to exalt his apprehenfions of divine grace, and to establish his faith in the divine JESUS. That they may be equally, or rather more abundantly, beneficial and delightful to the public, is the wifh, the hope, the prayer of

MEDITATIONS

T

INTRODUCTION,

Reflecting upon Meditation itself.

meditate, what is it, my foul? 'Tis not only to glance at a fubject; or to throw away fome defultory frifking thoughts upon it; nor yet to study it further, only to find out truth, and get fome better notions in our heads; but it is to pore and dwell upon the ferious matter, fo as to affect our hearts, and improve our practice. It is amufing, to kindle the fire of love, and zeal, and holy refolution, and heavenly devotion. And though we have already fome right knowledge of the thing, meditation roufes the drowfy reafon, to make a review, and deeper obfervations upon it, that it may not lie dead and buried as an useless thing, which does us no manner of good. Notwithstanding we have the flowers in our garden, and can tell their names, and smells, and colours: yet the bee and the alembic go deeper, to extract honey and fpirits out of them; and meditation does that work of the

bee

bee and the alembic, to gather sweetness even out of weeds, and wholesome inftructions from common obfervations. It is a kind of fermonizing with. in ourselves, and not fuffering a truth to go, till we have imprinted it on our minds, and wrote it down in our hearts. For, as it is not continual eating and drinking, without a leifurely digeftion, that nourishes the body: fo it is not the hearing or reading all before us, or a formal rote of talking what comes next us, that will make our fouls the wifer or better: if we do not make the matter our own, by a deliberate rumination, and paufing upon it, and turning it over and over in our thoughts, till we have made fomewhat of it to stay by us, that may prove of great concern, and good ufe to us. We must not lightly reflect, but ponder and dwell upon the profitable fubjects, till we find and feel their profit, and turn and wind this plough to and fro, till we have made furrows in our minds, deep enough to receive, and cover, and cherish the good feed, that it may grow up to a happy increase.

O my foul! thou haft a family of thoughts and affections within thee; they crowd in upon one another, and for want of due regulation and good employment, they run all into a tumult and hurry, and rather difturb and hinder thee, than prove any fervants of use and benefit to thee. Thy province and care, then, muft be to find them bufinefs, that they may not be idle and have nothing to do and alfo to choofe fit matter for them to work upon; and to fet and keep them fo on work the right way, that they may not be roving and impertinent, and taken up all among vanities and trifles: and that thou mayeft not keep a rude disorderly house, but ftill find thy fervants fomewhat to do that shall turn to good account. When they are fo active and fit for great and noble operation, and can fly all over the world, and up to heaven, and down again, even

in a moment, O let them have work, worthy their fprightly powers, and vaft capacities to perform: lafh out the crowd of vain cogitations, and vile affections, and entertain and welcome, and make much of the divine guests, thofe weighty thoughts, and heavenly defires, that are fent as meffengers of love from above.

Thus let me commune with my own heart, to get into the true understanding of myself, and whet the truths of God's word upon my foul, and preach over to myself, what has been delivered by others, that I may not only have it floating in my head, but fafely difpofed of in the good treafury of my heart; that I may have the experimental knowledge, which fhall not only make me skilful in converfation, but wife to falvation; let the word of Christ dwell in me richly in all wisdom; not only now and then knock at my door, but keep houfe in me and in the law of the Lord let me meditate day and night: O may I fo parley with my foul, to get a fair and full hearing of the matters which moft concern me, that they may not be thrust out for paultry ftuff to come and fill up the room; but that the momentous eternal things may be lodged and retained in a fure place, and have their due force to ftand me in the greateft ftead. That my reins may inftruct me, and my heart indite good matter and meditation, as the pump draw it up, and fet my affections a-float. And thus let me keep a ferious religion on foot, beyond the reach of the world's eye, where my Father fees in fecret; and by this means I shall have a book continually about me, and within me, to turn over, and there register and ponder what God hath faid in his word, and what he has done in the world, and particularly for my foul, herewith to entertain myfelf at home and abroad; in my folitude, and at all times: fo that I need not ever to want the best company, and the

beft

beft employment, and the beft fatisfaction in the world.

UN

THE PRAYER..

NTO thee, O Lord, do I lift up my foul. So I would do: I aim and ftrive to do it: "but my heart hangs back as an unweildy log, in

clining all to the earth: O work and wind it up "heavenward. Draw me, Lord, and I will run "after thee. Stock and furnifh my mind with "fuch pure and innocent, useful and excellent me"ditations, as may suppress and exclude all imper"tinent and pernicious cogitations. That my "thoughts may not abuse and mislead me, but my

heart cherifh good motions, and my mufing "kindle holy flames; and out of the good treafure, wherewith thou fhalt enrich me, I may produce that which is good; and the medita"tions of my heart may be acceptable in thy fight, "O Lord, my ftrength and my Redeemer. Amen."

66

MEDITATION I.

Of God, as incomprehenfible.

HAT there is a God (my foul) is as fure as

THA that I am; or that any thing in the world is,

And

which without him could never have been. they that do not know God, " even by the things "that are made, are without excufe." Rom. i. 20. ઃઃ They were called the Sons of Belial, that knew 66 not the Lord,” 1 Sam. ii. 12. 'Tis every one's duty," to understand and feek after God:" and it is alfo their felicity, even "Life eternal, to know "C him,"