“Of Holy Baptism”

Q. 70: What is it to be washed with the blood and Spirit of Christ?

A.  It is to receive, of God, the remission of sins freely for the sake of Christ’s blood which He shed for us by His sacrifice upon the cross (Hebrews 12.24; 1 Peter 1.2) and, also, to be renewed by the Holy Ghost and sanctified to be members of Christ that so we may, more and more, die unto sin and lead holy and unblamable lives (John 1.33; Romans 6.4; Colossians 2.11).

From: The Three Forms of Unity: The Belgic Confession of Faith, The Heidelberg Catechism, The Canons of Dort, with introductions by Joel R. Beeke (Birmingham: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2010), pp. 90-91.  The quotation is Question 70 (Lord’s Day 26) of the Heidelberg Catechism.

 

On Deliberate Meditation

The most important kind of meditation is daily, deliberate meditation, engaged in at set times.  Calamy said deliberate meditation takes place “when a man sets apart…some time, and goes into a private Closet, or a private Walk, and there doth solemnly and deliberately meditate of the things of Heaven.”  Such deliberation dwells upon God, Christ, and truth, like “the Bee that dwells and abides upon the flower, to suck out all the sweetness.”  It “is a reflecting act of the soul, whereby the soul is carried back to itself, and considers all the things that it knows” about the subject, including it’s “causes, fruits, [and] properties.”

Thomas White said deliberate meditation draws from four sources: Scripture, practical truths of Christianity, providential occasions (experiences), and sermons.  Sermons are particulary fertile fields for meditation.  As White wrote, “It is better to hear one Sermon only and meditate on that, than to hear two Sermons and meditate on neither.”

From: Puritan Reformed Spirituality by Joel R. Beeke (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2004), p. 77.  Elipsis in original.

 

Roots of Reformed Preaching

Puritan preaching later developed a more formal style, but it did not lose its emphasis on application to urgent matters of the day.  Some ministers preached through entire books of the Bible, although their expositions were, generally, more detailed than Calvin’s.  These preachers were later Puritans, and they ministered to congregations  that expected detailed expositions of the Word of God.  Thomas Manton excelled as such a preacher.  Thomas Goodwin opened up the Epistle to the Ephesians in magnificent detail.  The greatest work of this period surely was John Owen’s “Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews,” published when Owen no longer had freedom to preach to a large congregation.  Other preachers of this period, such as John Flavel, preached extended series on such themes as the person and work of Christ.

Later, the form of Puritan expositional preaching was to introduce a text with careful exegesis, identify its main doctrine, and them prove this doctrine with a series of subordinate propositions, each demanding careful exegesis.  Puritan preachers took the authorship of the Holy Spirit seriously and believed that Scripture spoke with one voice.  The immediate context, thus, had to harmonize with the wider context of Scripture, which was called “the analogy of faith” (analogia fidei).  Finally, the text was applied to listeners in a series of “uses,” which addressed various situations.

From:  “Roots of Reformed Preaching,” by Robert Oliver, in Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism, edited by Joel R. Beeke (Orlando: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2008), p. 251.

 

Preparing to Meditate

Puritan writers suggested several ways to prepare for effective meditation, all of which depend “much on the frame of thy heart”:

1.  Clear your heart from things of this world – its business and enjoyments, as well as its internal troubles and agitations.  Calamy wrote, “Pray unto God not only to keep out outward company, but inward company; that is, to keep out vain, and worldly, and distracting thoughts.”

2.  Have your heart cleansed from the guilt and pollution of sin, and stirred up with fervent love for spiritual things.  Treasure up a stock of [Scripture] texts and spiritual truths.  Seek grace to live out [the psalmist's] confession in Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.”

3.  Approach the task of meditation with utmost seriousness.  Be aware of its weightiness, excellence, and potential.  If you succeed, you will be admitted into the very presence of God and feel, once again, the beginning of eternal joy here on earth.  As Ussher wrote, “This must be the thought of thy heart: ‘I have to do with a God before whom all things are naked and bare and, therefore, I must be careful to not speak foolishly before the wise God, that my thoughts be not wandering.’  A man may talk with the greatest prince on earth, his mind otherwise busied.  Not so to come to talk with God.  His eye is on the heart and, therefore, thy chief care must be to keep the rudder of they heart steady.  Consider the three persons in the Trinity are present.”

4.  Find a place for meditation that is quiet and free from interruption.  Aim for “secrecy, silence, rest, whereof the first excludeth company, the second noise, the third motion,” wrote Joseph Hall.  Once a suitable place is found, stick with that place.  Some Puritans recommended keeping the room dark or closing one’s eyes to remove all visible 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 Corinthians 4:6).

From: Puritan Reformed Spirituality by Joel R. Beeke (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2004), pp. 82-83.

 

On Prayer

Give priority to prayer.  Prayer is the first and most important thing you are called to do.  “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed,” John Bunyan writes.  “Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan.”

Give yourself – not just your time – to prayer.  Remember that prayer is not an appendix to your life and your work, it is your life – your real, spiritual life – and your work.  Prayer is the thermometer of your soul.

Give room to prayer.  The Puritans did this in three ways.  First, they had real prayer closets – rooms or small spaces where they habitually met with God.  When one of Thomas Shepard’s parishioners showed him a floor plan of the new house he hoped to build, Shepard that there was no prayer room and lamented that homes without prayer rooms would be the downfall of the church and society.  Second, block out stated times for prayer in your daily life.  The Puritans did this every morning and evening.  Third, between those stated times of prayer, commit yourself to pray in response to the least impulse to do so.  That will help you develop the “habit” of praying, so that you will pray your way through the day without ceasing.  Remember that conversing with God through Christ is our most effective way of bringing glory to God and of having a ready antidote to ward off all kinds of spiritual diseases.

Give the Word to prayer.  The way to pray, said the Puritans, is to bring God His own Word.  That can be done in two ways.  First, pray with Scripture.  God is tender of His own handwriting.  Take His promises and turn them inside out, and send them back up to God, by prayer, pleading with Him to do as He has said.  Second, pray through Scripture.  Pray over each thought in a specific Scripture verse.

Give theocentricity to prayer.  Pour out your heart to your heavenly Father.  Plead on the basis of Christ’s intercessions.  Plead to God with the groanings of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26).  Recognize that true prayer is a gift of the Father, who gives it through the Son and works it within you by the Spirit who, in turn, enables it to ascend back to the Son, who sanctifies it and presents it acceptable to the Father.  Prayer is, thus, a theocentric chain, if you will – moving from the Father through the Son by the Spirit back to the Son and the Father.

From: Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism by Joel R. Beeke (Orlando: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2008), p. 207.

 

Living in the House of God

Let those who are appointed as ministers of the Word of God know that they not only deal with people, but are accountable to Him who has called them to this high office.  Let them not be puffed up with the honor and dignity of their position, but know that they shall be so much less able to excuse themselves if they fail to walk uprightly.  If they fail to serve Him as they ought, they will commit horrible sacrilege and have a fearful vengeance of God prepared for them.

First, we are taught to do our duty.  Because God has honored us in our unworthiness, we ought to labor to fill the office to which we are called.  The church is called the house of the living God.  That ought to awaken us to walk rightly.  Why, then, do we sleep in our sins?  Why do we run into wickedness?  Do we think that God does not see us?  Do we think we are far out of His sight and from the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Let us remember that the Word of God is preached to us, that God dwells among us, and that He is present with us.  As our Lord Jesus Christ says, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).  We are also told, “In Him, dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

So, then, however often the devil attempts to rock us to sleep, to tie us to the vanities of this world, or to tempt us with wicked lusts, we ought to remember, and set before our eyes, that God dwells in the midst of us and that we are in His house.

This is an excerpt from John Calvin’s commentary at 1 Timothy 3:15.  It has been lightly edited (by the Rev. Beeke) to reflect modern punctuation and sentence structure.

From: 365 Days with Calvin: A Unique Collection of 365 readings from the Writings of John Calvin, Joel R. Beeke, editor (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2008), entry for November 5.

 

John Calvin’s Early Life

John Calvin (Jean Cauvin) was so self-effacing that he only wrote about himself three times in his works: in Reply to Sadoleto (1539), the preface to his Commentary on the Psalms (1557), and on his deathbed to fellow ministers of Geneva (April 28, 1564), which was recorded by Jean Pinant.  After Calvin’s death on May 27, 1564, friends discovered that Calvin had given orders to be buried without a tombstone.  Four days after his death, the Geneva Register simply wrote: “Calvin est alle a Dieu le 27 Mai de la presente annee” (“Calvin went to God May 27 of the present year”).  Shaping this longing for obscurity was Calvin’s sincere desire that only God be glorified.  In examining Calvin’s life and ministry, may we remain true to this driving motif of Calvin to promote only God.

Calvin was born July 10, 1509, in Noyon, Picardy, in north-eastern France, to Gerard (d. 1531) and Jeanne Cauvin (d. 1515).  Theodore Beza (1519-1605), Calvin’s earliest biographer, describes Calvin’s parents as “widely respected and in comfortable circumstances.”  Calvin’s father expected Calvin to study for the priesthood.  So, in 1520 or 1521, young Calvin was sent to Paris to prepare for the priesthood.

About five years later, Calvin’s father realized more money could be made in law than in the priesthood, so he sent his son to Orleans to study law.  This sudden, dramatic change is noteworthy for two reasons.  First, Calvin’s legal training fostered in him qualities of mind – clarity, precision, and caution – that later served him well as a Bible commentator and theologian.  Second, the University of Orleans was where Calvin first came into contact with Reformation truth.  One of his tutors was Melchior Wolmar (1497-1560), an evangelical, who began teaching Greek to Calvin and may well have shared his faith with Calvin.  Learning Greek was an important step, for it would open greater riches of the New Testament for Calvin.

From: “John Calvin – Living for the Glory of God,” by Joel R. Beeke and Michael A. G. Haykin, in 365 Days with Calvin: A Unique Collection of 365 Readings from the Writings of John Calvin, Joel R. Beeke, editor (Leominster, England/Grand Rapids: Day One Publications/Reformation Heritage Books, 2008), p. vii (though the page is not marked as such)

Joel R. Beeke is President and Professor of Systematic Theology and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

Thomas Boston’s Memoirs

Memoirs of Thomas Boston (BTT; 556 pages; 1988).  This classic of Calvinist spiritual devotion was originally published in 1776 by Boston’s grandson, Michael Boston, as Memoirs of the Life, Time, and Writings.  It reveals “a man earnest in ministry, melancholy in disposition, scholarly in interest, modest in aspiration, sober in judgment, sensitive in conscience, and devout in prayer” (ibid.).

Memoirs consists of two accounts written for Boston’s posterity: A General Account of My Life and Passages of My Life.  It tells much about Boston’s life and is based, as William Blaikie wrote, “on a faith in the particular providence of God, in the intimacy of His fellowship with His children, and in the closeness of the connection between their spiritual and their natural life, the like of which perhaps no man of equal intellectual power ever attained.”

Boston was hard on himself spiritually.  A typical entry in Memoirs says: “Having allotted the morning entirely for prayer and meditation, some worldly thoughts crept in.  In the afternoon I somewhat recovered my forenoon’s loss” (p. 97).  Such “lapses” led Boston to fasting, intense self-scrutiny, and passionate tears.  “Oh, how my heart hates my heart!” he groaned.

But he also had moments of joy, which he describes as “outgates” from spiritual bondage.  Once, in taking the words of Psalm 14 for his own, he wrote, “My soul blessed God for His word, and for that word in particular, that ever it was put in the Bible.  It has loosed my bands, set me to my feet again, and put courage in my heart.  My heart rejoiceth in His salvation and in Himself” (p. 115).

This edition is a reprint of the 1899 edition.  It includes an introduction and notes by George H. Morrison of Dundee.  Boston’s memoirs rank with those of Augustine, Bunyan, and  Halyburton as one of the church’s most enduring spiritual autobiographies.

From: Meet the Puritans: With a Guide to Modern Reprints by Joel R. Beeke and Randall J. Pederson (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2006), pp. 665-666.

The abbreviation “BTT” at the top of the quotation stands for “Banner of Truth Trust,” which is the publisher of the reprint of Boston’s memoirs.

 

“Consider the Presence of Christ”

[Christ] is, at no time, absent from you, even when your faith lacks active exercise to grasp Him.  Even in your thickest hours of Egyptian darkness, He is close beside you.  Only of Him can it be declared: “The darkness and the light are both alike to thee” (Psalm 139:12).

How comforting this is!  In all your dark afflictions, your High Priest retains you in His High Priestly eye, preserves you in His High Priestly heart, bears you on His High Priestly shoulders, removes you not from the engravings on His High Priestly hands, and never ceases to remember you in His High Priestly intercessions.  “He ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Oh, what tender love!  You are never forgotten by Jesus Christ, despite your negligence toward Him.  Your unbrotherliness to Christ never unbrothers this precious Elder Brother from you.  From His perspective, He ever remains a friend that sticks “closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24) – also when you cannot see or feel it.  Even then, He is whispering to you in midnight seasons: “What I do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter” (John 13:7).

Take heart.  The Jesus who never failed you in yesterday’s afflictions (did He not, rather, give you extra tokens of His care?) is still present to give you today’s strength (Matthew 6:34).  Like waves cut down to melodious whimpers as they reach the shore, He shall break down your waves of tomorrow’s impossibilities as (not before!) they break in on the beachheads of your life.  Wait on your ever-present Savior.  He shall not let you down.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Joel R. Beeke, “Considering Christ as We Suffer,” in Tolle Lege, February, 2008 (Volume 6, Issue 1), p. 18.  This excerpt is part of a meditation on Hebrews 3:1.