Taylor: laws of nature and laws of God

Saturday, December 1, 2012
    Commemoration of Charles de Foucauld, Hermit, Servant of the Poor, 1916
Meditation:
When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
    the son of man that you care for him?
    —Psalm 8:3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The law of nature is nothing but the law of God, given to mankind for the conservation of his nature, and the promotion of his perfective end. A law of which a man sees a reason and feels a necessity: God is the lawgiver.
    ... Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), The Rule of Conscience, bk. 2, in The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, D.D., v. XII, London: Ogle, Duncan & Co., 1822, p. 213 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have spoken. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Bonhoeffer: belonging to one another

Friday, November 30, 2012
    Feast of Andrew the Apostle
Meditation:
    Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
    —Romans 13:8 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Whether it be a brief, single encounter or the daily community of many years, Christian community is solely this. We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), Life Together [1954], tr. Daniel W. Bloesch & James H. Burtness, Fortress Press, 2004, p. 31 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may Your people be one before You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Calvin: the word from God

Thursday, November 29, 2012
Meditation:
Your statutes stand firm;
    holiness adorns your house
    for endless days, O LORD.
    —Psalm 93:5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    As to the question, How shall we be persuaded that it came from God without recurring to a decree of the Church? it is just the same as if it were asked, How shall we learn to distinguish light from darkness, white from black, sweet from bitter? Scripture bears upon the face of it as clear evidence of its truth, as white and black do of their colour, sweet and bitter of their taste.
    ... John Calvin (1509-1564), The Institutes of the Christian Religion, v. I [1559], tr. John Allen, Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath-School Work, 1921, I.vii.2, p. 76-77 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your Spirit testifies to the truth. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Law: each has its purpose

Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Meditation:
Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
    may your love and your truth always protect me.
For troubles without number surround me;
    my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
    and my heart fails within me.
Be pleased, O LORD, to save me;
    O LORD, come quickly to help me.
    —Psalm 40:11-13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    If religion calleth us to a life of watching and prayer, it is because we live amongst a crowd of enemies, and are always in need of the assistance of God. If we are to confess and bewail our sins, it is because such confessions relieve the mind, and restore it to ease; as burdens and weights taken off the shoulders, relieve the body, and make it easier to itself. If we are to be frequent and fervent in holy petitions, it is to keep us steady in the sight of our true good, and that we may never want the happiness of a lively faith, a joyful hope, and well-grounded trust in God. If we are to pray often, it is that we may be often happy in such secret joys as only prayer can give; in such communications of the Divine Presence, as will fill our minds with all the happiness, that beings not in Heaven are capable of.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 180 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, be my first recourse. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Steen: lacks that one thing

Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Meditation:
    All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
    —Acts 4:32-33 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The church had magnificent buildings, superb equipment, trained leadership, excellent teaching materials, organizational ability, and yet lacked that one thing that could take all these tools and make them the channel of God’s will. In spite of its ever-increasing membership, the church lacks the spirit of God’s growing love and understanding that can transform it from an efficient organization into a loving, dynamic fellowship where men and women become vitally alive with faith, love, and hope.
    ... Thomas M. Steen, “Renewal in the Church”, in Spiritual Renewal through Personal Groups, John L. Casteel, ed., NY: Association Press, 1957, p. 30 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, give grace and strengthen Your church. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Watts: Had I the tongues of Greeks and Jews

Monday, November 26, 2012
    Commemoration of Isaac Watts, Hymnwriter, 1748
Meditation:
    If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
    —1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV)
Quotation:
Had I the tongues of Greeks and Jews,
And nobler speech than angels use;
If love be absent, I am found,
Like tinkling brass, an empty sound.

Were I inspir’d to preach, and tell
All that is done in heaven and hell;
Or could my faith the world remove,
Still—I am nothing without love.

Should I distribute all my store,
To feed the hung’ry, clothe the poor;
Or give my body to the flame,
To gain a martyr’s glorious name;—

If love to God, and love to men,
Be absent—all my hopes are vain:
Nor tongues, nor gifts, nor fiery zeal,
The works of love can e’er fulfil.
    ... Isaac Watts (1674-1748), Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, ed. Samuel Melanchthon Worcester, Boston: Crocker & Brewster, 1834, n. 134, p. 360 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, take away my excuses for failing in love.

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Baxter: an unsanctified preacher

Sunday, November 25, 2012
    Commemoration of Katherine of Alexandria, Martyr, 4th century
Meditation:
    Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
    —James 3:1 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is a fearful case to be an unsanctified professor, but much more to be an unsanctified preacher. Doth it not make you tremble when you open the Bible, lest you should read there the sentence of your own condemnation? When you pen your sermons, little do you think that you are drawing up indictments against your own souls! ... Oh what an aggravated misery is this, to perish in the midst of plenty, and to famish with the bread of life in our hands, while we offer it to others, and urge it on them!
    ... Richard Baxter (1615-1691), The Reformed Pastor [1655], in The Practical Works of Richard Baxter, v. IV, G. Virtue, 1838, p. 423 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, rescue those trapped in error. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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