meditation “is a digesting of all the things of God.”^14 While this nicely parallels the
imagery of Guigo II who in the twelfth-century asserted, “meditation chews it [the
food] and breaks it up” Calamy cites specifically Leviticus 11:3 on clean and unclean
beasts as the inspiration for his statement.^15
Ambrose continues his treatment following the traditional teaching that
differentiates between the two forms of meditation: “[s]udden, Occasional, or
Extemporal” or “[d]eliberate, set, or solemn.”^16 Sudden meditations are those that a
person would engage during the course of a day as God brings various events, people,
or things before the senses. For example, a person walking home might notice the
beauty of a sunset and extemporaneously express wonder and gratitude to God.
Deliberate meditations are intentional periods in which the person selects a topic,
place, and method to explore and ponder something. Ambrose observes a distinction
between two types of deliberate meditations, “for it is either conversant about matters
of knowledge, for the finding out of some hidden truth, or about matters of affections,
for the enkindling of our love unto God, or if you will, for the acting of all the powers
of our soul on spiritual object. The former of these two we leave to the Schooles and
Prophets, the latter we shall search after.”^17 Similar to many of his fellow Puritans,
Ambrose draws upon Isaac’s practice from Genesis 24:63 of withdrawing to the fields
in the evening to meditate as the guide for the best time, place, and attitude to practice
meditation.^18
(^14) Calamy, Art of Divine Meditation (^) , 24, 114. cf. Downame, Guide to Godlynesse,
- 15
16 Guigo II, Ladder of Monks, 69, cf. 80 and Calamy, Art of Divine Meditation, 24.^
17 Ambrose, Media (1657), 216.^
18 Ambrose, Media (1657), 216-7.^
meditation based on th Ambrose, Media (1657), 217is text. Sermons Genesis xxiv.63-9. Thomas Manton preached ten sermons on ,” 263-348. cf. Joseph Hall,