reafon and counsel, but only by natural instinct, yet reafon itself could hardly have contrived a neater building of fuch fimple materials. How neatly hath the thrush ceiled or plastered his neft, with admirable art and industry! how warmly hath the finch matted his ? And both well fenced against the injury of the weather.

How comfortably hath nature provided convenient habitations for thefe weak and tender young ones, who have warm lodging, and variety of provisions hourly brought them, without their care or pains? This trifling object fuggefts to my thoughts a more excellent and ferious contemplation, even the wonderful and unparalleled abafement of Jefus Chrift, who for my fake voluntarily fubmitted himself to a more deftitute and neglected ftate, than thefe birds of the air: For Matth. viii. 20. he faith, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of "the air have nefts; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his "head."

"The craggy rock to foxes holes afford,

The pleafant woods a refting-place to birds; "For Chrift no fixed habitation's found,

"But what was borrow'd, or the naked ground."*

O melting confideration! that the glorious Son of God, John i. 14. "The Lord of glory," James ii. 1. "The brightness of his Fa"ther's glory," Heb. i. 3. "Who was rich," 2 Cor. viii. 9. " and "thought it not robbery to be equal with God," Phil. ii. 6. who from all eternity was infinitely and ineffably " delighting and rejoicing "in the bofom of his Father," Prov. viii. 30. that he, I fay, fhould manifeft himself in fleth, 2 Tim. iii 16. yea, " in the likeness of fin"ful flesh," Rom. viii. 3. that is, in fleth that had the marks and effects of fin upon it, as hunger, thirst, pain, weariness, and mortality, and not only to, but to chufe fuch a state of outward meannefs and poverty, never being poffcffed of a houfe in this world; but living as a ftranger in other men's houses, and stooping in this respect to a lower condition than the very birds of the air, and all this for enemies. O let it work both admiration and thankfulness in my foul! my body is better accommodated than the body of my Lord. "Dear Jefus! by how much the viler thou madeft thyfelf for me, by fo "much the dearer thalt thou be to me."+

HOW

MEDIT. IX.

Upon the early finging of Birds.

OW am I reproved of fluggishness by these watchful birds! which cheerfully entertain the very dawning of the morning

with their cheerful and delightful warblings! They fet their little fpirits all a-work betimes, whilft my nobler fpirits are bound with the bonds of foft and downy flumbers. For ihame, my foul! Suffer not that publican fleep to feize fo much of thy time, yea, thy best and freshest time; reprove and chide thy fluggish body, as a good bifhop once did, when, upon the fame occafion, he faid, Surrexerunt pafferes, et flertnunt pontifices.

The early chirping Sparrows may reprove

Such lazy bishops as their beds do love.

Of many fluggards it may be faid, as Tully faid of Verres, the deputy of Sicily, Quod nunquam folem nec orientem, nec occidentem viderat: that he never faw the fun rifing, being in bed after, nor fetting; being in bed before.

It is pity that Christians, of all men, fhould fuffer fleep to cut fuch large thongs out of fo narrow a hide as their time on earth is. But alas! it is not fo much early rifing, as a wife improving those fresh and free hours with God that will enrich the foul; elfe, as our proverb faith, A man may be early up, and never the nearer; yea, far better it is to be found in bed fleeping, than to be up doing nothing, or that which is worse than nothing. O my foul! learn to prepoffefs thyfelf every morning with the thoughts of God, and fuffer not those fresh and sweet operations of thy mind to be prostituted to earthly things; for that is experimentally true, which one, in this cafe, hath pertinently obferved, that if the world get the ftart of religion in the morging, it will be hard for religion to overtake it all the day after,

*

MEDIT. X.

Upon the haltering of Birds with a grain of Hair.

BSERVING, in a fnowy feafon, how the poor hungry birds were haltered and drawn in by a grain of hair cunningly caft over their heads, whilft, poor creatures, they were bufily feeding, and fufpected no danger; and even whilft their companions were drawn away from them, one after another, all the interruption it gave the reft was only for a minute or two, whilft they ftood peeping into that hole through which their companions were drawn, and then fell to their meat again as bufily as before; I could not chufe but fay, "Even thus furprisingly doth death fteal upon the children of men, 'whilft they are wholly intent upon the cáres and pleasures of this life, not at all fufpecting its fo near approach.' These birds faw not the hand that enfnared them, nor do they fee the hand of death plucking them one after enother into the grave.

• Mr Cafe, in Epift. to the Morn. Lect.

"Death's fteps as fwift, and yet no noife it makes; "Its hand unfeen, but yet moft furely takes *."

And even as the furviving birds for a little time feemed to stand affrighted, peeping after their companions, and then as bufy as ever to their meat again; juft so it fares with the careless, inconfiderate world, who fee others daily dropping into eternity round about them, and for the prefent are a little ftartled, and will look into the grave after their neighbours, and then fall as bufily to their earthly employments and pleasures again, as ever, till their own turn comes.

I know, my God, that I mutt die as well as others; but O let me not die as others do, let me fee death before I feel it, and conquer it before it kill me; let it not come as an enemy upon my back, but rather let me meet it as a friend, half way. Die I muft, but let me lay up that good treasure before I go, Matth. vi. 19. Carry with me a good confcience when I go, 2 Tim. iv. 6, 7. and leave behind me a good example when I am gone, and then let death come, and wel

come.

HA

MEDITATIONS upon BEASTS.

MEDIT. I.

Upon the clogging of a straying beast.

AD this bullock contented himself, and remained quietly within his own bounds, his owner had never put such an heavy clog upon his neck; but I fee the prudent husbandman chufes rather to keep him with this clog, than lose him for want of one. What this clog is to him, that is affliction and trouble to me; had my foul kept clofe with God in liberty and profperity, he would never thus have clogged me with adverfity; yea, and happy were it for me, i if I might ftray from God no more, who hath thus clogged me with preventive afflictions. If, with David I might fay, "Before I was "afflicted I went aftray, but now I have kept thy word," Pfalm cxix. 67. O my foul! it is better for thee to have thy pride clogged with poverty, thy ambition with reproach, thy carnal expectancies with conftant difappointments, than to be at liberty to run from God and duty.

It is true, I am fometimes as weary of these troubles, as this poor beaft is of the clog he draws after him, and often wifh myfelf rid of them; but yet, if God fhould take them off, for ought I know, I might have caufe to with them on again, to prevent a greater mifchief. It is ftoried of Bafil, that for many years he was forely afflicted with an inveterate head-ach, (that was his clog) he often prayed for

Omnibus obfcuras injecit illa` manus. Ovid.

the removal of it; at laft God removed it, but instead thereof he was forely exercised with the motions and temptations of luft, which when he perceived, he as earnestly defired his head-ach again, to prevent a greater evil. Lord! if my corruptions may be prevented by my afflictions, I refufe not to be clogged with them; but my foul rather defires thou wouldst hasten the time when I shall be for ever freed from them both.

MEDIT. II.

Upon the love of a Dog to his Mafter.

TOW many a weary ftep, through mire and dirt, hath this poor dog followed my horfe's heels to day, and all this for a very poor reward? for all he gets by it at night, is but bones and blows, yet will he not leave my company, but is content upon fuch hard terms, to travel with me from day to day.

O my foul! what conviction and shame may this leave upon thee, who art oftentimes even weary of following thy mafter, Christ, whofe rewards and encouragements of obedience are fo incomparably fweet and fare! I cannot beat back this dog from following me, but every inconfiderable trouble is enough to difcourage me in the way of my duty. Ready I am to refolve as that fcribe did, Matth. viii. 19: "Mafter, I will follow thee whitherfoever thou goeft;" but how doth my heart faulter, when I muft encounter with the difficulties of the way? Oh! let me make a whole heart-choice of Chrift for my portion and happiness! and then I fhall never leave him, nor turn back from following him, though the prefent difficulties were much more, and the prefent encouragements much lefs.

ТАК

MEDIT. III.

Upon the fighting of two Rams.

AKING notice how furiously thefe fheep, which by nature are mild and gentle, did yet, like bulls, push each other, taking their advantage by going back to meet with a greater rage and fury: methought I faw in this a plain emblem of the unchristian contests and animofities which fall out amongst them that call themselves the people of God, who are in fcripture also stiled sheep, for their meeknefs and innocency; and yet, through the remaining corruptions that are in them, thus do they do pufh each other; as one long fince complained,

Shall Chriftians one another wound and pufh,
Like furious bulls, when they together rufh?

The fighting of these sheep doth in two refpects notably comport with the finful practices of contending Chriftians, 1. That in this fight they engage with their heads one against another: and what are they but thole head-notions,' or oppofition of Sciences, falfly fo called, that have made fo many broils and uproars in the Chriftian world? O! what clafhings have thefe heady opinions caufed in the churches! First heads, and then hearts have clafhed. Chriftians have not diftinguished betwixt adverfarius litis, et perfona; an adverfary to the opinion, and to the perfon; but dipt their tongues and pens in vinegar and gall, fhamefully afperfing and reproaching one another, becaufe their understandings were not caft into one mould, and their heads all of a bignefs. But, 2. That which country-men obferve from the fighting of fheep, That it prefages foul and flormy weather, is much more certainly confequent upon the fighting of Chrift's theep. Do thefe clafh and puth? Surely it is an infallible prognoftic of an ensuing form, Mal. iv. 6.

W

MEDIT. IV.

Upon the Catching of an Horfe in a fat Pafture.

HEN this horfe was kept in poor fhort leas, where he had much scope, but little grafs, how gentle and tractable was he then? He would not only ftand quiet to be taken, but come to hand of his own accord, and follow me up and down the field for a cruft of bread, or handful of oats; but fince I turned him into this fat pafture, he comes no more to me, nor will fuffer me to come near him, but throws up his heels wantonly against me, and flies from me as if I were rather his enemy than a benefactor. In this I behold the carriage of my own heart towards God, who the more he hath done for me, the feldomer doth he hear from me; in a low and afflicted ftate, how tractable is my heart to duty? Then it comes to the foot of God voluntarily. But in an exalted condition, how wildly doth my heart run from God and duty? With this ungrateful requital God faulted his own people, Jer. iii. 31. teachable and tractable in the wildernefs, but when fatted in that rich pafture of Canaan, "Then we are lords, we will come no more to thee." How foon are all God's former benefits forgotten? And how often is that ancient obfervation * verified, even in his own people?

"No fooner do we gifts on fome bestow,
"But presently our gifts grey-headed grow."

Μετα την δοσιν τάχιςα γηράσκει χαρις.

Po munera cito confenefcit gratia.