Meditation prepares the heart for prayer. Meditate on your sins, and hunt them out of their lurking holes; this helps in our confession. Meditate on your needs, for God is fully able to supply them. Consider what you need – pardoning mercy, strength for victory, power against sin – that you may entreat God to give them to you. Meditate upon his mercies to you from birth. Look at the dangers you have been delivered from, the journeys you have been protected in, the seasonable help he has sent you, the suitable support he has afforded you in distress, the counsel he has given you in doubts, and the comforts he has provided you in sorrow and darkness. These are present with you by meditation. Every breath in your life is a gift of mercy. How many do you enjoy – your house, family, body, and soul, are all full of blessings! Think of them particularly. Spread them out like jewels to your view. Meditate on how freely they are bestowed, on their fullness and greatness. But O, your soul’s mercies- the image of God, the blood of Christ, eternal life, and seasons of grace! Your whole life is a bundle of mercies. These stir us up to bless the Giver. Then meditate on God to whom we pray. O how we are ashamed of our drops when we stand by this ocean! Meditate on his mercy and goodness. These like Moses’ strokes will fetch water out of a rock. God delights to be sought and found. He delights to see men joyful in the house of prayer. God will not send you away sad. When you have by mediation put the wood in order upon the altar, you may by prayer set fire to it and offer up a sacrifice of sweet-smelling savour.
GEORGE SWINNOCK, Works, I: III-II7 [1]
- from Nov. 11, Voices from the Past, Vol. 1 (George Swinnock, Works, 1:111-117).
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