The Soul's Preparation for Christ

And a serious meditation of sin discovered by the word is a special means to pierce the soul for the same, this is the power of meditation; when David had considered the glory of wicked men, how their eyes started out with fatness,¹ and they ⟨p. 82⟩had more then heart could wish, and who but they in the world? they were not troubled, they were not molested; then he thought they were the only men in the world; when he had considered and mused of this, it pierced his soul, and he was vexed with it, this went to the very entrails of him, and therefore that place is marvellous pregnant.² It was the means whereby Lot was so touched with the abominations of Sodom, that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing & hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. Many saw and heard besides Lot, and yet were not vexed, but he vexed himself, that is, the meditation of those evils & bringing them home to his soul, vexed him and troubled him, and the word is a fine word, implying two things, first the search and examination of a thing,³ Secondly, the racking and vexing a man upon the trial; So it was with Lot, he observed all the evils, he weighed them, and pondered them; and then he racked his soul, and vexed himself with the consideration of them; the same word that is used here for vexing, is used in the matter of a storm,⁴ the text saith; The Ship was tossed with the waves: So meditation doth toss the soul with vexation. It was the practice of the Church,⁵ remembering mine affliction, the wormwood and the Gall, my soul hath them in remembrance, and is humbled in me: In remembering I remembered, for so the original hath it, I remembered all my miseries and afflictions, and my sins that were the cause thereof; that is, I still ⟨p. 83⟩mused & meditated thereof. And what follows? the heart was buckled and bowed thereby, and was broken in the consideration thereof.