The Spirit of Labadism

Jean de Labadie (1610-1674), the French Jesuit-turned-Reformed theologian, exemplified a spirit that pervades even today. After leaving the Roman Catholic Church and embracing the doctrines found in John Calvin's Institutes, he protested against the corruptions found within the Dutch Reformed Church, issuing an appeal to Christians to separate themselves from her and to join his "house church." The appeal was tempting to such a prominent theologian as Wilhelmus à Brakel. In W. Fieret's biographical sketch of à Brakel, which highlights what he describes as "the Labadistic spirit of separatism," we learn more about the intersection these two men and what it meant for the Reformed Church.

The Struggle against the Labadists

During his tenure in Friesland, only one book authored by à Brakel was published; however, during his tenure in Rotterdam many would follow. A year and one half after his installation in Rotterdam, à Brakel “went to battle” against the Labadists. In two elaborate letters to a circle of friends in Harlingen he delineated his objections against this sect. It is probable that these friends had asked him for advice. In all honesty he wrote that during his tenure in Stavoren he had been sympathetic towards the Labadists and had seriously considered joining them. Yet he had wanted to know more of de Labadie and his views and therefore had traveled to Amsterdam where the Labadists had settled at that time.

He had various conversations with Anna Maria van Schurman, a very gifted woman who prior to her transfer to the Labadists had many contacts with the ministers of the Second Reformation—among others with [Gisbertus] Voetius. à Brakel also had extensive conversations with de Labadie himself. In spite of the attractive things he had heard, he was not convinced. De Labadie then gave him the advice to lay this matter before the Lord Himself and to pray for wisdom, doing so in the greatest possible solitude. à Brakel, according to this letter, had followed his advice. “Very early in the morning I went into my garden and remained there all day until late in the evening. I fasted, prayed, and supplicated to understand the will of God. I also read, and after considerable time had passed, the Lord showed me very clearly from His Word and gave a clear impression in my heart that I was in the right way, and that their way (that is, of the Labadists) was a departure from the truth.” Nevertheless, it so much appealed to à Brakel that he continually prayed, asking the Lord as it were for permission to join this group. The result was that the Lord showed him with increasing clarity the error of the Labadists while rebuking à Brakel at the same time. It was as if the Lord said: “Did I not reveal this to you? Why then do you persevere?” Subsequent to this à Brakel firmly resolved to remain in the Reformed Church. He continued to thank the Lord for having prevented him from taking a wrong step.

In what did the attraction of Jean de Labadie and his followers consist, so that even a staunch Reformed man as Wilhelmus à Brakel was strongly attracted by it? If he, as he said himself, vacillated to such a degree, people with much less education and experience must have had strife to a far greater degree. In his second letter à Brakel primarily addressed the regenerate and advised them in the strongest possible terms not to join the Labadists. It must indeed be evident that the conduct of Jean de Labadie and his followers caused much agitation in the church. However, à Brakel was not the only minister who felt attracted toward this revivalist.

Who was de Labadie and what did he teach? This Frenchman, who had been trained as a Jesuit, left the monastery in 1639; he was twenty-nine years old at that time and until 1650 traveled around as an itinerant preacher. In that year he joined the Reformed Church of Montauban, one of the Huguenot cities. He became the minister of this church and also taught at the Academy. From 1659 to 1666 Geneva was his residence. With great zeal he preached for hours about the great ideal that had to be transformed into reality: a pure church in which the Christian religion would be practiced as strictly as possible. This engendered the idea that only true believers, that is, only those who were partakers of the Spirit of Christ, constituted the pure church. Thus, within the confines of the visible church as institution, a church of the regenerate came into existence. De Labadie organized “conventicles” of true believers and thus attempted to lead the church back to the original manifestation of the Christian church in the first century—that is, as he perceived it to be.

The ideas which de Labadie proclaimed in a captivating and convincing manner—he could preach for four hours at a stretch without his hearers losing interest—met with both approbation and resistance. The proponents of these ideas were so convinced of their correctness that many could no longer be convinced to change their minds. Opponents, however, saw so much danger in these ideas that they opposed them with all their might. Therefore, there came unrest wherever de Labadie resided for some time. De Labadie‟s acceptance of a call to the French congregation in Middelburg signaled the termination of a period of great agitation for the Reformed Church in Geneva.

When he came to the Republic in 1666, he traveled on to Utrecht. The Friends of Utrecht—to which belonged, among others, Voetius and [Jodocus] van Lodenstein—gave him a friendly reception. After having been installed in Middelburg, Koelman from Sluis went to hear him. de Labadie had a tremendous reputation. The same matters which the representatives of the Second Reformation were pursuing were also his objectives. He warned strongly against the laxness of many Christians, the desecration of the Sabbath, the lack of spirituality and morality displayed by many ministers, the non-Reformed and often coarse lifestyle of many church members, etc. His calls to prayer and fasting had effect; and especially due to his many family visitations the results of his activity were noticeable everywhere. Nevertheless, there came discord also in Middelburg, and after many difficulties de Labadie, with a group of followers, moved to nearby Veere. Many supporters from Middelburg went to hear the deposed minister. The parliament of Zeeland intervened at last and expelled de Labadie. When the use of force was imminent, the exiled minister took refuge in Amsterdam.

In the meantime, sympathy for him among the Reformed had waned, for he had severed himself from the Reformed Church. He viewed the circle of his followers as a community of the regenerate who had left the worldly national church and had joined the new “house church” of de Labadie. Elsewhere in the Republic similar house churches came into existence as well. Amsterdam evidently was not the terminus for this group; they crossed the border into Germany, and, after roaming about, settled in Wiewerd, a village south of Leeuwarden. The influential Cornelis van Aerssen had made the castle “Walta Estate” available. De Labadie himself had died in the meantime. Peter Yvon, due to his organizational talent, had succeeded in giving the congregation a solid footing. Around 1680 his following in Wiewerd consisted of about three hundred people.

The Labadists were all dressed in the same handmade, modest clothing. As a community they farmed the soil surrounding the castle. Dairy farming was also a means whereby they supported themselves. During meals there was singing and prayer and one or more persons would speak a word. Worldly conversation was held to a minimum; they preferred to share their spiritual experiences. These experiences, according to the Labadists, could occur outside the context of the Word of God. Especially during and after communion services members of the congregation would come into a state of ecstasy, believing the Holy Spirit to be working in them. They would embrace each other, skip and dance, and mutually entertain themselves in spiritual Christian love.

After Voetius and [Jacobus] Koelman had recognized the dangers of Labadism, they warned the Reformed against this error. Koelman did this in his work Historisch verhaal der Labadisten [Historical Account of the Labadists]. At the end of this work he printed the two letters of à Brakel. Yvon reacted to the contents of these letters by way of a brochure. In this manner à Brakel also became involved in the battle against the Labadists. His best known work, in which these letters were included again, was Leer en Leydinge der Labadisten [Doctrine and Government of the Labadists].

Rev. à Brakel, with the Labadists, confessed the corruption (“de verdorvenheyt”) of the church; she was corrupt from the head to the sole of the foot. The field of the Lord was filled with weeds and His threshing floor was filled with chaff. The vineyard of the Lord had become a wilderness; thorns and thistles were growing in it. After having enumerated a variety of sins which were committed by members of the church, giving a description of the government as not manifesting itself as the guardian of the church, and deploring the fact that so many ministers proved to be unfaithful shepherds, à Brakel writes: “Who would not weep when he thinks upon Zion and perceives that the Lord is departing from her?” Yet, departure from a church which is that corrupt is not permitted! “May we say that she is no longer the church of Christ due to her corruption? Shall we despise her? Shall we walk away from her? No, that is foolishness. It is certain that a corrupt church is nevertheless a church and that from the beginning until the present God has always permitted His church to be filled with many corruptions. Therefore, he who despises a church for its corruption acts contrary to God‟s Word and all experience, thereby denying her to be a church.”

Using examples from the Bible, à Brakel demonstrated that sin, corruption, and a lack of spirituality were to be found in many congregations. Consider the confusion in the congregation of Corinth and the exhortations of John to the congregations in Asia Minor. How could someone have the courage to sever himself from her and thereby despise God and Christ Himself? Thus, à Brakel was strongly opposed to the Labadistic spirit of separatism (or schismatic spirit). 

In à Brakel's magnum opus, The Christian's Reasonable Service, he wrote a chapter entitled "The Duty to Join the Church and to Remain with Her" (vol. 2, chap. 25), in which he argues that "degeneracy within the church [is] not a reason to separate from the church." 

Criticizing the Labadists directly, à Brakel states:

...it is a dreadful sin to depart from the church for the purpose of establishing one which is better, for the church is one, being the body of Christ. To separate ourselves from the church is to separate from the people of Christ and thus from His body, thereby withdrawing from the confession of Christ and departing from the fellowship of the saints. If we indeed deem the church to be what she really is, we shall then cause schism in the body of Christ, grieve the godly, offend others, give cause for the blaspheming of God‟s Name, and cause the common church member to err. By maintaining that the church is no church, we thereby deny the church of Christ, and therefore are also guilty of the sins just mentioned. We thereby displease God, who will not leave this unavenged, regardless of how much we please and flatter ourselves. Such activity the apostle opposes when he refers to such individuals as being carnal in 1 Cor 3:1, 3. He warns against this when he writes, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you” (1 Cor 1:10); “I hear that there be divisions among you” (1 Cor 11:18).

Thirdly, the Reformed Church is the only true church, albeit that her purity varies with locality. The truth is still preached purely there, sins are rebuked and resisted, and there is both the teaching of and exhortation to godliness. Thousands of godly persons are to be found there who practice holiness in a much purer fashion than those who have separated themselves. Christ dwells and walks among them. The Holy Spirit is still active by means of the Word, still converts souls daily, comforts the converted, and causes them to grow. Discipline is still exercised towards those who err in doctrine and life. In some localities this is practiced more consistently than people may perceive and be aware of. What foolishness it is, therefore, to leave the church and to enter into a barren wilderness! (pp. 61-62)

The Utrecht Circle (as it was known) was composed of some notable followers of de Labadie, preeminently Anna Maria van Schurman, a polymath who was herself known as the "Star of Utrecht" and "The Tenth Muse," which is a reflection of the appeal that this charismatic leader brought to bear on the orthodox Dutch Reformed. Even after de Labadie's death in 1674, the movement continued and colonies were attempted in both Suriname and Maryland (the latter being the first communistic colony established in the New World, 1684-1722). Much like other groups that have claimed to be too pure to join the true Church, Labadism has a great deal in common with other separatistic movements throughout the ages, even those that exist on the periphery of today's Reformed Church. The testimony of à Brakel, along with that of Koelman and others, is most valuable because they shared the stated concerns of the Labadists regarding the holiness of the church, and yet counted even the very stones and dust of Zion to be most precious (Ps. 102.14) and her unity to be striven for in accord with the prayer of Christ (John 17). 

Nooks and Books

Thomas à Kempis, author of The Imitation of Christ, which is said to be (next to the Bible) the most-translated book in world history, had a saying: "In omnibus requiem quaesivi, sed non inveni, nisi in hoexkens ende boexkens" -- "I have sought everywhere for peace, but I have found it not save in nooks and in books."

His magnum opus was recommended reading by divines such as Gisbertus Voetius, Willem Teellinck, Wilhemus à Brakel, Henry Scougal, Richard Baxter, and Thomas Chalmers, among others. Read him as he wished to be read -- with discernment in the Lord. Here is some wisdom gleaned from à Kempis, a man who both studied much and loved much, on the place of books in the Christian life:

If thou knewest the whole Bible, and the sayings of all the philosophers, what should all this profit thee without the love and grace of God? (Book 1, Chapter 1)

Of a surety, at the Day of Judgment it will be demanded of us, not what we have read, but what we have done; not how well we have spoken, but how holily we have lived. (Book 1, Chapter 3)

It is Truth which we must look for in Holy Writ, not cunning of words. All Scripture ought to be read in the spirit in which it was written. We must rather seek for what is profitable in Scripture, than for what ministereth to subtlety in discourse. Therefore we ought to read books which are devotional and simple, as well as those which are deep and difficult. And let not the weight of the writer be a stumbling-block to thee, whether he be of little or much learning, but let the love of the pure Truth draw thee to read. Ask not, who hath said this or that, but look to what he says. (Book 1, Chapter 5)

Our own curiosity often hindereth us in the reading of holy writings, when we seek to understand and discuss, where we should pass simply on. If thou wouldst profit by thy reading, read humbly, simply, honestly, and not desiring to win a character for learning. Ask freely, and hear in silence the words of holy men; nor be displeased at the hard sayings of older men than thou, for they are not uttered without cause. (Book 1, Chapter 5)

Be thou never without something to do; be reading, or writing, or praying, or meditating, or doing something that is useful to the community. (Book 1, Chapter 19)

Whereupon then can I hope, or wherein may I trust, save only in the great mercy of God, and the hope of heavenly grace? For whether good men are with me, godly brethren or faithful friends, whether holy books or beautiful discourses, whether sweet hymns and songs, all these help but little, and have but little savour when I am deserted by God's favour and left to mine own poverty. There is no better remedy, then, than patience and denial of self, and an abiding in the will of God. (Book 2, Chapter 9)

There are some who carry their devotion only in books, some in pictures, some in outward signs and figures; some have Me in their mouths, but little in their hearts. Others there are who, being enlightened in their understanding and purged in their affections, continually long after eternal things, hear of earthly things with unwillingness, obey the necessities of nature with sorrow. And these understand what the Spirit of truth speaketh in them; for He teacheth them to despise earthly things and to love heavenly; to neglect the world and to desire heaven all the day and night. (Book 3, Chapter 4)

Great is the difference between a godly man, illuminated with wisdom, and a scholar learned in knowledge and given to books. Far nobler is that doctrine which floweth down from the divine fulness above, than that which is acquired laboriously by human study. (Book 3, Chapter 31)

Never read thou the word that thou mayest appear more learned or wise; but study for the mortification of thy sins, for this will be far more profitable for thee than the knowledge of many difficult questions. (Book 3, Chapter 43)

The voice of books is one, but it informeth not all alike. (Book 3, Chapter 43)

In Thee, therefore, O Lord God, I put all my hope and my refuge, on Thee I lay all my tribulation and anguish; because I find all to be weak and unstable whatsoever I behold out of Thee. For many friends shall not profit, nor strong helpers be able to succour, nor prudent counsellors to give a useful answer, nor the books of the learned to console, nor any precious substance to deliver, nor any secret and beautiful place to give shelter, if Thou Thyself do not assist, help, strengthen, comfort, instruct, keep in safety. (Book 3, Chapter 59)

When I think on these wondrous things, even spiritual comfort whatsoever it be becometh sore weariness to me; for so long as I see not openly my Lord in His own Glory, I count for nothing all which I behold and hear in the world. Thou, O God, art my witness that nothing is able to comfort me, no creature is able to give me rest, save Thou, O my God, whom I desire to contemplate everlastingly. But this is not possible, so long as I remain in this mortal state. Therefore ought I to set myself unto great patience, and submit myself unto Thee in every desire. For even Thy Saints, O Lord, who now rejoice with Thee in the kingdom of heaven, waited for the coming of Thy glory whilst they lived here, in faith and great glory. What they believed, that believe I; what they hoped, I hope; whither they have attained to, thither through Thy grace hope I to come. I will walk meanwhile in faith, strengthened by the examples of the Saints. I will have also holy books for comfort and for a mirror of life, and above them all Thy most holy Body and Blood shall be for me a special remedy and refuge. (Book 4, Chapter 11)

Reformed Thomas à Kempis

Gisbertus Voetius was a great admirer of both Thomas à Kempis and Willem Teellinck. Reflecting the Reformed pietism characteristic of the Nadere Reformatie, or Dutch Further Reformation, in Voetius' preface to Teellinck's treatise on Romans 7, The Wrestlings of a Converted Sinner, Voetius described the writings of Teellinck thus:

In them he has abundantly demonstrated how his mind was engaged with Scripture, his heart always deeply stirred by divine matters, and his spirit transported from idle preoccupation with the world to contemplation of heaven. In summary, what a steadfast and experienced practitioner of his profession he was, so that he may rightly be regarded as a second Thomas à Kempis, albeit a Reformed one, in our age.

Willem Frijhoff and Marijke Spies, Dutch Culture in a European Perspective: 1650, Hard-Won Unity, pp. 363-364:

This was no small praise, considering that Voetius called the latter's Imitation of Christ a godly book second only to the Bible. A Reformed Thomas à Kempis -- this was indeed important, for even though De imitatione Christi was read by many Protestants it was still considered a Roman Catholic book. Willem Teellinck had in fact been apprehensive of its Catholic qualities. He had used the work extensively and quoted entire passages from it, but without citing the source and always within the framework of his own Calvinist doctrine.

Voetius solved this problem differently. He was able to do so thanks to a new translation of the work with a clearly Protestant slant. The translator, the jurist Cornelis Boey (Boyus) ... had added poems with a Calvinist tenor and left out the entire fourth part -- which dealt with the Holy Communion and was thus unacceptable to Protestants. When this translation came off the press, Voetius wrote a recommendation, stressing the importance of the work for the "inner exercise of godliness and devotion." He also wrote an introduction in which he cautioned against certain Catholic elements one might encounter in the text; and he suggested a certain reading "order."

Both Teellinck and Voetius saw the great value of à Kempis' stress on the devotion of the inner spiritual life to God, and desired to extract that and present it to the world in a Reformed context for edification. This is particularly evident in Teellinck's Sleutel der Devotie openende de Deure des Hemels voor ons (The Key of Devotion Opening the Door of Heaven), in which Teellinck borrowed much from à Kempis, without explicit attribution, with the aim of setting his extracts squarely within a Reformed Protestant context.

Arie de Reuver, Sweet Communion: Trajectories of Spirituality from the Middle Ages through the Further Reformation, p. 113:

Teellinck's ambivalent assessment, however, does not detract in the least from the fact that countless times he quotes from Thomas' Imitation. Striking examples of this are, first that his main source consists of a Roman Catholic translation of à Kempis' well-known tract, and second that in his Sleutel Teellinck not only quotes from its first three books, but cites copious passages from the fourth book, which deals with the eucharist, the section that in the Reformed editions of the day was intentionally omitted. To be sure, not just the Sleutel contains a great deal of à Kempis material. The same holds true for his Soliloquium and for his Het Nieuwe Ierusalem. One hardly needs to guess at the cause of Teellinck's "ecumenical" endeavor. The cause is that he recognized himself in a mystical spirituality borne by experiential communion with God and a glowing love for Jesus. While he did not hesitate to cleanse this pre-Reformation spirituality of its "impure stains," his perspective nevertheless embraced a breadth that crossed its own confessional boundaries. The purpose would have been none other than an evangelistic one. For Teellinck was certainly Reformed to the core, but at the same time he was also Christian to the core. As a Reformed Christian he accorded true devotion not just to the Reformed people, but to the entire Christian tradition. He wanted to make this catholic breadth recognizable expressly by his ties to late medieval spirituality.

Getting Past the Word 'Puritan'

It is very easy to dismiss a doctrine or practice as 'Puritan' rather than to study it in the light of the word of God. The practice is very old, and is continued in our culture today, even within the church, even amongst Reformed Christians. In our society, the word 'Puritan' conjures up images of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter or evokes the recollection of H.L. Mencken's quip that "Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy." The Puritan-minded are not ashamed of the label assigned to them, but desire above all that people would look at the substance of the thing, more than the label, and Berean-like, then consider whether it is in accord or not with God's word.

Lewis Bayly, The Practice of Piety, p. 86, describes those hindrances which keep sinners back from endeavoring after Biblical piety, among which he lists the use of semantics by the ungodly in their vocabulary designed to label evil good and good evil:

8. The last, and not the least block at which piety stumbles in the course of religion, is by adorning vices with the names of virtues: as to call drunken carousing, drinking of healths; spilling innocent blood, valour; gluttony, hospitality; covetousness, thriftiness; whoredom, loving a mistress; simony, gratuity; pride, gracefulness; dissembling, compliment; children of Belial, good-fellows; wrath, hastiness; ribaldry, mirth: so, on the other side, to call sobriety in words and actions, hypocrisy; alms-deeds, vain-glory; devotion, superstition; zeal in religion, Puritanism; humility, crouching; scruple of conscience, preciseness, &c. And whilst thus we call evil good, and good evil, true piety is much hindered in her progress.

Gisbertus Voetius expounds upon this theme in his Selectae Disputationes Theologicae, "Concerning Practical Theology," Part II, as quoted by John W. Beardslee III, ed. and trans., Reformed Dogmatics: Seventeenth Century Reformed Theology Through the Writings of Wollebius, Voetius, and Turretin, pp. 282-283:

The wholeness and precision of faith and conduct which all the pious are required to seek and to desire have now been assigned by some to a hated "Puritanism." That this has happened to purity of faith and teaching is shown by the vernacular works of the Remonstrants as well as by their Apologia, and by the innovators who began to spread Remonstrant errors in England after the meeting of the Synod of Dort in 1619, and who attacked those who were orthodox in this hateful business, as they regarded it, by the name of Cathari or Puritans; namely, those who were zealous for purity and the orthodox doctrine of the total grace of God, against the old and new scraps of Pelagian depravity. As to conduct and morals, Lewis Bayly, the bishop of Bangor, has witnessed in his widely distributed and famous book The Practice of Piety that piety has often been disparaged under the name of Puritanism. Since we see that the name was first conceived and used by papists in England, in order to have a label for those who desired simplicity of ceremonies and church organization, concern for good works and praxis, it is necessary to inquire whether those on whom they wished to place the label Puritan were ignorant of practical theology or hostile to it. The Puritan teaching must be earnestly studied, to see whether it agrees with the word of God or not, whether it carries on a struggle over shadows and words. I do not remember that it has been proved by anyone that the conduct and praxis that the Reformers urged, and that we urge with them, contradict the word of God.

North Sea Cross-Pollination

James Gilfillan, writing in The Sabbath Viewed in the Light of Reason, Revelation, and History with Sketches of its Literature (1862), pp. 114-117, notes a fascinating connection between the Sabbatarian views of Scottish Presbyterians and those of the Dutch Nadere Reformatie. He points out that some of the largest and unrefuted treatises on the Sabbath originated on both sides of the North Sea.

First, the massive treatise of John Brown of Wamphray (c. 1610-1679), De Causa Dei contra Anti-Sabbatarios Tractatus, or Treatise in the Cause of God against the Anti-Sabbatarians (Rotterdam, 1674-1676). Brown was a Scottish Covenanter who fled his motherland due to persecution, and ended in spending his last days in Holland, residing in Rotterdam and Utrecht. Gilfillan writes that this treatise was his "principal, though least popular work, and we should suppose, the largest ever published on the subject." James Walker writes that Brown's magnum opus is "larger than all the published works of Dr. [William] Cunningham put together" and this treatise of "our Scottish doctrine of the Sabbath...belongs, among books, to the order of the mighties: it is great in length, great in learning, great in patient sifting of the subject and in meeting of assertions and marshalling of arguments," The Theology and Theologians of Scotland: Chiefly of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, p. 25). Written in Latin, much of it remains untranslated into English today, although, thankfully, a select portion of this work representing representing perhaps the earliest Scottish Covenanter defense of exclusive psalmody has been translated in two parts appearing in The Confessional Presbyterian Journal (part one translated by N.E. Barry Hofstetter in 2007, and part two by my pastor, Dr. Steven Dilday, in 2009). This translation effort is most valuable, and it is to be hoped that the remainder of this worthy translation project will be taken up sooner rather than later.

Second, the compilation of two works on the Sabbath published in 1685 by Jacobus Koelman (1632-1695), the Dutch Puritan divine, entitled Het dispuit, en de historie, mitsgaders de praktijke van den sabbath, en's Heeren-dag (The Argument, History, and Practice of the Sabbath and the Lord's Day). Gilfillan describes it thus: "The work is second in magnitude only to that of Brown, and, like it, is a complete thesaurus on its subject. The arrangement of topics, which is indicated by the title, is happy, and each of them receives its distinct and proportionate attention. It has a novel feature of peculiar interest in the historical account which it supplies of opinions on the Sabbath, and of Sabbatic controversies in England and the Netherlands." Koelman and Brown were close friends, and in fact, Koelman translated certain works by Brown into Dutch.

Finally, Matthew Crawford (c. 1640-1700), a Scottish Presbyterian minister, wrote Exercitatio Apologetica, pro doctrina (de perpetua obligatione quarti precepti de Sabbato) ab Ecclesus Reformatis Communites recepta, adversus Socinianos, Anabaptistas, Libertinos, Pontificiodo quosdam Lutheranos, Enthusiastas, & quosdum Viros Doctos in Ecclesiis Reformatis (Utrecht, 1669) and dedicated it to Gisbertus Voetius. He was drawn to the Continent "having been captivated with the writings of the Belgic divines, on account of their signal erudition, and complete agreement in doctrine with his own Church and the Westminster Assembly." His grief at seeing the profanation of the Lord's Day there led to the eventual publication of this treatise, which Jacobus Koelman said in 1685 had never been answered.

These powerful works upholding the Christian Lord's Day reflect the "cross-pollination" that occurred between the the Puritans and Covenanters of the British isles and the Nadere Reformatie of the Netherlands. Though they represent perhaps the high-watermark of Puritan Sabbatarianism in the seventeenth century, it would be consistent with the aims of those divines on both sides of the North Sea, and desirable for us, to have each of these Latin and Dutch works fully available in the English and Dutch languages in the twenty-first century. It is my hope and prayer that, in the Lord's providence, this will come to pass.

St. Catherine Cathedral

Known as Sint-Catharinakathedraal and Catharijnekerk, the St. Catherine Cathedral in Utrecht, The Netherlands, was once Roman Catholic, then Protestant, and is now Catholic again, serving as the seat of the Archbishopric of Utrecht since 1853. Yet during the Protestant phase, which lasted from 1580-1815, when the Roman Catholic Church regained control of the church, it became the final resting for at least two notable painters of the Dutch Golden Age, particularly of the Dutch Caravaggisti, as well as four major Protestant theologians, all of the Voetian school. Of the latter group, it may be said that their remains are surrounded by Popish trappings, even as their literary corpus and spiritual legacy continue to testify against the present-day guardians of the cathedral.

Painters buried at St. Catherine Cathedral

Abraham Bloemaert (1566-1651)
Gerard (Gerrit) van Honthorst (1592-1656)

Theologians buried at St. Catherine Cathedral

Gisbertus Voetius (1589-1676)
Petrus Van Mastricht (1630-1706)
Jacobus Koelman (1632-1695)
Gerard De Vries (1648-1705)

William of Paris on Temptations

Gisbertus Voetius commends a work on temptation by William of Paris, in Spiritual Desertions, pp. 48-49:

The question concerning general temptations -- namely, whether a person so abandoned or tempted in conscience could have true faith and be in the state of grace -- is treated (alongside the writers mentioned above) superbly by Richard Sibbes in his treatise The Broken Reed and in his work The Soul's Conflict and Victory over Itself. Also, Thomas Goodwin does this in his treatise The Child of Light Walking in Darkness. For reasons mentioned earlier, the way and order in which, according to the papists, one may be healed of this disease is very deficient. However, where they do speak correctly, they speak very well.

Aside from the authors cited, John Gerson offers a number of things worth reading in his treatise Remedy against Faint-heartedness and in another work entitled Spiritual Beggary. But surpassing all others is William of Paris, whose words one of our own men, William Ames, has included as an extract in his second volume of Cases of Conscience.

Below is the extract in question.

William of Paris on Temptations, quoted by William Ames, Conscience With the Power and Cases Thereof, The Second Booke of Conscience, pp. 49-54, Certaine collections out of the Booke of William Paris concerning temptations, and the refifting of them, which I thought good here to fet down for the further illuftration of the Doctrine of temptations, because they are not read in the Author, except by a very few.

Firft, Temptation in one fenfe is nothing elfe but a triall, and to tempt is nothing elfe but to make a triall or experiment of anything, that we may know it, that is, that it may be difcover’d, and become manifest, and this is all that the Devill can de, hee cannot with frength conquer us, or caft us down. For unleffe we of our owne accord truft him, and deliver our felves into his hand, he can have no power over us. He can prevaile no farther againft us, then we give him leave or permit him. All that he can do therefore is to tempt us, that is to make an experiment what we are, whether weake or strong, whether we be fuch as will yield to him, or whether fuch as will refift him valiantly. And if in the beginning of the temptation, he finde that we make valiant refiftance, he defpairing of the victory, and being overcome and confounded, for the moft part departeth prefently. And this is the property of a tempter when hee hath made his argument, and found what he fought for, to furceafe the work of temptation.

II. In another fense temptation fignifies, a fighting againft one, or a war, or a battell, and it is very likely that whatsoever the Devill attempts againft us is by way of fuch a fight, if we consider the matter but diligently. For he doth all that he doth with a purpofe and defire to conquer, whether he lay fnares for us, or whether he make tryall of us, or whether he pretend fome good things to deceive us, or whether he fmite us with the ftaffe, or fword, whether he undermine the wall of our defenfe, or whether he take from us our fpirituall food, or procure it to be taken away, for he doth do all thefe things with a defire to do us a mifchiefe. And in very deed, all thefe are parts of that war, or combate, wherewith hee fights againft us.

III. Every finne hath its temptations, and againft the mind of man doth the devill fight, befieging it, in a circumventing way, and ordering his armies, and forces, againft the armies of virtues, and againft the Caftle of mans foule.

IV. The fightings which arife from the faculty of reafon within our felves are thefe, 1. Curiofity, that is a luft to know things not neceffary, and things the knowledge of which tend nothing to, nor help forward at all falvation, 2. Slowneffe to believe, 3. Levity in believing every thing, 4. Doubtfulneffe, 5. Sufpitioufneffe, 6. A fpirit of blafphemy which is a spring and fountaine of abominable thoughts, and of thoughts fo horrible and troublefome, that fuch a kind of temptation is like a martirdome, and there have beene fome that have rather defired to fuffer Martyrdome then to endure fuch thoughts.

V. Any one may refift any temptation of the Devill, if he do fimply and purely will it, without any mixture of unwillingneffe. For no man is overcome, or yields to the temptations utterly against his will, for fo his will remains unconquered, and victorious and uninclined to confent unto the temptation, and fo a man fhould both yield, and not yield. But that a man may, fimply, and purely be willing to make refiftance it is not from man himfelfe, or from any naturall power in him but from the gift of God, and the helpe and affiftance of his grace.

VI. Now wee muft obferve that when the queftion is, whether a man may have a will to refift temptation? This word may doth admit two fignifications; For it fignifies fometimes a poffibility which is paffive, in refpect of capacity, and fometimes in regard of virtue or power, or efficiency, now it is manifest, that no man can refift any temptation by way of efficiency, but by way of poffibility, or paffibility.

VII. Befides the gifts of graces and of virtues the providence and protection of God is neceffary for believers, that they may refift temptations, and fo are thofe manifold helps wherewith God fuccors his elect in the combate.

VIII. The firft of thefe helpes is a driving away of the enemies whereby they are fometimes not fuffered to tempt the Elect, Job. 1.

IX. The fecund helpe is a bridling of the enemies that they cannot tempt fo much as they would, Job. 2.

X. The third helpe is from the tempter himfelfe, when even that very fhape under which he tempts affords us fome helpe and inftruction, fo the forme of the Serpent might have caufed Eve to have fufpected his temptation.

XI. The fourth helpe is from the temptation itfelfe, when it either ftirs up feare in us, which is the best keeper, or ftirs us up to fight, and incourageth us againft the enemy.

XII. The fifth is, a new grace, or an increafe of the former. For to thofe that imploy their talents well God gives an increafe either in the greatneffe, or number, Mat. 25. Luke. 19.

XIII. The fixth is a ceffation, or peace, or rather a truce from the temptation.

XIV. The feventh is a refrefhment in the heate of temptation, which is a mitigation of it, as when the tribulation is turned into a follace.

XV. The eighth is a comforting, that is a ftrengthening, and lifting up of the heart by a promise of ftrength and victory, and by a demonftration of the weakneffe of the enemies, and the lightneffe of the fight.

XVI. The ninth is confolation, that is a chearing of the heart, in troubles, in furrow and griefe.

XVII. The tenth is a beftowing of Faith and Hope, and a confirmation of the fame, againft the fhaking of feare, which arifeth from our own defect and infirmity.

XVIII. The eleventh is an upholding of them that are fet upon that they faill not, that is, that they receive no hurt. Now they are oft times fo affaulted that they are ready to fall, and that for this end that they may acknowledge their own imfirmities, and may afcribe it to Gods mercy and not their own power, that they are kept from falling.

XIX. The twelfth is, Gods receiving of them that fly unto him, in refpect of which he is called, the hiding place of the Elect.

XX. The thirteenth is Gods fighting againft and overthrowing the enemies.

XXI. The fourteenth is outward tribulation of which there are many profits helping this way.

XXII. The fixteenth is the remembrance of the last things, Death, judgment, damnation and happineffe.

XXIII. It is very difficult to overcome temptations becaufe that in this corruption of our nature no man fights with all his ftrength againft any temptation, but partly for it, and againft himselfe. A believer in temptation is as a Kingdome divided within it felfe, like an armed Horfeman that fits upon a winching, unruly, and unbroken Colt, like a Houfe well built, but upon a weak foundation, like ftout warriour ftanding upon a flippery pavement, or he is partly armed, and partly without armour, or loaded with a grievous burthen.

XXIV. Amongft the moft hidden treacheries and moft fubtill temptations of the devil, whereby the most wife, and valiant Chriftians are often times brought under: the firft is a long tedioufneffe, whereby he wearies him, by which he indeavors, not only to bring him whom he tempts into the temptation, but into defperation alfo, to make him believe that he belongs not to God, and that God cares not for him, And from hence comes this folly and mifchief becaufe men know not what a great deale of advantage arifeth from a long and often combating with temptations, how it ferves for the breaking of pride which is rooted within us, for the difcovering of other infirmities which would elfe have never been feen, and for the prefervation of humility.

XXV. The fecond craft of the devill is, the strangeneffe of the temptation, for he oft times fets upon many of the elect with unufuall temptations, whereupon it happens that they become very fearefull that they belong not to God, becaufe they cannot heare of any that have bin tempted in the fame fort.

XXVI. The third fubtility is, when the devill goes about to make a man change that ftate wherein he is, and wherein he is well, even as Birds and Fifhes, are often times, by noife and vehement ftirring, driven out of thofe places in which they were fafe from the nets and fnares of the Foulers, and Fifhers.

XXVII. The fourth fubtility is when he invites a man to thofe things that are above his ftrength.

XXVIII. The fifth fubtility is when under the pretence of fome good, he drawes man into danger.

XXIX. The fixth fubtility is when under the pretence of virtue he perfwades a man to fome vice.

XXX. The feventh and moft dangerous fubtility of all, is a peace, and ceffation from temptations, whereupon follows fecurity, floth, pride, contempt of our brethren, hardnes of heart.

XXXI. A man may refift temptations three wayes, 1. He refifts that confents not. The tempter is overcome, if he overcome not us, 2. He refifts temptations that flyes from them and fhunns them, 3. He refifteth which beateth them back & makes oppofition.

XXXII. With a fhunning of temptations we must joyne an indignation. For even as a Marchant that hath fome pretious commodity, will fcorne to looke after, or to hearken to fuch a chapman as fhall offer him for it a great deale under the worth, and fome times falls into an indignation againft him, fo he which lvoes God intirely will not vouchfafe to looke after or hearken to the Devill, whatfoever he offer him, that he would forfake him, yea and he cannot but have an indignation when he offers him that which is infinitely of leffe worth and even nothing at all in comparifon.

XXXIII. And here it is a point of wifdom, and fpirituall fkilfullneffe, fo to cleave unto virtue and to preferve and defend it that the darts of the tempter may not come at us. So many which love God fervently, do fo cleave unto him and bend themfelves to do his pleafure, and do imploy themfelves fo diligently therein, being fixed in fuch kind of excercifes immovably, that the Darts of the temptation do not touch them.

XXXIIII. A temptation is beft of all beaten back by its owne weapon, now every virtue doth fo, as oft as in the temption its beauty and pretioufneffe is ferioufly thought upon, for by fuch a kinde of meditation, both the fines that do tempt us, and the thoughts and darts that proceed from them, are always as it were wounded, and weakened, and fometimes alfo they vanish into nothing, even as darkneffe vanifheth, and flyeth away, where light approacheth; for this caufe onely doth vice, and the pleafures and profits thereof feeme to us in the hour of temptation to be of fome moment worth, becaufe at that time the Law of virtue is hid from our Eyes, either through ignorance, or negligence, even as the onely reafon why rotten wood, and the feales of fifhes do fhine in the night is, because the light of the fun or at leaft other lights are wanting.

Happy 300th Birthday Bernhardinus de Moor!

Bernhardinus de Moor, Dutch Reformed theologian, was born on January 29, 1709. He was of the school of Gisbertus Voetius and Johannes à Marck. He died on July 18, 1780. His magnum opus was a commentary on that valuable work by à Marck, Christianæ theologiæ medulla didaetico-elenetica. De Moor's 7-volume commentary is entitled Commentarius perpetuus in Johannis Marckii Compendium theologiae Christianae didactico-elencticum I-VII. It marks the highwater of post-Reformation Reformed orthodoxy. Richard A. Muller writes, "De Moor's efforts did for late Reformed orthodoxy what the massive system of Quenstedt did for Lutheranism in the concluding years of the seventeenth century: the work was so exhaustive and so complete in its detail and bibliography that it virtually ended the development of Reformed doctrine in the form of orthodox system." (Post-Reformed Reformed Dogmatics, I.83) Elsewhere it has been noted that:

It was published at Utrecht (Lugduni-Batavorum) by Johannem Hasebroek in the years 1761-1778. Though not listed in Heppe it is one of the most extensive works on Reformed Theology in existence. Each volume is organized to cover a specific chapter in Marck. Volume 1 (1761) treats Scripture, theology and God, pp. 1034; volume 2 (1763), predestination, creation, etc., pp. 1087; volume 3, sin, Christology, etc., pp. 1173; volume 4, justification, etc., pp. 912; volume 5 (1768), ordo salutis, pp. 828; volume 6 (1778), church, etc., and supplements, pp. 970.

And so on this tricentennial birthday, cheers to one of the giants who went before us and who is worthy to be remembered.

Christians Must Be Precisians

Gisbertus Voetius, Selectae Disputationes Theologicae, "Concerning 'Precision' in Interpretation of Questions 94, 113, and 115 of the [Heidelberg] Catechism," in John W. Beardslee, III, ed. and trans., Reformed Dogmatics - Seventeenth-Century Reformed Theology Through the Writings of Wollebius, Voetius, and Turretin, p. 319:

The object [of precision] is the practice of piety or obedience according to all the parts, actions, grades and circumstances that God's word requires. Therefore, the following are to be directed in precision: (1) our thought and faith in all concerns of religion (Lk. 8:18; Phil. 1:9-10); (2) our observance of all things, both natural and legislated, pertaining to the worship of God, adding nothing, taking away nothing, leaving out nothing; (3) observance of all things which are necessary for the practice of love and justice toward our neighbor, and toward ourselves; (4) observance of all things which pertain to our particular vocation; (5) resulting from this, control of thought, word, action, and behavior in this world, in the presence both of those who are within and those who are without [the church] (1 Cor. 10:31-32)...

Richard Alleine, on Eph. 5.15, in Vindiciae Pietatis; or, a Vindication of Godliness, in the Greatest Strictness and Spirituality of it, from the Imputations of Folly and Fancy, together with Several Directions for Attaining and Maintaining of a Godly Life:

1. Christians must be Precisians.

2.. Precisians are no fools:, or Christians of an exact, and circumspect life are, whatever the world accounts them, truly wise men. This latter observation it is which I intend to insist upon.

Beloved, I am, entering upon a discourse on a sort of people, of whom we may say, with those Jews,” Concerning this sect, we know that it is every where spoken against; (Acts 28: 22; ) and who, with the Apostle,” are made a spectacle to the world, to angels, and -to men;” (1 Cor. 4: 9; ) concerning whom, heaven and earth are divided, and the world is divided within itself; of whom God says,” the world is not worthy;” of whom the world say, they are not worthy to live; of whom GOD says, they are the “apple of mine eye;” of whom the world say, “they are a sore in our eye;” whom GOD accounts his jewels; whom men account” the filth of the world,” and” the offscouring of all things;” of whom GOD says, they are the “sons of wisdom,” but men say they are fools. And as God and men are thus divided, so are men no less divided among themselves. Some few say concerning these, as they of old concerning CHRIST,” They are good men;”_ others say,” No, but they are deceivers of the people.” A Precisian, with the most, is grown into a proverb of reproach, a mark of infamy. To be a drunkard, a fornicator, a swearer, is no reproach, in comparison of being noted for a Puritan.

Well, but let us inquire a little more narrowly into this sort of people, about whom the world is thus moved, and has been in all ages. In order hereunto, I shall show you,

First, What a Precisian is; and Secondly, prove to you, against all the world, that he is no fool, but a truly wise, yea, the only wise man.

Touching the former, What a Precisian is, a Scripture Precisian, let me first tell you, to prevent mistakes, who he is not.

1. Not a Pharisee, a painted sepulcher, whose religion is a mere show; who has the form of godliness without the power; who is pure in his own eyes, and yet not cleansed from his filthiness; who is exact about the punc*tilios of religion, and hath a great zeal about the lower and more circumstantial matters, and neglects the weightier things of the law. This is not be.

2. Not an Enthusiast, properly so called; (though that be a vizard put upon him by some, as the hides of beasts were put upon the Christians of old; ) not an Enthusiast, I say, whose religion is all fancy, imagination, enthusiasm, the dreams and visions of his own heart. Neither is this he. Christianity is not a castle in the air, but is a building that has foundation.

3. Not a Phrenetick, no son of violence or contention, who, not knowing what spirit he is of, calls for fire from heaven, to set all in a combustion, if every thing be not exactly fashioned according to his own mind. Neither is this he.” The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable. The servant of the Lo RD must not strive, but be gentle.”

By a Precisian, I mean, a sincere, circumspect Christian; one whose care and endeavor it is” to walk uprightly, according to the truth of the Gospel;” who, withdrawing himself from the fellowship, fashions, and lusts of the world, and denying himself the sinful liberties thereof, does exercise himself to keep a good conscience towards GOD and men.