The Life of God in the Soul of Man (Foreword by Joel Beeke) E-Book

Henry Scougal

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Crossway Short Classics
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

A Classic Guide for Christians Who Want to Move from Empty Religion to Authentic Faith Writing to a friend who was disillusioned by religion, minister and theologian Henry Scougal created what would become a classic text on Christian living. Compassionately explaining what true religion is and isn't, Scougal shares biblical practices that lead to real spiritual transformation. In The Life of God in the Soul of Man, Scougal cuts through false ideas about religion and demonstrates how to pursue true unity with God. He explains that religion shouldn't be primarily focused on restraining or dictating outward behavior, but living a divine life characterized by faith, a love for God and others, purity, and humility. As it did for the recipient of Scougal's original letter, this book challenges believers to turn from empty religion and allow the Holy Spirit to conform them into Christ's glorious image. - Great Resource for Churches and Mentors: Scougal's words uplift disheartened believers and guide them toward true transformation - Use as a Devotional for Personal Growth: Recommended for nominal Christians and sincere believers interested in developing authentic faith - Approachable Guide to Christian Living: Dives into important topics such as trusting in God's providence, depending on the Holy Spirit, and fighting sin - Academic Study Resource: This edited and abridged edition of Scougal's classic work is ideal for use in Bible colleges and seminaries - Convenient Repackage of Popular Sermons: Includes a short biography of Henry Scougal and a foreword by theologian Joel R. Beeke

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The Life of God in the Soul of Man

The Crossway Short Classics Series

The Emotional Life of Our Lord

B. B. Warfield

Encouragement for the Depressed

Charles Spurgeon

The Expulsive Power of a New Affection

Thomas Chalmers

Fighting for Holiness

J. C. Ryle

Heaven Is a World of Love

Jonathan Edwards

The Life of God in the Soul of Man

Henry Scougal

The Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way and No Little People

Francis A. Schaeffer

The Life of God in the Soul of Man

Henry Scougal

Edited and Abridged by Robin Taylor

The Life of God in the Soul of Man

Published © 2022 by Crossway1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Jordan Singer

Cover image: “Blackthorn” by William Morris (Bridgeman Images)

First printing 2022

Printed in China

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-8048-2 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-8050-5 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-8049-9 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-8051-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Scougal, Henry, 1650–1678, author. | Taylor, Robin, editor. 

Title: The life of God in the soul of man / Henry Scougal; edited and abridged by Robin Taylor. 

Description: Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, [2022] | Series: Crossway short

classics | Includes bibliographical references and index. 

Identifiers: LCCN 2021041144 (print) | LCCN 2021041145 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433580482 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781433580499 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433580512 (mobipocket) | ISBN 9781433580505 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Christian life. 

Classification: LCC BV4501.3 .S3936 2022 (print) | LCC BV4501.3 (ebook) | DDC 248.4—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021041144

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021041145

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2022-02-03 04:26:40 PM

Contents

Foreword by Joel R. Beeke

Series Preface

Biography of Henry Scougal

The Life of God in the Soul of Man

Scripture Index

Foreword

The lives of some men shine like minor stars in the heavens, faint yet steady, while others are like a flash of lightning that quickly passes but starts a fire that continues and spreads. The latter was the case for the author of this book, whose short life was God’s means to ignite in other men a flaming love for God that has continued long after he passed from this world.

Henry Scougal was born in Leuchars, Fife, Scotland.1 His father, Patrick, was bishop of Aberdeen and a man well known for his purity, humility, and kindness. From his youth, Henry devoted himself to his studies and the Christian religion, memorizing long passages of Scripture and developing great skill in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.

Scougal graduated with a Master of Arts degree from King’s College, Aberdeen, and at age nineteen became a lecturer of philosophy. He was ordained in the (then episcopal) Church of Scotland and left his academic post to serve as a village minister, but returned after a year to become professor of divinity at the college.

Scougal’s The Life of God in the Soul of Man was originally a letter to a friend. It was first published anonymously in 1677. Since then, it has been reprinted many times. By the end of the eighteenth century, it was already translated into French, German, and Welsh. Charles Wesley once gave a copy to George Whitefield, who later recounted, “Though I had fasted, watched and prayed, and received the sacrament so long, yet I never knew what true religion was, till God sent me that treatise.”2 Whitefield recalled that when he read that “true religion was an union of the soul with God, and Christ formed within us, a ray of divine light was instantaneously darted in upon my soul, and from that moment, but not until then, did I know that I must be a new creature”—that is, that he needed “the new birth.”3

In reading Scougal’s work, one must remember that he assumes a doctrinal foundation that he does not explicitly lay out. All that Scougal writes about union with God presupposes the gospel that God the Father sent God the Son to become a man, die for our sins, rise from the dead, ascend into heaven, and reign as Lord, so that by faith in him God the Holy Spirit dwells within the heart. Scougal’s focus is quite narrow—namely, to assert that the Christian religion consists of more than just mental understanding and outward religious life by requiring an inward transformation that arises from spiritual union with Christ and communion with God.

Scougal laments that most people see religion only as a matter of the mind, formality, or feelings. Instead, Scougal contends, true religion is union of the soul with God. Prior to union with God, the soul wearies itself looking in vain for rest, but by union it is healed and released from the bondage of living for this world. By faith, the soul is now dominated by love for God, that joyful and affectionate knowledge of God’s perfections that leads a person to surrender himself entirely to God as a living sacrifice. The soul now desires to please God above all, counts nothing so precious as fellowship with him, and is willing to do and suffer whatever he wills. The soul has discovered that holiness, the image of God renewed by union with God, is its health and strength.

This book is very useful for nominal Christians and those who minister to them, as it unmasks the emptiness of formalistic religion and shows the magnificence of a real relationship with the living God. It also is quite helpful in stirring sincere believers to pant after a deeper communion with God and to help them to see what this means. May God be pleased to bless it again for the awakening of sinners and the revival of saints.

Joel R. Beeke

President, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

1  Portions of this foreword are adapted from Joel R. Beeke and Randall J. Pederson, Meet the Puritans: With a Guide to Modern Reprints (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2006), 733–38. Used by permission. On Scougal’s biography, see Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 49:527–28.

2  George Whitefield, The First Two Parts of His Life, With His Journals, Revised, Corrected, and Abridged by George Whitefield (London: W. Strahan, 1756), 11–12

3  Whitefield, The First Two Parts of His Life, 11–12.

Series Preface

John Piper once wrote that books do not change people, but paragraphs do. This pithy statement gets close to the idea at the heart of the Crossway Short Classics series: some of the greatest and most powerful Christian messages are also some of the shortest and most accessible. The broad stream of confessional Christianity contains an astonishing wealth of timeless sermons, essays, lectures, and other short pieces of writing. These pieces have challenged, inspired, and borne fruit in the lives of millions of believers across church history and around the globe.

The Crossway Short Classics series seeks to serve two purposes. First, it aims to beautifully preserve these short historic pieces of writing through new high-quality physical editions. Second, it aims to transmit them to a new generation of readers, especially readers who may not be inclined or able to access a larger volume. Short-form content is especially valuable today, as the challenge of focusing in a distracting, constantly moving world becomes more intense. The volumes in the Short Classics series present incisive, gospel-centered grace and truth through a concise, memorable medium. By connecting readers with these accessible works, the Short Classics series hopes to introduce Christians to those great heroes of the faith who wrote them, providing readers with representative works that both nourish the soul and inspire further study.

Readers should note that the spelling and punctuation of these works have been lightly updated where applicable. Scripture references and other citations have also been added where appropriate. Language that reflects a work’s origin as a sermon or public address has been retained. Our goal is to preserve as much as possible the authentic text of these classic works.

Our prayer is that the Holy Spirit will use these short works to arrest your attention, preach the gospel to your soul, and motivate you to continue exploring the treasure chest of church history, to the praise and glory of God in Christ.

Biography of Henry Scougal

Henry Scougal (1650–1678) was a Scottish theologian and minister. His distinguished life included a celebrated academic career and an ordination in the Church of Scotland. When he was twenty-eight, Scougal died of tuberculosis, having only served five years as a professor of divinity at King’s College, Aberdeen.

Scougal’s reputation and influence endured long after his passing. The Life of God in the Soul of Man is his most famous work and was highly popularized by eighteenth-century preachers such as George Whitefield. Many years later, theologian J. I. Packer would remark that the book was “the seed out of which the English side of the revival first sprouted.”4

Scougal’s writing and preaching emphasized the importance of a personal transformation through a spiritual encounter with Christ. His life combined scholarly pursuit with a deep desire for holiness and authentic spirituality. Today Scougal’s work is still read widely, and his perspective on the Christian life remains a classic source of biblical wisdom and encouragement for the church.

4  J. I. Packer, endorsement for Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012) https://www.christianfocus.com/.

The Life of God in the Soul of Man

“For in him we live, and move, and have our being.”

Acts 17:28

The Nature of True Religion

My dear friend,

To consider you to be my friend is what entitles you to every endeavor on my part whereby I may serve your interests. And the inclinations you have to deepen your Christian faith are so much at one with my duty that I shall not require to go far out of my way to serve you.

All that I have to say comes from fulfilling my duty of friendship and is primarily intended to foster your pursuit of virtue and holiness. I hope that you will indeed make that your greatest endeavor. Indeed, these paragraphs are the most fitting way that I can express my affection and my gratitude toward you, and I shall not delay in fulfilling my promise to you to do so. For although I know that you are already provided with greater assistance in these matters than I can offer, and that anything I might say is unlikely to be new to you, yet I do hope that coming from one whom you honor as a friend will make what I have to say somewhat more acceptable to you. I am hopeful too that God may so direct my thoughts that something or other may prove useful to you.

I must, in advance of writing, beg your pardon if in trying better to set out my thoughts I deal with such basic issues as are unnecessary for you in particular.

Mistakes about Religion

I cannot speak about religion without lamenting that among so many who claim to be religious, so few understand what it means. Some consider it to be primarily a matter of intellect and understanding and orthodox opinions. The only account that they can give of their religion is that they are of this or that theological persuasion or that they have joined one of the many groups or sects into which Christendom is so unhappily divided.

Others consider it to be a matter of outward behavior. They are to be found caught up in a constant round of duties and observances. If they live peaceably with their neighbors, are temperate in their habits, and are regularly at worship—both publicly and in their own homes—and sometimes extend themselves to giving to those in need, then they think they have performed sufficiently.

Still others focus on their emotions. They concentrate on spiritual ecstasy in their devotions. All they aim for is to pray with passion, to think of heaven with pleasure, and to be so overwhelmed with a sense of loving God that they persuade themselves that they do love him. As a result, they are filled with such a great confidence in their own salvation that they consider such confidence in itself to be the most important of Christian virtues.

Thus, those things that have any semblance of true holiness—or are at best the ways in which holiness may be pursued—are frequently mistaken for the real thing. Indeed, sometimes even wickedness and vice masquerade as true religion. Here I am not speaking about the flagrant and often grotesque practices that are used by pagans in the worship of heathen gods. No; it is about Christians that I am speaking. There are too many who would consecrate their vices and hallow their corrupt affections. Their rugged humor and sullen pride they pass for Christian severity. Their fierce anger and bitter resentment toward their enemies they call holy zeal. And their petulance and stubbornness toward their superiors, not to mention the rebellious spirit that is directed toward those in authority over them, is credited as Christian courage and resolution.

What Religion Is

True religion is quite another thing. Those who are acquainted with it will entertain far different thoughts about it and avoid all false imitations of it. They know by experience that true religion is a union of the soul with God. It is a participation in the divine nature. It is the very image of God drawn upon the soul. In the apostle’s words, it is Christ formed within us.

In short, I do not know how the nature of religion can be more fully expressed than by calling it a divine life. And it is in using these terms that I intend to discuss religion more fully, first of all by showing how it is called a life and then how it may be termed divine.

The Permanence and Stability of Religion