The Mount of Holy Meditation, Tract · Chapter 12
Chap. 12. Setting down the Rules about Meditation.
The next thing I ſhall do, is to lay down ſome Rules concerning meditation.
Rule 1 Before thou goeſt to meditate, ſee that thy nature be changed; that thou art renewed in the ſpirit of thy mind; it is only the good man that hath a good treaſure in his heart;Mala mens, malus animus. an evil mind cannot meditate well: before the heart be renewed, the judgement of man is wholly depraved about his laſt end, ſeeking happineſſe where it is not to be found; wickedneſſe proceedeth from the wicked, according to the Proverb: were the apprehenſions of ſinners as large as Satan's, yet if they have not new wills and affections, they will buſie the imagination, in deviſing ſatisfaction to themſelves: the will is ſtirred up by the imagination; and as the will is …ffected, ſo operates the imagination: now when God by his Spirit writes his Law upon our hearts, ſo that there is an holy compliance between our hearts and God's Law, then the heart hath a ſtrong inclination to holy thoughts and meditations.
Labour to have the love of God Rule 2 and holy things rooted in your hearts: Amantium mos eſt de amato ſempèr loqui & meditari, ſaith Auſtin; The lover is ever ſpeaking and thinking on the thing beloved:Pſal. 119.97. O how love I thy Law! it is my meditation all the day; our affections are our wings, and our will is our guid to conduct us to Heaven. You think perhaps, Iter tuum ad coelum voluatas tua, gradus tui, affectus tui: ambulas affectibus, nòn pedibus, accedis ad Deum amando, recedis negligendo; ſtans in terra in coelo es ſi diligas Deum. Auguſt.ſaith Auſtin, you muſt build a Tower to aſcend thit…er; that the Angels muſt be invited down to aſſiſt you; or that the wings of an Eagle muſt be borrowed to carry you thither: but your love is your Pole-ſtar; by your deſires you ſcale thoſe heavenly regions; by your negligence you ſtand at a diſtance from them; and loving God upon the earth, you may boaſt your ſelves already in Heaven: for it is not with the ſoul as with the body; this cannot ſtir without changing of place, but that needs only change her affection,Sicut in aquis ignis durare nòn poteſt, ita nequè turpis cogitatio in corde Dei amante. Marcus Heremita. and in a moment ſhe aſcends into the hill of the Lord, and ſtands in his holy place, and is where ſhe would be; and we can never be better, than when we are with him in our meditations, whom nothing can equall in goodneſſe; thither we go not walking, but loving; and God is ſo much the nearer to us, by how much our love is more pure and vigorous: then he brings in God ſpeaking thus, I command you to love me, and I aſſure you, that in doing ſo, you ſhall enjoy me; ſinners poſſeſſe not all they love: there are ſome greedy worldlings that ſigh for gold, and yet are poor: ambitious perſons that are paſſionate for glory, and yet are deſpicable: but every one that loves me, finds me; I am with him that ſeeks for me; his love makes me preſent in his ſoul; as ſoon as he longs for me, I am in his embraces.
Rule 3 Let not your hearts be overcharged with worldly cares; they are great hindrances to us in heavenly meditation. The Angels have care of our preſervation,As in a race one Charet hindreth another in the way ſtopping the path, even ſo earth…y cogitations hinder heavenly when they have gotten the ſtart. Macarius. Ita ſarcina ſeculi veluti ſomno aſſoler, dulcitèr premebar, & cogitationes quibus meditabar in te, ſimiles erant conatibus expergiſci volentium, qui tamèn ſuperati ſoporis altitudine remerguntur. Auguſt. and endeavour it diligently, yet are they not perplex't about it, for their care proceeds from charity: carking cares about the things of the world, trouble a man's reaſon and judgement, ſo that he cannot meditate on God as he ought; the Waſps and Drones make more noiſe than the Bees, but make no honey, but waxe only. I was overwhelmed with worldly cares, as with a deep ſleep, ſaith Auſtin, and the meditations I lifted up to Heaven, were like the vain endeavours of men ſtriving to awake, who beaten down with the weight of drowſineſſe, fall aſleep again at the very inſtant they awake. It is impoſſible he ſhould be heavenly minded, that dotes upon earth; or have any paſſionate longings for Heaven, who is ſtrongly wedded to the things of this world.
Spend not too much of your time Rule 4 in recreations. It is neceſſary ſometimes that we recreate both our bodies and ſpirits; as to walk abroad; to take the air; to entertain our company with ſome pleaſant diſcourſes; to ring; to play on ſome inſtrument; theſe are recreations ſo innocent, that to uſe them well, needs nothing but diſcretion, that gives to every thing its order, time, place, and meaſure: but here we muſt beware of exceſſe; for if we imploy too much time therein, it is no more a recreation, but an occupation, that neither recreates the body, nor the ſpirits, but rather dulls and diſtracts them: and above all take heed of ſetting your affections on any of them; for let our recreations be never ſo lawfull, it is vitious to ſet our affections on any of them; to long after them; to ſtudy on them; or vex our ſelves about them: there are ſome recreations indeed, that as they are commonly uſed, tend to much evil; there is (as Phyſitians ſay of Muſhromps) a quality of poiſon in them, though never ſo well cooked; they are ſpungious, and full of pores, and eaſily draw any infection to them, and if Serpents be about them, they take poiſon from them: ſo ſuch recreations are very dangerous; they divide the ſpirit from pious meditations; cool charity; and awaken in the ſoul many ſorts of ill cogitations. Therefore when you are in the uſe of any recreations, labour to wind up thy heart to Heaven; uſe ſome godly meditations; think how thy time paſſeth away, and death draws on; ſee how it calleth thee to his dance, where the muſick ſhall be elegies and lamentations; that thou ſhalt make but one ſtep from life to death.
When thou goeſt to meditate, fix Rule 5 not thy thoughts on many things at once:Cogitatio vaga inceſſa ſemper hùc & illùe divertit. Hugo in lib. de Area myſticâ. variety of thoughts are like many men in a crowd or throng, where all are ſtopt, and none can get out: variety of meats, if the ſtomack be good, do alwayes offend it; if weak, it overthrows it: fill not thy ſoul with the thoughts of many things at once, for theſe will trouble and diſtract thee: a ſoul that feels it ſelf much purged from evil humours, hath a great appetite after ſpirituall things, and as half famiſhed, the thoughts run upon many exerciſes of piety at once; and this is a good ſign to have ſo good an appetite; but thou muſt look how thou canſt digeſtall that thou deſireſt to eat; take every thing therefore in order, and feed on them moderately, that thou maiſt digeſt them, and not be cloyed with them.
Rule 6 Let examination and meditation go hand in hand together: without examination meditation will be ineffectuall; as for inſtance, when thou haſt been meditating of the graces of God's Spirit, examine whether thoſe graces are ſeated in thy heart: meditate on the beauty of heavenly graces: make compariſon between graces and vices, in themſelves contrary: what ſweetneſſe in meekneſſe in regard of revenge; in humility in regard of pride; in charity in regard of envy; and all the graces have this to be admired in them, that they affect the ſoul with incomparable delight and comfort, after they are practiſed; whereas the vices leave us diſtracted and ill entreated: and as for vices they that enjoy them in part, are never content, and they that have them in abundance, are much diſcontented; but as for graces, they that have the ſmalleſt meaſures of them, yet have they content, and ſo more and more as they do encreaſe.
When thou meditateſt on ſin, examine how ſtands thy heart affected towards ſin: haſt thou a reſolution in the ſtrength of Chriſt, never to commit any ſin? haſt thou any inclination to ſmall ſins, or any affection to any of them?
When thou meditateſt on God's Commandements, examine thy heart: doth it find them to be good, ſweet, and amiable, and agreeable? as he that hath an exquiſite taſt, and good ſtomack, loveth good food, and refuſeth the bad.
Examine how thy heart ſtands affected to ſpirituall exerciſes: doſt thou love them, or are they tedious to thee? do they diſtaſt thee? to which of them doſt thou find thy ſelf more or leſſe inclined? to hear God's Word, or to diſcourſe about it; to pray; to meditate; to fly up to Heaven, &c. and what in all theſe is thy heart againſt? and if thou find any of theſe, to which thou art not inclined, examine whence this diſtaſt ariſeth, and what is the cauſe thereof.
Examine what is thy heart toward God himſelf: is it a delight to thee to think on him? doſt thou feel a particular taſt of his love? doſt thou delight in meditating on his power, his goodneſſe and mercy? if the thoughts of God do come into thy mind in the midſt of buſineſſe, and worldly imployments, when it cometh, doſt thou give place thereto? doth it ſettle in thy heart? doſt thou perceive thy heart to lean that way, and in ſome meaſure to prefer it before any other thing? doſt thou love to ſpeak to God, and of God? is his honour and glory dearer to thee than all other things? doſt thou love his children, and the glory and beauty of his worſhip and Ordinances? for want of this examination, meditation doth often come to nothing.
Rule 7 Both begin and end this exerciſe of meditation with prayer: Meditation without reading is erronious; without prayer unfruitfull, ſaith Bernard. Meditatio ſine lectione erronea, ſine oratione infructuoſa. Bern.Let prayer go before it: go to God, and beg of him to inſpire thee with holy meditations; it is God that with his own hand puts them into our mouthes,Noah is commanded to make a window in the top of the Ark, and a door in the ſide of it, a window is for the eye to look out at, a door is for the whole body to go out; and he that will ever be a good Christian, muſt not only make a window for contemplation, as Daniel did, at which he prayed thrice a day, but a door for action, as Abraham did, at which he ſate once a day: at the window of meditation he muſt contemplate with a good heart, at the door of action, he muſt go out to bring forth fruit with patience. Matt. Stiles. for of our ſelves we are not ſufficient for one good thought: prayer of it ſelf lifts up the ſoul to God, who is our only joy and comfort; as is the ſight, ſo will the affection be; and as the affection is, ſo will the deſire be. Pray at the end of your meditations, as David doth, Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in thy ſight, O Lord my ſtrength and my Redeemer, Pſal. 19.14. Pray that God would keep theſe things for ever in the imagination of your thoughts, 1 Chron. 29.18.
The laſt Rule is, that all our meditations muſt be reduced to practice: Thou ſhalt meditate in this Bo…k of the Law, that thou maiſt obſerve to do according to all that is written therein, Joſh. 1.8. the end of meditation is practice: I thought on my wayes, and turned my feet unto thy teſtimonies, Pſal. 119 59. In paſſing from our meditations, we muſt reſolve carefully to put them in execution, without which meditation is not only unprofitable, but rather hurtfull to us; for vertues meditated on and not Rule 8 practiſed, are apt to puff up the ſpirit, in taking our ſelves to be ſuch as we reſolved to be; therefore we muſt joyn practice to meditation. To conclude, as they that go into a goodly Garden, go not out without gathering of ſome Flowers to ſmell to long after; ſo our ſouls having by meditation fallen upon ſome pleaſing points, muſt take two or three moſt fit for our furtherance in piety, to think on the reſt of the day, and as it were ſpiritually to ſmell unto.
Now as it is neceſſary that all theſe be ſetled in our hearts; ſo in withdrawing our ſelves from our meditations; we muſt paſſe very gently to other affairs, for fear leſt the liquor of our reſolutions (the reſult of our meditations) do leak out, and not penetrate into all parts as it ſhould, even into our hearts and ſouls; yet all muſt be done without violence, either of body or mind.
Object.But who is able to put his meditations into practice, the directions and exerciſes thereof being ſo many?
Reſp.If one were to put them all in practice every day, he ſhould do nothing elſe, it would take up his whole time; but that is not required, but as time and place ſhall ſerve, and as occaſions ſhall offer themſelves. Renew thy reſolutions often, and ſay with David, I will meditate in thy precepts, and have reſpect unto thy wayes, Pſal. 119.15. I will for ever keep thy Word; and when thou faileſt herein, take in hand thy proteſtation, and offer it with thy whole heart to God. This free confeſſing of our deſire to ſerve God, and to be wholly conſecrated to him by a particular affection, is very pleaſing to him.