A77360:849
Christ and the covenant the work and way of meditation
Christ and the covenant the work and way of meditation. : Gods return to the soul, or nation; together with his preventing mercy. : Delivered in ten sermons, (viz.) 1. Christs personal excellencies, the object of our love. 2. Christ crucified, the object of our faith. 3. The new covenant of grace opened. 4. Christ the mediator of the new covenant. 5. The way and spirit of the new covenant, or New Testament. 6. The blood of sprinkling. 7. The sweetness and profitableness of divine meditation. 8. The work and way of this meditation. 9. Gods return to the soul and nation. 10. Preventing mercy. / By W.B.
London: printed for N. Ranew, 1667
Sermons › Sermon 8: The Work and Way of Meditation. SERM. VIII.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
First, If you would Meditate on God rightly and duly (to speak first by way of means, and then for the rules of direction afterwards) be very sensible of your want, and of your neglect herein. A man is never more fit for a duty, then when he is very sensible of his neglect therein sensibleness of neglect of former duty, fits one for future duty. If a man have very great possessions, and he lose them, he is very sensible of the loss thereof, why now look into the 17th Job, and you shall find there are Thought-possessions: saith he, My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. In the Heb. even the possessions of my heart. As if he should say thus; Time was that I had very great Thought-possessions, I thought on God, I enjoyed God, I possessed God; but now I have lost these my possessions of God, and the thoughts of my heart, the possessions of my heart are broken off. Thus sensible J•be was of the loss of his Thought-possessions. And the more rich our Thought-possessions are, the greater is our loss ⟨p. 446⟩And the more sensible we are of the loss of our thought-possessions, and of our Meditations, the more fit we shall be for this work of Meditation. First therefore be very sensible of your want and neglect of this work of Meditation thus long.
First, If you would Meditate on God rightly and duly (to speak first by way of means, and then for the rules of direction afterwards) be very sensible of your want, and of your neglect herein. A man is never more fit for a duty, then when he is very sensible of his neglect therein sensibleness of neglect of former duty, fitts one for future duty. If a man have very great possessions, and he lose them, he is very sensible of the loss thereof, why now look into the 17th Job, and you shall find there are Thought-possessions: saith he, My dayes are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. In the Heb. even the possessi•ns of my heart. As if he should say thus; Time was that I had very great Thought-possessions, I thought on God, I enjoyed God, I possessed God; but now I have lost these my possessions of God, and the thoughts of my heart, the possessions of my heart are broken off. Thus sensible J•be was of the loss of his Thought-possessions. And the more rich our Thought-possessions are, the greater is our loss ⟨p. 446⟩