2. A loose garish spirit, that is apt to skip and wander from thought to thought. There is a madness in man ; his thoughts are light and feathery, tossed to and fro, and like the loose wards in a lock, only kept up whilst we are turning the key. This doth much discourage christians, that they cannot keep up their affections and command their thoughts.
How shall we help and remedy this ?
[1.] "When you go to meditate, you should exercise a command and restraint upon yourselves. This is expressed in scripture by trussing up the loins of your minds : Luke xii, 30, ' Let your loins be girded about ; ' an allusion to their hanging garments, that they trussed up when they went about any work, that they may be compact and succinct. Lay a command upon yourselves : Zeph. ii. 1, ' Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, 0 nation not desired ! '
[2.] Pray and call in the help of God's Holy Spirit : Ps, Ixxxvi, 11, ' Unite my heart to fear thy name.' Lord, make my heart one. He that could stay the sun can stay the fleeting of your thoughts.
[3.] Dry up these swimming toys and fancies with the flame of heavenly love. Love unites the heart, and where we have a pleasure, there we can stay : Ps, cxix. 97, ' Oh, how love I thy law ! it is my meditation all the day.'
[4.] Let the course of your lives be grave and serious. The mind is according to the course of the life. You flatter yourselves when you think you are able to command spiritual thoughts on a sudden, when you have suffered your thoughts to rove and wander : Prov, xvii, 24, ' Wisdom is before him that hath understanding, but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth ; ' here and there and everywhere.
[.5.] Watch against the flrst diversion ; how plausible soever it be, look upon it as an intruding that breaks the rank. The devil injects good thoughts sometimes that he might divert your other thouo-hts. Charge your thoughts that they may not disturb your meditation: Cant, iii, 5, ' I charge you, 0 ye daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up, nor awake my love till he please.'
[6] When you come to meditate in God's presence, do not bring the world with you ; purge yourselves of all carnal affections : Ezek. xxxiii. 31, ' Their heart goeth after their covetousness.' Always consider this, the prevailing lust will engross the thoughts. To a distracted
288 SERMONS UPON GENESIS XXIV. 63.
mind no place is a solitude ; the very closet is a market-place. There- fore before meditation we should purge our hearts of worldly affections.
SERMON IV.
And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the even-tide. — Gen. xxiv. 63-
I SHALL not wholly divert from the subject in hand, though I shall a little interrupt the method of it. My purpose is now to speak of that meditation that is proper to the sacrament.
The main part of that worship is dispatched in thoughts. Here we come to put reason to the highest and most sublime use, to be an instrument and servant to faith and love.
But now the thoughts proper to the Lord's supper are many. There are an union of mysteries, yea, so many, that they are a burden to some christians, and a snare to those that are most scrupulous. It will be necessary therefore to give you some directions how you may guide yourselves in this duty for your best advantage. It is a matter of great profit to be wise and skilful in duties. Many that know the general nature of them know not how to manage them. David saith, Ps. cxix. 27, ' Make me to understand the way of thy precepts, so shall I talk of thy wondrous works ; ' intimating that then we perform duties with most success when we go about them with most wisdom and understanding ; and when we are skilled in the way of Grod's precepts, we shall understand those marvellous acts of grace which he vouch- safeth to his people.
Now it is good that eveiy one according to his talent should help one another's joy, and therefore I shall now speak a little to this pur- pose, and the rather because it will much conduce to the opening or the doctrine of meditation in the general. My method shall be this — (1.) I will show the usual defects of christians in this service, with their necessary remedies ; (2.) I shall handle some cases.
First, The usual defects and faults of people in this duty, I mean so far as they concern meditation, and they are four — barrenness, stupidity, roving of thoughts, and a lazy formality.
1. Barrenness. This is a great trouble to christians, when their understandings are unfruitful, and they cannot enlarge themselves in pertinent and necessary thoughts.
Now how shall we do to get our hearts to be fruitful in holy thoughts ?
[1.] There must be a solemn preparation for this service. It is good to breathe ourselves in some religious exercises beforehand, that we may run the more freely without fainting. Spiritual dispositions do not come on us of a sudden ; christians are deceived that look for rapt and sudden motions ; there must be a time to put off the shoes off our feet when we come upon holy ground to converse with God in so sweet a service ; we must lay aside the distractions of the woi-ld,