Fanning the Flames of Ardor

Edmund Calamy the Elder, The Art of Divine Meditation, pp. 189-196 :

2. Now I come to that which is the easiest part of Meditation, I mean easie to understand, but not easie to practice; I come to that which is the best part of Meditation, the very life and soul of Meditation, and that is to help you to get your affections warmed and heated by the things you meditate upon; for the work of the understanding is nothing else but to be as a Divine pair of bellows, to kindle and inflame the heart and affections; the work of the understanding is to chew and prepare matter, to help the affections. Now then I am to give you some directions and helps for the affectionative part, to get your affections warmed and heated, so as to stir up piety and devotion in your souls: Now for the working upon your affections, learned men that write upon this subject, propound six common-place-heads, as so many ways to raise the affections, and to get them so excited as to increase grace and holiness in the soul.

1. You must labour to get a relish and a savour of the things you meditate upon.

2. You must complain before God for the want of that relish.

3. You must wish you had a supply of what you want of this relish and taste of the things you meditate on.

4. You must confess your inability, as of your selves to do this.

5. You must petition to God for help.

6. You must confidently believe God will help you.

Here are six helps for the affectionative part of Meditation; now that you may know the use of these helps, I shall crave leave to go over them all by way of instance; I have given you an instance concerning the sinfulness of sin, I went over nine common-place heads, and shewed you how you should enlarge in every particular about the sinfulness of sin; now I will proceed further in this instance, and shew you how you should make use of these Particulars, to get your affections raised and warmed, and stirred up to more holiness. After that I have traversed all the heads of reason, and have considered the description, the distribution, cause and effects of sin, now I come to the work of the affections. And here,

1. I will labour to get my heart affected with the bitterness of sin, I will labour to taste the bitterness of it, and to get my heart in a mourning frame; and I will thus say to my self, Oh my soul, is sin so odious to God, that no sacrifice but the sacrifice of the blood of God can appease Gods wrath? and shall it not be odious to me? was sin so displeasing unto God, and so defiling to the soul, that no bath but a bath of Christs blood can wash away the stain of it? and shall I make a mock of that sin that cost the blood of Christ? was sin a burden to Christ? and shall it not be a burden to me? Thus I would reason with my self, Did sin make Christ shed drops of blood, and shall it not make me shed a few tears? Did Christ cry out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me, for our sins, I mean for our sins he took upon him? and shall I make a sport of sin? shall I make a mock of sin? Doth David complain, That his sins was a burden too heavy for him to bear. And doth Paul cry out, Oh wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of sin? And shall not sin be bitter to me? shall not I mourn that I have sinned against so gracious a God, so merciful a Redeemer, so holy a Sanctifier?

2. I would proceed to the second, and begin to complain of the hardness of my heart, and of my unaffectedness with the sins I am guilty of; and I would thus say to my soul, Oh my soul! how is it that thou canst mourn for any outward loss, if thou losest but a child, though it may be thou hast half a score? if thou losest but one of them, thou canst mourn immoderately; if thou losest thy wife, thy husband, any part of thy estate, thou canst mourn too much; but thou hast not one tear for thy sins? how is it, Oh my soul, that thou shouldest be thus hard-hearted, and unaffected with thy sins? Is not sin Deicidium? is not sin a murdering of God in as much as in us lies; is not sin animaecidium, that which slays the soul? is not sin a dethroning of God, a robbing of God, an injuring of God? how is it then that I am no more affected with my sin? how is it that after so many Sermons, so many Sacraments, so many years being in the School of Christ, after so many mercies received from God, so many afflictions the Lord hath inflicted upon me, yet my heart should be so hard, and so flinty, and so stony? I can easily hate my enemy too too soon, which I should not do, but Sin that is my greatest enemy I cannot hate that, which I should hate most of all! I must love my outward enemy, but God bids me hate my Sin; God doth not bid me love the Devil, or the works of the Devil; I can hate that which I should love, but I cannot hate that which I should hate, I cannot hate my Sin.

3. I would proceed to stir up my affections to a passionate wish; and I would say to my soul thus, Oh that my heart were more soft; Oh that I could mourn with a godly mourning, not with a legal mourning, but with a mourning that is out of love to God. Oh that I could mourn with repentance unto life, with a Gospel-sorrow for all my sins of omission, commission, my Sacrament-sins, my family-sins, my Closet-sins, the sins of my youth, the sins of my riper age, for all my unkindness against my God: Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I could mourn day and night for my sins, and the sins of the times, and the sins of the place wherein I live: Oh that rivers of tears would run down my eyes, because I have sinned against my God! Thus would I wish, and passionately express my self, that so I might get my heart raised up: Oh that the Lord would pour down the spirit of mourning upon me.

4. I would make an humble confession of my own inability, to mourn; and I would say thus, O Lord! thou knowest it is not in man to direct his own ways, it is not in man to guide his own steps; I know, Oh Lord, that I am not able of my self to think a good thought; it is easier for me to cleave a rock in pieces, than to cleave my rocky heart by my own strength; there must be an Almighty power to get my heart to be soft; for my heart, Oh Lord, is harder than the nether milstone, and I cannot soften it; I would mourn that I cannot mourn, that I have not power; I can do nothing without power derived from Jesus Christ.

5. I would go to supplication after confession, and I would petition to God for strength; and I would say, Oh Lord! thou that hast promised to take away my heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh; hast thou not promised to work all my works in me, and for me? hast thou not promised to subdue my iniquities? Micah 7. 19. hast thou not promised that Sin shall not have dominion over me? this is the promise, Rom. 6. now Lord, thou hast promised these things, I beseech thee perform these Promises; thou God of Truth, make good thy word, take away my heart of stone, and give me to mourn for my great abominations; and work this work in me and for me; and subdue my iniquities, and let not Sin have dominion over me; rather give me over to the dominion of men: though I would not be a slave to men, yet I had rather be a slave to all the men in the world, yea a slave to the Turk, than a slave to the Devil; rather be a Galley-slave than a Devils-slave; of all slavery, Lord, deliver me from soul-slavery. And thus I would supplicate and petition; and when I have done all this,

6. I would encourage my self by faith in a confident hope and trust in God, that the Lord will hear my prayer, and give me strength against my corruptions, and supply me with help in all my necessities; and I would say thus, Oh Lord, thou hast promised that whatsoever I ask in the name of Christ, shall be granted unto me; blessed God! I ask this day in the name of Christ pardon of Sin, and power against Sin, and a broken heart for Sin, and from Sin; I ask repentance unto Salvation; thou hast promised to give it, I believe thou wilt give it; I believe, Lord, help my unbelief. And then I would say to my soul, why art thou disquieted, Oh my soul? why art thou cast down? why art thou troubled? still trust in God, depend upon God, he is my help, he is my joy, in him will I put my trust.