God’s Battle Plan for the Mind: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation
Overview
During the seventeenth century, English Puritan pastors often encouraged their congregations in the spiritual discipline of meditating on God and His Word. Today, however, much of evangelicalism is either ignorant of or turned off to the idea of meditation. In God’s Battle Plan for the Mind, pastor David Saxton seeks to convince God’s people of the absolute necessity for personal meditation and motivate them to begin this work themselves. But he has not done this alone. Rather, he has labored through numerous Puritan works in order to bring together the best of their insights on meditation. Standing on the shoulders of these giants, Saxton teaches us how to meditate on divine truth and gives valuable guidance about how to rightly pattern our thinking throughout the day. With the rich experiential theology of the Puritans, this book lays out a course for enjoying true meditation on God’s Word.
- Examines the Puritan practice of biblical meditation
- Contrasts biblical meditation with popular ideas of meditation
- Addresses common obstacles and misconceptions
- The Importance of Recovering the Joyful Habit of Biblical Meditation
- Unbiblical Forms of Meditation
- Defining Biblical Meditation
- Occasional Meditation
- Deliberate Meditation
- The Practice of Meditation
- Important Occasions for Meditation
- Choosing Subjects for Meditation
- The Reasons for Meditation
- The Benefits of Meditation
- The Enemies of Meditation
- Getting Started: Beginning the Habit of Meditation
Top Highlights
“What does it mean to meditate? It means to think personally, practically, seriously, and earnestly on how the truth of God’s Word should look in life. Edmund Calamy described it as ‘dwelling upon the mercies we receive, the chewing upon the promises.’1 When he meditates, the believer fills his mind with truth so that his life becomes governed by the attitude of the Savior.” (Page 2)
“‘One hour spent thus, is worth more than a thousand sermons, and this is no debasing of the word, but an honor unto it.’” (Page 6)
“Sadly, in recent years many associate meditation with false religion of the Far East. They view meditation as a process of emptying the mind rather than, as Scripture commands, filling the mind with divinely revealed truth.” (Page 2)
“‘The fruit of study is to hoard up truth, but the fruit of meditation is to practice it.’” (Pages 47–48)
“Why have the past few generations of believers not focused on biblical meditation?” (Page 3)
The popular conception of meditation has become so badly misshapen by mysticism, New Age influences, and Eastern religious notions that some otherwise sound Christians today seem to recoil from any mention of meditation as a necessary spiritual exercise. But nothing is more vital or more beneficial for understanding the truth and growing in sanctification than quiet, careful, focused reflection on the words and the meaning of Scripture. That’s what the word meditation means in the Bible. No less than six times in Psalm 119 alone, the psalmist says ‘I will meditate’ on the precepts, promises, and principles of God’s Word. The Puritans had much to say about biblical meditation and the important role it plays in a sanctified thought life. Dave Saxton has written an extremely helpful and encouraging digest of some of the best Puritan teaching on the subject. You need to get a copy, read it, put its principles into practice, and ‘be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
—John MacArthur, pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California, and president of the Master’s College and Seminary
- Title: God’s Battle Plan for the Mind: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation
- Author: David W. Saxton
- Publisher: Reformation Heritage
- Print Publication Date: 2015
- Logos Release Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Meditation › Christianity; Meditation › Puritans; Meditation › Reformed Church
- ISBNs: 9781601783714, 160178371X
- Resource ID: LLS:GDSBTTLBBLMDTTN
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:12:54Z
Reviews
3 ratings
Forrest Cole
11/9/2021
Elsie Montgomery
1/28/2021
Michael Conn
7/8/2019
Dave Saxton provides a wonderful compilation of Puritan teaching on the spiritual discipline of meditation. As one who had read little of the Puritans, this book whet my appetite for the treasures that can be found in their deep reflections on Scripture as well as their practical habit of pulling spiritual illustrations from everyday phenomenon. I walked away encouraged at how something that seemed so difficult and nebulous, like meditation, begins with simple disciplines of faith. This books is a wonderfully concise anthology of Puritan writing and practice.
