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Chapter XIV. What use Heavenly contemplation makes of consideration, the affections, soliloquy, and prayer.
CHAPTER XIV.
WHAT USE HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION MAKES OF CONSIDERATION, THE AFFECTIONS,
SOLILOQUY, AND PRAYER.
I. The use of consideration, and its great influence over the heart. II.
Contemplation is promoted by the affections; particularly, 1. By love; 2.
Desire; 3. Hope; 4. Courage, or boldness; 5. Joy. III. The usefulness of
soliloquy and prayer in heavenly contemplation.
Having set thy heart in tune, we now come to the music itself. Having got an
appetite, now approach to the feast, and delight thy soul as with marrow and
fatness. Come, for all things are now ready. Heaven and Christ, and the
exceeding weight of glory, are before you. Do not make light of this invitation,
nor begin to make excuses; whosoever thou art, rich or poor, though in an
alms-house or hospital, though in the high-ways or hedges, my commission is, if
possible, to compel you to come in; and blessed is he that shall eat bread in
the kingdom of God! The manna lieth about your tents; walk out, gather it up,
take it home, and feed upon it. In order to this, I am only to direct you--how
to use your consideration--and affections--your soliloquy and prayer.
First. CONSIDERATION is the great instrument by which this heavenly work is
carried on. This must be voluntary, and not forced. Some men consider
unwillingly; so God will make the wicked consider their sins when he shall "set
them in order before their eyes;" so shall the damned consider the excellency of
Christ, whom they once despised, and the eternal joys which they have foolishly
lost. Great is the power which consideration hath for moving the affections and
impressing things on the heart; as will appear by the following particulars:
1. Consideration, as it were, opens the door between the head and the heart. The
understanding having received truths, lays them up in the memory, and
consideration conveys them from thence to the affections. What excellency would
there be in much learning and knowledge, if the obstructions between the head
and the heart were but opened, and the affections did but correspond to the
understanding! He is usually the best scholar, whose apprehension is quick,
clear and tenacious; but he is usually the best Christian, whose apprehension is
the deepest and most affectionate, and who has the readiest passages, not so
much from the ear to the brain, as from that to the heart. And though the Spirit
be the principal cause, yet, on our part, this passage must be opened by
consideration.
2. Consideration presents to the affections those things which are most
important. The most delightful object does not entertain where it is not seen,
nor the most joyful news affect him who does not hear it; but consideration
presents to our view those things which were as absent, and brings them to the
eye and ear of the soul. Are not Christ and glory affecting objects? Would they
not work wonders upon the soul, if they were but clearly discovered, and our
apprehensions of them in some measure corresponded to their worth? It is
consideration that presents them to us: this is the Christian's perspective by
which he can see from earth to heaven.
3. Consideration, also, presents the most important things in the most affecting
way. It reasons the case with a man's own heart. When a believer would reason
his heart to heavenly contemplation, how many arguments offer themselves from
God and Christ, from each of the divine perfections, from our former and present
state, from promises, from present sufferings and enjoyments, from hell and
heaven! Every thing offers itself to promote our joy, and consideration is the
hand to draw them all out; it adds one reason to another, till the scales turn:
this it does when persuading to joy, till it has silenced all our distrusts and
sorrows, and our cause for rejoicing lies plain before us. If another's
reasoning is powerful with us, though we are not certain whether he intends to
inform or deceive us, how much more should our own reasoning prevail with us,
when we are so well acquainted with our own intentions! Nay, how much more
should God's reasoning prevail with us, which we are sure cannot deceive, or be
deceived! Now, consideration is but the reading over and repeating God's reasons
to plead with himself why he should return to his father's house, so have we to
plead with our affections, to persuade them to our Father's everlasting
mansions.
4. Consideration exalts reason to its just authority. It helps to deliver it
from its captivity to the senses, and sets it again on the throne of the soul.
When reason is silent, it is usually subject; for when it is asleep, the senses
domineer. But consideration awakens our reason, till, like Samson, it rouses up
itself, and breaks the bonds of sensuality, and bears down the delusions of the
flesh. What strength can the lion exert while asleep? What is a king, when
dethroned, more than another man? Spiritual reason, excited by meditation, and
not fancy or fleshly sense, must judge of heavenly joys. Consideration exalts
the objects of faith, and comparatively disgraces the objects of sense. The most
inconsiderate men are most sensual. It is too easy and common to sin against
knowledge; but against sober, strong, persevering consideration, men seldom
offend.
5. Consideration makes reason strong and active. Before, it was a standing
water, but now as a stream, which violently bears down all before it. Before, it
was as the stones in the brook, but now like that out of David's sling, which
smites the Goliath of our unbelief in the forehead. As wicked men continue
wicked, because they bring not reason into action and exercise; so godly men are
uncomfortable, because they let their reason and faith lie asleep, and do not
stir them up to action by this work of meditation. What fears, sorrows and joys
will our very dreams excite! How much more, then, would serious meditation
affect us!
6. Consideration can continue and persevere in this rational employment.
Meditation holds reason and faith to their work, and blows the fire till it
thoroughly burns. To run a few steps will not get a man heat, but walking an
hour may; and though a sudden occasional thought of heaven will not raise our
affections to any spiritual heat, yet meditation can continue our thoughts till
our hearts grow warm. Thus you see the powerful tendency of consideration to
produce this great elevation of the soul in heavenly contemplation.
Secondly. Let us next see how this heavenly work is promoted by the particular
exercise of THE AFFECTIONS. It is by consideration that we first have recourse
to the memory, and from thence take those heavenly doctrines which we intend to
make the subject of our meditation; such as promises of eternal life,
descriptions of the saints' glory, the resurrection, &c. We then present them to
our judgment, that it may deliberately view them and take an exact survey, and
determine uprightly concerning the perfection of our celestial happiness,
against all the dictates of flesh and sense, and so as to magnify the Lord in
our hearts, till we are filled with a holy admiration. But the principal thing
is to exercise, not merely our judgment, but our faith in the truth of the
promises, and of our own personal interest in them, and title to them. If we did
really and firmly believe that there is such a glory, and that within a few days
our eyes shall behold it, O what passion would it raise within us! What
astonishing apprehensions of that life would it produce! What love, what longing
would it excite within us! O how it would actuate every affection! how it would
transport us with joy, upon the least assurance of our title! Never expect to
have love and joy move, when faith stands still, which must lead the way.
Therefore daily exercise faith, and set before it the freeness of the promise,
God's urging all to accept it, Christ's gracious disposition, all the evidences
of the love of Christ, his faithfulness to his engagement, and the evidences of
his love in ourselves; lay all these together, and think whether they do not
testify the good will of the Lord concerning our salvation, and may not properly
be pleaded against our unbelief. Thus, when the judgment has determined, and
faith has apprehended the truth of our happiness, then may our meditation
proceed to raise our affections; and particularly love, desire, hope, courage or
boldness, and joy.
1. Love is the first affection to be excited in heavenly contemplation; the
object of it is goodness. Here, Christian, is the soul-reviving part of thy
work. Go to thy memory, thy judgment and thy faith, and from them produce the
excellencies of thy rest; present these to thy affection of love, and thou wilt
find thyself, as it were, in another world. Speak out, and love can hear. Do but
reveal these things, and love can see. It is the brutish love of the world that
is blind; divine love is exceedingly quicksighted. Let thy faith take hold of
thy heart, and show it the sumptuous buildings of thy eternal habitation, and
the glorious ornaments of thy father's house, even the mansions Christ is
preparing, and the honors of his kingdom; let thy faith lead thy heart into the
presence of God, and as near as thou possibly canst, and say to it, "Behold the
Ancient of Days, the Lord Jehovah, whose name is, I AM: this is he who made all
the worlds with his word, who upholds the earth, who rules the nations, who
disposes of all events, who subdues his foes, who controls the swelling waves of
the sea, who governs the winds, and causes the sun to run its race, and the
stars to know their courses. This is he who loved thee from everlasting, formed
thee in the womb, gave thee this soul, brought thee forth, showed thee the
light, and ranked thee with the chief of his earthly creatures; who endued thee
with thy understanding, and beautified thee with his gifts; who maintains thy
life and all its comforts, and distinguishes thee from the most miserable and
vilest of men. O here is an object worthy of thy love! Here shouldst thou even
pour out thy soul in love! Here it is impossible for thee to love too much! This
is the Lord who hath blessed thee with his benefits, 'spread thy table in the
sight of thine enemies, and made thy cup overflow!' This is he whom angels and
saints praise, and the heavenly host for ever magnify!" Thus do thou expatiate
on the praises of God, and open his excellencies to thine heart, till the holy
fire of love begins to kindle in thy breast.
If thou dost not yet feel thy love burn, lead thy heart farther, and show it the
Son of the living God, whose name is "Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the
everlasting Father, the Prince of peace:" show it the King of saints on the
throne of his glory, "the First and the Last; who is, and was, and is to come:
who liveth, and was dead, and behold, he liveth for evermore; who hath made thy
peace by the blood of his cross," and hath prepared thee with himself a
habitation of peace: his office is that of the great peace-maker; his kingdom is
the kingdom of peace; his Gospel is the tidings of peace; his voice to thee now
is the voice of peace! Draw near, and behold him. Dost thou not hear his voice?
He that bade Thomas come near, and see the print of the nails, and put his
finger into his wounds; he it is that calls to thee, "Come near, and view the
Lord thy Savior, and be not faithless, but believing; peace be unto thee, fear
not, it is I." Look well upon him. Dost thou not know him? It is he that brought
thee up from the pit of hell, reversed the sentence of thy damnation, bore the
curse which thou shouldst have borne, restored thee to the blessing thou hadst
forfeited, and purchased the advancement which thou must inherit for ever. And
dost thou not yet know him? His hands were pierced, his head, his side, his
heart were pierced, that by these marks thou mightest always know him. Dost thou
not remember when he "found thee lying in thy blood and took pity on thee, and
dressed thy wounds, and brought thee home, and said unto thee, Live!" Hast thou
forgotten, since he wounded himself to cure thy wounds, and let out his own
blood to stop thy bleeding? If thou knowest him not by the face, the voice, the
hands, thou mayst know him by that heart: that soul-pitying heart is his; it can
be none but his; love and compassion are its certain signatures: this is he who
chose thy life before his own; who pleads his blood before his father, and makes
continual intercession for thee. If he had not suffered, what hadst thou
suffered? There was but a step between thee and hell when he interposed and bore
the stroke. And is not here fuel enough for thy love to feed on? Doth not thy
throbbing heart stop here to ease itself, and, like Joseph, "seek for a place to
weep in?" or do not the tears of thy love bedew these lines? Go on, then, for
the field of love is large; it will be thy eternal work to behold and love; nor
needest thou want work for thy present meditation.
How often hath thy Lord found thee, like Hagar, sitting, and weeping, and giving
up thy soul for lost, and he opened to thee a well of consolation, and also
opened thine eyes to see it! How often, in the posture of Elijah, desiring to
die out of thy misery, hath he spread thee a table of unexpected relief, and
sent thee on his work refreshed and encouraged! How often, in the case of the
prophet's servant, crying out, "Alas, what shall we do, for a host doth
encompass us," hath he "opened thine eyes to see more for thee than against
thee!" How often, like Jonah, peevish and weary of thy life, hath he mildly
said, "Doest thou well to be angry" with me, or murmur against me? How often
hath he set thee on "watching and praying," repenting and believing, "and, when
he hath returned, hath found thee asleep;" and yet he hath covered thy neglect
with a mantle of love, and gently pleaded for thee, that "the spirit is willing,
but the flesh is weak!" Can thy heart be cold when thou thinkest of this? Can it
contain, when thou rememberest these boundless compassions? Thus, reader, hold
forth the goodness of Christ to thy heart; plead thus with thy frozen soul,
till, with David, thou canst say, "My heart was hot within me; while I was
musing, the fire burned." If this will not rouse up thy love, thou has all
Christ's personal excellencies to add, all his particular mercies to thyself,
all his sweet and near relations to thee, and the happiness of thy everlasting
abode with him. Only follow them close to thy heart. Deal with it as Christ did
with Peter, when he thrice asked him, "Lovest thou me?" till he was grieved, and
answered, "Lord, thou knowest that I love thee!" So grieve and shame thy heart
out of its stupidity, till thou canst truly say, "I know, and my Lord knows,
that I love him."
2. The next affection to be excited in heavenly contemplation, is desire. The
object of it is goodness, considered as absent, or not yet attained. If love be
warm, desire will not be cold. think with thyself, "What have I seen! O the
incomprehensible glory! O the transcendent beauty! O blessed souls that now
enjoy it! who see a thousand times more clearly what I have seen at a distance,
and through dark, interposing clouds. What a difference between my state and
theirs! I am sighing, and they are singing; I am offending, and they are
pleasing God. I am a spectacle of pity, like a Job or Lazarus; but they are
perfect, and without blemish. I am here entangled in the love of the world,
while they are swallowed up in the love of God. They have none of my cares and
fears; they weep not in secret; they languish not in sorrows; these 'tears are
wiped away from their eyes.' O happy, a thousand times happy souls! Alas, that I
must dwell in sinful flesh, when my brethren and companions dwell with God! How
far out of sight and reach of their high enjoyment do I here live! What poor
feeble thoughts have I of God! What cold affections toward him! How little have
I of that life, that love, that joy, in which they continually live! How soon
doth that little depart, and leave me in thicker darkness! Now and then a spark
falls upon my heart, and, while I gaze upon it, it dies, or rather, my cold
heart quenches it. But they have their 'light in his light,' and drink
continually at the spring of joy. Here we are vexing each other with quarrels,
when they are of one heart and voice, and daily sound forth the hallelujahs of
heaven with perfect harmony. O what a feast hath my faith beheld, and what a
famine is yet in my spirit! O blessed souls! I may not, I dare not envy your
happiness; I rather rejoice in my brethren's prosperity, and am glad to think of
the day when I shall be admitted into your fellowship. I wish not to displace
you, but to be so happy as to be with you. Why must I stay, and weep, and wait?
My Lord is gone; He hath left this earth, and is entered into his glory: my
brethren are gone; my friends are there; my house, my hope, my all is there.
When I am so far distant from my God, wonder not what aileth me if I now
complain: an ignorant Micah will do so for his idol, and shall not my soul do so
for the living God? Had I no hope of enjoyment, I would go and hide myself in
the deserts, and lie and howl in some obscure wilderness, and spend my days in
fruitless wishes; but since it is the land of my promised rest, and the state I
must myself be advanced to, and my soul draws near, and is almost there, I will
love and long, I will look and desire, I will be breathing, 'How long, Lord! how
long wilt thou suffer this soul to pant and groan, and not open to him who
waits, and longs to be with thee!'" Thus, Christian reader, let thy thoughts
aspire, till thy soul longs, as David, "O that one would give me to drink of the
wells of salvation!" And till thou canst say, as he did, "I have longed for thy
salvation, O Lord!" And as the mother and brethren of Christ, when they could
not come at him because of the multitude, sent to him, saying, "Thy mother and
brethren stand without, desiring to see thee;" so let thy message to him be, and
he will own thee; for he hath said, "They that hear my word, and do it, are my
mother and my brethren."
3. Another affection to be exercised in heavenly contemplation, is hope. This
helps to support the soul under sufferings, animates it in the greatest
difficulties, gives it firmness in the severest trials, enlivens it in duties,
and is the very spring that sets all the wheels in motion. Who would believe or
strive for heaven, if it were not for the hope he hath of obtaining it? Who
would pray, but for the hope of prevailing with God? If your hope dies, your
duties die, your endeavors die, your joys die, and your soul dies. And if your
hope be not in exercise, but asleep, it is next to dead. Therefore, Christian
reader, when thou art raising thy affections to heaven, forget not to give one
lift to thy hope. Think thus, and reason thus with thy own heart:
"Why should I not confidently and comfortably hope, when my soul is in the hands
of so compassionate a Savior, and when the kingdom is at the disposal of so
bountiful a God? Did he ever discover the least backwardness to my good, or
inclination to my ruin? Hath he not sworn, that "he delights not in the death of
him that dieth, but rather that he should repent and live?" Have not all his
dealings witnessed the same? Did he not warn me of my danger when I never feared
it, because he would have me escape it? Did he not tell me of my happiness when
I had no thoughts of it, because he would have me enjoy it? How often hath he
drawn me to himself and his Christ, when I have drawn backward! How hath his
Spirit incessantly solicited my heart! And would he have done all this, if he
had been willing that I should perish? Should I not hope, if an honest man had
promised me something in his power? And shall I not hope when I have the
covenant and oath of God? It is true, the glory is out of sight; we have not
beheld the mansions of the saints; but is not the promise of God more certain
than our sight? We must not be saved by sight, but 'by hope; and hope that is
seen is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope
for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.' I have been ashamed
of my hope in an arm of flesh, but hope in the promise of God 'maketh not
ashamed.' In my greatest sufferings I will say, 'the Lord is my portion;
therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to
the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly
wait for the salvation of the Lord; for the Lord will not cast off for ever; but
though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion, according to the multitude
of his mercies.' Though I languish and die, yet will I hope; for 'the righteous
hath hope in his death.' Though I must lie down in dust and darkness, yet there
'my flesh shall rest in hope.' And when my flesh hath nothing to rejoice in, yet
will I 'hold fast the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end;' for 'the hope of
the righteous shall be gladness.' Indeed, if I must myself satisfy divine
justice, then there had been no hope; but Christ hath 'brought in a better hope,
by the which we draw nigh to God.' Or, if I had to do with a feeble creature,
there were small hope; for how could he raise this body from the dust and lift
me above the sun? But what is this to the Almighty Power which made the heavens
and the earth out of nothing? Cannot that power which raised Christ from the
dead, raise me? and that which hath glorified the Head, glorify also the
members? 'Doubtless, by the blood of his covenant, God will send forth his
prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water:' therefore will I 'turn to the
strong hold, as a prisoner of hope.'"
4. Courage, or boldness, is another affection to be exercised in heavenly
contemplation; it leads to resolution, and concludes in action. When you have
raised your love, desire and hope, go on, and think thus with yourself: "Will
God indeed dwell with men? And is there such a glory within the reach of hope?
Why then do I not lay hold upon it? Where is the cheerful vigor of my spirit?
Why do I not 'gird up the loins of my mind?' Why do I not set upon my enemies on
every side, and valiantly break through all resistance? What should stop me, or
intimidate me? Is God with me, or against me, in the work? Will Christ stand by
me, or will he not? 'If God and Christ be for me, who can be against me?' In the
work of sin, almost all things are ready to help us, and only God and his
servants are against us; yet how ill does that work prosper in our hands! But in
my course to heaven, almost all things are against me, but God is for me; and
therefore how happily does the work succeed! Do I enter upon this work in my own
strength, or rather in the strength of Christ my Lord? And 'cannot I do all
things through him that strengthens me?' Was he ever foiled by an enemy? He has
indeed been assaulted, but was he ever conquered? Why, then, does my flesh urge
me with the difficulties of the work? Is any thing too hard for Omnipotence? May
not Peter boldly walk on the sea if Christ give the word of command? If he begin
to sink, is it from the weakness of Christ, or from the smallness of his faith?
Do I not well deserve to be turned into hell, if mortal threats can drive me
thither? Do I not well deserve to be shut out of heaven, if I will be frightened
from thence with the reproach of tongues? What if it were father, or mother, or
husband, or wife, or the nearest friend I have in the world, if they may be
called friends who would draw me to damnation, should I not forsake all that
would keep me from Christ? Will their friendship countervail the enmity of God,
or be any comfort to my condemned soul? Shall I be yielding to the desires of
men, and only harden myself against the Lord? Let them beseech me upon their
knees, I will scorn to stop my course to behold them, I will shut my ears to
their cries: let them flatter or frown, let them draw out tongues and swords
against me; I am resolved, in the strength of Christ, to break through and look
upon them as dust. If they would entice me with preferment, even with the
kingdoms of the world, I will no more regard them than the dung of the earth. O
blessed rest! O glorious state! Who would sell thee for dreams and shadows? Who
would be enticed or affrighted from thee? Who would not strive, and fight, and
watch, and run, and that with violence, even to the last breath, in order to
obtain thee? Surely none but those that know thee not, and believe not thy
glory."
5. The last affection to be exercised in heavenly contemplation, is joy. Love,
desire, hope and courage, all tend to raise our joy. This is so desirable to
every man by nature, and so essentially necessary to constitute our happiness,
that I hope I need not say much to persuade you to any thing that would make
your life delightful. Supposing you, therefore, already convinced that the
pleasures of the flesh are brutish and perishing, that your solid and lasting
joy must be from heaven, instead of persuading, I shall proceed in directing.
Reader, if thou hast managed well the former work, thou art got within sight of
thy rest; thou believest the truth of it; thou art convinced of its
excellencies; thou hast fallen in love with it; thou longest after it; thou
hopest for it; and thou art resolved to venture courageously for obtaining it.
But is here any work for joy in this? We delight in the good we possess; it is
present good that is the object of joy; and thou wilt say, "Alas, I am yet
without it!" But think a little further with thyself. Is it nothing to have a
deed of gift from God? Are his infallible promises no ground of joy? Is it
nothing to live in daily expectation of entering into the kingdom of God? Is not
my assurance of being hereafter glorified, a sufficient ground for inexpressible
joy? Is it not a delight to the heir of a kingdom to think of what he must soon
possess, though at present he little differs from a servant? Have we not both
command and example for "rejoicing in hope of the glory of God?"
Here then, reader, take thy heart once more and carry it to the top of the
highest mount; show it the kingdom of Christ, and the glory of it; and say to
it, "All this will thy Lord give thee, who hast believed in him, and been a
worshipper of him. 'It is the Father's good pleasure to give thee this kingdom.'
Seest thou this astonishing glory which is above thee? All this is thy own
inheritance. This crown is thine, these pleasures are thine; this company, this
beautiful place, all are thine; because thou art Christ's, and Christ is thine;
when thou wast united to him, thou hadst all these with him." Thus take thy
heart into the land of promise; show it the pleasant hills and fruitful valleys;
show it the clusters of grapes which thou hast gathered, to convince it that it
is a blessed land, flowing with better than milk and honey. Enter the gates of
the holy city, walk through the streets of the "New Jerusalem, walk about Sion,
and go round about her; tell the towers thereof; mark well her bulwarks;
consider her palaces; that thou mayst tell it to" thy soul. Has it not "the
glory of God," and is not "her light like unto a stone most precious, even like
a jasper stone, clear as crystal?" See the "twelve foundations of her walls, and
in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The walls of it are of
jasper; and the city is pure gold, like unto clear glass; and the foundations
are garnished with all manner of precious stones; and the twelve gates are
twelve pearls, every several gate is of one pearl, and the street of the city is
pure gold, as it were transparent glass; there is no temple in it, for the Lord
Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple of it. It hath no need of the sun,
neither of the moon in it, for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is
the light thereof; and the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the
light of it. These sayings are faithful and true; and the Lord God of the holy
prophets sent his angels," and his own Son, "to show unto his servants the
things which must shortly be done." Say now to all this, "This is thy rest, O my
soul! and this must be the place of thy everlasting habitation." Let all the
sons of "Sion rejoice; let the daughters of Jerusalem be glad; for great is the
Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his
holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Sion.
God is known in her palaces for a refuge."
Yet proceed on; the soul that loves, ascends frequently, and runs familiarly
through the streets of the heavenly Jerusalem, visiting the patriarchs and
prophets, saluting the apostles, and admiring the armies of martyrs; so do thou
lead on thy heart as from street to street; bring it into the palace of the
Great King; lead it, as it were, from chamber to chamber. Say to it, "Here must
I lodge; here must I live; here must I praise, here must I love, and be beloved.
I must shortly be one of this heavenly choir, and be better skilled in the
music. Among this blessed company must I take up my place; my voice must join to
make up the melody. My tears will then be wiped away; my groans be turned to
another tune; my cottage of clay be changed to this palace; my prison rags to
these splendid robes; and my sordid flesh shall be put off, and such a sunlike,
spiritual body be put on; 'for the former things are here passed away.'
'Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God!' When I look upon this
glorious place, what a dunghill and dungeon methinks is earth! O what difference
betwixt a man, feeble, pained, groaning, dying, rotting in the grave, and one of
these triumphant, shining saints! Here shall I 'drink of the river of pleasures,
the streams whereof make glad the city of God.' Must Israel, under the bondage
of the law, 'serve the Lord with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the
abundance of all things?' Surely I shall serve him with joyfulness and gladness
of heart for the abundance of glory. Did persecuted saints 'take joyfully the
spoiling of their goods?' and shall not I take joyfully such a full reparation
of all my losses? Was it a celebrated 'day wherein the Jews rested from their
enemies,' because it 'was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning
into a good day? What a day, then, will that be to my soul, whose rest and
change will be inconceivably greater? 'When the wise men saw the star' that led
to Christ, 'they rejoiced with exceeding great joy;' but I shall shortly see
him, who is himself 'the bright and morning Star.' If the disciples 'departed
from the sepulchre with great joy,' when they had but heard that their Lord 'was
risen from the dead;' what will be my joy, when I shall see him reigning in
glory, and myself raised to a blessed communion with him! Then shall I indeed
have 'beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness, and Sion shall be made an eternal excellency, a joy
of many generations.' Why, then do I not arise from the dust, and cease my
complaints? Why do I not trample on vain delights, and feed on the foreseen
delights of glory? Why is not my life a continual joy, and the savor of heaven
perpetually upon my spirit?"
Let me here observe, that there is no necessity to exercise these affections,
either exactly in this order, or all at one time. Sometimes one of thy
affections may need more exciting, or may be more lively than the rest; or, if
thy time be short, one may be exercised one day and another the next; all which
must be left to thy prudence to determine. Thou hast also an opportunity, if
inclined to make use of it, to exercise opposite and more mixed affections, such
as hatred of sin, which would deprive thy soul of these immortal joys; godly
fear, lest thou shouldst abuse thy mercy; godly shame and grief, for having
abused it; unfeigned repentance; self-indignation; jealously over thy heart; and
pity for those who are in danger of losing these immortal joys.
Thirdly. We are also to take notice how heavenly contemplation is promoted by
SOLILOQUY and PRAYER. Though consideration be the chief instrument in this work,
yet, by itself, it is not so likely to affect the heart. In this respect
contemplation is like preaching, where the mere explaining of truths and duties
is seldom attended with much success as the lively application of them to the
conscience; and especially when a divine blessing is earnestly sought to
accompany such application.
1. By soliloquy, or a pleading the case with thyself, thou must in thy
meditation quicken thy own heart. Enter into a serious debate with it. Plead
with it in the most moving and affecting language, and urge it with the most
powerful and weighty arguments. It is what holy men of God have practiced in all
ages. Thus David: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou
disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, who is the
health of my countenance, and my God." And again; "Bless the Lord, O my soul!
and forget not all his benefits!" This soliloquy is to be made use of according
to the several affections of the soul, and according to its several necessities.
It is a preaching to one's self; for as every good master or father of a family
is a good preacher to his own family, so every good Christian is a good preacher
to his own soul. Therefore the very same method which a minister should use in
his preaching to others, every Christian should endeavor after in speaking to
himself. Observe the matter and manner of the most heart-affecting minister; let
him be a pattern for your imitation; and the same way that he takes with the
hearts of his people, do thou also take with thy own heart. Do this in thy
heavenly contemplation; explain to thyself the things on which thou dost
meditate; confirm thy faith in them by Scripture; and then apply them to thyself
according to their nature and thy own necessity. There is no need to object
against this, from a sense of thy own inability. Doth not God command thee to
"teach the Scriptures diligently unto thy children, and talk of them when thou
sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest
down, and when thou risest up?" And if thou must have some ability to teach thy
children, much more to teach thyself; and if thou canst talk of divine things to
others, why not also to thy own heart?
2. Heavenly contemplation is also promoted by speaking to God in prayer, as well
as by speaking to ourselves in soliloquy. Ejaculatory prayer may very properly
be mixed with meditation, as a part of the duty. How often do we find David, in
the same psalm, sometimes pleading with his soul and sometimes with God! The
apostle bids us "speak to ourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs;"
and no doubt we may also speak to God in them. This keeps the soul sensible of
the divine presence, and tends greatly to quicken and raise it. As God is the
highest object of our thoughts, so our viewing him, speaking to him and pleading
with him, more elevates the soul and excites the affections than any other part
of meditation. Though we remain unaffected while we plead the case with
ourselves; yet, when we turn our speech to God, it may strike us with awe; and
the holiness and majesty of him whom we speak to, may cause both the matter and
words to pierce the deeper. When we read that "Isaac went out to meditate in the
field," the margin says, "to pray;" for the Hebrew word signifies both. Thus, in
our meditations, to intermix soliloquy and prayer, sometimes speaking to our own
hearts, and sometimes to God, is, I apprehend, the highest step to which we can
advance in this heavenly work. Nor should we imagine it will be as well to take
up with prayer alone, and lay aside meditation; for they are distinct duties,
and must both of them be performed. We need one as well as the other, and
therefore shall wrong ourselves by neglecting either. Besides, the mixture of
them, like music, will be more engaging; as the one serves to put life into the
other. And our speaking to ourselves in meditation, should go before our
speaking to God in prayer. For want of attending to this due order, men speak to
God with far less reverence and affection than they would speak to an angel if
he should appear to them; or to a judge, if they were speaking for their lives.
Speaking to the God of heaven in prayer, is a weightier duty than most are aware
of.
