Meditations, Meditation 1 – Meditation 8
1
THe maine Faultinesse of these Times, is a Disproportion, betweene Knowledge and Action; or rather a meere resting in knowledge short of Action. So are we come from no knowledge, to knowledge alone, which will not lessen, but increase our iudgement; and from the ouerualuing of workes, to the Neglect of them. Surely the errour of workes without knowledge, is lesse dangerous then the error of knowledge without works: But this is the best of it, it is the doctrine of our Nature, not of our Diuinitie. For while it is taught, that workes deserue not, some are content to thinke they are vselesse; others being truly perswaded of their vse, yet slouthfull to goodnesse, lie down in knowledge, and will not goe on to the labour of action. But as hereafter the paine will follow the fault, so now let the shame: for certainly it is a great shame, that so much knowledge should be idle, and that skilful men should sleepe in this Midday light; for the light was made for walking and working, not for idlenesse. The Father sheweth his will, because he will hauehave it done; wee are called to be sonnes, because we should do the will of our Father: and Nebuchadnezzar giues the greatest title, when hee calls the three children the seruants of the most high God. In the Spirit wherein is Life, is also Actiuenesse: If we nourish not the actiuitie of it, we decay the Life, & so kill our selues with eternall Death. Christ hath no dead or vnprofitable Limbes, they all beare fruite, or are not his; and Faith which our slouth would magnifie, by resting in her, thrusts vsus on for her life to action; for shee liues onelyonly when she is actiue. If then faith not working, bee dead, and dead faith quickens not; the vnactiue beleeuer may speedily with a Heathen see himselfe without life. As these things may driue vsus, so the value of workes may draw vsus: for by Christ who worketh them in vsus, they are accepted of God, and hauehave a valuation stamped vponupon them, by his Grace for Grace. And first, though workes iustifie not vsus, they iustifie our Faith, & in the day of iustice they shall goe so farre toward iustifying vsus, that they shall declare vsus iust. In the meane time, they please and glorifie God, the giuer of such gifts vntounto men, and then euen the least of them shall hauehave a reward of glory, which they shall set as a crowne on their heads that wrought them. Let vsus not therefore bee wanting to this glorie belonging to God from vsus, and issuing from God to vsus. Besides, if we will cōsider what works are in themselues, we shall finde that they are streames of the Deity, their fountain, and sparkes of that heauenly and eternall fire. Accordingly they present and expresse something that is Diuine, and supernaturally excellēt; whence it was that a Reuerend Ancient wel said: The deedes and conuersation of the Primitiue Christians, had in them a perfume and sweetnesse, wherwith they exceedingly delighted those with whome they conuersed. And how can it otherwise be, for whē he that is blessednesse, and excellence, powreth vertue from himselfe into these workes; they must needs hauehave a resemblance & partaking of their original. And surely there are two things in them, which as they are the most pleasant of all other, so they most resemble, and approach to the Creator. One of these is Light, and the other is LoueLove; both which put life and soule into eueryevery good worke. God is Light, and God is LoueLove▪ and it is a pleasant thing to behold the Light; and LoueLove is as the precious oyntment which was powred on the head of Aaron. Wherefore good workes beeing a Diuine & heauenly off-spring, let them bee highly respected and carefully cherished by vsus. Againe, workes are to vsus strong euidences of the Spirit of Life, and therefore as sure as wee would be of our saluation, so carefull let vsus be of good works: shamefull it were for them who are so scrupulous and eagre for security cōcerning temporall things, not to bee more eagre for the ensuing of their Election. Lastly, they are excellent in regard of the benefite they doe to mankinde, which also is manifold. They doe good by the worke wrought, and so they are as the dewe of Heauen, which refresheth and nourisheth the drie and thirstie land. Surely to a good Christian there is nothing more pleasant then to do good. For as he especially delighteth therein, to please his Maker, so he exceedingly reioyceth, thereby to profit his neighbour. They doe good also by example, for they come before men as patternes; their sound goes forth and tels mankinde what should bee done, what may be done; and so they palpably perswade men to be followers of them, that are followers of Christ. Againe, workes doe good vntounto men, while they are mooued by them, to lift vp their hearts and eyes vntounto the heauenly Father, to glorifie him that giueth such gifts to earthen and corrupted vessels. And whensoeuer God is glorified by man, man that glorifies him shall be blessed of God; whensoeuer glorie is giuen to God on high, peace and good will shall be bestowed on Men below. If these things will not yet mooue vsus, at least, let vsus preuent the taking away of our candlesticke & the remoouing of it, to a nation that will bring forth more fruite. Let vsus preuent the scandall and shame, which we purchase to our selues from the enemies of our Religion. Let vsus preuent the vpbrayding of Chorazin and Bethsaida, Finally let vsus preuent that fearefull sentence: I know ye not, depart from me all ye workers of iniquitie. This shall we doe, if wee becom right Christians in whome faith worketh by louelove: For the soule that is rooted in Christ, hath from this root, the life of LoueLove, Diuine, and Humane, which expresseth it selfe outwardly in the fruite of good actions.
2
It is a great vnhappinesse to many, that they mistake good nature for grace: For so doing they set vp their rest in it, thinking they are gone farre enough towards God, because they wish all well, & no hurt to any. But it must bee knowne that good nature at the best is not grace, yea it is full of enmities that fight against Grace. For though it bee somewhat apt and appliable to the second Table, yet it is euer far short of the first, not hauing in it that true knowledge & louelove of God, nor that inward purenesse which therein is required. So the obseruing of the second Table, is faulty, for want of the first; for if a man do neuer so many seeming good workes, if they proceede not from a heart truely sanctified by God, they are glittering sinnes issuing from a corrupt fountaine, and tending to the sea of death. For nature is exceedingly blinde toward God, neither beholding, nor worshipping him as god, yea it is peruerted from God, & against God, & chuseth many things to it selfe in stead of God. Now that which is blind cannot leade vsus the right way, and that which straieth, leadeth vsus a false way, euen a way from life. Therefore let-vsus employ our iudgements vponupon our owne estates, that we may know whether there bee in vsus something more then Nature, and by which Nature it self may be rectified and directed to the true scope and marke, which is God. If there be in vsus this godly and immortall seede, let vsus water it, let vsus cherish it, as the life of our life; if it be not in vsus, let vsus violently knock at the doore of heauen with grones, with panting desires, with vehement supplications, vntill there be an opening to our knocking, a giuing to our asking; and vntill they that thirst may drinke freely of the waters of life. Otherwise if in a lazy contentednesse, we lie along vponupon the streame of Nature, suffering it to carry vsus whither it listeth; certainly it slideth along to death, and all the benefit wee can pick out of it is this, that we go thither pleasantly.
3
The goodnes of any worldly thing which so much pleaseth and moueth vsus, is but a spark of infinite goodnesse, which dwells in God, the author of it. If then wee louelove these small and transitorie things with so great an affection, proportionably should wee raise our affection (if it were possible) toward God, as much aboue it, as God is aboue his creature. At least, let the creature when it giueth vsus any comfort, bee a remembrancer vntounto vsus of God, pointing to him as the Author of eueryevery good thing, and our soueraigne Good.
4
Hauing vndertaken the profession of Christians, and considering in our owne thoughts, the persecutions and tentations that may befal vsus, or cōferring of them with others, let vsus not promise to our selues or others ouermuch strength or constancy; let vsus not promise ouer confidently what we will do, lest with Peter, wee performe nothing of that which we promise. For the strength which must do this worke of resisting and ouercomming temptation is not our owne but Gods: and how canst thou promise that which is anothers? That which is ours, is onelyonly the strength of flesh and bloud; now flesh and bloud, bee it neuer so lusty, is no match for temptations and persecutions. Indeede the spirits of men in prosperitie are prompt and forward, their imaginatiōs of themselues are high, and they dare boast of great things. But let vsus know that the diuell ouercame man at the best, and what may wee not doubt of our selues, the weake issue of man fallen to the worst? Let vsus therefore rather mistrust our owne strength, confessing it to be weakenesse; and in humility and confession of our weakenesse, runne to God, & call him our Rocke and our strength. Let vsus say: By my God I can break through an hoste, and by him I can leape ouer a wall of temptations. And that we may obtaine God to be our strength, let vsus instantly beg of him that Spirit of Fire, which makes men strongly to endure the fiery tryall. Let vsus pray to him that he will continue to do in vsus, what hee hath bin accustomed to do in others, euen in infirmitie to make his strength plaine and euident. And that we may be fully capable of the grace we pray for, let vsus present our selues, as vessels empty, and altogether voide, that of fulnesse we may receiue fulnesse. In summe, let vsus so speake, let vsus so thinke of our selues as holy Paul: In vsus, that is in our flesh, there is no goodnesse, but wee hope and desire to doe all things through Christ that strengthens vsus, euen to be more then Conquerours, through Christ that loueth vsus.
5
All sorts of men propose to themselues a happinesse & hauing proposed it, they seeke it with al their might, neglecting all things in coparison of it. The happinesse of the Gentiles is this world; and therefore they striue toward it with all their strength, neglecting the kingdome of heauen in regard of the world. But the happinesse of a Christian is the kingdome of God, and setting his heart thereon, he despiseth the world in comparison of it, and endeauours wholly for faith and regeneration, the meanes to attaine it. Now the Christians hauehave great aduantages of the Heathen: For besides that our happinesse is eternall, theirs transitory; ours increaseth a man, theirs addeth nothing to man: wee hauehave euen their happinesse for an aduantage, though not for an happinesse. For this world was made for the next, & whosoeuer hauehave a right to the next, they only hauehave a right to this, and a promise that so much of this world shal be added to them, as is necessarie for them, in their way to the next. Hee that sets vsus in a Iourney, will giuegive vsus foode in the Iourney as hee did Manna to the Israelites trauailing to Canaan, & bread and drinke to Elias, when he was to go the great iourney to the Mount of God. Surely if the Creator giuegive himselfe to vsus, how shall he not giuegive his creatures with himselfe? Therefore as we auoide the louelove of the Gentiles, so let vsus auoide their feare: as we louelove not the world, as our chiefe good, so let vsus not feare the losse of the world, as a chiefe euill; especially since we hauehave a sure, stedfast, and vnmooueable word, God will not faile vsus, nor forsake vsus. Surely they that know thy name will trust in thee O Lord; for they hauehave seene and felt that thou hast not failed them that seeke thee.
6
The Sunne of the soule is God: while shee is here therefore without God, she hath but her owne light, which is but as the light of the eye without the Sunne, & is little more then blindnesse. Let vsus therefore still aspire to that high and perfect light, where the soule looking out with open sight, shall behold a Sunne infinitely more passing this Sunne, then the soule doth the eye. In the meane time let vsus be farre from setting our content on this dungeon, where the soule dwelleth in darkenesse; but in a godly discōtent let vsus striue here, to get some ray of that purest light, which may guide vsus through this darkenesse, and from it, vntounto that glorious citie, wherin God is the Sunne.
7
The nature of man being subiect to passions, is very apt to amend one vice with another, and to runne from one extremity, iust as farre as another. The ciuill and spirituall powers are two, that may and would well liue together, in mutuall comfort and vnitie. But in the first times after Christ, the ciuill power mightily destroyed, and diminished the spiritual, hunting the possessors thereof as partriches on the mountaines. After this the cleargie hauing gotten power enough at least to right themselues, aduanced toward the limits of the temporalty, and at length inuaded the very sword and scepter thereof. This being the disease of the cleargy, it was mightily purged, and now it concernes the Laity, whose turne is next to be faulty, to looke to it self, that it continue not these circular euils. Likewise the Papists digged downe the foundation, to build vp the walles, they tooke from Christ to magnifie workes. Now let vsus take heede that we make not all foundation, and so indeede make no foundation; for Christ is not a foundation to them that build not vponupon him. The Popish Cleargie couered their people with blindnesse, and then gaue them a line, which they willingly followed; ours desireth to guide and fill vsus with light: now farre bee it from vsus, so to hate blindnesse, that we doe nothing but stare on the light. Light on earth is a guide to light in heauen, but it is no guide to them that doe not follow it; yea to such in the day of darkenesse it shal become an accuser. But thogh darknes should bring forth more workes then light, yet Hagar may not boast against Sara, nor ignorance against knowledg. For first, these workes of ignorance are the children of the bondwoman, euen of our naturall corruption; & therfore shall not inherite with the children of grace, the freewoman, neither shall they obtaine any reward. Secondly, nature spreads ouer all mankinde, but true sanctifying grace comes into few. Now superstition is rooted in nature, and so is generall with nature; and therefore it is no wonder if that which is general, bring forth more general, and cō mon fruits: neither if grace which dwels but in the few that enter in at the narrow gate, makes the lesse muster, and outward apparence.
8
A Christian man hath as much neede of Christs Spirit to be a Christian, and to liue eternally, as a naturall man hath of a Spirit to be a man, and to liue temporally. For as the soule and the bodie are a man, so Christs Spirit and man are a Christian, which is a holy, eternall and happy thing.