Volume One of Mastricht's Theoretical-Practical Theology is Here!

Thanks to God, and the prayers and labors of many, including Reformation Heritage Books and the Dutch Reformation Translation Society, the Petrus Van Mastricht Translation Project, previously announced on this blog back in 2009, has borne its first fruit. The first volume (of a projected set of seven) is now available for purchase at RHB. This much-anticipated publication is occasion for great joy because it not only introduces English-speaking readers to the first full translation of Van Mastricht's Prolegomena, but the additional prefatory material is well worth its inclusion in this volume. 

Among the prefatory material we find an editor's preface by Joel Beeke, the translator's preface by Todd Rester, a revised and expanded biographical sketch of the author by Adriaan C. Neele (previously included in the 2005 The Art of Living to God: A Study of Method and Piety in Theoretico-Practica Theologia of Petrus Van Mastricht (1630-1706), and Henricus Pontanus' funeral oration for Van Mastricht. Also included is Van Mastricht's brief treatise The Best Method for Preaching, previously published in English in 2013. (Neele also published in 2009 Petrus Van Mastricht 1630-1706: Reformed Orthodoxy: Method and Piety; in 2002, a portion of Van Mastricht's Theoretico-Practica Theologia was translated into English and published under the title A Treatise on Regeneration in 2002).

Neele's earlier study of Van Mastricht's magnum opus remains a valuable resource even as English-speaking readers now begin to have more aoccess to Van Mastricht's own words. The first chapter serves as a commentary to the volume just published by RHB.

Much has already been said about Van Mastricht's Prolegomena by others on social media. This writer commends both Neele's study of Van Mastricht and the newly-translated volume by Mastricht himself. Truly, as Jonathan Edwards and Cotton Mather have indicated, this is a theological work that needs to be the companion of our studies.

For my own part, this writer has a special appreciation for a brief portion of the Prolegomena on mediation (see pp. 195-198). Van Mastricht understood the Biblical imperative to ruminate or chew the cud upon the Word of God, a much-neglected ordinance for Christians in our day.

Don't miss out on these contributions to the church (both Van Mastricht and Neele's study), and continue to pray for the success of the labors of those continuing to work on the remainder of the great work of Van Mastricht's life (a new Dutch translation is happening as well). It was a blessing to the church in the 17th century, and this translation will undoubtedly be a blessing to the 21st century church as well. 

How Then Shall We Live, According to a Puritan

Richard Rogers, "Seven Treatises":

Sundry necessary observations for a Christian, fit also to meditate upon. 

1. That we keep a narrow watch over our hearts, words, and deeds continually. 

2. That with all care the time be redeemed, which hath been idly, carelessly, and unprofitably spent. 

3. That once in the day at the least private prayer and meditation be used.

4. That care be had to do, and receive good in company.

5. That our family be with diligence and regard instructed, watched over and governed.

6. That no more time or care be bestowed in matters of the world, then must needs.

7. That we stir up ourselves to liberality to God's Saints.

8. That we give not the least bridle to wandering lusts and affections.

9. That we prepare ourselves to bear the cross, by what means it shall please God to exercise us.

10. That we bestow some time not only in mourning for our own sins, but also for the sins of the time and age wherein we live.

11. That we look daily for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, for our full deliverance out of this life.

12. That we use (as we shall have opportunity, at least as we shall have neccessity) to acquaint our selves with some godly and faithful person, with whom we may confer of our Christian estate, and open our doubts, to the quickening up of Gods graces in us.

13. That we observe the departure of men our of this life, their mortality, the vanity and alteration of things below, the more to condemn the world, and to continue our longing after the life to come. And that we meditate and muse often of our own death, and going out of this life, how we must lie in the grave, all our glory put off; which will serve to beat down the pride of life that is in us.

14. That we read somewhat daily of the holy Scriptures, for the further increase of our knowledge, if it may be.

15. That we enter into covenant with the Lord to strive against all sin, and especially against the special sins and corruptions of our hearts and lives, wherein we have most dishonored the Lord, and have raised up most guiltiness to our own consciences, and that we carefully see our covenant be kept and continued.

16. That we mark how sin dieth and is weakened in us, and that we turn not to our old sins again, but wisely avoid all occasions to sin.

17. That we fall not from our first love, but continue still our affections to the liking of Gods word, and all the holy exercises of religion diligently hearing it, and faithfully practicing the same in our lives and conversations: that we prepare our selves before we come, and meditate and confer of that we hear, either by our selves, or with other: and so mark our daily profiting in religion.

18. That we be often occupied in meditating on Gods benefits and works, and sound forth his praises for the same.

19. That we exercise our faith by taking comfort and delight in the great benefit of our redemption by Christ, and the fruition of Gods presence, in his glorious and blessed kingdom.

20. Lastly, that we make not these holy practices of repentance common in time, nor use them for course.

A Kind of Paradise

John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, in The Works of John Bunyan, Vol. 3, p. 132:

Now I saw in my dream, that Christian went not forth alone, for there was one whose name was Hopeful (being made so by the beholding of Christian and Faithful in their words and behaviour, in their sufferings at the Fair), who joined himself unto him, and, entering into a brotherly covenant, told him that he would be his companion.

Richard Sibbes on the means of grace known to Puritans as 'holy conference,' Bowels Opened, or, Expository Sermons on Canticles IV. 16, V. VI., in The Works of Richard Sibbes, Vol. 2, pp. 133-134:

We see there is excellent use of holy conference. The church coming to the daughters of Jerusalem, speaking of Christ her beloved, that she is 'sick of love,' &c., the daughters of Jerusalem are inquisitive to know Christ more and more. Here is the benefit of holy conference and good speeches. One thing draws on another, and that draws on another, till at length the soul be warmed and kindled with the consideration and meditation of heavenly things. That that is little in the beginning may bring forth great matters. This question to the church and talking with her, 'I charge you, if you find my beloved, to tell him that I am sick of love,' breeds questions in others, 'What is thy beloved?' &c. Whence, upon the description of her beloved, her heart is kindled, she findeth her beloved; so that talking of holy and heavenly things is good for others and ourselves also. 

It is good for others, as it was good for the daughters of Jerusalem here; for thereupon they are stirred up to be inquisitive after Christ. And it was good for the church herself, for hereupon she took occasion to make a large commendation of Christ, wherein she found much comfort.

2. Good conference, then, is good for ourselves; for we see a little seed brings forth at length a great tree, a little fire kindleth much fuel, and great things many times rise out of small beginnings. It was a little occasion which Naaman the Assyrian had to effect his conversion, 2 Kings v. 2. There was a poor banished woman, a stranger, who was a Jewish maid-servant. She told her lord's servants that there was a prophet in Jewry that could heal him, whereupon he came thither, and was converted and healed. And Paul sheweth that the very report of his bonds did a great deal of good in Cesar's house, Philip, i. 13. Report and fame is a little matter, but little matters make way for the greater.

This may put us in mind to spend our time fruitfully in good conference, when in discretion it is seasonable. We know not, when we begin, where we may make an end. Our souls may be carried up to heaven before we are aware, for the Spirit will enlarge itself from one thing to another. 'To him that hath shall be given more and more still,' Mat. xiii. 12. God graciously seconds good beginnings. We see the poor disciples, when they were in a damp for the loss of Christ, after he comes, meets them, and talks of holy things. In that very conference their hearts were warmed and kindled, Luke xxiv. 32. For, next to heaven itself, our meeting together here, it is a kind of paradise. The greatest pleasure in the world is to meet with those here whom we shall ever live with in heaven. Those who are good should not spend such opportunities fruitlessly.

And to this end, labour for the graces of the communion of saints; for there is such a state. We believe it as an article of our creed. How shall we approve ourselves to be such as have interest unto the communion of saints, unless we have spirits able to communicate good to others? pitiful and loving spirits, that we may speak a word in due season.

Isaac Ambrose Entered Glory 350 Years Ago

"Oh! how should all hearts be taken with this Christ? Christians! turn your eyes upon the Lord: 'Look, and look again unto Jesus.' Why stand ye gazing on the toys of this world, when such a Christ is offered to you in the gospel? Can the world die for you? Can the world reconcile you to the Father? Can the world advance you to the kingdom of heaven? As Christ is all in all, so let him be the full and complete subject of our desire, and hope, and faith, and love, and joy; let him be in your thoughts the first in the morning, and the last at night." -- Isaac Ambrose (Looking Unto Jesus, p. 715)

It was 350 years ago today that English Puritan (Presbyterian) Isaac Ambrose entered glory (1604 - January 20, 1664). He was a minister of the gospel, a writer, and, by the grace of God and by means of much spiritual meditation and contemplation, showed himself to be, in the words of Thomas Watson, "a true citizen of heaven; it is known what place he belongs to by his speech, habit, gesture. There is a kind of angelical brightness on him; he shines in holiness, as Moses' face shone when he had with God in the mount. He is still doing angels' work; his life is a very heaven upon earth." 

After a faithful ministry, he was ejected from his pulpit for nonconformity in 1662. "He spent his later years in meditation and quietude among his friends in Preston. A lover of nature as well as of God, like his namesake the patriarch, 'Isaac went out to meditate in the field at eventide.' [Gen. 24.63] He spent a great part of his time every summer in Widicre wood, where, seldom seen by any, except on the Sabbath, he communed with his own heart and his God. The last time he was seen alive was by some friends from Garstang, of whom he is said to have taken leave with unusual affection and solemnity. Immediately after they left him he retired to his place of meditation, where he was found by an attendant in the moment of death. He departed in 1664 at the age of sixty-one." (Robert Halley, Lancashire: Its Puritanism and Nonconformity, Vol. 2, p. 202) 

Of Ambrose, Dr. Edmund Calamy the Historian wrote, "He was holy in his life, happy in his death, and honoured by GOD,and all good men." 

"The writings of Isaac Ambrose breathe with the inspired pulse of a person who has experienced the love and joy of God. He urges his readers, '[l]abour so to know Christ, as to have a practical and experimental knowledge of Christ in his influences, and not meerly a notional [one]'" (Tom Schwanda, Soul-Recreation: The Contemplative-Mystical Piety of Puritanism, p. 81).

I write of him today because Ambrose taught me personally much of the nature of true Christian warfare; the beauty of the covenant of redemption; the value of meditation; the benefit of writing a spiritual diary (which he included extracts from in his devotional manual, Media, as an encouragement to others to take up this useful practice); the importance of all the means of grace, public and private; and the blessing of solitude when it is improved upon as a opportunity to communion with God, as well as the blessing of serving the Lord within the family and other spheres to which we are called. It is good to remember the godly man who points us to Christ, and Ambrose was indeed such a man. For those who are interested, I commend the following links as an introduction to his life and legacy.

Meet the Puritan Biography of Issac Ambrose by Joel Beeke and Randall J. Pederson

The Spiritual Discipline of Meditation: Reading the Scripture with Isaac Ambrose by Tom Schwanda

Puritan Isaac Ambrose

Is Christ a Bundle of Myrrh to You?

"A bundle of myrrh is my beloved unto me." -- Cant. 1.13

Ralph Robinson, Christ All in All, pp. 338-339:

Is it so with you? is Christ a bundle of myrrh to you or no? Every man thinks he doth prize Christ, but most deceive themselves.

Try, therefore, by the five following notes:

1. Who reigns in your hearts? He that is sovereign Lord and commander, he it is that is esteemed. Hath Christ the throne? or hath sin, the world, the throne? Do you lay that charge upon your souls which the Church doth? Psal. xxiv. 7, 8. If Christ be not principal in your hearts, if all things do not bow to Christ, he is not esteemed.

2. Who hath your thoughts? Do you meditate on Christ, do you study Christ, or do you study the world? That of the apostle is excellent to this purpose, 1 Cor. ii. 2. There was nothing so much in his thoughts as Jesus Christ was. Desire of much communion is a true argument of esteem. Anima est ubi amat. Can you say, as the Church in this chapter, ver. 7, Set me where thou feedest? If so, then Christ is high in your hearts indeed.

3. What opinion have you of his members? Do you value them? Are they precious in your eyes because of their relation to Christ, and because of their similitude to Christ? See 1 John v. 1; he that loves not saints in their meanest dress, before sinners in their best robes, prizeth not Christ truly at all. 

4. What do ye do to bring others to Christ? Do you woo souls to marry with Christ? Do you make it your work to cause others to be enamoured of him? Then you may conclude you esteem him indeed. But if you be careless whether Christ be without disciples or have disciples, he is not rightly prized of you.

5. Do ye mourn for his dishonour? David saith, Psal. lxix. 9, 'The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.' Can you say so? You are haters of Christ if you can hear or see him dishonored, and not lay it to your heart.

Stars in the Winter Sky

Isaac Ambrose, Prima, Media, & Ultima; The First, Middle, and Last Things, p. 133:

Upon sight of the Morning-sky, meditate, That if one Sun make so bright a Morning, what shining Morning will that be, when Christ the Sun of Righteousness shall appear, attended with all his bright Angels, Archangels, Cherubims, Seraphims, Bodies and Souls of Saints? When there shall be as many Suns on a Day, as there are Stars on a bright Winter’s Night.

John Willison, A Treatise Concerning the Sanctification of the Lord’s Day, p. 188:

If it be in a winter morning thou goest out, when the sun is but rising, think, if one sun make so bright a morning, what a shining morning will that be when Christ, with all his bright angels and saints, shall break through the clouds, when there shall be as many suns as we see stars in a winter’s night? O! shall I be one of those that “shall shine as the sun, in the kingdom of my Father?”

Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio

Martin Luther, Preface to the Wittenberg Edition of Luther's Works, WA 34:

Moreover, I want to point out to you a correct way of studying theology, for I have had practice in that. If you keep to it, you will become so learned that you yourself could (if it were necessary) write books just as good as those of the fathers and councils, even as I (in God) dare to presume and boast, without arrogance and lying, that in the matter of writing books I do not stand much behind some of the fathers. Of my life I can by no means make the same boast. This is the way taught by holy King David (and doubtlessly used also by all the patriarchs and prophets) in the one hundred nineteenth Psalm. There you will find three rules, amply presented throughout the whole Psalm. They are Oratio [prayer], Meditatio [meditation], Tentatio ["Anfechtung," that is, affliction, confliction, temptation, experience, trial].

Firstly, you should know that the Holy Scriptures constitute a book which turns the wisdom of all other books into foolishness, because not one teaches about eternal life except this one alone. Therefore you should straightway despair of your reason and understanding. With them you will not attain eternal life, but, on the contrary, your presumptuousness will plunge you and others with you out of heaven (as happened to Lucifer) into the abyss of hell. But kneel down in your little room [Matt. 6:6] and pray to God with real humility and earnestness, that he through his dear Son may give you his Holy Spirit, who will enlighten you, lead you, and give you understanding.

Thus you see how David keeps praying in the above-mentioned Psalm, "Teach me, Lord, instruct me, lead me, show me," [Ps. 119:26] and many more words like these. Although he well knew and daily heard and read the text of Moses and other books besides, still he wants to lay hold of the real teacher of the Scriptures himself, so that he may not seize upon them pell-mell with his reason and become his own teacher. For such practice gives rise to factious spirits who allow themselves to nurture the delusion that the Scriptures are subject to them and can be easily grasped with their reason, as if they were Markolf or Aesop's Fables, for which no Holy Spirit and no prayers are needed.

Secondly, you should meditate, that is, not only in your heart, but also externally, by actually repeating and comparing oral speech and literal words of the book, reading and rereading them with diligent attention and reflection, so that you may see what the Holy Spirit means by them. And take care that you do not grow weary or think that you have done enough when you have read, heard, and spoken them once or twice, and that you then have complete understanding. You will never be a particularly good theologian if you do that, for you will be like untimely fruit which falls to the ground before it is half ripe.

Thus you see in this same Psalm how David constantly boasts that he will talk, meditate, speak, sing, hear, read, by day and night always, about nothing except God's Word and commandments. For God will not give you his Spirit with the external Word; so take your cue from that. His command to write, preach, read, hear, sing, speak, etc., outwardly was not given in vain.

Thirdly, there is tentatio, Anfechtung. This is the touchstone which teaches you not only to know and understand, but also to experience how right, how true, how sweet, how lovely, how mighty, how comforting God's Word is, wisdom beyond all wisdom.

Thus you see how David, in the Psalm mentioned, complains so often about all kinds of enemies, arrogant princes or tyrants, false spirits and factions, whom he must tolerate because he meditates, that is, because he is occupied with God's Word (as has been said) in all manner of ways. For as soon as God's Word takes root and grows in you, the devil will harry you, and will make a real doctor of you, and by his assaults will teach you to see and love God's Word. I myself (if you will permit me, mere mouse-dirt, to be mingled with pepper) am deeply indebted to my papists that through the devil's raging they have beaten, oppressed, and distressed me so much. That is to say, they have made a fairly good theologian of me, which I would not have become otherwise. And I heartily grant them what they have won in return for making this of me, honor, victory, and triumph, for that's the way they wanted it.

There now, with that you have David's rules. If you study hard in accord with his example, then you will also sing and boast with him in the Psalm, "The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces" [Ps. 119:72]. Also, "Thy commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep thy precepts," etc. [Ps. 119:98-100]. And it will be your experience that the books of the fathers will taste stale and putrid to you in comparison. You will not only despise the books written by adversaries, but the longer you write and teach the less you will be pleased with yourself. When you have reached this point, then do not be afraid to hope that you have begun to become a real theologian, who can teach not only the young and imperfect Christians, but also the maturing and perfect ones. For indeed, Christ's church has all kinds of Christians in it who are young, old, weak, sick, healthy, strong, energetic, lazy, simple, wise, etc.

If, however, you feel and are inclined to think you have made it, flattering yourself with your own little books, teaching, or writing, because you have done it beautifully and preached excellently; if you are highly pleased when someone praises you in the presence of others; if you perhaps look for praise, and would sulk or quit what you are doing if you did not get it-if you are of that stripe, dear friend, then take yourself by the ears, and if you do this in the right way you will find a beautiful pair of big, long, shaggy donkey ears. Then do not spare any expense! Decorate them with golden bells, so that people will be able to hear you wherever you go, point their fingers at you, and say, "See, See! There goes that clever beast, who can write such exquisite books and preach so remarkably well." That very moment you will be blessed and blessed beyond measure in the kingdom of heaven. Yes, in that heaven where hellfire is ready for the devil and his angels. To sum up: Let us be proud and seek honor in the places where we can. But in this book the honor is God's alone, as it is said, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" [I Pet. 5:5]; to whom be glory, world without end, Amen.

Pastoral Meditation

Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor, in The Practical Works of Richard Baxter, Vol. 4, p. 421:

What an excellent life is it to live in the studies and preaching Christ! to be still searching into his mysteries, or feeding on them; to be daily in the consideration of his blessed nature, or works, or ways of God! Others are glad of the leisure of the Lord's day, and now and then an hour besides, when they can lay hold of it: but we may keep a continual sabbath. We may do nothing else almost but study and talk of God and glory, and call upon him, and drink in his sacred, saving truths. Our employment is all high and spiritual! Whether we be alone, or with others, our business is for another world. Oh, were but our hearts more suitable to this work, what a blessed, joyful life should we live! How sweet would the pulpit be, and what a delight would our conference of these things afford! To live among so many silent, wise companions, whenever we please, and of such variety: -- all these, and more such privileges of the ministry, bespeak our unwearied diligence in the work.

Brethren Together in Unity

James Buchanan, Comfort in Affliction, pp. 159-160:

As a social being, man is dependent on the society with which he mingles for a very large share of his personal happiness. By sympathy, he is so connected with others, that he must often weep when they weep, and rejoice when they rejoice. By this natural instinct, he shrinks from the contemplation of extreme suffering, and feels his happiness increased by the happiness of those around him; and, by his moral nature, the believer is disqualified from the enjoying the company of the wicked, and yearns after the fellowship of those who have kindred principles and feelings with his own. This is the ground of that strong love which, notwithstanding their petty differences, subsists betwixt all the sincere disciples of Christ on earth. But here the enjoyment of Christian fellowship is marred by various causes, arising from the imperfection both of our present condition, and of our Christian graces; partly by the diversities of opinions which flow from the limited range of our present vision, or the undue influence of prejudice; party by the difficulty of discovering the true followers of Christ in the midst of so many nominal or false professors, and the suspicion, or at least the caution; which frequent disappointment, in this respect, is fitted to inspire; partly, also, by the obstacles which the necessary business of life, or the established distinctions betwixt different classes of men, interpose to that free intercourse on which the enjoyment of society depends; and, most of all, by the weakness of love, both on our part, and on the part of others. But all these impediments to social happiness shall be removed in heaven. There, our little prejudices, whether against persons or parties, shall disappear. There, we shall be in no danger of misplacing our confidence, or of being deceived by hollow professors, but "shall know, even as also we are known." There, if there be not a perfect equality in point of capacity or dignity, there will at least be no pride on the one hand, and no servile fear on the other; and there, above all, love -- pure, generous, disinterested love -- which is the cement of all happy society, shall burn in every bosom, and prompt every word and action. Oh! blessed season, when the strifes of this lower world shall cease, and be forgotten, and when, superior to every prejudice and passion, we shall dwell as brethren together in unity!

A Prayer and Half A Prayer For Sanctification

Augustine, Confessions 8.7.17:

But now, the more ardently I loved those whose healthful affections I heard of, that they had resigned themselves wholly to Thee to be cured, the more did I abhor myself, when compared with them. For many of my years (some twelve) had now run out with me since my nineteenth, when, upon the reading of Cicero's Hortensius, I was stirred to an earnest love of wisdom; and still I was deferring to reject mere earthly felicity, and give myself to search out that, whereof not the finding only, but the very search, was to be preferred to the treasures and kingdoms of the world, though already found, and to the pleasures of the body, though spread around me at my will. But I wretched, most wretched, in the very commencement of my early youth, had begged chastity of Thee, and said, "Give me chastity and continency, only not yet." For I feared lest Thou shouldest hear me soon, and soon cure me of the disease of concupiscence, which I wished to have satisfied, rather than extinguished. And I had wandered through crooked ways in a sacrilegious superstition, not indeed assured thereof, but as preferring it to the others which I did not seek religiously, but opposed maliciously.

Elizabeth S. Rowe, Devout Exercises of the Heart, in Meditation and Soliloquy, Prayer and Praise XXV:

A Prayer for Speedy Sanctification

O Lord God, great and holy, all-sufficient and full of grace if thou shouldst bid me form a wish, and take whatsoever in heaven or in earth I had to ask it should not be the kingdoms of this world, nor the crowns of princes; no nor should it be the wreaths of martyrs nor the thrones of archangels; my request is to be made holy: this is my highest concern. Rectify the disorder sin has made in my soul, and renew thy image there; let me be satisfied with thy likeness. Thou hast encompassed my path with mercy in all other respects, and I am discontented with nothing but my own heart, because it is so unlike the image of thy holiness, and so unfit for thy immediate presence. 

Permit me to be importunate here, O blessed God, and grant me the importunity of my wishes; let me be favoured with a gracious and speedy answer, for I am dying while I am speaking; the very breath with which I am calling upon thee is carrying away part of my life! this tongue that is now invoking thee, must shortly be silent in the grave; these knees, that are bent to pay thee homage, and these hands that are now lifted to the most high God for mercy, must shortly be mouldering to their original dust: these eyes will soon be closed in death, which are now looking up to thy throne for a blessing. O prevent the flying hours with thy mercy, and let thy favour outstrip the hasty moments.

Thou art unchanged, while rolling ages pass along; but I am decaying with every breath I draw; my whole allotted time to prepare for heaven, is but a point compared with thy infinite duration. The shortness and vanity of my present being, and the importance of my eternal concerns, join together to demand my utmost solicitude, and give wings to my warmest wishes. -- Before I can utter all my present desires, the hasty opportunity perhaps is gone, the golden minute vanished, and the season of mercy has taken its everlasting flight.

O God of ages! hear me speedily and grant my request while I am yet speaking; my frail existence will admit of no delay; answer me according to the shortness of my duration, and the exigence of my circumstances. -- My business, of high importance as it is, yet is limited to the present now, the passing moment; for all the powers on earth cannot promise me the next. 

Let not my pressing importunity, therefore, offend thee; my happiness, my everlasting happiness, my whole being is concerned in my success: as much as the enjoyment of God himself is worth, is at stake.

Thou knowest, O Lord, what qualifications will fit me to behold thee; thou knowest in what I am defective; thou canst prepare my soul in an instant to enter into thy holy habitation. I breathe now, but the next moment may be death, let not that fatal moment come before I am prepared. -- The same creating voice that said, "Let there be light, and there was light," can in the same manner, purify and adorn my soul, and make me fit for thy own presence; and my soul longs to be thus purified and adorned. O Lord, delay not, for every moment's interval is a loss to me, and may be a loss unspeakable and irreparable. -- Thy delay cannot be the least advantage to thee; thy power and thy clemency are as full at this present instant as they will be the next, and my time as fleeting, and my wants as pressing.

Remember, O eternal God, my lost time is forever lost, and my wasted hours will never return, my neglected opportunities can never be recalled; to me they are gone forever, and cannot be improved; but thou canst change my sinful soul into holiness by a word, and set me now in the way to everlasting improvement.

O let not the Spirit of God restrain itself, but bless me according to the fulness of thy own being, according to the riches of thy grace in CHRIST JESUS, according to thy infinite, inconceivable love, manifested in that glorious gift of thy beloved Son, wherein the fulness of thy Godhead was contained; it is through his merit and mediation I humbly wait for all the unbounded blessings I want or ask for.

Roll Upon the Lord

Jonathan Edwards, "Miscellaneous Remarks Concerning Faith," in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 2, p. 587:

Sec. 63. Rolling oneself, or burden, on the Lord, is an expression used as equivalent to trusting. Psal. xxii. 8. "he trusted in the Lord, that he would deliver him:" in the original, "He rolled himself on the Lord." Psal. xxxvii.5. "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass." In the Hebrew, Roll thy way upon the Lord. Prov. xvi.3. "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established." In the Hebrew, Roll thy works.

John Winthrop, March 18, 1627 Letter to His Son, in Robert C. Winthrop, Life and Letters of John Winthrop, p. 250:

But such as will roll their ways upon the Lord, do find him always as good as his word.

John Cotton, An Exposition of First John, p. 536:

How then can this be called believing on Christ, when the heart is not grounded in him nor rests in him? I answer, there is a faith in Christ when the heart does not rest on Christ but is only grounded on him, or rolls itself on him, which may be done while the heart is yet in motion. Sometimes it rolls one way, sometimes another; yet such a man believes on Christ, for he is rolling toward him so that he may lie on him. "Commit your ways to the Lord" (Ps. 37:5); in the original, "roll your ways upon the Lord"; lean your soul that way; roll toward him so that you might rest upon him. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding" (Prov. 3:6); a man may be said to lean upon the Lord, when he is not yet settled upon him.

Ps. 22.8, Bay Psalm Book:

Vpon the Lord he rold himselfe,
let him now rid him quite:
let him deliver him, because
in him he doth delight.

Anne Bradstreet, "In my Solitary houres in my dear husband his Absence," Robert Hutchinson, ed., The Poems of Anne Bradstreet, p. 74:

O stay my heart on thee, my God,
Uphold my fainting Soul!
And, when I know not what to doe,
I'll on thy mercyes roll.

Edward Taylor, "God's Determinations," in Thomas H. Johnson, ed., The Poetical Works of Edward Taylor, p. 91 (Lines 1625-1627):

And thus he doth involve the doubting Soule
In dismall doubts and makes it fear to rowle
Himselfe on Christ for fear it should presume.

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)

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. 

Heavenly Solitude

Richard Baxter, The Saints' Everlasting Rest, in The Practical Works of Richard Baxter, Vol. 2, p. 304:

As this [meditation] is a private and spiritual duty, so it is most convenient that thou retire to some private place: our spirits had need of every help, and to be freed from every hinderance in the work: and the quality of these circumstances, though to some they may seem small things, doth much conduce to our hinderance or our help. Christ himself thought it not vain to direct in this circumstance of private duty, Matt. vi. 4, 6, 18. If in private prayer we must shut our door upon us, that our Father may hear us in secret, so is it also requisite in this meditation. How oft doth Christ himself depart to some mountain, or wilderness, or other solitary place! For occasional meditation I give thee not this advice, but for this daily set and solemn duty I advise that thou withdraw thyself from all society, yea, though it were the society of godly men, that thou mayst awhile enjoy the society of Christ: if a student cannot study in a crowd, who exercises only his invention and memory, much less when thou must exercise all the powers of thy soul, and that upon an object so far above nature: when thy eyes are filled with the persons and actions of men, and thine ears with their discourse, it is hard then to have thy thoughts and affections free for this duty. Though I would not persuade thee to Pythagoras's cave, nor to the hermit's wilderness, nor to the monk's cell; yet I would advise thee to frequent solitariness, that thou mayst sometimes confer with Christ, and with thyself, as well as with others. We are fled so far from the solitude of superstition, that we have cast off the solitude of contemplative devotion. Friends use to converse most familiarly in private, and to open their secrets and let out their affections most freely. Public converse is but common converse. Use, therefore, as Christ himself did, (Mark i. 35,) to depart sometimes into a solitary place, that thou mayst be wholly vacant for this great employment. See Matt. xiv. 23; Mark vi. 23; Luke ix. 18, 36; John vi. 15, 16. We seldom read of God's appearing, by himself, or his angels, to any of his prophets or saints in a throng, but frequently when they were alone.

Cotton Mather's Resolutions

Cotton Mather, Diary of Cotton Mather, 1681-1724, Vol. 1, pp. 3-5:

12 d. 1 m. [March [1681].]...Butt one special Action of this Day, was to make and write the following:

RESOLUTIONS AS TO MY WALK WITH GOD.

Lord! Thou that workest in mee to will, help mee to resolve.

I. As to my Thoughts.

1. To endeavour, that I will keep God, and Christ, and Heaven, much in my Thoughts.

2. In a special manner, to watch and pray, against lascivious Thoughts, ambitious Thoughts, and wandring Thoughts in the Times of Devotion.

II. As to my Words.

1. To bee not of many Words, and when I do speak, to do it with Deliberation.

2. To remember my obligations to use my Tongue as the Lord's, and not my own: and therefore, to promote savoury Discourse, if I can, wherever I come; and to discourse with such as come fairly in my way, about the Things of their everlasting Peace.

3. Never to answer any weighty Question, without lifting up my Heart unto God, in a Request, that Hee would help me to give a right Answer.

4. To speak Ill of no Man; except, on a good Ground, and for a good End.

5. Seldome to make a Visit, without contriving, what I may do for God, in that Visit.

III. As to my daily Course of Duties.

1. To pray at least thrice, for the most part every Day.

2. To meditate once a Day; in the Meditation proceeding after some such Method as this; that there shall bee two Parts of the work, doctrinal, and applicatory. The doctrinal to bee dispatched in an Answer to a Quaestion. The Applicatory to flow from thence into Examination, Expostulation, Resolution.

3. To make a Custome of propounding to myself, these three Questions, every Night before I sleep.
What hath been the Mercy of God unto mee, in the Day past?What hath been my carriage before God, in the Day past? And,
If I dy this Night is my immortal Spirit safe? 

4. To lead a Life of heavenly Ejaculations [short prayers to God].

5. To bee diligent in observing and recording of illustrious Providences.But in all, to bee continually going unto the Lord Jesus Christ, as the only Physician, and Redeemer, of my Soul.Lord! Thou that workest in mee to do, help mee to perform.

Penned by, Cotton Mather; A feeble and worthless, yett (Lord! by this Grace!) desirous to approve himself, a sincere and faithful Servant of Jesus Christ. The Lord knowes, how miserably defective I have been, in the performing of what I have thus resolved. But my Defects, have been the matter of my continual Reflections and Abasements before Him. And, for the main, I have made in my Study, to bee abounding in these Works of the Lord. Yea, these Flights of my Soul, Essayes to glorify God, have been but the lower and lesser Flights of my Youth; which I hope, will ere long proceed unto a Mounting up with the Wings of Eagles.

Our Employment Lies In Heaven

John Eliot, in Cotton Mather, Magnalia Christi Americana: Or, The Ecclesiastical History of New England, Vol. 1, p. 535:

Behold, the ancient and excellent character of a true Christian; 'tis that which Peter calls 'holiness in all manner of conversation;' you shall not find a Christian out of the way of godly conversation. For, first, a seventh part of our time is all spent in heaven, when we are duly zealous for, and zealous on the Sabbath of God. Besides, God has written on the head of the Sabbath, REMEMBER, which looks both forwards and backwards, and thus a good part of the week will be spent in sabbatizing. Well, but for the rest of our time! Why, we shall have that spent in heaven, ere we have done. For, secondly, we have many days for both fasting and thanksgiving in our pilgrimage; and here are so many Sabbaths more. Moreover, thirdly, we have our lectures every week; and pious people won't miss them, if they can help it. Furthermore, fourthly, we have our private meetings, wherein we pray, and sing, and repeat sermons, and confer together about the things of God; and being now come thus far, we are in heaven almost every day. But a little farther, fifthly, we perform family-duties every day; we have our morning and evening sacrifices, wherein having read the Scriptures to our families, we call upon the name of God, and ever now and then carefully catechise those that are under our charge. Sixthly, we shall also have our daily devotions in our closets; wherein unto supplication before the Lord, we shall add some serious meditation upon his word: a David will be at this work no less than thrice a day. Seventhly, we have likewise many scores of ejaculations in a day; and these we have, like Nehemiah, in whatever place we come into. Eighthly we have our occasional thoughts and our occasional talks upon spiritual matters; and we have our occasional acts of charity, wherein we do like the inhabitants of heaven every day. Ninthly, in our callings, in our civil callings, we keep up heavenly frames; we buy and sell, and toil; yea, we eat and drink, with some eye both to the command and honour of God in all. Behold, I have not now left an inch of time to be carnal; it is all engrossed for heaven. And yet, lest here should not be enough, lastly, we have our spiritual warfare. We are always encountring the enemies of our souls, which continually raises our hearts unto our Helper and Leader in the heavens. Let no man say, ''Tis impossible to live at this rate;' for we have known some live thus; and others that have written of such a life have but spun a web out of their own blessed experiences. New-England has example of this life: though, alas! 'tis to be lamented that the distractions of the world, in too many professors, do beecloud the beauty of an heavenly conversation. In fine, our employment lies in heaven. In the morning, if we ask, 'Where am I to be to day?' our souls must answer, 'In heaven.' In the evening, if we ask, 'Where have I been to-day?' our souls may answer, 'In heaven.' If thou art a believer, thou art no stranger to heaven while thou livest; and when thou diest, heaven will be no strange place to thee; no, thou hast been there a thousand times before.

Turmerlebnis

As we consider at this time of year, the mercy of God in bringing about the Reformation, which many date to the October 31, 1517 posting of the 95 Theses on the church door at Wittenburg, Germany, by Martin Luther, it is worthwhile to note that his own account traces his personal "born-again" conversion experience to an event that occurred two years later in 1519 known as "Turmerlebnis," or, "The Tower Experience." He was studying Romans 1:17 in his study in the tower of the Black Cloister in Wittenberg at the time and wrestling with a text of Scripture: Romans 1.17. In his own words, Dr. Luther explains.

Martin Luther (trans. by Bro. Andrew Thornton, OSB in from the "Vorrede zu Band I der Opera Latina der Wittenberger Ausgabe. 1545" in vol. 4 of Luthers Werke in Auswahl, ed. Otto Clemen, 6th ed., (Berlin: de Gruyter. 1967). pp. 421-428), Preface to the Complete Edition of Luther's Latin Works (1545) by Dr. Martin Luther, 1483-1546 (c)1983 by Saint Anselm Abbey:

Meanwhile in that same year, 1519, I had begun interpreting the Psalms once again. I felt confident that I was now more experienced, since I had dealt in university courses with St. Paul's Letters to the Romans, to the Galatians, and the Letter to the Hebrews. I had conceived a burning desire to understand what Paul meant in his Letter to the Romans, but thus far there had stood in my way, not the cold blood around my heart, but that one word which is in chapter one: "The justice of God is revealed in it." I hated that word, "justice of God," which, by the use and custom of all my teachers, I had been taught to understand philosophically as referring to formal or active justice, as they call it, i.e., that justice by which God is just and by which he punishes sinners and the unjust. 

But I, blameless monk that I was, felt that before God I was a sinner with an extremely troubled conscience. I couldn't be sure that God was appeased by my satisfaction. I did not love, no, rather I hated the just God who punishes sinners. In silence, if I did not blaspheme, then certainly I grumbled vehemently and got angry at God. I said, "Isn't it enough that we miserable sinners, lost for all eternity because of original sin, are oppressed by every kind of calamity through the Ten Commandments? Why does God heap sorrow upon sorrow through the Gospel and through the Gospel threaten us with his justice and his wrath?" This was how I was raging with wild and disturbed conscience. I constantly badgered St. Paul about that spot in Romans 1 and anxiously wanted to know what he meant.

I meditated night and day on those words until at last, by the mercy of God, I paid attention to their context: "The justice of God is revealed in it, as it is written: 'The just person lives by faith.'" I began to understand that in this verse the justice of God is that by which the just person lives by a gift of God, that is by faith. I began to understand that this verse means that the justice of God is revealed through the Gospel, but it is a passive justice, i.e. that by which the merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written: "The just person lives by faith." All at once I felt that I had been born again and entered into paradise itself through open gates. Immediately I saw the whole of Scripture in a different light. I ran through the Scriptures from memory and found that other terms had analogous meanings, e.g., the work of God, that is, what God works in us; the power of God, by which he makes us powerful; the wisdom of God, by which he makes us wise; the strength of God, the salvation of God, the glory of God.

I exalted this sweetest word of mine, "the justice of God," with as much love as before I had hated it with hate. This phrase of Paul was for me the very gate of paradise. Afterward I read Augustine's "On the Spirit and the Letter," in which I found what I had not dared hope for. I discovered that he too interpreted "the justice of God" in a similar way, namely, as that with which God clothes us when he justifies us. Although Augustine had said it imperfectly and did not explain in detail how God imputes justice to us, still it pleased me that he taught the justice of God by which we are justified.