions, that I may turn this moment of misery [Page 59]into an eternity of bliss.
XXXVI. Meditat.
THe Soul of man (saith the Philosopher) is the horizon of time and eternity; now if the Son of Righteousness be not risen in our horizon, we must expect nothing but a clouded time, and a stormy eternity, gross darkness here, and utter darkness hereafter for ever: But as for those blessed Saints, into whose souls the oriental splendour of the Sun of Righteousness is shed abroad, how do they live in his sight? What celestial excellencies! What reviving [Page 60]comforts! What advancing principles are darted forth from the face of beauty into their spirits! And as for the triumphant Saints, in whose horizon Jesus Christ is in the eternal meridian of his glory, Oh what full beams of bliss and consolation, without the least shadow of bitterness and discontent, warms and delights their blessed souls to all eternity! Lord, lift up the light of thy countenance in my horizon, so shall time be the morning, and eternity the noon of glory in my soul.
XXXVII. Meditat.
THe World hath many servants, because it gives present wages; where Christ hath but a few Disciples, because their reward is in another life: Most live by sight, and therefore must have to satisfie sense; they had rather, with Ishmael, be sent away with a small gift, than with Isaac to wait for the inheritance; they had rather take their portion in this life, than to wait for an inheritance reserved in the Heavens: Their unworthy spirits cry with Esau, What profit will this birth-right do us? [Page 62]We must have pleasure, and we must have riches; and therefore with Lysimacus, they will sell their Kingdomes, and themselves, for a draught of water. There are but few such elevated spirits as the Disciples had, that can leave a possession, to live upon a promise; there are but few have such heroick spirits as Moses had, that can despise the treasures of this present World, out of respect unto the recompence of a future reward; but there are many of such sordid spirits as Dives had, that would enjoy their good things here; but for my part, Lord! give not [Page 63]me my portion in this life, I had rather live by faith.
XXXVIII. Meditat.
WHat Rebel under Proclamation of mercy stands out, when he knows he shall be fetch'd in by the hand of Justice? yet how many refractory sinners (with those invited guests in the Gospel) deride the messengers of Peace, untill they are slain by the men of War. Indeed, hadst thou counsel, wisdom and strength for the battel; could thy heart endure, or thy hands be strong in the day that God shall deal with thee, this were much; or could the [Page 64]Gods whom thou servest deliver thee out of the hands of Christ, this were more; but alas! thou must one day be brought under his regal power, either in favour or fury, either in the praise of his Glory, or to the magnifying of his Justice; if thou hate his Throne, thou shalt be made his footstool; if thou wilt not have him to be thy head, thou shalt be trod under his feet; if he be not thy Jesus he will be thy Judge; In a word, if thou wilt not touch the golden Scepter of his Mercy, thou shalt be crushed with the Rod of his Justice; and remember this, [Page 65]that this life is only the time of displaying the Flag of Mercy, and the burning of the Taper of Peace; if once the white Flag be folded up, and the burning Taper burnt out, then look for nothing but the sad flourishes of the black Flag: As for those mine enemies, that would not that I should reign over them, bring them hither and slay them before me; therefore now sit down, and see thy weakness, and while the King is yet a great way off, send out the Ambassadours of thy prayers and tears, and acquaint thy self now with God, and be at peace: [Page 66]For my part I had rather come in a Favourite, than be brought in a Traytor.
XXXIX. Meditat.
SIn and Sorrow are two inseparable Companions, thou canst not let in one, and shut out the other; If thy moment be spent in mirth, thy eternity shall be spent in mourning; if thou wilt not weep, whil'st thou mayest have mercy to pardon thee, thou shalt lament heareafter, and yet have no eye to pity thee. A bottle of tears may now quench the fire of Sin, but a cloud of tears shall never quench the flames of Hell; [Page 67]therefore while the wicked goe on laughing, I desire to goe on mourning. The Valley of Bochim will at length set me upon the Hill of Sion; but the paths of rejoycing will at length bring into a hell of weeping: for this is a truth, that he that swims in sin, shall sink in sorrow; their laughter shall be turned into heaviness, while my tears shall be wiped away. I will therefore ever weep, that I may not weep, for ever.
XL. Meditat.
THat way the Tree inclineth while it groweth, that way it pitcheth [Page 68]when it falleth, and there it lyes, whether it be toward the North or South: As we are in life, for the most part we are in death; so we lye down to eternity, whether it be towards Heaven or Hell. Being once fallen, there is no removing: For as in War, an errour is death; so in Death, an errour is damnation; therefore live as thou intendest to dye, and dye as thou intendest to live. O Lord! Let the bent of my soul be alwayes towards thee, that so I may fall to thee, and ever rest with thee.
XLI. Meditat.
JOrdan that famous River, no doubt runs through many a pleasant meadow, by many a shady grove, and flowery bank, and yet at last is forc'd to empty it self into a dead Sea; and not only so, but those fresh Crystall streams, that made those famous brooks lose both name and worth, are turned into the dead Sea themselves: Just so it is with a Weiked man, here he walks through the meadows of Worldly pleasures and rests under the shades of earthly comforts, and sports, and wallows himself [Page 70]amongst the flowers of worldly delights; but at last runs himself out into a dead Lake, and is cast into Hell among the number of those that forget God; and not only so, but his very Heaven it self, that made up all his hapiness, is turn'd into hell, his beauty is turn'd into horror, his honour into shame, his lusts into devils, his pleasure into bitterness, his scarlet into flames of fire and Brimstone, so that that which was his fresh Stream here, is his salt Sea there: Lord! Let me be a pure Stream, that may end in Heaven! I care not what stony veins I run through [Page 71]here on Earth, so I may but there lose the name of weakness and corruption, for glory and pefection,
XLII. Meditat.
WHat's a day to an age? And what's an age to eternity? And yet we know the shortest day is part of the longest time, but the longest time is no part of eternity; for where time ends, there eternity begins. Why are we then so foolish, to heap up goods for mortality, to lay up riches, which at longest are but for many years, perhaps not for many hours, and yet to provide nothing for eternity? [Page 72]And why are we so careful to humour and uphold a mouldering piece of clay, a frail and mortal body, which cannot stand above an age, perhaps not above a day, and yet neglect our precious souls, that must endure for ever? Do we all aim at a prosperous life? Why then let us labour for a glorious eternity.
XLIII. Meditat.
ALL men would have happiness for their end, but few would have holiness for their way; all men would have the Kingdom of Heaven, and the glory thereof, but few [Page 73]seek the kingdom of Heaven, and the righteousness thereof. As that Noble man being asked, what he thought of the course of precise Puritans (as the World terms them) or of the life of licentious Libertines? Answered, Cum ist is mallem vivere, cum illis mori mallem: I had rather live with those, and dye with them. So most men had rather live with Balaam, but dye with Israel. They would willingly have the Libertines ease, but the godly mans end. But this is certain, no soul shall goe to God in death, but onely that which draws near to God [Page 74]in life; if the Kingdom of God be not first in us, we shall never enter into the Kingdom of God; no soul shall rest in Heaven hereafter, but those that walk in Heaven here; no soul shall enter into the gates of felicity, but only that which treads the narrow paths of piety. Lord, make me holy, as well as happy, that I may love as well to glorifie thee, as to be glorified of thee!
XLIV. Meditat.
THere be many to morrow Christians, that set their day with God, at such a day they will repent, and not before, [Page 75]as if they had the Lordship of Time, and the Monopoly of Grace; whereas Time and Grace are only at Gods disposing. As St. Ambrose saith, Poenitenti indulgentiam, s [...]d dilaturo diem crastinum non promisit: God hath promised pardon to the penitent, but he hath not promised to morrow to the negligent. As Saint Augustine saith, Qui dat poenitenti veniam, non semper dabit peccanti poenitentiam: He that gives pardon to the penitent, doth not alwayes give repentance to the sinner. If I put God off to day, he may put off me to morrow: if I put off [Page 76]this hour of grace, I may never have another gracious hour; to day if I put by his hand of Mercy, to morrow he may stretch out his hand of Justice. It is true whil'st I have time, I may come in; but it is also true, when I would come in, I may not have time. This is certain, when I repent, I shall have mercy; but this is as certain, when I would have mercy, I may not find repentance. O Lord, thou hast given me this hour of grace to repent in! Give me grace in this hour to repent with.
XLV. Meditat.
GOod Lord! What a shaddow is the life of man? What a nothing is it? The time past, that's nothing, just like a Bird fled from the hand of the Owner, out of sight. The time present, that's vanishing, a running hour, nay less, a flying minute, as good as nothing. The time to come, that's uncertain, the evening Sun may see us dead. Lord! Therefore in this hour make me sure of thee, for in the next I am not sure of my self.
XLVI. Meditat.
ALexander when he had divided his wealth among his friends, and being ask'd, What he had reserved for himself? Answered, Hope. He is a rare Christian indeed, that can part with all for Christ, and live by faith; but when it comes to this, that we must lose what we have here, out of hope to find it again in Heaven, the running Professor stops, and goes back sorrowful. Crates in his way to Philosophy, threw his goods into the Sea, to save himself, saying, Fgo vos mergam, ne ipse mergar à [Page 79]vobis: I had rather drown you, than that you should drown me: For he thought riches and vertue were incompatible. But how many Christians are there, that in their way to Jesus Christ, throw away themselves, and their souls, to save their gold? Before they will cast their bread upon the waters, they will throw themselves into the Ocean; many that make such specious shews of following of Christ, in this same turning you may know their Master; but this is a truth, he hath no part at all in Christ, that will not part with all for Christ; [Page 80]and he lives but the life of sence, that cannot make a living out of a promise. Therefore, Lord, of what I have, freely take thou what thou callest for; Christ is my portion and reward, I have enough to live on.
XLVII. Meditat.
WHen I look into the Treasures of men, perhaps I see Chests of Plate, Baggs of Gold, Cabinets of Jewels, but this is the misery of it, that when he goes abroad, he cannot carry them without a burthen, or leave them without a fear. But here now is the excellency [Page 81]of a Child of God, that his treasure is alwayes in him, and it is his happiness to carry it alwayes with him, that as it is transcendent for riches, being the fulness of God, so it is likewise permanent for continuance, because he is filled with that fulness; insomuch, that you may sooner rend his soul from his body, than take his treasure from his soul. This was that which sweetned the loss of Country-house and friends to Ovid in his exile, the thoughts of his Genius, the riches of his ingenous spirit was beyond the riches of Caesar's malice; and this is that [Page 82]which refresheth the spirit of a Christian in all troubles and afflictions that he meets with in the Land of banishment, he hath the possession of Jesus Christ, whom he can never lose. Oh the excellency of a Child of God! Though you cast him out of all, yet you cannot cast any thing of this all out of him. But as B [...]as that Princely Philosopher said, when he lost his City, and was put to flight, being asked by those that fled with him, with their bagg and baggage, Why he likewise took not something with him? Answered, Omnia mea mecum porto, I carry [Page 83]all my riches with me; meaning his Wisdom, and his vertues: So a Christian, though you impoverish him, banish him, and cast him out of all, yet he is able to say still, Omnia mea mecum porto, I carry all my treasure with me; I have my Christ, my fulness: And truly Lord, so thou wilt possess me with this all, I care not though I am dispossessed of all.
XLVIII. Meditat.
LEgal dayes were but like winter dayes, dark and cloudy, sharp and stormy; and yet how many of our Fathers travelled to Heaven in those [Page 84]dayes! But Gospel-times they are like Summer dayes, sweet and clear, full of light and beauty, so that we may truly say, that God hath not been as a cloud of darkness to us, for these are the dayes of grace, that are full of the beams of mercy; yet how slowly and sadly do many of us goe to Heaven? But which is worse, how sadly and slightly do we waste these precious dayes, and neglect these golden opportunities? Oh, what time shall that soul find to repent in, that shall be hardned in these melting times! Oh, what dayes shall that soul find to goe [Page 85]to Heaven in, that shall idle away these Gospel-dayes! Oh, what grace shall that man find for sin, that shall sin away the dayes of grace! Oh, to whom shall that soul appeal, that shall renounce Jesus Christ! Oh, woe unto that soul for ever: upon which the shaddows of death, and of the evening are stretched out, and yet never set forth for Heaven! But wofuller is that man, to whom the clearer and sweeter day, doth only make the blacker and the sadder Hell. Oh, what blackness of darkness is reserved for that soul, that shall walk in darkness, [Page 86]in the midst and under such clearness of light! We are those that are not only lifted up to Heaven, but Heaven is let down to us. Oh, how long shall that man lye in Hell, that Heaven presseth down! Oh, thou Gospel-Christian! Thou art now under the clear demonstrations of Christ, the sweet invitations of mercy, the large manifestations of love, look to it, thou shalt goe either to Heaven or to Hell, upon the easiest or hardest terms.
XLIX. Meditat.
ME-thinks I hear six voices cry aloud: [Page 87]The first voice is of dying man. The second is the voice of the Damned. The third is the voice of my precious Soul. The fourth is the voice of Jesus Christ. The fifth is the voice of Evil times. The sixth is the voice of the Day of Judgement. First, Methinks I hear dying man breathing out these groans, Oh lose not a moment of time, for thy time is but a moment! Oh now make sure of Heaven, for thou knowest not how soon thou must leave the Earth! And then methings I hear the damned man roaring forth these lamentations, Oh! Come [Page 88]and see the end of sin, in these that know no end of sorrow! Oh, come and learn thy price of time, from those that must for ever suffer for the loss of time! And then me-thinks I hear my precious Soul using these expostulations, Oh my Body! What a fool am I to satisfie thy lusts, thou art but for a moment of time, but I must endure for ever; when thou art wrapt up in rottenness, where shall I spend my eternity? I might now get Heaven for my Mansion, Angels for my Companions, God for my Possession, and dost thou think I will lose my felicity to satisfie [Page 89]thy dainty? Is it not better, that I should carry thee to Heaven, than that thou shouldest carry me with thee to Hell? And then me-thinks I hear Jesus Christ using these invitations, Behold! I stand at the door and knock, till my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the dew of the night; here I stand weeping, knocking, begging and waiting, Oh open to me! My tears begg, my tears knock, my blood knocks, my groans knock, Oh open to me! My patience knocks and waits, Oh open to me! Let not sin lodge in thy heart, and Christ wait at the door; let [Page 90]not damnation rule within, & salvation wait without. And then me-thinks, Evil times use their invitations, Oh now be living Christians, for these are dying dayes! Oh now be growing Christians, for these are back-sliding times! Oh now make Jesus Christ thine own, for here thou knowest not what is thine own! And then lastly, me-thinks I hear the voice of the Archangel, summoning the dead to come forth to judgment, Arise ye holy and blessed Saints, take your places with God and his holy Angels, to judge the World: Arise ye cursed naked Souls, and [Page 91]take your standing in the sight of God, and of his blessed Saints, to be judged as you lived in the World. Oh Lord, let me hear with fear the first voices, that I may not fear to hear the last voice!
L. Meditat.
IN every choice, we cannot take, except we leave: That Soul that chooseth life and grace, refuseth all things else. This is the heavenly breathing of such a gracious spirit, Lord! Let vain man follow vain fashions, but cloath me with salvation, and cover me with the robes of righteousness; [Page 92]let them be all glorious without, but let me be all glorious within; let them crown themselves with rose-buds, but crown me as thou dost thy Church, with the Stars of Heaven, these shall shine, when those shall fade. Let the wicked goe away. with the World; let them have all the sweetness, beauties, glories and excellencies of the Earth, but let Jesus Christ be my portion, There all things else are nothing at all, where Christ is all in all; therefore be serious, Oh my Soul, for thou hast none of Christ, untill thou canst truly say, None but Christ.
LI. Meditat.
THree things (methinks) should make the heart of a Christian to tremble. First, To consider the brevity of their life. Secondly, The difficulty of their Work, Thirdly, The eternity of their end. Our life is but a withering flower, a flying cloud, a vanishing shaddow, a perishing breath, the body returneth to the dust, and the soul goeth suddenly to its long home, the night instantly cometh when no man can work: But now; What work is to be done in this short inch of time? [Page 94]Great enemies to be conquered, Sons of Anach to be killed, Principalities and powers to be over-powred, dear lusts to be subdued, right eyes to be plucked out, right hands to be cut off, strict rules to be followed, a narrow way and strait gate to goe through; to summ it up, a long race to be run with a short breath, a great way to be gone by a setting Sun: But then, What are we to expect when this Taper is out, this breath is expired? Even as we have sowed, so to reap; either to be eternally crowned, or eternally damned: Now therefore, [Page 95]before the Sun be set, or the shadow of the evening be stretched out, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might: for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdome in the grave whither thou goest. Oh Lord, help me so to work for thee, in this moment of time, that I may for ever rest with thee, when time shall be no more.
LII. Meditat.
YOu have heard of the bloody Seige of Troy, and yet it was said of Hellen, that she was so beautiful, that she deserved ten [Page 96]years War more; and what was Hellen, but a glorious heap of Clay? You have heard of the hard labours of Jacob, yet Rachel was so amiable in his eyes, that he thought her worthy of fourteen years service: If these deserved so much, Oh, what doth Jesus Christ deserve! who is altogether lovely; before whose shining glory, the beauty of the whole Creation is but an indigested Chaos. Therefore be not discouraged, Oh my Soul, though thine enemies be fierce, thy assaults cruel, thy resistance even unto blood; thou fightest for a beautiful Christ, that deserves it: [Page 97]Neither be dis-heartened, Oh my Soul? though rules be strict, duties hard, thy labours great, thou servest for an amiable Christ, that will sufficiently reward it. Look but upon the lovely beauties of thy Christ, think but upon the glorious day of thine espousal, and these fourteen years will be nothing to thee; Lord, let me alwayes have thy beauty in mine eye, so shall I quickly find no difficulty in my hand.
LIII. Meditat.
I Have formerly (with the World) accounted the spirit of a [Page 98]Christian, to be a melancholly spirit; and the ways of holiness only unpleasant paths, leading to the deserts of sad retiredness: But now I see they have hidden Manna, which the World knows not of; glorious joyes, which strangers do not meddle with; and the closer and exacter they walk, the fuller and sweeter are their joyes: Formerly the very thoughts of parting with my pleasures and delights to embrace soul-humbling, self-denying duties, were grievous to me; but now, I bless my God, I can say with Augustine, Quàm suave suavitatibus [Page 99]istis carere! Oh how sweet is it to want my former sweetness! It is now my rejoycing to be without my former joyes, for now I see there is a Heaven in the way to Heaven, and that one look of Faith, one smile of Christ, one glance of Heaven, one grape of Canaan, one glimpse of my Crown of Glory, yields more sweetness, comfort and content, than all the pleasures and delights the World affords; the very gleaning of spiritual joy, is better than the vintage of carnal delights: Let no man then stand off for want of pleasures, for here he shall not lose [Page 100]them, only change them.
LIV. Meditat.
SOlomon tryed many Conclusions, but not one took but the last, the fear of God. Oh my Soul. thou mayest tire thy self with varieties of Objects, but none satisfies but this, the fruition of thy God; he only is the plenary and primary goodness, he only is the efficient and sufficient fulness: As it was said of manna, that it was the delight of every pallate: so it may be said of Jesus Christ, that he is satisfaction to every soul; Taste therefore and see how sweet the Lord is. [Page 101]What's the reason we wander after such variety of Creatures? Because we cannot find sufficiency in one; were one herb as virtual, or one flower as delectable, as the Collection, we would never trouble our selves to gather many. Take up then thy rest, Oh my Soul, in the chiefest and choicest good, which comprehends all other goods. Those golden rayes of goodness, which lye scattered in the Creature, are only to be found conjunctively in God: Those pure ingredients, which goe in to make up the highest excellency, largest goodness, fullest perfection, [Page 102]are onely to be found collectively in him. Knowest thou any thing is profitable, delectable, or desirable in the Creature? Thou mayest see it in thy God, find it in thy Christ. Art thou captivated? He is thy Redeemer: Art thou wounded? he is thy good Samaritan: Art thou broken-hearted? Go unto Christ, and he will bind it up: Art thou sick? He is thy Physician: Art thou persecuted? He is thy refuge: Art thou hungry or thirsty? He is the living bread, and the flowing stream: Art thou weary? He is thy rest: Art thou in want or poverty? He [Page 103]is an inexhaustible treasury: Art thou in disgrace or contempt? Why, he is thy honour: Art thou dull and heavy? He is a quickning Spirit: Would'st thou have grace? He is the fountain; Would'st thou have Heaven? He is the way, he shall guide thee by his counsel, and after receive thee into glory. Let that mans name therefore be written in the dust, that leaves the flowing Fountain, to quench his thirst at a broken Cistern. Why should I tire my self, to gather drops of honey from so many dying flowers, when I can satisfie my self with streams of sweetness [Page 104]in the living Christ? Therefore Creatures in this you and I must part: for Christ out-bids you all.
LV. Meditat.
A Christian may raise another Paradise here below, may make a lower Heaven on Earth: for this is life eternal, to know thee, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. To know Christ in the evidence of his love revealed to us, and Christ revealed in us, is the very entrance of Heaven: for what is the perfection of grace, but the fulness of this knowledge? And what is the consummation of [Page 105]glory, but the blessedness of this fulness? Therefore Lord, be every day adding to my knowledge, that so at my last day I may be perfect.
LVI. Meditat.
GOdly Sorrow, like weeping Mary, seeks Christ; Saving Faith, like wrestling Jacob, finds and holds Christ; Heavenly Love, like the affectionate Spouse, dwells with Christ; here it brings him into the chambers of the Queen, and hereafter Christ brings the loving Soul into the chamber of the King, so that it is an eternal grace alwayes, lodging in the bosome [Page 106]of Christ. Lord, thou art the desire of my soul, Oh that I could seek thee, find and love thee, that I may for ever enjoy thee.
LVII. Meditat.
THe stream of sorrow, like waters, ascends no higher than the spring from whence it came. We know that sin gives two bloody stabs, the first is at the soul of man, the second is at the heart of Christ: And if the first stab only grieve me, if I mourn for sin, as it only wounded my soul, it is a sign this stream flows but from a natural heart, because it [Page 107]ascends but to a natural heighth; but if I weep for sin, as it hath wounded Christ, as it hath shed that blood that would save me, as it hath pierced that heart that would love me, then no question but the spring is in Heaven, because it riseth to a super-natural ascent. Lord, that my sorrow may be sound, pierce my heart for sin: as it strikes through my soul, and pierces Christ!
LVIII. Meditat.
MY life; is sweet but my Christ must be sweeter to me than my life; my soul is precious, but Christ must be dearer [Page 108]to me than my soul; my salvation is much, but Christ must be more to me than my salvation; Christ must be loved above all: Nay, were there no armes of mercy to receive me, no Heaven of bliss to entertain me, no weight of glory to crown me, yet Christ must be loved above, and without all these. As it is a sign of a carnal love, to follow Christ for the loaves; so it is a sign of a base mercenary love, to seek Christ for a reward; that's but an adulterate affection, that affects the present more than the party; loves the Ring more than her Beloved; that choice [Page 109]cannot be cordial, that aims only at a portion; that love cannot he real, that aims only at a benefit. Lord, thou art amiable in thy self, Oh that I could love thee for thy self.
LIX. Meditat.
I Must not venture on a Duty, unless I bring God to it; nor rest satisfied, unless I carry God from it: Hear David's precept, Oh, seek the Lord, and his strength, seek his face for evermore. Be sure thou rise not from duty, before the countenance of God rise in mercy upon thy soul; it must be Christ that must fit [Page 110]thee, and it must be Christ that must meet thee, or else it will be no Ordinance of comfort to thee: What is the Chariot if thy Beloved be not in it! Then here St. Bernard's practice, Lord! I never come to thee without thee, I nerver goe from thee, but with thee; Oh, blessed be that soul, that never prayes, hears, or receives, but carries Christ to all, enjoyes Christ in all, and brings Christ from all. Lord! in all my approaches to thee, let me goe out in thy strength, and return in thy presence.
LX. Meditat.
OH my Soul! Thou art alwayes striving, yet sin alwayes stirring; thou fearest the truth of grace, because thou findest the working of sin; but it will be alwayes thus; thou canst not come out of Aegypt, but Amalek will lay wait in the way; the flesh will be sure to trouble thee, although it be never able to conquer thee: He therefore, that sits down and is at rest in sin, it is a sign that Satan is there the strong man, because his Kingdom is in peace: But where there's any work with Christ, [Page 112]there will be alwayes warr with sin; I know that while I live, sin will have its being in my mortal body; the Ivy will still be twisting about the house, there's no destroying of it, untill the wall fall; Sin was the womb of Death, and only Death must be the tomb of Sin; God would have my soul humbled, therefore, though he hath broke my prison, yet he hath left the chain upon my feet; God would have my graces exercised, therefore, though he have translated me into the Kingdom of life, yet he hath left the Canaanite in the Land; God would [Page 113]have my faith exercised, therefore Goliah still shews himself in the field, that so I might make out to the Name of the Lord: I will therefore unbuckle Saul's Armour, humble mine own abilities, and betake me to the strength of Christ; so, though I cannot help the rebelling power of sin, yet I shall alwayes hinder the ruling power of sin: As it shall be my grief, because sin will have its being, so it shall be my care, that it may never have its thriving; though sin may live in me, yet I will never live in sin.
LXI. Meditat.
I Must not pray simply against Temptations, though I may against the evil of temptation, for a Christian my be tempted, and yet not overcome; a Castle may be assaulted, and yet not taken; if Sathan inject an evi! motion, and I reject it, this is not mine, but the Devils sin; this shall be a shining jewel in my crown of victory, & as an aggravating Item in his day of judgement. Why art thou so terrified at the roaring of a Lion, as if he could not rage, but he must devour; or as if grace & temptation would [Page 115]not stand together? As if the same afflictions were not accomplished upon thy Brethren. This is an undoubted truth, that spiritual wickedness is to be found in the heavenliest places; and this is an excellent sign, that Sathan takes thee for one that will tread upon his head, when he is so violent to bruise thy heel; and this a comfortable assurance, that if Jesus Christ be thy Captain to lead thee in, he will be thy Champion to bring thee out; so that temptation shall be as a File to beautifie thy soul; and as a Sword to wound thine Adversary. For my [Page 116]part, I know Sathan will be alwayes tempting, therefore I will be alwayes watching, and what I cannot hinder, that I will be sure to hate: So shall it be my joy to fall into temptation, and the Devil's misery to fall into his own pit.
LXII. Meditat.
II was proudly said by Caesar, crossing (unknown) the Sea, being in a little Barque, in a tempestuous storm, when they were ready to be swallowed up by the waves, perceiving the courage of the Pilot to fail, Confide, scias te Caesarem vehere, Fear [Page 117]not, for thou carriest Caesar. How truly may a gracious spirit say in the midst of all dissertions, afflictions and tribulations, Fear nothing, O my soul, thou carriest Jesus Christ. What though the windowes of Heaven be open for a storm, or the fountains of the deep broke up for a floud, dissertions from above, afflictions from below, yet God that sits in Heaven will not cast away his Son, Christ that lives in me will not let me sink; the swelling waves I know are but to set me nearer heaven, and the swelling deeps are but to make me awake my Master; [Page 118]prize thy Christ, they cannot drown thee, therefore shall not daunt me: For while I sail with Christ, I am sure to land with Christ.
LXIII. Meditat.
IF Satan cannot hinder the birth of graces, then he labours to be the death of graces; this is too ordinary, to see a Christian lose his first love, and to fall from his first works; his love that was formerly an ascending flame, always sparkling up to Heaven, is now like a little spark, almost suffocated with the Earth: The godly sorrow, that was once a swelling [Page 119]torrent, like Jordan overflowing his banks, is now like Job's Summer brook, which makes the Traveller ashamed; his proceedings against sin once furious, like the march of Jehu against Ahab, but now like Sampson he can sleep in Dalilahs lap, whil'st she steals away his strength; before he could not give rest to his eyes, till God had given rest to his soul, but now he can lye down with sin in his bosome, and wounds in his Conscience: At first his zeal did eat him up; but now his decayings hath eat up his zeal: How is thy excellency, O Christian! departed from [Page 120]thee? How is thy crown fallen from thy head? What a dangerous breach hast thou made for the entrance in of sin and sorrow? Temptations find thee wracked, and leave thee wounded; thy graces that were once like the Worthies of David, that could break through an [...] host of enemies, and draw water at the wells of salvation, are now like the Souldiers that follow Saul, they are with thee trembling; thou hast potent enemies, but impotent graces; often assaulted, but easily conquered; and as thy glorious Sun is setting, so are dismal Clouds [Page 121]arising: Thou, O Christian! art decreasing in thy graces, and God is declining in his favours: Thou drawest off Communion with the Saints, and God draws off Communion from thy soul; Thou offerest up thy sacrifices without the fire of zeal, and he answers thy coldness with the fire of wrath. In a word, thy spirit hath no delight in God, and Gods soul hath no delight in thee. And as there is bad news from Heaven, so there is sad news from Conscience. What tremblings of heart! What astonishment of soul! What disputes against [Page 122]mercy! What questionings of salvation will thy wounded conscience and bleeding spirit raise! What flashes of lightning! What claps of thunder will break out upon thy soul, when the hot pangs of death shall be wrapt up in the cold and chill scruples of salvation! As I will therefore draw out my soul to praise God for grace implanted, so also will I put out my strength to serve God by grace improved; that as every hour sets-me nearer my grave, so every action may set me nearer my haven.
LXIV. Meditat.
AN Hypocrite is the Devils servant in Gods livery, and therefore out of favour both in Heaven and Earth; for man seeth his livery, and therefore hateth him; and God sees his heart, and therefore will not own him; Men see his outward sanctity, and therefore deride him; and God sees his inward hypocrisie, and therefore abhors him: so that he travels in the Wilderness, and yet shall never rest in Canaan; when he comes to cast up the summ of all his labours, this he shall find to be the [Page 124]summ of them, in stead of that blessed sentence of approbation, Well done good and faithfull servant, he shall have that direful sentence of detestation, Who hath required this at your hands? He that so cunningly deceived others, doth at last as foolishly beguile himself. in a word, he is a man that steals his Damnation, and sweats to get to Hell, so that the openly prophane, and cunningly hypocritical, meet both there at last, only with this difference, the way, the one goeth through the Gate, and the other stealeth through the Postern. Lord! Therefore [Page 125]whiles the Hypocrite cloaths himself with formality, cloath me with sincerity. It may be men will hate me, but I care not so God love me; my duties may be full of imperfection, but yet they shall never want a gracious acceptance; my way may be in trouble, yet my rest shall be in glory.
LXV. Meditat.
AS great serenity of weather is a presage of an Earthquake and Whirlwind; so great security of life is a great and sore prediction of the souls earthquake, of trembling and astonishment of [Page 126]spirit; he that takes up formality, and sits down in security; he that layes his foundation in the sand, and there raises his building, the fall of that house will be great; and you may observe, that Christian that is only brought out of open prophaneness, into outward profession; that hath taken down the frame of his gross iniquity, to set up a superficial form of piety; that hath covered his face with a surface of Religion; no soul so subject to fall into the sleep of death, as such a soul; for while he thinks himself well, he seeks not to be better; so that he [Page 127]slumbers away his time' untill the cry at midnight' and then he startles, and awakes, and sees nothing but the bridge of mercy drawn up, and the gates of Heaven shut in. See with what confidence these Formalists in the Gospel come unto Christ, they come under the relation of Servants, and therefore they call upon him as their Master: Lord, Lord, Have not we prophesied in thy Name, and in thy Name cast cut Devils? &c. They made no question of salvation, but show their works, as if they would command it for their wages: But hear Christs answer, [Page 128] Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. What, Lord! Never knew us? That is strange. Have not we heard thy Word, received thy Sacraments, and relieved thy Members, and spake for Thee, and prayed to Thee, and done many things in thy Name; and yet didst thou never know us? No, sayes Christ, I never knew you, but with an utter and absolute rejection: I never knew you, I never did approve you in all your specious wayes, and glorious shews, wherein you did so pride your selves; because all was in formality, and nothing in sincerity; therefore [Page 129]depart from me. They little thought of such a sad expulsion, such a direful seperation. And thus the out-side Christian, because he hath reformed in many things, and doth conform to many duties, therefore with Agag he concludes the bitterness of death is past; so he cloaths himself with smooth imaginations, and deceitful apprehensions, till he is hewen asunder before the Lord. I will not therefore in the least duty be formal, or in the least duty be secure; but with the blessed man be always fearing, for I had rather tremble here, than startle in Hell.
LXVI. Meditat.
DOth Sin present it self, look upon it, as it must be with tears, or shall be in torments; if thou committest the least sin, and dyest impenitent, thy soul is lost, and thy redemption ceaseth for ever: Or, if thou committest this sin, and dost repent; yet what cloudings of the face of God? What breakings of the bones with David? What bitter pangs? What painfull throws? What shadows of Death? What terrours of Hell may seize upon thee, before thou canst make thy peace, or settle [Page 131]thine assurance? Wilt thou give way to sin, because it is delectable? or because it is pardonable? Who loves poyson, because it is sweet? Or, who drinks poyson, because he may have an Antidote, seeing it will work to his trouble, if it work not out his life? I have a precious soul, shall I lose it for a lust? I have a gracious God, shall I venture him for a sin? No, I will alwayes reject that for which I am sure to lose my peace, likely to lose my soul.
LXVII. Meditat.
WHat Heir travelling to take possession [Page 132]of a rich inheritance, either lets a green Meadow, or a pleasant Garden detain him, or a black Cloud, or a foul way dishearten him? O my Soul! Thou art travelling to take possession of a glorious inheritance among the Saints, wilt thou turn aside to crop every flower? Wilt thou stand still to hear every melodious sound? Wilt thou leave thy way to drink of every gliding stream of carnal pleasure? What is this, but to view a Meadow, and lose a mannor? For a dying Flower, to part with an eternal Crown? For a flying vanity, to lose an [Page 133]immortal felicity? To forsake the way of Sion, to gather one of the Apples of Sodom? Or else, O my Soul! What if thy way be in tears, and thy dayes in sorrow, all clouded, and a swelling Sea, so that not only the lading of the Ship, but thy very life is in danger; yet here is enough to comfort thee, that a good Father, and a large portion, a sweet rest, and an everlasting refreshment, will make amends for all. Therefore, Vain World, promise not, for I Will make no deviation, because my way lyes to purer comforts, and surer glory; Vexing World, [Page 134]threaten not, for I will make no retarding, because I am travelling to my Fathers, to my Country, to my Happiness.
LXVIII. Meditat.
AS the heart is, so is the estate; riches are but cyphers, it is the mind that makes the sum. What am I the nearer for a great estate, if I am not contented with it; desires of having will quickly eat up all the comforts and delights in possessing. Therefore that Alexander that wants content, is worse than Digenes that is contented with his wants. It argued a rich mind in [Page 135]the Philosopher, when walking through a Market and beholding varieties of good commodities, yet could say, Quàm multis rebus ego non egeo? How many things do I not want? But a richer mind in the Disciples, that with a sweet complacency of spirit, could acknowledge, that as having nothing, yet possessing all things. I see all would be well, if my heart were well; I will therefore forme my heart to my estate, so shall I have an estate according to my heart.
LXIX. Meditat.
When I remember, saith one, Job sitting on the Dunghill, John hungering in the Wilderness, St. Peter hanging on the Gibbet, then I think how severely will God punish hereafter those Reprobates whom he loaths, if he deals so sharply with his Children whom he loves; if he do so much to his intimate friends in the time of Grace, what will he do to his professed enemies in the day of Judgment? You therefore that deride the miseries of the Saints, Oh turn your jeers into fears, for Hell [Page 137]sparkles out on Earth. On the contrary, Lord! When I consider Herod in his pomp, Haman in his honour, Ahasuerus at his feast, &c. Then I think, if God drop so much into a vessel of wrath, what will he pour into a Vessel of mercy? If God do so much for a Slave on Earth, what will he do in Heaven for a Son? Therefore, ye holy ones, that are so offended at the flourishing of the wicked, Oh, leave your envy, and see your glory! for Heaven lyes above ground; As the adversity of the Saints shall therefore give me a glimpse of Hell, so the prosperity of [Page 138]the wicked shall give me a glance of Heaven.
LXX. Meditat.
GOd hath made all things for his elect, and his elect for himself: All is yours, and you are Christs. I will therefore serve my God in all things, my self in nothing.
LXXI. Meditat.
THe Creature hath a goodness in it, no further than it stands in reference to the chiefest good; if you cut the stream off from the fountain, it will quickly lose its sweetness & pureness, and it self at length; the [Page 139]comforts and enjoyments of the wicked, because they flow not from the spring of love, they are but like dainty Channels mudded and imbittered with the wrath of God, fading Brooks which at length will make the soul ashamed; so that he which only enjoyes the creature in it self, shall lose the creature and himself. The purest and the sweetest mercies only run in the rivulets which are fed by the upper celestial springs of mercy; Therefore, O Lord! Whatsoever I enjoy, let it stream from the fountain of thy love, and flow to me in the blood of thy Son.
LXXII. Meditat.
AS the Rivers which flow from the Sea, run back again into the Sea: So those blessings wich come from God, must alwayes be employed for God. What I have received from God in his mercy, he must have it back again in his glory: Therefore, Lord! Whatever I enjoy, let me find thee in it, and serve thee with it.
LXXIII. Meditat.
LOve should alwayes be the life of motion: Amor meus pondus meum, eo terror quocunque terror; [Page 141]That soul goes true that hath true love to way it, and that soul loves truly that hath a true object to center it; a gracious spirit loves the Lord, not because he does good, but because he is good; I will not weigh that friends affection, that loves a fluent sweetness, before an inherent goodness; that soul that loves Christ for himself, though you take away all weights else, yet there is strength enough in love to move and constrain the soul. O blessed be that Saint, Lord! that's so taken with thy love, that can truly say, Were there neither Heaven nor [Page 142]Hell, yet sin should be my Hell, and holiness my Heaven.
LXXIV. Meditat.
TO speak the truth, our Life, what is it, but a vital death? The Poet being asked, What he did? Answered very well, Paulatim morior, I dye by little and little: We do but then begin to live indeed, when we begin to live to God; our life before is but a race to the sepulcher; but when we live to God, then we are in our way to eternity. As Alexander, when he reckoned up his age, counted not his years, but his [Page 143]victories; so when I take an account of my life, I will not reckon up my time, but my duties.
LXXV. Meditat.
O Thou precious Saint, thou gracious Soul! Three questions calls for thy answer, thy answer for thy praise: 1. What wast thou? 2. What art thou? 3. What shalt thou be? 1. What wast thou? A Rebel to thy God, a Prodigal to thy Father, a Slave to thy Lust, an Alien from the Common-wealth of Israel. 2. What art thou? The Son of God, the Spouse of Christ, the Temple of the Holy [Page 144]Ghost, begotten of the Immortal Seed, born of the Blood Royal of Heaven, made free among the Denizens of Sion, written among the living of Jerusalem. 3. What shalt thou be? A glorious Saint, a Companion of Cherubins, a triumphant Victor, a crowned King, and an Attendant on the Lamb wheresoever he goeth, a spectator of those soul-ravishing and ineffable excellencies that are in God, the beholding of the King of glory face to face, and enjoying immediate communion with Jesus Christ; Nay more, made one with Jesus Christ, cloathed with [Page 145]his excellencies, enthroned with his glories, crowned with his eternity, filled with his felicity: The glory which thou hast given me, I have given them. Oh! Stand amazed at free grace; and seeing God hath made thy soul a vessell filled with his mercy, make thy self, thy life, a spring flowing with his praise.
LXXVI. Meditat.
THe Soul takes its rise from every creature to Heaven: When I see the Stars, Lord, I think, if one Star be of such magnitude, what are the dimensions of those Heavens [Page 146]in which so many are fixed? Nay, how immensible is that God, whom the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain? When I see the Sun, I think, if one Sun make such a glorious and lustrious day, what a glorious Heaven will that be, wherein every Saint shall be a Sun, and every Sun so farr brighter than this, as this is brighter than our bodies? And yet all these Suns are but a shadow to the Sun of righteousness. Again, when I consider the rising Sun, how by the perfection of his beams, he puts beauty, life and joy upon the face of the whole Creation, [Page 147]paints the Flowers, guilds the Corn, puts a flourish upon the Plants, chears and exhillarates the Birds, and makes the Valleys shout for joy; I then think; what shall be the shining beauty, and soul ravishing delights of that soul, upon which the brightness of thy glory shall fully rise and rest, and into which the glorious splend our of thy beauty shall clearly shine to all eternity? And when I consider the Air, this is my thought, That as here I cannot think at all, unless I draw in this Air; so I cannot think well at all, except thou puts goodness into my thought; [Page 148]Lord! When I view the variety of thy Creatures, and see one excell in beauty, another in strength, another in wisdome, another in love, and of others in swiftness; Lord, I think these are but beams of thy brightness, and streams of thy fulness; as they had only their being from thy hand, so they have only their perfection in thy essence; here they are mixt, but there they are pure; how happy then shall that soul be, that enjoyes all perfection in God, and God infinitely above all? Lord! I see stately buildings, shady groves, and crystal brooks and pleasant [Page 149]meadows, and yet perhaps a wicked man the owner; why then I think, if Simeon goes away with such a mess, what will Benjamin's portion be? If the Children of the Concubines have so large a gift, what shall be the inheritance of a Son of Promise? Again, when I look upon my self, in temporals, Lord, I bless thee, that I have a convenient sufficiency, a goodly heritage, my tents are by the wells of Elim, my portion is from the hands of thy wisdome; and though corruption may think it of the least, yet wisdome it self knows it to be best: [Page 150]Now Lord, if thou givest me so much in the time of my vanity, what wilt thou do for me in the day of my glory? But above all, that sweet communion I enjoy with God, those glorious rayes which shine from the face of Christ, those ravishing joyes that flow from the wells of Salvation, sets me upon the top of Nebo, and gives me the largest view of my happiness. For if the Lord give me so choice a mercy for my earnest, how rich a blessing shall I have for mine inheritance? If this be the first fruits, what shall be the full harvest? If the Lord let me have [Page 151]such a glorious beam in my Prison, what a glorious Sun shall shine in my Palace? If there be such a joy in the expectation of what I shall be, what a happiness shall there be in the consummation of what I shall be?
LXXVII. Meditat.
ANaxagoras being asked, What he thought he was born for? Answered, Ʋt Coelum contemplar, That I may meditate upon Heaven: Oh my Soul! what dost thou think thou wast re-born for? Is it not that thou mayest live in Heaven? God hath made thee to [Page 152]enjoy communion with himself, thou needest not stay one hour on Earth, but with Enoch spend thy dayes with God, walk and converse with Jesus Christ in the galleries of his love, with Moses live on the mount of glory. Why then, my dear Soul! art thou one hour out of Heaven? Oh live so strictly, and walk so closely with God, that thou mayest say with David, Whether I awake in the morning, or whether I walk abroad in the day, I am ever with thee.
LXXVIII. Meditat.
LOrd! How near wilt thou bring me to thy [Page 153]self? Must I abide in thee and thou in me? Must we be of one soul, and of one spirit? Is it not enough, that I must alwayes repose my self in the bosome of thy sweetest affections, that I should alwayes be enclosed in the embraces of thy choicest love, that I should be ever wrapt up in the bowels of thy tenderest mercies? But must I so dwell with thee, and wilt thou so dwell in me, as to be made an equal sharer in thy bliss, a partmer in thy glory? What is man, that thou shouldest so regard him? What am I, that thou shouldest so remember me? Lord, let [Page 154]thy mercies so constrain me, that all my affections may run out unto thee, and all my strength may run out for thee.
LXXIX. Meditat.
EVery real Christian is the spiritual Temple of the living God: Worldly cares, and earthly desires, are the buyers and the sellers that pollute this Temple: Now what an unworthy part is this, to make the House of God a Den of Thieves? what an Idolatrous sin is this, to set up Dagon by the Ark, a Lust by Christ? Again, Every Member is a Vessel of that Temple: Now, [Page 155]what a debasing thing is this, to take these golden Vessels, with that drunken King, and employ them to a sordid use? To take that Heart, which should be filled with God, and fill it with Lust? Those Ears, which should be alwayes ready to hear what God shall speak, to lay them open to a detracting tale, a foolish jest? That Tongue, that should be setting out the praises, and must hereafter be singing, forth that sweet triumphant Hallelujah, for to defile it now with idle speeches, lying words? What a sacrilegious thing is this, to let forth Gods [Page 156]vessels to sin, and Gods roomes to lust? O Lord, therefore, what thou takest to be thy own, owne, rule, and use it as thy own.
LXXX. Meditat.
MY Duties are then upright with God, when they turn me into the very nature of themselves. It was St. Jerome's praise of Nepolitan, That by his continual reading, and daily meditation, he made his breast the very library of Christ. This is the praise of a Christian, when he shall see here, that the word abideth in him, it is as it were incorporated into him; when he [Page 157]shall so read, as that he shall make himself a living Epistle, so that the world may read again in his life, what he hath read before in the World; when he shall so bless God, as to make himself his praise; when he shall so pray, as that every petition shall, as so many living veins, run through his practice; when his duties shall be the fire, and his life the incense, this is the only sweet acceptable sacrifice; till worship is distill'd into practice, it is but an empty cloud; till duties are as vitals in our walkings, they are but dead performances; Lord, therefore, [Page 158]let my duties receive life from thy Spirit, and let my walkings receive life from those duties.
LXXXI. Meditat.
I Read of Bazil, that he perswaded himself, if he were in the Wilderness, free from the company of men, he should be happy and serve God more devoutly; but when he came there, he said, I have forsaken all things, but yet I retain my old heart. I have often sought the privatest place for duty, and have often prest to hear the best men, and to enjoy the best means, thinking [Page 159]to have gained much ground in the advantages of the Place, and of the Ordinance; and yet, Lord, I have got but little good, because I still carry with me a bad heart; this is the that Remora that stayes my Ship in its course to Heaven. So that I find, it is not he (with St. Bazil) that treads the paths of retiredness, that grows in grace, but he that (with that Father) walks first into the cloysters of his own heart, in the secret places and crooked turning of his own spirit; it is not he that comes to the pure Ordinances, that advances his Communion [Page 160]with God, but it is he that brings a pure heart. Lord! I have often searched my heart, and still my heart deceiveth me in the search; Oh! come and fit my heart for every duty, that every duty may fit for thy self.
LXXXII. Meditat.
PRinces combate with flesh and blood, Christians wrestle with Principalities and Powers; their warrs give dayes of truce, ours not a minute of Cessation; Conditions of peace there may cause retreat, nothing but death here can raise the siege: Kings, if overcome, may save themselves [Page 161]by flight; but Christians may as soon flye from themselves, as from their enemies; whatsoever may make a battel dangerous, here it is, whether policy, potency, cruelty, or perpetuity: Not only the powers of Earth, but all the forces and stratagems of Hell, are alwayes charged upon thy soul; so that a Christian is not in a Garrison of rest, but in a Field of conflict, and he cannot let fall his hands, but Amalek prevails: Not to be a conquerour, is to be a prisoner; not to winn the field, is to lose the soul; security wounds thee, yielding kills thee, [Page 162]nothing but victory crowns thee; therefore watch as for thy life, sight as for thy soul; the time will come, these enemies thou seest to day, thou shalt see them no more for ever; when thou shalt lay down thy Sword, and take up thy Palm, and solemnize thy victory in glory to perpetuity. A certain man rehearsing a sad Oration to Aristotle, in Praise of those that were slain in the Wars by the Lacedemonians, received this answer from him, Quales igitur nostros esse putas qui istos vicerunt? If those were such brave and valiant men, what dost [Page 163]thou think that we are, that overcame those? What though now we read a sad relation of the potency and policy of our enemies, and find the heavy experience of it; yet how glorious and victorious dost thou think we shall one day be, when in the strength of Christ, we shall have overcome those enemies? What though my assaults be many, my enemies mighty; if God strengthen me, I have enough to comfort me: for the greater my enemy, the more glorious my victory; and the more glorious my victory, the more triumphant my glory.
LXXXIII. Meditat.
I Have seen some Christians, that for ordinary losses have been inordinate in their mourning, as if not only the Stream, but the Fountain had been exhausted; whereas, if the understanding part of the soul did truly act it self, it would reason thus: What, must the stream of my sorrow run altogether in this channel? Is there no mourning to be made for sin? What, shall I suffer my heart to swim away in tears? Are there no duties to be performed for God? And do I not know that a sad heart cannot [Page 165]serve a good God? I have lost the Creature, but I must keep my God; I have parted with an outward comfort, but I shall meet it again with advantage in Jesus Christ: I have lost something, were it more, were it all, so that I were not the owner of any thing, yet enjoying Christ I should be the possessor of all things: The failing Stream shall but therefore send me to the flowing Fountain. Thus did the soul put forth it self, it would quickly sweeten those bitter waters, and presently turn those tears into duties: For my part, I will mourn for the loss [Page 166]of the Creature, but it shall be in the Cause, which is Sin; so shall my sorrow be godly, and not worldly; and I will never be satisfied, till I make good the absence of the Creature, but it shall be in the Fountain, which is Christ; so shall it be a gain, and not a loss.
LXXXIV. Meditat.
TIs observed as a point of wisdome in Husbandry, to set those Plants together, that have an Antipathy in their natures, and draw severall juyces out of the Earth; therefore it is thought, a Rose set by Garlick is [Page 167]sweeter, because the more fetid juyce of the Earth goes into the Garlick, and the more odorate into the Rose: I am sure 'tis true in spirituals; therefore I wonder not, why afflictions are the portion of the righteous, for I see prosperity is too strong a sucker to exhaust and steal the spiritual sap and celestial vigour of the Soul, and so to debilitate the principles of growth and life: Whereas adversity hath a contrary extraction, it only draws out what may be malignant, and leaves behind it what may be for nourishment; it takes the dregs, and leaves [Page 168]the spirits, whereby the soul is elevated, and made more fruitful in the works of holiness. Therefore, Lord, so I may but grow, if the Flowers of the World be too succulent, transplant me among the Bryars.
LXXXV. Meditat.
WHen I look up to Heaven, how oft do I both see the Sun shine and set? When I look down into my soul, how oft do I see my comfort rise and fall? Eye but that Ship which now seems to touch the clouds, and you shall see it in the depth anon, as if it would be swallowed [Page 169]by the waves. One while a Christian is upon mount Tabor, and hath a glance of Heaven; another while lyes in the valley of Bochim, weeping because he hath lost the sight of his Country. Joshuah's long day is many times turn'd into Paul's sad night. God would quicken our affections, therefore now and then he gives us a glance of Heaven, that so we might be in love with what we see; and now and then he draws a black veil over that bright vision, that so we might not loath what we did love: He suffers our happiness here to be [Page 170]imperfect, that so we may be pressing on to that place where we shall be perfectly happy. Lord! when thou shewest thy self, let me love thee; and when thou withdrawest thy self, let me follow thee; and under all these changes here, let my soul be always breathing, panting, longing, and reaching after thee, till I shall so perfectly enjoy thee, that I may never lose thee.
LXXXVI. Meditat.
WHere the King is, there is the Court; and where the presence of God is, there is Heaven: Art thou in Prison with St. [Page 171] Paul and Silas? If God be with thee, thou wilt sing thy Hallelujahs: Art thou at the Stake with blessed Martyrs? As the beams of the Sun puts out the fire, so the beams of Gods Countenance puts out the flames, and turns their troubles into comforts; so that 'tis but winking, and thou art in Heaven. Therefore that soul that enjoyes the Lord, though it may want the Sun or Moon to shine in Creatures comforts, worldly delights to solace it, yet it needs them not, for the glory of God doth enlighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof; [Page 172]God himself irradiates it with the brightness of his beauty, and Christ himself fills it with joy unspeakable and full of glory. This God brings his Heaven with him; and that man that enjoyes God, carries Heaven about him; so that here is his happiness, cast him in a Dungeon, in a Furnace, when you please, yet he is still in Heaven. Therefore, for my part, Lord, give me thy self, and then deal how thou pleasest with me.
LXXXVII. Meditat.
MArk the wicked man, though his [Page 173] Intrat may be Comical, his Exit is alwayes Tragical. Belshazzar in his first Scene is revelling out his time in sin and pleasure, feasting & carousing with his Concubines in the vessels of the Lord; but view him in the Catastrophe, and you shall find the hand writing and him trembling; Darius rending away his Kingdom, and Death snatching away his Life. If you look upon the entrance of a wicked man, his gates are riches, his seats honours, his paths pleasures; he goes delicately, fares deliciously every day, he hath more than hart can wish: [Page 174]But wait his going out, and see a sad conclusion, in a moment he goes down to Hell: The man is cast out from God, as an everlasting curse: Destruction closes her mouth upon him, and his place beholds him no more: His body is wrapt in the dust, his soul is buried in the flames, and his name is covered with darkness. But now, behold the perfect man, it may be thou mayest see a few tragical Scenes, the World hating, mocking, persecuting him; but the end of that man, is peace. Though he may come forth weeping, yet he goes off rejoycing: Though he [Page 175]come forth combating, yet he goes out triumphing; so that the Saints and Angels clap their hands for joy. When I therefore judge of a happy man, I'le wait his end, I care not for his entrance.
LXXXVIII. Meditat.
EArthly riches, were they true riches, yet they are not ours; or were they ours, yet they were not true, because they are unuseful to the soul; Nay, for the most part, our golden heaps are but the miserable spoyls of precious souls: Dives aut malus est aut haeres mali. And then, they are not ours, [Page 176]because we cannot carry them with us, when we leave the World. Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be taken from thee, &c. And then thou shalt quickly know whose thy soul shall be, which thou hast by these things so sinfully abused; but thou shalt never know whose these things shall be, which thou hast so miserably provided: When we awake at the last day, we shall find nothing of all those things in our hands. Those things that are of the World (saith St. Ambrose) we shall leave them behind us in the World, only vertue is the companion of the [Page 177]dead; these things shall fail us, but our good works shall follow us, and abide with us for ever. Would'st thou be truly rich? Be not only in getting of goods, but in doing of good; raise vertue out of vanity, so shalt thou lay up goods indeed for eternity.
LXXXIX. Meditat.
I Have not farr to my home, therefore I need not make much provision for my way, food and rayment will be sufficient for my journey, superfluity will but prove a burden. While Jacob had only his staffe, he went on freely in his way; but when he [Page 178]had his flocks and herds, he drives but slowly. We see it daily that rich men either lose their paths, or [...]d but little ground; while poor men run the wayes of Gods Commandments. I am well enough, if I have but enough to carry me well to Heaven: I will therefore desire no more, than what will mend my pace, and serve me in my journey.
XC. Meditat.
WE must not presume upon the means without God, nor upon God without the means: Not upon the means without God, because [Page 179]the Pipe cannot convey, except the Spring communicate; not upon God without the meanes, because the goings forth of providence are always in the paths of diligence: Therefore, in the assault of Amalek, whilst Moses goes to prayer, Joshua must goe and fight; so in the proceedings of Christians, Faith should alwayes be upon the mount, and Industry in the valley: While the heart is lifted up, the hand shauld be stretched out; He only may rest in God, that hath been restless in the means: He that can fully lay out himself in Gods way, may [Page 180]confidently lay up his faith in Gods providence: I must sow my seed, and wait upon the clouds; do my work, and leave the event to God: I must neither be idle in the means, nor make an Idol of the means. I will therefore henceforth lay my hands to the means, as if they were all in all; and yet raise my eye above the means, as if they were nothing at all.
XCI. Meditat.
CIcero spake at random, when he said, Ad decus & libertatem nati sumus, We are born to liberty and honour. It is [Page 181]thou, O regenerate Soul! that art born a Child of Love, and Heir of Glory: Thou art he, O excellent Saint! that art cloathed with the Sun, and crowned with the Stars, and reckoned among the Angels of God: O think upon thy dignity, and consider, Will an Emperour live like a Beggar? Is it a becoming thing for those that are cloathed in Scarlet to embrace a Dunghill? Am I born of God, and shall I live like a man? Hath God raised my Spirits with the highest excellencies, and shall I stain my Nobleness with poor empty vanities? May I [Page 182]feed upon a Christ, and shall I feed upon Dust? Shall I sit to judge the World, and shall I be a Drudge to the World? Hath Christ prepared for me a Mansion in the Heavens, and shall I be groveling in the Earth? Am I a Child of light, and shall I commit the works of darkness? No, (as Seneca says) I am born to great and higher things, than to be a slave unto Lust, or a drudge unto the World.
XCII. Meditat.
PUre Love runs clearly out of it self into the bosome of the object that's beloved; heavenly Love [Page 183]centres no lower than Heaven it self; it is only God it loves, and it is only in God it lives; if it loves a beam, it is only as it stands in reference to the Sun; if it loves the creature, it is only as it's a step to advance it nearer God. Lord! I would not care for Heaven, were it not for thee; neither would I love my self, were I not in thee.
CXIII. Meditat.
HEaven is the very Element, and Christ is the Center of every gracious soul; Heaven only is the breathing place, and Christ only is the resting-place; [Page 184]there's the place of its respiration, and here's the seat of its repose; it canot live out of that Element, and it cannot rest out of this Center: it is alwayes struggling till it gets to Heaven, always rolling till it comes to Chirst: Return unto thy rest, O my Soul! saith David. Lord! let me draw no breath but that which I fetch from Heaven; and never let me rest, till I rest in thee.
XCIV. Meditat.
I See Man is not only contented with a beeing, but is still aspiring to an eminency in that beeing; [Page 185]as Plants are continually growing up, till they come to that maturity, which makes them perfect: So Man, he is alwayes pressing forward, till he comes to his proposed end, he thinks will make him happy. O my Soul! God is the end and excellency, and thy happiness lyes in moving forward, till thou come to thy perfection. Be thou alwayes rising, untill thou comest to rest in the bosome of the Lord.
XCV. Meditat.
THe closer association that we have here with Christ, the nearer assimilation [Page 186]we shall have to Christ: Moses did but talk with God, and how did his face shine with a beam of God? You may quickly know a soul that doth converse and is familiar with Jesus Christ, you shall see it shining forth with the glories of Christ; as Wisdome makes the face to shine, so Jesus Christ he makes the soul to shine; so that he that judiciously looks upon him, can divine that soul hath met with, and seen the Lord. I see by the strong reflects of the beams of righteousness, that he hath been long in viewing of the Sun of righteousness; he carries [Page 187]the very Image of Christ upon him, and the very beauties of Christ about him; he looks like Christ, speaks like Christ, walkes like Christ, he lives like Christ, he is just like Christ, and knows he comes from Christ. That soul that is always beholding the glory of the Lord, shall be changed into the same Image from glory to glory. If that soul be so glorious that beholds God darkly, reflectively as in a glass, and enjoyes God at a distance; how glorious shall that soul be, that shall see him clearly and directly face to face, and enjoy his immediate communion [Page 188]with Jesus Christ? We shall then be like him indeed, when we shall see him as he is; our bodies shall be like his, our souls shall be like his, our glory shall be like his, our eternity shall be like his, who is the God of beauty, excellency and sweetness, concord, happiness and eternity. Oh Lord! let me have such clear visions, such sweet fruitions of thee, that I may not only hereafter be happy as thou art happy, but may likewise now be holy as thou art holy.
XCVI. Meditat.
THe life of Faith is the noblest, richest, contentedst, easiest, truest life of all: It is the noblest life, for it takes the Soul out of the house of Adam, and carries it into the houshould of God; it makes the Soul forget her Fathers house, and espouseth it to the King of Glory: And then it is the pleasantest life, it lives upon the choicest excellency, and highest felicity, often wrapt up in the third Heaven, to take its repast in inexpressible glory; it walks in the paths of pleasantuess, and under all the [Page 190]heats of troubles and afflictions, it shades it self under the Arbour of Paradise: And then it is the richest life, if our desires be according to our wants, it is impossible we should want above what we desire. Tantum quisque habet quantum credit, Every man hath (saith a Father) according to his faith, And be it unto thee according to thy faith, saith Christ: And then it is the contentedst life, it carries the fading creature, and layes him upon Christ; and under all mutabilty, still holds fast all-sufficiency, and so sits down contentedly: Then is it the easiest [Page 191]life; Faith looks not on the strictness or difficulty of duty, but on the power and strength of Christ; therefore if it meet with a hard precept, it dissolves it into a sweet promise; it carries it to a loving Christ, pleads it out till he hath drawn out a proportionable strength to facilitate and make easie the duty. In fine, it is the truest and the onlyest life, for he is dead in sin, that doth not live by faith; therefore, as one said, Non vivere, sed valere, vita est: Not to live, but to be well, is life; So may I say, Not to live well only, but to believe, is [Page 192]to live, and to live well indeed.
XCVII. Meditat.
IF God be the highest perfection in himself, and the highest good to the creature, then it is the highest wisdome of the creature, to choose him, and the highest piece of his duty to live in observance of him; If all creatures must certainly appear before this great Majesty, and bow unto him, I admire the wisdome of the godly, and wonder at the folly of the wicked. And seeing this certainly, and of necessity must be, Lord! let me be of the number [Page 193]of those that choose thee here, so as for ever hereafter I may enjoy thee; and not as the number of those that refuse thee here, and must for ever hereafter, be separated from thee.
XCVIII. Meditat.
GRaces are the very Courtiers of Heaven, those wait upon Christ in his privy Chamber; Honour, Riches, Credit, and the like, may do much below, you may keep out your betters here; but in the Pallace of the King of Glory, you must stand by for ever: It is only Faith, Love, Humility, [Page 194]and the like, that shall have admittance into the Presence Chamber; moral vertues you must likewise walk without. All that goe bravely, are not qualified for such a Presence; you are but Splendida peccata, beautifull Abominations, base Hearts wrapped up in brave cloaths, Parts and Gifts; you may stay and wait at the gates, but I can tell you there is a special Command gone forth, that none but Grace, and Holiness shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; therefore you may receive your answer, if you please, only these are welcome to [Page 195]the King of Glory, only these are familiar and conversant with Jesus Christ. Therefore, as the Queen of Sheba said of the servants of Solomon, so may [...] say of the Graces of Gods Spirit, which are only the retainers of Jesus Christ. Oh! happy are these thy men, and happy are these thy servants, O God, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy Wisdome, and see thy Glory. True love doth not only preserve every heavenly motion of the Soul, but raiseth the Soul [...]t self to the highest perfection. The more I love, the more I shall be beloved, [Page 196]and the fuller participation shall I have of him, who is altogether lovely. St. Bernard speaks fully to it, Summum bonum amare, est summa beatitudo: To love the chiefest good, is the greatest happiness. The purest and the fullest love, shall alwayes wear the weightiest Crown of glory. Lord! perfect this Grace in me, that so I may be perfect in loving thee.
XCIX. Meditat.
THe Israelites must first pass over Jordan before they can land in Canaan; but no sooner did the feet of the Priests [Page 197]that bare the Ark of the Covenant, rest in the water, but the proud waves saw it and fled, and the swelling streams were driven back, and laid in heaps, to make them pass over safe and well: So every child of God is like an Israelite in the Wilderness of this World, travelling to the Land of Promise; Death is that Jordan that runs between this wilderness and our Canaan, it is that swelling stream that over-flows the banks of every mortal creature, it is that last River which must be passed over: But this is the happiness of a Child of God, That Jesus [Page 198]Christ our High Priest, that bears the everlasting Covenant on his shoulders, hath already dipt his feet in the brims of this water, insomuch that the streams of bitterness are diverted, the sting of death pluck'd out, the water of the salt Sea is dryed up, and the power of the curse cut off, so that death is but a sure step unto glory. Why then am I afraid to dye, the channel is dry, and I see the footsteps of my Saviour in the bottom, and Heaven and Happiness on the other side, so that the waters shall not go over my Soul, they may goe over my [Page 199]sins, they may goe over my miseries, they may goe over my troubles, but my Soul shall goe over to its rest. Lord! therefore fit and sanctifie me for my removal, and then take down my Tent, I cannot be too soon with thee.
C. Meditat.
HEre the Vessel is too capacious to be filled with all the pleasures and delights the world can lay together, but hereafter our pleasures and delights shall be too full for the most capacious Vessel to comprehend; our Glory shall be so great, that power as well as goodness [Page 200]shall come forth from God himself, for to renew and enlarge these Vessels, that so they may be capable to receive and retain that glory, strength and love, shall goe forth together for to prepare and raise our dispositions, that they may be suitable for such a transcendent and high condition; We are too weak for such a weight of glory, therefore God will bear us up, that we may bear up it; and because our joyes cannot fully enter into us, we shall fully enter into them. Who would then set so large a Vessel as the Soul under a few drops of carnal pleasure, [Page 201]and neglect the spring and spouts of everlasting joy? Oh my soul! What a glorious day is there coming? When the Vessels of mercy shall be cast into the Ocean of mercy, and be filled to the brim with mercy! When the Sons of pleasure shall drink their fills at the torrents of pleasures, and be set for ever at rest in the rivers of pleasure! When the soul that is sick of love shall lye in the bosome of love, and for ever take its fill of love! When the Children of God shall have a full fruition of God, and be for ever satisfied with the presence of [Page 202]God; the joy of which glorious presence, the fulness of which joy, the sweetness, of which fulness, the eternity of which sweetness, the heart of man in its largest thoughts cannot conceive. Lord! Let the thoughts of the joy and glory which thou hast prepared for me in the Heavens, turn away my Soul from the pleasures and delights which are presented to me on Earth, that so neglecting them, I may be pressing to thee, and be breathing forth, with thine, Oh! When shall I come and appear before God!