The Business of God's Day

Joseph Hall, "the first man in England to publish letters in English" (Frank Livingstone Huntley, Bishop Joseph Hall and Protestant Meditation in Seventeenth-Century England, p. 17), wrote a memorable letter to Edward Denny in which he described how he spent his days at Waltham Abbey, England, which is where began his famous 22-year project which was published as Contemplations on the Historical Passages of the Old and New Testaments. This letter is very much a model of how I personally wish to live my days to the Lord. In it he describes how "every day is a little life" and how therefore he practically lived out this maxim written earlier in Three Centuries of Meditations and Vowes, Divine and Morall (1606):

Each day is a new life, and an abridgment of the whole. I will so live, as if I counted every day my first, and my last; as if I began to live but then, and should live no more afterwards.

At the conclusion of this letter, he gives a brief summation of how he aimed to spend each Christian Sabbath, which I commend to the edification of our souls on this Lord's Day.

Joseph Hall, Ep. 2 Dec. 6, Epistles, in Six Decades (1608, 1611), Works, Vol. 6, pp. 282-283:

Such are my common days. But God's day calls for another respect. The same sun arises on this day, and enlightens it; yet, because that Sun of Righteousness arose upon it, and gave a new life unto the world in it, and drew the strength of God's moral precept unto it, therefore justly do we sing with the Psalmist, This is the day which the Lord hath made. Now I forget the world, and in a sort myself; and deal with my wonted thoughts, as great men use, who, at some times of their privacy, forbid the access of all suitors. Prayer, meditation, reading, hearing, preaching, singing, good conference, are the business of this day; which I dare not bestow on any work or pleasure but heavenly. I hate superstition on the one side, and looseness on the other: but I find it hard to offend in too much devotion; easy, in profaneness. The whole week is sanctified by this day; and, according to my care of this, is my blessing on the rest.

I show your lordship what I would do, and what I ought: I commit my desires to the imitation of the weak; my actions to the censures of the wise and holy; my weaknesses, to the pardon and redress of my merciful God.

The Three Books of God

Frank Livingstone Huntley, Bishop Joseph Hall and Protestant Meditation in Seventeenth-Century England, pp. 9-10:

Variety of Subject Matter in the "Three Books of God." Finally, Protestant meditation as opposed to Ignatian has a far greater variety in subject matter and procedure since it is more widely based on the "three books of God." In meditation the Protestant is not confined to the passion of Christ and the four eschatological "facts." He is free to roam through all the majesty of God's creation, through the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and into his innermost soul's perception of God Himself. Two of the "books" have been made familiar through such confessions as this one of Dr. Thomas Browne: "Thus there are two books from whence I collect my divinity: besides that written one of God, another of his servant nature."7 As soon as the "I" is mentioned or even thought, a third "volume" is added for the Protestant, that of the ego, the conscience, the soul -- through which, even were the creatures and the Bible unavailable, one can still know God. In 1623 Owen Feltham recognized the "three books" in his Resolves: "God hath left three bookes to the World, in each of which hee may easily be found: The Booke of the Creatures, the Booke of Conscience, and his written Word."8 Thus Professor Martz summarizes "the Augustinian Quest" for Henry Vaughan by saying: "Such is the paradise within, compounded of the Bible, of Nature, and of the Self, which lies at the heart of Vaughan's Silex Scintillans, 1650...."9 For Protestant meditation in seventeenth century England, perhaps it took Joshua Sylvester's translation of the French Huguenot poet's Les Semaines to popularize the book of the creatures, King James' committees of Anglican bishops and Puritan divines for a new translation of the Bible to lend impetus to the book of Scriptures, and St. Paul, St. Augustine, and Calvin to stimulate the individual's soul-hunger for God.

Of the "three books," that of the Scriptures is central; and for meditation, if one book of the Bible were central to this, it would be the Psalms, a supposition strengthened by the incredibly fruitful custom, from Sydney to Milton, of putting psalms into English verse for singing. In the King James version of the Bible, the term "meditation" occurs more often in the Psalms than in all the other books of the Bible put together, and in the biblical mind of the Protestant the act of meditation is linked more closely to poetry and fervent ejaculatory address than to mental discipline. The Psalmist's most famous religious address (Ps. 19:14) does not mention paradigm or even intellect: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer." Joseph Hall had sung the Psalms from his boyhood, and while writing on meditation tried his hand at "metaphrasing" a few of them. "Indeed, my Poetrie was long sithence out of date," he writes in the 1607 publication of the result, "and yielded hir place to grauer studies; but whose vaine would it not revive to looke into these heauenly songs? I were not woorthy to be a Diuine, if it should repent me to be a Poet with DAVID, after I shall haue aged in the Pulpit."10 David's psalms contain all "three books of God": some praise the Lord for his "creatures" (Pss. 33, 104, 148); others cogitate His written commands (Ps. 119, no. 5); and still others seek God by looking into the poet's soul (Pss. 6, 22, 38, 42). One of the psalms that combines all three "books" is Psalm 19, which ends with the phrase "the meditations of my heart." The Psalm is divided into three parts: the first six verses meditate on "the Book of the Creatures"; the next four verses, on "the Book of Scriptures"; and the last four verses open up "the Book of the Soul," that is the individual's conscience. The Psalms of David, as well as the whole Bible from Genesis to the Revelation, provide literally for the Protestant "God's plenty" in varied subjects on which to meditate.

7. Religio Medici, pt. 1, sect. 25.
8. Owen Feltham, Resolves: A Duple Century, 4th ed. (London, 1631), 2nd cent. no. 68.
9. Louis L. Martz, The Paradise Within, p. 30.

On the Sight of a Shooting Star

On March 27, 2013, at 11:37 pm, while driving south in central Virginia, I saw a fireball in the southwestern sky. It arced from south to west and lasted several seconds, getting brighter and more colorful (white, blue, green) before disappearing. It was reported by other witnesses but it did not seem to make the news. Yet as brief as the moment lasted, its memory has stayed with me. Seeing this shooting star reminded me of a meditation by Joseph Hall, "On the Sight of a Gliding Star." I thought to post his meditation here, but it did not seem to capture what I felt. So instead I wrote my own.

Years ago in Eisenach, for an audience of one,
a clavichord concert orchestrated by Bach,
gave me a sense of wonder and awe
feeble, clapping hands could not convey.

Tonight it was as if his finger traced across the night sky
among thousands of pinpoints, in crystal clear cold,
and with a flourish sparkled a firework display
for an audience of one. It was over before
I could catch my breath, but the moment lives still. 

When one beholds beauty, one must share,
one must praise. Thank you Lord, for eyes to see,
ears to hear, a tongue to speak, feeble hands with which to write,
and a heart to love. 

Never Too Soon or Too Late

Joseph Hall, Holy Observations I, in Works, Vol. 6, p. 82:

As there is nothing sooner dry, than a tear; so there is nothing sooner out of season, than worldly sorrow: which, if it be fresh and still bleeding, finds some to comfort and pity it; if stale and skinned over with time, is rather entertained with smiles than commiseration: But the sorrow of repentance comes never out of time. All times are alike unto that Eternity, whereto we make our spiritual moans: that which is past, that which is future, are both present with him. It is neither weak nor uncomely, for an old man to weep for the sins of his youth. Those tears can never be shed too soon, or too late.

The Benefit of Meditation

Joseph Hall, The Art of Divine Meditation in Works, Vol. 7, p. 44:

It is not, I suppose, a more bold than profitable labour, after the endeavours of so many contemplative men, to teach the Art of Meditation: a heavenly business, as any that belongeth either to man or Christian; and such as, whereby the soul doth unspeakably benefit itself. For, by this, do we ransack our deep and false hearts; find out our secret enemies; buckle with them, expel them; arm ourselves against their re-entrance: by this, we make use of all good means; fit ourselves to all good duties: by this, we descry our weakness; obtain redress; prevent temptations; cheer up our solitariness; temper our occasions of delight; get more light into our knowledge, more heat to our affections, more life to our devotion: by this, we grow to be, as we are, strangers upon the earth; and, our of a right estimation of all earthly things, into a sweet fruition of invisible comforts: by this, we see our Saviour, with Stephen; we talk with God, as Moses: and, by this, we are ravished, with blessed Paul, into paradise; and see that heaven, which we are loth to leave, which we cannot utter. This alone is the remedy of security and worldliness, the pastime of saints, the ladder of heaven; and, in short, the best improvement of Christianity. Lean it who can, and neglect it who list: he shall never find joy, neither in God nor in himself, which doth not both know and practise it.

MHCC 39: Till We Be Discharged

Matthew Henry on Josh 21.1-9:

So, though our heavenly Father's house above be ever so desirable (it is bishop Hall's allusion), yet must we stay on earth till our warfare be accomplished, wait for a due discharge, and not anticipate the time of our removal.

Joseph Hall, Contemplations on the Historical Passages of the Old and New Testaments 9.2, p. 104:

If heaven be never so sweet to us, yet may we not run from this earthly warfare, till our great Captain shall please to discharge us.

MHCC 27: The God With Whom We Have To Do

Matthew Henry writes on Lev. 10.1 (the deaths of Nadab and Abihu):

For (as bishop Hall well observes here) "It is a dangerous thing, in the service of God, to decline from his own institutions; we have to do with a God who is wise to prescribe his own worship, just to require what he has prescribed, and powerful to revenge what he has not prescribed."

Bishop Joseph Hall, Contemplations on the Historical Passages of the Old and New Testaments, p. 67:

If God had enjoined ordinary fire, they had sinned to look for celestial. Now he commanded only the fire which he sent; they sinned in sending up incense in that fire which he commanded not. It is a dangerous thing, in the service of God, to decline from his own institutions. We have to do with a power which is wise to prescribe his own worship, just to require what he hath prescribed, powerful to revenge that which he hath not required.

Better Poor Than Ungrateful

Joseph Hall, The Breathings of the Devout Soul VI:

O my God, I am justly ashamed to think what favours I have received from thee, and what poor returns I have made to thee. Truly, Lord, I must needs say, thou hast thought nothing either in earth or in heaven too good for me: and I, on the other side, have grudged thee that weak and worthless obedience, which thou hast required of me. Alas, what pleasure could I have done to thee who art infinite, if I had sacrificed my whole self to thee, as thou commandest? Thou art and wilt be thyself, though the world were not: it is I, I only, that could be a gainer by this happy match; which, in my own wrong, I have unthankfully neglected. I see it is not so much what we have, as how we employ it. O thou, that hast been so bountiful in heaping thy rich mercies upon me, vouchsafe to grant me yet one gift more: give me grace and power, to improve all thy gifts to the glory of the Giver; otherwise, it had been better for me to have been poor than ungrateful.

Of the Sight of Rain, In the Sunshine

When I was a boy, I spent a summer living in Jamaica, where I had the privilege once of swimming at the pool adjacent to the famous Trident Castle, near Port Antonio. The pool is situated between a beautiful castle -- a luxurious hotel and legendary Jamaican landmark -- and cliffs at the edge of the sea. The view either way is spectacular. On the day my family and I took a swim there, we noticed clouds on the horizon. Tropical storm clouds are often punctuated with rays of sunshine, and as we watched from the comfort of the cliffside pool, we saw bands of rain passing over the sea, and along with whitecaps in the water, glimmering blue fields of shiny white diamonds sparkling in the sun's rays. From our vantage point, we could see both sun and rain. It was breathtaking, and reassuring to see the sun above the clouds. It was a moment that I will never forget.

Have you ever seen the rain falling in the sunshine? That is the perfect moment to witness a rainbow, the sign of God's promise of faithfulness to us. It is also a wonderful reminder of how the rain may fall into our lives, but the Son of God is shining above whatever dark clouds may be passing by.

Joseph Hall, Occasional Meditations, p. 21:

16. Of the Sight of a Rain, in the Sunshine.

Such is my best condition in this life. If the sun of God's countenance shine upon me, I may well be content to be wet with some rain of affliction. How oft have I seen the heaven overcast with clouds and tempest; no sun appearing to comfort me! yet even those gloomy and stormy seasons have I rid out patiently, only with the help of the common light of the day: at last, those beams have broken forth happily, and cheered my soul. It is well for my ordinary state, if, through the mists of mine own dulness and Satan's temptations, I can descry some glimpse of heavenly comfort: let me never hope, while I am in this vale, to see the clear face of that sun, without a shower. Such happiness is reserved for above: that upper region of glory is free from these doubtful and miserable vicissitudes.

There, O God, we shall see as we are seen. Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.

When I Consider Thy Heavens

George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, Chap. 3:

The best introduction to astronomy is to think of the nightly heavens as a little lot of stars belonging to one's own homestead.

Like David who considered the heavens, "the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained," (Ps. 8.3), Puritans engaged often in occasional meditation, taking inspiration from the book of nature, that is, the creation around them, to raise their thoughts towards heavenly matters. Who can look at the clear night sky, beholding the countless stars above, and not be humbled by one's insignifance before the mighty expanse of the universe and God's omnipotent power in the creation and superintendence of it

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? (Job 38.31-33)

and at the same time blessed to consider how our Creator made us for himself and cares for us more than the sparrows that fly overhead (Matt. 10.31) leading our hearts to cry out "What is man, that thou art mindful of him?" (Ps. 8.4)

Joseph Hall, Occasional Meditations, pp. 46, 108-109:

39. On the small Stars in the Galaxy, or Milky Circle, in the Firmament.

What a clear lightsomeness there is, in yonder circle of heaven, above the rest! What can we suppose the reason of it, but that the light of many smaller stars is united there, and causes that constant brightness? And yet those small stars are not discerned; while the splendor, which ariseth from them, is so notably remarkable.

In this lower heaven of ours, many a man is made conspicuous, by his good qualities and deserts: but I most admire the humility and grace of those, whose virtues and merits are usefullly visible, while their persons are obscure. It is secretly glorious, for a man to shine unseen. Doubtless, it is the height, that makes those stars so small and invisible: were they lower, they would be seen more. There is no true greatness, without a self-humiliation. We shall have made an ill use of our advancement, if, by how much higher we are, we do not appear less: if our light be seen, it matters not for our hiding.

96. On Sight of a bright Sky full of Stars.

I cannot blame Empedocles, if he professed a desire to live upon earth, only that he might behold the face of the heavens: surely, if there were no other, this were a sufficient errand, for a man's being here below, to see and observe these goodly spangles of light above our heads; their places, their qualities, their motions.

But the employment of a Christian is far more noble and excellent. Heaven is open to him; and he can look beyond the veil; and see further above those stars, than it is thither; and there discern those glories, that may answer so rich a pavement: upon the clear sight whereof, I cannot wonder, if the Chosen Vessel desired to leave the earth, in so happy an exchange.

O God, I bless thine infiniteness for what I see with these bodily eyes: but, if thou shalt but draw the curtain, and let me by the eye of faith see the inside of that thy glorious frame, I shall need no other happiness here. My soul cannot be capable of more favour, than sight here, and fruition hereafter.

William Spurstowe, The Spiritual Chymist: or, Six Decades of Divine Meditations on several Subjects, Meditation III, pp. 3-5:

Upon the Galaxia or milky-Way.

The milkie way, according to Aristotle, is a shine or Brightness caused by the joint rays of a multitude of imperceptible Stars, and not a Meteor; But it is not my purpose so much to find out, or determine what it is, as to meditate a little upon the place where it is. The Milkie way is in Heaven, the true Canaan and Land of Promise, in which Rivers of pleasure and sweetness do everlastingly overflow; and while we are absent from it, we are like Israel in the Desert, apt to complain of daily wants, and to be discouraged with daily fears. How greatly therefore is it becoming us who profess to seek such a Country to long earnestly after it in our desires, and to travel towards it in patience; not fearing the difficulty of the way, but animating ourselves with the perfection of the end, in which rest and glory, which are here divided, shall both meet, and forever dwell together? If Mare rubrum, the Red Sea of Affliction, be the passage; Via lactea, the milkie way of life, and bliss will be the end. And is it not better to wade through a Sea of blood to a Throne of glory, than to glide alone the smooth stream of pleasure unto an Abyss of endless misery? A good end gives an amiableness to the means, though never so unpleasing; The bitter Potion which brings health is gladly taken down by the Patient: But Poison in a golden Cup, when made as pleasing as Art and Skill can temper it, can never be welcome to any who understand the sweetness of life, or dread the terrors of death. The way is good (saith Chrysostom) if it be to a Feast, though through a blind Lane; if to an Execution not good, though through the fairest Street of the City; himself was bidden to a Marriage Dinner, as was to go through divers Lanes and Allies, crossing the high street he met with one led through it to be Executed, he told his Auditors, Non qua, sed quo, not the way, but the term whither it led, was to be thought upon. Lord then let not me be anxious what the path is that I tread, whether it be plain or thorny, pleasant or difficult, bloody or milky, so it lead to thee, who are Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending of blessedness, but to walk cheerfully in it till I come to thee my everlasting rest.

All The World's A Stage

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players...

-- Jacques, in William Shakespeare's As You Like It (c. 1599), Act II, Scene VII, lines 139-140

Or as a Huguenot poet, Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas (1544-1590), put it earlier:

The World's a Stage, where God's Omnipotence,
His Justice, Knowledge, Love, and Providence
Do act their Parts; contending (in their kindes)
Above the Heav'ns, to ravish dullest minds.
The World's a Book in Folio, printed all
With God's great Works in letters Capitall:
Each Creature is a Page: and each Effect
A fair Character, void of all defect.

-- La Sepmaine; ou, Creation du monde (1578), trans. by Joshua Sylvester as Divine Weekes and Workes, First Week, First Day

Not only did Du Bartas influence Shakespeare, his epic poem about creation is thought to have been a major influence upon John Milton's Paradise Lost. In the tradition of hexameral literature, Du Bartas' poetry represents a major achievement. He was not the first to see the world as a stage, although his picture of God's attributes manifested in theatrical glory is, to my way of thinking, more spiritually eloquent than Shakespeare's, nor was he the first to be inspired by contemplation of God's work of creation in the first week of the world. But his influence was such that he is considered to be only French poet of the 16th century who could rival Clement Marot as "the poet of princes, and the prince of poets," and as Joseph Hall wrote in poetic praise of Du Bartas and his English translator, he was certainly a chief poet in two languages:

Bartas was some French angel, girt with bays;
And thou a Bartas art, in English lays.
Whether is more? Mee seems (the sooth to sayn)
One Bartas speaks in tongues; in nations, twain.

Although little-known today, his legacy is behind some of the greatest works of English literature, and when one reads the original French or the English translation, though in eloquence he has been superseded, the Huguenot's combination of spiritual grace and poetic expression tunes the believing heart more sweetly, in my opinion, than England's chief muses.