The Art of Happiness, Part 3 · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII. Of Meditation.
ANother speciall preseruatiue and restauratiue of the Spirit, is Meditation. Hereby the beames of the heauenly Spirit are contracted into a point vponupon the soule, as the beames of the Sunne by a Cristall, whereby the light and heate of grace are increased and multiplied into a spirituall Fire. The soule goeth in from the flesh into the Spirit, and bathing and anoynting her selfe in that Oile of gladnes, shee sharpneth her sight, and quickneth her might, & becomes much abler to see into heauen, to see into her selfe, & to see and iudge the things on earth. Hereby she groweth in the knowledge & acquaintance of her soueraign Good; hereby she takes out Lessons of a comfortable departing out of this world of vanitie, vntounto her Citie of blessednes; and hereby shee iudgeth best of her own fitnesse, for that happy voyage. And hauing iudged her selfe in Meditation, by the same, she studies to increase that which is right in her, through the remembrance of profitable motiues and documents, heard, read, or conceiued, and shee indeuoureth to cast away all that presseth downe, and whatsoeuer sinne hinders by cleauing on too fast. If we would speak of the subiect of Meditation, wee might name all that is: for al things hauehave in them some profitable doctrine, and are Teachers of the glorie of their Creator. But if we aske for the chiefest Matter, and that which is most aduantageable to the Citizens of the New Ierusalem, which is our present businesse: Then let the soule flye vp from this place of miserie, and take vp her rest in her only Rest. Let her thoughts bee on her happinesse, and the way vntounto it, and let that be her chief meditation, which is her chiefe concernment. And that shee may draw neerer vntounto happinesse, by the wings of an inflamed affection: Let her consider the beautie of the highest Essence; let her thinke vponupon a glorie, creating and vncreated; let her thinke on the Light of that Light, which darkneth and shaddoweth the Sunne, & when shee hath thus thought, let her know, the glorie & happinesse which shee shall inioy, is more beyond her highest imagination, then imagination can be beyond any thing which is seene. Let vsus also consider what God hath beene, and is to vsus, as well as what hee is in himselfe: and to this end, let vsus cast our inward eye on the great louelove of him, who is both our Fountaine and Felicitie, our Beginning and End. Let vsus consider how great things this infinite louelove hath done for vsus, from how great a miserie hee hath translated vsus, to make vsus partakers and intoyers of himselfe, and by the greatnesse of the effects, let vsus ghesse at the infinitenesse of the Cause. There is nothing greater then Himselfe, and this greatest Himselfe, hath he giuen to Man, by a wonderfull and mysterious Incarnation. Hee hath also giuen the Bloud and Life of this incarnate Deitie, to ransome vsus the slaues & bondmen of guilt and punishment, from eternal death. He hath giuen vsus also his most pure & sacred Spirit, to purge the most lothsom corruption of our lustfull generation. He hath giuen vsus infinite blessings of this life; and all these, that we might serue him in holinesse, without the feare of our enemies, and hereafter may inioy him in that Kingdome, wherein wee shall triumph ouer these enemies. But hauing waighed (though the weake ballances of our vnderstandings bee far vnable to beare and containe the exceeding weight of) this infinite louelove of God, then let vsus consider, how wee ought to answer this louelove with louelove, & his mercies by thankfulnes and obedience. And when we hauehave found out our dutie, then let vsus examine our performance; euen whether the goodnesse of God hath had a perfect working vponupon vsus, and hath brought forth fruits answerable to it, and whether we hauehave sufficiently yeelded vp our selues vntounto God, in his blessed work of making vsus blessed. And herein let vsus rippe vp our soules, euen the very bowels of our consciences, and let vsus tent the bottome of our hearts, to feele what is sound and what vnsound in them, that the sound parts may be cherished, and the vnsound healed. If wee see any sparke of the Spirit, let vsus kindle it into a fire, & let the infinitenesse of that louelove which is our patterne, draw vsus on by imitation, to a continual inlargement of our louelove, and of the fruit of louelove, obedience. If by Meditation we taste the sweetnesse of God in the Spirit dwelling in vsus: Let vsus thirst afresh for the liuing GOD: who the more he is thirsted after, the more hee giues of the waters of Life. So shall thirst increase that which satisfies thirst, and the satisfying of the thirst shall increase our thirst, that so the satisfaction may still increase. The Riuer of Regeneration, points vsus to the Ocean of Regeneration, euen the Spirit within vsus, vntounto the great Spirit aboue vsus. From him it confesseth that it commeth, to him it desires to returne, that so it may come larger from him, then it returned to him. But if by the inquest of our meditation wee finde, that some rebellious & aspiring sinne hath assayed and vndertaken the conquest and death of the Spirit: And on the other side, we finde the Spirit grieued, yea fainting and gasping for life: Let the soule and all the powers thereof rise vp in armes, for the suppressing of the body of death, and for the rescuing of life Eternall. Not a common fire, but the fire of Hell hath feized; not vponupon our common houses, but vponupon the Temples of the holy Ghost; what haste or care can be great inough to rescue such vnualuable habitations, from so abominable a desolation? Let vsus run therefore, and that speedily, into the water of Baptisme, to quench the firie darts of Satan; let vsus steepe our soules therein, vntil the flame of sinne bee extinguished, our soules washed cleane, restored to their former beautie, yea made fairer then before. For euen by sins may the Spirit take occasion to increase grace, though not by the nature of sinnes, but by the soueraignty of that Spirit, which powerful aboue all things, turneth all things to his owne aduantage; of sinnes maketh a plaister against sinne, and by falls makes vsus more safe from falling. The mightie Spirit of God is as powerfull as ouer: when with AARONS rod wee bee changed into serpents, God can turne vsus againe into rods bearing blossoms and fruit. But that we faile not in this precious Art which turnes Scorpions into medicines, and iudgement in to mercy: Let vsus obserue the true rules of iust proceeding. And first, sitting downe in the Court of Meditation; let the sin which hath laid violent hands on the Spirit, bee brought before our consideration, euen in the vglinesse thereof. Let it appeare iust as it is, ragged, putrifide, and lothsome, without the couering of Fig-leaues, euen of partiall and deceitfull pretences. Now that we may the more carefully view and iudge our sinne; let vsus remember that this Iudgement is the Iudgement of God, and not of Man: wee sit as in Gods place to iudge our selues, that God may not hauehave neede to sit himselfe in iudgement vponupon vsus. For if we doe not iudge our selues well, God will come himselfe to iudge vsus better; he will by his punishments set our sinnes in order before vsus; and his punishments will be double; One for the sinnes which wee hauehave committed; another for the partiall and corrupt iudgement of the same sins. Wherefore without shewing mercy on these Cananites, which shew crueltie to vsus, by being thornes in our sides pricking vsus vntounto death; let vsus take our sinnes and strip them starke naked, that eueryevery part and circumstance of them may appear. Hauing done this, let vsus in one sight, euen in a view of comparison, at once behold the purenesse and holinesse of our Maker expressed in his Law, ioyning therewith the infinite louelove which hath powred it selfe out vponupon vsus in his inestimable benefits: And euen then let vsus also look on our deformed sins, so contrarie to his puritie, and on our selues offending by those sinnes, against so great a Goodnesse. And when we thus hauehave seene so pure and so gracious a Creator, and withall behold so impure, vngratefull, and rebellious creatures, how can the soule chuse but flie into her owne face, to teare herselfe in pieces, for disobeying the voice, and crossing the goodnes of a most pure and bountifull God? The sinne being compared to the Law, will appeare crooked and full of deformitie, it will be called foolishnes, and filthinesse, because it transgresseth the Lawe of the highest wisdome and puritie.
In summe, the Soule in zeale, indignation, and reuenge will pronounce iudgment against her selfe and her accomplice the body; she will pronounce the body worthy of smart and punishment eternall, and in testimony that she beleeues what she saies, she will perchance chastise him with mourning, fasting, and aspetity; which also may bee profitable to this end; that the sinfull body tasting some degree of his owne deseruings, may loath that sin which deserued to feele without end and measure, the punishment which she for a season only, and in measure inflicteth on it: And on her selfe will shee likewise powre forth iudgement; That she who was made to the Image of God, and should hauehave guided her selfe and the body according to that Image, for forsaking her function, hath deserued to lose both the Image of God, and the sight of God for euermore. She iudgeth her selfe worthy to passe from the darknes of sinne, vntounto the darknes of punishment and eternall horrour. And in testimony hereof, she sets the Vnderstanding, Will, and Affections against themselues, to accuse, vpbrayd, and lothe their owne filthines; so that the soule which hath doomed her selfe to deserue eternall trouble, ratifies her sentence on her selfe, by a selfe-vexation. But is this the end of Iudgement, that soules may therby despaire and dye? No surely: But this humiliation and Prostration is the foote of the valley, which they must descend into, that will ascend to the height of the Mountaine of God: We are the sonnes of death, and to vsus is appointed a space to abide in the valley of death; That is our naturall, and first walke, and in it must we doe the homage of our naturall condition, before we may comfortably looke vp to the bills from whence commeth our saluation.
In summe, God wil hauehave our miserie, & consequently our neede of a Sauiour acknowledged, before a Sauiour shall be imparted.
But hauing condemned our selues and our sinnes, euen to the pit of hell, and being as sicke of sorrow, as we are of sinne, then may we hopefully go to the Phisicion of our soules, who came into the world only to cure the sicke, and to giuegive them only Light, who sit in darknes, and the shadow of death.
Behold, thou selfe-iudgeing and selfe-condemning Soule, thou hast preuented the Iudge of the world, thou hast done vponupon thy selfe, his worke of Iustice, and hast left him nothing to doe but this worke of MercieMercy. Accordingly hee offers thee the waters of Baptisme, which are the waters of Life: Wash and bee cleane. And that thou mayest know how to wash vntounto cleannesse, know and consider the diuers conditions of thy filthines, and the diuers operations of this Water proportionable to that diuers condition; that so to thy seuerall kinde of defiling, thou mayest fit a seuerall kinde of washing. In thy sin thou hast contracted thy olde contrariety vntounto God, thou hast brought backe the flesh vponupon the soule, thou hast for the time healed vp the cut of Circumcision, and art become one with thy flesh, from which by Regeneration thou wert diuorced. So by touching this Pitch, is there come vponupon thy soule a spot of thy old corruption; and to this is added the guilt of a sinne which hath proceeded from this corruption. So art thou in a double disease; thou art defiled by the touch of thy flesh, and thou are arrested & seized by guilt, the fruite of Sinne, the fruit of the flesh. Thou art filthy, and thou art guiltie. Now in the water of Baptisme there is also a double vertue, fitted for thy double miserie. There is one that washeth away thy guilt; And another that washeth away thy corruption; one that washeth away the fruite of the flesh, and another that washeth away the flesh it selfe: One of these is the bloud of Christ, the other is the Spirit of Christ; one is Iustification, the other is Sanctification. And these two CHRIST hath inseparably conioyned, because he will hauehave them inseparable; for he importeth his iustifying bloud, by a sanctifying Spirit. Whome Christ clenseth, he will throghly clense, not taking away the guilt, and leauing the corruption; nor taking away the corruption, & leauing the guilt; but at once clearing both corruption and guilt, by sanctification and iustification. Wherefore when wee come to bee washed by Christ, and hauehave recourse to his waters of Purification (whose clensing was applyed mainly and generally to the whole body of sin, in Baptisme, if accompanied with Regeneration; but the vertue thereof is also particularly to be applyed through our whole life; to the particular sinnefull fruits of that body of sinne) wee must beware of three faults; The one, that wee begge not the water of Iustification, and leaue vnasked the water of Sanctification; that we seeke not forgiuenesse onelyonly, but also amendment: For if we will hauehave but one, we shall hauehave neither; this gift of Christ being alwayes double, or not at al: but thou must (vponupon better reason) say, as that Disciple of Christ said, Not my feet only, but my head also; so say thou, Not the defiled feete of the guilt of my sinnes, but the polluted head & roote of those sinnes; so shalt thou bee wholly cleane. The healing and closing flesh, must bee new ript from the soule, by the sword of the Spirit, euen by holy Conuersion, Repentance, and Amendment; the face of the soule must bee washed with the Oile of the Spirit, to take away the spots & blemishes receiued by the pitchy touch of sinne; and then the bloud of CHRIST will take from vsus the guilt of sinnes, being formerly abandoned, forsaken, and thrust out of doores by the Spirit. A second fault is, a vehement desire and indeuour, and performance of this part and dutie of sanctification, without the cō fortable hope & confidence of instification. This infirmitie is most vsually found in broken & afflicted souls, who most vehemently desire renewing and reformation, yet dare not to lay hold on iustifying and absoluing. These are contrarie to the former offenders; for they presently lay hold on Christ for mercy, but neglect the holinesse, without which no man shall see GOD; and these striuing mainly for holinesse, by doubt goe about to put from them that right in Christs bloud, which belongeth chiefly to such as they are, euen to the humble and meek, to them that hunger and thirst for Righteousnesse. A third fault is, the misordering and misapplying of these Waters: such is the washing away of guilt, by the water of Sanctification, & of corruption by the water of Iustification. For though they bee both ioyned together, and doe not at all diuide themselues; yet being ioyned, they are not confounded; neither doth the one properly performe the worke of the other. Christs Bloud iustifies, Christs Spirit sanctifies; the Iustification is not without Sanctification; neither is the Sanctification without Iustification; yet Iustification is not Sanctification, neither is Sanctification Iustification: the Iustice of God is satisfied with bloud, and his holinesse is pleased with purenesse in the inward parts, & in these two thus distinguished, lyeth the Tenor of the new Couenant. For, thus we finde it described, He will take away our sins, and hee will giuegive vsus new hearts. But after wee hauehave sinned, the renewing of our hearts is not a purgation of our guilt, but of our corruption: the purgation of our guilt being wrought by the bloud of Christ, though imparted and sealed to our spirits by the same Spirit, by which we are renewed; yea euen the same time: now, because in this change and renewing of our minds, the Spirit entreth into vsus with fresh grace, by which entrie the vertue of Christs satisfaction entreth also, & offereth it selfe to comfort and heale vp our consciences, with assurance of forgiuenesse (all Christs benefits being reached to vsus by one onelyonly Spirit) therefore many times is Repentance said to be the cause of forgiuenesse: not (as some otherwise Venerable, hauehave anciently misse-conceiued) that the grace of Repentance is a sacrifice for sinne, or that Contrition & Conuersion by themselues, can satisfie for the guilt of sin, but because in the grace of Repentance the Spirit entreth, bringing also with him the grace of CHRISTS Iustification. In summe, by the admitting of CHRISTS Spirit renewing, we receiue Christ, acquitting and renewing vsus as the point of the Needle of the Spirit, by which the Spirit pierceth it selfe into our hearts, bringing the pardon of sinnes repented into our soules, and the same sent from God for his Christs sake, but imparted, sealed, and ratified by the Spirit.
This washing thus fully and duely performed, and the Spirit restored to his former dominion, he commonly fortifies himselfe, by the remembrance of his late losse, and hee striues to take deeper roote, because his weaker rootes were before so much mooued and shaken. He keepes a more carefull watch against the enemie, and (with a kind of malice) especially against that sinne that before had foyled him. He sucks harder from hence-foorth by more feruent desires, at the great Spirit, whose Ocean supplyeth him, and filleth the Creekes of all emptie, drie, and thirstie soules: and thus is sinne turned into a medicine against sinne, and grace prospereth by her losses.
To this large and waightie kinde of Meditation, which asketh both length and strength of Intention, and requires the soule to be at leisure for it, wee may adde a lesser and a shorter sort, as it were in a portable and manuall forme to carry stil about vsus for our continuall vse, to which wee may hauehave continuall recourse, amidst the continual distractions of this troublesome and toylesome life. This is to be stil in the hand of a Christian, as a Leuell in the hand of a Builder, that he may square out his actions & conuersations rightly thereby. The most profitable fashion of this portable Meditation, is, when in few words it comprehends the summe of our businesse and dutie, whereof there are patternes to bee found in the holy Scriptures; or if wee list, wee may fit the words our selues, so wee fetch the matter frō thence. A good one shall we find in the Epistle to TITVS: The Grace of God hath appeared, which teacheth vsus to denie vngodly lusts, and to liue godly, righteously, and soberly in this present world. And in the second to the Corinthians: Whether yee eate or drinke, or whatsoeuer yee doe, doe all to the glorie of God; and that of the Royall Preacher: Feare God, and keepe his Commandements, for this is the whole of Man. If this be practised by vsus, wee shall finde this double benefite thereby: First, if we be in the beginning of an ill action, like a Rule, it will presently shew vsus the crookednesse of it, & point vsus to the right way from whence we hauehave straied: and if it hauehave beene too long deferred, so that the sinne is past before it was called for, then will it bee a Seer vntounto thee, to tell thee thy sinne, and to deliuer thee ouer to the larger meditation of Repentance. Secondly, if thou art in a good and right action, it stands by thee to abet and incourage thee, thou art in the path of Gods protection, in the way where the Angels gard and watch; Goe on valiantly & feare not, what man, nor euill angels can doe vntounto thee. Thus shall the soule cōtinue her flight towards heauen, if euer among shee anoynt her feathers with this Oile of the Spirit. For in this respect shee is not vnlike those flying fishes, whose wings by flying grow drie, and by being drie, lose their flying, so that still they must hauehave recourse to the Sea, by the moysture thereof still to make good their flight. So the soule, flying through this world vntounto heauen, her wings, euen her cogitations, purposes, and conceptions will grow drie by earthly conuersation, and therefore must bee new oyled with grace, if they will carry her throughly to her iourneys end. The cares and temptations of this life, quickly dry vp the heauenly Vnction, and so the soule is in danger to fall, if she doe not often moisten her selfe in the Riuers of Oyle, which flow from the eternall Spirit: and thither doth this short Meditation direct vsus.
Lastly, we may adioyne hereunto, incident & occasionall Meditations; which will bee very vsefull vponupon the receiuing of extraordinary blessings, or the suffering of vnwonted chastizements. It is fit wee should search out Gods meaning (as neere as we may) by the light of his Word, when he speaketh to vsus in his fauors and frownes. His blessings should bee esteemed, like so many bands of obedience, and thou shouldest acknowledge both in heart and actions, that each of them calls to thee for more LoueLove, more Thankefulnes, more Holinesse. Yea, thou art by them led vntounto Humilitie; for when thou lookest on Gods blessings, and thy sinfull selfe at once, thou must needs cry out; I am lesse then the least of thy blessings; and what is man, that the Lord regardeth and visiteth him? yea, the bountie of God leadeth thee to Repentance, and God is often to vsus a patterne of ouercomming euill with good, euen our sinnes, with his Mercies. Hee dresseth and manureth many times a fruitlesse Tree, that he may receiue fruit from it. Therefore bee thou amended by his benefits, and increase thy fruit; otherwise blessings made vnfruitfull, are the fore-rūners of cursings; and dressing, if to no purpose, is the way to digging vp and casting into the fire. Likewise, let the chastizements of God be entertayned by Meditation, vntounto thy profit and aduancement. They would hauehave thee either to examine thy selfe of some neglected sin, or they would hauehave thee repent euen for thy secret sinnes (for though thou know nothing by thy selfe, yet art thou not thereby acquited;) or they would hauehave thee humble thy proud heart vnderunder the mightie hand of God, or they would spurre thee to a speedier and more actiue Zeale, or they would teach thee the skill of that excellent vertue Patience, and instruct thee to louelove God afflicting, and to trust in him slaying. Some of these are commonly the purposes and ends of affliction: and if thou take occasion by chastizements, to put them all in execution, thou shalt bee the surer to hit the right one, and so to bee a gainer by thy sufferings.
But (before wee leaue this subiect) if wee would know which is generally the best and fittest habitude of Man for the receiuing of profit by the larger and more leisurable kinde of Meditation: Surely it is when the body least burdeneth the soule, especially, when shee is least clogged with the grosse vapours of fulnesse and repletion. It is truely said by the Wiseman, That the corruptible bodie weigheth downe the soule: and therefore as truely it may be said, That the bodie rarified and lessened by abstinence, lighteneth the soule, when the eyes or eares, which see and heare the soule, are stopt vp by thick exhalations, the soule cānot tel the dul body what the Spirit of God doth tell it. But since spirituall things are spiritually discerned, surely then are spirituall things best discerned, when the bodie is most spirit-like, and least bodily. When the Lanthorne of the flesh is pared and thinned by Abstinence, then the Light of the soule shineth most cleerly through it. Saint PAVL spake of the Man that saw Reuelations vnvtterable, that whether hee were in the body, or out of the body hee knew not: so if wee will see Reuelations (otherwise inconceiuable) wee must striue to goe out of the body so farre by abstinence, as wee may with preseruing the bodie. For certaine it is, That the soule inlightened by Grace, if it were not for the cloud of the bodie, would shine out to vsus in many notable and excellent Truths; and therefore hee takes the true course to meete them, that goes a little out of his body towards them. And, surely such soules so walking toward God, by going out of the flesh into the Spirit, GOD hath often met with heauenly Visions, whereas others shutting vp their windows by continuall fulnes, hauehave lost great Reuelations; To DANIEL fasting, GABRIEL appeared; to PETER fasting, the Sheete was let downe from Heauen; and to CORNELIVS fasting, euen to the ninth houre, an Angell was sent from God. And surely this latter kind of fasting seemes most profitable for Meditation; euen the fast of the Morning, rather then of the Euening. For in the Morning after rest the Spirits are freshest, and most capable both of Light and Action; they are most lightsome & most actiue for Meditation. And as fasting kindles the bright flame of Meditation: so the true and kindly fire of Meditation sends vp to Heauen the smoke and incense of Prayer. For fasting is an excellent Preparatiue to Meditation, and Meditation to PRAYER. Without abstinence, Meditation lesseneth her Light; without Meditation, Praier lesseneth her might: but Meditation ioyned to Abstinence, mounteth the higher; and Prayer mounted on Meditation, pierceth the swifter, and reacheth the neerer to Heauen. Againe, as by Abstinence we are made the fitter to meditate, and by Meditation made the fitter to pray: so by Prayer wee get a greater fitnesse and ability both for Abstinence and Meditation. Such Prayer blesleth the meanes, by which it is begotten, by going to the Father of blessings, and it is of a great power with GOD; euen so powerfull, that some kind of Deuils go not out but by it. Let vsus therefore often abstaine, that wee may often meditate; and when wee hauehave dwelt awhile in Meditation, let vsus goe forth into Prayer. For Prayer thus inflamed by Meditation, is as the Sacrifice of Israel, kindled by the fire of Heauen; and such a Sacrifice is indeed onelyonly acceptable. Without fire it is no Sacrifice: for eueryevery sacrifice must bee salted with fire, with strange fire (as of superstition or the flesh) it is worse then no Sacrifice; and therfore it must euen be the heauenly fire of Grace, which makes the Sacrifices acceptable; and this is most fitly kindled by Meditation. And thus if wee kindle the fire of Grace by the Bellowes of Meditation, this fire that now guideth, moueth, and comforteth our soules in the Pilgrimage of this life, shall in the next life breake out into a flame of Glory, wherein we shall bee inthroned like the Sun, shining before the lesser Starres in brightnesse, as we hauehave here excelled them in Holinesse.