The Whole Duty of Divine Meditation, Title page – Publishers advertisement
THE Whole Duty OF DIVINE MEDITATION, Described In all its various Parts and Branches. WITH MEDITATIONS ON Several Places of Scripture.
By the Author of The Whole Duty of Man.
Psal. cxix. 16.
I will meditate on thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
London, Printed for Iohn Back, at the Black-Boy, on the Middle of London-Bridge, 1694.
LICENSED, Decemb. 20. 1693.
THE PREFACE.
THE Whole Duty of Prayer, having met with so good a Reception in the World, I have, at the Request and Importunity of some Friends, recommended to the Press this remaining Tract, bearing the Title of the Whole Duty of Meditation, by that Reverend and Worthy Author of the Whole Duty of Man.
The Subject I need not commend, for it carries its Worth along with it; and to every Christian will appear both pleasant and profitable: For by Meditation, the truly Religious may converse with the Almighty, and from the Throne of Grace find Help and Comfort in time of Need; to those which are Aery, and are the Darlings of the World, this Gift may procure a well-compos'd Mind. For if he who by often looking on a Ring with a Death's Head, at last grew sober; who knows but by often Meditating, their Hearts may be brought into a more serious and heavenly frame?
The Royal Prophet stiles Meditation the Food of the Soul, Psal. 63. 4. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, while I meditate on thee. The Heart never willingly fixeth upon Heaven, till the Almighty is the Treasure of it; for where any Man's Treasure is, there will his Heart be also. Now, it cannot easily meditate, but where it doth delight. Psal. 119. 97. Love is the Weight of the Soul; it readily moves to its beloved Object. Mary will not depart from the Sepulchre where Christ had lain, before she had made Enquiry where she might see him whom her Soul loved.
It is the Duty of every good Christian, to observe the Prophet David's Rule, Psal. 16. 8. to set the Lord always before him, that he may be in his fear all the day long. There is nothing more unstedfast than the Mind of Man; and therefore nothing can so well compose it, as True Sanctity; which brings such great Advantages, that with holy Job, it makes the Soul both serious, and willing to acquaint it self with God, that it may be at peace, Iob 22. 21. He is the Rest of the Soul; and the more it knows of him, the more desirous it is to reside with him, that it may know more: The more it tasteth of his Favour, the more it longeth after his Glory, as Moses did, Exod. 33. 17, 18.
What the Philosopher said of all Knowledge, is true only of the Knowledge of God; that it is Quies Intellectus. And therefore our Saviour calleth it Eternal Life, Iohn 17. 3. in which alone the Soul doth rest. Now, one excellent Means of fixing the Heart on God, is Meditation; whereby the highly Pious summons together all that is within them, to bless his Name, Psal. 103.
Meditation is the Wing of the Soul, which carrieth the Affections thereof to Things Above. By this, with Moses, it goeth up to the top of Mount Pisgah, to take a Prospect of the Promised Land. It is, as Clemens Alexandrinus saith of Prayer, a Conversing with God. And as St. Chrysostome saith of Faith, so may we of Meditation, it makes God, and Christ, and Precepts, and Promises, ours, by giving us a fuller Possession of them.
Hereby we hold fast what we have learned; we awaken our Faith, inflame our Love, strengthen our Hope, revive our Desires, encrease our Joys in God; we furnish our Hearts, and fill our Mouths with Materials of Prayer; we slacken our Affections from the World, we pre-acquaint our selves with those Glories which we yet but hope for, and get some knowledge of that Love of Christ which passeth Knowledge.
The Necessity, Excellency, and Usefulness of this Christian Duty, the Reverend Author of this Tract hath Elegantly described; which is therefore worthy Perusal of such as desire to acquaint and furnish themselves with so excellent a part of Christian Skill, whereby we may be filled with the Fulness of God, and be always able continually to say, My Heart is fixed, O God, my Heart is fixed; I will sing, and give Praise.
G. B.
Advertisement.
THere is lately publish'd, The Whole Duty of Prayer: Containing Devotions for Every Day in the Week, and for Several Occasions, Ordinary and Extraordinary. By the Author of The Whole Duty of Man. Necessary for all Families. The Third Edition.
Printed for Iohn Back, at the Black-Boy, on the Middle of London-Bridge.