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{The Application
Application for the Godly
The Right Performance of Holy Duties
Directions for the Duty of Holy Meditation
Particular Advice for the Duty of Holy Meditation}
With regard to the practice of the duty of holy meditation, take these two further directions.292 First, every day, morning and evening, set apart some time for secret prayer. And when you go to pray, do not rush inconsiderately on it, but first sit down and take one of these seven matters for meditation. Meditate on what the Scriptures speak about them, and then propose the different questions to your hearts. And when you find your hearts affected and warmed by these meditations, then fall to prayer.
Second, let each morning’s meditation ordinarily be matter during the day for your thoughts to work on and for conversation, unless Providence intervenes and calls you to some other profitable subjects.
The matter of meditation is purposely divided into seven categories so that you may take one of the categories for each day’s meditation, and so in every week you may go over the whole of these chief things of Christianity. And thus, continuing from day to day and week to week, you will be both more thoroughly acquainted with and more deeply affected by the things of God. You will find, through His blessing, more liveliness and enlargement in prayer and more comfortable success.
Only, take heed of formality or resting in the work done and of doing a round of duty without a due regard to the purpose of the duty. Let this be your aim in all: to get your hearts more fixed upon and affected by the things of the world to come, more enlarged and enlivened, and more effectually carried on in the course of holy and heavenly walking. The goal of this walking is eternal life.
But now, some may complain that they cannot do this entire course of holy meditation because it is too tedious, or they do not have time to do all of this every day. Or they do not know how or lack tutoring. Thus, those unable to go through with this entire scheme of meditation may take the following shorter course instead. This will benefit those who are weaker in understanding or unavoidably constrained by time.293
Whenever you go to the duty of prayer, sit down and ask your heart these questions:
Ask, “What am I? Am I a believer or unbeliever, converted or unconverted? Do I think in my conscience that I belong to God or do I fear that I am a child of the devil?”
Ask, “What do I do? What are my ways; are they such as please the Lord and tend to the salvation of my soul, or are they the ways of death and damnation?”
Ask, “Before whose presence do I now stand?” Is it not before the Lord, the Almighty God, who is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and the avenger against those who slight or rebel against Him?
Ask, “What have I now come before the Lord about?” Is it not to plead with Him for my soul, to beg my life at His hands, to beg my pardon and redemption from everlasting death, and to obtain grace for the salvation of my soul?294
This short and easy course would be to some advantage. However for those who are able and can redeem enough time, I would commend the constant use of the larger directions.
292The importance of daily devotions, called a quiet time in some circles, cannot be overemphasized. Life in Christ is a personal relationship with the Trinity, and thus necessarily involves communication. God speaks to us in His Word. We speak to Him in prayer. We need to not only read the entire Bible multiple times in our lives, but also to deeply study various passages as the Spirit directs according to our needs. Holy meditation, well done, integrates God’s Word into our lives and keeps the Scriptures from being to us a mere set of facts. Consistently lacking, neglected, formal, or perfunctory daily devotions is the spiritual equivalent of a medical emergency. Alleine’s suggested methods and suggested set of Scriptures are a seasoned pastor’s advice suitable to his time and place and not to be taken lightly. But they are not Holy Writ and should be taken as examples, not as commands. Each believer will be led by God to design his or her own daily devotions differently at different stages of life. The counsel of one’s pastor or mature believers can be invaluable in this design.
293As an alternative to using Alleine’s shorter list, one might also take the full list and use it over a longer time span, perhaps one per two or three days or one per week instead one of per day.
294Once it is settled that we are in Christ, we can know that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, and our Lord Jesus Christ presents our prayers as unstained by sin to the Father. Thus, we are able to confidently praise, confess sin, give thanks, and ask other petitions of our Heavenly Father. Also, Alleine cannot have intended to suggest that matter for prayer should be limited to these questions.
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