Meditations, Meditation 9 – Meditation 15
9
When a Christian hath committed some notable sinne, there presently open before him two dangerous gulfs ready to swallow him; one of them is Despaire, the other, Presumption. Hee is tempted to beleeue, that he cannot be forgiuen, or that he is very easily forgiuen; and so Gods mercy is too much assumed or refused. But against presumption, should bee set as a counterpoyse, the Maiestie and Iustice of the great God that is offended, the foulenesse and deformitie of sinne in the sight of that God, the breach of the Couenant made with God, both at the outward, and inward Baptisme; the grieuing of the Spirit, with which wee are sealed vntounto redemption: and finally, the temporall punishments, wherewith God chastiseth his transgressing seruants, especially, not iudging, humbling, or chastising themselues. Surely God is infinite in Maiesty, the heauen of heauens cannot containe him, the Angels cannot fully behold him, the Sun and Starres are not pure in comparison of him. The same God, is a iust & iealous God, visiting sin and iniquity: for sin is more lothsome in his sight, then the most abhorred filthinesse, or foulest soares, are in the eies of mē. As for thy Couenant, thou hast mightily brokē it: thou gauest thy selfe to God in generall, and now thou takest thy selfe from him in particulars: thou madest an agreement with him to bee his seruant, if he would bee thy God; he is become thy God, and thou failest in thy promised seruice. Besides, thou grieuest the Spirit, that cōforts thee: thou art a great vexatiō to him, who is thy chiefe consolation: thou frettest that which is thy life eternall, and goest about to quench him, who would quicken thee vntounto glorie euerlasting. Lastly, that the punishments of sin may come within thy consideration, remember Dauid, for whose adultery and murder, his child of adultery died; his wiues were polluted with incest, and himselfe by his owne bowels, was driuen from his palace into the fields of the wildernes. Remember Hezekiah, for the lifting vp of whose heart, the Treasures must be carried into Babilon. Remember the Corinthians, of whom many were sicke and many slept, because they had sinned, and slept in their sinnes. Wherfore make hast, run to God right early, acknowledge thy sinne against thy selfe, and humble thy selfe vnderunder the mightie hand of God, that in due time he may exalt thee. That is the onelyonly right exaltation which is done by God, and humiliation of thy selfe is the onelyonly way to it: but an exaltation of thy selfe without God, will turne to an humiliation by God, if not a confusion. But if thou washest away the pleasure of sin, by the sorrow of repentance, if thou washest away the pollution and deformitie of sinne, by cleannesse of heart, and rightnesse of Spirit, then mayst thou lay hold on the satisfaction of Christ to wash away the guilt of thy sin, and so thou art wholly made cleane. As God will not hauehave his merciemercy to bee made an encouragement to sinne, so hee will not hauehave his iustice to bee a discouragement to them that turne from their sinnes: but iustice belongs to the presumptuous to humble them, and mercy to the humble and broken hearted to refresh them. Come therefore thou that art heauy laden, which feelest thy sinnes as a burden intolerable, take the refreshing which belongeth to thee; and looke not on the terror of iustice any longer, which belongeth to the presumptuous, and not to thee. God will not that the reed brused by the Law, should bee vtterly broken, but that it be healed by the Gospell. Gods aime in thy humbling is not despaire, but Faith, Hope and LoueLove; his end is thy amendment, and not thy torment. But if thou doubtest that so great a sinne hath cut thee off from Christ, and therefore thou darest not to make vse of his merits, know this, that by thy faith, which made a generall surrender of thee vntounto Christ, thou wast ingrafted into Christ; Christ was thine, and thou wert his. Now this Vnion is indissoluble, nothing can put asunder what God hath thus put together. Besides, Christ in his Vnion with thee, did not wholly take away thy wilde nature, but powring in a godly nature, left also some remainder of thy former wildnes. If then this wilde nature bring forth the fruit of the wilde oliue, it is no wonder; for it is so left, that sometimes when God hideth his face, it may leade vsus away captiue vntounto the execution of sinne. Yet the Spirit of Christ euen thē liueth in vsus, though in bondage, for the time; and grace is then not put to death, but only made prisoner. The seed of Christ remaines immortal, he is stil in thee, though sometimes thou bearest thy own fruite and not his. A generall dominion of sinne, excludeth a generall dominion of Christ: but a particular sinne may yet leaue a generall dominion to Christ. Thou mislikest thy selfe because thou art not holy in all things: thou dost well to louelove and desire perfection; yet though thou offendest in some thing, doe not despaire, for God hath not giuen any man in this life so much grace, as may giuegive him a generall rest from sin; he leaueth this world as a place of battaile and combate, and referreth perfect rest vntounto the world to come. Now the same God, though in iustice hee requires a full obedience, yet in mercy he accepteth according to that wee hauehave; & hee knowes we hauehave nothing, but what wee hauehave receiued, and we hauehave receiued only so much grace, as may exclude the dominion of sinne, but not abolish the being of it. Let vsus therfore not so much busie our selues in superfluous and vnprofitable vexation of our own soules, as in the study of purging our selues from our sins, that wee may bring forth more fruit. This is it which God especially lookes for after sin, and so doing we shall vndeniably proue to our selues, that we are still the liuely branches of Christ. A mans seruant doth sometimes his owne worke, yet if he presently returne to the worke of his Master, and makes that his chiefe and maine employment, he ceaseth not to bee his seruant, since most hee serueth him. So and much more is it betweene Christ and vsus; We are his, though somtimes seruing our selues especially being held by him, out of whose hand nothing can take vsus. Therfore thou distressed soule, goe thy waies, and indeuour to sinne no more, and then thy faith shall make thee whole.
10
The diuell hath put the world out of frame, & that in two ouerspreading confusions; One is sinne, the other misery. Now Christ came to vnloose the works of the diuel, and performes it both in himselfe and in his members. His owne part he hath fully perfected in himselfe, and now it remaines that we ioyne with him to performe that part, which is to bee done by Christ in vsus. Therefore against sin, wherin the world blindly walketh, let vsus oppose sanctification, seeking to place it in the stead therof, both in our selues and others. Against misery let vsus employ the inward & outward consolations which God hath giuen vsus, releeuing refreshing, and encouraging all distressed patients. This must we doe, yet we may not expect that the worke shall bee perfected vntill the great day come. Then onelyonly shall be a pure separation of things now confounded. Then onelyonly shall the sinne and misery which now cleaue to the Saints, fully be wiped away; and then shall a kingdome come, wherein holinesse, and happinesse, lifted vp farre aboue sinne and misery, shall eternally dwell together. In the meane time we must patiently behold many crooked things which no man can make streight, and yet we must striue to reforme the crookednesse that may be made streight. Blessed are wee if when our Lord commeth he shall finde vsus so doing; wee shall hauehave our part in the sentence of blessing, and our workes of merciemercy & righteousnesse shal praise vsus in the gates of heauen. And the same Christ who hath here wrought mightily in vsus vntounto the perfecting and aduancing of his kingdome, shall there worke maruellously for vsus vntounto the aduancing of vsus in his kingdome.
11
There is great reason, though it breed but little practise, that we should put the louelove of the creature far below the louelove of the Creator, the louelove of things perishing below the louelove of things enduring for euer, the louelove of things made for vsus, below the louelove of him that made vsus, & for whom we were made. With this reasō, there is ioyned great reward, for at last things transitory will part from vsus, and the louelove placed on them; but God continues for euer, euen after the other hauehave forsaken vsus, and then rewards the louelove built on him with an euerlasting louelove: and on this louelove attend Ioyes vnspeakable, and a crowne of glory Immarcessible.
12
Our knowledge in this world▪ is little and imperfect, but they that hauehave Christ by vnion with him, hauehave a perfect wisedome, and are in him perfectly wise. Let vsus therefore esteeme our selues, & others more or lesse wise, as we are more or lesse partakers of that high and infinite wisedome; and therein especially let vsus striue for Supereminence. If in this litle and narrow knowledge of man wee only excell others, it may bee a iust ground of cōtempt against our selues, rather then a reason of that pride which is commonly assumed, and imployed in despising others. For those whom this humane wisedome despiseth, may hauehave an assured Right in the Diuine wisedome; which in the foolishnesse thereof is wiser then the wisest of men: and which being wise, approoues her children for the most wise, for iustifying of her; and which finally shall raise vp her meanest children in so true an image of God, that in regard of their new vnderstanding, the Schoole-taught knowledge euen of old Doctors, shall bee ashamed of the name of knowledge, and shall appeare to bee but as the rudiments of children. Let Christ therefore be the wisedome, by which mankinde should be especially measured, and valued; so shall the iudging of them be according to truth, not outward appearance, we shall iudge the iudgement of God and not of man.
13
If any man hauehave done some excellent worke, by wit, learning or valour, we ascend presently from the excellencie of the worke, to the excellencie of the worker, imagining him to be a fountaine wherof his work is but a streame, and wee earnestly desire to see the more excellent cause, of so excellent an effect. This is the ordinary course of naturall Men; yet is there a most notable and incomprehensible worke, the worke that containeth all humane workes, yea man himselfe, and this worke is daily seene; but few ascend from the worke to consider the worker, and much fewer desire to see him, and fewest of all wonder that they doe not desire. Surely to a rectified soule, it is a great wonder, that for Atchieuements small in comparison of this great one, wee should looke vp with louelove & admiration to their cause; but for this huge worke, we should not lift vp our eyes and desires, to the cause thereof, which indeed comprehendeth, & causeth all other causes. But againe the same soule ceaseth to wonder when it lookes on the fall of man; for therin it sees mans chiefest corruption was in that fleshly wisedome which hath blinded vsus to the Creator, & makes vsus broad-sighted to the creature; which hath put the head of a beast into the heart of a man, and makes him looke downward with the beasts, from the maker to things made. But it is our part to vnhood our selues as much as we may from this vizard of wisedome, and to iudge of things according to cleare truth, not blinde opinion. Let vsus pursue truth as long as it lasteth, not so long only as our muffled vnderstanding doth naturally and easily follow and apprehend it. In this course of outgoing nature, yet let vsus set our first foote in her owne pathe: So on her ground we fasten this, that the Author is more excellent then the worke, the cause then the effect, and therefore if it be pleasant or glorious to see and know the worke and effect, it is farre more pleasant & glorious, to see the cause and author himselfe. But whereas grouelling nature applies this rule only to these lower things, we knowing that the truth thereof proceeds further, yea reacheth especially to the cause of causes: let vsus out-strip nature, and follow this truth, vntill it leade vsus into an amazing wonder, a feruent louelove, a longing desire, to see that great producer of all excellent workes; that infinite being, from whom all this masse of Creation hath his Being, and who as farre exceedeth in wisedome, power, and glory, the created wisedome, power, and glory, as an infinite and indeterminable cause, may effects finite and determined.
14
If God hauehave reuealed a truth to vsus, which hath bin long concealed, let vsus not seeke to hauehave our selues proclaimed as the fountaines of that truth, nor draw followers to our selues, but to it, and by it to God. For God is the Author and fountaine of all truth, and of the reuelation of truth; and so the truth found is Gods, and the finding of the truth, appertaines to the grace of God. Therefore let vsus desire to get glory to him, to whom the glory indeede belongs. And humbly thanking God, that among many of his excellent seruants, hee hath vouchsafed to vse vsus in the reuealing of it; let vsus steale away our own names if we may from the honour thereof, leauing the whole glory to the name of God, whose worke it is. If thus we draw men to the truth, & by the truth vntounto God; not to Paul or Cephas, but vntounto Christ; this seeking of gods glory with the losse of our owne, will God reward with infinite glorie: whereas the setting vp of our selues in Gods stead, the iealous God will punish with extreame torments, as most odious idolatry. Yet euen in this life to such humble seers doth honour belong, though not the honour of fountaines, yet the honour of cesternes, euen the honour due to such as God honours, by committing to them his oracles and secrets. And euen to their humility belongeth honour, for humility is Gods way to preferment; which though it takes away the value of our selues to our selues, yet as an excellent grace it ought to increase the same value, in the sight of others as it doth in the sight of God.
15
When there comes any pleasure to be lost, or paine to bee suffered for Gods sake, let vsus set vp a balance in our hearts: in one scale, let vsus set the temporal pleasure we lose, and in the other, the eternall pleasure we gaine by this losse; and wee shall see the weight of this latter to bee infinitely exceeding. So likewise for paine, let vsus set the temporall paine in one balance, and the eternal in the other; and wee shall see there also the weight of eternal paine farre to exceed that of the temporall. Now if we vse but our ordinarie iudgement, of good things to chuse the greatest, and of euils to chuse the least, we shal presently consent with the losse of temporall pleasure, to procure eternal ioy, and with the enduring of temporall paine, to auoide paine eternall; especially, since with the auoiding of that eternall torment, the exceeding weight of ioy, is ioyntly procured.