5. Maintain a body posture that is reverent, whether it be sitting, standing,
distractions. Others recommended walking or sitting in the midst of nature. Here one must find his own way.
5. Maintain a body posture that is reverent, whether it be sitting, standing, walking, or lying prostrate before the Almighty. While meditating, the body should be the servant of the soul, following its affections. The goal is to center the soul, the mind, and the body upon "the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6).58
Guidelines The Puritans also offered guidelines for the process of meditation. They said to begin by asking the Holy Spirit for assistance. Pray for the power to harness your mind and to focus the eyes of faith on this task. As Calamy wrote, "I would have you pray unto God to enlighten your understandings, to quicken your devotion, to warm your affections, and so to bless that hour unto you, that by the meditation of holy things you may be made more holy, you may have your lusts more mortified, and your graces more increased, you may be the more mortified to the world, and the vanity of it, and lifted up to Heaven, and the things of Heaven."59
Next, the Puritans said to read the Scriptures, then select a verse or doctrine upon which to meditate. Be sure to pick out relatively easy subjects to meditate on at the beginning, they advised. For example, begin with the attributes of God rather than the doctrine of the Trinity. And consider subjects one at a time.
In addition, select subjects that are most applicable to your present circumstances and that will be most beneficial for your soul. For example, if you're spiritually dejected, meditate upon Christ's willingness to receive poor sinners and pardon all who come to
Him. If your conscience troubles you, meditate on God's promises to give grace to the penitent. If you're financially afflicted, meditate on God's wonderful providences to those in need.60
Now, memorize the selected verse(s), or some aspect of the subject, to stimulate meditation, strengthen faith, and serve as a means of divine guidance.
Next, fix your thoughts on the Scripture or a scriptural subject without prying further than what God has revealed. Use your memory to focus on all that Scripture has to say about your subject. Consider past sermons and other edifying books.
Use "the book of conscience, the book of Scripture, and the book of the creature"61 as you consider various aspects of your subject: its names, causes, qualities, fruits, and effects. Like Mary, ponder these things in your heart. Think of illustrations, similitudes, and opposites in your mind to enlighten your understanding and enflame your affections. Then let judgment assess the value of what you are meditating upon.
Here's an example from Calamy. If you would meditate on the subject of sin, "Begin with the description of sin; proceed to the distribution of sin; consider the original and cause of sin, the cursed fruits and effects of sin, the adjuncts and properties of sin in general and of personal sin in particular, the opposite of sin—grace, the metaphors of sin, the titles given to sin, [and] all that the Scripture saith concerning sin."62
Two warnings are in order. First, as Manton wrote, "Do not bridle up the free spirit by the rules of method. That which God calleth for is religion, not logic. When
Christians confine themselves to such rules and prescriptions, they straiten themselves, and thoughts come from them like water out of a still, not like water out of a fountain."63
Second, if your mind wanders, rein it in, offer a short prayer for forgiveness, ask for
strength to stay focused, read a few appropriate Scriptures again, and press on.
Remember, reading Scripture, meditation, and prayer belong together. As one discipline wanes, turn to another. Persevere; don't surrender to Satan by abandoning your task.
Next, stir up affections, such as love, desire, hope, courage, gratitude, zeal, and joy,64 to glorify God.65 Hold soliloquies with your own soul. Include complaints against yourself because of your inabilities and shortcomings, and spread before God your spiritual longings. Believe that He will help you.
Paul Baynes, in discussing meditations as a "private meanes" of grace, compared it first with the power of sight to affect the heart, then with the process of conception and birth: "Now look as after conception, there is a travell to bring forth & a birth in due season: so when the soule by thought hath conceived, presently the affections are tickled and excited, for the affections kindle on a thought, as tinder doth, when a sparke lighteth on it. The affections moved, the will is stirred and inclined."66
Now, following the arousal of your memory, judgment, and affections, apply your meditations to yourself to arouse your soul to duty and comfort, and to restrain your soul from sin.67 As William Fenner wrote, "Dive into thy own soul; anticipate and prevent thy own heart. Haunt thy heart with promises, threatnings, mercies, judgements, and commandments. Let meditation trace thy heart. Hale thy heart before God."68
Examine yourself for your own growth in grace. Reflect on the past and ask, "What have I done?" Look to the future, asking, "What am I resolved to do, by God's grace?"69 Do not ask such questions legalistically but out of holy excitement and opportunity to grow in Spirit-worked grace. Remember, "Legal work is our work; meditation work is sweet work."70
Follow Calamy's advice, "If ever you would get good by the practice of meditation, you must come down to particulars; and you must so meditate of Christ, as to apply Christ to thy soul; and so meditate of Heaven, as to apply Heaven to thy soul."71
Live out your meditation (Josh. 1:8). Let meditation and practice, like two sisters, walk hand in hand. Meditation without practice will only increase your condemnation.72
Next, turn your applications into resolutions. "Let your resolutions be firm and strong, not [mere] wishes, but resolved purposes or Determinations," wrote White. 73
Make your resolutions be commitments to fight against your temptations to sin. Write down your resolutions. Above all, resolve that you will spend your life "as becomes one that hath been meditating of holy and heavenly things." Commend yourself, your family, and everything you own to the hands of God with "sweet resignation."
Conclude with prayer, thanksgiving, and Psalm singing. "Meditation is the best beginning of prayer, and prayer is the best conclusion of meditation," wrote George
Swinnock. Watson said, "Pray over your meditations. Prayer sanctifies every thing; without prayer they are but unhallowed meditations; prayer fastens meditation upon the soul; prayer is a tying a knot at the end of meditation that it doth not slip; pray that God will keep those holy meditations in your mind for ever, that the savour of them may abide upon your hearts."74
Thank the Lord for assistance in meditation, or else Richard Greenham warned, "we shall be buffeted in our next meditation."75
The metrical versions of the Psalms are a great help in meditation. Their metrical form facilitates memorization. As God's Word, they are a proper subject for meditation.
As a "complete anatomy of the soul" (Calvin), they afford abundant material and
guidance for meditation. As prayers (Ps. 72:20) and as thanksgiving (Ps. 118:1), they are both a proper vehicle for meditation and a fitting way to conclude it. Joseph Hall wrote that he found much comfort in closing his meditations by lifting up his "heart and voice to God in singing some verse or two of David's Psalms—one that answers to our disposition and the matter of our meditation. In this way the heart closes up with much sweetness and contentment."76 John Lightfoot added, "Singing God's praise is a work of the most meditation of any we perform in public. It keeps the heart longest upon the thing spoken. Prayer and hearing pass quick from one sentence to another; this sticks long upon it."
Finally, don't shift too quickly from meditation to engagement with things of this world, lest, as Thomas Gouge advised, "thereby thou suddenly quench that spiritual heart which hath in that exercise been kindled in thine heart."77 Remember that one hour spent in such meditation is "worth more than a thousand sermons," Ussher said, "and this is no debasing of the Word, but an honour to it."78
The Subjects of Meditation The Puritans suggested various subjects, objects, and materials for meditation. The number after each entry represents the number of Puritan writers I found who called for meditation on that subject. This list follows the traditional loci of Reformed systematic theology.
Prolegomena the sacred Word of God (3) the defense of Christianity (1) Theology proper the nature and attributes of God (7)
the works and providences of God (7) the glory of God as man's chief end (4) the majesty of God (3) the mercies of God (3) God as Creator (2) Anthropology the sinfulness of sin and our personal sin (9) the corruption and deceitfulness of the heart (5) the fall in Adam and estrangement from God (4) the vanity of man (4) the value and immortality of the soul (3) the frailty of the body (2) the uncertainty of earthly comforts (1) the sin of covetousness (1) the contrast between God and man (1) Christology the passion and death of Christ (8) the love of Christ (5) the person of Christ (4) the mystery and wonder of the Gospel (4) the natures of Christ (2) the offices of Christ (2) the life of Christ (2) the states of Christ (1) Soteriology and the Christian Life the promises of God (7) self-examination for experiential evidences of grace (5) the rich privileges of believers (3) the grace and person of the Holy Spirit (3) the benefits of faith (2) sanctification (2) prayer (2) the commandments of God (2) the admonishments and threatenings of God (2) the danger of apostasy (1) the small number of the saved (1) spiritual dangers (1) love, joy, hope (1) the Sabbath (1) self-denial (1) Ecclesiology the ordinances of God (5)
the Lord's Supper (4) baptism (2) hearing and reading the Word (2) the joys and sorrows of the church (1) Eschatology heaven (10) death (8) judgment (7) hell (7) eternity (5) The Puritans called these subjects the plain, powerful, useful truths of God. Some
Puritans, such as Joseph Hall, offered more detailed lists than others. Hall listed eightyseven subjects upon which to meditate, as well as a paragraph with each on how to do so.
They include: fame and greatness, ignorance, depravity, holy living, gossip, evil companions, God's promises, love of the world, contentment, hypocrisy, happiness, love of the world, companions, heaven and earth, work and pain, riches, heaven and hell, death, affliction, godly warfare, sin, success, growing in grace, pride, hatred of sin, prejudice, covetousness, prayer, love, blasphemy, nobility, prayer, temptation, the use of means, worship, happiness, obedience, repentance, ambition, conceit, the shortness of life, selfexamination, adversity, affliction, faith and philosophy, pleasure, sin, faithful friends, schism and truth, grief and worry, fear, the heathen and the Christian, the light of the eye, the mind and the heart, heartfelt religion, hurting ourselves, the heart and the tongue, the use of time, cares, providence, love, displeasure, friendship, bargain hunting, reproof, envy, worldly pleasures, following good examples, time, enjoyment, good works, fruitfulness, foolishness, doing good, hermitage, a happy life, heavenly correction, heavenly hunger, repentance, spiritual warfare, strength in trials, heavenly-mindedness, humility, death, purpose in life, good from evil, madness, and the practice of meditation itself.79
Clearly, for the Puritans, some topics ought to be focused on more than others.
This led John Owen to say, "If I have observed anything by experience, it is this: a man may take the measure of his growth and decay in grace according to his thoughts and meditations upon the person of Christ, and the glory of Christ's kingdom, and of His love."
For the Puritans, probably the most important theme for meditation was heaven—the place where God is supremely known and worshiped and enjoyed, where
Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and where the saints rejoice as they are transcribed from glory to glory. "Meditation is the life of most other duties: and the views of heaven is the life of Meditation," wrote Baxter.80 Heaven was the supreme subject for meditation for these reasons:
_ Christ is in heaven now and our salvation consists of union through the Holy Spirit with Christ. He is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Christ, the center of heaven, ought to be the center of all our faith, hope, and love.
_ We can only live as Christians in the present evil age if we have the mind of Christ—that is, if we are genuinely heavenly-minded, seeing our earth and this age from the perspective of heaven.
_ Heaven is the goal of our pilgrimage. We are pilgrims on the earth, journeying in faith, hope, and love toward heaven to be with Christ.81
The Puritans taught that meditations on heaven and other subjects take priority on three occasions. First, special meditation is necessary in conjunction with worship, particularly with regard to the sermon. "God requires you to hear Sermons, requires you to meditate on the Sermons you hear," wrote Calamy.82 As James Ussher wrote, "Every sermon is but a preparation for meditation."83
Good sermons not only inform the mind with sound doctrine but also stir up the affections. They turn the will away from sin and toward loving God and one's neighbor.
Meditation enlarges and directs the affections through the reception of the Word of God in the heart from the mind. When people stop meditating on sermons, they stop benefiting from them.
Richard Baxter wrote, "Why so much preaching is lost among us, and professors can run from sermon to sermon, and are never weary of hearing or reading, and yet have such languishing, starved souls, I know no truer or greater cause than their ignorance and
unconscionable neglect of meditation." Some hearers have spiritual anorexia, Baxter said, for "they have neither appetite nor digestion," but others have spiritual bulimia—"they have appetite, but no digestion."84
Conscientious Puritans often took sermon notes to help facilitate meditation. In my own congregation, an elderly Christian woman decided to emulate that practice.
Every Sabbath evening she spent an hour on her knees with notes from the sermons of the day, praying and meditating her way through them. She often said that was the best part of her Sabbath.
Second, to rightly receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, a believer is expected to meditate on the Lord Jesus as the sacrifice for his sin. As Thomas White wrote, "Meditate upon your preparatory, concomitant and subsequent duties: Meditate upon the love of God the Father, upon the love of God the Son, Jesus Christ, consider the excellency of his person, the greatness of his sufferings, and how valid they be to the satisfaction of Gods Justice, and so likewise to consider of the excellency, nature, and use of the Sacrament."85
Calamy listed twelve subjects for meditations during the sacrament: "the great and wonderful love of God the Father in giving Christ; the love of Christ in giving himself; the heinousness of sin; the excellency of this Sacramental feast; your own unworthiness; your spiritual wants and necessities; the cursed condition of an unworthy receiver; the happy condition of those that come worthily; the Sacramental Elements
[bread and wine]; the Sacramental actions [how the minister's actions represent Christ]; the Sacramental Promises; what retribution to make unto Christ for [the gift of His
Supper]."86 Some Puritan divines, such as Edward Reynolds, wrote entire treatises to help
believers during the Lord's Supper.87 John Owen showed how preparation for the Lord's
Supper involved meditation, examination, supplication, and expectation.88 Every believer was expected to share in that preparation.89
Third, every Sabbath was a special season for meditation. It was a time of spiritual nourishment for the God-fearing who stocked up on spiritual goods for the week to come. Hence the Sabbath was fondly called "the market day of the soul."
Finally, Puritans such as Nathanael Ranew, who wrote extensively on meditation, gave various directions to believers, depending on their spiritual maturity. Ranew wrote chapters for "young Christians newly converted," "more grown and elder Christians," and for "old Christians." The older the Christian, the greater the expectation for more profound meditations.90
The Benefits of Meditation The Puritans devoted scores of pages to the benefits, excellencies, usefulness, advantages, or improvements of meditation. Here are some of those benefits:
_ Meditation helps us focus on the Triune God, to love and to enjoy Him in all His persons (1 John 4:8)—intellectually, spiritually, aesthetically.
_ Meditation helps increase knowledge of sacred truth. It "takes the veil from the face of truth" (Prov. 4:2).
_ Meditation is the "nurse of wisdom," for it promotes the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:8).
_ Meditation enlarges our faith by helping us to trust the God of promises in all our spiritual troubles and the God of providence in all our outward troubles.91
_ Meditation augments one's affections. Watson called meditation "the bellows of the affections." He said, "Meditation hatcheth good affections, as the hen her young ones by sitting on them; we light affection at this fire of meditation" (Ps.
39:3).92
_ Meditation fosters repentance and reformation of life (Ps. 119:59; Ez. 36:31).
_ Meditation is a great friend to memory.
_ Meditation helps us view worship as a discipline to be cultivated. It makes us prefer God's house to our own.
_ Meditation transfuses Scripture through the texture of the soul.
_ Meditation is a great aid to prayer (Ps. 5:1). It tunes the instrument of prayer before prayer.
_ Meditation helps us to hear and read the Word with real benefit. It makes the Word "full of life and energy to our souls." William Bates wrote, "Hearing the word is like ingestion, and when we meditate upon the word that is digestion; and this digestion of the word by meditation produceth warm affections, zealous resolutions, and holy actions."93
_ Meditation on the sacraments helps our "graces to be better and stronger." It helps faith, hope, love, humility, and numerous spiritual comforts thrive in the soul.
_ Meditation stresses the heinousness of sin. It "musters up all weapons, and gathers all forces of arguments for to presse our sins, and lay them heavy upon the heart," wrote Fenner.94 Thomas Hooker said, "Meditation sharpens the sting and
strength of corruption, that it pierceth more prevailingly."95 It is a "strong antidote against sin" and "a cure of covetousness."
_ Meditation enables us to "discharge religious duties, because it conveys to the soul the lively sense and feeling of God's goodness; so the soul is encouraged to duty."96
_ Meditation helps prevent vain and sinful thoughts (Jer. 4:14; Matt. 12:35). It helps wean us from this present evil age.
_ Meditation provides inner resources on which to draw (Ps. 77:10-12), including direction for daily life (Prov. 6:21-22).
_ Meditation helps us persevere in faith; it keeps our hearts "savoury and spiritual in the midst of all our outward and worldly employments," wrote William
Bridge.97
_ Meditation is a mighty weapon to ward off Satan and temptation (Ps. 119:11,15;
1 John 2:14).
_ Meditation provides relief in afflictions (Is. 49:15-17; Heb. 12:5).
_ Meditation helps us benefit others with our spiritual fellowship and counsel (Ps.
66:16; 77:12; 145:7).
_ Meditation promotes gratitude for all the blessings showered upon us by God through His Son.
_ Meditation glorifies God (Ps. 49:3).98
In short, as Thomas Brooks wrote, "meditation is the food of your souls, it is the very stomach and natural heat whereby spiritual truths are digested. A man shall as soon live without his heart, as he shall be able to get good by what he reads, without
meditation…. It is not he that reads most; but he that meditates most, that will prove the choicest, sweetest, wisest, and strongest Christian."99
The Obstacles of Meditation Puritan leaders frequently warned people about hindrances to meditation. Here is a summary of their responses to such obstacles:
Obstacle #1: Unfitness or ignorance. Such say they "cannot confine their thoughts to an object." Their "thoughts are light and feathery, tossed to and fro."
Answer: Disability, ignorance, and wandering thoughts offer no exemption from duty. Your "loss of ability" does not imply God's "loss of right." Truth be told, you are probably unfit because you have neglected meditation and have not loved the truth.
"Sinful indispositions do not disannul our engagements to God, as a servant's drunkenness doth not excuse him from work," Manton wrote.100 Remedy your problem by getting "a good stock of sanctified knowledge" and by "constant exercise" of that knowledge, leaning all the while on the Holy Spirit for assistance. You will find meditation becoming easier and sweeter in due course.
Obstacle #2: Busyness. Such say "they are so harassed by the employments of this world, that they cannot spend time in this duty solemnly, and seriously."
Answer: True religion is not performed merely in leisure time. Great busyness should move us to more meditation, as we then have more needs to bring before God and to meditate upon.
Obstacle #3: Spiritual lethargy. Such admit that though they may have good intentions, their soul is prone to divert itself from meditation.
Answer: Matthew 11:12 says heaven is the reward of "the violent [who] take it by force." Why are you lazy in spiritual pursuits that can reap eternal rewards when you are not lazy in pursuing secular work in this world, which produces only temporary rewards?
Spiritual "drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags" (Prov. 23:21b). As Manton said, "It is better to take pains than to suffer pains, and to be bound with the cords of duty than with the chains of darkness."101
Obstacle #4: Worldly pleasures and friendships. Such say they don't want to be righteous overmuch and hence do not wish to abandon vain entertainment and friends.
Answer: "The pleasures of the world discompose our souls, and unfit our bodies for the duties of meditation…. Remember this, the sweetness of religion is incomparably more than all the pleasures of sense," wrote Bates.102
Obstacle #5: Adverseness of heart. Such say they don't like to be yoked to such a difficult task. Burdened with guilt, they fear being alone with God.
Answer: "Get your conscience cleansed by the hearty application of the blood of Christ," Manton advised, then yoke yourself to the means of grace, including meditation
(Ps. 19:14).103
The consequences of omitting meditation are serious, Calamy warned. It leads to hardness of heart. Why do the promises and threatenings of God make so little impression on us? It's because we fail to meditate upon them. Why are we so ungrateful to God for His blessings? Why do His providences and afflictions fail to produce godly fruit in our lives? Why do we fail to benefit from the Word and sacraments, why are we
so judgmental of others, why do we so feebly prepare for eternity? Isn't it largely due to our lack of meditation?104
We must discipline ourselves to meditate. Most Puritan pastors said that. Yet comparatively few people, even in Puritan times, saw this as their duty. "Many are troubled," wrote Baxter, "if they omit a sermon, a fast, a prayer in public or private, yet were never troubled that they have omitted meditation, perhaps all their life-time to this very day."105
Conclusion: Meditation as Self-Examination Puritan meditation was more than a particular means of grace; it was a comprehensive method for Puritan devotion—a biblical, doctrinal, experiential, and practical art. Its theology was Pauline, Augustinian, and Calvinistic. Its subject matter was drawn from the book of Scripture, the book of creation, and the book of conscience. As William
Bridge said, "Meditation is the vehement or intense application of the soul unto some thing, whereby a man's mind doth ponder, dwell and fix upon it, for his own profit and benefit," which, in turn, leads to God's glory.106
Typically, Puritans concluded their treatises on meditation by calling readers to self-examination, which consists of:
(1) Trial • Are your meditations motivated by the exercise of "a lively faith"? Real meditation is inseparable from the exercise of faith. Do you ever meditate as Samuel
Ward describes: "Stirre up thy soul in [meditation] to converse with Christ. Looke what
promises and priviledges thou dost habitually believe, now actually thinke of them, roll them under thy tongue, chew on them till thou feel some sweetnesse in the palate of thy soule. View them joyntly, severally: sometimes muse on one, sometimes of another more deeply. This is that which the Spouse calls walking into the Gardens and eating of the Fruites, which in plaine terms, I call using of Faith, and living by Faith."107
• "Are these spiritual thoughts in thy heart, productive of holiness in thy life?"
Remember, "To be weary of the thoughts of God is to degenerate into devils" (James
2:19).108
(2) Reproof or exhortation • To the unbeliever: When God made you a rational creature, did He intend that you should use your thoughts for selfish and sinful purposes? Why isn't God in all your thoughts? "Hast thou not a God and a Christ to think of? And is not salvation by him, and everlasting glory, worthy of your choicest thoughts? You have thoughts enough and to spare for other things—for base things, for very toys—and why not for God and the word of God?" Manton asked.109
• To the believer: Neglecting meditation should "strike us with fear and sorrow."
How degrading it is to God when we turn our meditation from Him to sinful objects! If the farmer meditates upon his land, the physician upon his patients, the lawyer upon his cases, the storeowner upon his wares, shouldn't Christians meditate upon their God and Savior?110
The Puritans would say to us: "If you continue to neglect meditation, it will dampen or destroy your love for God. It will make it unpleasant to think about God. It
will leave you open to sin so that you view sin as a pleasure. It will leave you vulnerable and fragile before trials and temptations of every kind. In short, it will lead to a falling away from God."111
"No holy duties will come to us," Ranew wrote, "we must come to them."112 Let us heed Watson's exhortation, "If you have formerly neglected it, bewail your neglect, and now begin to make conscience of it: lock up yourselves with God (at least once a day) by holy meditation. Ascend this hill, and when you are gotten to the top of it, you shall see a fair prospect, Christ and heaven before you. Let me put you in mind of that saying of Bernard, 'O saint, knowest thou not that thy husband Christ is bashful, and will not be familiar in company, retire thyself by meditation into the closet, or the field, and there thou shalt have Christ's embraces."113
1 Introduction to "Divine Meditations and Holy Contemplations," in The Works of Richard Sibbes (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2001), 184.
2 Heidelberg Catechism, Questions 32, 45, 49, 64.
3 Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978), 14-15.
4 See bibliography attached.
5 Few studies have been done on Puritan meditation. Louis Martz, who established the intimate connection between meditation and poetry, wrote a critical chapter on Richard Baxter's view of meditation (The Poetry of Meditation [New
Haven: Yale, 1954]). U. Milo Kaufmann showed the importance of Puritan meditation in shaping Bunyan's Pilgrim
Progress (The Pilgrim's Progress and Traditions in Puritan Meditation [New Haven: Yale, 1966]). Barbara Lewalski sharpened the focus on the contributions of a distinctively Protestant form of meditation (Donne's "Anniversaries" and the Poetry of Praise, the Creation of a Symbolic Mode [Princeton: University Press, 1973] and Protestant Poetics and the Seventeenth-Century Religious Lyric [Princeton: University Press, 1979]). Norman Grabo effectively challenged
Martz's thesis that Calvinistic thinking prevented Protestantism from developing the art of meditation until the midseventeenth century ("The Art of Puritan Devotion," Seventeenth-Century News 26, 1 [1968]:8). Frank Livingstone
Huntley too neatly categorized Protestant meditation as philosophically Platonic, psychologically Augustinian, and theologically Pauline and Calvinistic in contrast to Roman Catholic meditation as Aristotelian and Thomistic (Bishop
Joseph Hall and Protestant Meditation in Seventeenth-Century England: A Study With the texts of The Art of Divine
Meditations [1606] and Occasional Meditations [1633] [Binghamton, N.Y.: Center for Medieval & Early Renaissance
Studies, 1981]). Simon Chan provided a fresh historical appraisal of Puritan meditation, covering a larger body of texts than those previously examined and moving beyond a literary view ("The Puritan Meditative Tradition, 1599-1691: A Study of Ascetical Piety" [Ph.D. dissertation, Cambridge University, 1986]). He argued that Puritan meditation progressively moved in a more methodical direction in the second half of the seventeenth century. A book examining the theological and practical assessment of Puritan meditation has yet to be written.
6 William Wilson, OT Word Studies (McLean, Va.: MacDonald Publishing Co., n.d.), 271.
7 Cf. Psalm 4:4; 77:10-12; 104:34; 119:16,48, 59, 78,97-99.
8 Heaven Taken by Storm (Morgan, Penn.: Soli Deo Gloria, 2000), 23. For similar definitions by other Puritans, see
Richard Greenham, "Grave Covnsels and Godly Observations," in The Works of the Reverend and Faithfvll Servant of Iesvs Christ M. Richard Greenham, ed. H. H. (London: Felix Kingston for Robert Dexter, 1599), 37; Thomas Hooker,
The Application of Redemption: The Ninth and Tenth Books (London: Peter Cole, 1657), 210; Thomas White, A
Method and Instructions for the Art of Divine Meditation with Instances of the several Kindes of Solemn Meditation
(London: for Tho. Parkhurst, 1672), 13.
9 The Art of Divine Meditation (London: for Tho. Parkhurst, 1634), 26-28.
10 Cf. Westminster Larger Catechism, Q. 154.
11 Calamy, The Art of Divine Meditation, 6-10.
12 The Works of Thomas Manton (London: James Nisbet & Co., 1874), 17:267-68.
13 Huntley, Hall and Protestant Meditation, 73.
14 The Art of Divine Meditation, 14-15.
15 The Works of Thomas Manton, 17:267. Cf., "A gracious heart, like fire, turns all objects into fuel for meditation"
(The Sermons of Thomas Watson [Ligonier, Penn.: Soli Deo Gloria, 1990], 247).
16 William Spurstowe, The Spiritual Chymist: or, Six Decads Of Divine Meditations (London: n.p., 1666);
ThomasTaylor, Meditations from the Creatures (London, 1629); Edward Bury, The Husbandmans Companion:
Containing One Hundred Occasional Meditations , Reflections, and Ejaculations, Especially Suited to Men of that Employment. Directing them how they may be Heavenly-minded while about their Ordinary Calling (London: for Tho.
Parkhurst, 1677); Henry Lukin, An Introduction to the Holy Scriptures (London, 1669).
17 Huntley, Hall and Protestant Meditation, 74.
18 (New Haven: Yale, 1966), 126. Kaufmann quotes Thomas Hooker's strong rejection of imagination, "To preserve our minds from windy and vain imaginations, is to have our understandings fully taken up with the blessed Truths of God as our dayly and appointed food" (The Application of Redemption: The Ninth and Tenth Books, 232).
19 Cited in Kaufmann, 144-45.
20 Ibid., 150-251.
21 Peter Toon, Meditating as a Christian (London: Collins, 1991), 175-78; The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, trans.
Anthony Mottola (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1964).
22 Huntley, Hall and Protestant Meditation, 44-54.
23 Cf. Peter Toon, From Mind to Heart: Christian Meditation Today (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), 99-100.
24 The Art of Divine Meditation, 22-23; Works of Greenham, 38.
25 White, A Method and Instructions for the Art of Divine Meditation with Instances of the several Kindes of Solemn
Meditation (London: for Tho. Parkhurst, 1672), 17-20.
26 The Works of Thomas Manton, 17:268.
27 Christian Directions, shewing How to walk with God All the Day long (London: R. Ibbitson and M. Wright, 1661),
65.
28 The Saints' Everlasting Rest (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 1998), 553. Cf. White, A Method and Instructions for the Art of Divine Meditation, 14.
29 Henry Scudder, The Christian Man's Calling (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, n.d.), 103-104. Cf.
The Works of William Bates (Harrisonburg, Va.: Sprinkle, 1990), 3:113-65.
30 Gleanings from Thomas Watson (Morgan, Penn.: Soli Deo Gloria, 1995), 106.
31 Sermons of Thomas Watson, 238.
32 The Works of Thomas Manton, 17:270.
33 Sermons of Thomas Watson, 238.
34 The Christian's Daily Walk, 108.
35 The Saints ' Everlasting Rest, 549.
36 Sermons of Thomas Watson, 239.
37 The Works of Thomas Manton, 17:272.
38 Ibid., 271.
39 Sermons of Thomas Watson, 240.
40 A Method for Meditation: or, A Manuall of Divine Duties, fit for every Christians Practice (London: for Joseph
Nevill, 1656), 21.
41 The Art of Divine Meditation, 96-101.
42 The Works of William Bates (Harrisonburg, Va.: Sprinkle, 1990), 3:124-25.
43 The Saints' Everlasting Rest, 555.
44 The Works of William Bates, 126-27. Thomas Watson makes the strongest case for morning meditations (Sermons of Thomas Watson, 250-54).
45 See "Of the Sanctification of the Lord's Day," Directory for the Publique Worship of God.
46 Christian Directions, shewing How to walk with God All the Day long (London: R. Ibbitson and M. Wright, 1661),
66-67.
47 The Saints' Everlasting Rest, 560.
48 Ibid., 561-63.
49 William Fenner, The Use and Benefit of Divine Meditation (London: for John Stafford, 1657), 10.
50 The Works of Thomas Manton, 17:298.
51 The Works of William Bates, 3:125.
52 The Works of Thomas Manton, 17:299.
53 Ussher, A Method for Meditation: or, A Manuall of Divine Duties, fit for every Christians Practice (London: for Joseph Nevill, 1656), 30-31; White, A Method and Instructions for the Art of Divine Meditation, 29.
54 Calamy, The Art of Divine Meditation, 173.
55 Heidelberg Catechism, Q. 58.
56 A Method for Meditation, 32-33.
57 Bishop Joseph Hall and Protestant Meditation, 80-81.
58 The Works of William Bates, 136-39; Baxter, The Saints' Everlasting Rest, 567-70.
59 Calamy, The Art of Divine Meditation, 172.
60 Ibid., 164-68.
61 The Works of George Swinnock (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1998), 2:417.
62 Calamy, The Art of Divine Meditation, 178-84. Cf. Gouge, Christian Directions, shewing How to walk with God All the Day long, 70-73.
63 The Works of Thomas Manton, 17:281.
64 Baxter, The Saints' Everlasting Rest, 579-90.
65 Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections (London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1959), 24.
66 A Help to True Happinesse (London, 1635).
67 The Works of William Bates, 3:145.
68 The Use and Benefit of Divine Meditation, 16-23.
69 Ussher, A Method for Meditation, 39.
70 The Works of William Bridge (Beaver Falls, Penn.: Soli Deo Gloria, 1989), 3:153.
71 Calamy, The Art of Divine Meditation, 108.
72 The Sermons of Thomas Watson, 269, 271.
73 A Method and Instructions for the Art of Divine Meditation, 53.
74 Ibid, 269.
75 The Works of the Reverend and Faithfvll Servant of Iesvs Christ M. Richard Greenham, 41.
76 The Art of Meditation (Jenkintown, Penn.: Sovereign Grace Publishers, 1972), 26-27.
77 Christian Directions, shewing How to walk with God All the Day long, 70.
78 A Method for Meditation, 43.
79 The Art of Meditation, 37-60. Due to its detail, I have not included Hall's list in my listing above.
80 The Saints' Everlasting Rest, 702.
81 Toon, From Mind to Heart, 95-96. For how to meditate on heaven, see White, A Method and Instructions for the Art of Divine Meditation, 281-94; Baxter, The Saints' Everlasting Rest, 620-52; The Select Works of Thomas Case, 1-232
(second book).
82 The Art of Divine Meditation, 4.
83 A Method for Meditation, 49.
84 The Saints' Everlasting Rest, 549-50.
85 A Method and Instructions for the Art of Divine Meditation, 88.
86 The Art of Divine Meditation, 88-96. Cf. The Works of Thomas Manton, 17:288-97.
87 "Meditation on the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Last Supper," in The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Edward
Reynolds (Morgan, Penn.: Soli Deo Gloria, 1999), 3:1-172.
88 The Works of John Owen, 9:558-63.
89 Cf. Westminster Larger Catechism, Questions 171, 174, 175.
90 Solitude Improved by Divine Meditation (Morgan, Penn.: Soli Deo Gloria, 1995), 280-321.
91 Calamy, The Art of Divine Meditation, 40-42.
92 The Sermons of Thomas Watson, 256.
93 The Whole Works of the Rev. W. Bates, 3:131.
94 The Use and Benefit of Divine Meditation, 3.
95 The Application of Redemption, 217.
96 The Whole Works of the Rev. W. Bates, 3:135.
97 The Works of the Rev. William Bridge, 3:133.
98 Cf. The Whole Works of the Rev. Oliver Heywood, 2:276-81.
99 The Works of the Rev. Thomas Brooks, 1:8,291.
100 The Works of Thomas Manton, 6:145.
101 Ibid., 17:283.
102 The Whole Works of the Rev. W. Bates, 3:122-23.
103 The Works of Thomas Manton, 17:285. Cf. Hooker, The Application of Redemption, 230-40.
104 Calamy, The Art of Divine Meditation, 28-40.
105 The Saints' Everlasting Rest, 549.
106 The Works of William Bridge, 3:125
107 A Collection of Sermons and Treatises (London, 1636), 69-70.
108 The Works of Thomas Manton, 7:480.
109 Ibid., 6:145.
110 Calamy, The Art of Divine Meditation, 58-75.
111 Edmond Smith, A Tree by a Stream: Unlock the Secrets of Active Meditation (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus,
1995), 36.
112 Solitude Improved by Divine Meditation, 33.
113 The Sermons of Thomas Watson, 241-43.