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AS the soul must bee clean from sin, so it must be 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 thron∣ged with cares, and turbulent passions? The Spirit of God will not endure to be crowded up together with the vvorld in our strait lodgings; An holy vacuity must make way for him in our bosomes. The divine pattern of Devotion, in whom the Godhead dwelt bodily, re∣tires
into the Mount to pray; he that carried heaven with him, would even thus leave the world below him. Alas, how can we hope to mount up to heaven in our thoughts, if we have the clogges of earthly cares hanging at our heels! Yea, not onely must there be a shutting out of all distractive cares, and passions, which are professed e∣nemies to our quiet conversing with God in our Devotion, but there must be also a denudation of the minde from all those i∣mages 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 af∣ter every butterfly, that passeth by them; here must be therefore a carefull intention of our thoughts, a restraint from all vain, and idle rovings, and an
holding our selves close to our divine task: Whiles Martha is troubled about many things, her devouter sister, having chosen the better part, plies the one thing necessary, which shall never be taken from her; and whiles Mar∣tha would feast Christ with bo∣dily fare, she is feasted of Christ with heavenly delicacies.