Meditation

 How sad are the consequences of grieving the Spirit! It must be acknowledged, that he is very often grieved by us; but, blessed be his name, he does not always take the advantage against us; does not always resent the affronts we cast upon his gracious or comforting influences, by undervaluing or overvaluing them. If he did, the people of God would be perpetually in a deserted, uncomfortable condition. But when he is once provoked to such a degree as actually to withdraw, O what sad effects follow! Now the graces of the Spirit seem to lie dead, now nothing but sin and corruption seem to reign, now we are exposed to fall a ready prey to our spiritual enemies, and we may be obliged to pray and wait a long time before there be any comfortable return. Let us therefore be very cautious and watchful, lest we dishonor and offend him; for when we begin to fall, we know not how low we may fall, or how dismal our case may be, before he returns, and we are revived.

 How ungovernable are our thoughts and affections? It is evident to a demonstration, that we have them not at our command. They are like an army of undisciplined and disaffected soldiers. The will is, as it were, the general of the army; he commands them to act, but they stir not; he sees them running away, and commands them to rally, but to no purpose. To will is present with us, but to perform that which is good we find not. See how necessary it is that we should be under a superior influence to that of our own hearts.

 How ignorant are they of the nature of true religion, who think it at their option to be pious, holy, and spiritual at pleasure! They who think so, betray their weakness, ignorance and unbelief. For, if the spiritual Christian, a person that has tasted of divine grace, finds his corruptions so untameable, his affections so irregular, and his thoughts so ungovernable; how can it be, that unbelievers should have any strength so much as to think a truly good thought?

 What a plain rule may we collect from this subject to judge of the progress or declension of spiritual grace in our soul! We may easily judge how things go with us, only by observing how strong or how weak, how frequent or how seldom the meditations of our hearts are upon spiritual subjects. The more advanced a Christian is in the spiritual life, the more his heart can dwell upon divine subjects with pleasure and self application, and the more natural it is to him really to meditate in the midst of the duties both of life and religion. But if we from day to day find our thoughts vain, our meditations barren, our hearts dry and unsuited to devout contemplation; it is a sign that religion is at a low ebb with us. Be therefore frequently asking yourselves such questions as these: whether the very thoughts of your hearts are employed upon divine subjects? Whether you can truly meditate when you are reading, can meditate when you are hearing, can meditate when you are praying? And according to the answer your consciences give to these questions, so you may determine concerning the growth or declension of true religion in your souls. Happy are they, whose thoughts and hearts are daily taken up with spiritual things; and how much happier still are they, who are advanced to glory, where they are employed without intermission, and without end, in nothing else but holy contemplation upon heavenly things in heavenly places!