SECT. I.

DEvotion is the life of Religion, the very soule of Piety, the highest imploiment of grace; and no other than the pre­possession of heaven by the Saints of God here upon earth; every improvement whereof is of more advan­tage and value to the Chri­stian soul, than all the profit & contentments which this [Page 2] world can afford it.

There is a kind of Art of Devotion (if we can attain unto it) whereby the pra­ctice thereof may bee much advanced: We have known indeed some holy soules, which out of the generall precepts of piety, and their own happy experiments of Gods mercy, have, through the grace of God, grown to a great measure of perfecti­on this way; which yet might have been much ex­pedited, and compleated, by those helps, which the grea­ter illumination and experi­ence of others might have afforded them: Like as we see it in other faculties; there are those, who out of a na­turall dexterity, and their own frequent practice, have [Page 3] got into a safe posture of defence, and have handled their weapon with com­mendable skill, whom yet the Fence-schoole might have raised to an higher pitch of cunning: As nature is perfited, so grace is not a little furthered by Art; since it pleaseth the wisedome of God, to work ordinarily upon the soul, not by the im­mediate power of miracle, but in such methods, and by such means, as may most conduce to his blessed ends. It is true, that all our good motions come from the Spi­rit of God; neither is it lesse true, that all the good coun­sails of others proceed from the same Spirit; & that good Spirit cannot be crosse to it­self; he therefore that infu­ses [Page 4] good thoughts into us, suggests also such directions, as may render us apt both to receive and improve them: If God be bounteous, we may not be idle, and neglective of our spirituall aids.

SECT. II.

IF you tell me (by way of instance in a particular act of Devotion) that there is a gift of prayer, and that the Spirit of God is not tied to rules; I yeeld both these; but withall, I must say there are also helps of prayer, and that we must not expect immediate inspirations: I find the world much mista­ken in both; They thinke [Page 5] that man hath the gift of prayer, that can utter the thoughts of his heart round­ly unto God, that can ex­presse himself smoothly in the phrase of the holy Ghost, and presse God with most proper words, & pas­sionate vehemence: And surely this is a commendable faculty whersoever it is: but this is not the gift of prayer; you may call it, if you will, the gift of Elocution. Doe wee say that man hath the gift of pleading, that can talk eloquently at the Barre, that can in good termes loud and earnestly importune the Judge for his Client; and not rather hee that brings the strongest reason, and quotes his books, and pre­cedents with most truth, [Page 6] and clearest evidence, so as may convince the Jury, and perswade the Judge? Do wee say hee hath the gift of Preaching, that can deliver himself in a flowing manner of speech, to his hearers, that can cite Scriptures, or Fa­thers, that can please his auditory with the flowers of Rhetorick; or rather, he, that can divide the Word aright, interpret it soundly, apply it judiciously, put it home to the Conscience, speaking in the evidence of the Spirit, powerfully con­vincing the gainsayers, com­forting the dejected, and drawing every soule nearer to heaven? The like must we say for prayer; the gift whereof hee may be truely said to have, not that hath [Page 7] the most rennible tongue, (for prayer is not so much a matter of the lips, as of the heart) but he, that hath the most illuminated apprehen­sion of the God to whom he speakes, the deepest sense of his own wants, the most ea­ger longings after grace, the ferventest desires of supplies from heaven; and in a word, whose heart sends up the strongest groanes and cries to the Father of mercies.

Neither may we look for Enthusiasmes, & immediate inspirations; putting our selves upon Gods Spirit, in the solemn exercises of our invocation, without heed, or meditation; the dangerous inconvenience wherof hath been too often found in the rash, and unwarrantable ex­pressions [Page 8] that have fallen from the mouths of unwary suppliants; but we must ad­dresse our selves with due preparation, to that holy worke; we must digest our sutes; & fore-order our sup­plications to the Almighty; so that there may be excel­lent and necessary use of meet rules of our Devotion.

He, whose Spirit helps us to pray, and whose lips taughts us how to pray, is an all-sufficient example for us: all the skill of men, and An­gels, cannot afford a more exquisite modell of suppli­catory Devotion, than that blessed Saviour of ours gave us in the mount; led in by a divine, and heart-raising preface, carried out with a a strong and heavenly en­forcement; [Page 9] wherein an aw­full compellation makes way for petition; and peti­tion makes way for thanks­giving; the petitions mar­shalled in a most exact or­der, for spirituall blessings, which have an immediate concernment of God, in the first place; then for tempo­rall favours, which concern our selves, in the second; so punctuall a method had notbeen observed by him that heareth prayers, if it had been all one to him, to have had our Devotions confused, and tumultuary.

SECT. III.

THere is commonly much mistaking of Devotion, as if it were no­thing [Page 10] but an act of vocall prayer, expiring with that holy breath, and revived with the next taske of our invocation; which is usually measured of many, by fre­quence, length, smoothnesse of expression, lowdnes, vehe­mence; Whereas, indeed it is rather an habituall dispo­sition of an holy soul, sweet­ly conversing with God, in all the forms of an heavenly (yet awfull) familiarity; and a constant entertainment of our selves here below with the God of spirits, in our sanctified thoughts, and affections; One of the no­ble exercises whereof, is our accesse to the throne of grace in our prayers; whereto may be added, the ordering of our holy atten­dance [Page 11] upon the blessed word & sacraments of the Almighty: Nothing hinders therefore, but that a stam­mering suppliant may reach to a more eminent devoti­on, than hee that can deliver himself in the most fluent and patheticall formes of Elocution; and that our si­lence may bee more devout than our noise. We shall not need to send you to the Cels or Cloysters for this skill; although it will hardly be believed, how far some of their Contemplative men have gone in the Theory hereof; Perhaps, like as Chymists give rules for the attaining of that Elixir, which they never found; for sure they must needs fail of that perfection they pre­tend; [Page 12] who erre commonly in the object of it, alwayes in the ground of it, which is faith; stripped, by their o­pinion, of the comfortablest use of it, certainty of appli­cation.

SECT. IV.

AS there may be many resemblances betwixt Light and Devotion, so this one especially; that as there is a light universally diffu­sed through the aire, and there is a particular recol­lection of light into the bo­dy of the Sun and Stars; so it is in Devotion; There is a generall kind of Devotion that goes through the re­newed heart and life of a [Page 13] Christian, which wee may terme Habitual, and Virtual; and there is a speciall, and fixed exercise of Devotion, which we name Actuall.

The soule that is rightly affected to God, is never void of an holy Devotion; where ever it is, what ever it doth, it is still lifted up to God, and fastned upon him, and converses with him; ever serving the Lord in feare, and rejoycing in him with trembling.

For the effectuall perfor­mance whereof, it is requi­site first, that the heart bee setled in a right apprehen­sion of our God; without which, our Devotion is not thanklesse onely, but sinfull: With much labour there­fore, & agitation of a mind [Page 14] illuminated from above, we must find our selves wrought to an high, awfull, adorative, and constant con­ceit of that incomprehensi­ble Majesty, in whom wee live, and move, and are; One God, in three most glorious Persons, infinite in wisdome, in power, in ju­stice, in mercy, in provi­dence, in all that he is, in all that he hath, in all that he doth; dwelling in light in­accessible, attended with thousand thousands of An­gels; whom yet we neither can know, (neither would it availe us if we could) but in the face of the eternall Son of his Love, our blessed Mediatour God and Man; who sits at the right hand of Majesty in the highest [Page 15] heavens; from the sight of whose glorious humanity, we comfortably rise to the contemplation of that infi­nite Deity, whereto it is in­separably united; in and by him, (made ours by a lively Faith) finding our persons, and obedience accepted, ex­pecting our ful redemption, and blessednesse. Here, here must our hearts be unremo­veably fixed; In his light must we see light: no clou­dy occurrences of this world, no busie imploy­ments, no painfull sufferings must hinder us from thus seeing him that is invisible.

SECT. V.

NEither doth the devout heart see his Grd aloof [Page 16] off, as dwelling above, in the circle of heaven, but beholds that infinite Spirit really present with him; The Lord is upon thy right hand, saith the Psalmist. Our bodily eye doth not more certain­ly see our owne flesh, than the spirituall eye sees God, close by us; Yea in us; A mans own soule is not so in­timate to himselfe, as God is to his soule; neither do we move by him only, but in him: What a sweet con­versation therefore, hath the holy soul with his God? What heavenly conferences have they two, which the world is not privy to; whiles God entertains the soul with the divine motions of his Spirit, the soul entertaines God with gracious com­pliances? [Page 17] Is the heart heavy with the grievous pressures of affliction? the soule goes in to his God, and pours out it selfe before him in ear­nest bemoanings, and sup­plications; the God of mer­cy answers the soule again, with seasonable refreshings of comfort: Is the heart se­cretly wounded and blee­ding with the conscience of some sinne? it speedily be­takes it selfe to the great Physician of the soul, who forthwith applyes the balm of Gilead for an unfailing and present cure: Is the heart distracted with doubts? the soule retires to that inward Oracle of God for counsail, he returnes to the soule an happy settlement of just re­solution: Is the heart deeply [Page 18] affected with the sense of some speciall favour from his God? the soul breaks forth into the passionate voice of praise & thanksgi­ving; God returns the plea­sing testimony of a cheerful acceptation: Oh blessed soul, that hath a God to go unto upon all occasions; Oh infi­nite mercy of a God, that vouchsafes to stoop to such intirents with dust & ashes. It was a gracious speech of Dr. Preston a worthy Divine upon his death-bed, now breathing towards heaven, That he should change his place not his company: His conversa­tion was now before hand with his God, and his holy Angels; the only difference was, that he was now going to a more free and full frui­tion [Page 19] of the Lord of life, in that region of glory above, whom he had truly (though with weaknes and imperfe­ction) injoyed in this vale of tears.

SECT. VI.

NOw, that these mutuall respects may be sure not to coole with intermission, the devout heart takes all occasions both to thinke of God, and to speak to him. There is nothing that hee sees, which doth not bring God to his thoughts. In­deed, there is no creature, werein there are not mani­fest footsteps of omnipo­tence; Yea, which hath not a tongue to tell us of it's Maker. The heaven declare Psa. 19 1, 2 [Page 20] the glory of God, and the fir­mament sheweth his handy­worke; one day telleth another, and one night certifieth ano­ther: Yea, O Lord, how mani­fold are thy works! in wisdome Psa. 104. 24. hast thou made them all: The earth is full of thy riches, so is the great and wide sea, where are things creeping innume­rable, both small and great beasts: Every herb, flower, spire of grasse, every twig and leaf; every worm and fly; every scale and feather; every billow and meteor, speaks the power and wis­dom of their infinite Crea­tor; Solomon sends the slug­gard to the Ant; Esay sends the Jews to the Ox and the Asse; Our Saviour sends his Disciples to the Ravens, & to the Lillies of the field; [Page 21] There is no creature of whom we may not learn something; we shall have spent our time ill in this great schoole of the world, if in such store of Lessons, we be non-proficients in Devotion. Vaine Idolaters make to themselves Images of God, whereby they sin­fully represent him to their thoughts and adoration; could they have the wit and grace to see it, God hath ta­ken order to spare them this labor, in that he hath stam­ped in every creature such impressions of his infinite power, wisdome, goodnes, as may give us just occasion to worship and praise him with a safe and holy advan­tage to our soules: For the invisible things of God, from [Page 22] the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternall power and Godhead. And indeed, where­fore serve all the volumes of Naturall History, but to be so many Commentaries upon the severall creatures, wherein we may read God; and even those men who have not the skill, or leisure to peruse them, may yet out of their own thoughts, and observation, raise from the sight of all the works of God sufficient matter to glorifie him. Who can be so stupid as not to take notice of the industry of the Bee, the providence of the Ant, the cunning of the Spider, the reviving of the Flye, the worms endeavour of re­venge, [Page 23] the subtilty of the Foxe, the sagacity of the Hedge-hog, the innocence and profitablenesse of the Sheep, the laboriousnesse of the Oxe, the obsequiousness of the Dog, the timorous shifts of the Hare, the nim­blenesse of the Dear, the generosity of the Lion, the courage of the Horse, the fiercenesse of the Tiger, the chearful musick of Birds, the harmlesnesse of the Dove, the true love of the Turtle, the Cocks observation of time, the Swallows archi­tecture, shortly, (for it were easie here to be endlesse) of the severall qualities, and dispositions of every of those our fellow-creatures, with whom we converse on the face of the earth; and [Page 24] who that takes notice of them, cannot fetch from every act, and motion of theirs, some monition of duty, and occasion of devout thoughts? Surely, I fear ma­ny of us Christians, may justly accuse our selves as too neglective of our duty this way; that having thus long spent our time in this great Academy of the world, we have not, by so many silent documents, lear­ned to ascribe more glory to our Creator; I doubt those creatures if they could ex­change their brutality with our reason, being now so docible as to learn of us so far as their sense can reach, would approve themselves better Scholars to us, than we have been unto them.

[Page 25] Withall, I must add that the devout soul stands not alwaies in need of such out­ward monitors, but findes within it selfe, sufficient in­citements to raise up it self to a continuall minding of God; and makes use of them accordingly; and, if at any time, being taken up with importunate occasions of the world, it finds God mis­sing but an hour, it chides it selfe for such neglect, and sets it self to recover him with so much more eager affection: as the faithfull spouse in the Canticles, when Cant. 5. 6. she finds him whom her soul loved, withdrawn from her for a season, puts her self in­to a speedy search after him, and gives not over till shee have attained his presence.

SECT. VII.

NOw as these many mo­nitors both outward & inward, must elevate our hearts very frequently, to God; so those raised hearts must not entertain him with a dumbe contemplation, but must speak to him in the language of spirits: All oc­casions therefore must be taken of sending forth pious and heavenly ejaculations to God; The devout soul may doe this more than an hun­dred times a day, without any hindrance to his spe­ciall vocation: The Hus­wife at her Wheel, the Weaver at his Loome, the Husbandman at his Plough, the Artificer in his Shop, [Page 27] the Traveller in his way, the Merchant in his Warehouse may thus enjoy God in his busiest imploiment; For, the soule of man is a nimble spirit; and the language of thoughts needs not take up time; and though we now, for examples sake, cloath them in words, yet in our practice we need not: Now these Ejaculations may bee either at large, or Occasionall: At large, such as that of old Jacob, O Lord I have waited for thy salvation; Or that of David, O save me for thy mercies sake: And these ei­ther in matter of Humiliati­on, or of Imploration, or of Thanksgiving: In all which, we cannot follow a better pattern than the sweet singer of Israel, whose heavenly [Page 28] conceptions we may either borrow, or imitate.

In way of humiliation, such as these. Heal my soul O Lord, for I have sinned against thee. Psa. 41. 4. Oh remember not my old sins, 79. 8. but have mercy upon mee. If thou wilt be extreme to mark 130 3. what is done amisse, O Lord who may abide it? Lord thou knowest the thoughts of man 94. 11. that they are but vaine. O God why abhorrest thou my soul, and hidest thy face from me.

In way of Imploration. Up Lord, and help me O God; Oh 3. 7. let my heart bee sound in thy statutes, that I be not ashamed. Lord, where are thy old loving 89. 48. mercies? Oh deliver me, for I am helplesse, and my heart is 109. 21. wounded within me. Comfort the soul of thy servant, for un­to 86. 4. thee O Lord, doe I lift up [Page 29] my soul. Go not far from me O Psal. 71. 10. God. O knit my heart unto thee that I may fear thy name. 86. 11. Thou art my helper and redee­mer, 70. 6. O Lord make no long tar­rying. Oh be thou my helpe in trouble, for vain is the help of 60. 11. man. Oh guide me with thy 71. 23. counsell, and after that receive me to thy glory. My time is in thy hand, deliver me from the 31. 17. hands of mine enemies. Oh withdraw not thy mercy from 40. 14. me, O Lord. Lead me O Lord 5. 8. in thy righteousness because of mine enemies. O let my soul 119. penult. live, and it shall praise thee.

In way of Thanksgiving: Oh God, wonderfull art thou in 68. 35. thine holy places. O Lord, how glorious are thy workes! 92. 5. & thy thoughts are very deep. Oh God, who is like unto thee! 71. 17. The Lord, liveth, and blessed 18. 47. [Page 30] be my strong helper. Lord, thy loving kindnesse is better Psa. 63. 4. than life it self. All thy works praise thee, O Lord, and thy 145. 10. Saints give thanks unto thee. Oh how manifold are thy workes! in wisdome hast thou 04. 25. made them all. Who is God but 18. 31. the Lord, and who hath any strength except our God? Wee will rejoyce in thy salvation, 20. 5. and triumph in thy name O Lord. O that men would praise 107. 8. the Lord for his goodnesse. Oh how plentifull is thy goodnesse, 31. 21. which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee! Thou Lord 9. 10. hast never failed them that seek thee. In thy presence is the 16. 12. fulnesse of joy, and at thy right hand there is pleasure for e­vermore. Lord, what is man 8. 4. that thou art mindfull of him? Not unto us Lord, not unto us, 115. 1. [Page 31] but unto thy Name give the praise.

SECT. VIII.

OCcasionall Ejaculations are such, as are moved upon the presence of some such object as carries a kind of relation or analogy to that holy thought which we have entertained. Of this nature I find that, which was practised in S. Basils time; that, upon the lighting of candles, the manner was to blesse God in these words, Praise be to God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy ghost; which that Father says was anciently used; but who was the Author of it he professeth to bee un­known: [Page 32] to the same purpose was the Lucernarium, which was a part of the evening office of old; For which, there may seem to be more colour of reason, than for the ordinary fashion of ap­precation, upon occasion of our sneesing; which is expected, and practised by many, out of civility: Old and reverend Beza was wont to move his hat with the rest of the company, but to say withall, Gramercy Madame la Superstition; Now, howso­ever in this, or any other practice, which may seeme to carry with it a smacke of Superstition, our Devotion may be groundlesse and un­seasonable, yet nothing hin­ders but that we may take just & holy hints of raising [Page 33] up our hearts to our God. As when we doe first look forth, and see the heavens over our heads, to thinke, The heavens declare thy glory O God. When we see the Psal. 19. 1. day breaking, or the Sun ri­sing, The day is thine, and the night is thine, thou hast prepa­red 74. 17. the light and the Sunne. When the light shines in our faces, Thou deckest thy self 97. 11. with light as with a garment; or, Light is sprung up for the 36. 9. righteous. When we see our Garden imbellisht with flowers, The earth is full of 39. 5. the goodnesse of the Lord. When we see a rough sea, The waves of the sea rage hor­ribly, 93. 5. and are mighty; but the Lord that dwelleth on high, is mightier than they. When we see the darknesse of the [Page 34] night, The darknes is no dark­nes with thee. When we rise Psa. 139. 11 up from our bed, or our seat, Lord thou knowest my 139. 2. down-sitting, and my up-rising; thou understādest my thoughts afar off. When we wash our hands, Wash thou me, O Lord, 51. 7. and I shall be whiter than snow. When we are walking forth, O hold thou up my go­ings 17. 5. in thy paths, that my foot­steps slip not. When we hear a passing-bell, Oh teach me to 90. 12. number my dayes, that I may apply my heart to wisdome: or, Lord, let me know my end, 39. 5. and the number of my dayes.

Thus may wee dart out our holy desires to God, upon all occasions; Where­in, heed must be taken that our Ejaculations be not, on the one side, so rare, that our [Page 35] hearts grow to be hard and strange to God, but that they may be held on in con­tinuall acknowledgement of him, and acquaintance with him; and, on the other side, that they be not so overfre­quent in their perpetual rei­teration, as that they grow to be (like that of the Ro­mish votaries) fashionable; which if great care bee not taken, will fall out, to the utter frustrating of our De­votion. Shortly, let the measure of these devout glances be, the preserving our hearts in a constant ten­dernes, & godly disposition; which shall be further actu­ated upon all opportunities, by the exercises of our more enlarged, and fixed Devotion: Whereof there is [Page 36] the same variety that there is in Gods services, about which it is conversant.

There are three maine businesses wherein God ac­counts his service, here be­low, to consist; The first is, our address to the throne of Grace, and the pouring out of our souls before him in our prayers: The second is, the reading and hearing his most holy Word; The third is, the receit of his blessed Sacraments; In all which there is place and use for a fetled Devotion.

SECT. IX.

TO begin with the first work of our actual, and enlarged Devotion: Some [Page 37] things are pre-required of us, to make us capable of the comfortable perfor­mance of so holy and hea­venly a duty; namely, that the heart be cleane first, and then that it be cleare: clean from the defilement of any knowne sin; cleare from all intanglements and distra­ctions: What doe wee in our prayers, but converse with the Almighty? and ei­ther carry our soules up to him, or bring him down to us; now, it is no hoping, that we can entertaine God in an impure heart: Even wee men loath a nasty and sluttish lodging; how much more will the holy God ab­horre an habitation spiritu­ally filthy? I find that even the unclean spirit made that [Page 38] a motive of his repossession, that he found the house swept Luk. 11. 25 and garnished: Satans clean­linesse is pollution; and his garnishment, disorder and wickednesse; without this he findes no welcome; Each spirit looks for an enter­tainment answerable to his nature; How much more will that God of spirits, who is purity it selfe, look to be harboured in a clean­ly room? Into a malicious soul wisdome shall not enter, nor Wisd. 1. 4. dwell in the body that is subject unto sin. What friend would be pleased that wee should lodge him in a Lazar-house? or who would abide to have a Toad lie in his bosome? Surely, it is not in the verge of created nature to yeeld any thing that can be so noi­some [Page 39] and odious to the sense of man, as sin is to that ab­solute, and essentiall Good­nesse: His pure eyes cannot indure the sight of sin; nei­ther can he indure that the sinner should come within the sight of him; Away from me, yee wicked, is his charge, both here, and here­after. It is the privilege and happinesse of the pure in heart, that they shall see God; see him both in the end, and in the way; enjoy­ing the vision of him, both in grace, and in glory: this is no object for impure eys: Descend into thy self there­fore, and ransack thy heart, who ever wouldst be a true Client of Devotion; search all the close windings of it, with the torches of the law [Page 40] of God; and if there be a­ny iniquity found lurking in the secret corners therof, drag it out and abandon it; and when thou hast done, that thy fingers may retaine no pollution, say with the holy Psalmist; I will wash Psa. 26. 6. my hands in innocence, so will I goe to thine Altar. Presume not to approach the Altar of God, there to offer the Sacrifice of thy Devotion, with uncleane hands: Else thine offering shall be so far from winning an acceptance for thee, from the hands of God; as that thou shalt make thine offering abomi­nable. And if a beast touch the Mount, it shall dye.

SECT. X.

AS the soul must be clean from sin, so it must bee clear and free from distra­ctions. The intent of our Devotion is to welcome God to our hearts; now where shall we entertain him, if the rooms be full thronged with cares, and turbulent passions? The Spirit of God will not en­dure to be crowded up to­gether with the world in our strait lodgings; An holy vacuity must make way for him in our bosoms. The divine patterne of De­votion, in whom the God­head dwelt bodily, retires into the Mount to pray; he that carried heaven with [Page 42] him, would even thus leave the world below him. Alas, how can we hope to mount up to heaven in our thoughts, if wee have the clogs of earthly cares hang­ing at our heels: Yea, not only must there bee a shut­ting out of all distractive cares, and passions, which are professed enemies to our quiet conversing with God in our Devotion, but there must be also a denuda­tion of the minde from all those images of our phan­tasie (how pleasing soever) that may carry our thoughts aside from those better ob­jects: We are like to foolish children, who when they should be stedfastly looking on their books, are apt to gaze after every butter-fly, [Page 43] that passetin by them; here must be therefore a carefull intention of our thoughts, a restraint from all vaine, and idle rovings, and an holding our selves close to our di­vine taske: Whiles Martha is troubled about many things, her devouter sister, having chosen the better part, plyes the one thing ne­cessary, which shall never be taken from her; and whiles Martha would feast Christ with bodily fare, she is fea­sted of Christ with heaven­ly delicacies.

SECT. XI.

AFter the heart is thus cleansed and thus clea­red, it must bee in the next [Page 42] place decked with true hu­mility, the cheapest, yet best ornament of the soul. If the wise man tel us, that pride is the beginning of sin; surely, all Ecl. 10. gracious dispositions must begin in humility. The foun­dation of all high and state­ly buildings must be laid low: They are the lowly valleys that soak in the showres of heaven, which the steep hils shelve off, and prove dry and fruitlesse. To that man will I look (saith Esa. 66. 2. God) that is poore, and of [...] contrite spirit, and trembleth at my Word: Hence it is, that the more eminent any man is in grace, the more he is de­jected in the sight of God; The father of the faithfull comes to God under the Gen. 18. 27 stile of dust, and ashes: David [Page 45] under the stile of a worm and no man; Agur the son of Ja­keh, Pro. 30. 2. under the title of more brutish than any man, and one that hath not the understand­ing of a man; John Baptist, as not morthy to carry the shooes Mat. 3. 11. of Christ after him; Paul, as Ephes. 3. 8. the least of Saints, and chiefe of sinners: On the contrary, the more vile any man is in his owne eyes, and the more dejected in the sight of God, the higher he is exalted in Gods favour: Like as the Conduict-water, by how much lower it fals, the high­er it riseth. When therefore we would appeare before God, in our solemn devoti­ons, we must see that we empty our selves of all proud conceits, and find our hearts fully convinced of [Page 46] our own vilenesse, yea no­thingness in his sight. Down, down with all our high thoughts; fall wee low be­fore our great and holy God; not to the earth only, but to the very brim of hell, in the Conscience of our owne guiltinesse; for though the miserable wretchednesse of our nature may bee a sufficient cause of our humi­liation, yet the considerati­on of our detestable sinful­nesse is that which will de­presse us lowest in the sight of God.

SECT. XII.

IT is fit the exercise of our Devotion should begin in an humble confession of our unword [...]nesse. Now [Page 47] for the effectual furtherance of this our self-dejection, it will be requisite to bend our eyes upon a threefold ob­ject; To look inward into our selves, upward to hea­ven, downwards to hell. First, to turne our eyes into our bosomes, and to take a view (not without a secret self-loathing) of that world of corruption that hath lien hidden there; & therupon to accuse, arraign, and condemn our selves before that awful Tribunall of the Judge of heaven and earth; both of that originall pollution, which we have drawn from the tainted loins of our first parents; and those innume­rable actuall wickednesses derived there-from; which have stained our persons [Page 48] and lives. How can we bee but throughly humbled, to see our souls utterly over­spread with the odious and abominable leprosie of sin: We find that Uzziah bore up stoutly a while, against the Priests of the Lord, in the maintenance of his sa­crilegious presumption, but when he saw himself turn'd Lazar, on the suddain, he is confounded in himselfe, and in a depth of shame hastens away from the presence of God to a sad, and penitenti­all retirednes. We should need no other arguments to loath our selves, than the sight of our own faces, so miserably deformed with the nasty and hatefull scurse of our iniquity: Neither only must we be content to [Page 49] shame, and grieve our eyes with the foule nature and condition of our sins, but we must represent them to our selves in all the circumstan­ces that may aggravate their nainousnesse. Alas, Lord, any one sin is able to damne a soul; I have committed many, yea numberlesse: they have not possessed me single, but, as that evill spirit said, their name is Legion; neither have I committed these sins once, but often; Thine Angels (that were) sinned but once, and are damned for ever; I have frequently reiterated the same offences, where (then were it not for thy mercy) shall I appear? nei­ther have I only done them in the time of my igno­rance, but since I received [Page 50] sufficient illumination from thee; It is not in the darke that I have stumbled, and faln, but in the midst of the clear light and sun-shine of thy Gospel, and in the very face of thee my God; neither have these been the slips of my weaknesse, but the bold miscarriages of my pre­sumption; neither have I of­fended out of inconsiderati­on, and inadvertency, but af­ter and against the checks of a remurmuring conscience; after so many gracious war­nings, and fatherly admo­nitions, after so many fear­full examples of thy judge­ments, after so infinite obli­gations of thy favours.

And thus having look't inward into ourselves, and taken an impartiall view of [Page 51] our own vilenesse, it will be requisite to cast our eyes upward unto heaven, and there to see against whom we have offended; even a­gainst an infinite Majesty, & power, an infinite mercy, an infinite justice; That power and Majesty which hath spread out the heavens as a Curtain, and hath laid the foundations of the earth so sure that it cannot be mo­ved; who hath shut up the sea with bars and doors, and Job 38. said, Hitherto shalt thou come and no further, and here shalt thou stay thy proud waves; who doth whatsoever he will in hea­ven and in earth; who com­mandeth the Devils to their chains, able therfore to take infinite vengeance on sin­ners. [Page 52] That mercy of God the Father, who gave his own Son out of his bosome for our redemption; That mercy of God the Son, who, Phil. 2. 6, 7, 8, &c. thinking it no robbery to be equall unto God, for our sakes made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant; and being found in fashi­on as a man, humbled him­self, and became obedient to the death, even the accursed death of the Crosse; That mercy of God the holy Ghost, who hath made that Christ mine, and hath sea­led to my soule the benefit of that blessed Redemption; Lastly, that justice of God, which as it is infinitely dis­pleased with every sin, so will be sure to take infinite [Page 53] vengeance on every impe­nitent sinner.

And from hence it will be fit and seasonable for the devout soul, to look down­ward into that horrible pit of eternall confusion; and there to see the dreadful, un­speakable, unimaginable torments of the damned; to represent unto it selfe the terrors of those everlasting burnings; the fire and brim­stone of that infernall To­phet; the mercilesse and un­wearible tyranny of those hellish executioners; the shrieks, and howlings, and gnashings of the tormented; the unpitiable, intermin­able, unmitigable tortures of those ever-dying, and yet never-dying souls. By all which, we shall justly af­fright [Page 54] our selves into a deep sense of the dangerous and wofull condition wherein we lie in the state of nature and impenitence, and shal be driven with an holy eager­nesse to seek for Christ, the Son of the ever-living God, our blessed Mediator; in and by whom only, we can look for the remission of all these our sins, a reconcilement with this most powerfull, mercifull, just God, and a deliverance of our soules from the hand of the ne­thermost hell.

SECT. XIII.

IT shall not now need, or boot to bid the soul which is truely apprehensive of all these, to sue importunately [Page 55] to the Lord of life for a free­dome, and rescue from these infinite paines of eternall death, to which our sinnes have forfeited it; and for a present happy recovery of that favour, which is better than life. Have we heard, or can wee imagine some hai­nous Malefactor, that hath received the sentence of death, and is now bound hand, and foot, ready to be cast into a Den of Lions, or a burning furnace, with what strong cries, and pas­sionate obsecrations he plies the Judge for mercy? wee may then conceive some little image of the vehement sute, and strong cries of a soul truly sensible of the danger of Gods wrath de­served by his sin, and the [Page 56] dreadful consequents of de­served imminent damnati­on; Although what propor­tion is there betwixt a weak creature, and the Almighty; betwixt a moment, and eter­nity?

Hereupon therefore fol­lowes a vehement longing (uncapable of a denial) after Christ; and fervent aspirati­ons to that Saviour, by whom only we receive a ful and gracious deliverance from death and hell; and a full pardon and remission of all our sins; and if this come not the sooner, strong knockings at the gates of heaven, even so loud that the Father of mercies can­not but hear & open: Never did any contrite soul beg of God, that was not preven­ted [Page 57] by his mercy; much more doth he condescend when he is strongly intrea­ted; our very intreaties are from him, hee puts into us those desires which he gra­ciously answers: Now ther­fore doth the devout soul see the God of all comfort to bow the heavens, and come down with healing in his wings; and heare him speak peace unto the heart thus throughly humbled; Fear not, thou shalt not die but live. Be of good cheare, thy sins are forgiven thee: Here therefore comes in that divine grace of Faith, effectually apprehending Christ the Saviour, and his infinite satisfaction and me­rits; comfortably applying all the sweet promises of [Page 58] the Gospel; clinging close to that all-sufficient Redee­mer; and in his most per­fect obedience emboldning it selfe, to challenge a free­dome of accesse to God, and confidence of appearance before the Tribunal of hea­ven; and now the soule clad with Christs righteousnesse, dares look God in the face, and can both challenge and triumph over all the pow­ers of darknesse: For, being justified by faith, we have peach Rom. 5. 1. with God through Jesu Christ our Lord.

SECT. XIV.

BY how much deeper the sense of our misery and danger is, so much more welcome and joyfull is the [Page 59] apprehension of our deli­verance; and so much more thankfull is our acknow­ledgement of that unspeak­able mercy: The soule there­fore that is truly sensible of this wonderfull goodnesse of it's God; as it feels a mar­vellous joy in it self, so it cannot but break sorth into cheerfull and holy (though secret) gratulations: The Ps. 103. 8. Lord is full of compassion, and mercy, long suffering, and of great goodnes; he keepeth not his anger for ever; he hath not dealt with me after my sins, nor rewarded me after mine ini­quities. What shal I render un­to Ps. 116. 12, 13. the Lord for all his benefits towards me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will thank Ps. 119. 18, 21, &c. thee, for thou hast heard me, & [Page 60] hast not given me over to death, but art become my salva­tion. O speak good of the Lord all ye works of his; Praise thou the Lord O my soul.

SECT. XV.

THe more feelingly the soul apprehends, and the more thankfully it di­gests the favours of God in its pardon, and deliverance, the more freely doth the God of mercy impart him­self to it; and the more God imparts himself to it, the more it loves him, and the more heavenly acquain­tance and entirenesse grows betwixt God & it; and now that love which was but a spark at first grows into a flame; and wholly takes up the soul. This fire of heaven­ly love in the devout soul, is, [Page 61] and must be heightned more and more, by the addition of the holy incentives of di­vine thoughts, concerning the means of our freedome and deliverance. And here, offers it self to us that bot­tomlesse abysse of mercy in our Redemption, wrought by the eternall Son of God, Jesus Christ the just, by whose stripes we are healed; by whose bloud we are ran­somed; where none will be­fit us but admiring and ado­ring notions. We shall not disparage you, O ye blessed Angels, and Arch-angels of Heaven, if we shall say, ye are not able to look into the bottome of this divine love, wherwith God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoe­ver [Page 62] beleeveth in him should not perish, but have everla­sting life: None, oh none can comprehend this mercy, but he that wrought it. Lord what a transcendent, what an infinite love is this? what an object was this for thee to love? A world of sinners Impotent, wretched crea­tures, that had dispighted thee, that had no motive for thy favour but deformity, misery, professed enmity? It had been mercy enough in thee, that thou didst no [...] damn the world; but that thou shouldst love it, [...] more than mercy. It was thy great goodnesse to forbeare the acts of just vengeance to the sinful world of man; but to give unto it tokens of thy love, is a favour beyond all [Page 63] expression. The least gift from thee had been more than the world could hope for; but that thou shouldst not stick to give thine only begotten Son, the Son of thy love, the Son of thine es­sence, thy coequal, coeternal Son, who was more than ten thousand worlds, to redeem this one forlorne world of sinners, is love above all comprehension of men and Angels. What diminution had it been to thee and thine essentiall glory, O thou great God of heaven, that the souls that sinned should have dyed, and perished everlastingly? yet so in­finite was thy loving mer­cy, that thou wouldest rather give thy onely Sonne out of thy bosome, [Page 64] than that there should not be a redemption for belee­vers.

Yet, O God, hadst thou sent down thy Son to this lower region of earth, upon such termes, as that hee might have brought down heaven with him, that hee might have come in the port and Majesty of a God, cloa­thed with celestiall glory, to have dazeled our eyes, and to have drawn all hearts un­to him; this might have see­med, in some measure, to have sorted with his divine magnificence; But thou wouldst have him to appear in the wretched condition of our humanity: Yet, even thus, hadst thou sent him in­to the world, in the highest estate, and pomp of royalty, [Page 65] that earth could afford, that all the Kings and Monarchs of the world should have been commanded to follow his train, and to glitter in his Court; and that the knees of all the Potentates of the earth should have bowed to his Soveraign Majesty, and their lips have kissed his dust, this might have carried some kind of appearance of a state next to divine great­nesse; but thou wouldst have him come in the despised form of a servant: And thou, O blessed Jesu, wast accor­dingly willing for our sakes, to submit thy self to naked­nesse, hunger, thirst, weari­nesse, temptation, contempt, betraying, agonies, scorn, buffeting, scourgings, disten­tion, crucifixion, death: Oh [Page 66] love above measure, with­out example, beyond admi­ration! Greater love (thou saiest) hath no man, than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends; But, oh, what is it then, that thou, who wert God and man, shouldst lay down thy life, (more precious than many worlds) for thine enemies! Yet, had it been but the lay­ing down of a life, in a fair and gentle way, there might have been some mitigation of the sorrow of a dissolu­tion; there is not more dif­ference betwixt life and death, than there may be be­twixt some one kind of death and another; Thine, O dear Saviour, was the pain­full, shamefull, cursed death of the crosse; wherein yet, [Page 67] all that man could do unto thee was nothing to that in­ward torment, which, in our stead, thou enduredst from thy fathers wrath; when in the bitternesse of thine an­guished soul, thou cryedst out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Even thus, thus wast thou content to be forsaken, that wee wretched sinners might bee received to mercy; O love stronger than death which thou vanquishedst! more high, than that hell is deep, from which thou hast res­cued us!

SECT. XVI.

THe sense of this infi­nite love of God can­not chuse but ravish the [Page 68] soul, and cause it to goe out of it self, into that Saviour who hath wrought so mer­cifully for it; so as it may be nothing in it self, but what it hath, or is, may be Christ. By the sweet powers there­fore of Faith and Love the soul finds it self united unto Christ, feelingly, effectu­ally, indivisibly: so as that it is not to be distinguished betwixt the acts of both: To me to live is Christ, saith Phil. 1. 21. the blessed Apostle; and elsewhere, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and Gal. 2. 20. the life which now I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. My beloved is mine, and I am his, Cant. 2. 16. saith the Spouse of Christ in her Bridall Song. O bles­sed [Page 69] union, next to the hypo­staticall, whereby the hu­mane nature of the Son of God is taken into the parti­cipation of the eternall Godhead.

SECT. XVII.

OUt of the sense of this happy union ariseth an unspeakable complacency and delight of the soul in that God and Saviour, who is thus inseparably ours, and by whose union we are bles­sed; and an high apprecia­tion of him above all the world; and a contemptuous under-valuation of all earthly things, in compari­son of him; And this is no other than an heavenly re­flection of that sweet con­tentment, [Page 70] which the God of mercies takes in the faithful soul; Thou hast ravisht my Cant. 4. 9. 6. 4, 5. heart, my sister, my Spouse, thou hast ravisht my heart with one of thine eyes. Thou art beauti­full, O my Love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, Turn a­way thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me. How fair is thy love, my sister, my Spouse? How much better is thy love than wine, and the smell of thine ointments better than all spices. And the soul answers him again in the same language of spirituall dearnesse; My beloved is white and ruddy, the chief est Cant. 5. 10. among ten thousand. Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a 8. 6. seal upon thine arm, for love is as strong as death: And as in an ecstaticall qualm of pas­sionate [Page 71] affection; Stay mee with fiaggons, and comfort me 2. 5. with apples, for I am sick of love.

SECT. XVIII.

UPon this gracious com­placency will follow an absolute self-resignation, or giving up our selves to the hands of that good God, whose we are, and who is ours; and an humble con­tentednesse with his good pleasure in all things; look­ing upon God with the same face, whether he smile upon us in his favours, or chastise us with his loving correcti­ons; If he speak good unto us, Behold the servant of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word; If evill, It is the [Page 72] Lord, let him doe whatsoever he will: Here is therefore a cheerfull acquiescence in God; and an hearty reliance, and casting our selves upon the mercy of so bountifull a God; who having given us his Son, can in and with him deny us nothing.

SECT. XIX.

UPon this subacted dispo­sition of heart will fol­low a familiar (yet awfull) compellation of God; and an emptying of our souls before him in all our neces­sities. For that God, who is infinitely mercifull, yet will not have his favours other­wise conveighed to us than by our supplications. The style of his deare ones is, his [Page 73] people that prayeth, and his owne stile is, the God that heareth prayers: To him therefore doth the devout heart pour out all his re­quests with all true humili­ty, with all fervour of spirit, as knowing, that God will hear neither proud prayers, nor heartlesse: wherein his holy desires are regulated by a just method; First, su­ing for spirituall favours, as most worthy; then for tem­porall, as the appendances of better; and in both, aiming at the glory of our good God, more than our own advantage: And in the order of spirituall thngs, first and most for those that are most necessary, and essentiall for our souls health, than for secondary graces, that con­cern [Page 74] the prosperity & com­fort of our spirituall life: Absolutely craving those graces that accompany sal­vation, all others, conditio­nally, and with reference to the good pleasure of the munificent giver; Wherein, heed must be taken, that our thoughts be not so much ta­ken up with our expressions, as with our desires; and that we doe not suffer our selves to languish into an unfee­ling length, and repetition of our sutes: Even the hand of a Moses, may in time grow heavy; so therefore must we husband our spiri­tuall strength, that our de­votion may not flagge with over-tiring, but may bee most vigorous at the last. And as we must enter into [Page 75] our prayers, not without preparatory elevations, so must we be carefull to take a meet leave of God, at their shutting up: following our supplications, with the pause of a faithfull, and most lowly adoration; and as it were sending up our hearts into heaven, to see how our prayers are taken; and raising them to a joyful expectation of a gracious and successefull answer from the father of mercies.

SECT. XX.

UPon the comfortable feeling of a gracious condescent, follows an hap­py fruition of God in all his favours; so as we have not them so much, as God in them; which advanceth [Page 76] their worth a thousand fold, and as it were brings down heaven unto us; whereas, therefore, the sensuall man rests only in the meer use of any blessing, as health, peace, prosperity, knowledge, and reacheth no higher; the de­voute soul, in, and through all these, sees, and feels a God that sanctifies them to him, and enjoyes therein his favour, that is better than life. Even we men are wont, out of our good na­ture, to esteem a benefit, not so much for its owne worth, as for the love, and respect of the giver: Small legacies for this cause, finde deare acceptation; How much more is it so betwixt God and the devout soul? It is the sweet apprehension [Page 77] of this love that makes all his gifts, blessings. Doe we his gifts, blessings. Doe we not see some vaine churle, though cryed down by the multitude, herein secretly applauding himself that he hath bags at home? how much more shall the godly man find comfort against all the crosses of the world, that hee is possessed of him that possesseth all things; even God All-sufficient; the pledges of whose infinite love he feels in all the whole course of Gods dea­ling with him?

SECT. XXI.

OUt of the true sense of this inward fruition of God, the devout soul breaks forth into cheerfull thanks­givings [Page 78] to the God of all comfort, praising him for every evill that it is free from; for every good thing it enjoyeth: For, as it keeps a just Inventory of all Gods favours, so it often spreads them thankfully before him and layes them forth (so near as it may) in the full dimensions; that so, God may be no loser by him in any act of his beneficence. Here therefore every of Gods benefits must come into account; whether eter­nall or temporall, spiritu­all or bodily, outward or inward, publick or private, positive or privative, past or present, upon our selves or others. In all which, he shall humbly acknowledge both Gods free mercy, and [Page 79] his own shamefull unwor­thinesse; setting off the fa­vours of his good God the more, with the soyle of his own confessed wretchednes, and unanswerablenesse to the least of his mercies.

Now as there is infinite variety of blessings from the liberall hand of the Al­mighty, so there is great dif­ference in their degrees; For, wheras there are three sub­jects of all the good we are capable of; The Estate, Bo­dy, Soul; and each of these doe far surpasse other in va­lue, (the soul being infinite­ly more worth than the bo­dy, and the body far more precious than the outward estate) so the blessings that appertain to them, in seve­rall, differ in their true esti­mation [Page 80] accordingly. If ei­ther wee doe not highly magnifie Gods mercy for the least, or shall set as high a price upon the blessings that concerne our estate, as those that pertain to the body, or upon bodily fa­vours, as upon those that be­long to the soul, we shall shew our selves very un­worthy, and unequall par­takers of the Divine boun­ty. But it will savor too much of earth, if we be more affected with temporall blessings, than with spirituall and eternall. By how much nearer relation then, any fa­vor hath to the Fountain of goodnesse, and by how much more it conduceth to the glory of God, and ours in him, so much higher [Page 81] place should it possesse in our affection and gratitude. No marvell therefore if the Devout Heart bee raised a­bove it self, and transported with heavenly raptures, when, with Stephens eyes, it beholds the Lord Jesus stan­ding at the right hand of God, fixing it self upon the consideration of the infi­nite Merits of his Life, Death, Resurrection, Ascen­sion, Intercession, and finding it self swallowed up in the depth of that Divine Love, from whence all mercies flow into the soule; so as that it runs over with pas­sionate thankfulnes, and is therefore deeply affected with all other his mercies, because they are derived from that boundlesse Ocean [Page 82] of Divine goodnesse. Un­speakable is the advantage that the soule raises to it self by this continuall exer­cise of thanksgiving; for the grateful acknowledgement of favours, is the way to more; even amongst men (whose hands are short and strait) this is the meanes to pull on further beneficence; how much more from the God of all Consolation, whose largest bounty dimi­nisneth nothing of his store? And herein the devout Soul enters into its heavenly Task; beginning upon earth those Hallelujahs, which it shall perfect above in the blessed Chore of Saints and Angels, ever praising God, and saying, Blessing, and Glo-ry, and Wisdome, and Thanks­giving, [Page 83] and Honour, and Pow­er, and Might, be unto our God for ever and ever.

Amen.

SECT. XXII.

NOne of all the services of God can bee accepta­bly, no not unsinfully per­formed without due devo­tion; as therefore in our prayers and thanksgivings, so in the other exercises of Divine Worship, (especi­ally, in the reading and hea­ring of Gods Word, and in our receipt of the blessed Sacrament) it is so necessa­ry, that without it, we offer to God a meer carcasse of religious duty, and profane that sacred name we would pretend to honour. First then, we must come to Gods [Page 84] Book, not without an holy Reverence, as duly conside­ring both what and whose it is; Even no other, than the Word of the ever-living God, by which wee shall once be judged. Great rea­son have wee therefore, to make a difference betwixt it, and the writings of the Holiest men, even no lesse than betwixt the Authors of both: God is true, yea, truth it self: and that which Da­vid said in his haste, S. Paul Psal. 116. Rom. 3. 4 sayes in full deliberati on, E­very man is a lier. Before we put our hand to this Sacred Volume, it will be requisite to elevate our hearts to that God whose it is, for both his leave and his blessing: Open mine eyes, saith the sweet sin­ger Psal. 119. 8. of Israel, that I may be­hold [Page 85] the wondrous things of thy Law. Lo, Davids eyes were open before to other objects; but when he comes to Gods Book, he can see no­thing without a new act of apertion: Letters he might see, but wonders hee could not see, till God did unclose his eyes, and enlighten them. It is not therfore for us, pre­sumptuously to break in up­on God, and to think by our naturall abilities to wrest o­pen the precious Caskets of the Almighty; and to fetch out all his hidden treasure thence, at pleasure; but we must come tremblingly be­fore him, and in all humility crave his gracious admissi­on. I confesse I finde some kinde of envy in my self, when I read of those scru­pulous [Page 86] observances of high respects given by the Jewes to the Book of Gods Law: and when I read of a Ro­mish Saint, that never read Carolus Bor romaeus. the Scripture but upon his knees, and compare it with the carelesse neglect where­of I can accuse my self, and perhaps some others: Not that wee should rest in the formality of outward Ce­remonies of reverence, wherein it were more easie to be superstitious than de­vout; but that our outward deportment may testifie, and answer the awfull disposi­tion of our hearts: whereto we shall not need to be ex­cited, if wee be throughly perswaded of the Divine Originall, and authority of that Sacred Word. It was [Page 87] motive enough to the Ephe­sians zealously to plead for, and religiously to adore the Image of their Diana, that it was the Image that fell down Acts 19. 35. from Jupiter. Beleeve we, and know, that the Scripture is inspired by God; and we can entertain it with no other than an awfull addresse, and we cannot be Christians if we do not so beleeve.

Every Clause therefore of that God-inspired Vo­lume, must be, as reverently received by us, so seriously weighed, and carefully laid up; as knowing, that there is no tittle therein without his use. What we read, we must labour to understand; what wee cannot under­stand, we must admire si­lently, and modestly enquire [Page 88] of. There are plain Truths, and there are deep myste­ries. The bounty of God hath left this Well of Li­ving-water open for all; what runs over is for all commers; but every one hath not wherewith to draw. There is no Christian that may not enjoy Gods Book, but every Christian may not interpret it; those shallow Fords that are in it, may be waded by every Passenger, but there are deeps wherein he that can­not swim, may drown. How can I without a Guide, said that Ethopian Eunuch: Wherefore serves the tongue of the Learned, but to di­rect the Ignorant? Their modesty is of no lesse use than the others skill. It is [Page 89] a woefull condition of a Church when no man will be ignorant.

What service can our eyes doe us in the wayes of God without our thoughts? our diligent and frequent reading, therefore, must be attended with our holy me­ditation: we feed on what we read, but we digest only what we meditate of. What is in our Bible is Gods; but that which is in our hearts, is our own: By all which our care must be, not so much to become wiser, as to become better, labou­ring still to reduce all things to godly practice.

Finally, as we enter into this task with the lifting up of our hearts for a blessing, so we shut it up in the ejacu­lations [Page 90] of our thanksgiving to that God, who hath bles­sed us with the free use of his Word.

SECT. XXIII.

OUr eye is our best guide to God our Creator, but our ear is it that leads us to God our Redeemer. How shall they beleeve except they heare? Which that we may effectually doe, our devoti­on suggests unto us some duties before the act, some in the act, some after the act.

It is the Apostles charge, that we should be swift to hear, but heed must be ta­ken, that we make not more haste than good speed: we may not be so forward as not to look to our foot when Eccles. 5. 1. [Page 91] we go to the house of God, lest if we be too ready to heare, we offer the sacrifice of Fooles. What are the feet of the soul, but our af­fections? If these be not set right, we may easily stum­ble, and wrench at Gods threshold. Rash actions can never hope to prosper; as therefore to every great Work, so to this, there is a due preparation required; and this must be done by meditation first, then by prayer. Our meditation first, sequesters the heart from the world, and shakes off those distractive thoughts, which may carry us away from these better things: for what room is there for God, where the World hath taken up the lodging? [Page 92] Wee cannot serve God and Mammon. Then secondly, it seizes upon the heart for Gof, fixing our thoughts upon the great businesse we goe about; recalling the greatnesse of that Majesty into whose presence we en­ter, and the maine impor­tance of the service we are undertaking; and exami­ning our intentions where­with we addresse our selves to the work intended; I am now going to God [...] House; Wherefore doe I goe thither? Is it to see, or to be seen? Is it to satisfie my owne curiosity in hear­ing what the Preacher will say? Is it to satisfie the law, that requires my presence? Is it to please others eyes, or to avoid their censures? Is [Page 93] it for fashion? Is it for recre­ation? Or is it with a sincere desire to do my soul good, in gaining more knowledge, in quickning my affections? Is it in a desire to approve my selfe to my God, in the conscience of my humble obedience to his command, and my holy attendance up­on his Ordinance? And where we find our ends a­misse, chiding and rectify­ing our obliquities; where just and right, prosecuting them towards a further per­fection.

Which that it may bee done, our meditation must be seconded by our prayers. It is an unholy rudenesse to presse into the presence of that God whom wee have not invoked: Our prayer [Page 94] must bee, that God would yet more prepare us for the work, and sanctifie us to it, and blesse us in it; that he would remove our sinnes, that he would send down his Spirit into our hearts, which may inable us to this great service; that he would blesse the Preacher in the delivery of his sacred mes­sage, that he would be plea­sed to direct his Messengers tongue to the meeting with our necessities; that hee would free our hearts from all prejudices and distracti­ons; that he would keep off all temptations, which might hinder the good entertain­ment, and successe of his blessed Word: Finally, that hee would make us truely teachable, and his ordinance [Page 95] the power of God to our salvation.

In the act of hearing, De­votion cals us to Reverence, Attention, Application. Reve­rence to that great God, who speaks to us, by the mouth of a weak man; for, in what is spoken from Gods Chair, agreeable to the Scriptures, the sound is mans, the substance of the message is Gods; Even an Eglon, when he hears of a Judg. 3. 20. message from God, riseth out of his seat. It was not St. Pauls condition only, but of all his faithfull servants, to whom he hath commit­ted the word of reconcilia­tion; They are Ambassadors 2 Cor. 5. 20 for Christ; as if God did be­seech us by them, they pray us in Christs stead to be reconci­led [Page 96] to God: The Ambassie is not the bearers, but the Kings; and if we do not ac­knowledge the great King of heaven in the voice of the Gospel, we cannot but incur a contempt.

When therefore wee see Gods messenger in his pul­pit, our eye lookes at him as if it said with Cornelius, We are all here present before Acts 10. 33. God to heare all things that are commanded thee of God; whence cannot but follow together with an awful dis­position of mind, a reverent deportment of the body; which admits not a wild & roving eye, a drouzy head, a chatting tongue, a rude and indecent posture; but com­poses it self to such a site a may befit a pious soul in s [...] [Page 97] religious an impoiment. Neither do we come as au­thorized Judges to sit upon the Preacher, but as humble Disciples to sit at his feet.

SECT. XXIV.

REverence cannot but draw on Attention; We need not be bidden to hang on the lips of him whom we honour. It is the charge of the Spirit, Let him that hath an ear hear; Every one hath not an ear, and of those that have an ear, every one heareth not; The soul hath an ear as well as the body; if both these eares doe not meet together in one act, there is no hearing: Com­mon experience tels us that when the minde is other­wise [Page 98] taken up, we doe no more hear what a man says, than if we had been deaf, or he silent. Hence is that first request of Abigail to David; Let thine handmaid speak to 1 Sam. 25. 24. thine eares, and hear the words of thine handmaid; and Job so importunately urgeth his friends, Hear diligently my Job 13. 17. speech and my declaration with your ears. The outward ear may be open, and the in­ward shut; if way be not made through both, we are deaf to spirituall things. Mine ear hast thou boared, or Psa. 40. 6. digged, saith the Psalmist; the vulgar reads it, my eares hast thou perfitted: Surely our ears are grown up with flesh; there is no passage for a perfit hearing of the voice of God, till hee have [Page 99] made it by a spirituall per­foration.

And now that the ear is made capable of good counsel, it doth as gladly receive it; taking in every good lesson, and longing for the next: Like unto the dry and chopped earth, which soaks in every silver drop, that fals from the clouds, and thirsteth for more; not suffering any of that precious liquor to fall beside it.

SECT. XXV.

NEither doth the devout man care to satisfie his curiosity, as hearing only that hee might hear; but reducts all things to a sa­ving use; bringing all hee [Page 100] hears, home to his heart, by a self-reflecting application; like a practiser of the art of memory, referring eve­ry thing to its proper place; If it be matter of comfort, There is for my sick-bed, There is for my outward losses, There for my droop­ing under afflictions, There for the sense of my spiritual desertions; If matter of do­ctrine, There is for my set­tlement in such a truth, There for the conviction of such an error, There for my direction in such a practice; If matter of reproof, he doth not point at his neigh­bour, but deeply chargeth himself; This meets with my dead-heartedness and secu­rity, This with my worldly­mindednesse, This with [Page 101] my self-love and flattery of mine owne estate, This with my uncharitable censori­ousnesse, This with my foo­lish pride of heart, This with my hypocrisie, This with my neglect of Gods services, and my duty; Thus in all the variety of the holy passages of the Sermon, the devout minde is taken up with digesting what it hears; and working it self to a se­cret improvement of all the good counsell that is deli­vered, neither is ever more busie, than when it sits still at the feet of Christ. I cannot therefore approve the practice (which yet I see commonly received) of those, who think it no small argument of their Devotion, to spend their time of [Page 102] hearing, in writing large notes from the mouth of the Preacher; which, how­ever it may be an help for memory in the future, yet cannot (as I conceive) but be some prejudice to our present edification; neither can the braine get so much hereby, as the heart loseth. If it be said, that by this means, an opportunity is gi­ven for a full rumination of wholsome Doctrines after­wards: I yeeld it, but with­all, I must say that our after­thoughts can never doe the work so effectually, as when the lively voice sounds in our ears, and beats upon our heart; but herein I submit my opinion to better judge­ments.

SECT. XXVI.

THe food that is received into the soul by the ear, is afterwards chewed in the mouth thereof by memory, concocted in the stomack by meditation, and disper­sed into the parts by confe­rence and practise; True Devotion findes the grea­test part of the work be­hinde; It was a just answer that Iohn Gerson reports, gi­ven Serm. ad Eccles. cau­telam. by a Frenchman, who being askt by one of his neighbours if the Sermon were done; no saith he, it is said, but it is not done, nei­ther will be, I fear, in hast. What are we the better if we hear and remember not? If we be such auditors as [Page 104] the Jews were wont to call sieves, that retaine no moi­sture that is poured into them? What the better if we remember, but think not seriously of what we hear; or if we practice not care­fully what we think of? Not that which we hear is our own, but that which we carry away: although all memories are not alike, one receives more easily, a­nother retains longer; It is not for every one to hope to attain to that ability, that he can goe away with the whole fabrick of a Sermon, and readily recount it unto others; neither doth God require that of any man, which he hath not given him; Our desires and endea­vours may not be wanting [Page 105] where our powers faile; It will bee enough for weak memories, if they can so lay up those wholsome counsells which they re­ceive, as that they may fetch them forth when they have occasion to use them; & that what they want in the ex­tent of memory, they supply in the care of their practice; Indeed that is it, wherein lies the life of all religious duties, and without which they are but idle formali­ties; that which the Philo­sopher said of all vertue, I must say of true godlinesse, that it consists in action; Our Saviour did not say, Blessed are ye if you know these things; But, If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye doe them. The end of our desire [Page 106] of the sincere milk of the Gospel, is, that we may grow thereby in the stature of all Grace, unto the fulnesse of 1 Pet. 2. 2. Eph. 3. 9. God.

SECT. XXVII.

THe highest of all Gods services are his Sacra­ments; which therefore re­quire the most eminent acts of our Devotion. The Sa­crament of initiation, which in the first planting of a Church is administred only to those of riper age and understanding, cals for all possible reverence, and reli­gious addresses of the recei­vers; wherein the Primi­tive times were punctually observant, both for sub­stance, and ceremony; now, [Page 107] in a setled and perpetuated Church, in which the ver­tue of the Covenant de­scends from the parent to the child, there seems to be no use of our preparatory directions: Only, it is fit that our Devotion should call our eyes back, to what we have done in our infan­cy, and whereto we are ever obliged; that our full age may carefully endeavour to make our word good, and may put us in minde of our sinfull failings. That other Sacrament of our spirituall nourishment, which our Sa­viour (as his farewell) left us for a blessed memoriall of his death and passion, can never be celebrated with enough Devotion. Farre be it from us to come to this [Page 108] feast of our God, in our common garments; the soul must be trimmed up, if we would be meet guests for the Almighty. The great Ma­ster of the feast will neither abide us to come naked, nor ill clad: Away therefore, first with the old beastly ragges of our wonted cor­ruptions: Due examination comes in first, and through­ly searches the soul, and finds out all the secret nasti­nesse, and defilements that it hides within it; and by the aid of true penitence, strips it of all those loath­some clouts, wherewith it was polluted; Sin may not bee cloathed upon with grace; Joshuah's filthy gar­ments Zach. 3. must bee pluckt off, ere hee can be capable of [Page 109] precious robes: Here may be no place for our sinfull lusts, for our covetous de­sires, for our naturall infide­lity, for our malicious pur­poses, for any of our unhal­lowed thoughts; The soul clearly devested of these and all other known cor­ruptions, must in the next place in stead thereof, be furnished with such graces and holy predispositions, as may fit it for so heavenly a work. Amongst the graces requisite, Faith justly chal­lengeth the first place, as that which is both most eminent, and most necessari­ly presupposed to the profi­table receit of this Sacra­ment; for whereas the main end of this blessed banquet is the strengthening of our [Page 110] faith, how should that re­ceive strength, which hath not being? to deliver these sacred viands to an unbelee­ver, is to put meat into the mouth of a dead man: Now therefore must the heart raise up it selfe to new acts of beleeving, and must lay faster hold on Christ, and bring him closer to the soul; more strongly apply­ing to its self, the infinite me­rits of his most perfect obe­dience, & of his bitter death and passion; and erecting it self to a desire and expecta­tion of a more vigorous and lively apprehension of its omnipotent Redeemer. Nei­ther can this faith be either dead, or solitary; but is still really operative, and atten­ded (as with other graces, so) [Page 111] especially with a serious re­pentance; whose wonder­full power is, to undoe our former sins, and to mold the heart and life to a better obedience: A grace so ne­cessary, that the want of it (as in extream corruption of the stomack) turnes the wholsome food of the soul into poison; An impenitent man therefore comming to Gods Board, is so far from benefiting himself, as that he eates his owne judgement: Stand off from this holy table, all yee that have not made your peace with your God; or that harbour any knowne sinne in your bo­some; not to eat is uncom­fortable, but to eat in such a state is deadly; yet rest not in this plea, that ye can­not [Page 112] come because yee are unreconciled; but (as yee love your souls) be recon­ciled that you may come.

Another Grace necessari­ly pre-required is charity to our brethren, and readinesse to forgive; For this is a communion, as with Christ the head, so with all the members of his mysticall body: This is the true Love­feast of God our Saviour, wherein wee professe our selves inseparably united both to him and his; If there be more hearts than one at Gods Table, he will not own them; These holy elements give us an Em­bleme of our selves: This bread is made up of many grains, incorporated into one masse; and this wine [Page 113] is the confluent juice of ma­ny clusters; neither doe we partake of severall loaves, or variety of liquors, but all eat of one bread, and drink of one cup. Here is then no place for rancour and ma­lice; none for secret grudg­ings and heart-burnings; Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the Altar, and there Mat. 5. 23. remembrest that thy brother hath ought against the, Leave there thy gift, and go thy way; first bee reconciled to thy bro­ther, and them come and offer thy gift.

Neither may we doe, as those two emulous Com­manders of Greece did, who resolved to leave their spight behind them at Mount Athos, and to take it up again in their returne; [Page 114] here must bee an absolute, and free acquitting of all the back-reckonings of our unkindnesse, that we may receive the God of peace into a cleare bosome.

SECT. XXVIII.

BEsides these graces there are certaine holy predis­positions so necessary that without them our soules can never hope to receive true comfort in this blessed Sacrament; whereof the first is an hungring and thirsting desire after these gracious means of our sal­vation: What good will our meat doe us without an appetite? Surely without it, there is no expectation of [Page 115] either relish, or digestion; as therefore those that are invited to some great feast, care first to seed their hun­ger ere they feed their bo­dy; labouring by exercise to get a stomach, ere they em­ploy it; so it concerns us to do here: and, as those that are listlesse, and weak sto­mached, are wont to whet their appetite with sharp sawces; so must wee by the tart applications of the law, quicken our desires of our Saviour here exhibited.

Could wee but see our sins, and our miseries by sin; Could wee see God frowning, and hell gaping wide to swallow us, wee should not need to bee bid­den to long for our delive­rer; and every pledge of his [Page 116] favour would be precious to us.

Upon the apprehension of our need of a Saviour and so happy a supply ther­of presented unto us, must needs follow a renewed act of true thankfulnes of heart to our good God, that hath both given us his dear Son to work our redemption, & his blessed Sacrament to seal up unto us our redemp­tion thus wrought and pur­chased; And with souls thus thankfully elevated unto God, we aproach with all reverence, to that heavenly Table, where God is both the Feast-master and the Feast. What intention of holy thoughts, what fervour of spirit, what depth of De­votion must we now find in [Page 117] our selves? Doubtlesse, out of heaven no object can be so worthy to take up our hearts. What a clear repre­sentation is here of the great work of our Redemption? How is my Saviour by all my senses here brought home to my soul? How is his passion lively acted be­fore mine eyes? For lo, my bodily eye doth not more truely see bread and wine, than the eye of my faith sees the body and bloud of my dear Redeemer; Thus was his sacred body torn and broken; Thus was his pre­cious bloud poured out for me; My sins (wretched man that I am) helped thus to crucifie my Saviour; and for the discharge of my sins would he be thus crucified: [Page 118] Neither did hee only give himselfe for me, upon the Crosse, but lo, both offers and gives himself to me in this his blessed institution; what had his generall gift been without this applica­tion? Now my hand doth not more sensibly take, nor my mouth more really eate this bread, than my soule doth spiritually receive, and feed on the bread of life; O Saviour, thou art the living bread that came dome from heaven; Thy flesh is meat indeed, and thy bloud is drink indeed: Oh that I may so eate of this bread, that I may live for ever. He that commeth to thee, shall never hunger; he that be­leeveth in thee, shall never thirst: Oh that I could now [Page 119] so hunger, and so thirst for thee, that my soul could be for ever satisfied with thee; Thy people of old, were fed with Manna in the wilder­nesse, yet they dyed; that food of Angels could not keep them from perishing; but oh, for the hidden Manna, which giveth life to the world, even thy bles­sed self, give me ever of this bread, and my soule shall not dye but live: Oh the precious juice of the fruit of the Vine, where­with thou refreshest my soul! Is this the bloud of the grape? Is it not rather thy bloud of the New Testa­ment, that is poured out for me? Thou speakest, O Sa­viour, of new wine that thou wouldest drink with [Page 120] thy Disciples, in thy Fa­thers Kindome, can there be any more precious and pleasant, than this, where­with thou cheerest the be­leeving soule? our palate is now dull and earthly, which shall then ex­quisite and celestiall; but surely, no liquor can be of equall price or soveraignty with thy bloud; Oh how unsavory are all earthly de­licacies to this heavenly draught! O God, let not the sweet taste of this spiri­tuall Nectar ever goe out of the mouth of my soul; Let the cōfortable warmth of this blessed Cordiall ever work upon my soul, even till, and in, the last moment of my dissolution. Dost thou bid me, O Saviour, do [Page 121] this in remembrance of thee? Oh, how can I for­get thee? How can I enough celebrate thee for this thy unspeakable mercy? Can I see thee thus crucified be­fore my eyes, and for my sake thus crucified, and not remember thee? Can I find my sins accessary to this thy death, and thy death meritoriously expiating all these my grievous sins, and not remember thee? Can I hear thee freely offering thy selfe to me, and feele thee graciously conveigh­ing thy self into my soul, and not remember thee? I doe remember thee O Saviour; but oh that I could yet more effectually remember thee; with all the passionate affections of [Page 122] a soul sick of thy love; with all zealous desires to glo­rifie thee, with all fervent longings after thee, and thy salvation; I remember thee in thy sufferings, Oh doe thou remember me in thy glory.

SECT. XXIX.

HAving thus busied it self with holy thoughts in the time of the celebra­tion, the devout soul breaks not off in an abrupt unman­nerlinesse, without taking leave of the great master of this heavenly feast, but with a secret adoration, humbly blesseth God for so great a mercy, and heartily resolves and desires to walk worthy of the Lord Jesus, whom it [Page 123] hath received, and to conse­crate it selfe wholly to the service of him that hath so dearly bought it, and hath given it these pledges of its eternall union with him.

The Devout Soul hath thus supt in heaven, and returns home, yet the work is not thus done: after the elements are out of eye and use, there remains a dige­stion of this celestiall food, by holy meditation; and now it thinks, Oh what a blessing have I received to day! no lesse than my Lord Jesus, with all his merits; and in and with him, the as­surance of the remission of all my sins, and everlasting salvation: How happy am I, if I be not wanting to God & my self? How unworthy [Page 124] shall I be, if I doe not strive to answer this love of my God and Saviour, in all hearty affection, and in all holy obedience?

And now after this hea­venly repast, how do I feel my self? what strength, what advantage hath my faith gotten? how much am I nearer to heaven than be­fore? how much faster hold have I taken of my blessed Redeemer? how much more firm and sensible is my in­terest in him?

Neither are these thoughts, and this examination the work of the next instant onely, but they are such, as must dwell upon the heart; and must often solicite our memory, and excite our practise, that by this means [Page 125] we may frequently renew the efficacy of this blessed Sacrament, and our souls may batten more and more, with this spiritu­all nourishment, and may be fed up to eternall life.

SECT. XXX.

THese are the genera­lities of our Devo­tion, which are of com­mon use to all Christians; There are besides these certaine specialties of it, appliable to severall occa­sions, times, places, per­sons; For there are morn­ing, and evening Devoti­ons; Devotions proper to our board, to our closer, to our bed, to Gods day, to our [Page 126] own; to health, to sicknesse, to severall callings, to recre­ations; to the way, to the field, to the Church, to our home; to the student, to the souldier, to the Magistrate, to the Minister, to the hus­band, wife, child, servant; to our owne persons, to our families; The severalties whereof, as they are scarce finite for number, so are most fit to to be left to the judgement, and holy mana­ging of every Christian; nei­is it to be imagined, that a­ny soul which is taught of God, and hath any acquain­tance with heaven, can be to seek in the particular ap­plication of common rules to his own necessity or ex­pedience.

The result of all is,

[Page 127] A devout man is he that ever sees the invisible, and ever trembleth before that God he sees; that walks e­ver, here on earth, with the God of heaven; and still adores that Majesty with whom he converses; That confers hourly with the God of spirits in his own lan­guage; yet so, as no familia­rity can abate of his aw, nor fear abate ought of his love. To whom the gates of hea­ven are ever open; that he may go in at pleasure to the throne of grace, & none of the Angelical spirits can of­fer to challenge him of too much boldness: Whose eyes are well acquainted with those heavenly guardians, the presence of whom hee doth as truly acknowledge, [Page 128] as if they were his sensible Companions. He is well known of the King of glo­ry, for a daily sutor in the Court of heaven, and none so welcome there, as he: He accounts all his time lost that falls beside his God; and can be no more weary of good thoughts, than of happinesse.

His bosome is no harbour for any knowne evill; and it is a question whether hee more abhorres sin, or hell; His care, is to entertain God in a clear and free heart, and therefore he thrusts the world out of doors, and humbly beseeches God to welcome himself to his owne: He is truly dejected, and vile in his owne eyes: Nothing but hell is lower [Page 129] than he; every of his slips are hainous, every trespasse is aggravated to rebellion; The glory and favours of God heighten his humilia­tion; He hath lookt down to the bottomlesse deep, and seen with horror what he deserved to feel everla­stingly; His cries have been as strong, as his fears just; and he hath found mercy more ready to rescue him, than he could be importu­nate: His hand could not be so soon put forth as his Sa­viours, for deliverance. The sense of this mercy hath raised him to an unspeak­able joy, to a most fervent love of so dear a Redee­mer; that love hath knit his heart to so meritorious a deliverer, and wrought a [Page 130] blessed union betwixt God and his soul. That union can no more be severed from an infinite delight, than that delight can bee severed from an humble, & cheerfull acquiescence in his munificent God; And now, as in an heavenly freedome, he pours out his soul into the bosome of the Almigh­ty, in all faithfull sutes for himself and others; so, he en­joyes God in the blessings received, and returns all zealous prayses to the gi­ver.

He comes reverently to the Oracles of God, and brings not his eye, but his heart with him; not careles­ly negligent in seeking to know the revealed will of his Maker, nor too busily [Page 131] inquisitive into his deep counsels; not too remisse in the letter, nor too peremp­tory in the sense: gladly comprehending what hee may, and admiring what he cannot comprehend. Doth God call for his ear? He goes awfully into the holy presence and so hears, as if he should now hear his last: Latching every word that drops from the Preachers lips, ere it fall to the ground, and laying it up carefully where hee may be sure to fetch it. Hee sits not to cen­sure, but to learn, yet specu­lation and knowledge is the least drift of his labour; No­thing is his own but what he practiseth. Is he invited to Gods feast? he hates to come in a soul and slovenly dresse; [Page 132] but trims up his soul, so, as may be fit for an heavenly guest: Neither doth he leave his stomach at home cloyed with the world, but brings a sharp appetite with him; and so feeds as if he meant to live for ever. All earthly Delicates are unsavory to him, in respect of that cele­stiall Manna: Shortly, he so eates and drinks, as one that sees himself set at Table with God, and his Angels; and rises and departs full of his Saviour; and in the strength of that meal walks vigorously and cheerfully on towards his glory. Final­ly, as he well knows that he lives, and moves, and hath his being in God, so he re­fers his life, motions, and be­ing wholly to God; so act­ing [Page 133] all things, as if God did them by him, so using all things, as one that enjoyes God in them; and in the mean time so walking on earth, that he doth in a sort carry his heaven with him.

SECT. I.

WHiles you pity my Affliction, take heed lest you ag­gravate it, and in your thoughts make it greater than it is in my own; It is true, I am under restraint; What is that to a man, that can be free in the Tower, and cannot but be a prisoner abroad? Such is my condition, and every Di­vine [Page 138] Philosophers with me. Were my walks much strai­ter than they are, they can­not hold me in; It is a bold word to say, I cannot, I will not be a prisoner: It is my soul that is I: my flesh is my partner, (if not my servant) not my self: However my body may be immured, that agile spirit shall flie abroad, and visit both earth & hea­ven at pleasure. Who shall hinder it from mounting up (in an instant) to that su­preme region of blisse, and from seeing that, by the eye of faith, which S. Paul saw in extasie; and when it hath viewed that blessed Hierar­chy of heaven, to glance down through the innume­rable, and unmeasurable globes of light (which move [Page 139] in the firmament; and be­low it) into this elementary world; and there to compass seas and lands, without ship­wrack, in a trice, which a Drake, or Cavendish cannot doe, but with danger, and in some years navigation; And if my thoughts list to stay themselves in the pas­sage; with what variety can my soul be taken up of severall objects; Here, tur­ning in to the dark vaults, and dungeons of penall re­straint, to visit the discon­solate prisoners, and to fetch from their greater misery, a just mitigation of mine own; There, looking in to the houses of vain jollity, and pitying that which the sensuall fools call happiness; Here stepping in to the [Page 140] Courts of great Princes, & in them observing the faw­ning compliances of some, the trecherous underwor­king of others; hollow friendships, faithless ingage­ments, faire faces, smooth tongues, rich suits, viewing all save their hearts, and cen­suring nothing that it sees not; There calling in at the low cottages of the poor, and out of their empty cup­bord furnishing it self with thankfulnesse; Here so over­looking the Courts of Ju­stice, as not willing to see rigour or partiality; There listning what they say in those meetings w^ch would passe for sacred, and won­dring at what it hears. Thus can, and shal, and doth my nimble spirit bestirre it [Page 141] selfe in a restlesse flight, ma­king onely the Empyreall heaven, the bounds of its motion; not being more a­ble to stand still, than the heavens themselves, whence it descended: Should the Iron enter into my soul, as it did into that good Patri­archs, yet it cannot fetter me: No more can my spirit be confined to one place, than my body can bee diffu­sed to many. Perhaps there­fore you are mistaken in my condition; for what is it I beseech you that makes a prisoner? Is it an allotment to the same roome without change, without remove? What is that still to a mind that is free?

And why is my body then more a prisorer than the [Page 142] best mans soul; that, you know, is peremptorily as­signed, for inhabitation to this house of clay till the day of dissolution: Why more than the stars of hea­ven, which have remained fixed in their first stations e­ver since they were first created? Why more than those great persons which keep up for state; or dames for beauty? Why more than those Anachorites whom wee have seen wil­lingly coopt up for merit? How much more scope have we than they? Wee breath fresh aire, we see the same heavens with the free­est travellers.

SECT. II.

BUt we have (you wil say) bounds for our restraint which the free spirit hates; as never being pleased, but with a full liberty both of prospect and passage; Any barre, whether to the foot, or to the eye, is a death: Oh vain affectation of wild, and roving curiosity! If their desires cannot be bounded, yet their motions must; When they have the full sight of heaven above them, they cannot climbe up into it; they cannot possibly see that whole glorious contig­nation; and when the whole earth lies open before them, they can measure but some small peeces of it. How can [Page 144] they be quiet till they have purchased Tycho Brahe his prospective trunk of thirty two foot long, wherby they may discover a better face of heaven; some lesser Pla­nets moving round about the Sun, and the Moonets a­bout Saturn and Jupiter, & the mountains, seas and val­lies in the Moon? How can they rest til having acquain­ted themselves with the constellations of our Hemi­sphere, they have passed the Equinoctiall, and seen the triangle, the crosse, and the clouds, and the rest of the unknown stars that move a­bove the other Pole? And when all this is done, they are but who they were, no whit better, no whit wiser, and perhaps far lesse happy than those, who never smelt [Page 145] any but their own smoak; never knew any star, but Charls-wayn, the morning star, and the seven. For me, I do not envy, but wonder at the licentious freedome, which these men thinke themselves happy to enjoy; and hold it a weaknesse in those minds, which cannot find more advantage and pleasure in confinement, & retirednesse; Is it a small be­nefit, that I am placed there, where no oathes, no blas­phemies beat my eares? where my eyes are in no pe­rill of wounding objects; where I hear no invectives, no false doctrines, no ser­mocinations of Iron-mon­gers, Felt-makers, Coblers, Broom-men, Grooms, or a­ny other of those inspired [Page 146] ignorants; no curses, no ri­baldries: where I see no drunken comessations, no rebellious routs, no violent oppressions, no obscene re­joinings, nor ought else that might either vex or affright my soul. This, this is my li­berty: who whiles I sit here quietly lockt up by my kee­per, can pity the turmoils & distempers abroad, and bless my own immunity from those too common evills.

SECT. III.

IS is the necessity, and force of the restraint; since those things which we do volun­tarily, are wont to passe from us with delight, which being imposed seem grie­vous to us? Why should not [Page 147] I have so much power over my will as to make that vo­luntary in me, to undergoe, which another wills force­ably to inflict? the mind that is truely subacted to Grace, can so frame it self to what it must suffer, as that it finds a kind of contentment in pa­tience; Thus we daily doe to the Almighty, whose wil, by our humble submission, wee make ours; and pray that we may doe so: And who can restraine us with­out him? If therefore my wise and holy God think it best to cage me up, by the command of authority (up­on what cause soever) why should not I think this inclo­sure a better liberty: who know there is perfect free­dome in his obedience? So [Page 148] then, if constraint make a prisoner, I am none; who am most willingly, where my God will have me: And, if my will did not often carry me out of my owne walls at home, why cannot it as well confine me to a larger com­passe of the Tower?

SECT. IV.

IS it solitude and Infre­quence of visitation? This may perhaps be troublesom to a man that knows not to entertaine himselfe; but, to him that can hold continual discourse with his owne heart, no favor can be grea­ter; For of all other, these self-conferences are most beneficiall to the soul; Other mens communication may [Page 149] spend the time with more advantage of learning, or mirth; but none can yeeld us so much spirituall profit, as our own soliloquies: And when all is done, the Greeks [...]. said well; It is not much, but usefull that makes truely wise. Besides this, wee can never have the opportunity of so good company, as when we are alone: Now, we enjoy the society of God, and his Angels, which wee cannot so freely doe in a throng of visitants: When God would expresse his greatest intirenesse with his Church, Ducam eam in soli­tudinem, saith he: I will bring Hos. 2. 14. her into the wildernesse, and there speak comfortably to her. We cannot expect so sweer conversation with God, in [Page 150] the presence of others, as a­part. Oh the divine benefit of an holy solitarinesse, which no worldly heart can either know, or value! What care I for seeing of men, when I may see him that is invisible? What care I for chatting with friends, when I may talk familiarly with the God of heaven? What care I for entertaining mor­tall guests, when I may with Abraham & his Nephew Lot feast the Angels of God: and (which were too great a word, if God himself had not spoken it) be attended by them?

SECT. V.

IS it the reproach and igno­miny that commonly at­tends [Page 151] the very name of an imprisonment? weak minds may be affected with every thing: but, with solid judge­ments, it is not the punish­ment, but the cause that makes either the Martyr, or the malefactor. S. Pauls bonds were famous: and Pe­trus and vincula is not with­out a note of yearly celebri­ty: and it were hard, if so many blessed Martyrs, and Confessors, who have lived, and dyed in Jayles, for the truths sake, should not have brought prisons (such as they may be) into some cre­dit. Shortly, as notorious crimes may be at liberty, so even innocence may be un­der restraint; yet those crimes no whit the better, nor this innocence the worse.

[Page 152] Besides (that which per­haps came not within your freer thoughts) every re­straint is not for punish­ment; there is a restraint for safety, a salva custodia, as well as arcta, such is this of ours: This strong Tower serves not so much for our prison, as for our defence; what norror soever the name may carry in it: I blesse God for these wals, out of which I know not where we could (for the time) have been safe from the rage of the mis-incensed multi­tude: Poor seduced soules, they were taught it was pie­to to be cruel; and were mis­perswaded to hate and con­demn us for that, (which should have procured their reverence, and honor) even [Page 153] that holy station which wee hold in Gods Church; and to curse those of us, who had deserved nothing but their thanks and prayers: rai­ling on our very profession in the streets; and rejoycing in our supposed ruine: Fa­ther, forgive them, for they knew not what they did: Here wee were out of the danger of this mis-raised fury, and had leasure to pray for the quenching of those wild-fires of contenti­on, and causelesse malice, which (to our great grief) we saw wicked incendiaries dayly to cast amongst Gods dear, & wel-minded people. Here we have well & hap­pily approved with the bles­sed Apostle, that (what ever our restraint be) the Word [Page 154] of God is not bound; With what liberty, with what zeale, with what successe hath that been preached by us to all commers? Let them say, whether the Tower had ever so many, such guests, or such benedictions; so as if the place have rendred us safe, wee have endeavoured to make it happy; Where­in our performances have seemed to confute that Non enim potest mens attrita & oneribus & importuni­tatibus gra­vata, tan­tum boni peragere, quantum delectata, & oppressioni­bus solut a. Cornel. ep. 2. Rufo Co­episcopo. which Cornelius Bishop of Rome long since observed, that the minde laden with heavy burdens of affliction, is not able to doe that ser­vice, which it can doe when it is free and at ease; Our troubles through Gods mer­cy made us more active, and our labours more effectuall.

SECT. VI.

ADde unto these (if you please) the eminent dig­nity of the place, such as is able to give a kind of honor to captivity, the ancient seat of Kings, chosen by them, as for the safe residence of their Royall Persons, so for their Treasury, their Ward­robe, their Magazine; all these precious things are un­der the same custody with our selves; sent hither, not as to prison, but a reposito­rie; and why should wee thinke our selves in any o­ther condition? How many worthy inhabitants make choice to fixe their abode within these walls, as not knowing where to bee hap­pier? [Page 156] the place is the same to us, if our will may he the same with theirs; they dear­ly purchase that, which cost us nothing but our fees; no­thing makes the difference, but the meer conceit of Li­berty, which, whiles I can give to my self, in my thoughts, why am I pitied as miserable, while their happinesse is applauded?

You see then, how free I am in that which you mis­call my prison; see now, how little cause I have to affect this liberty, which you ima­gine mee to want; since I shall be, I can be no other than a Prisoner abroad: There is much difference of Prisons; One is straight and close locked, so farre from admitting visitants, that it [Page 157] scarce allowes the Sunne to look in at those crosse-bar­red grates; another, is more large and spacious, yeelding both Walkes and accesse; Even after my discharge from these Walls, I shall be yet sure to bee a Prisoner, both these wayes; For, what is my body but my prison in the one? and what is the world, but my prison in the other kind?

SECT. VII.

TO begin with the for­mer, never was there a more close prisoner than my soul is for the time to my body; Close in respect of the essence of that spirit, which since its first Mitti­mus, never stirr'd out from this strait room; never can [Page 158] doe, till my Gaole-delivery.

If you respect the im­provement of the operati­ons of that busie soul, it is a­ny where, it is successively, every where; no place can hold it, none can limit it; but if you regard the immortal, and immateriall substance of it, it is fast lockt up with­in these walls of clay, till the day of my changing come; even as the closest Captive may write letters to his remotest friends, whilest his person is in du­rance; I have too much rea­son to acknowledge my na­tive Jayle, and feel the true Symptoms of it to my pain; what darknesse of sorrow have I here found? what lit­tle-ease of melancholicke lodgings? what manacles [Page 159] and shackles of cramps? yea what racks of torturing convulsions?

And if there bee others, that find lesse misery in their prison, yet there is no good soul, but findes equall re­straint: That spirituall sub­stance, which is imprisoned within us, would faine bee flying up to that heaven whence it descended; these walls of flesh forbid that e­volation, (as Socrates cal'd it of old) and will not let it out, till the God of spirits (who placed it there) shall unlock the doores and free the prisoner by death; He that infused life into Laza­rus, that he might call him from the prison of the grave, must take life from us, when he cals us out of this prison [Page 160] of flesh; I desire to be loosed, and to be with Christ, (saith the Apostle) as some versions expresse it; whiles we are chained to this flesh, we can have no passage to heaven, no free conversation with our Saviour; Although it was the singular privilege of that great Doctor of the Gentiles, that he was in hea­ven before his dissolution: whether in the body, or out of the body, he knew not: How far that rapture exten­ded, whether to both soule and body, if he knew not, how should we? But this we know, that such extasie and vision was in him, without separation of the soul from the body; which another should hope for in vaine: And for him, so he saw this [Page 161] glory of Paradice, that hee could not yet enjoy it: Be­fore he, or we, can be blessed with the fruition of Christ, we must be loosed, that is, freed from our clog, & our chaine of this mortall body.

What but our prison wals can hinder us here, from a free prospect? What but these wals of flesh can hin­der me from a cleare vision of God? I must now, for the time, see as I may: Nothing can enter into my soule, but what passes through my senses, & partakes, in some sort, of their earthlinesse; when I am freed from them, I shal see as I am seen; in an abstracted & heavenly way; so as one spirit appre­hends another: I doe now, at the best, see those spiritu­all [Page 162] objects darkly, by the eye of faith, as in a glasse; and that not one of the clea­rest neither: (Alas, what dim representations are these, that I can attaine to here, of that Majesty, whose sight shal make me blessed?) I shal once see as I am seen, face to face; the face of my glorified soul shal see the face of that all-glorious Deity, and in that sight be eternally hap­py; It is enough for a priso­ner in this dungeon of clay, to know of, and fore-expect, such felicity, whereof these earthly gieves render him as yet uncapable.

SECT. VIII.

VVOE is me! how ma­ny prisons doe we [Page 163] passe? so soon as ever this di­vine soul is infused into this flesh, it is a prisoner; neither can any more passe out of this skin, till this frame of nature be demolished: And now, as the soul of this Em­bryon is instantly a prisoner to the body, so the body is also a prisoner in the womb, wherein it is formed: what darknesse, what closenesse, what uneasinesie, what nui­sance is there in this Dun­geon of nature? There he must lye in an uncouth po­sture, for his appointed moneth, till the native bonds being loosed, and the doores forced open, hee shall be by an helpfull obstetrication drawn forth into the larger prison of the world; there indeed he hath elbow-room [Page 164] enough: but all that wide scope cannot free him from a true incarceration: Who knowes not that there are many differences, and lati­tudes of restraint? A Simeon may imprison and enchaine himself in the compasse of a pillar, not allowing himself the ease of his whole dimen­sions; Peter may be lockt up in a larger Jayl, betwixt his two Leopards (as that Father tearms them;) S. Paul may Acts ult. be two years allowed to be a Prisoner in his own hired house, but under the guard of his keeper, and not with­out his chain: There are those, who upon hainous, and dangerous occasions may be kept close under ma­ny locks; there are prisoners at large, who have the liber­ty [Page 165] of the Tower; yet even these last notwithstanding the allowance of spacious walks, & fresh gardens, are no other than acknowledg­ed prisoners: Such is my condition to the world, when I am at my fullest li­berty. It is true, that when I look back to the straitness of my first, and native pri­son, and compare it with the large extent of that wide world, into which I am brought, I may wel with Isa­ac's Herds-mensay, Rehoboth, Gen. 36. 22 For now, the Lord hath made me room: but when I com­pare that world, wherein I am, with that whereto I a­spire, and which I know to be above, and look to enjoy; I can see nothing here, but meer prison-walls, and pro­fesse [Page 166] my life to be no other than a perpetuall durance.

SECT. IX.

IF Varro said of old, that the world was no other than Magna do­mus homu­li. the great house of little man, I shall be bold to adde what kind of house it is; It is no other than his prison, yea, his dungeon.

Far be it from me to dis­parage the glorious worke of my omnipotent Creator: I were not worthy to look upon this large, and glitte­ring roof of heaven, nor to see the pleasant varieties of these earthly landskips, If I did not adore that infinite power, and wisdome which appears in this goodly, and immense fabrick; and con­fesse [Page 167] the marvellous beauty of that majestick, and tran­scendent workmanship; Ra­ther when I see the Moone and the Stars, which thou hast Psal. 8. 3, 4. ordained, I say with the Psalmist, Lord what is man?

But, O God, it is no disho­nor to thee, that though this be a fair house, yet thou hast one so much better than it, as a Palace is beyond a Jayl.

This beauty may please, but that ravisheth my soul: Here is light, but dim, and dusky, in respect of that in­accessable light, wherein thou dwellest: Here is a glo­rious Sun, that illumineth this inferior world, but thou art the Sun who enlighte­nest that world above: Thou, to whom thy created Sun is but a shadow.

[Page 168] Here we converse with beasts, or at the best, with men; there with blessed souls, and heavenly Angels: Here some frivolous de­lights are intermixed with a thousand vexations; There in thy presence is the fulness of joy: So then, let the sen­suall heart mis-place his pa­radise here in the world, it shal not passe for other with me, than my prison: How can it? Why should it? for what other termes do I find here?

What blinde light looks in here at these scant loop­holes of my soul? Yea, what darknes of ignorance rather possesses me? what bolts and shackles of heavy crosses do I bear about me? how am I fed here with the bread of [Page 169] affliction? how am I wat­ched and beset with evill spirits? how contumelious­ly traduced? how disdainful­ly lookt upon? how drag­ging the same chaine with the worst malefactors? how disabled to all spiritual mo­tions? how restrained from that full liberty of enjoying my home, and my God in it, which I daily expect in my dissolution? when there­fore, I am released from these wals, I am still impri­soned in larger. and so shall be til the Lord of the Spi­rits of all flesh (who put me here) shall set me free; and all the days of my appoint­ed time will I wait, till this my changing come.

SECT. X.

YOu see then by this time, how little reason I have to be too much troubled with this imprisonment, or my friends for me; But in­deed, there are some sorts of Prisoners, which neither you nor I can have teares e­now to bewaile: and those especially of two kinds.

The one, those that are too much affected with an outward bondage: The o­ther, those that are no whit affected with a spirituall.

In the first rank are they that sink under the weight of their Irons: Poor impo­tent soules, that groaning under the cruelty of a Tur­kish thraldom, or a Spanish [Page 171] Inquisition, want Faith to bear them out, against the impetuous violences of their tormentors: I sorrow for their sufferings; but for their fainting more: Could they see the Crown of Glory, which the righteous Judge holds ready for their victo­rious Patience, they could not but contemn paine, and all the pomp of Death, and confesse that their Light af­fliction (which is but for a moment) works for them a far more exceeding & eter­nall weight of glory. But alas, it is the weaknesse of their eyes, that they onely look at the things that are seen, close walls, heavy fet­ters, sharp scourges, merci­lesse racks, and other dread­full engins of torture, and [Page 172] see not the things which are not seen, the glorious re­ward of their victory, bles­sednesse. Had they had Ste­phens eyes, they would have emulated his martyrdome; Surely whosoever shal but read the story of the mother and the seven brothers in the Maccabees, & that of the fourty Armenian Martyrs frozen to death, reported by Gaudentius, and shall there see the fainting revolter dy­ing uncomfortably in the Bath, whiles the other thir­ty and nine (together with their new converted Keeper) are crowned by an Angel from heaven, cannot chuse (except he have nothing but ice in his bosome) but find in himself a disposition e­mulous of their courage, & = [Page 173] ambitious of their honour; But alas, what ever our de­sires, and purposes may be, it is not for every one to at­taine to the glory of Mar­tyrdome; this is the highest pitch, that earthly Saints are capable of: He must be more than a man, whom paine and death cannot re­move from his holy resolu­tions, and especially, the lingring execution of both. It is well if an age can yeeld one, Mole: In what termes shall I commemorate thee, O thou blessed Confessor, the great example of invin­cible constancy, in these back-sliding times (if at least thy rare perseverance be not more for wonder than imi­tation) whom thirty yeares tedious durance in the In­qusitory [Page 174] at Rome, could not weary out of thy sincere profession of the Evangeli­cal truth? All this while thou wert not allowed the speech, the sight of any, but thy persecutors: Here was none to pity thee, none to exhort thee; If either force of perswasion, or proffers of favour, or threats of extre­mity, could have wrought thee for thy perversion, thou hadst not at last dyed ours. Blessed bee the God of all comfort, who having stood by thee, & made thee faith­full to the death, hath now given thee a Crown of life and immortality; and left thee a noble patterne of Christian Fortitude, so much more remarkable, as lesse frequently followed.

[Page 175] Whether I look into the former, or the present times, I finde the world full of shrinking professors.

Amongst the first Christi­ans, persecution easily dis­covered four sorts of cow­ardly Renegadoes; The first, and worst, whom they justly stiled Idolaters, that yielded to all the publicke formes of worship to those false Gods: The second, Sa­crificers, who condescended so far, as to some kinde of immolation unto those fai­ned deities, or, at least, to a tasting of those things which were thus offered: The third, Incensers, such as (with Marcellinus himself) came on so far, as to cast some graines of incense into the Idols fire: The last were [Page 176] their Libellaticks, such as privately by themselves, or by some allowed proxey, denyed the Faith, yet with their money bought out this ignominy, and sinne of any publick Act of Idolatry.

Not to speak of those many thousands which fell downe before Solyman the second, and held up their finger to signifie their con­version to his Mahome­tism, for ease of their taxa­tions? how many do we hear of daily of all nations, and some (which I shame and grieve to say) of our owne, who yeeld to receive cir­cumcision, and to renounce their Saviour? Oh the la­mentable condition of those distressed Christians! If con­stant to their profession, [Page 177] they live in a perpetual pur­gatory of torment; If revol­ting, they run into the dan­ger of an everlasting damna­tion in hell; Even this gen­tle restraint puts me into the meditation of their in­supportable durance; Why do not all Christia nhearts bleed with the sense of their deplorable estate? why is not our compassion heighte­ned, according to the depth of their perill, and misery?

What are our bowels made of, if they yearne not at their unexpressible cala­mity? Ye rich Merchants, under whose imployment many of these poor soules have thus unhappily mis­carried, how can you blesse your selves in your baggs, whiles you see themembers [Page 178] of Christ your Saviour, thus torn from him, for want of a petty ransome? Ye emi­nent persons whom God hath advanced to power & greatness, how can you sleep quietly upon your pillows, whiles you think of the cold and hard lodgings, the hun­gry bellies, the naked and waled backs of miserable Christians? Lastly, what fer­vent prayers should we all, that professe the dear name of Christ, poure out unto the God of heaven for the strengthning of the faith & patience of these afflicted souls against the assaults of violence? and for their hap­py and speedy deliverance out of their woefull capti­vity?

SECT. XI.

THese prisoners are wor­thy of our deep com­passion; as those, who are too sensible of their owne misery; Others there are, who are so much more worthy of greater pity, by how much they are lesse ap­prehensive of their need of it; plausible prisoners under a spirituall tyranny; whose very wills are so captived to the powers of darknesse, that to chuse they would be no other than bondmen; pleasing themselves in those chains, whose weight is e­nough to sink their souls in­to hell; such are they, who have yielded themselves o­ver to be enthralled by any [Page 180] known sin; No men under heaven do so much applaud themselves in the conceit of their liberty; none so great slaves as they; If the very Stoick Philosophers had not enough evinced this truth, Divinity should: Indeed, the world is a worse kind of Al­gier, full of miserable cap­tives; here lies one so fette­red in lust, that hee rots a­gaine; there another, so la­den with drunken excesse, that he can neither goe nor stand, and in very deed is not his owne man: here, one so pinched with golden fetters, that he can neither eate, nor sleep, nor at all enjoy him­self; there, another so pined with envy, that he is forced to feed on his owne heart: here, one so tormented with [Page 181] anger that hee is stark mad for the time; and cares not how hee mischieves himself in a furious desire to hurt o­thers: there, another so rac­ked with ambition, that he is stretched beyond his own length, and lives in the pain of a perpetuall self-exten­sion.

These, and all others of this kinde are most misera­ble prisoners, chained up for ever-lasting darknesse: So much more worthy of our pity, as they are lesse capable of their own: Spend your compassion (if you please) upon these deplo­rable subjects; But for me, wish me (if you will) as free from any imputation of e­vill, as I was, and am from the thought of it; wish mee [Page 182] in your free champian, where I may have no hedge so much as to confine my eye: wish me happy in the society of so dear and no­ble a Friend; but in the meane while, think of me no otherwise, than as a Free Prisoner, And