Meditations and Motives for Prayer Upon the Seven Days of the Week, Frontispiece 4
Wednesday Gen: 1
V. 9 And God said let the Waters under the Heauen be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry Land appeare and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the Waters called he Seas; And God saw that it was good.
MOTIVES FOR PRAYER VPONUPON WEDNESDAY.
THis O my soule, is the third of thy dayes of labour; and if thou have well spent the two former, in the course of thy vocation, are they not an encouragement to thee, to continue thy labour this day also? For dost thou not find thy selfe as fresh now, as at the first? or rather so much fresher, as exercise is able to make more able? Indeed to labour in well doing never wearies a willing mind; but rather addes new vigour to it, as seeming to prompt it to continue by its owne example. But O my soule, as there be many encouragements for thee to continue thy labour, so there is a powerfull Orator stands ready to disswade thee from it: the Orator that perswaded our first Parent Eve, that darknesse was light: and therefore will not sticke to perswade thee, that idlenesse is labour: and though he be laying his battery against thee continually and every day; yet this third day, I have great cause to doubt his violence more than before; First, because this was the method hee held in tempting of Christ, to keepe his strongest temptation for the third; for then he shewed him all the Kingdomes of the world, and the glory of them, and made him a promise of them, but onelyonly to fall downe and worship him; that this day most properly we may make this Prayer, By thy fasting and temptation, good Lord deliver us: And is he not like to hold the same course with mee? For doth hee not offer mee all the ease and pleasures of the world, if I will but this third day give over, and forbeare to labour? and doth he not fortifie his tempting of mee, as hee did of Christ, with a text of Scripture, There is nothing better to a man under the Sunne, than to eate, and drinke, and be merrie; And by this Text seekes to withdraw mee from labour? But, O my soule, it is happy for thee, that as Christ had his Text, so thou hast thine in readinesse to answer him: Sixe dayes thou shalt labour, and do all that thou hast to do: And I may the rather feare, he will use more violence in assaulting mee this day, then in the former, because this is the third day, and makes up the number of three: a number that Satan cannot abide of any; whether it be that three being the first perfect number, is therefore the most hatefull to him, as being an enemy to all perfection: or whether it be, that it puts him in mind of the blessed Trinity, a mystery hee cannot thinke of with any patience: and puts him perhaps into as great a passion, as when hee said to Christ, Art thou come to torment us before the time? And now O my soule, if this third day be so hatefull to Satan; if the number of three, be so formidable to him, thou mayst do well to take advantage of his feare, and to make this thy prayer this day; O Holy, Blessed, and Glorious Trinitie, three Persons, and one God, vouchsafe to defend mee this third day, from all the assaults of Satan, that neither his batteries may enforce mee, nor his flatteries may entice mee to to give over labouring in the course of my vocation, but that according to thy holy Ordinance, I may labour this day, and do all that I have to doe, in spight of all his stratagems and devises. For, O my soule, if thy former dayes labour have beene easie to thee; why shouldst thou now offer to give them over? and if they have beene hard and difficult; yet consider thou art going to a Sabbath; follow the example of Christ, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the Crosse, and set light by the labours of a painfull and afflicted life. But O blessed Saviour, it is not enough to have thy example, if wee have not also thy assistance. O therefore vouchsafe to assist mee with grace, and endue me with a spirit of perseverance: one drop of thy patience infused into mee, will like the drop of honey to Jonathan, be of force sufficient to refresh my spirits, and to put new vigour into my soule.
Although all the sixe dayes be dayes of labour; yet this third day especially, and more than any other, and therefore this day hath alwayes beene designed to sackcloth, and ashes: and if, O my soule, thou endure not to labour this day, which is the easiest part of thy penance: how wilt thou endure to put on sackcloth and ashes this day, which is so much a harder part? and yet as hard a part as it is, it must bee done: and O mercifull God, make mee so to doe penance this day, in sackcloth and ashes; in the Sackcloth of patience, and in the ashes of contrition, that I may never come to doe penance in the fire that is unquenchable, and leaves no ashes; Alas, no place for contrition.
There are indeed three things that are commonly reputed to be the parts of perfect holinesse; thoughts, and words, and actions; and he that continues to labour in Gods service this third day, may well be thought to have attained these three degrees: but if hee stand idle this third day, and do not labour, he will be found guiltie, at least in one of them, and then his service will never be accepted. O therefore vouchsafe O God, so to sanctifie all the thoughts of my Heart, and all the words of my mouth, and all the actions of my life, that I may be admitted this third day, a labourer in thy vineyard; and this, O my soule, will be as great a happinesse, as when Saint Paul was rapt up into the third Heaven.
It was upon this day, in the revolution of time, that God made the Starres, the Sunne, and the Moone: but alas, O Lord, what availes it mee that thou hast set starres of light in the heavens, if thou set not as well also starres of grace in my heart? they may give light to my bodily eyes; but onelyonly these to the eyes of my soule: and seeing I live by my soule, and not by my body, be pleased O God, as thou didst upon this day, furnish heaven with starres of light, so this day to furnish my soule with starres of grace, and with stars of all magnitudes: with some of patience, with some of feare, with some of devotion, but above all, with the two great starres of faith and perseverance: that I may persevere and continue my labour to serve thee this third day; not doubting but this day ended, will call up another: and so continue calling, till they bring mee at last to that true Sabbath, where there shall be no more starres of different magnitude, but all shall be onelyonly one great starre of love and charity.
A single cord is of no great strength, and a double cord, of not much greater, but a threefold cord is not easily broken: O therefore my soule, continue thy labour this third day also: that so thou mayst make thee a threefold cord of devotion, of pietie, and perseverance: and then neither the world, nor Satan shall be able to breake it. If I should say Holy, to God, once and twice, and not the third time also; I should come short in the Angels song; and how then could I looke for an Angels reward? O therefore my soule, continue to say Holy this third day also; which is to exercise thy selfe in holy endeavours, that so thou mayst beare a part in the Angels song; or rather mayst act that which the Angels doe but sing: and not be frustrate of thy expectation. Did God make the Sunne to give us light this day, with a meaning wee should stand idle this day? Alas, idlenesse needs no light: and therfore, see. God made us light this day, we may be sure hee lookes wee should labour this day, and not stand idle. O therefore my soule, do not frustrate Gods ordinance; make not the Sunne to stand idle, by thy standing idle, but while it is called to day, imploy thy selfe in honest labour; that the Sunne may see thee make use of its light; and that God may see thee make use of his creatures, to the purpose for which hee made them; lest otherwise they may justly be taken from thee, as not worthy to have them, that dost not use them, or not use them as they ought. If God have given us the comfortable gift of light this day, shall wee not in gratefulnesse give him thankes this day? and the best kind of thankes for the benefits of his creatures, is to make benefit of his creatures; and then we make benefit of light, when we do the workes of light, and stand not idle: But know my soule withall, that all labour is but idlenesse, if it be not joyned with prayer, and with thanksgiving.
It was upon this day in the revolution of time, that the wretched Judas made a bargaine with the wicked Jewes for selling of Christ; and ought not the remembrance of this be a good motive to us to stand upon our watch, that we commit no sinne this day, lest wee be taken to joyne with Judas in selling of Christ? Indeed in every sinne we commit, if we sell not Christ to the Jewes, at least we sell our soules to Satan.
If it be examined in true construction, this third day may well be counted the first day; for what day could there be before there was a Sunne? and there was no Sunne till this third day; if then O my soule thou hast laboured heretofore, before, it was day; wilt thou not labour now when the Sunne is up, and it is broad day light? But then as thou labourest in thy worldly vocation: so be not idle in thy spirituall calling: no my soule, but so labour in both thy callings, that thou mayst be found worthy to be chosen for thy labour; for it is a fearfull thing, to be of their number, of whom it is said, Many are called, but few are chosen.