A Time to Meditate

Thomas Manton, Sermons Upon Gen. 24.63 in The Works of Thomas Manton, Vol. 17, pp. 265-266; and 298-299:

4. The last circumstance in the text is the time, 'In the even-tide,' which is also a matter of an arbitrary concernment. Time in itself is but an inactive circumstance; all hours are alike to God; he taketh no more pleasure in the sixth or ninth hour than in the first hour; only you should prudently observe when your spirit is most fresh and smart. To some the morning is quickest, the fancy being fittest to offer spiritual and heavenly thoughts, before it hath received any images and representations from carnal objects abroad. Morning thoughts are, as it were, virgin thoughts of the mind, before they have been prostituted to these inferior and baser objects, and so are more pure and sublime and defecate; and then the soul, like the hind of the morning, with a swift and nimble readiness climbeth up to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense: Song of Sol. 4:6,’Until the day break and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of mvrrh and to the hill of frankincense;’ and it tended much to season the whole day when we can talk with the law in the morning: Prov. 6:22, ‘When thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.' To some the evening seemeth fitter, that when the gayishness and vanity of the spirit hath been spent in business, their thoughts may be more serious and solemn with God; and after the weights have been running down all day through their employments of the world, they may wind them up again at night in these recesses and exercises of piety and religion; as David says; Ps. 25:1, 'Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.' To others the silence and stillness of the night seemeth to be an help, and because of the curtain of darkness that is drawn between them and the world, they can the better entertain serious and solemn thoughts of God. David speaks everywhere in the psalms of his nocturnal devotions: Ps. 63:6, ‘When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night-watches.’ The expression is taken from the custom of the Jews, who divided the night into so many watches. Whilst others were reposing their bodies on their beds, David was reposing his soul in the bosom of God, and he have the less rest to his eyes that he might give the more to his soul. So Ps. 119:148, ‘Mine eyes prevent the night-watches, that I might meditate in thy word.’ Certainly in the night, when we are taken off from other business, we have the greatest command of our thoughts, and the covert of darkness that God hath stretched over the world begetteth a greater awe and reverence. Therefore Mr. [Richard] Greenham, when he pressed any weighty point, and perceived any careless, used to beg of them that, if God by his providence should suffer them to awake in the night, they would but think of his words. Certainly the mind, being by sleep emptied of other cares, like a mill falleth upon itself, and the natural awe and terror is the effect of darkness helpeth to make the thoughts more solemn and serious. So that you see much may be said for the conveniency of either of these seasons, evening or morning, or night. It is your duty to be faithful to your own souls, and sometimes to take the advantage either of the night or of the day, or the morning, or the evening as best suits us. David saith, Ps. 119:97, ‘Oh! how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.’ So he describes his blessed man: Ps.1:2, ‘His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night;’ that is, sometimes in the day and sometimes in the night; no time can come amiss to a prepared spirit. Isaac’s hour was in the even-tide; in the evening he went out to meditate, in which two things are notable:...
...
CASE 4. When must we meditate?

1. In the general, something should be done every day; seldom converse begetteth a strangeness to God, and an unfitness for the duty. It is a description of God's servant, Ps.1:2, ' His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.' At least we should take all convenient occasions. It is an usual way of natural men to make conscience of duties after a long neglect; they perform duties to pacify a natural conscience, and use them as a man would use a sleepy potion or strong waters; they are good at a pinch, not for constant drink. Alas! we lose by such wide gaps and distances between performance and performance; it is as if we had never done it before.

2. For the particular time of the day when you should meditate, that is arbitrary. I told you before you may do it either in the silence of the night, when God hath drawn a curtain of darkness between you and the things of the world; or in the freshness of the morning, or in the evening, when the wildness and vanity of the mind is spent in worldly business.

3. There are some special solemn times, when the duty is most in season:
[1.] After a working sermon; after the word hath fallen upon you with a full stroke, it is good to follow the blow; and when God hath cast seed into the heart, let not the fowls peck it away : Matt 13:19, ' When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart.' Ruminate on the word, chew the end; many a sermon is lost because it is not whet upon the thoughts: James 1: 23, 24, ' He is like a man that beholdeth his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was:' Matt. 22: 22, ' When they heard these things, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.' You should roll the word in your thoughts, and deeply consider of it.
[2.] Before some solemn duties, as before the Lord's supper, and before special times of deep humiliation, or before the sabbath. Meditation is, as it were, the breathing of the soul; that it may the better hold out in religious exercises, it is a good preparative to raise the spirits into a frame of piety and religion. When the harp is fitted and tuned, it doth the better make music; so when the heart is fixed and settled by a preparative meditation, it is the fitter to make melody to God in worship.
[3.] When God doth specially revive and enable the Spirit. It is good to take advantage of the Spirit's gales; so fresh a wind should make us hoist up our sails. Do not lose the Spirit's seasons; the Spirit's impulses are good significations from God that now is an acceptable time.

Case 5. What time is to be spent in the duty?

I answer - That is left to spiritual discretion. Suck the teat as long as milk cometh. Duties must not be spun out to an unnecessary length. You must neither yield to laziness, nor occasion spiritual weariness; the devil hath advantage upon you both ways. When you rack and torture your spirits after they have been spent, it makes the work of God a bondage; and therefore come not off till you find profit, and do not press too hard upon the soul, nor oppress it with an indiscreet zeal. It is Satan's policy to make you out of love with meditation by spinning it out to a tediousness and an unnecessary length.

Case 6. Whether should the time be set and constant?

I answer - It is good to bind the heart to somewhat, and yet leave it to such a liberty as becomes the gospel. Bind it to somewhat every day, that the heart may not be loose and arbitrary. We see that necessity quickeneth and urgeth, and when the soul is engaged it goes to work the more thoroughly. Therefore the Lord asks, Jer. 22:21, ' Who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me?' It is good to lay a tie upon the heart; and yet I advise not to a set stinted hour, lest we create a snare to ourselves. Though a man should resist distractions and distempers, yet some business is unavoidable, and some distempers are invincible. I have observed this, that even religious persons are more sensible of their own vows than of God's commands; when men have bound up themselves in chains of their own making, their consciences fall upon them, and dog them with restless accusations, when they cannot accomplish so much duty as they have set and pre-scribed to themselves. And besides, when hours are customary and set, the heart groweth formal and superstitious.

Puritan Galaxy

Samuel Dunn, Memoirs of the Seventy-Five Divines: Whose Discourses Form the Morning Exercises at Cripplegate, St. Giles in the Fields, and in Southwark: With An Outline of a Sermon From each Author, p. vi:

Among such a number of writers, there will be perceived a rich variety of talent, and a great diversity of style. [John] Howe is distinguished for his original thinking and splendid imagery; [Richard] Baxter, for his fertility of genius, copiousness, and persuasiveness; [Stephen] Charnock, for energy and richness of thought; [David] Clarkson and [Thomas] Doolittle, for manly sense; [Thomas] Manton, for perspicuity; [William] Bates, for ease and elegance; [John] Owen, [Matthew] Poole, [Joseph] Hill, and [Theophilus] Gale, for deep erudition; [Thomas] Case and [Thomas] Watson, for spirituality and quaintness; [Vincent] Alsop and [Daniel] Burgess, for wit and smartness; [Thomas] Gouge, [Samuel] Annesley, and [Daniel] Williams, for pure and expansive benevolence: -- lights of various magnitudes and splendour; for in the mental and moral, as well as in the celestial hemisphere, one star differeth from another star in glory.

A Mother's Heritage

Thomas Manton once wrote, "Families are societies that must be sanctified to God as well as Churches; and the governors of them have as truly a charge of the souls that are therein, as pastors have of the Churches....Especially women should be careful of this duty [of training and catechizing children in the true religion]; because as they are most about their children, and have early and frequent opportunities to instruct them, so this is the principal service they can do to God in this world, being restrained from more publick work."

The importance of the role of mothers in the care of the souls of children should never be underestimated. That is why, I am pleased to recommend the blog of a dear friend of mine: A Mother's Heritage by Mrs. Jenny Ervin. My wife Jessica, and Jenny, have been friends for almost two decades, and I have known her husband and my good friend and former roommate Steve for almost 20 years as well. Steve and I left North Carolina together and drove to Texas 16 years ago, where we both got married to our respective Southern Belles. Readers will certainly be interested to read the story of the Ervin courtship and marriage here. Today the Ervins are blessed with 6 living children outside the womb, one on the way, and four who never saw the light of day but have gone to be with the Lord. Yet I would like to highlight this particular blog not because of the ties of friendship but because it is a valuable contribution to mothers everywhere who are in need of spiritual and practical encouragement in the precious work to which they are called.

A Mother's Heritage was just launched last month, but already contains a rich storehouse of wisdom on matters ranging from homeschooling and child-rearing to miscarriage and depression, important issues for all of us to consider and deal with, but especially so for mothers. Jenny freely confesses that she is a

struggling sinner, who looks to the Lord whose mercies are new every morning. I have suffered from depression, am not a morning person (really, not a morning person) and have a huge bag of unmatched socks in my closet. I am in the journey right along with other moms of many. I am an ordinary mom, but have an extraordinary God!

This is not a supermom blog. This is a not a blog of a perfect mother with a perfect family. If that is what you are looking for then you will be sorely disappointed.

It is a person with this sort of humility with whom one is willing to laugh and cry, and Jenny invites readers to share the journey of a Christian mother with her. I am thankful for her as a friend, and I am sure that others will be blessed to read along with her, and learn as she is learning, how to glorify God as a mother to the good of those around her. It is the better part of wisdom to seek out those who have walked the walk. I am privileged to recommend the blog of a godly mother to you, dear reader, and am sure that those who follow along will be blessed. I am thankful for mothers, including my own mother, and my wonderful wife. We all need encouragement, and Jenny's blog is a true encouragement to mothers everywhere.

Patriarch of Dorchester, Father of Massachusetts

The man who is singly most responsible for the Puritan settlement of Massachusetts is John White, Patriarch of Dorchester (1575-1648). One of many John Whites in his era, and possibly related to John White, Artist and Governor of the Lost Colony of Roanoke (c. 1540-c. 1593), our "Patriarch," who was also the great-grandfather of John and Charles Wesley, was a leading Puritan of his day, and influential on both sides of the Atlantic.

John White was a Puritan whose ties to Dorchester, England, began with his appointment as rector there in 1606. He spent the rest of his life ministering to that community, and his importance as a leader in the town after a calamitous fire in 1613, after which, under his preaching, the town was greatly rebuilt, with a view towards employing and helping the poor, and reformed in its spiritual character. The town prospered in the ensuing years, and White, having noted the Pilgrim expedition to Plymouth upon the publication in 1622 of Mourt's Relation, helped to establish the Dorchester Company, which in 1623 founded a trading settlement at Cape Ann, near what is now Gloucester, Massachusetts, overseen by Thomas Gardner, said by some to be the first governor of Massachusetts, which in 1626 was moved further south, under the leadership of Roger Conant, and would become the town of Salem. White recruited emigrants and helped to raise funds for the work of the Dorchester Company, to help build Massachusetts as both a refuge for nonconforming Puritans as a profitable trading colony, though he himself conformed to the Church of England.

Daniel Neal, The History of New-England, Vol. 1, p. 122:

...the Reverend Mr. White, Minister of Dorchester, encourag'd by the Success of the Plimouth Colony, projected a new Settlement in the Massacuset Bay as an Asylum for the silenced Ministers;...

His trips to London, networking and earnest appeals led to the granting of a patent by the Plymouth Council for New England in 1628 to the successor of the Dorchester Company, the New England Company for the Plantation in Massachusetts Bay, which established the Massachusetts Company. It was under the auspices of this company that the Great Puritan Migration to New England commenced in 1630 with the sailing of the Winthrop Fleet. The Humble Request of His Majesties Loyall Subjects, the Governour and the Company late gone for New England; to the rest of their Brethren in and of the Church of England (1630) was published by John Winthrop and his group is thought to have been been drafted by John White of Dorchester. It sets forth their formal farewell to England, yet affirming their unbroken communion with the Church of England. John Cotton preached a farewell sermon at the departure of the Winthrop Fleet, God's Promise to His Plantation (1630), in which he promised a fuller accounting of the reasons for the Puritan migration, a promise which was fulfilled by the publication later that year of The Planters Plea, Or the Grounds of Plantations Examined, and usual Objections answered. Together with a manifestation of the causes moving such as have lately undertaken a Plantation in NEW ENGLAND: For the satisfaction of those that question the lawfulness of the Action. 2 Thess. v. 21. Prove all things, and hold fast that which is good. by John White. This important document constitutes a full treatise on the history of the settling of Massachusetts to date, and setting forth the Biblical reasons for the planting of this particular settlement, its relation to the Church of England, and the establishment of colonial endeavors generally (including arguments "from Gods gift of the earth to men," "from the Law of marriage" and "from the benefit that comes to mens outward estates"), as well as answering concerns by friends and foes of the Puritans' enterprise. He continued to correspond with John Winthrop, and to labor for the benefit of the colonial settlement. Thus, though White himself never sailed to Massachusetts, his efforts to establish the Puritan colony there have led many to refer to him as the "Father of Massachusetts," even more so than the Pilgrim Fathers.

In 1643, White was chosen to serve among the Westminster Assembly of Divines. When the Assembly swore to uphold the Solemn League and Covenant on September 25, 1643, John Lightfoot recorded in his Journal that "Mr. White prayed near upon an hour." White attended faithfully and contributed diligently to the work of the Assembly, and was in fact married to the sister of Cornelius Burgess, his co-assessor at the Assembly. While the Assembly was engaged in a battle over whose metrical Psalter would be chosen to serve as the instrument of uniformity and "get the civil sanction," the leading candidates being Francis Rous and William Barton, White, who had prepared his own version of the metrical Psalms, preferred not to publish it while the debate was going on, in the interests of harmony. It was published posthumously with the permission of his son under the title David's Psalms in Metre, agreeable to the Hebrew. To be sung in usuall Tunes To the benefit of the Churches of Christ (1655) and shows his poetic skills. He also wrote a catechism. A.F. Mitchell writes, The Catechisms of the Second Reformation, p. xlvii:

His catechism, entitled A Plaine and Familiar Exposition upon the Creed, X. Commandments, Lord's Prayer, and Sacraments, etc., passed through several editions, and, save in the introduction, is identical with that of Josias White, his elder brother, though probably this last was the copyist.

He retired to the country after the end of the English Civil War, and wrote A Way to the Tree of Life: Sundry Directions for the Profitable Reading of the Scriptures: wherein is described occasionally the nature of a spirituall man, and, in A digression, the morality and perpetuity of the Fourth Commandment in every circumstance thereof, is discovered and cleared (1647). He also wrote A Commentary upon the Three First Chapters of the First Book of Moses called Genesis (1656), which contains prefaces by Stephen Marshall and Thomas Manton, commending the work. Charles Spurgeon said of White's commentary, "A folio upon three chapters! There were giants in those days." Manton himself said:

...That praise which was reserved for our Author, was, besides a solid Exposition of the Text, The deducing of Apt and pertinent Observations, together with fit and proper Reasons to each Point, which with what Judgment and Acutenesse it is performed, I leave to the Reader to judge.

To speak of the Worth of the Authour is needlesse, his praise being already in all the Churches:...

He died in 1648, having poured his life into a ministry which served the cause of Christ's kingdom on both sides of the Atlantic, and the name of this good man, as common as it is, is uncommonly worthy of remembrance.

Agreeable to His Will

Westminster Shorter Catechism 98:

Q. 98. What is prayer?

A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God,[200] for things agreeable to his will,[201] in the
name of Christ,[202] with confession of our sins,[203] and thankful acknowledgment of his
mercies.[204]

[201] 1 John 5:14. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.

Thomas Manton, "Sermon 26 Upon Psalm 119," in Works, Vol. 6, p. 242:

One good way to get comfort is to plead the promises to God in prayer. Chirographa tua injiciebat tibi, Domine. Show him his handwriting; God is tender of his word.

John Trapp, Commentary on Genesis 32.9:

Promises must be prayed over. God loves to be burdened with, and to be importuned in, his own words; to be sued upon his own bond. Prayer is a putting the promises into suit. And it is not arrogancy nor presumption, to burdened God, as it were, with his promise, and of duty to claim and challenge his aid, help, and assistance, in all perils, said Robert Glover, Martyr, in a letter to his wife. Such prayers will be nigh the Lord day and night, 1 Kings 8.59. He can as little deny them, as deny himself.

William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour, Vol. 2, pp. 88, 420-421:

Prayer is nothing but the promise reversed, or God's Word formed into an argument, and retorted by faith upon God again.

The promises are the ground of faith, and faith, when strengthened, will make thee fervent; and such fervency ever speeds, and returns with victory out of the field of prayer: 'The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,' James v. 16. Words in prayer are but as powder; the promise is the bullet that doth the execution; faith is the grace that chargeth the soul with it; and fervency gives it fire, and dischargeth it into God's bosom with such force, that the Almighty cannot deny it, because, indeed, he will not. Now, as he is an imprudent soldier that leaves his bullets to be cast till he comes into the field, so is he an unwise Christian that doth not provide and sort promises suitable to his condition and request, before he engageth in so solemn a service....The mightier any one is in the word, the more mighty he will be in prayer.

Puritan Preface to the Scottish Metrical Psalter

In 1673, a group of Puritan divines authored a preface to a new edition of the 1650 Scottish Metrical Psalter. The following year, many of these same divines signed an Epistle to the Reader for Thomas Vincent's Exposition of the Shorter Catechism (Vincent himself being a signer of the Psalter preface). Their preface to the Psalter is brief but eloquent so I reproduce it here, along with biographical links and information that I have compiled about the signers.

Good Reader,
’Tis evident by the common experience of mankind, that love cannot lie idle in the soul. For every one hath his oblectation [way of enjoyment] and delight, his tastes and relishes are suitable to his constitution, and a man’s temper is more discovered by his solaces than by any thing else: carnal men delight in what is suited to the gust [i.e., taste] of the flesh, and spiritual men in the things of the Spirit. The promises of God's holy covenant, which are to others as stale news or withered flowers, feed the pleasure of their minds; and the mysteries of our redemption by Christ are their hearts’ delight and comfort. But as joy must have a proper object so also a vent: for this is an affection that cannot be penned up: the usual issue and out-going of it is by singing. Profane spirits must have songs suitable to their mirth; as their mirth is carnal so their songs are vain and frothy, if not filthy and obscene; but they that rejoice in the Lord, their mirth runneth in a spiritual channel: “Is any merry? let him sing psalms,” saith the apostle (James 5:13). And, “Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage,” saith holy David (Ps. 119:54).

Surely singing, ’tis a delectable way of instruction, as common prudence will teach us. Aelian (Natural History, book 2, chapter 39) telleth us that the Cretans enjoined their children to learn their laws by singing them in verse. And surely singing of Psalms is a duty of such comfort and profit, that it needeth not our recommendation: The new nature is instead of all arguments, which cannot be without thy spiritual solace. Now though spiritual songs of mere human composure may have their use, yet our devotion is best secured, where the matter and words are of immediately divine inspiration; and to us David's Psalms seem plainly intended by those terms of “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” which the apostle useth (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). But then ’tis meet that these divine composures should be represented to us in a fit translation, lest we want David, in David; while his holy ecstasies are delivered in a flat and bald expression. The translation which is now put into thy hands cometh nearest to the original of any that we have seen, and runneth with such a fluent sweetness, that we thought fit to recommend it to thy Christian acceptance; some of us having used it already, with great comfort and satisfaction.

• Thomas Manton D.D. (1620-1677)

• Henry Langley D.D. (1611-1679) - English Puritan minister and educator. He served as master of Pembroke College (1647) until he was ejected for his Presbyterian convictions (1662), after which he maintained an academy for young men at his house, where he taught logic and philosophy. He preached again after the indulgence of 1672.

• John Owen D.D. (1616-1683)

• William Jenkyn (1613-1685)

• James Innes ( )

• Thomas Watson (c. 1620-1686)

• Thomas Lye (?-1684) - English Puritan known for his emphasis on and abilities in catechizing. He wrote an exposition of the Westminster Shorter Catechism that was popular. He was one of the ministers ejected for nonconformity in 1662. His additional works include The Child’s Delight, two Farewell sermons, a sermon entitled Death, the Sweetest Sleep and several of the Cripplegate Sermons, among others.

• Matthew Poole (1624-1679)

• John Milward (1619-1688) - English Puritan, fellow of Corpus Christi College and served at a pastorate at during the Interregnum, but was ejected from his pulpit in 1660. After this he settled in London where he contributed two of the Cripplegate Sermons: 1) How ought we to love our neighbors as ourselves? and 2) How ought we to do our duty towards others, though they do not theirs towards us?

• John Chester ( )

• George Cokayn or Cokayne (1619-1691) - English Puritan, was a lifelong friend of John Bunyan. He wrote the preface to Bunyan's The Acceptable Sacrifice shortly after Bunyan's death; he also endorsed John Toldervy's The Foot Out of the Snare; assisted Joseph Caryl in the preparation of an English-Greek lexicon; and wrote other works.

• Matthew Mead (1629-1699)

• Robert Francklin or Franklin (1630-?) - English Puritan, ejected from his pulpit for nonconformity in 1662 (he said, "I left my living, rather than defile my conscience by the then Conformity"). He was persecuted and imprisoned often in the following years prior to the Glorious Revolution. He wrote an account of his own life and short catechism, as well as other works.

• Thomas Doolittle (1630-1707) - English Puritan, born at Kidderminster and was converted at the age of 17 under the preaching of Richard Baxter (sermons later published as The Saints' Rest), under whom he later served as an assistant minister. Doolittle was a one of the ejected ministers of 1662. Afterwards he opened a boarding school, with the assistance of Thomas Vincent, and later a private academy. Among his pupils were Matthew Henry and Edmund Calamy the Historian. He preached one of the Cripplegate Sermons on the subject of Family Worship. He also preached on Motives to Love Jesus and wrote a Plain Method of Catechizing with a Prefatory Catechism (1698).

• Thomas Vincent (1634-1678)

• Nathaniel Vincent (1639-1697)

• John Ryther (1634-1681) - English Congregationalist, ejected in 1662 for nonconformity. He served time in prison twice for illegal preaching. He preached a funeral sermon for James Janeway, as well as other works.

• William Tomson ( )

• Nicholas Blaikie (d. 1698) - Scottish Puritan, graduated from the University of Edinburgh on April 15, 1652 and was later ejected from his pulpit at Roberton in 1662 for nonconformity. He later pastored the Scots' Church in London (afterwards succeeded by Robert Fleming).

• Charles Morton (1626-1698) - English Puritan minister and educator. He opened an academy for young men in London at which he taught Daniel Defoe. He also served as vice-President of Harvard University.

• Edmund Calamy the Younger (1635-1685) -- Son of Edmund Calamy the Elder, Westminster Divine, and father of Edmund Calamy the Historian.

• William Carslake (d. 1689) - English Puritan, graduate of Exeter College, Oxford, and a Presbyterian minister who was ejected for nonconformity in 1662. He preached in London during the Great Plague (1665). Edmund Calamy the Historian says of him that "he was a good and pious man, but inclined to melancholy."

• James Janeway (1636-1674)

• John Hickes (1633-1685) - English Puritan ejected from his pulpit in 1662 for nonconformity. His brother George, however, remained part of the Established Church. Following the Battle of Sedgemoor, John Hickes sought shelter at the house of Alice Lisle, who was executed on September 2, 1685 for harboring John Hickes, who was himself executed the following month, both executions arising from the Bloody Assizes.

• John Baker ( )

• Richard Mayo (1631-1695) - He was one of the continuators of Matthew Poole's English Annotations, while his son Daniel was one of the continuators of Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Bible.

Truth-It In Love

I was reading Thomas Manton's preface to Smectymnuus Redivivus (that is, the second edition of Smectymnuus, first published in 1641 and re-issued in 1653 or 1654), which is found in volume 5 of Manton's Works, and came across an artful Mantonian turn of phrase that is worth noting here because it reinforces what the Apostle Paul teaches. The editor of Manton's Works footnotes the Greek phrase "speaking the truth in love" and attributes it to Eph. 4.14, though it is actually from the following verse (Eph. 4.15).

Speaking of the benefit to be gained by republishing the work on ecclesiastical polity at this seasonable time (following the publication of Jus Divinum Ministerii Evangelici, or The Divine Right of the Gospel-Ministry (1654) by the London Provincial Assembly which cites Smectymnuus often) when "there is greater freedom of debate, without noise and vulgar prejudice," Manton concludes:

I hope, that by the review of these matters we shall come to know more of the Lord's counsel for the ordering of his house; or at least that, by weighing what may be said on all sides, we shall learn more to truth-it in love, which is the unfeigned desire of him who is thine in the Lord,

Tho. Manton.

God grant that we may all strive to likewise "truth-it in love" in all of our Christian discourse.

Meet the Puritans

Back in 2006, Reformation Heritage Books published an invaluable introduction to the Puritans by Joel Beeke and Randall Pederson called Meet the Puritans. I read it daily for a long time, and still refer to it often; it has proven a wonderful resource for me and countless others who appreciate those godly men and women of old.

Yesterday, a new site entered the blogosphere with the same name, Meet the Puritans, with a similar aim. It is a collaborative effort by Danny Hyde, Mark Jones and Rowland Ward.

The purpose of this website is to promote the seventeenth century English Puritans. We intend to do this by means of original research, theological and devotional commentary upon the writings of the Puritans, reviews of books about the Puritans, recommendations of books about the Puritans, and by providing Recommended Reading of helpful materials in your study of the Puritans.

There is a special emphasis on their favorite Puritans -- John Owen, Thomas Goodwin and Thomas Manton -- but this looks to be another great resource for the study of Puritanism in general. Stay tuned and keep reading if you want to "meet the Puritans."

Works of Thomas Manton on Sale Today

The Works of Thomas Manton are on sale at Solid Ground Christian Books today only -- Friday, May 15, 2009 -- for the low price of $261.00. Normally, they are sold at SGCB for $290.00. Today is a good day to buy Manton if you are so inclined.

Manton is one of my favorite Puritans to read, and his works are a great spiritual treasure. Charles Spurgeon said of him: "Ministers who do not know Manton need not wonder if they are themselves unknown."

Those who would like to read Manton online may do so at the Internet Archive.

Remove Not Old Landmarks

Historically and spiritually speaking, many of the old landmarks (Prov. 22.28; 23.10) have been removed from us. Or so it may seem in our modern age which is so often characterized by -- in the words of C.S. Lewis -- "chronological snobbery" (Surprised By Joy, pp. 206-208). But God is faithful to his people to not remove them completely. Wisdom is not confined to the golden ages of the first or second Reformations, yet what Charles Spurgeon said (Preface, Illustrations and Meditations, or, Flowers From a Puritan's Garden, Distilled and Dispensed) of the writings of Thomas Manton is true for us as well with respect to divines of old:

Ministers who do not know Manton need not wonder if they are themselves unknown.

Gerrit Hendrik Kersten was a 20th-century Dutch divine who delighted in the old paths. One biographer described his appreciation for the giants upon whose shoulders he stood thus.

M. Golverdingen, Rev. G.H. Kersten: Facets of His Life and Work, pp. 252-253:

It was the great attention given to the work of the Holy Spirit which knit Rev. Kersten to Calvin, and particularly to the men of the Dutch Second Reformation and their English and Scottish contemporaries. Calvin's Institutes unfolded the doctrine of the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit, who seals the Word of God in the hearts of men. There was no other work of Calvin which Kersten read with "more acquiescence and greater blessing."[275] He was very much of one mind with men such as Boston, the Erskines, Watson, Justus Vermeer, and Van der Kemp, who so eminently described the work of the Spirit in the spiritual life of the regenerate, as well as with Comrie, who was one of the few orthodox theologians of stature from the eighteenth century. Numerous times in his sermons and writings he refers to Comrie, a kindred spirit. He also took the initiative to reprint his works, which were frequently advertised in De Saambinder and De Banier during the 1930s. The old writers are the spokesmen of the "old, proven truth"; the views of the neo-Reformed contradicted these truths.

[275] De Saambinder, 25 February 1932.

Friday Funny

For some 21st century readers, there may be confusion about names referred to in Puritan and Reformed literature. So this is intended as a helpful (read: humorous) guide to select prominent Reformed individuals in church history.

William Ames was an English Puritan; Willie Aames is the actor who starred in Eight is Enough and Charles in Charge.

Thomas Manton was an English Puritan; Thomas Manton IV is a modern-day self-proclaimed "prophet."

John Owen was an English Puritan; Johnny Owen was a Welsh boxer.

Thomas Watson was an English Puritan; Thomas A. Watson is the man whose name Alexander Graham Bell first called on the telephone.

David Clarkson was an English Puritan; David Clarkson is a Canadian ice hockey star.

Robert Shaw was a 19th century Scottish Presbyterian who authored a commentary on the Westminster Confession; Robert Shaw was the English actor who starred in Jaws, The Sting, From Russia With Love and A Man For All Seasons.

John Kennedy (of Dingwall) was a 19th century Scottish Presbyterian; John F. Kennedy was an American president.

William Cunningham was a 19th century Scottish Presbyterian; Billy Cunningham was an American college and professional basketball star.

Jonathan Edwards was an American Puritan; John Edwards is an American Democratic politician.

Who can think of other names shared by Puritans or Reformed figures and notables from popular culture or modern history?

Thomas Manton's Epistle to the Reader

In the second edition of the Westminster Confession published in 1658, it is prefaced by an epistle to the reader from Thomas Manton. The document is a wonderful statement on the importance of family religion. The role of parents in teaching children godliness is emphasized, particularly that of mothers, and as instruments towards that end the Shorter and Larger Catechisms, and Confession of Faith, are commended.

Manton makes several references throughout the epistle to the fact that his work builds on the work of another author who sought to remain anonymous.

I had, upon entreaty, resolved to recommend to thee with the greatest earnestness the work of catechizing, and, as a meet help, the usefulness of this book, as thus printed with the Scriptures at large: but meeting with a private letter of a very learned and godly divine, wherein that work is excellently done to my hand, I shall make bold to transcribe a part of it, and offer it to public view.
...
The author having bewailed the great distractions, corruptions, and divisions that are in the Church, he thus represents the cause and cure:...
...
Thus far he, whose name I shall conceal, (though the excellency of the matter, and present style, will easily discover him,) because I have published it without his privity and consent, though, I hope, not against his liking and approbation. I shall add no more, but that I am, Thy servant, in the Lord's work,

It has been discovered that the author whose name was concealed was none other than Richard Baxter. The story behind this is an interesting one.

Thomas M'Crie the Younger, Annals of English Presbytery, p. 221-222:

In the ordinary copies of the Confession, there is prefixed an epistle to the reader by Dr Manton, wherein there are some sentences introduced from another divine. "Thereby hangs a tale." This "very learned and godly divine" was no other than the celebrated Richard Baxter, who had been solicited by the publisher of the Confession to send a recommendation of the book for the use of families. Baxter consented, but only on the condition that the whole of his recommendation should be inserted or none. To his no small displeasure he found, on the appearance of the book, that not only had his name been omitted, but the following sentence, which, he says, was not pleasing to all, had been omitted: "I hope the assembly intended not all that long Confession and those Catechisms to be imposed as a test of christian communion, nor to disown all that scrupled every word in it. If they had, I could not have commended it for any such use, though it be useful for the instruction of families" (Sylvester's Life of Baxter, p. 122).

The Reasons Why We Should Love All Men

Thomas Manton, Love One Another (re 1 John 3.11), in The Puritans on Loving One Another, pp. 60-62:

THE REASONS WHY WE SHOULD LOVE ALL MEN

Next, let me give the reasons why we should love all men. The reasons that may induce us are:

1. Equality, the actual equality of all men by nature, who were all made by the same God, and all made of one blood. Diversity of rank does not take away identity of nature. "Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother?" (Malachi 2:10). "If I did despise the cause of my manservant, or of my maidservant, when they contended with me; what then shall I do when God riseth up, and when He visiteth, what shall I answer Him? Did not He that made me in the womb, make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?" (Job 31:13-15). "Our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children" (Nehemiah 5:5). Why is more due to you than them? Consider also the possible equality of all men, as to their condition and state of life. "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves in the body" (Hebrews 13:3). Before we go out of the body there may be strange changes in the world, and God may make us as low as others.

2. We are to imitate God as children do their father (Matthew 5:45). Now God loves all His creatures and hates none. The more we imitate God, the more we know we are children of our Father who is in heaven.

3. God has so cast the world that sometimes we need the help of others as they need ours, that by mutual necessities and a combination of interests the world may be upheld. As in the natural body no member can say to any, "I have no need of thee," so also has God disposed it in the great frame of mankind that we may have a mutual care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25). As He requires from every man a respect for the world of mankind, so He has turned all the respects of the world of mankind upon one man. We would be glad to be loved of all the men in the world if we could bring it to pass; and surely we may the better expect it if we have this love for all the world.

Why should we love strangers? "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for hereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2). By "strangers" he means those who are far from home, in another place and country, where they have few friends, and are not well known, especially when exiled for the gospel. We find this in the instances of Abraham and Lot, who were kind to the angels and had their recompense. Abraham's barren wife had a promise of bearing a son to him. Lot had benefit also, being saved from the flames that destroyed Sodom. Surely such a work of mercy shall not go unrewarded.

Why should we love enemies? Partly because there is more reason to love them than to hate them, because there are some relics of God's image in them. And God has forgiven us greater wrongs. "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32). We commit a sin against God, or else, upon the apprehension of the injury done us by man, we are deeper in danger than our enemy. We daily trespass against God more than they can trespass against us. God forgives talents; we cannot forgive pence. God forgives a hundred thousand; we cannot forgive one hundred (Matthew 18). We look that God should forgive us, and we will not forgive others. In short, though it is more comfortable to love a friend, it is more honorable to love an enemy. "It is the glory of a man to pass by a transgression" (Proverbs 19:11).