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.

Chap. 9. Of timing our Meditations in the best manner.

1. It is good to begin every year with holy meditations: men usually handsell the year with some new∣years gifts; let us look higher, even to God: certainly this is our best newyears gift, to give a heart to God, fraught with heavenly medi∣tations. To this purpose, such me∣ditations as these are usefull; name∣ly, to try one year by another; whether grace thrive or decay in us; to see according to our years, what progresse we have made in the way

to Heaven; if for every year of our life, we are passed a station of the wildernesse of this world, to the heavenly Canaan; if as our outward man decayes, our inner man be re∣newed day by day: it is of great ad∣vantage to Christians, to begin the year with such meditations; and better it is to fill our minds with these, than our bellies with dainty food: this work of meditation is a part of our yearly Rent to be paid to God: every new year we renew the lease of our lives again of God; and therefore pious meditations are a task answerable to such a time: the new man in the beginning of the new∣year, is to meditate on his over year sins, and heartily bewail them, and repent of them; to meditate on the renewing his Covenant with God for new obedience; and according to the work of grace in him, to strengthen his communion with God.

2. It is good also to begin every day with meditation: In the morning sow thy seed, Eccles. 11.6. David's meditations did prevent the morn∣ing

watch; his soul was flying to Heaven before the Sun was up, or the morning got out of its bed: and saith he, Psal. 139.18. When I awake, I am still with thee: to which Ambrose alluding, saith, Let a devo∣ted spirit prevent the morning, that it may be enlightned by Christ, before the earth be illuminated by the rising of the Sun. We bend our heart to God in the morning, when we lift our heart to God, and give him our first thoughts and affections; then shall he fill us with his mercies in the morning, that we may rejoyce all the day long. Demosthenes was trou∣bled, that a Smith should be at his Anvil, before himself could be at his Study; much more should it grieve us to be prevented by them.

Season your minds in the morn∣ing with such meditations as these:

1. Meditate on the great favour which God hath vouchsafed to thee the night past; and if thou hast not remembred God upon thy bed; nor thy reins instructed thee in the night season; and if God hath not been in all thy thoughts, think of humbling

thy self before him, and crave his pardon.

2. In the morning meditate thus with thy self: this day is given me to give all diligence, to make my cal∣ling and election sure; to obtain eternall life; to take a firm resoluti∣on to imploy my whole life to that purpose; and to think seriously of the reckoning I must give to God.

3. Meditate upon what affairs thou maist meet with the day follow∣ing, as helps or hindrances to thee in God's service: use the best means of∣fered to promote thy service of God; and think how thou maist carefully resist, and overcome whatever is contrary to God's glory, and thy salvation.

4. Meditate how unable thou art to perform any pious resolutions, be they either to shun the evil, or do the thing that is good; and offer up thy heart in the morning, with all thy holy purposes, to the heavenly Majesty, praying him to take it and them into his gracious protection.

5. Think with thy self every morning: this day for ought that I

know, may be my last day; how ought I then so to spend this day, as though death were presently to arrest me. By these or the like morning meditations, all that shall be done the day after, may be bedewed with the blessing of Heaven.

As in the morning you are to take a spirituall repast by meditation; so in the evening 'tis necessary to take a devout and spirituall collation. Isa∣ac in my Text went out in the even∣ing to meditate: One adviseth, that meditation be our key to open the morn∣ing, and our lock to close the evening withall. Get a little leisure after all your wordly imployments, to call up your spirits to the consideration of some holy object, which thou maist present to thy self simply, by an in∣ward cast of thy thought, kindling the fire of meditation in thy heart, by a few holy inspirations and ejacu∣lations to the Lord, either in repeat∣ing, what thou hast best relished in thy morning meditations, or by some other as thou best likest.

Now such meditations as these in the evening, before our going to

bed, may not be unprofitable.

1. To meditate on God's great goodnesse, in preserving thee the day before, from many troops of dan∣gers, that lay in ambuscado against thee.

2. To meditate and examine thy self, how thou hast carried thy self in every part of the day; which to do the more easily, you are to consider with whom, and in what imploy∣ments you have been busied.

3. If a man hath done any good, to think of praising God for it; if any ill, in thought, word, or deed, to be humbled, and ask pardon for it, with a resolution carefully to amend it.

4. So to end the day in holy du∣ties, that by our morning exercise, we may open the windows of our souls to the Sun of righteousnesse, and going to take such rest as is neces∣sary for us, we shut them up against the Prince of darknesse.

Meditation is also a good night companion. David would remem∣ber God upon his bed, and meditate on him in the night watches, Psal.

63.6. Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy Word, Psal. 119.148. The night, saith Chrysostome, was not made to this purpose, that we should sleep all the time, and lye lolling on our beds; the manua∣ry Trades, and Horsekeepers, and Mer∣chants, can witnesse as much unto us▪ Rise thou at midnight as doth the Church; mark the motion of the Stars, the deep silence of all things then being, their rest they then enjoy, and admire the pro∣vidence of God above; then is thy soul more pure, more light and subtil, more lofty and quick; the very darknesse it self, and that great silence may induce thee to much contemplation: and saith he further; Look toward the City, and thou shalt hear no noise at all; cast thine eye on thine house, and all thy family shall seem as if they lay in their graves or sepulchres; all this may stir thee up to high and heavenly meditations: and saith the same Father elsewhere; In the night no body is troublesome to us; then have we a great tranquillity of our thoughts, when our businesses are not troublesome, when there is none that can hinder us from having accesse to God,

when our mind knittin•• it self together, is able diligently to mak•• reference of all to the Physitian of souls. I shall not prescribe which of these is the fittest time for meditation, but to me the morning seemeth to be the fittest; but no time comes amisse to a prepa∣red heart.

Notes

• Psal. 130.6.
• Ambros. in Psal. 36. It is good to set our souls in or∣der every morn∣ing, perfuming our spirits with some holy medi∣tations. D^r Sibs.
• Cicer. Tusc. quaest. l. 4.
• Chrysost. ad po∣pul. Antioch. Hom. 42.
• Chrysost. in Gen. Hom. 30.