Works, Chapter 5 · Section 3
SECT. III.
I Come now to shew how a Christian should exercise himself to godliness in Solitude.Wherein the exercising our selves to godliness in solitude consisteth.
1. If thou wouldst exercise thy self to godliness when thou art alone,1In keeping away vain thought… guard thy heart against vain thoughts; This is the first work to be done, without which all that I have to commend to thee will be in vain. Its to no purpose to expect that a glass should be filled with costly wine, when its filled already with puddle water. When the house before-hand was taken up by strangers, there was not room for Christ himself in the Inne. If such flies be suffered and allowed in our hearts, they will spoil our best pots of Oyntment.
Some persons, though poor, when they are solitary, delight in the fancies and imaginations of great preferments, and pleasures, and riches, as if they were real; whereas they are the meer Chimera's and Fictions of their own brains, and have no existence, but in their thoughts. No wonder our Saviour saith, foreign, Out of the heart of man proceedeth madness, Mark 7.21,22. Such thoughts are distracted thoughts, and sutable to those that are out of their wits, who please themselves in thinking that their filthy holes in Bedlam, are stately Palaces, that their nasty rags are royal robes, that their iron fetters are chaines of gold, and the feathers stuck in their caps are imperial Crowns. As the Spanish Page, in an high distemper of fancy, imagined himself to be some great Emperour, and was maintained in that humour by his Lord; so some foolish men build these Castles in the air, and then allow themselves a lodging in them.
Others please themselves in the thoughts of sinful sports, or cheats, or unclean acts, and sit brooding on such Cockatrice eggs with great delight. It is their meat and drink to roul those sugard-plums under their tongues. Though they cannot act sin outwardly, for want of strength of body, or a fit opportunity, yet they act sin inwardly with great love and complacency. As Players in a Comedy, they act their parts in private, in order to a more exact performance of them in publique.
Others entertain themselves with needless and useless thoughts, such as tend neither to the informing the mind, nor reforming the heart or life: Like vagrants, a man meets with these in every place, but can neither tell whence they come, nor whither they go; they have neither a good cause, nor do they produce any good effect. Such thoughts might be in a Davids heart, but they were the object of his hate, Psa. 119. 103. I hate vain thoughts; The best Christians heart here, is like Solomons ships, which brought home, not onelyonly Gold and Silver, but also Apes and Peacoks; it hath not onelyonly spiritual and heavenly, but also vain and foolish thoughts; But these latter are there as a disease, or poison in the body, the object of his grief and abhorrency, not of his love and complacency.
Though we cannot keep vain thoughts from knocking at the door of our hearts, nor from entering in sometimes, yet we may forbear bidding them welcome, or giving them entertainment. How long shall vain thoughts lodge within thee? Jerem. 4. 14. Its bad to let them sit down with us, though but for an hour, but its worse to let them lye or lodge with us. Its better to receive the greatest Theives into our houses, then vain thoughts into our hearts. Iohn Husse seeking to reclaim a very prophane wretch, was told by him, that his giving way to wicked wanton thoughts, was the original of all those hideous births of impiety, which he was guilty of in his life; Husse answered him, That though he could not keep evil thoughts from courting him, yet he might keep them from marrying him; as (saith he) though I cannot keep the Birds from flying over my head, yet I can keep them from building their nests in my hair.
Christian, be careful when thou art out of Company as well as in it, for these guests will visit thee as soon ever as thou art alone, and if thou shouldst not frown upon them, they will turn thy solitude into a crowd, as Hierom found Rome in a Wilderness. The Heathen Cicero, employed his solitude to better purpose then most seeming Christians. I being weary, saith he,Quid tr…les… solitudo corporis, si non est solitudo cordis. Greg. of living amongst wicked men, with whom all places in a manner swarm, betake my self to solitariness, as much as I can; yet that none may think I trifle away my time idly, to say no more, let my Books speak how I employ my self. Yet alas, when many Christians are retired out of the crowd and throng of worldly men, they suffer worldly things to crowd and throng so abundantly in their hearts, that as it was said of Ephraim, strangers devour their strength, Ho…. 7. 9.earthly things, though tending to no profit, waste their time, and devour their thoughts, which as Reuben, are the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of strength.