The mount of holy meditation: or a treatise shewing the nature and kinds of meditation the subject matter and ends of it; the necessity of meditation; together with the excellency and usefulnesse thereof. By William Gearing minister of the gospel at Lymington in the county of Southampton.

Sect. 2. Of the ends of solemn meditation.

The end of meditation is both to af∣fect the heart with the objects on which we meditate, and that the heart may be made better thereby.

1. I say, one end of meditation is to affect the heart, it is very delightfull to those that are conversant in it: he that hath changed his mind or opinion up∣on meditation never accuseth her of tyranny; meditation is very perswa∣sive, clearing our judgements, calm∣ing our passions, and gaining our con∣sent to that which is good; it far sur∣passeth eloquence, and like a Soveraign raigns without arms; it hath no need of our ears to win our hearts: by it self it transmitteth it self into the inmost recesses of our souls; finds out reason in ••er throne; carries more light into ••he mind, and kindleth in the will a

more fervent love to God, making a man in love with what he formerly ha∣ted. Meditation opposeth the charms of grace against the allurements of sin▪ and so sweet and powerfull is holy me∣ditation, that it blots out all earthly cogitations; it sets before the eyes of our souls such taking and alluring ob∣jects, which are more prevalent than those of sin, and by these holy delights our hearts are ravished, and grace easily prevails against the corruptions of na∣ture: these are the first fruits of those everlasting pleasures the Saints shall reap in the Kingdome of Heaven, whereby those that feed on God and his promises by holy meditation here, do tast one part of that felicity which the blessed do feed upon in Heaven; this hath ever been very affecting to the Saints: My meditation of him, saith Da∣vid, shall be sweet, Psal. 104.34. or my word of him shall be sweet; it signifie•• a word secretly spoken, as one observ∣eth: the heart speaks of God in medita∣tion, and those words are musick in the soul; the word imports a sweetnesse with mixture, like compound spices or many flowers mixt together; such va∣riety

of sweetnesse this meditation of God yeeldeth to him, whose mind is upon him, whose heart is toward him: the operation of the mind makes up a sweet delight; there is more content in meditating on the love of God, more refreshing to the heart, than wine can give to the body; his love is better than wine: We will remember thy l••ve more than wine, Cant. 1.2, 4. Da∣vid tells us that the thoughts of God are precious, Psal. 139.17. they are so to a heart that is in a right frame; and saith he, My soul is filled as with marrow and fatnesse, when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches, Psal. 63.5.

Meditation is the rubbing up of the memory, and may not unfitly be cal∣led the whetstone of memory; for even as a whetstone or grindstone addeth an edge to the Knife or other instrument which is whetted thereupon; so this sharpeneth our memories, and gives us occasion to call that to mind, which otherwise would have been forgotten; or it may be compared to the steel and stone of a Tinder-boxe, neither of which severally will yeeld any fire,

but being smitten together, the fire cometh forth incontinently; so fareth it with men that are of good capacities, that can conceive much at the instant, but remember little, because they use not their memories, and exercise not themselves in pious meditations: Me∣ditation is the heart, life, and soul of remembrance, making whatsoever we read and hear to abide with us, and be our own, else it will away: medita∣tion with (Philip's Page) must daily knock at the doors of our hearts, and cause us to call to mind what we have learnt, else by corruption we shall soon forget it; this made Periander King of Corinth to say, Meditatio totum. It is an undoubted maxime, that a thing be it never so good and excellent, yet it is not very desireable of us, till it be∣git to affect our hearts, though it hath more charms than beauty, and more lustre than outward glory, more invi∣tations than secular profits; yet if it convey not pleasure into the will, it knows not how to beget love unto it.

2. Meditation also bettereth the heart as well as affects it: It is said that King Mythridates having found out

Mythridate, he so strengthened his body, that endeavouring to poison himself, to avoid the servitude of the Romans, he could by no means effect it: so whosoever shall feed on holy objects by meditation, and use it frequently, shall so fortifie his heart, that it shall not be poisoned with any evil affecti∣ons.

Meditation is a heart-warming duty; study only warms the brains, but me∣ditation warmeth the heart; there∣fore when holy truth falls upon a pre∣pared heart, it hath a sweet and strong operation: Luther confesseth, that having heard Staupicius a grave Divine to say, that that is kind repentance which begins from the love of God, ever after that time the practice of repentance was sweeter to him: another speech of his likewise did much affect Luther, viz. that in doubts of predestination we should begin from the wounds of Christ, that is, from the sense of God's love to us in Christ; there∣fore the warming of the brains in study, without the warming the heart by me∣ditation, is but a dead and cold specu∣lation: serious meditation puts lively colours upon common truths, which

operate strongly upon the heart to make it better.

Notes

• Qui audit mel esse dulce, & nòn gustat, nomen mellis scit, gratiam & saporem ne∣scit: gustate ergo, & videte quam suavis sit. Dominus Bonavent.
• Symonds fixed eye.
• Meditatio co•• memoriae.
• Luther. Melch. Ad in vit. Sta••