2. Do not pry further than God hath revealed ; your thoughts must be still bounded by the word. There is no duty that a fanatic brain is more apt to abuse than meditation. When men are once able to raise their thoughts, they soar too high, and being ])uffed up with their fleshly mind, intrude themselves into things that they have not seen, Col. ii. 18. They are dazzled with ungrounded subtleties, and so, like a lark that have flown high, of a sudden fall down again. David saith, Ps. cxxxi. 1, ' Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty, neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things to high for me.' In spiritual exercises you must stint your thoughts with what is revealed; ixrf V Trepcfivovelv 'Trap o Set <^povelv, aXka (ftpoveiv et? to aoi(f>povelv, Rom. xii. 3, ' Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the mea- sure of faith ; ' that is, as God hath revealed and dispensed the measure of faith to you. To pry into the mysteries of the divine decrees were to disturb aftection, not to raise it ; nice disputes feed curiosity, not religion. Again, regard must be had not only to the word, but to your own abilities. Those that soar too high fall low enough ere they have done. Consider what is fit for your pitch and size. Again, do not leave bread and wine and gnaw upon a stone, or leave practical matters for intricacy of dispute.
3. When you meditate of God you must do it with great care and reverence ; his perfections are matter rather of admiration than inquiry. Some dispute whether it be best to meditate of God's essence or no. Certainly as it is discovered to us in his attributes it is very comfortable and useful : Ps. civ. 34, ' My meditation of him shall be sweet, I will be glad in the Lord.' And though you should get as large thoughts as possibly you can of his majesty and power, yet you must not pry too curiously into his nature, lest you be oppressed by his glory. The mysteries of the trinity are matters of belief rather than debate, we may well cry out, c2 ^d6o<i, Oh, the depth ! It is enough to know that it is so, we cannot search how. It is said, 1 Tim. vi. 16,
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■* Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen, nor can see ; ' and Ps. xviii. 11, ' He hath made darkness his secret place, his pavilion round about him were dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.' God is said to dwell in light to show his majesty, and to dwell in darkness to show liis incomprehensibleness. Do not entangle yourselves while you go about to raise your zeal ; the full knowledge of these things is our portion in heaven.
4. In meditating on common things, keep in mind a spiritual pur- pose. God hath endowed man with a faculty to discourse, and employ his mind on earthly objects to spiritual purposes: Eccles. iii. 11, ' He hath set the world in their heart.' 3Iundum tradidit disputationi eorum ; the meaning is, he hath endowed him with natural light to contemplate on his handiwork. The mind is soon apt to grow common and vain, and therefore here you have need of more care and watchful- ness : Ps. viii. 34, ' When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou visitest him ? ' Basil calleth them BiSaarjaXelov koI Traihevrepiov '^v-)(a)v, a school to teach us not knowledge but religion : Ps. xix. 1 , ' The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork.' Philosophers study the creatures to find out their natural causes, we to find out arguments of worship and religion.
5. Take heed of creating a snare to your souls. Some sins are catching, like fire in straw, and we cannot think of them without infection and temptation ; the very thoughts may beget a sudden delight and tickling, which may pass through us like lightning, and set us all on fire : Ezek. xxiii. 19, 'She multiplied her whoredoms in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.' Thougli the prophet speaketh of spiritual fornication, yet there is a plain allusion to outward ; it is an allusion to an unchaste woman, who feedeth a new fire by remembering her vile lusts. Some temptations cannot be supposed without sin ; it is less dangerous to suppose the temptation of Peter than the tempta- tion of Joseph, of Peter that was tempted to deny his master, than of Joseph who was tempted to folly witli his mistress. This direction is not unnecessary ; you know not how apt a carnal heart and busy devil may be to taint the best duties, and how soon an innocent thought may degenerate into an unclean glance. The apostle would have some sins not named among the saints : Eph. v. 3, ' But fornication and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints.'