Showing posts with label
Solitude Improved By Divine Meditation.
Show all posts
Showing posts with label
Solitude Improved By Divine Meditation.
Show all posts
THERE now remains but one thing more to be added to what has been said concerning daily meditation, namely, the meditation relating to that eminent day of God, first the seventh day of the week, now in the New Testament times changed to, and called the first day of the week, and the Lord's Day.
1. As to rise,nature, ends and advantages of the Sabbath in the Old Testament, and the Lord's Day in the New, it is the best day ever the world saw, or shall be seen on this side heaven.
2. It was and is that day wherein the infinite glories and excellences of a God have shined brighter and warmer on the spirits of men than in any other day beside- namely, His infinite wisdom, power, love, goodness, mercy, and riches of free grace.
3. The Sabbath, as some judge, hat its rise so early as in Paradise, or when man was in state of innocence: it must then be of very great antiquity, and a rarity of great worth. And,
4. Then it must be that only holy day which man in state of innocenc had- possibly , if he had stood, should ever have had afterward.
5. After the first institution it had the most glorious and tremendous promulgation and sanction, such a delivery and ratification, as no other law (except those that were spoken at the same time) ever had, namely, by God's so wonderful and most astonishing appearance on Mount Sinai, in the sight of six hundred thousand persons. There it was one of the then words spoken by God's own mouth, by God first spoken in the ears of all that so prepared and awakened numerous multitude, and after in the mount was written with the finger of God, written on the first table of stone, before the six commandments of the second table. This commandment thus written was with the others reserved in the golden ark or chest, made purposely by Moses from God's command to keep the tables, and then by God's appointment was to be preserved in the glorious tabernacle made by Moses, and there it was to be with highest honor preferred to be kept in the holy of holies.
6. Though some yield it not, yet a vast majority judge the Sabbath had its change from the seventh to the first day of the week by the Lord of the Sabbath, Christ Himself, or at least by His apostles from His authority.
7. However it be changed, yet it is looked upon as grounded on that so amazing part of our redemption, Christ's glorious resurrection on the third day after His passion.
8. The Sabbath formerly was the Old Testament church's fixed time to behold as in a mirror the glory of God the Creator, His eternal Godhead, power, wisdom, goodness, and most glorious excellences, in the so admirable frame of heaven and earth, and the so various and curious pieces in it, all most exquisitely wrought and finished. It was the peculiar time for setting up the ladder of the creatures by contemplation to climb from earth to heaven with. But now changed into the first day of the week, it is the Christian church's time for beholding, as in a mirror, the glory more peculiarly of God the Redeemer- now not in humiliation, but in His appearing and begun exaltation in the His glorious resurrection from the dead, that His concerned people might joy with highest an most heavenly rejoicing, for this rising of the Sun of righteousness, to be under the warmest and most vivifying beams of His infinite love.
9. Let me meditate of this day, as the time afforded for largest spiritual advantages, no day being so eminent for me and my soul as this day.
10. Let me meditate of this day as that happy season wherein the ordinances of Christ do run in fuller, higher, and stronger current. More is offered me on this great soul-mart day than on other common market-days, other weekday opportunities; it is the day whereby in some respects I have far better ordinances, the public; in communion with Christ, in the midst, among those that are gathered together in His name. And then by public I have better advantages for the private, to perform them better. Private duties having a better time and better helps, I must thereby be minded of my better performance.
11. It is the eminent day of meeting with God in His upper walks of more solemn ordinances.
12. The day of days for our best speaking with our God, and of highest familiarity with Him.
13. It is the great time of our hearing from God, and having Him most eminently speak to us. There are no hearings from God like this day's hearings, no such voice, no such efficacy can be expected as on this day.
14. It is the day wherein God sits out, and is most to be seen- the great day of seeing God's goings in the sanctuary, seeing His power and His glory, Psalm 63:2. No such day for this as the Lord's own day.
15. A day of feeding more on the "feast of fat things full of marrow," Isaiah 25:6. Of being brought into the King's banqueting-house, having the banner of Christ's love spread more amply over us than at other times, it being the day wherein the highest flamings-up of His unspeakable love appeared, in that He not only died, but rose again from the dead, without which all His other labor and sufferings had been lost, and our souls been lost also.
16. It is a day dropped down from heaven, may serve to give a taste of the Sabbath and day kept there, and to set a copy for us here to write after, in our holy restings and actings, attended with heavenly refreshings. God that made all things, when He had finished His work, He then rested on the seventh day, and with His example of resting, gave the precept of sanctifying the seventh-day to the church of the New Testament, as some think, which therefore they say is called the Lord's day, Revelation 1:10, as the ordinance of the supper is called the Lord's supper, as instituted by Him.
17. It is the day of resting the body from labor, or respiting the mind from worldly thoughts and cares, and of refreshing the spirit with heavenly manna, which rains down now on this day more plentifully, and with water of life, that runs more abundantly in the pure channels of holy ordinances.
18. Meditated on it should be, as the season of the best reciprocations, mutual actings between earth and heaven, wherein the soul has the advantage of acting higher and more vigorously, to glorify and please God, and wherein God commands the blessing more, and affords assistances more usually than or any other days, as experience proves.
19. It is a time to come from sweeter and fuller communion with God in Christ (whose blessed day it is), to come with our faces shining and hearts flaming, made better to be on earth, fitter to live in heaven: and hereupon,
20. To leave upon the spirit a more eager longing fully to enjoy the Lord of the Sabbath, and have time turned wholly into eternity.
These or such-like meditations may be suitable and quickening for improving the great opportunity of this day of Christ, and we cannot think too much or too seriously for this great occasion.
Nathanael Ranew
Solitude Improved By Divine Meditation, pp. 80-83
Every Christian is to awake with God in the morning: as David when he awoke was ever with God, Psalm 139:18, at his awaking times in the night, by thinking of God; so chiefly when he awoke last, when the night was past, with all the dangers of it, and the day dawned, then the morning-star of meditation arose in his heart. The first work in the morning is to awake with God, and the noble thinking faculty, which upon awaking will instantly awake and begin to stir, begin to act: let it be awakened into this sweet way of self-entertainment by engaging of it in holy meditation. Look we that the heart be first of all seasoned, sweetened, and perfumed with heavenly thoughts.
Begin with serious reflections upon the great goodness and tender mercies of God in our preservations from Satan's malice and mischiefs; what affrightments, in noises and appearances, in violence and harms, would he exercise, if he were let loose upon us! What other harms from wicked men, usually taking the advantage of the dark and still night, when all are at rest, besides harms from accidental occasions that we are liable to! There is also the great mercy of beds to lie on, rest without tossings, ease without torments, sleep without holding our eyes in awaking, having our sleep sweet, awaking with refreshing, having our formerly weary bodies and decayed spirits revived and cheered, and we ourselves under a new adaptation and fitness for the succeeding day's occasions. There should be also a stand and abode of thoughts upon anything in the night which is more signal and remarkable, that comes down from heaven as a brighter beam of favor to take the eye with, that is let down as a more peculiar hand to take up our thoughts to heaven by, that is sent as a more special love-token, stamped with more legible characters of the care and kindness of a God toward us.
When the night's past mercies have had some due reflections and musings, had a down-weight of improvement endeavored for warming and enlarging the heart toward our good God; if then it conveniently may be, nothing to the contrary interposing and that justly may hinder, the next thing then for the way of our thoughts should be to look forward to the day coming on, and the spiritual concernments of it; or if it then cannot at the present be, yet so soon as we can to set to and engage in this so useful meditation.
The more particular rules we may use for this daily meditation, are these following:
1. Meditation of setting up the master mark, the glorifying of the most high God.
2. Next unto it, meditation of eternal happiness in the enjoying of God.
3. Meditating then after it of the sure and adequate means for attaining them both.
And these are therefore to be meditated upon:
Meditating on, 1. Jesus Christ, the only way to the Father by His work of redemption.
Meditating on, 2. The Holy Spirit, the great applier of Christ and His redemption.
Meditating on, 3. The holy ordinances of God, the usual ways of the Spirit's coming to apply Christ by.
Meditating on, 4. The word of God, chiefly the promises of the gospel: these on God's part.
Meditating 5. On our part, by our use of the ordinances, and the word and promises, and that faith and holiness whereby we come to union and communion with God, glorify Him, and obtain salvation; faith as the instrument of receiving Christ, and both faith and holiness, or the graces of Christ, as our principles of life and power, to live unto God, and growing up to perfection against all opposition.
1. The first thing according to the rule of best wisdom, which lays the surest foundation in any course, is first to take into most serious consideration the supreme and chief end, and to act a fresh setting up before us that master mark and scope of the most high God, and the glorifying of Him, to be continued as we can through the whole course of the day.
Meditation of this glorifying God, for pure, lively, and highest advancings of it-- this is the soul's best operation, and runs most parallel to the perfect work of heaven. Heaven's higher acting is contemplation of the most blessed God, for the most transcendent exaltings of His glory: the rule of Scripture is to do all to the glory of God, 1 Corinthians 10:31. And this rule must therefore have its place and power here; therefore this daily meditation must take it in and set it up. It must be everyone's wisdom to bottom or day meditation, with the still eyeing of and aiming at the glorifying of the most high God. To begin with the fresh thoughts, and also the warmest frame of spirit, for furthering the supreme end, the glory of God, and with it, as fit to be annexed unto it, that which is wrapped up with it: our own eternal happiness.
In a watch, and diverse artificial motions, the evenness and expediteness of the motion is from evener or unevener, stronger or weaker drawing of the spring, the first mover. Thus is it in godliness, a Christian's motions are answerable to his eyeings more or less of the main end. Christians complain of their daily dead-heartedness and unevenness; it much arises from the so little or listless lockings at the main mark. Paul looked earnestly, and he pressed hard. In archery, those who eye the mark most earnestly and steadily hit the oftenest and fullest.. The wisest Christian is the most earnest, equal eyer of the main end. There be many particulars in this head, which according to prudence and leisure may have their seasons of ponderings.
The variety will produce delight, and set an edge upon the spirit, apt to grow heavy and weary. They are such as these: as the considerations of the most high God in all His infinite glories and perfections: His all-sufficiency, in His knowledge, wisdom, holiness, righteousness, and the rest but chiefly in His so infinite and unchangeable love, and riches of free grace: the infinite obligations eternally lying upon us, for glorifying and exalting of Him: the infinite excellences and fullness of the second Person, and His infinite love, in undertaking with His Father to redeem lost sinners: and the infinite love of the third Person, the Holy Spirit, the applier of redemption. Some most serious meditation of God, and glorifying Him, to give down into the heart a glowing heat and liveliness for all the following day is still fit in some measure to be practiced.
The next should be some serious musing on that next end, our own salvation and eternal happiness, further to be wrought out, to be our day labor, by the opportunity of a new begun day, a day which will bring us nearer to the ocean of eternity.
Nathanael Ranew
Solitude Improved By Divine Meditation, pp. 61-64
MEDITATION we described to be an institution of Christ, and duty of a Christian, wherein the mind acts upon spiritual things, or other things in a spiritual manner, by a due considering of them, and this to holy ends or spiritual uses only. Now the ends of meditation are three:
1. Such as refer to the Most High God.
2. Such as respect ourselves.
3. Such as relate to others.
1. Such as refer to the Most High God. Meditation is to be the motion of the heavenly spirit heavenward; to carry it up to heaven and keep it a time there: a looking of the eye of the mind, and a lifting up of the heart, a making a stay, and taking a spiritual solace in heaven with God.
All duties we perform must be done to the living God, "to serve the living God," Hebrews 9:14. If otherwise, our duties are but dead works, loathsome as dead carcasses. A living work must have for its supreme end the living God.
God, that is the first and best, must have the first aim and leveling to.
They say in philosophy, the last end must have the first intending, the first looking at, as the first ground and mover to any work. And as they say in optics in treating about the nature of seeing of objects, that which first irradiates sends forth that which through the medium first conveys itself to the eye: this is first visible, and that is light. The first thing the eye of meditation should fix upon is that which is the Light of lights, and that is God, Who is all light, beauty, and glory. Meditation should be chiefly acted to see God, and to aim at glorifying of God above all: "Whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God," 1 Corinthians 10:31.
The Gentiles, wise men, and great philosophers, because their speculations were not acted to the glory of God, were vain imaginations: see Romans 1.
Whatsoever the aim be, if the glory of God be not the real scope, nay, if it be not the master mark, the work is miscarried, and but a raveling out of time, a losing of labor. Meditation must make sure of the right method and order of aiming at the glory of God, like the sun in the heavens that outshines all other lights below and above, and that which is to be seen before, and above all others; so this must be eyed and aimed at likewise, far before all other.
Three things to be eyed:
1. The infinite glories and resplendencies of the eternal and all-sufficient God;
2. The infinite distances and heights he is in above us;
3. The infinite obligations that ever lie upon us, to exalt Him beyond all.
As in the making of our whole man, whereby He is total owner of us and proprietor in us. And in our preserving, whereby we are yet more highly bound. And in the provision for our eternal happiness, which is far beyond all the former.
Therefore there is an absolute necessity of this method and order, of still first aiming every duty and acting at this grand mark; and then to make it the striving and pressing hard of our spirits to it. Oh, that in my thinkings, in the ascendings of my thoughts, this glory of the great God may ever still ascend. For no thoughts nor actings can truly ascend if they go not up to the blessed God and this glroy of God: if God goes not up higher in our thinkings, they then go not higher than self, and which is but indeed downward, and not upward at all. Nay, it is a worse descent than that also: it is destruction and hell-ward whatsoever is self-ward and is not to the advancing of the great God. Meditation is not only to be acted to God as a duty, but as this duty, in its peculiarity and propriety, as being a peculiar straight line to God, as a singular way for our taking aim, this high aim, at exalting the praises of God.
Thus did that rare marksman, holy David, as it is admirably conspicuous in the Psalms. In Psalm 103:1-2, in the very entrance he lays a strict, a repeated command, upon his soul and all that is within him to bless, and bless, and praise God: yea, not only lays his meditation level to the mark, but raises up his spirit to take the purest, the fullest aim- this both by a selecting and improving of spiritual reasons, the strongest he could find, and the most quickening motives he could apply, all that his heart might carry up (in a heavenly fame) the highest praises of God. Thus you shall see him very frequently acting his meditation up with the greatest fervor to this exalting highly of God.
Meditation is a peculiar visit made to the great God- a mind, a thought visit, wherein, as to a great friend, the soul, as it were, comes and says to God, "Lord, I come to see you, I now come purposely to see you, to spend some fit portion of time with you, and I come for that high honor and observance I am infinitely obliged to tender to you." Every meditation is giving a fresh visit, and thereby a new tender of highest honor we owe to this best of friends.
The next end is our highly pleasing of God, which by meditation we are to intend. God will be both obeyed and pleased with our respecting and acting of every appointed way; meditation is the best way, the most pleasing, a due serious thinking, a pondering and dwelling of the thoughts upon heavenly things, and chiefly upon the infinite beauties and excellences of God, who is the perfect thought- and heart-knower, the exquisite searcher and observer of soul actings.. And then most, when purposely pleasing is designed: this must very highly please Him when we especially design pleasing, with our most wishly eyeings of Him, yea, to intend the doing our best to please Him; and this, oh, how should it greatly also please us! David, in Psalm 19:14, prays for pleasing God: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." So it is not only to be prayed for, but made the holy aim of meditation with our utmost care. What industries do the favorites to great princes use to please them, especially that their thoughts offered in counsels may be acceptable! Thus, how did Philotas act, who was the favorite of Alexander the Great; and Maecenas, the favorite of Augustus; and so diverse among ourselves! But how near goes it to them if their counsels please not! As with Ahithophel, when his counsel pleased not Absalom; and on the contrary with Hushai, when his counsel pleased. So when Haraan's counsel was rejected; and how contrary with Mordecai, when his counsels were adopted! Pleasing of a prince is a great encouragement, but pleasing of a God is a sweet soul contentment; it is most worthy striving after. Oh, how unspeakably sweet will the finding and feeling of this prove in your heart when meditation is performed purposely to please your God- when it runs in pure stream, when your spirit, reflecting on its actings in meditating, makes discovery of this holy aim of high pleasing the Most High God! As the Scripture commands pleasing, the saints are peculiarly commended and greatly honored for it. As with wise and well-bred people (obliging and pleasing in good things), great pleasing is a great praise. As Abel, Enoch, and others, from this character of pleasing God. It is a heavenly ambition ti earnestly design pleasing; as in all others, so in this walking with God in meditation.
Nathanael Ranew
Solitude Improved by Divine Meditation, pp. 38-41
MEDITATION includes a dwelling of the thoughts upon the object, drawing out the golden thread of holy thinking to its due length, giving the mind its full scope and allowance of abode on the meditated matter. Meditation is, in Scripture, and often particularly in the book of Ecclesiastes, expressed by the phrase of "considering."
In consideration, there is:
1. Application of the mind to an object;
2. Intention upon it;
3. Pondering of, or searching into it; And this,
4. thing, the dwelling of the thoughts for some due space of time, for viewing and reviewing, for second thoughts, bettering of thoughts, and better completing this great soul affair of meditation. This meditation needs must have that allowance that all great musings and considerings have. Such are rare artists, exquisite engineers, deep philosophers, and great statesmen, all noble and ingenious ways must have for their times of studyings: they must have their due space of time for thinking, and lengthen out their mindings in that time-- to make, as we say, no more haste than good speed. A staying awhile will make an end the sooner, make the work the surer.
Meditation is not a hasty hurry of thoughts: that is precipitation, not meditation. IT is not gathering half-ripe fruit, that which has not its time for the influence of heaven to come down upon it, and its own internal principle and power of its nature, to produce a kindly maturation, a kindly ripening. We will not have (for want of time) our bread dough-baked, or meat raw-roasted, knowing that what is not rightly prepared for the body may breed distempers, if it bring not death. It is not the way to thrive, look well, and be strong, lively, and cheerful: why should we gather our soul's precious fruits half-ripe? Feed our souls with dough-baked bread for want of a little time? Some things must have infusion for taking forth the spirits and tinctures of colors; others a due time for percolation and straining, for a separating of the finer parts from the feculent and dreggy; and some things a longer space, in a slow and constant fire in the operation, or the cost and labor is lost. Intentions for effecting things greatly beneficial and admirable are most freely allowed a larger proportion of time, both for frequencies and repetitions of musing seriously. But, oh, how too ordinarily do the best of saints fall short of the actings of rare artists in their higher operations, in their stands and abodes of thoughts for more curious observations, and intellectual satisfactions! Usually we are too hasty and eager to have duties over. The soul is in pain till it be delivered of them. In meditation it is hard (sometimes at least) to take off the thoughts for it from pre-engagements of other thinking, and apply them to the duty; but harder to become duly serious in acting in it; harder yet to dive and ponder; and hardest of all to hold up an abiding of thoughts and dwell long enough, and after views to make reviews, to react the same thinkings, to taste things over and over when the freshness and newness is past, when by long thinking the things before us seem old: we are ready to grow dead and flat in a performance, except we stir up ourselves often in ti. It is hard to hold on and hold up unless we hold up a wakeful eye, a warm affection, a strong and quick-repeated resolution; yea, and without often lifting up the soul to Christ, for fresh recruits of strength to hold on. David, that so excellent artist in this way, says he will meditate, often says he will. See Psalm 119. Doubtless he not only said I will, when he was to make his entrance into this hard work; but likewise for continuance in it, to keep up his heart from flagging, till he well ended his work. It is not the digging into the golden mine, but the digging long, that finds and fetches up the treasure. It is not the diving into the sea, but staying longer, that gets the greater quantities of pearls. To draw out the golden thread of meditation to its due length, till the spiritual ends be attained- this is rare and happy attainment.
Nathanael Ranew
Solitude Improved By Divine Meditation, pp. 28-29
