§. Sect. 3 Of the effici∣cient cause or person who is to meditate.
The efficient cause, or person who is to performe this exercise, is the Christian onely, and the man regenerate; for holy things must not bee touched with prophane hands, seeing they doe not sanctifie them, but are polluted with their vncleanenesse. Neither can they that are dead in sinne, doe the actions of the liuing, and are so farre from performing this holy duty in any acceptable manner, that they are not able so much as to thinke a good thought. Neither is it enough that we be once purged from their guilt and punishment in our iustification, by the death and bloodshed of Christ applyed by faith, or that we be freed from the corruption of sinne, in the first acts of our sanctification; but seeing wee doe daily renew our sinnes, and thereby defile our soules and bodies, we must daily clense them by renewing our repentance, and not presume to vndertake this holy worke, liuing and lying in our spirituall defilements, but we must wash our soules (as sometimes the Israelites their clothes) before we presume to ap∣proach vnto this mount of Meditation, wherein God hath promised to be seene; and to clense the Tables of our hearts with the teares of true contri∣tion, before we goe about to haue any holy impressions written in them. And seeing sinne, like a thicke cloud, doth dimme and dazle the eyes of our mindes, so as we cannot see holy and heauenly things, wee must first dispell them by vnfained repentance, before we can receiue any comfort of diuine and heauenly light. And being to entertaine our Bridegroome Christ, in his spirituall presence, into our hearts, (as it were) into our hou∣ses, and to solace our soules in a more heere communion and familiarity with him, we are first to purge them from all noysome defilements, which will make our company lothsome vnto him; and though wee cannot so sufficiently purifie them, that they may bee worthy to entertaine so pure and holy a ghest, yet at least, in a sincere affection let vs labour to doe the best we can, that it may not appeare to be a fault of negligence, but of our spirituall pouerty and impotency, which disableth vs to giue him any bet∣ter welcome. The formall cause of this exercise, is a serious cogitation, or intentiue deliberation; Neither is this worke of the Lord to be done neg∣ligently and slightly, letting the reines loose to our cogitations, that they may wander whither they list, but wee are to intend the whole powers of our mind vnto it, and to set them strictly to this holy taske, not suffering them to wander abroad whither they please, but to apply themselues to that which they haue vndertaken, vntill they haue brought their worke vnto some good perfection. The subiect-matter of our Meditation is something diuine, spirituall, and heauenly: vnto which our thoughts, for the time it lasteth, are to be restrained, and not suffered to wander after, or to intermingle with them any worldly things. The finall causes or ends of it, are the glory of God, and our owne saluation, both which are aduan∣ced, when as wee handle after an holy manner in our Meditations, some