Media: the middle things, in reference to the first and last things: or, The means, duties, ordinances, both secret, private and publike, for continuance and increase of a godly life, once begun, till we come to Heaven. Wherein are discovered many blessed medium's or duties, in their right method, manner and proceedings; that so a Christian (the spirit of Christ assisting) may walk on in the holy path, which leads from his new birth to everlasting life. / Drawn, for the most part, out of the most eminently pious, and learned writings of our native practical divines: with additionals of his own, by Isaac Ambrose, minister of the Gospel at Preston in Amoundernes.

SECT. 6. Another example of Eternity.

AFter entrance by prayer and choice of this theam, the soul may proceed thus:—

1. Description.

O my soul, what is this Eternity whereof thou studiest? It is the entire and perfect possession of a life (together and at once) that never shall have end: The description may be imperfect, and

no wonder; For how can that be defined, which hath no bon∣dage or limits: Whatsoever is said of eternity, comes infinitely short of it, no words can utter it, no figures number it, no time can measure it: Eternity is of this nature, take from it what you will, it is still the same, it is neither encreased by addition, nor diminished by subtraction: What is Eternity? it is a circle running back into it self, whose centre is always, and circum∣ference, without all end: What is Eternity? it is a duration al∣ways present, it is one perpetual day, which is not divided into that which is past, and that which is to come: What is Eternity? it is an age of ages, never expiring, but always like it self, with∣out all change: What is Eternity? it is a beginning without be∣ginning, middle or ending, or a beginning never ending, always beginning: and this, O my soul is Eternity.

2. Distribution.

There is a twofold Eternity, an Eternity of wo, and an Eter∣nity of joy: First of wo, O wo that never shall have end! The worm shall not dye, the fire never shall be quenched: After a thousand thousand millions of years, there are still as many more to come, and when those many more are come and gone, the woes are yet as far from the last as they were at the first: It is now above Four thousand years since Esau, who hated Jacob, was cast into this pit of woes, and yet the number of his years of torments are as many, as it was the first day of his torment. Secondly, of joy, O joy, above all the joys in harvest; they are the joys of Hea∣ven: There joys the understanding, by a perfect knowledge and vision of God; there joys the memory, by a perfect remem∣brance of all things past; there joys the will, by enjoying all maner of good, without all fear of evil: In this joy there is no corruption, no defect, no old age, but solemn glory, and con∣tinual solemnity; there is an everlasting spring, there is always the flower, and grace of youth and perfect health: With thee is the fountain of life, and in thy light shall we see light.

3. Causes.

Whence are these two Eternities, O my soul, but from him that is onely eternal?

1. Eternal wo is from him, For he hath prepared Tophet of old: God is the efficient, but sin the meritorious cause of this wo, The wages of sin is death.

2. Eternal joy is from him, the Father bestows it, the Son merits it, the Holy Ghost seals and applies it: God hath given thee a Savior (O my soul) to give this eternal joy to thee, and God hath given thee faith, whereby thou mayest attain to this Savior; and God hath given thee his Word, whereby thou mayest attain to this Faith: Look up therefore to him as the be∣ginner and finisher of this Eternity, and whilest thou magnifiest the author, be ravished with the glory of the work; there is no∣thing that is good, that is not comprehended herein: In thy presence is fulness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures evermore.

4. Effects.

What ••re the effects, O my soul, of this Eternity?

1. Of Eternity in Hell, these amongst others; heavy, heavy, most sad and heavy thoughts, when the damned shall consider their dooms, Go ye into everlasting fires, then shall they cast their deep thoughts on

• ...Time past.
• ...Eternity to come.

1. For time past they shall remember, that sometimes they lived (at least some of them) in a glorious Goshen, inlightned with the fairest noon-tide of the Gospel that ever the Sun saw, and that they heard many and many a powerful Sermon; any one passage whereof (had they not suffered Satan to blindefold and baffle them) might have been unto them the beginning of the new birth; that many times they were told of this danger by Gods faithful Ministers; that they had many calls and offers of salvation, and the Spirit of God many a time cryed behinde them, This is the way, walk in it: That sometimes they were half perswaded to be Christians, and they were near salvation, and they had a golden opportunity for it; but alas, they re∣volted again, and preferred their lusts, and passed by those offers and opportunities, with an inexpiable neglect, and horrible in∣gratitude, and now they lie drowned and damned in that lake of fire and brimstone, which they might have so easily and so often escaped: O what a shrike will this cause in Hell? whiles at every of these considerations, the worm of conscience shall give them a deadly bite, even to the heart? that the memory of things here on earth, remains still with all spirits in the world of Hell,

is manifest, Son, remember thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus evil, now therefore is he comforted and thou art tormented, said Abraham to that rich man in Hell.

2. For Eternity to come, they shall consider, That this Eternity is another Hell in Hell; might they endure those horrible pains, and extream horrors, no more millions of years, then there are creatures both in Heaven and earth, they would comfort them∣selves with this thought, My misery will at last have an end; but this word [Eternity] it rents their very heart in pieces, it rents their very throat with hideous roarings, it gives a new life to their insufferable sorrows: O my soul, doest thou not tremble at this consideration. Imagine thou heardst Judas roaring in Hell flames, I have now suffered above One thousand six hundred years since I betrayed Christ, and through the extremity of torment, I have thought these One thousand six hundred, to have been a thou∣sand, thousand, thousand, thousand years: O when will be an end of these sufferings! When? couldst thou tell stellas coeli, stillas roris, undas aquei flueris, &c. all the stars of Heaven, stills of dew, drops of rain, fleeces of snow, flowers of the Spring, colours of flowers, fruits of the earth, grains of corn, leaves of trees, beasts of the field, motes of the Sun flying in the ayr, hairs on thy head, sands on the sea shore, piles of grass growing on the earth; and shouldst thou adde to these, all the thoughts of men, the motions and mutations of all the creatures, and number all these by all the additions and multiplications of Arithmetick, enough to fill volumns reaching from earth unto Heaven, as yet thou hast not measured the length, the middle of Eternity: O Judas here is thy lot, thou hast fryed in Hell above a thousand years, thou must be tormented in those flames a hundred thousand years, ten hundred thousand years, a thou∣sand millions of years, a thousand, thousand, thousand, thousand millions of years, of ages; and when all those years and ages are gone and past, thou art as far from the end of thy torments, as thou wert at the beginning, when thou hangedst thy self, and first wentst down to Hell. O my soul, here's a Meditation able to startle thee from the sleep of sin: No question, at these thoughts, Judas and all the damned in Hell take on with infinite anguish, and inraged indignation: Hence comes that horrible hatred, and perpetual blasphemies which the damned utter

against God: O how they tear their hair, and bite their nails, and gnash their teeth, and dig furiously into the very fountain of life, desirous (if they could do it possibly) to spit out their very bowels. O my heart, well mayest thou tremble in the midst of this Meditation! O Eternity! Eternity! Eternity!

2. Of Eternity in heaven, these (amongst others) are the ef∣fects, rowzing, raising, and most ravishing thoughts, when the blessed shall consider their doom, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom: Then shall they cast their thoughts on

• ...Time past.
• ...Eternity to come.

1. For time past, they shall remember, That sometimes they were in troubles, in sorrows, in sicknesses, in contempt of others, in dangers by Sea and Land; That sometimes they were ready to perish, and to cast away their souls by this or that sin, but that God still held his special hand over them, and gave them grace, and now hath brought them into the Port and Haven of Security, where is no shadow of miseries: O what ravishing of Spirit will the souls of the just be cast into at this recalling of time past! and that the memory of things here below, remains still with all the Spirits of the just made perfect, is manifest: Re∣member me when thou comest into thy kingdom, said the good Thief to Christ.

2. For Eternity to come, they shall consider, That the joy they enjoy, they shall enjoy for ever: They that be wise shall shine as the brightnes of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousnes, as the stars for ever and ever. They shall shine: how? as the firma∣ment, as the stars, or as the Sun, saith our Savior: Not so (saith Chrysostom) as that they should not surpass the brightness of the Sun, but the Sun being the most glittering thing in the world, he takes a resemblance towards the expressing of their incomparable glory: But to heighten this glory, observe the auxesis, it shall be for ever (i.) for eternity, or for ever and ever, (i.) for eternity and eternity; or as the Latines, in perpetuas aeternitates, for perpetual eternities: If one eternity be without end, what are two? what are ten? what are an hundred? what are infinite? O what a life is this that knoweth no end? what a glory is this that never fadeth? what a love is this that never cooleth? what a joy is this that never ceaseth?

5. Opposites.

Why then, O my soul, dost thou set up thy rest on this side Jordan? what are those few short pleasures thou here enjoyest? what is this brittle life, on which depends eternal bliss or wo? what is earth to heaven? what a minute to eternity? if any thing be contrary to eternity, what is it but this punctilio of time we have here to spend? this little brittle life, what is it but an ell, a span, an inch, a point? O dear penyworth, to buy the mer∣ry madness of one hour, with ages of pangs, infinite and eternal! O dearest bargain that ever was, to sell away Heaven, (our everlasting inheritance) with Esau, for a sip of momentany pleasure. I see this world and the other are meer opposites; my life is so little, and eternity so long, that I cannot tell what is more contrary then these two: My life is nothing but a Now, this instant is properly my own, I cannot promise to my self any thing future, and therefore my life and eternity are as contrary as may be.

6. Comparisons.

But to what shall I compare this Eternity? as a drop of water is unto the sea, and a gravel stone in comparison of the sand, so are a thousand years to the day of Eternity: Nay, if we multi∣ply a thousand years a thousand times, it would not amount to the least fraction of the numberless number of Eternity. They say, That the eighth Coelestial Orb or Sphaere, is moved wonder∣ful leisurely, for though it be daily wheeled about by the rapid motion of the Primum mobile, yet it finisheth not its own pro∣per Circuit, but once in Thirty six thousand years; and this space of time they call the Great year, or Plato's year: but compare this with Eternity, and it will appear but as a moment, a very nothing at all; to what then mayest thou compare this Eterni∣ty? O my soul, it is like an Orb, every way round, and like it self, or like a wheel, that turns, and turns, and doth never cease turning; or like a year, continually wheeling about, which turns again to the same point whence it began, and still wheels about again; or like an ever-running Fountain, whither the waters after many turnings flow back again, that they may always flow; or like a Snake bowed back unto it self orbicularly, hold∣ing the tayl in her mouth, which in its end doth again begin, and never ceaseth to begin; or like a Ring, or like a Globe, or like a

Sphaere, or like the circuit of Sun and Moon, without all end.

7. Testimonies.

Is not the Scripture (O my soul) frequent in the mention of Eternity? These shall go into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal: —Their worm shall not dye, their fire never shall be quenched:—Depart from me ye cursed into ever∣lasting fire: —Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water, springing up into eternal life: — We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens: — Surely he shall not be moved for ever, the righ∣teous shall be in everlasting remembrance: —They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever.

Thus far, O my soul, for the information of thy judgement: Now for the stirring up of thy affections.

1. Relish.

O Eternity, whether of joys or woes! O that thou wert writ∣ten in a book, that thou wert graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! O that my heart were the book! that my Meditation were the iron pen and lead! and that this word Eter∣nity were so imprinted and ingraven in my heart, that I might still have it in my minde, when Pleasure fawneth, when Lust pro∣voketh, when the Flesh rebelleth, when the Spirit faileth! O Eternity, how is it I forgot thee! O my soul, be established, and say with David, My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: Set thy self in a sure place, and stand awhile; and standing, ad∣mire at this Eternity, which always stands, and never passeth away; and that thou mayest taste and relish, that thou mayest be affected and moved with this Eternity.

1. Consider the never-dying worm, and the everlasting fire: O the bitterness of this Eternity! there's a man in fire, and a worm at his heart; the fire burns him, and the worm bites him, yet neither of these make an end of him; there he roars, and yells, and howls, and cryes, O wo is me for ever! A man said I! alas, Broad is the way, and many there are that walk hell-ward: It were enough indeed to make all tremble, though there were but one amongst all the sons of Adam to suffer eternally, but

that Hell should enlarge her self, and open her mouth without mea∣sure, and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp should descend into it; that there should be millions of men of the same flesh and blood that I am, chained together in hell, where one roars, and another answers, and all bear the Burthen, Wo and alas for ever. In one nook of Hell there's a lamentable shreek, Wo for ever: in another corner far remote there's an∣other fearful shreek, Wo for ever; in all the corners of those smoky Vaults there's a cry, or an echo of this cry, For ever, for ever, for ever, for ever.—O my soul, how is it thou canst sleep in the night, or be merry in the day, whilest thou thinkest atten∣tively, or considerest throughly of this Meditation? less matters have sometimes bestraught men of their wits, and bereaved them of their lives.

2. Consider the Eternity of joys. O the sweetness of this Eternity! O blessed estate of Saints in the kingdom of heaven! O glory, not to be expressed, even by those who are glorified! there is that perpetual spring, which through the fresh and sweet breathings of the Spirit of God, shall flourish ever; there is time (if it be time) always after one sort, not distinguished into evening and morning, but continued with a simple Eternity. O Eternity of joys, worthy of continual songs of Saints and An∣gels to celebrate thy praise! O Eternity of joys! how should I extol thee, desire thee, love thee, and hate all this world for thee?

2. Complaint.

But alas, where is my fear, my trembling for that Eternity? my love, my longing after this Eternity? what little taste and savour have I of that bitterness, or this sweetness? My soul, what dulness and heaviness is this that hangs upon thee? How hath the world bewitched thee, and thou art become so carnal, so corporeal, so sensless of Spiritual things? Thy thoughts run after riches, and they are uncertain; thou art ambitious after honors, and they are slippery; thou art in love with pleasures, and their end is sudden, and there is bitterness in the end; thou art daily conversing with men, but death shall dissolve all knots of friendship with others. O preposterous care! what, all on the world? and now that Eternity is thy Meditation (on which thou shouldst taste largely, and be affected deeply) art thou now

all a mort? O what dulness, what drowziness, what security is this? if thou hast in thee any sparks of that heavenly fire, first breathed into thee by the Spirit of God; awake, awake, O my soul, away, away with this dull sensless security, and consider there's but a step betwixt thee and Eternity.

3. Wish.

O that I could finde this Eternity! that I could taste or re∣lish this Eternity! that I were fitted and prepared for Eternity! O that I were wise, that I understood this, that I considered my latter end! O that now while it is called to day, while it is the ac∣cepted time, and the day of salvation, I had a diligent and in∣tent eye upon this Eternity! O that I could still reason thus, What if I indure hunger and thirst, emptiness and injuries, sick∣ness and poverty? What if I were beaten with rods, or suffered shipwrack? what if I were stoned to death? all these are nothing to that Eternity of woes; on the contrary, What if I had Croesus riches, Solomons Wardrobe, Belshazzars Cup-board, Sampsons strength, Absoloms beauty? What if an Angel should take me up into an exceeding high mountain, and shew me all the Kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and say unto me, All these will I give thee? all these are nothing to Eternal glory: O when shall this day come, that I shall enter into these confines of Eternity, and solace my self in my God? As the Hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God: My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: O when shall I come and appear before God?

4. Confession.

I desire Lord, but alas, how weakly, how dully, how heart∣lesly? I am not able, Not sufficient of my self, to think any thing as of my self, but my sufficiency is of God: It is nature that pulls me from this holy Meditation; nature favors it self, loves the world, abhors death and Eternity in another world: It is my misery that I dote on nothing, or on sin, that's worse then nothing: How long shall these vanities thus besot me? How long shall these vain thoughts lodge within me? Why Lord? there is no strength in me, I can neither will nor do; It is thou onely must work in me both to will and to do (both to meditate on, and to prepare for Eternity) of thy good will and pleasure.

5. Petition.

To thee, Lord, I make my moan, to thee I tender my humble Petition, and pour out my soul: O give me a taste and relish of this Eternity; O give me this water, that I need thirst no more; O give me such a taste or relish of this water, that it may be in me a well of water, springing up into eternal life: O inflame my soul with a love of these thoughts, with a longing desire after this Eternity of joys: O let me not always be thus dull and brutish, but thou that hast prepared Eternity for me, prepare my soul for Eternity; teach me so to carry on this earth, that I be not shut out of those eternal Mansions in Heaven; give me repentance for sin, that I be not thrown into those Eternal woes in Hell; open my eyes that I may see, draw aside this vail, that I may know what Eternity is; give me so to live, as one that labors for Eternity, contend for Eternity, suffers for Eternity; let me never be so foolish as to settle my self on vanity, and to neglect this Eternity that never shall have end.

6. Confidence.

Behold, O my soul, and do not meerly crave, but challenge this favor of God, as that which he owes thee; he owes it, be∣cause he hath promised it, and by his mercy he hath made his gift his debt: Is there not a promise made, Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound, they shall walk in the light of thy counte∣nence, O Lord: and is it not an experience tryed, I sate down un∣der his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste: O what is this but the taste of Eternity? what is this but a glimpse of unspeakable joy? press on, O my soul, and do not onely believe a taste, but a hearty draught of Eternity; these tastes are but earnests, but there is a promise of everlasting fruition: Hath he not given thee his word for Eternal life, for an Eternal inheritance, for everlasting righteousness, for an inhe∣ritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away? Awake, arise, O my soul, and lay hold on the promises of this blessed Eternity; be not dismaid by reason of thy unworthiness, for the promise is of Grace, freely offered, and freely given to them that be unworthy in their own eyes: Christ hath purchased righ∣teousness and everlasting life, believe in him, and live to all Eternity. O my soul, why art thou dull and sluggish, where∣fore dost thou not put forth thy self to embrace and receive this

promise of Eternity? Gods promises are ever certain, never less, but rather more in accomplishment then in tender; why dost thou not cast thy self upon this blessed issue, If God be merciful, I am eternally happy? It is the sure promise of God, That he that believeth hath Eternal life; therefore if I believe, I am already a free denizon in the new Jerusalem; Eternity of joys is already reserved for me: Why Lord, I believe, come glo∣ry, come Eternity, come and welcom glorious Eternity, eternal glory.

Conclusion.

Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath been bene∣ficial unto thee: O the incomprehensible love and favors of the Lord! Was it ever found that any King or Potentate should adopt the blinde, the lame, the deaf, the dumb, to succeed him in his Inheritance? and shall such a one as I (the vilest, the worst of sinners) inherit everlasting life, a crown that never withereth, a durable treasure, which can never fade: O what shall I give unto the Lord for this Eternity? My soul, rejoyce thou in the Lord, and bless his holy name: Now begin that Alleluiah on earth, which in Heaven thou shalt sing more sweet∣ly to all Eternity, Alleluiah! and again Alleluiah! Amen, Alleluiah!

And now (O my soul) give up thy self to God, and repose thy self wholly on thy Maker and Redeemer; wait patiently on him, for the full possession of this Eternity, and walk chear∣fully in the way that he leads thee thereunto: Say at the part∣ing of this Meditation, O Lord, O Eternity it self, O thou First and Last, Alpha and Omega, without beginning, and without all end, I recommend my soul, my ways to thee; take me to thy keeping, and prepare me for Eternity, through Christ thy onely Son, my onely Savior. Psal. 16. beginning at Verse 7. ad finem.

Notes

• Isa. 66.24.
• Isa. 9.3.
• Psal. 36.9.
• Isa. 30.33.
• Rom. 6.23.
• Psal. 16.11.
• Luke 16.25.
• Luke 23.42.
• Dan 12.3.
• Matth 13.45.
• Eccles. 8.9.
• Matth 25.46.
• Mark 9 44.46.48. Matth 25.41. Iohn 4.14. 2 Cor. 5.1.
• Psal. 112.6.
• Dan. 12.3.
• Iob 19.23, 24.
• Psal. 57.7.
• Isa. 5.14.
• Deut. 32.29. 2 Cor. 6.2.
• 2 Cor. 11.23, 25.
• 2 Cor. 3.5.
• Ier. 4.14.
• Phil. 2.13.
• Psal. 89.15. Can. 2.3.
• Iohn 3.16. Heb. 9.15. Dan. 9.24. 1 Pet. 1.4.
• Iohn 3.36.
• Psal. 116.7.