1. From the duty wherein David was exercised,
Doct. That meditation on the word of God is one duty that Chris- tians should take care to perform.
2. From the season, his eyes prevented the night watches,
Doct. A gracious heart will take all occasions to set itself a-work on holy things, and sometimes in the night.
3. From the condition wherein he was ; in some distress, for he saith, ' Save me ;' and his prayers not yet heard, ' I cried, I cried, I cried,'
Doct. That it is needful to meditate on God's promises at such a time as our suit hangeth at the throne of grace without grant and effect.
The first will give us occasion to speak of the duty of meditation, and the necessity and profit of it. What the duty of meditation is, see sermon upon the 15th verse of this psalm.
Secondly, It is a necessary duty, because it is recommended to us by God, among other things enjoined in his word. He complaineth of the neglect of it : Isa. i. 3, ' Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider ;' they will not think upon God, nor consider what great things he hath done for them. It is recommended to us in the prac- tice of the saints, they sometimes meditate upon God : Ps. lxiii. 3, ' I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate of thee in the night watches.' When David could not sleep, and had his night rest broken, his thoughts run upon God presently. Sometimes upon the works of God : Ps. cxliii. 5, ' I meditate on all thy works, I muse on the work of thine hands.' On his creation and providence. Some- times on the word of God, that part which sets forth their duty : Ps. i. 2, ' But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in that law doth he meditate day and night.' To make the Christian's life more orderly and comely ; the apostle commands us : Phil. iv. 8, ' To think on these things.' Sometimes on the promises and grounds of faith, for the support of theii souls in a fainting time, as in the text ; especi- ally that part of the word which is brought unto them by the provi- dence of God, and so we meditate upon what we read and hear : Luke ii. 19, ' Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.' We ponder things when we consider the weight and moment of them, that our hearts may be affected with them. So Moses: Deut. xxxii. 46, 'And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day;' Luke iv. 44, ' Let these sayings sink into your ears ;' be seriously considered and thought of by you, not be lost or vanish into the air, or stay in the brain.
Thirdly, It is a profitable duty ; it is a help —
1. To our natural faculties.
VER. 148.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 79
2. To our graces.
3. To our duties.
1. To our natural faculties. To our memories: we complain of weak memories, but we do not take a right course to cure them. Good things slip from us as water doth through a sieve ; and why ? Because we do not weigh them, and meditate upon them by deep and serious thought. Truths would stay with us longer if we did oftener think on them. So many a conviction is lost : James i. 23, 24, ' For if any man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass, for he beholdeth himself, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.' Many a com- fort is lost by neglect : Heb. xii. 5, ' And have you forgotten the exhortation which speaketh to you as children ? ' A weak impression is soon defaced. Many a pressing motion is lost for want of a little diligence to fasten it upon the heart : Heb. ii. 1, ' Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.' Meditation and serious con- sideration fasten a truth upon the mind and memory. Deliberate thoughts stick by us, as a lesson well conned is not easily forgotten. Civet long kept in a box, the scent remaineth when the civet is taken out. Sermons meditated upon are remembered long after they are delivered. So for understanding. We have weak understandings, slow to conceive of anything that is spiritual and heavenly ; why ? Because we are so little exercised in the study and contemplation of these things ; whereas our judgments would ripen, and we would grow more skilful in the word of righteousness, if we did often meditate on it : Ps. cxix. 99, ' I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation. We see things in transitu, and know them only by hearsay, without meditation. To move the will we had need deal seriously with our own hearts ere we can gain them to a consent. Thoughts are the spokesmen that make up the match between the soul and the temptation : they were given for the like office in good things ; they are the first acts of the soul to set a-work all the rest. Things lie by till we take them into our thoughts and consideration at leisure, that we may know what is their tendency, and how they concern us. You cannot imagine the gospel should work as a charm, and convert us we know not how, before consent and choice. There is a propounding and debating of terms ; the greatest matters will not work on him that doth not think of them. God and Christ, and heaven and salvation, are looked upon in a cold and remiss manner without this serious consideration. And to excite, and quicken, and stir our affections, meditation is useful. We complain of deadness, and we ourselves are the cause, because we do not rouse up ourselves, excite and compel ourselves, expostulate with ourselves : Isa. Ixiv. 7, ' And there is none that calleth upon thy name, and stirreth up himself to take hold of thee. ' Man hath a power to whet truths upon his own heart, and if we will not make use of it, and reason for God with ourselves, we are justly left under the power of deadness and stupidness of spirit.