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morning breath of the most fragrant flowers, hath not half that sweetness with which thofe my first affections were enriched. O! happy time, thrice pleasant fpring! My foul hath it still in remembrance, and is humbled within me; for thefe also were but bloffoms which now are nipt and faded, that firft flourish is gone; my heart is like the winter's earth, becaufe thy face, Lord, is to me like a winter fun. "Awake, O "north wind! and come, fouth-wind, blow upon my garden, "that the fpices thereof may flow out, then let my beloved "come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruit !"

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MEDIT. II.

Upon the knitting or setting of fruit.

Have often obferved, that when the bloffoms of a tree fet and knit, though the flourish thereof be gone, and nothing but the bare rudiment of the expected fruit be left; yet then the fruit is much better fecured from the danger of frofts and. winds, than whilft it remained in the flower or blossom; for now it hath paft one of thofe critical periods, in which so many trees mifcarry and lofe their fruit. And methought this natu ral obfervation fairly led me to this theological propofition, That good motions, and holy purposes in the foul, are never fecured, and paft their most dangerous arifis, till they be turned into fixed refolutions, and anfwerable executions, which is as the knitting and fetting of them.'

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Upon this propofition my melting thoughts thus dilated: happy had it been for thee, my foul! had all the bleffed motions of the Spirit been thus knit and fixed in thee. Oh, how have mine affections blown and budded under the warm beams of the gofpel! But a chill blaft from the cares, troubles and defights of the world without, and the vanity and deadnefs of the heart within, have blafted all; my goodness hath been but as a morning-dew, or early cloud, that vanitheth away. And even of divine ordinances, I may fay whas is faid of human ordinances, "They have perifhed in the ufing." A bloffom is but fructus imperfectus, et ordinabilis, an imperfect thing in itfelf, and fomething in order to fruit; a good motion and holy purpose is but opus imperfectum, et ordinabile, an imperfect work, in order to a complete work of the Spirit; when that primus impetus, thofe firft motions were ftrong upon my heart, had I then purfued them in the force and vigour of them, how many difficulties might I have overcome? Revive thy work, Lord, and give not to my foul a mifcarrying womb, or dry breasts.

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MEDIT. III.

Upon the fight of a fair spreading oak.

HAT a lofty flourishing tree is here? It seems rather to be a little wood, than a fingle tree, every limb thereof having the dimensions and branches of a tree in it; and yet as great as it is, it was once but a little flip, which one might pull up with two fingers; this vaft body was contained virtually and potentially in a small acorn. Well then, I will never despise the day of fmall things, nor despair of arriving to an eminency of grace, though at prefent it be but as a bruised reed, and the things that are in me be ready to die. As things in nature, fo the things of the Spirit, grow up to their fulness and perfection by flow and infenfible degrees. The famous and heroical acts of the most renowned believers were fuch as themselves could not once perform, or it may be think they ever fhould. Great things, both in nature and grace, come from small and contemptible beginnings.

MEDIT. IV.

Upon the fight of many flicks lodged in the branches of a choice fruit-tree.

HOW

OW is this tree battered with stones, and loaded with fticks, that have been thrown at it, whilft those that grow about it, being barren, or bearing harfher fruit, efpe untouched! Surely if its fruit had not been fo good, its ufage had not been fo bad. And yet it is affirmed, that fome trees, as the walnut, &c. bear the better for being thus bruised and battered.

Even thus it fares in both refpects with the best of men; the the more holy, the more envied and perfecuted; every one that paffes by will have a fling at them. Methinks I fee how devils and wicked men walk round about the people of God, whom he hath inclosed in his arms of power, like fo many boys about an orchard, whofe lips water to have a fling at them. But God turns all the ftones of reproach into precious ftones to his people; they bear the better for being thus battered. And in them is that ancient * observation verified.

"The palms and crowns of virtue thus increase; "Thus perfecution's turned into peace."

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Crefcunt virtutum palmae, crefcuntque coronae
Mutantur mundi pralia, pace Dei,

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Let me be but fruitful to God in holiness, and ever abounding in the work of the Lord, and then whilft devils and men are flinging at me, either by hand or tongue perfecutions, I will fing amidst them all with the divine poet:

"What open force, or hidden charm,

"Can blast my fruits, or bring me harm,

"Whilst the inclofure is thine arm?" Herb. Poem, p. 125.

MEDIT. V.

Upon the gathering of choice fruit from a scrubbed, unpremising

tree.

"Ould any man think to find fuch rare delicious fruit

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I fhould rather have expected the most delicious fruit from the moft handfame and flourishing trees; but I fee I must neither judge the worth of trees or men by their external form and ap, pearance. This is not the first time I have been deceived in judging by that rule; under fair and promising outfides I have found nothing of worth; and in many deformed despicable bodies, I have found precious and richly furnished fouls. The fap and juice of this fcrubbed tree is concocted into rare and excellent fruits, whilft the juice and fap of fome other fair, but baren trees, ferves only to keep them from rotting, which is all the us that many fouls which dwell in beautiful bodies ferve for; they have, as one faith, animam pro fale; their fouls are but falt to their bodies. Or thus,

The only ufe to which their fouls do ferve,

Is but like falt, their bodies to preferve.

If God have given me a found foul in a found body, I have a double mercy to blefs him for; but whether my body be vigorous and beautiful, or not, yet let my foul be fa: for as the efteem of this tree, fo the esteem and true honour of every man, rifes rather from his fruitfulness and ufefulness, than from his shape and form,

MEDIT. VI.

Upon an excellent, but irregular tree.

Eeing a tree grow fomewhat irregular, in a very neat or chard, I told the owner it was pity that tree fhould ftand there; and that if it were mine I would root it up, and thereby reduce the orchard to an exact uniformity. It was replied to this purpose, That he rather regarded the fruit than the form;" and that this flight inconveniency was abundantly preponderat

éd by a more confiderable advantage. This tree, faid he, which you would root up, hath yielded me more fruit than many of those trees which have nothing else to commend them but their regular fituation. I could not but yield to the reafon of this anfwer; and could wifh it had been spoken fo loud, that all our uniformity-men had heard it, who will not ftick to root up many hundred of the beft bearers in the Lord's orchard, because they ftand not in an exact order with other more conformable, but lefs beneficial trees, who perdunt fubftantiam propter accidentia, deftroy the fruit to preserve the form,

Not much unlike, fuch foolish men are those,
That ftrive for fhadows, and the substance lose,

MEDITATIONS upon a GARDEN.

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MEDIT. I,

Upon the new-modelling of a garden..

Gentlewoman who had lately feen a neat and curious garden, returns to her own with a greater diflike of it than ever; refolves to new-model the whole plat, and reduce it to a better form; is now become fo curious and neat, that not a weed or stone is fuffered in it, but all muft lie in exquifite order; and whatever ornament she had obferved in her neighbours, fhe is now reftlefs till fhe fees it in her own.

Happy were it, thought I, if in an holy emulation every one would thus endeavour to rectify the disorders of their own converfation, by the excellent graces they behold in the more heavenly and regular lives of others. Some Chriftians there are (I wish their number were greater) whofe actions lie in fuch a comely and beautiful order, that few of their neighbours can look upon their examples without felf-conviction and fhame; but few are fo happy to be provoked into self-reformation by fuch rare patterns. I fee it is much easier to pull up many weeds out of a garden, than one corruption out of the heart; and to procure an hundred flowers to adorn a knot, than one grace to beautify the foul. It is more natural to corrupt man to envy, than to imitate the spiritual excellencies of others. MEDIT. II.

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Upon the pulling up of a leek.

White head and a green tail! How well doth this resemble an old wanton lover, whofe green youthful lufts

are not extinguished, though his white head declares that nave ture is almost so! Gray hairs fhould be always matched with grave deportments; and the fins of youth fhould rather be the griefs than pleasures of old age. It is fad when the fins of the foul, like the difeafes of the body, grow ftronger, as nature grows weaker: and it recals to my mind that ancient observa tion of* Menander:

"It is the worst of evils, to behold

"Strong youthful lufts to rage in one that's old."

It is a thousand pities, that thofe who have one foot in the grave, should live as if the other were in hell! that their lufts fhould be fo lively, when their bodies are three parts dead! Such finful practices bring upon them more contempt and fhame, than their hoary heads, and reverend faces can procure them honour.

"Gray hairs, and aged wrinkles, did of old

"Procure more reverence than bags of gold †.”

But alas! how little refpect or reverence can the hoary head obtain amongst wife men, except it be found in the way of righteoufnefs? I think the loweft efteem is too much for anold fervant of the devil; and the higheft honour little enough for an ancient and faithful fervant of Chrift,

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MEDIT. III.

Upon a heedless tread in a curious garden.

Affing through the fmall divifions of a curious knot, which was richly adorned with rare tulips, and other beautiful flowers; I was very careful to fhun thofe flowers, which indeed had no other worth to commend them, but their exquifite colour; and unadvisedly trode upon and spoiled an excellent choice herb, which, though it grew obfcurely, yet had rare phyfical virtues in it.

When I was made fenfible of the involuntary trespass I had committed, I thought I could fcarcely make the owner a better compenfation, than by telling him, that herein (though against my will) I did but tread in the footsteps of the greatest part of the world, who are very careful (as I was) to keep their due

* Γιρων ερασης έσχάτη κακη τυκη.

Senex amore captus, ultimum malum.

Magna fuit capitis quondam reverentia cani,
Inque fuo pretio ruga fenilis erat.

Menand.

Ovid. 5 Faft.

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