of the heavenly Jerufalem, visiting the Patriarchs and Prophets, faluting 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 Kings lead it, as it were, from Chamber to Chamber. Say to it, "Here muft I lodge; here muft I live; here muft I praise; here muft I love, and be beloved. I muft fhortly be one of this hea venly Choir, and be better fkilled in the Mufick. "Among this bleffed Company must I take up my "Place; my Voice muft join to make up the Me lody. My Tears will then be wiped away; my "Groans be turned to another Tune; my Cottage of Clay be changed to this Palace; my PrifonRags to thefe fplendid Robes; and my fordid Flesh fhall be put off, and fuch a Sun-like fpiritual Body be put on: For the former Things are here passed " away (w), Glorious Things are Spaken of thee, O «City of God (x)! When I look upon this glorious Place, what a Dunghill and Dungeon, methinks, is Earth? Q what Difference betwixt a Man "feeble, pained, groaning, dying, rotting in the "Grave, and one of thefe triumphant, fhining "Saints? Here fhall I drink of the River of Pleafures, "the Streams whereof make glad the City of God (y). "Muft Ifrael, under the Bondage of the Law, ferve "the Lord with Joyfulness, and with Gladness of Heart, "for the Abundance of all Things (z)? Surely I fhall "ferve Him with Joyfulness and Gladness of Heart, "for the Abundance of Glory. Did perfecuted "Saints take joyfulty the spoiling of their Goods (a)? "And shall not I take joyfully fuch a full Reparation "of all my Loffes? Was it a celebrated Day, wherein "the Jews refted from their Enemies, because it was "turned (w) Rev. xxi. 4. (x) Pfalm lxxxvii. 3. (y) Pf. xxxvi, S. xlvi. 4. (a) Heb, x, 34. turned unto them from Sorrow to Joy, and from "Mourning into a good Day (b)? What a Day then will that be to my Soul, whofe Reft and Change will be unconceivably greater? When the wife "Men fav the Star that led to Chrift, they rejoiced "with exceeding great Joy (c): But I fhall fhortly "fee Him, who is Himself the bright and Morning "Star (d). If the Difciples departed from the Sepul "chre with great Joy, when they had but heard that "their Lord was rifen from the dead (e); what will "be my Joy, when I fhall fee Him reigning in "Glory, and myfelf raised to a bleffed Communion "with Him? Then fhall I indeed have Beauty for "Afnes, the Oil of Joy for Mourning, and the Gar "ment of Praife for the Spirit of Heaviness; and Sion "fhall be made an eternal Excellency, a Joy of many "Generations (f). Why then do I not arife from the “Duft, and ceafe my Complaints? Why do I not "trample on vain Delights, and feed on the foreseen "Delights of Glory? Why is not my Life a con"tinual Joy, and the Savour of Heaven perpetually ઈ upon my Spirit?" $19. LET me here obferve, that there is no Neceffity to exercife thefe 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 reft; or, if thy Time be thort, one may be exercifed one Day, and another upon the next; all which muft be left to thy Prudence to determine. Thou haft alfo an Opportunity, if inclined to make use of it, to exercife oppofite and more mixed Affections; fuch as, -Hatred of Sin, which would deprive thy Soul of thefe immortal Joys;—godly Fear, left thou fhouldft abúfe thy Mercy; godly Shame (b) Efth. ix. 22. Shame' and Grief, for having abused it;-unfeigned. Repentance Self Indignation; Jealousy over thy Heart; and Pity for thofe who are in Danger of lofing these immortal Joys. 20. (III) We are also to take Notice, how heavenly Contemplation is promoted by Soliloquy and Prayer. Tho' Confideration be the chief Inftrument in this Work, yet, by itself, it is not fo likely to affect the Heart. In this Respect Contemplation is like Preaching, where the mere explaining of Truths and Dutics is feldom attended with fuch Succefs, as the lively Application of them to the Confcience; and especially when a divine Bleffing is earneftly fought for to accompany fuch Application. $21. (1) By Soliloquy, or a pleading the Cafe with thyfelf, thou must in thy Meditation quicken thy own Heart. Enter into a ferious Debate with it.. Plead with it in the moft moving and affecting Language, and urge it with the most powerful and weighty Arguments. It is what holy Men of God have practised in all Ages. Thus David, Why art thou caft down, O my Soul! And why art theu difquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I fhall yet praife Him, who is the Health of my Gountenance, and my God (g). And again, Blefs the Lord, O my Soul! and all that is within me, blefs His holy Name. Blefs the Lord, O my Soul! and forget not all His Benefits, &c. (h). This Soliloquy is to be made ufe of according to the feveral Affections of the Soul, and according to its feveral Neceffities. It is a preaching to one's Self: For as every good Mafter or Father of a Family is a good Preacher to his own Family; fo every good Chriftian is a good Preacher to his own Soul. Therefore the very fame Method which a Minifter fhould use in his preaching to others, every Chriftian fhould endeavour after in fpeak (g) Palm xlii. 11. (b) Pfalm ciii. 1-5. fpeaking to himself. Obferve the Matter and Manner of the moft Heart-affecting Minifter; let him be as a Pattern for your Imitation; and the fame Way that he takes with the Hearts of his People, do thou alfo take with thy own Heart. Do this in thy heavenly Contemplation; explain to thyfelf the Things on which thou doft meditate; confirm thy Faith in them from Scripture; and then apply them to thyfelf, according to their Nature, and thy own Neceffity. There is no Need to object against this, from a Senfe of thy own Inability. Doth not God command thee to teach the Scriptures diligently unto thy Children, and talk of them when thou fitteft in thine Houfe, and when thou walkeft by the Way, and when thou lieft down, and when thou rifeft up (i)? And if thou must have fome Ability to teach thy Children, much more to teach thyfelf; and if thou canft talk of divine Things to others, why not alfo to thine own Heart? $22. (2) Heavenly Contemplation is also promoted, by fpeaking to God in Prayer; as well as by fpeaking to ourfelves in Soliloquy. Ejaculatory Prayer may very properly be intermixed with Meditation, as a Part of the Duty. How often do we find David, in the fame Pfalm, fometimes pleading with his Soul, and fometimes with God? The Apoftle bids us fpeak to our felves in Pfalms, and Hymns, and spiritual Songs (k); and no doubt we may alfo fpeak to God in them. This keeps the Soul fenfible of the divine Prefence, and tends greatly to quicken and raife it. As God is the highest Object of our Thoughts, fo our viewing of Him, fpeaking to Him, and pleading with Him, more elevates the Soul, and excites the Affections, than any other Part of Meditation. Tho' we remain unaffected, while we plead the Cafe with ourselves; yet, when we turn our Speech to God, it may ftrike (i) Deut, vi. 7. (k) Ephef. v. 19. us us with Awe; and the Holiness and Majefty of Him whom we speak to, may caufe both the Matter and Words to pierce the deeper. When we read, that Ifaac went out to meditate in the Field, the Margin fays, to pray; for the Hebrew Word fignifies both. Thus, in our Meditations, to intermix Soliloquy and Prayer; fometimes fpeaking to our own Hearts, and fometimes to God, is, I apprehend, the highest Step we can advance to in this heavenly Work. Nor should we imagine, it will be as well to take up with Prayer alone, and lay afide Meditation. For they are diftin&t Duties, and muft both of them be performed. We need one, as well as the other, and therefore shall wrong ourselves by neglecting either. Befides, the Mixture of them, like Mufick, will be more engage. ing; as the one ferves to put Life into the other. And our fpeaking to ourselves in Meditation, fhould go before our fpeaking to God in Prayer. For want of attending to this due Order, Men fpeak to God with far lefs Reverence and Affection than they would fpeak to an Angel, if he fhould appear to them; or to a Judge, if they were fpeaking for their Lives. Speaking to the God of Heaven in Prayer, is a weightier Duty than moft are aware of. CHAP |