Meditations and Motives for Prayer Upon the Seven Days of the Week, Frontispiece 5 – Half title 5
Thursday. Gen: 1
V14 And God said let there be lights in the firmament of the Heaven, to diuide the day from the night and let them be for signes and for Seasons, and for dayas and yeares, 15. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven etc.
16 And God made two great Lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the besser light to rule the night, he made the starks also.
MOTIVES FOR PRAYER VPONUPON THVRSDAY.
THis, O my soule, is the fourth of thy sixe daies of labour: and so one halfe of thy labour is now past, and perhaps the hardest halfe: for the former dayes were spent, in labouring I may say, up hill; labour encreased upon thee before, but will now every day abate, that very speedily now thou wilt come within sight of thy races end: and therefore no time now to faint. No my soule, but goe cheerfully on; for alacrity lightens labours; and then only is a worke hard to bee wrought, when the mind must be wrought as well as the worke.
But alas, my soule, why do I call upon thee to be willing; as though it were in thy owne power, to will what thou wouldest? Thy will I know is free, but thou hast not power to use that freedome, without the assistance of a higher power. O therefore thou great God, who onelyonly hast power over the freedome of my will, vouchsafe by the operation of thy Spirit, so to incline my heart that my will may be conformable to thy will: and that no reluctancie of the flesh may obicem ponere, to divert my soule. If my soule were free, and alone by it selfe, it would perhaps have power over the freedome of my will: but being in this prison of my body, it is drawne oftentimes to be willing against its will: that I know not which to call its will, whether that which of it selfe it would, and doth not; or that which of it selfe it doth, and would not. But thou O God, be pleased to reconcile this difference: make my will and my actions to agree in one: and both of them to concurre with thy pleasure, that I may have nothing in mee of my owne, but all of thine; not my owne will, but thy will; not my owne wayes, but thy wayes; not my owne thoughts, but thy thoughts; that thy Image, which hath beene long defaced in mee, may now at length be renued: that all things may be done away, and new come in their place, till there come to be a new Heaven, and new Earth, wherein dwelleth righteousnesse; for then, and not till then, will my soule have a freedome of will, and a power over it.
Christ bids us knock, and it shall be opened unto us, but he tels us not how often wee must knocke before it shall be opened to us: if therefore wee have knocked three dayes already, and it be not yet opened to us; yet let us not give over knocking: it may be this fourth day is the time it will be opened to us. To give over our labour now, were to make frustrate all the former dayes labours. For it is an undoubted truth, if ever piety be rewarded, it is long of perseverance. Indeed this fourth dayes labour hath a speciall influence of vertue in it; it makes, I may say, a quadrature of pietie; in which every side is a front: and is thereby the complement of all the former dayes labours: and without which their labours are abortives, and unperfect births. What was Sampson the better for three times withstanding the enticements of Delilah, when the fourth time hee yeelded, and discovered where his strength lay? No more shall wee be the better for three dayes holding on our honest courses, if now this fourth day wee give over, and turne our strength into weaknesse, by turning our labour into idlenesse.
But what is all this to keepe my soule from fainting, in this fourth dayes labour? it is not words will do it, it must be something that is reall: see then my soule, I have that to offer thee, which is truly reall; the Body and Blood of Christ; of wh…ch, upon this very day, in the revolution of time, hee instituted his blessed Sacrament: for though to my body it be bread and wine, yet to my soule, it is his body and his blood: and can there be a fitter day to meditate upon this mystery, than the day upon which it was first ordained? And will not this food be a sufficient cordiall to keepe thee from fainting in this fourth dayes labour? Yes, my soule, though thou wert dead, yet would this revive thee, and put new life into thee. But then remember, hee that will not labour must not eate: if therefore thou continue not thy labour this day, as hee hath appointed, thou must not looke to eate this food, which upon this day hee appointed to be eaten: for this is a food that must bee eaten worthily; and none worthy to eate it that doth not labour. O therefore my soule, that thou mayst not faint, be sure to eare it, and that thou maist eate it, be sure to labour and by this meanes, all differences will indifferently be composed; thou my soule, shalt be preserved, and Gods holy Name shall also be glorified.
But if this be not a sufficient cordiall to keepe thee from fainting: then adde another to it; the cordiall of Christs Ascension: for upon this very day, in the revolution of time, did Christ ascend up into heaven; and ascended in that very body, which hee had given thee before to eate; and if by eating it thou makest thy selfe one body with him; shalt not thou also in thy body ascend up thither, where hee himselfe is? But though thou canst not stand gazing this day to see him ascend, as the Apostles did, yet thou mayst this day meditate upon the benefit of his ascending; and this cannot choose but be a perfect cordiall to keepe thee from fainting: and indeed this is the day, in which most properly wee may say, By thy pretious Body and Blood, and by thy glorious Ascension, good Lord deliver us.
O therefore, most gracious God, enable mee so to labour this day; that I may be worthy to eate thy body: and make mee so to eate it, that I may bee incorporate into it; and may thereby be made capable of the benefit of thy Ascension. But till I have the benefit of ascending up in body: make mee at least to ascend up in soule; that as thou by ascending hast taken possession for both; so my soule, by ascending, may take possession for my body: that as they are joyned together here in these sixe dayes of labour: so they may be joyned there in the rest hereafter of an eternall Sabbath.
It was upon this day, in the revolution of time, that God made the fishes of the Sea, and fowles of the aire: the first living creatures that ever hee made: and if God have laboured this day, to make creatures to do us service, shall not wee continue our labour this day to do him service? And it is not onelyonly that this day made his first living creatures; but that hee hath made them such, that they had no part in provoking God to bring the great deluge upon the earth: and art not thou jealous of this, O my soule, that fishes should be more pleasing to God than thy selfe, and such as thou art? O then, not onelyonly continue thy labour this day, but let thy labours be such, they may not provoke God to bring any new destruction upon the world, but that when the wicked shall perish in their sinnes, by the angry hand of God, yet thy workes, like fishes, may escape the furie of his wrath, and may swimme securely in the Ocean of his mercy. And now my soule, thou mayst justly conclude, O great and gracious God, as thou hast safely brought mee to the beginning of this day, so vouchsafe to to bring mee safely to the ending; and let the meditations of my heart this day, be first of the great mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ: and then of the great benefit of his Acension into heaven: and lastly of the wonderfull creatures, thou didst this day make in the sea; the small fishes, in number innumerable; the great whales, in magnitude incredible; and all for the use of man, and to be under his Dominion; that our labour this day may be chiefly to prayse thee for thy goodnesse, and for the wonderfull workes which thou hast done for the children of men.
A Prayer for Thursday.
O Most gracious and glorious God, give mee leave to be the importunate Abraham still; I come to thee with new Petitions: for when thou hast done one thing for mee, thou must vouchsafe to do another, and then another, and more and more still, till it come to be said, Thou hast wrought all our workes in us. For alas, of our selves we are able to do nothing: Although therefore thou hast vouchsafed to heare my petition for health, and my petition to make mee labour, and my petition to direct my labours; yet all these will do mee but little good, if thou please not withall to blesse my labours: they may bee sufficient, but onelyonly thy blessing effectuall to perfect thy worke in mee. Thou gavest Caine health, and a will to labour; and didst direct him what hee should doe: but because thou didst not blesse his labours, and that which hee did, they were all unprofitable to him, and did him no good. O therefore most gracious God, be pleased to give a blessing to my labours, and to all that I have to doe: for alas, how many are there that breake their sleepe to rise up early, and eate the bread of carefulnesse, and yet prosper not, and all because thou openest not thy hand, and fillest them with thy blessing? For it is not in him that willeth, nor in him that runneth, but … O God, that blessest their labours. Neither is learning to the studious, nor victory to the strong, nor prosperity to the Thrifty, but all must come from the hand onelyonly of thy blessing. O therefore be pleased O God to give a blessing to my labours, and to all that I goe about: to my prayers, and to all I pray for according to thy will: and then in what estate soever thou please to place mee, I am sure to be safe. Thy blessing kept Jonas as safe in the Whales belly, as if hee had lien all the while in a castle. Thy blessing made the dead wombe of Sarah bring forth a Sonne, when nature and reason were both against it. Thy blessing made the little flocke of Jacob to grow greater then the great flocke of his father in law Laban. Thy Blessing made Daniel to looke fairer and fatter with his pulse and water, than other did, with the dainty faire of Nebuchadnezzar; for thy blessing hath an influence in it; which makes any estate happy, how farre from happinesse soever the estate it selfe be. Bee pleased therefore, O God, if thou send mee poverty, to give mee withall contentment: for where poverty and contentment goe together; there thy blessing of contentment makes povertie it selfe a blessing. If thou send mee sicknesse, then give mee withall patience: for where sicknesse and patience are together, there thy blessing of patience makes sicknesse it selfe a blessing. If thou send mee temptations, then give mee withall faith; for thy blessing of faith makes temptations themselves blessings: that as it is truly said, in regard of us; All things worke together for the best to them that feare God: So in regard of thee O God, it may as truly be said, All things worke together for the best to them whom thou blessest. O therefore be pleased, O God to blesse me and all my labours; O blesse mee, that I may blesse thee; thou mee with grace, I thee with praise: and that all that is within mee may blesse and praise thy glorious Name.
MOTIVES FOR PRAYER VPONUPON FRIDAY