for the right carrying it on sweetly; what now remains, but that you up and be doing; turn your hand to it. You have heard the duty proved; you have heard the sweetness and profitableness thereof cleared; you have heard what objects we are to lay our thoughts out upon; and you have heard some means as helps unto the work, and some rules and directions for the carrying of it on: oh, then, you that have never spent an hour in meditation all your days, if there be any such here, now bethink yourselves, and now give up your thoughts to God. You that have gone one year after another, and one week after another, and never spent any time in meditating on God or the things of God, oh, now bethink yourselves and that you may do so, and be provoked hereunto, give me leave to lay down some arguments and motives to press both your souls and mine unto this great work of meditation. The arguments are divers. Thus,

Friends, the more acquaintance you have with this work of meditation, the more time you will get, and the less you will lose. A man that hath the skill on it need never lose an hour. Who knows the worth of time? This little spot of time doth our eternity depend upon; yet, Lord, how many are there that lose their precious hours and time! But what is the reason? They have no hand at this work of meditation: when their business is over they might, otherwise, turn their hand to this work, and lose no time. The more acquaintance you have with this work of meditation, the more time you will get, and the less you will lose.

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Hereby, even by this work of meditation, you shall get into the secrets of divine things. There is a secret and a mystery in trade: a man does not know the trade till he knows the secret and the mystery of it: it is said, "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him." Knowledge brings us to the door of truth, but meditation hath us into the house, and into all the rooms thereof: thereby, I say, you shall get into the inwards and the secrets of the things of God.

Thereby, also, you shall suck out the sweetness of all those divine and precious things that you know. As a man by musing on his sins, sucks out the sweetness thereof; so by meditating on the things of God you suck out the sweetness of the things of God into your own souls.

By this work of meditation you shall have a testimony in

your own souls that you are truly godly. Every man is what he is most in private. A good man's work lies most underground, lies most out of sight. In the time of Moses, the beasts were clean that chewed the cud, and unclean that did not chew the cud. In the time of David it is made the description of a godly man; "He delighteth in the law of the Lord, and therein doth he meditate." Hereby, then, you shall have a testimony in your own hearts that you are truly godly. But you shall not only have a testimony that you are truly godly, but practice it, and thereby you shall be very godly for the more constant you are in godliness, the more godly you are. By the work of meditation, you will be constant in the work of godliness. The more extensive your godliness is, the more godly you are. Now by meditation you can extend your thoughts beyond your hands. As by sinful musings a man can extend his thoughts beyond his power to practice; so by meditation on God and the things of God, a man may extend his thoughts concerning godliness beyond his power to act. As in sin, a man by his thoughts may be naught where he hath not an outward power to be naught; so by holy meditation, a man may be good where he hath not a power in his hand to practice. The psalmist saith in the xlvth Psalm: "The king's daughter is all glorious within, her garment is of wrought gold," verse 13. Her clothing is of wrought gold, is not that glorious? clothing is outward, but saith he, "She is all glorious within;" it is not the wrought gold without makes her glorious, but she is all glorious within; though the garment, and though her clothing be of wrought gold, yet her glory lies within. Here lies the glory of a christian, to be glorious within. And how can we have this inward holiness, grace, and goodness, and glory, unless we be versed in this work of meditation?

Thereby also, you shall offer up yourselves unto divine embraces; and upon this ground of meditation will God give out his loves unto you. In Cant. vii. 12, saith Christ: "There will I give thee my loves." There; where? "Let us get up early to the vineyards, let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth." Here is the public assembly. What is this to meditation? Yes, in the former verse: "Come my beloved, let us go forth into the field, let us lodge in the villages;"

places of retirement; "There will I give thee my loves," upon the ground of retirement. There will he give forth his loves. Oh, what a great mercy is here, by this work of meditation, you do not only offer up yourselves unto divine embraces; but there, upon meditation ground, will God give out his loves unto you.

Thereby also your souls and hearts shall be subdued unto God: as in sin, so here, friends, it is not a sinful thought that doth subdue my heart into sin; it is not a sinful suggestion that subdues my heart into sin: but, a complacential dwelling of sinful thoughts in my heart, subdues my heart into sin. So it is not a transient good thought that will subdue the soul, or the heart unto God; but it is a complacential dwelling of good thoughts in the heart that doth subdue the heart unto God, and that is done by meditation. Thereby therefore, I say, your very hearts shall be subdued unto the Lord. Oh what a mercy is this.

By this work of meditation on God, and the things of God; you shall live on God. Possibly a man may come to the court where the king is, and not live upon the king, because he does not stay there; but those that stay at the court, they live upon the king, for they stay there. Now by a thought, I do not stay upon God; but by a frequent meditation on God, I shall live in God; for then I stay by God, and I do stay on him.

Thereby also you shall have a constant relief against all your afflictions both inward and outward.

Inward, Psalm cxliii., " Have mercy upon me, O Lord, (for saith he, verse 4.) My spirit is overwhelmed within me, my heart within me is desolate :" what then? "I remember the days of old, I meditate on all thy works." Here lies the relief against spiritual fears, and overwhelmings of soul, even to meditate on God as one ought to do in a right manner: I am overwhelmed, but I will meditate on all thy works, and muse on the work of thy hands.

As for the outward afflictions, Psalm cxix., the place cited before verse 23. "Princes also did sit and speak against me, but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes." Reproach from an ordinary man, is affliction enough; but for kings and princes to speak against one, this is a great matter. What relief then? "But thy servant did meditate on thy statutes." So that by

this, you have a constant relief against both outward, and inward afflictions. And,

Thereby also you shall be freed from that unkindness, that God will take at your hands if you do not meditate on God and the things of God. Friends, if you do not meditate on God and the things of God, God will take it very unkindly at your hands. What man that is abroad beyond sea, hearing that his wife frolicks it at home and never thinks on him, will not take it unkindly? We are absent now from God, and to frolick and be vain, and go up and down, and have no thoughts on God, no meditation on God; how unkindly must God take this at our hands? It is a slight, if a man speak unto you, and you do not think of what he speaks, it is a slight to him. So to read what God saith, or see what God doth, and not think on it, not to meditate on it; what is this but a slight unto God?

Psalm cxix. 15, "I

Respect and meditation go together. will meditate on thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways." So then, the want of meditation and thinking on what God saith and what God doth, is a great slighting of him, it is a want of respect, and God will take it unkindly. And what then? Why he will deal by you as you deal by him if you think not on him, he will not think on you; and in the day of your extremity, when you call and cry to him, because you thought not of him, he will not think of you. But to end all.

God knows, and your own souls know, how you have lain musing in the way of sin; how sometimes you have lain devising mischief upon your beds; how often you have chewed the devil's cud; what swarms of unclean thoughts, of proud thoughts, of unbelieving thoughts, have possessed your hearts. Oh, friends, shall we lie musing upon our bed in a way of sin, and shall we not think and muse and meditate on God and the things of God? What, shall we not be the same for God, that ever we have been for sin? Oh, we have had our sinful musing times, therefore now why should we not have our holy musings also?

And to conclude all; meditation, holy meditation, is a very great friend to heavenly conversation. Sweet meditation of God, is a very great friend to holy conversation; private meditation, a great friend to an outward holy conversation.

Now then, as ever you desire that the holiness of your conversation may be advanced; that you may be as godly now in your thoughts. as ever you have been ungodly; that God may take nothing unkindly from you; that you may have a constant relief against all afflictions, both inward and outward; that you may live on God; that your hearts may be subdued unto God; that God may give out his loves unto you; that you may be very godly; that you may have a testimony in your own souls that you are truly godly; that you may suck out the sweetness of all the things you know; that you may be let into the secret of godliness, aud not stand at the door of knowledge only; that you may never lose a precious hour, but redeem your time: now to the work of meditation; and you that have neglected it so long, be not ashamed to begin it at last.

SERMON IX.

GOD'S RETURN TO THE SOUL OR NATION.

Return, O Lord, how long, and let it repent thee concerning thy servants," PSALM. XC. 13.

THIS psalm is a psalm of Moses the man of God," saith the title.

Wherein he doth strengthen his faith, and the Israelites' faith in God; shews the misery and frailty of man's life, and petitions God for his mercy.

He sets down the misery and frailty of man's life, in the body of the psalm. But before, in the beginning of the psalm, he doth strengthen his own and others' faith in God.

A man is never fit to look upon the troubles of this world, and the miseries thereof, until his heart be established in God by believing. This therefore he doth, in the first place, by several arguments of comfort.

First drawn from their interest in God. Verse 1, "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations." As if he should say, We are now in the wilderness, and so no