honey, but he can never surfeit with the word of God. He that hath once, with Jeremiah, "found the word and eaten it," Jer. xv. 16. will not be cloyed with it; there is such savouriness in the word, that a christian cries out, "Lord, evermore give me this bread," John vi. 34. There is such sweetness in communion with God, that the soul saith, “O that it might be always thus! O that what I now feel I might ever feel!" He that delights in God, doth not complain he hath too much of God, but rather too little he opens and spreads the sails of his soul to take in more of those heavenly gales, he longs for that time when he shall be ever delighting himself in the sweet and blessed vision of God. IX. Without this holy delight we weary ourselves, and we weary God too; "Will ye weary my God also?" Isa. vii. 13. Our delighting in God would make him delight in us; but when we begin to say "What a weariness is it" to serve the Lord, Mal. i. 13. God is as weary as we are; he is even sick of such services. When duties are a burden to us, they are a burden to God, and what should we do with them? when a man is weary of a burden, he will cast it off. Let all this quicken delight in God's service. CH. VIII.-Showing how a Christian may arrive at this Delight in God's Law. For the attaining this blessed delight in the law of God, three things are requisite. Direction 1. Set a high estimate upon the word; what the judgment prizes, the affections embrace; he that values gold, will delight in it; we are apt, through a principle of atheism, to entertain slight thoughts of religion, therefore our affections are so 66 slight. David prized God's statutes at a high rate; More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold," Psal. xix. 10. and hence grew that enflamed love to them; "I will delight myself in thy statutes." Psal. cxix. 16. 2. Pray for a spiritual heart; an earthly heart will not delight in spiritual mysteries; the earth puts out the fire. Earthliness destroys holy delight; get a spiritual palate, that you may relish the sweetness of the word. He that tastes the sweetness of honey, will delight in it. "If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious," 1 Pet. ii. 3. It is not enough to hear a sermon, but you must taste a sermon; it is not enough to read a promise, but you must taste a promise; when you have obtained this spiritual palate, then God's word will be to you "the joy and rejoicing of your heart," Jer. xv. 16. 3. If you would delight in the law of God, purge out the delight of sin; sin will poison this spiritual delight. If you would have God's law sweet, let not "wickedness be sweet in your mouth," Job xx. 12. When sin is your burden, Christ will be your delight. CH. IX.-Holy Delight should cause Thankfulness. WHAT cause have they to be thankful who can find this spiritual delight in God! How did David bless God that he gave the people hearts to offer so cheerfully to the building of the temple; "Who am I and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort?" 1 Chron. xxix. 14. Their willingness was more than their offering; so should a christian say, Lord, when there are so many prest soldiers, who am I, that I should offer so willingly? Who am I, that I should have thy free Spirit, and should serve thee rather out of choice than constraint? It is a great blessing to have this promptitude and alacrity in God's service; delight animates to duty; now we act to purpose in religion. Christians are never drawn so powerfully and sweetly, as when the chain of delight is fastened to their heart. Without this all is lost; our praying and hearing is like water spilt upon the ground: it loses both its beauty and reward. Then bless God, christian, who hath oiled the wheels of thy soul with delight, and now thou canst 66 run and not be weary." For thy comfort, be assured thou shalt not want any thing thy heart can desire, " Delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Psal. xxxvii. 4 CHRISTIAN ON THE MOUNT; OR, A TREATISE CONCERNING MEDITATION. AND IN HIS LAW DOTH HE MEDITATE DAY AND NIGHT. HAVING led you through the chamber of delight, I will now bring you into the withdrawing room of meditation. "In his law doth he meditate day and night." CHAPTER I.—The opening of the Words, and the Proposition asserted. GRACE produces delight in God, and delight produces meditation. A duty wherein consists the essentials of religion, and which nourishes the very life-blood of it; and that the psalmist may show how much the godly man is habituated and inured to this blessed work of meditation, he subjoins, "In his law doth he meditate day and night." Not but that there may be sometimes intermission: God allows time for our calling, he grants some relaxation; but when it is said, the godly man meditates day and night, the meaning is, frequently, he is much conversant in the duty. It is a command of God to pray without ceasing, 1 Thess. v. 17. The meaning is, not that we should be always praying, as the Euchites held, but that we should every day set some time apart for prayer; so Drusius and others interpret it. We read in the old law of the continual sacrifice, Numb. xxviii. 24. not that the people of Israel did nothing else but sacrifice, but because they had their stated hours; every morning and evening they offered, therefore it was called the continual sacrifice, thus the godly man is said to meditate day and night, that is, he is often at this work, he is no stranger to meditation. Doctrine. The proposition that results out of the text is this, that a good christian is a meditating christian. "I will meditate in thy precepts," Ps. cxix. 15. "Meditate upon these things," 1 Tim. iv. 15. Meditation is the chewing upon the truths we have heard: the beasts in the old law that did not chew the cud, were unclean; the christian that doth not by meditation chew the cud, is to be accounted unclean. Meditation is like the watering of the seed, it makes the fruits of grace flourish. For the illustration of the point, there are several things to be discussed. 1. I shall show you what meditation is. 2. That meditation is a duty. 3. The difference between meditation and memory. 4. The difference between meditation and study. 5. The subject of meditation. 6. The necessity of meditation |