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For the Puritans, probably the most important theme for meditation was heaven—the place where God is supremely known and worshiped and enjoyed
For the Puritans, probably the most important theme for meditation was heaven—the place where God is supremely known and worshiped and enjoyed, where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and where the saints rejoice as they are transcribed from glory to glory. “Meditation is the life of most other duties: and the views of heaven is the life of Meditation,” wrote Baxter. [Baxter, Saints’ Everlasting Rest, 702.]
Heaven was the supreme subject for meditation for these reasons:
- Christ is in heaven now, and our salvation consists of union through the Holy Spirit with Christ. He is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Christ, the center of heaven, ought to be the center of all our faith, hope, and love.
- We can live as Christians in the present evil age only if we have the mind of Christ—that is, if we are genuinely heavenly-minded, seeing our earth and this age from the perspective of heaven.
- Heaven is the goal of our pilgrimage. We are pilgrims on the earth, journeying in faith, hope, and love toward heaven to be with Christ
[Peter Toon, From Mind to Heart: Christian Meditation Today (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), 95–96. For how to meditate on heaven, see White, Method and Instructions for the Art of Divine Meditation, 281–94; Baxter, Saints’ Everlasting Rest, 620–52; and Thomas Case, The Select Works of Thomas Case (Ligonier, Pa.: Soli Deo Gloria, 1993), 1–232 (second book).]
Excerpt From
How Can I Practice Christian Meditation?
Joel R. Beeke