Justin Taylor's Blog, page 104

A Summary of Henry Scougal’s “The Life of God in the Soul of Man”

The short classic The Life of God in the Soul of Man originated as a private letter of spiritual counsel to a friend, but Scougal allowed it to be published in 1677, a year before his death. Sixty-eight years later, in the spring of 1735, Charles Wesley (1707-1788), whose mother Susanna had commended it to her sons, gave a copy of this little book to his friend George Whitefield (1714-1770). Upon reading it, Whitefield was convinced: “I must be born again, or be damned.” Whitefield testified that he “never knew what true religion was” until he read this book.

Who Was Henry Scougal?

Henry Scougal (1650-1678) was a Scottish minister, theologian, and author. Upon his graduation in 1665 from King’s College, University of Aberdeen, the 19-year-old was appointed professor of philosophy at the school. In 1673, after a one-year pastoral stint, he became professor of divinity at King’s, where he served until he died of tuberculosis five years later, just shy of his 28th birthday.

What Scougal Means by “True Religion”

By “true religion” Scougal means something like authentic spirituality or genuine Christianity. He is at pains to defend the term from common misconceptions among Christians. “I cannot speak of religion,” he writes, “but I must lament that, among so many pretenders to it, so few understand what it means.”

3 Places Where Religion Does Not Reside

Scougal identifies three places where religion is incorrectly located.

(1) Theological correctness. Some place religion “in the understanding, in orthodox notions and opinions; and all the account they can give of their religion is, that they are of this or the other persuasion, and have joined themselves to one of those many sects whereinto Christendom is most unhappily divided.”

(2) Moralistic reductionism. “Others place it in the outward man, in a constant course of external duties, and a model of performances: if they live peacably with their neighbors, keep a temperate diet, observe the returns of worship, frequenting the church and their closet, and sometimes extend their hands to the relief of the poor, they think they have sufficiently acquitted themselves.”

(3) Affectional emotionalism. “Others again put all religion in the affections, in rapturous heats and ecstatic devotion; and all they aim at, is, to pray with passion, and think of heaven with pleasure, and to be affected with those kind and melting expressions wherewith they court their Saviour, till they persuade themselves that they are mightily in love with him; and from thence assume a great confidence of their salvation, which they esteem the chief of Christian graces.

Where True Religion Does Reside

Scougal’s point is that none of these are sufficient by itself, and that to isolate one as the essence of true religion inherently distorts both the virtue and the reality of the whole. Those who are acquainted with true religion “will entertain far different thoughts, and disdain all those shadows and false imitations of it. They know by experience, that true religion is an union of the soul with God, a real participation of the divine nature, the very image of God drawn upon the soul; or, in the Apostle’s phrase, it is ‘Christ formed within us.’ . . . Briefly, I know not how the nature of religion can be more fully expressed, than by calling it a divine life.” True religion is “a union of the soul with God, a real participation of the Divine nature, the very image of God drawn upon the soul, or in the apostle’s phrase, ‘it is Christ formed within us.’”

Scougal calls it a life (or vital principle) because of its permanency and stability, its freedom and unconstrainedness. He calls it a divine life because it stands in a universal and unbounded affection, in mastery over our natural inclinations. This means that sound doctrine and moral action and affectional engagement are necessary but not sufficient; they are the “particular exercises” of piety, but they the root or source of it. They are outflows of the divine life in the human soul.

4 Forms of the Divine Life in the Life of the Believer

This divine life, Scougal argues, is “an inward, free and self-moving principle . . . a new nature instructing and prompting.” This animating principle takes the following four forms in the life of a believer.

(1) Faith is the root of the divine life. It is “a kind of sense, or feeling persuasion of spiritual things; it extends itself unto all divine truths; but in our lapsed estate, it hath a peculiar relation to the declarations of God’s mercy and reconcilableness to sinners through a mediator. . . .”If faith is the root, then love to God and charity to man, along with purity and humility, are the branches.

(2) Love is “a delightful and affectionate sense of the divine perfections, which makes the soul resign and sacrifice itself wholly unto him, desiring above all things to please him, and delighting in nothing so much as in fellowship and communion with him, and being ready to do or suffer anything for his sake, or at his pleasure. . . . A soul thus possessed with divine love must needs be enlarged towards all mankind . . . this is . . . charity . . . under which all parts of justice, all the duties we owe to our neighbour, are eminently comprehended; for he who doth truly love all the world . . . so far from wronging or injuring any person . . . will resent any evil that befalls others, as if it happened to himself.”

(3) Purity is “a temper and disposition of mind as makes a man despise and abstain from all pleasures and delights of sense or fancy which are sinful in themselves, or tend to . . . lessen our relish of more divine and intellectual pleasures, which doth also infer a resoluteness to undergo all those hardships he may meet with in the performance of his duty: so that not only chastity and temperance, but also Christian courage and magnanimity may come under this head.”

(4) Humility is”a deep sense of our own meanness, with a hearty and affectionate acknowledgment of our owing all that we are to the divine bounty; which is always accompanied with a profound submission to the will of God, and great deadness to the glory of the world, and the applause of men.” Scougal argues that religion is better understand by actions than by words, “because actions are more lively things, and do better represent the inward principle whence they proceed.” Scougal points to the divine life of our Savior as exemplifying divine love, express in his diligence to do his Father’s will, his patience in bearing affliction, his constant devotion, his charity to men, his purity, and his humility.

The Excellence and Advantage of True Religion

In Part 2, Scougal considers the excellence and advantage of religion. The worth and excellency of a soul is measured by the object of its love, and the way to grow in holiness is to behold divine excellence. This alone can bring us true happiness. It is impossible for God to deny his love to a soul wholly devoted to him. Horizontally, nothing can be more satisfying than a heart enlarged to embrace the whole world. Impure delights are unsatisfying. Finally, contrary to the world’s expectations, there is a sweetness in being lowly and self-abased through humble service.

Experiential Objections

Having defined the root and the branches of this divine life, along with the advantages of its excellency, Scougal takes a pastoral turn in Part 3, addressing the situation of one who might agree with this understanding and its desirableness, but concludes in sadness that it is impossible to achieve since it requires a new nature instead of just attainable outward observances. Scougal counsels his reader to put aside such unreasonable and discouraging fears, encouraging him to be strong in the Lord, doing what he can and depending on divine assistance. Scougal offers numerous suggestions, both positively and negatively, to cultivate and practice these virtues and qualities. In particular, he encourages the shunning of sin and the use of the means of grace (especially prayer and the sacraments) in following Christ.

An Imperfect Classic

Scougal’s classic deserves all of its praise. It is a book whose profundity far outmatches its length. But as with all books, it must be read critically. J. I. Packer, who lauds and recommends the book highly, expresses one lament about the book, which is worth citing in closing:

One could wish, however, that his exposition had been more explicitly and emphatically Christ-centred. Like so many seventeenth-century writers, he lets himself assume that his readers know all about Jesus and need only to be told about real religion, the life of faith and faith-full turning Godward as opposed to the orthodoxism, formalism, emotionalism and legalism that masquerade as Christianity while being in truth a denial of it. Had Scougal elaborated on the Christian’s union with Christ, which the New Testament sees as regeneration by the Holy Spirit; had he explained incorporation into the Saviour’s risen life, whereby Jesus’s motivating passion to know and love and serve and please and honour and glorify the Father is implanted in sinners so that it is henceforth their own deepest desire too; had he thus shown, in black and white, that imitating Jesus’s aims and attitudes in serving God and mankind is for the born-again the most natural, indeed the only natural, way of living, while for the unregenerate it is hard to the point of impossible; his little treatise would have been immeasurably stronger. As it is, Scougal’s profile of divine life in human souls is much more complete than his answer to the question, how do I get into it?—or, how does it get into me? This is a limitation.

50 Strategies for Better Preaching

Roy Peter Clark’s book, Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, is an outstanding compendium of writing advice. If you preach the Word, a book like this will not give you compelling sermons of sound doctrine, but it will help to make good sermons better.

I. Nuts and Bolts

1. Begin sentences with subjects and verbs.

Make meaning early, then let weaker elements branch to the right.

2. Order words for emphasis.

Place strong words at the beginning and at the end.

3. Activate your verbs.

Strong verbs create action, save words, and reveal the players.

4. Be passive-aggressive.

Use passive verbs to showcase the “victim” of action.

5. Watch those adverbs. 

Use them to change the meaning of the verb.

6. Take it easy on the -ings.

Prefer the simple present or past.

7. Fear not the long sentence.

Take the reader on a journey of language and meaning.

8. Establish a pattern, then give it a twist.

Build parallel constructions, but cut across the grain.

9. Let punctuation control pace and space.

Learn the rules, but realize you have more options than you think.

10. Cut big, then small.

Prune the big limbs, then shake out the dead leaves.

II. Special Effects

11. Prefer the simple over the technical.

Use shorter words, sentences, and paragraphs at points of complexity.

12. Give key words their space.

Do not repeat a distinctive word unless you intend a specific effect.

13. Play with words, even in serious stories.

Choose words the average writer avoids but the average reader understands.

14. Get the name of the dog.

Dig for the concrete and specific, details that appeal to the senses.

15. Pay attention to names.

Interesting names attract the writer—and the reader.

16. Seek original images.

Reject cliches and first-level creativity.

17. Riff on the creative language of others.

Make word lists, free-associate, be surprised by language.

18. Set the pace with sentence length.

Vary sentences to influence the reader’s speed.

19. Vary the lengths of paragraphs.

Go short or long — or make a “turn”- to match your intent.

20. Choose the number of elements with a purpose in mind.

One, two, three, or four: Each sends a secret message to the reader.

21. Know when to back off and when to show off.

When the topic is most serious, understate; when least serious, exaggerate.

22. Climb up and down the ladder of abstraction.

Learn when to show, when to tell, and when to do both.

23. Tune your voice.

Read drafts aloud.

III. Blueprints

24. Work from a plan.

Index the big parts of your work.

25. Learn the difference between reports and stories.

Use one to render information, the other to render experience.

26. Use dialogue as a form of action.

Dialogue advances narrative; quotes delay it.

27. Reveal traits of character.

Show characteristics through scenes, details, and dialogue.

28. Put odd and interesting things next to each other.

Help the reader learn from contrast.

29. Foreshadow dramatic events or powerful conclusions.

Plant important clues early.

30. To generate suspense, use internal cliffhangers.

To propel readers, make them wait.

31. Build your work around a key question.

Good stories need an engine, a question the action answers for the reader.

32. Place gold coins along the path.

Reward the reader with high points, especially in the middle.

33. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Purposeful repetition links the parts.

34. Write from different cinematic angles.

Turn your notebook into a “camera.”

35. Report and write for scenes.

Then align them in a meaningful sequence.

36. Mix narrative modes.

Combine story forms using the “broken line.”

37. In short pieces of writing, don’t waste a syllable.

Shape shorter works with wit and polish.

38. Prefer archetypes to stereotypes.

Use subtle symbols, not crashing cymbals.

39. Write toward an ending.

Help readers close the circle of meaning.

IV. Useful Habits

40. Draft a mission statement for your work.

To sharpen your learning, write about your writing.

41. Turn procrastination into rehearsal.

Plan and write it first in your head.

42. Do your homework well in advance.

Prepare for the expected — and unexpected.

43. Read for both form and content.

Examine the machinery beneath the text.

44. Save string.

For big projects, save scraps others would toss.

45. Break long projects into parts.

Then assemble the pieces into something whole.

46. Take interest in all crafts that support your work.

To do your best, help others do their best.

47. Recruit your own support group.

Create a corps of helpers for feedback.

48. Limit self-criticism in early drafts.

Turn it loose during revision.

49. Learn from your critics.

Tolerate even unreasonable criticism.

50. Own the tools of your craft.

Build a writing workbench to store your tools.

The Life and Ministry of David Brainerd: A Brief Chronology

From Douglas A. Sweeney of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he serves as chair of the church history and history of Christian thought department, professor of church history and the history of Christian thought, and director of the Jonathan Edwards Center. (Posted with permission.)

April 20, 1718 = born in Haddam, CT, to Hezekiah and Dorothy Hobart Mason Brainerd (the widow of Daniel Mason)

1727 = Hezekiah Brainerd dies

1732 = Dorothy Brainerd dies

July 12, 1739 = David Brainerd’s conversion experience

September 1739-early 1742  = studies at Yale College

early 1742 = expelled from Yale for insulting Tutor Chauncey Whittlesey (“He has no more grace than this chair”) and refusing to confess this sin in public

April 1742 = moves to Ripton, CT, where he studies for the ministry with the Rev. Jedediah Mills

July 29, 1742 = licensed to preach by the Congregational Association of the Eastern District of Fairfield County, CT

November 1742 = appointed a missionary by the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge

March 31, 1743 = visits Stockbridge to begin training for missions work (primarily to learn Mahican) with John Sergeant

April 1, 1743 = begins his ministry to the Indians at Kaunaumeek (in upstate New York)

May 1744 = entrusts John Sergeant in Stockbridge with his Kaunaumeek congregation and begins evangelizing the Delaware Indians near the Forks of the Delaware River (primarily in east central Pennsylvania)

June 12, 1744 = ordained by the Presbytery of New York

June 1745 = begins his ministry to the Indians of Crossweeksung in New Jersey

March 1746 = begins moving his Crossweeksung congregation to Cranberry, NJ

1746 = Brainerd publishes Mirabilia Dei inter Indicos; or, the Rise and Progress of a Remarkable Work of Grace Amongst a Number of the Indians in the Province of New Jersey, the first installment of his Journal

Nov. 1746-March 1747 = winters with Jonathan Dickinson before leaving for New England (in 1746, the College of New Jersey had been founded in Dickinson’s home in Elizabethtown, NJ-Dickinson served as its founding president until his death the following year-Brainerd is sometimes referred to as Princeton’s first student!)

March 1747 = one last visit with his congregation in Cranberry (before his brother John Brainerd would succeed him there)

by the end of DB’s ministry there, there were 85 communicant members of the Indian congregation, 43 adults and 42 children

April 1747 = leaves for New England

May 28, 1747 = arrives in Northampton

June 9-July 20, 1747 = trip to Boston with Jerusha Edwards

Oct. 9, 1747 = Brainerd dies of tuberculosis at the age of 29

1748 = posthumous publication of Divine Grace Displayed; or, The Continuance and Progress of a Remarkable Work of Grace . . ., the second installment of Brainerd’s Journal

1749 = JE publishes An Account of the Life of the Late Reverend Mr. David Brainerd

An Interview with Greg Forster: How Christianity Lost Its Cultural Influence and Can Begin Rebuilding It

I recently had the privilege of sitting down with Greg Forster, an articulate and fascinating thinker, to talk about his new book, Joy for the World: How Christianity Lost Its Cultural Influence and Can Begin Rebuilding It, in the Cultural Renewal series, edited by Tim Keller and Collin Hansen. (You can read Keller’s foreword here.)

00:10 – How did Christianity lose its cultural influence?

00:49 – What are the two ways that Christianity has related to culture in history?

11:21 – Why did you title the book Joy for the World? Why is joy central to our witness?

14:54 – What can pastors do to help their people joyfully influence culture?

You can read a sample from the book or find out more information about it.

John Wesley: If You Want to Be a Better Preacher Become a Better Reader

John Wesley writing to John Trembath (August 17, 1760), a young minister who was a poor preacher, arguing that better reading is not a sufficient condition for better preaching, but it is a necessary one.

What has exceedingly hurt you in time past, nay, and I fear, to this day, is lack of reading.

I scarce ever knew a preacher who read so little.

And perhaps, by neglecting it, you have lost the taste for it.

Hence your talent in preaching does not increase.  It is just the same as it was seven years ago.  It is lively, but not deep; there is little variety; there is no compass of thought.

Reading only can supply this, with meditation and daily prayer.

You wrong yourself greatly by omitting this.

You can never be a deep preacher without it, any more than a thorough Christian.

Oh begin!  Fix some part of every day for private exercise.  You may acquire the taste which you have not; what is tedious at first will afterward be pleasant.

Whether you like it or not, read and pray daily.

It is for your life; there is no other way; else you will be a trifler all your days, and a pretty, superficial preacher.

Do justice to your own soul; give it time and means to grow.

Do not starve yourself any longer.

Take up your cross and be a Christian altogether.

Then will all the children of God rejoice (not grieve) over you, and in particular yours.

—”Letter to a Friend,” The Works of the Rev. John Wesley (London, 1813), 49.

An Overview of the Religious Affections: 12 No-Signs and 12 True Signs

Jonathan Edwards’s The Religious Affections is considered one of the great classics of evangelical literature. (You can access the entire critical edition from Yale University Press online for free.)

Edwards’s is that ”True religion, in great part, consists in holy affections” (95).

Edwards believed the soul has two faculties: (1) the understanding (by which the soul perceives, speculates, discerns, views, judges things); and (2) the inclination or will (by which the soul is inclined or disinclined, pleased or displeased, approves or rejects).

The affections have to do with the second faculty. Affections, according to Edwards, are “the more vigorous and sensible exercises of the inclination and will of the soul” (96).

Edwards seeks to show that the Bible makes true affections an essential part of godliness: “They would deny that much of true religion lies in the affections, and maintain the contrary, must throw away what we have been wont to own for our Bible, and get some other rule, by which to judge of the nature of religion” (106).

But not all affections are created equal. Some are to be rejected and put to death while others are to be approved and cultivated: “The right way, is not to reject all affections, nor to approve all; but to distinguish between affections, approving some, and rejecting others; separating between the wheat and the chaff, the gold and the dross, the previous and the vile” (121). His book is an attempt to help us do precisely that.

In the second part of the book, Edwards works through twelve “signs” that are uncertain. In other words, he explains twelve things that may look like indicators of truly gracious affections, but which do not prove things one way or the other:

No Sign 1. The religious affections are very great, or raised very high. (127-31)

No Sign 2. They have great effects on the body. (131-35)

No Sign 3. They cause those who have them, to be fluent, fervent and abundant, in talking of the things of religion. (135-37)

No Sign 4. Persons did make ‘em themselves, or excite ‘em of their own contrivance, and by their own strength. (138-42)

No Sign 5. They come with texts of Scripture, remarkably brought to the mind. (142-45)

No Sign 6. There is an appearance of love in them. (146-47)

No Sign 7. Persons having religious affections of many kinds, accompanying one another, is not sufficient to determine whether they have any gracious affections or no. (147-51)

No Sign 8. Comforts and joys seem to follow awakenings and convictions of conscience, in a certain order. (151-63)

No Sign 9. They dispose persons to spend much time in religion, and to be zealously engaged in the external duties of worship. (163-65)

No Sign 10. They much dispose persons with their mouths to praise and glorify God. (165-67)

No Sign 11. They make persons that have them, exceedingly confident that what they experience is divine, and that they are in a good estate. (167-81)

No Sign 12. The outward manifestations of them, and the relation persons give of them, are very affecting and pleasing to the truly godly, and such as greatly gain their charity, and win their hearts. (181-90)

Then in the third part, Edwards sets forth twelve true signs—those things which distinguish the truly gracious and holy affections as being part of true religion:

True Sign 1. Arise from those influences and operations on the heart, which are spiritual, supernatural, and divine. (197-239)

True Sign 2. Objectively grounded in the transcendently excellent and amiable nature of divine things, as they are in themselves (and not in any conceived relation they bear to self or self-interest). (240-52)

True Sign 3. Primarily founded on the loveliness of the moral excellency of divine thing; a love to divine things for the beauty and sweetness of their moral excellency is the first beginning and spring of all holy affections. (253-65)

True Sign 4 Arise from the mind’s being enlightened, rightly and spiritually to understand or apprehend divine things. (266-90)

True Sign 5. Attended with a reasonable and spiritual conviction of the judgment, of the reality and certainty of divine things. (291-310)

True Sign 6. Attended with evangelical humiliation (= a sense that a Christian has or his own utter insufficiency, despicableness, and odiousness, with an answerable frame of heart). (311-39)

True Sign 7. Attended with a change of nature. (340-43)

True Sign 8. Tend to, and are attended with, the lamblike, dovelike spirit and temper of Jesus Christ; they naturally beget and promote such a spirit of love, meekness, quietness, forgiveness, and mercy, as appeared in Christ. (344-356)

True Sign 9. Soften the heart and are attended to and followed with a Christian tenderness of spirit. (357-64)

True Sign 10. Have beautiful symmetry and proportion. (365-75)

True Sign 11. The higher gracious affections are raised, the more is a spiritual appetite and longing of soul after spiritual attainments increased. (376-82)

True Sign 12. Have their exercise and fruit in Christian practice. (383-462)

Some readers interested in exploring this great work may want to begin with Sam Storms’s excellent Signs of the Spirit: An Interpretation of Jonathan Edwards’ Religious Affections (Crossway, 2007), which works through all of the signs in a condensed and interpretive way.

Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven

A moving talk from Sam Storms, delivered at the 2003 Desiring God National Conference:

You can read the entire original sermon by Edwards here.

I Think You Also Need to Hear Romans 8:29

Russell Moore:

But the moment I learned the most from Tom Nettles didn’t come in a book or a doctoral seminar or in church ministry together. It didn’t happen in a faculty meeting after we became colleagues. It happened at my little apartment doorstep, and I’ll never forget it.

My wife Maria had just suffered a miscarriage, our third lost pregnancy. The doctors had told us that we’d never be able to have children. Our house was funereal. I was growing despondent and even bitter toward God. I could see all of my friends becoming parents, and I was looking at a lonely future with just the two of us and, I feared, a house-full of cats.

Tom and Margaret Nettles were the first to our house. He didn’t exegete the Book of Job, or reiterate his lecture notes on the sovereignty of God and personal suffering. He sat with us, in silence, for a long time. He wept with us, and prayed with us.

As they were leaving, though, he stopped at the door and he spoke words I still hear.

“Russell, Romans 8:28 is often quoted at a time like this, and rightly so, but I think you need to hear Romans 8:29,” he said.

“God has promised you something. He has promised to do whatever it takes to conform you into the image of Christ, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. I don’t know why this is happening to you and Maria. It’s awful. I can’t tell you the reason God is permitting you to walk this path, and I can’t tell you exactly where He is taking you in it. But I know this. God is committed to shaping you into the image of Jesus, and that’s for your good. He hasn’t forgotten you and He hasn’t forsaken you.”

I doubt I would have heard those words if they had come before the tears and the silence. But because they came after those things, I heard them with my heart, and what I heard was a call, first, to repentance. In my fear and anxiety and self-obsession, I had forgotten the gospel. I thought God owed me the life I expected for myself and I was angry at him, rather than being driven to cast my anxieties on Him, as the One who cares for us.

Tom Nettles didn’t stop with that night. In the fullness of time, as Maria was approaching yet another surgery, he assembled a group of church leaders to pray over her and to anoint her with oil, in keeping with James 5:14. As he did so, he said to the men there, “I’ve got to admit that I feel a little awkward doing this, almost like I’m doing something Pentecostal, but I recognize that’s my own pride. This is what the Bible tells us to do when someone is sick and in need of prayer, and the Bible is God’s Word.”

I would think about those moments as the years went by and more and more children came into our family. Margaret Nettles would remind us not to talk about the “terrible twos” but the “terrific twos.” Tom Nettles would talk to the kids in a Donald Duck voice, and they’d laugh with glee. And I would remember that these children weren’t natural steps in my life plan. They were gifts from God, and they came to us through suffering, through tears, through the prayers of the Body of Christ.

I had learned about God’s sovereignty and biblical inerrancy from Tom Nettles in his books and in his lectures, but I learned much more from him in our doorway, in our living room, and, in the fullness of time, in our nursery.

You can read the whole tribute here.

Creative Video Overview of Genesis 1-11

From the new Bible Project:

You can find out more information here.

Lord of the Rings: How to Read J.R.R. Tolkien

A lecture from Michael D.C. Drout, professor of English and director of the Center for the Study of the Medieval at Wheaton College (in Norton, Massachusetts), delivered October 4, 2013, at Carnegie Mellon University:

The latest publication from the estate of Tolkien is Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, which was published this week.

HT: Albert Mohler