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Pray without Ceasing

The following selection is taken from Richard Rushing's excellent book "Voices From the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings"

"The closet and solitary prayer is necessary duty, and a profitable one. It does much for the enlargement of the heart. When a man seeks to deal most earnestly with God, he should seek retirement, and be alone. Christ in his agonies went apart from his disciples. It is notable that when Jacob sought to wrestle with God, it is said, 'And Jacob was left alone' (Gen. 32:24). When he had a mind to deal with God in great earnestness, he sent away all his company. A hypocrite finds a greater flash of gifts in his public duties; but he is slight and superficial when he is alone with God. Usually God's children are able to most affectionately pour out their hearts before him in private. Here, they find their affections free to wrestle with God. Here, one finds most communion with God, and enlargement of heart. In private we are wholly at leisure to deal with God in a child-like liberty. Now, will you omit this duty where you may be most free, without distraction, to let out your heart to God? The sweetest experiences of God's saints are when they are alone with him. Without seeking God often, the vitality of the soul is lost. We may as well expect a crop and harvest without sowing, as living grace without seeking God. God is first cast out of the closet, and then out of the family, and within a little while, out of the congregation. Omit secret prayer, and some great sin will follow. A man who is often with God, does not dare to offend him so freely as others do. Religion, as it were, dies by degrees. Whatever else is forgotten, God must not be forgotten. Make God a good allowance. Make a prudent choice yourselves, and consecrate such a part of time as will suit with our occasions, your course of life, and according to your abilities and opportunities."

- Thomas Manton, Works, 1:13-20

Solitude

Happy the man, whose wish and care

A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air

In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire;
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter, fire.

Blest, who can unconcernedly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away
In health of body, peace of mind;
Quiet by day,

Sound sleep by night; study and ease
Together mixed, sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die,
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.

Link of the Week #25

Hello readers! As you well know tonight is Christmas Eve. A night when millions of people will gather in churches around the world to remember the night that God's only Son, Jesus Christ, became incarnate to redeem His people from the world. For many believers, this night marks a high point in their year. But those of you who have spent some time in the world of Reformed Presbyterianism will know that these Christmas celebrations can often bring consternation as well. Although the vast majority of Presbyterians now celebrate holy days like Christmas and Easter, it wasn't too long ago that such a thing would have been unheard of. Allow me to explain.


When our forefathers penned the Westminster Standards (which have served as guides for Presbyterian doctrine and practice for hundreds of years) they attached to it what they called a"Directory for Publik Worship." This Directory gave guidance and direction for churches who were seeking to worship God according to Scripture. Many of these churches were emerging from the mass of man-made traditions found in both the Roman Catholic and in the Anglican communions, and they realized the pressing need to reexamine why things were done the way they were. This reevaluation led to a far simpler, more biblical, form of worship in many of these new Puritan and Presbyterian congregations. This new document called for many changes and one of these changes concerned the celebration of holy days like Christmas and Easter. As the Directory says:

"There is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's Day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued."

In essence, the Directory believed that celebrating these holy-days violates the law of God and the regulative principle of worship. (To gain a more thorough understanding of why they thought this was the case go here.)


Ever since that time Presbyterians have been faced with a choice. Will we stand with our forefathers against the church calender, or, will we stand with many other evangelicals with the church calender? This is a question that has been hotly debated for centuries and I doubt that any "quick fix" will emerge to solve our problem. But I do believe that the tension many Presbyterians feel is perhaps a false one. The question is often presented in rather stark terms. Either we buy into the entire Christmas package (like we see in so many churches today) or we will refuse to celebrate or recognize Christmas as some of our brothers do. However, I believe there is a third option, and that brings us (at last) to this week's link.

This week, we'd like to highlight a series of links from the Q & A section of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church's website. These links help us understand how we can perhaps incorporate some of the good aspects of the Christmas season without adopting many of the un-biblical practices and requirements that it often brings. Although there are still many questions that these links don't answer, I believe that they can help us to find a middle ground between the wholehearted acceptance, or the wholesale rejection, of the church calender. Enjoy!

To read this week's links go here, and here.

Link of the Week #24

Hello readers! Those of you who have read this blog for any length of time will know that we are big fans of the Puritans. Over the past 50 years God has blessed the church with far greater access to the works of these wonderful men. Many classic Puritan books, sermons, and journals are being re-typeset and published for a whole new generation of readers. However, this blessing brings with it its own challenges. With so many Puritans (and so many Puritan works) out there, where does one start? Who is publishing these books and how does one sort through the various editions? How can a 21st century reader penetrate the sometimes daunting language of the 16th and 17th centuries? What is unique about the Puritans? Who are the Puritans anyway?

Well, to help answer these questions we would like to highlight two links this week. The first is to a wonderful article by Joel Beeke called "Why You Should Read the Puritans." In this article Beeke helps orient the reader to who exactly the Puritans were, and then he lays out nine helpful contributions that the Puritans have made to Christian doctrine and life. Our second link is for those of you who may have a bit more time on your hands. In 2006 Randall J. Pederson & Joel Beeke co-edited a book called "Meet the Puritans." In this 895 page tome the author provide us with a wonderful resource for all Puritan lovers. As Westminster bookstore puts it:

"The Puritans were unmatched in their ability to combine deep, theological thinking with warm, practical living. In recent decades, many of their writings have been brought back into print but few Christians know who these men were or why their works are worth reading.
In Meet the Puritans, Joel R. Beeke and Randall J. Pederson go a long way toward alleviating this problem. This resource provides biographical introductions to every Puritan whose work has been republished in recent decades. Along with each biography is a guide to the written works of that Puritan author."

We hope that you will take the time to consider these resources, and we hope that you will consider digging into the works of some Puritan authors as you seek to grow in grace in the coming year!