A treatise of divine meditation

Answ. The matter of Meditation must be some good and profitable thing: as God himself, his attributes, titles, properties, works of mercy, and ⟨p. 89⟩judgement, creation and providence, his Word, Threatenings, Promises, Commandments; our own unworthiness, mortality, the afflictions and manifold changes of this life, and how we may go through them with comfort.

Answ. The matter of Meditation must be some good and profitable thing: as God himself, his attributes, titles, properties, works of mercy, and ⟨p. 89⟩judgement, creation and providence, his Word, Threatnings, Promises, Commandements; our own unworthiness, mortality, the afflictions and manifold changes of this life, and how we may go thorow them with comfort.

But out of this variety, make choice of some one to be the subject of thy discourse, for he that is every where, is no where: Nothing is more hurtful to the body, than many medicines. The sore, to which sundry kinds of plasters are applied, is hardly brought to a scar. ¹Think upon one thing until thy affections be wrought upon. Nothing is so profitable, that it can benefit much in passing by; he that comes by the fire may feel a glimpse of heat, he only is warmed that tarrieth at it: It is ⟨p. 90⟩the property of a weak stomach to taste many things, to hold and digest nothing. Many matters thrust upon us at once, weaken and distract the powers of the soul. To scatter the thoughts upon many things, is to attend nothing as it ought: when the mind is distracted betwixt divers things, the one is a hinderance to the other, and we receive benefit by neither, nor bring our thoughts to any good issue.