The Mount of Holy Meditation, Tract · Chapter 2 – Chapter 4
Chap. 2.
Sect. 1. Shewing that meditation is a duty that concerneth men of all ranks, and conditions.
From this Text thus opened, I ſhall gather this point of Doctrine;Doct. Quotidie certa tempora recitandis precationibus, & piis meditationibus tribuenda ſunt. Chytraus ad locum.
That it is the duty of every Chriſtian to ſet apart ſome time and place every day for holy meditation: ſome time muſt be allotted day by day for prayer and meditation, ſaith Chytraeus: meditation is a duty of Religion, commanded by God. Joſh. 1.8. This Book of the Law ſhall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou ſhalt meditate therein night and day: the word [Thou] is indefinite, and concerneth every Chriſtian as well as Joſhua, it belongs to men of all degrees, high and low, Miniſters and people, young and old.
1. This exerciſe of meditation doth well befit the Nobility and Gentry of our Land; who have more time and opportunities than others for this heavenly exerciſe: how ought they to take heed of the ſnares of great places and great confluences, which are great hindrances to the compoſing of the mind for holy meditations, cauſing them to entertain converſe only with ſuch fantaſtick ſpirits, from whom no other profit can be derived, than what vanity hath ſuggeſted, and the conceit of a deluded fancy hatched: it lies upon you to meditate much on your inward cure: reſtrain your eyes from thoſe outward objects that may any way darken the proſpect of your inward houſe; it is one of your great cares in Architecture,Hippolit. de Collib. that your houſes have a pleaſant ſite, and be dilated to fair proſpects; you will not endure any man, whoſe dwelling is near you, upon any new ſuperſtructure, or new raiſed ſtory, to darken the light of your windows, Oh then ſuffer not any thing to incroach upon the liberty of your higher rooms, theſe glorious ſtructures of your ſouls: let not pride over-top the …uminaries of your ſouls, let not covetouſneſſe ſtop and ſtraiten them, let not intemperance put out the eyes of your ſouls, let not luſt deface them, nor anger lacerate them, nor envy obſcure them, nor idleneſſe and wantonneſſe blemiſh them. Noble Gentlemen, reflect on your own worth, Gentility is not known by your ſtately garb, your ſumptuous houſes, and train of attendants, as by your noble vertues; let inward ornaments be your chiefeſt care, and the renewing and repairing of them your higheſt cure; take a turn with God every day upon the Mount of meditation, here you may find ſuch choice flowers as will more refreſh your ſouls, than any viſible odours or fragrant flowers are delightfull to your ſmell; you will then ſcarce think any earthly object worth beholding, when you frequently converſe with heavenly things: this will teach you to contemn the vanities of the earth, to know the worth of time, and to redeem your precious hours for the higheſt imployment, to conquer death it ſelf, and to aſpire to eternal excellencies; you will then be careleſſe obſervers of vain faſhions, which is the affectation of this fantaſtick age and deſire to be cloathed with the wedding garment, and be adorned with inward beauty, that the Lord Jeſus may take pleaſure in you, and marry you to himſelf for ever: it will be more to your honour that you have redeemed time, than that you have followed the mode and vain faſhions of a ſinfull time: It is ſaid of the Palm-tree,Plin. Nat. Hiſt. that when it grows dry and fruitleſſe, aſhes are applied to the root of it, and it ſoon recovereth: and that the Palms of your generous minds may be alwayes green and flouriſhing, and your branches be ever bloſſoming, and never wither, renew them daily with ſome ſweet and ſoveraign meditation, that when you ſhall return to the earth from whence you came, thoſe that ſucceed and ſurvive you, may collect how you lived while you were on earth, by making thoſe high imployments of yours, patterns for their perpetuall imitation.
Meditation is a work you ſee well becoming men of high degree; Joſhua Joſh. 1.8.… great Commander is commanded to …ake it his daily practice; and David … great King tells us, that meditation …as his work all the day. Pſal. 119.…7. Mine eyes, ſaith he, are ever towards the Lord. Pſal. 25.15. Thou haſt …oſſeſſed my reins: Thou haſt covered me …n my mothers womb: I will praiſe thee, …or I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvellous are thy works, and that my …oul knoweth right well, &c. How precious alſo are thy thoughts unto me O God, how great is the ſumme of them? if I ſhould count them, they are moe in number …han the ſand: when I awake, I am ſtill with thee, Pſal. 139.13, 19.
2. Meditation alſo may be practi…ed by men of low degree,Biſhop Hall's Contemplat. as by men of the higheſt rank; A low man, ſaith one, if his eye be clear, may look as high as the talleſt, the leaſt Dwarf may from the loweſt valley ſee the Sun or Stars as fully, as a Giant upon the higheſt mountain: he that ſtands by, may ſee as far into the Milſtone as he that picks it: Chriſt is now in Heaven, it is not the ſmalneſſe of any man's perſon, nor the meanneſſe of his condition can let him from beholding him; the ſoul hath no ſt… ture, nor is God a reſpecter of pe… ſons, if God be but pleaſed to clear t… eyes of any man's ſoul, he ſhall high enough to behold him: a po… man by holy meditation become poor in ſpirit, and rich in grace; b… meditation on the Scriptures he fin… eth his condition to be an holy Aſylu… that heaven hath promiſed a particul… protection to the poor;Evangelizare pauperibus miſit me. Luk. 4. that Chri… came down from Heaven to inſtru… them; that he hath pronounced th… bleſſed in his Sermons, choſe ſuch f… his Diſciples, hath made them the o… jects of his love, and deſigned the… for his favours. All outward goo… though precious cannot eſcape the di… aſters that threaten them: cunning violence may rob us of them, the i… nocent loſe their honour as well as t… criminall;Senault. Treat. 8. diſc. 3. the rich are as much afra… of ſickneſſe as the poor, nor are Kin… more ſecure from death than the Subjects; but be thou outwardly … ver ſo poor, yet if rich in faith, gra… is a good which cannot be taken fro… thee, no violence can plunder thee it.
3. This exerciſe of meditation ought chiefly to be practiſed by Miniſters and Scholars: there are three things that make a compleat Miniſter ſaith Luther, Luther.viz. temptation, prayer, and meditation; their hearts are alwayes to be inditing of a good matter,Pſal. 45.1. that their tongues may be the pens of ready writers:Plin. Nat. Hiſt. when the people of Rome heard that the fields of ſome of their Colonies waxed barren, their advice was, that the Husbandmen ſhould meliùs arare & minùs ſerere, plow better and ſow leſſe: ſo when Gods field waxeth barren, by reaſon of a negligent kind of preaching of the Word; it were better ſuch Preachers ſpent more time in meditation, though they were leſſe ſeen in the Pulpit than they are; (I ſpeak only againſt frothy preaching:) if they have fiſhed all night and caught nothing, it were not amiſſe, ſaith one,Jer. Philip … Serm. that they ſhould ſit down a while upon the ſhore, and mend their nets, afterwards with Gods bleſſing they may fiſh with better ſucceſſe: Paul exhorts Timothy to give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine; Meditate, ſaith he, upon theſe things, give thy ſelf wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear unto all, 1 Tim. 4.13, 15. Miniſters and Scholars muſt diligently watch not only over the actions of their hands, the wordes of their mouthes, but alſo over the meditations of their minds; becauſe they (of all men) are moſt buſied with meditation, they muſt meditate on that which is good, and meditate upon truth,Pſal. 2.1. leſt they imagine a vain thing, or meditate on hereſie, whereto all men by nature are prone, which ſpreadeth it ſelf ſo far,2 Tim. 2.17. and eateth a… doth a Gangreen.
4. Meditation is an exerciſe that well becometh young men, who are ſtrong and vigorous;Non ſufficit operandi moleſtia, niſi etiam accedat meditandi, cogitandi, conſiderandi, ac deliberandi induſtria. Muſculus. they are commanded to remember their Creatour in the dayes of their youth, Eccleſ. 12.1. In the morning of thy youth ſow thy ſeed, Eccleſ. 11.6. And it may be obſerved, that the wiſe man ſaith not in the years of thy youth, but in the dayes of thy youth, that is to cut off all occaſions of delay: Some idle headed Mathematician might have made an Almanack of it, dividing it into four quarters, allotting the firſt to idleneſſe, the ſecond to wantonneſſe, the third to covetouſneſſe, and the laſt (if any) to piety, devotion, and meditation: but Solomon by requiring us to remember our Creatour in the dayes of our youth, cuts off theſe idle diviſions, requiring the young man to ſpend the flower of his age in meditating on God.Exod. 22.29. Exod. 24.19. L…v. 23.10. Under the Law the firſt-born and the firſt fruits were to be ſanctified to the Lord, they muſt offer a ſheaf of the firſt fruits, not an handfull of the gleanings; let us not think if we offer the flower of our youth to the Devil, God will be contented with the bran of our old age; he that is Alpha and Omega will have the beginning of our age, and the ſtren…th of our affections and meditations devoted to himſelf. Every man ſhould likewiſe be carefull that his children may be ſo brought up, as they may be fit to preſent unto the Lord betimes, as Samuel was, whom his mother offered to the Lord very young; and who miniſtred before the Lord in his ſide-coats, 1 Sam. 1.28. They which plant, do it in the ſpring time; youth is the ſpring time of ou… age, the fitteſt for holy meditation and as a new earthen Pot retaineth th… ſent of that whereof it firſt took a taſt… ſo the mind being ſeaſoned with piou… meditations in youth,Quò ſemel eſt imbuta recens ſervabit odorem. Teſta diù— will ever kee… the ſavour thereof: though for wan… of experience (the daughter of time) a young man cannot attain to tha… height of wiſdome in act, whereunto thoſe of riper years are grown, ye… notwithſtanding if he daily meditat… on God and his Word, he will every day adde ſome augmentation; fo… now is he for vigour of mind and ability of body fitteſt to take pains, and ableſt to endure labour and ſtudy whereby wiſdome is attained, and increaſed by practice: Wherewithall ſhal… a young man cleanſe his way, and b… brought to yeeld obedience to the Law o… God, but by taking heed thereto according to the Word? Pſal. 119.9.
5. Meditation is an exerciſe for ol… men as well as young: As for holy meditations wherewith the ſoul is raviſhed, and tranſported above th… cloudes, they require not grea… bodily ſtrength; but on the contrar… when the good old man cannot without great pain ſtir hand or foot, and lies bed-red, he comforteth and cheareth u… his ſpirit with divine meditations fitting to his age;Monſ. Goulart. Viell. and while debaucht and wicked wretches confound themſelves in ſinfull delights and carnall pleaſures, he is privately converſant with God, gives great attention to him inwardly ſpeaking unto him, as one well obſerveth: what though a holy man for age hath loſt his bodily ſight, yet then may the eyes of his ſoul be opened to behold the wonderfull myſteries of heavenly knowledge; the ſoul can then penetrate and enquire into things that be divine, when the eye of the body is ſhut and ſeeth nothing: with this Anthony the Hermit,Sozom. l. 3 c. 14 ſaid to Didymus the blind man of Alexandria, a very devout and holy perſon, and of ſingular learning (as Sozomen reports of him) Thou oughtſt not, friend Didymus, to hold it grievous to have loſt thy ſight, which Mice, Linxes, and other bruit beaſts have very quick and piercing, but rather to be glad, and judge thy condition happy, that thou haſt eyes like the eyes of the holy Angels, by whoſe help thou beholdeſt the Lord, and doſt perfectly ſee and diſcern the cauſes of his works: What is the cauſe of the impatience and waywardneſſe of many old men, but this, that they have, forgotten thoſe many and great favours which God hath beſtowed upon them, having mercifully drawn them out of their mothers belly, tenderly brought them up, protected them from infinite dangers, upon the meditation whereof they will have great cauſe to praiſe God at all times, as David exhorteth them by his example, in the 34, 71, and 1 18, Pſalms.
Sect. 2. That meditation is conſtantly to be practiſed.
Now as meditation is to be practiſed by perſons of all ranks and ages whatſoever, ſo we are to be conſtant in it; it is the character of a godly man, that he meditateth in the Law o… God, and exerciſeth himſelf therein da… and night, Pſal. 1.2. which muſt b… underſtood either literally and naturally for the preſence and abſence o… the Sun in our Hemiſphere, as Gen 1.16. or elſe morally, for the time of proſperity and adverſity, as 2 Kings 7.19. Luke 2.11. in youth and age, in all eſtates and conditions of this life, as before hath been noted: this duty ought every one to practiſe day by day without intermiſſion: no time ſo well ſpent as that:Quocun que Deum nòn cogitaver is, pura te tempus illud perdid ſſe. Caſſiodor. in Pſalm. what time ſoever thou haſt spent not thinking of God or godlineſse, think that time but loſt, ſaith Caſſiodorus: this meditation (ſo it be of good matters) is an exceeding good companion; it is as Tully ſaid of friendſhip, nunquam intempeſtiva, nunquam otioſa, never untimely, never out of ſeaſon or troubleſome: if we accuſtome our ſelves to it, we may ſay as Scipio, that we are nunquàm minùs otioſi, quàm cùm otioſi, nec minùs ſoli, quàm cùm ſoli, never leſſe idle than when free from buſineſſe, and never leſſe ſolitary than when we are alone and by our ſelves; but this caveat at muſt alwayes be remembred, viz. that we meditate on good matters, as David ſpeaks,Quod animo inſculptum eſt niſi cum vitâ eripi nòn poteſt Gaſſ. Severus. Pſal. 45.1. for if by continuall meditation we make a deep impreſſion of evil things on our minds, we may ſay as Caſſius Severus, that what is printed on the mind is not eaſily extinguiſht while life laſteth: and therefore when his Books were burnt by the command of the Senate; he is reported to have ſaid, Nùnc reſtat ut ipſe comburerer qui ipſos edidici, Now it remaineth, that I alſo be burnt who have learnt them by heart; therefore it is not enough to meditate, but we muſt alſo meditate on the thing that is good, and be conſtant in it. Meditation ſaith one,Fenner de meditat. is a courſing of the heart, like a blood-Hound's courſing a Hare in the ſnow, making her to ſtop here and leap there, and to go forward and backward, hunting it out of every ſtarting hole, till it fix where it would have it.
Chap. 3. Of the difference between meditation and contemplation.
The work of meditation is to ſearch after things that are hidden, the work of contemplation is to admire things that are c…nspicu… ſaith Hugo: …editationis …ſt perſeruta… occulta, …ontemplitio…is eſt admi…ari perſpicua. Hu…o in lib. de …rca myſtica. Mountagues …ſſayes.Contemplation, ſaith another, is a clear intuition, and a delightfu…l admiration of perſpicu…us verities, whereby the ſoul d…th not lightly taſt, but largely glut it ſelf with ſpirituall delights; it is a voluntary exile from the earth, and an holy violence offered to Heaven; it makes Heaven to ſtoop, and earth to aſcend to us; it is an antepaſt of eternal felicity: Contemplation is called by the Hebrews and Academicks a precious death,Bodin. de Repub. l. 5. for that it draws the ſoul out of this earthly body clearly to behold heavenly things; but meditation is an exerciſe more painfull and difficult in matters pertaining to God; contemplation is more ſweet to them that have had the exerciſe thereof:Unio intellectus cum re intellectâ. Contemplation is a work of our underſtanding, after a ſort uniting our wills to the will of God; the Schools tell us there is an union of the underſtanding with the things underſtood; meditation uniteth the heart to holy objects, Pſal. 86.11. The ſweetneſſe of heavenly delights is not altogether in contemplation, but alſo in an affectuous meditation: the underſtanding doth not give ſuſtenance to our ſouls, but only prepareth the meat that our ſouls are fed withall; but the underſtanding and the affections together do miniſter food to the ſoul:Did ac. Stella de contemp. mundi. part 2. White's art of meditat. there is no pleaſant taſt nor ſavour in preparing that which muſt be eaten, but in eating …f that which is prepared, ſaith Stella: Meditation, ſaith, one, is the blowing up of the fire, and contemplation is the flame of that fire: Some are exerciſed only in the intellectuall part, and not in the effectuall part of this work, not labouring to have the love of God and holy objects kindled in their hearts, but only to have curious ſpeculations of the heavenly Majeſty: Contemplation is an outgoing power of the ſoul to heavenly things, there is no ſeperation of the ſoul from the body before death ſo real; but meditation makes uſe of all mediums whereby to gain Heaven; that which leads us the ſafeſt way thither is the beſt; nor is a Chriſtian at any time nearer to his happineſſe, than when he is in the way that ſooneſt leads him thither; and were a man in the ſuburbs of Heaven; if all his exerciſes and actions be not ordained for the love of God, as well as to have the knowledge of him, he may like Moſes, have a view of the promiſed Land (as he had of the earthly Canaan) but never enter in thereat.
Chap. 4. How ſtudy and meditation diff….
Every trade and calling in the world requireth ſtudy in it, and reaſon hath its proper work in every ſcience, and every Mechanick that ſeems moſt excluded from it, hath his own diſcuſſive thoughts, and ſtudieth about the ſeverall parts and branches of his profeſſion, and how he may bring every piece of work he takes in hand to its juſt perfection: and more liberall profeſſions think it their element: but Divinity claims it as her property: men of other callings are ſtudious, but they keep ſtill within their limits, and at their higheſt reach they go no higher than the earth: Though Aſtronomers ſoar aloft, and contemplate the nature of the Stars and Planets, the courſe of the Sun, and the revolutions of the Heavens, yet their ſpeculation is not heavenly but earthly, becauſe it ſpringeth only from a naturall power, and leads to a naturall end: but meditation is properly, and only about things that concern our eternall welfare: Study is the beating of the brains, the work of the head; meditation is a work of the heart, a rouzing up of the heart, and a fixing it upon its object: Study is the work of the underſtanding, meditation of the heart and affections: the underſtanding o… man ſince the fall of Adam is of the ſam… nature with the earth, it is fruitfull only in briars, and thorns, and thiſtles; if the heart be not broken up by the Plough of meditation, and tilled by the labour of this ſpirituall husbandry; it is fertile only in errours, and is delivered of nothing but doubts and ſcruples which rather fight againſt truth, than defend it; his ingeny ſerves him for no other end but to raiſe difficulties; his light is alwayes mixt with darkneſſe; and as if he were of the nature of Spiders, extracts nothing from the firſt Maxims of Religion, but that which doth perplex him.