The devil is an enemy to meditation; he cares not how much people read and hear, nor how little they meditate; he knows that meditation is a means to compose the heart, and bring it into a gracious frame : now the devil is against that. Satan is content that you should be hearing and praying christians, so that ye be not meditating christians; he can stand your small shot, provided you do not put in this bullet.

CH. IX.-A Reproof to such as do not meditate in God's law.

Use 2. Of reproof. It serves to reprove those who meditate indeed, but not in the law of God: they turn all their meditations the wrong way; like a man that lets forth the water of his mill, which should grind his corn, into the highway, where it doth no good: so there are many who let out their meditations upon other fruitless things which are no ways beneficial to their souls.

1. The farmer meditates on his acres of land, not upon his soul: his meditation is how he may improve a barren piece of ground, not how he may improve a barren mind: he will not let his ground lie fallow, but he lets his heart lie fallow: there is no spiritual culture, not one seed of grace sown there.

2. The physician meditates upon his receipts, but seldom on those receipts which the gospel prescribes for his salvation,-faith and repentance. Commonly the devil is physician to the physician, having given him such stupifying physic, that for the most part he dies of a lethargy.

3. The lawyer meditates upon the common law; but as for God's law he seldom meditates in it either day or night. The lawyer while he is meditating on his client's evidences, often forgets his own.

Most of

this robe have their spiritual evidences to seek, when they should have them to show.

4. The tradesman is for the most part meditating upon his wares and drugs: his study is how he may increase his estate, and make the ten talents a hundred. He is "cumbered about many things;" he doth not meditate in the book of God's law, but in his accountbook day and night. At the long run you will see these were fruitless meditations; you will find that you are but golden beggars, and have got but the fool's purchase when you die, Luke xii. 20.

5. There is another sort that meditate only upon mischief, "who devise iniquity," Mic. ii. 1. they meditate how to defame and to defraud; "they make the ephah small, and the shekel great,” Amos viii. 5. The ephah was a measure used in buying, the shekel a weight used in selling; they know how to collude and sophisticate. Christians who should support, too often supplant one another. And how many meditate revenge! it is sweet to them as dropping honey, as Homer speaks. Their hearts shall meditate terror," Isa. xxxiii. 18. The sinner is a felon to himself, and God will make him a terror to himself, Jer. xx. 4.

CH. X.-A holy persuasive to Meditation.

Use 3. Of exhortation. I am in the next place to exhort christians to this so necessary duty of meditation. If ever there be a duty I would press upon you with more earnestness and zeal, it should be this, because so much of the vitals and spirit of religion lies in it. The plant may as well bear fruit without watering, the meat may as well nourish without digesting as we can fructify in holiness without meditation. God provides the meat, ministers can but cook and dress it for you. Meditation must make the concoction: for

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want of this you may cry out with the prophet, "My leanness, my leanness, wo unto me!" Isa. xxiv. 16. Ŏ let me persuade such as fear God, seriously to set about this duty. If you have formerly neglected it, bewail your neglect, and now begin to make conscience of it. Lock up yourselves with God, at least once a day, by holy meditation. Ascend this hill, and when you are arrived at the top of it, you shall see a fair prospect, Christ and heaven before you. Let me put you in mind of that sweet saying of Bernard, O saint, knowest thou not that thy husband Christ is bashful, and will not be familiar in company, retire thyself by meditation into the closet, or the field, and there thou shalt have Christ's embraces." Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field, there will I give thee my loves," Cant. vii. 11, 12. O that I could persuade christians to this rare duty! Why is it that you do not meditate in God's law? let me expostulate the case with you; what is the reason? Methinks I hear some say, We are indeed convinced of the necessity of the duty, but alas there are many things that hinder. There are two great objections that lie in the way: I shall remove them, and then hope the better to persuade to this duty.

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CH. XI.-The Answering of Objections.

Obj. 1. I have so much business in the world that I have no time to meditate.

Answer. The world indeed is a great enemy to meditation. It is easy to lose one's purse in a crowd; and in a crowd of worldly employments, it is easy to lose all the thoughts of God. So long as the heart is an exchange, I do not expect that it should be a temple: but, to answer the objection, hast thou so much business that thou hast no time for meditation? as if

religion were but, by the by, a thing fit only for idle hours. What! no time to meditate! What is the business of thy life but meditation? God never sent us into the world to get riches. I speak not against labour in a calling; but I say this is not the end of our coming hither. The errand God sent us into the world about, is salvation; and that we may attain the end, we must use the means, namely, holy meditation. Now, hast thou no time to meditate? just as if a husbandman should say, truly he hath so much business that he hath no time to plough or sow! Why, what is his occupation but ploughing and sowing? What a madness is it to hear christians say they have no time to meditate! What is the business of their lives but meditation? O take heed, lest by growing rich you grow worth nothing at last. Take heed that God doth not sue out the statute of bankrupt against you, and you be disgraced before men and angels. No time for meditation! you shall observe that others in former ages have had as much business as you, and public affairs to look after, yet they were called upon to meditate; "Thou shalt meditate in this book of the law," Josh. i. 8. Joshua might have pleaded an excuse; he was a soldier, a commander, and the care of marshalling his army lay chiefly upon him, yet this must not take him off from religion; Joshua must meditate in the book of God's law. God never intended that the great business of religion should give way to a shop or farm; or that a particular calling should jostle out the general.

Obj 2. But this duty of meditation is hard. To set time apart every day to get the heart into a meditating frame is very difficult. Gerson reports of himself, that he was sometimes three or four hours before he could work his heart into a spiritual frame.

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Ans. Doth this hinder? To this I shall give a threefold reply.

1. The price that God hath set heaven at is labour; our salvation cost Christ blood, it may well cost us labour. "The kingdom of heaven suffers violence," Matt. xi. 12. It is as a garrison that holds out, and the duties of religion are the taking it by storm. A good christian must offer violence to himself; though not to self natural, yet to self sinful. Self is nothing but the flesh, Gal. v. 17. as Basil, Jerome, Theophylact, and Chrysostom, do all expound it. The flesh cries out for ease, it is a libertine; it is loth to take pains, loth to pray, to repent, loth to put its neck under Christ's yoke. Now a christian must hate himself; no man ever yet hated his own flesh, Eph. v. 29. yes, in this sense he must hate his own flesh, the lusts of the flesh," Rom. viii. 13. He must offer violence to himself by mortification and meditation. Say not it is hard to meditate, is it not harder to lie in hell?

2. We do not argue so in other things. Riches are hard to come by, therefore I will sit still and be without them: no, difficulty is the whetstone of industry. How will men venture for gold! and shall we not spend and be spent for that which is more precious than the gold of Ophir? by meditation we suck out the quintessence of a promise.

3. Though while we are first entering upon meditation it may seem hard, yet, when once we are entered, it is sweet and pleasant. Christ's yoke at the first putting on may seem heavy; but when once it is on it becomes easy; it is not a yoke, but a crown. Lord, saith Austin, the more I meditate on thee, the sweeter thou art to me. According to that of holy David, My meditation of thee shall be sweet," Psal. civ. 34. The poets say, the top of Olympus was