His Person and Life⤒🔗

It can be very fruitful to study the life and work of godly people from the past. We, in our age, can still profit much from their labours. In a few articles I would like to introduce you to a Dutch minister from the seventeenth century, whose name was Theodorus a Brakel. He wrote a very noteworthy book about spiritual life. In that book he deals with various practical questions which today can still be heard among us. For instance, "How can I experience the Lord's love?" "How can I taste the sweetness of Christ?" "How can I receive assurance of salvation?" Theodorus a Brakel's basic answer is that he urges us to conduct personal spiritual exercises. He contends that this is the way in which spiritual life will be given and strengthened.

The book that I hope to consider has been long out of print. The title is Het Geestelijke Leven, which translated is Spiritual Life. Some years ago I was able to lay hold of a copy of this book in an antiquarian bookshop. This copy dates from 1725 and was printed in the Dutch city of Groningen.

Who was Theodorus a Brakel? He was a Dutch Puritan minister in the Netherlands who lived from 1608-1669. He was a very godly man who wrote several books which are still read in the Netherlands. Theodorus a Brakel was the father of Wilhelmus a Brakel. Some of us may know the name of Wilhelmus a Brakel who wrote the excellent book, entitled De Redelijke Godsdienst which has recently been translated into English under the title The Christian's Reasonable Service. This is an excellent translation and I highly recommend this book to you. This book was one of the most widely read books in the Netherlands and scores of reprints have been issued in the Dutch language. It has proven to be very valuable for the development of spiritual life.

When churches in the Netherlands were becoming liberal, the people of God fed on Wilhelmus a Brakel's The Christian's Reasonable Service. The strength of this book lies in the fact that it not only deals with the doctrines of God's Word in a very comprehensive way, but especially in a very spiritual way. It ex­plains the experiences of God's children and it gives guidance for spiritual life.

Theodorus a Brakel, was the father of Wilhelmus a Brakel. The father is not as well known as the son, but he also has much that is valuable for us.

Who was Theodorus a Brakel? He was born in the Dutch city of Enkhuizen in 1608. His actual name was Dirk Gerrits. His last name, a Brakel, is an addition to the family name because they came from a town called Brakel, close to the border of what is now called Belgium. Dirk Gerrits a Brakel grew up in Enkhuizen. Later his name would be changed to Theodorus a Brakel.

His mother died while he was very young. His grandmother from his mother's side brought him up. While Dirk Gerrits was a child, the Lord already worked in his life and created the fear of the Lord in his soul.

There actually were three means that were beneficial to the early development of his spiritual life. In the first place, Brakel received admonitions from his godly grandmother. In the second place, his father gave him spiritual guidance. At first his father was still Roman Catholic, but he later turned to the Reformed faith. In the third place, Brakel had to read devotional booklets aloud to his grandmother. These three factors proved to be beneficial to Brakel's soul.

Brakel writes that when he was a child of around ten years old, he had the habit of meditating. He often wanted to be alone to read God's Word and to pray. When he was eleven years old and visiting another town he heard a sermon that really struck him. He writes that it was as if his eyes had been opened. When he came home to Enkhuizen, he had a new desire to hear the preaching. From that time on he listened differently to the preaching. He wanted to be in church early so that he could sit up front to be able to hear the minister better.

Some time later he was reading God's Word, when suddenly the words from 2 Corinthians 6:14-16a struck him, especially the words: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Like a sharp sword these words cut him in the depths of his soul. He wrote that it was as if he had a similar experience as Augustine had when he at the time of his conversion was led to pick up God's Word to read Rom 13:11, 12.

In Enkhuizen Brakel also sought the fellowship of godly people who would come together and speak to one another of the dealings of the Lord. In Brakel's youth he already desired that the Lord would give him a foretaste of heaven. He pleaded on the promise of John 14:13, And whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do. He writes that as he was pleading this promise and asking the Lord to fulfil it, his heart was filled with such joy and his soul and thoughts were so drawn up to heaven that it seemed he could see the Lord with the eyes of his soul and he was united to God and filled with unspeakable and wonderful gladness, happiness, peace and comfort.

Brakel then writes that he went his way with joy, just as the Ethiopian eunuch. Brakel writes that for three days he was with his thoughts in heaven until slowly these affections began to weaken and fade away. Then the sweetness left al­together and instead, he received heavy afflictions and struggles. He had deep im­pressions of his guilt and sin. For many years that sweet feeling of God's love was not present in his life and he often was compelled to weep. Sometimes there would be a certain measure of relief, but those first feelings did not come back again. Throughout these years the Lord always gave him grace to use the means. In these years his faith became stronger and the afflictions and struggles became weaker.

In 1628 he married Margaret Homma. They received three daughters while they lived in Enkhuizen. In 1634 they moved to Leeuwarden, the capital city of the province of Friesland. In the official records of the municipality of Leeuwarden we can find that in 1634 Dirk Gerrits of Enkhuizen became a citizen of the Frisian capital by paying the amount of six golden guilders.

In Leeuwarden a son was born to them, called Willem Dirk Gerrits, who later would be Wilhelmus a Brakel. They also received a fourth daughter.

Two local ministers urged him to apply for the ministry and request to be ordained as a minister according to Article 8 of the Church Order. This is the article which al­lows especially gifted men to become ministers without having to undergo a formal theological education.

Brakel, however, did not have clarity on the matter until the Lord, in a very special way, made it very clear to him that he should be a minister. He never made this experience normative for others in gaining certainty regarding their call to the ministry. Later, on his deathbed, Brakel told his son how the Lord gave him this certainty concerning his call to the ministry and said the following: "It happened to me in a certain night, that the heavens were opened. It was so beautiful I cannot explain what it was. It excelled the light of the sun in brightness. There was a voice. The voice spoke: I have called you for this task, yes, I have called you to this."

Brakel now had liberty to undergo the required examinations. In 1637 he was made eligible for a call. He was installed as a minister in the Frisian towns of Beers and Jellum. There he preached and laboured with much blessing.

His son Wilhelmus referred to him as an austere and solemn man, who had a long beard. On the pulpit his rebukes could be so stern that the people had shivers running down their spines. He could, however, also comfort so tenderly that his countenance seemed to be like that of an angel.

During his pastorate at Beers and Jellum he wrote the book entitled, Spiritual Life. It developed as a result of conversations he had with members of his con­gregation regarding their spiritual needs. These members of his church requested him to write down the things he had told them and publish it in book form. He reluctantly agreed to do so. The book was pub­lished and was very well received. During his lifetime eight reprints were necessary. In Beers and Jellum he also wrote a book­let entitled, Some Christian Meditations and Prayers, which were later published in the back of new editions of his book, Spiritual Life.

In 1652 the family moved to Den Burg on the island of Texel, where Brakel was called to be a minister. In 1653 he accepted a call to Makkum in Friesland. While there he wrote another book, called De Trappen des Geestelijken Levens, translated in English as The Various Stages of Spiritual Life. In Makkum he also wrote a booklet concerning the human nature of Christ to counter the opinions of the Anabaptist minister at Makkum.

During his life Brakel was severely taxed by much personal grief. In the course of a short time he and his wife were plunged into deep grief due to the death of their four adult daughters. Three died because of illness and one drowned.

On January 31^st, 1669, he preached for the last time on the blessed salvation of the people of God from Revelation 7. He died on Sunday, the 14^th of February, 1669. That morning the church of Makkum was scheduled to celebrate the Lord's Supper. His son Wilhelmus wrote:

So he entered into the eternal rest, on the day of rest, the day that he had always sanctified with much joy and delight. In the hour in which he was accus­tomed to go out and preach Christ, he entered in unto the One Who had called him to preach, so that he could see and taste what he had proclaimed to others. At the time that he would have celebrated the Lord's Sup­per with his congregation, he was seated with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the wedding sup­per of the Lamb.

The Thoughts of Brakel←⤒🔗

Already during his youth, Brakel had adopted the custom of setting aside three times per day for spiritual meditations. He took Daniel as his example, but he also found other examples in Scripture, for in­stance in the Psalms and the example of Peter who was on the roof of his house, praying at noon-time.

Brakel continued this habit of maintain­ing personal, spiritual meditations throughout his whole life. Praying and meditating in the morning had the major emphasis. He saw examples of this in the Lord Jesus Himself and in other saints in Scripture. He also felt motivated to pray in the morning because of the many admonitions in the Bible to do so.

He never liked to stay in bed past three or four o'clock in the morning. He would even arise in the middle of the night and pray that the Lord would awaken him early in the morning. To be able to rise early he would never eat or drink much during the preceding evening. This practice did not go without physical repercussion; it took a heavy toll on his body.

Brakel also found Scriptural admoni­tions to pray at noon and during the night. He would maintain these times in his daily schedule, but the emphasis was upon meditation, or as he called them, spiritual exercises, early in the morning.

What did these spiritual exercises consist of? The pouring out of the heart before the Lord, imploring Him for a taste of His grace, singing Psalms, reading God's Word and meditating upon it.

His book, Spiritual Life, explains these practices. The entire book is nothing less than one great exhortation to personally seek the Lord and to meditate upon Him and His Word. This book deals with the intimate relationship of sinful, mortal man with the holy and compassionate God. This book is instructive, practical, spiritual and yet down to earth. It gives guidance on how to meditate upon the Lord. It instructs as to why, when and how to seek the Lord. It deals with the personal life of sinners in their relationship to God. It urges people to seek the Lord and live. In giving guidance, Brakel speaks much of his own experiences, without making his experience the norm, however. For him the Scriptures alone are normative.

We may have struggles regarding personal assurance of faith or we may come across people who complain that they don't experience the Lord's presence. Who does not know the afflictions and struggles caused by these questions in his or her personal life? How can I have assurance of faith? How can I taste the goodness and the love of the Lord? Brakel shows us the way: maintain spiritual exercises.

The opening sentence in his book is:

Those who heartily wish to experience God's grace and the forgiveness of sins and taste that the Lord is good and sweet; who wish to grow in communion with God and who wish to abound in the love of Christ, are obliged before all things to practise daily Christian exercises.

The entire book explains and instructs how these spiritual exercises should take place.

Brakel contends that just as the body is nourished by food, likewise the soul must receive spiritual food. A born-again soul without spiritual exercises is like a fish without water. Spiritual life needs to be exercised.

God promises to give His comfort by means of spiritual exercises. It pleases the Lord to give grace in the way of the means that He has ordained. Brakel refers to various Scriptural passages such as Psalm 81:10, "Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it" Matthew 7:7, 8, "Ask and it shall be given you ... for everyone that asketh receiveth."

Brakel advises us to look at holy men of God, for instance Daniel. In answer to his prayer, an angel was sent to him. Peter was praying on the roof of the house when he received a vision. The Ethiopian eunuch was reading God's Word and the Lord sent Philip to him. Think of the Lord Jesus Himself, Who was praying and His countenance was transformed and became bright and shone with light.

Those who wish to embrace the Lord Jesus with the arms of faith and who wish to taste His love should use the means. This is Brakel's point. We need to engage in spiritual exercises.

He suggest three time periods for these spiritual exercises: morning, noon and night. Brakel emphasizes the morning, when one is refreshed and revitalized by sleep. It is still quiet in the house and the daily tasks do not yet demand our attention. Brakel even quotes the heathen philosopher Plutarch, who said that to live well one should follow the example of the lives and works of great men and study their words and deeds. In like manner, Brakel contends, it should be our duty to meditate upon Christ and His Word, which will be of great benefit to us.

Brakel emphasizes that we cannot do these exercises in our own strength. We must be strengthened in the Lord and in the power of His might (Eph. 6:10). For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).

Brakel writes, confess your inability and your unworthiness and beseech the Lord for strength and deliverance from your reluctance to seek Him in prayer. We need special grace from the Lord. David prayed, "Unite my heart to fear Thy Name." Jeremiah prayed, "Turn me, O Lord, and I shall be turned." Jeremiah was a converted man when he prayed this, but he still needed to be turned by the Lord again, every day, more and more. If Jeremiah and David needed this, how much more do we, so that we also may go from strength to strength.

In a pastoral way Brakel refers to practical objections which may be raised, such as the hardness of the heart and the weakness of the flesh. We cannot overcome these difficulties in our own strength. Only the Lord can do that. Brakel casts his people back upon the Lord Who has everything and can do everything and Who has promised to do that which we cannot do and which we greatly need.

Brakel explains how necessary it is to meditate upon the suffering and death of Christ. These meditations are a blessing to the soul. They promote the knowledge of God's grace and mercy. Such meditations will control our pride and keep it in check. The believer will be overwhelmed by the love of Christ, which is unspeakable. A sweet peace and joy in the Lord will be tasted. All divine gifts are hidden in Christ and that is why Paul exclaims that he wishes to know nothing save Christ and Him crucified. Nowhere will the soul find such sweetness and peace than in the Lord Jesus Christ. Brakel writes that the more a person meditates upon the sufferings of Christ and the more he con­templates His love, the more such a person will taste love and will be comforted in all his adversities. By these meditations a poor, timid sinner who is ashamed of his many sins and dares not come to the Lord, receives liberty to approach the throne of grace.

During all stages of spiritual life it is most beneficial to meditate upon Christ; whether it is new-born life, maturing life or during afflictions. Brakel is very pastoral when he writes that we will not always find the same sweetness in meditation. That should not discourage us and we should continue to use the means of grace. The Lord is free to determine which measure of grace and sweetness a person will receive. God is sovereign.

How should we then meditate upon the sufferings of Christ? First, by meditating upon the curse and misery which is upon us because of our sin. Our minds are darkened. We are enemies of God. Our will is perverted. We bring forth evil works because our mind and will are corrupted by sin. Romans 3 teaches us what the natural man is like. Man is subject to all kinds of misery — temporal and eternal. We deserve terrible punishment. That is how miserable we are by nature.

Secondly, over against our misery and guilt we should place the love of the triune God. Think of the love of the Father. We are filled with sin and yet God's child may consider how greatly God the Father loves him and that He has opened all the blessedness of heavenly glory for him. God will let His child partake of these glories for ever and ever. His righteousness does not allow Him to take anyone into that glory unless payment has been made for sin. To justify sinners, the Father, in His great love, has given His only begotten Son to be the Mediator and Redeemer. He assumed human flesh. All these things display the great love of God the Father.

Next, we also see the great love of the Son. He has given Himself for you, unwor­thy sinner! He humbled Himself deeply and meekly. He is the great God Who owned everything, yet He chose great humiliation. He had nothing to call His own throughout His earthly life; no cradle, no place to lay His head; not even His own grave. His humiliation was all for sinners, to bring them from the depths of misery to everlasting righteousness. How this demonstrates the love of the Son!

The Holy Spirit also demonstrates His great love. He formed the body of Christ in Mary's womb. He equipped the Lord Jesus to perform His task.

Brakel says that we should meditate upon the love of the triune God. We should not do so quickly and hastily, but we should dwell on God's love and meditate on it in our innermost being. Then we will experience that the Lord sets our heart on fire with a deep and burning love.

Instead of the earth opening its mouth to devour us, as happened to Korah, Dathan and Abiram, God now opens heaven by His great love. Instead of death, He gives life; instead of hell, He gives heaven. In His great love the Father has given the Son of His love. Unto His people it may be said, "Through love, the Son has become your Brother and the Holy Spirit has become your Comforter." In this way man is overshadowed by the endless love of the triune God. This is the peace of faith, the strength of the martyrs and was the joy of old Simeon. This is to the honour of God.

Brakel continues by saying that the believer may derive much comfort from the promises of God. In Scripture, sweet invitations and comforting promises go together. Brakel calls sinners to come to Christ. "You will not come in vain," he ex­claims, "for comforting promises are added to these spiritual exercises, your sins will be forgiven and He will give you everlasting life. This is rich comfort for a mourning soul." Brakel continues: "will you remain sad and won't you rejoice and strive for encouragement?" Brakel then gives a quotation from Bernard of Clairvaux, a medieval writer:

Surely Lord Jesus, because of Thy meekness, we will follow Thee, hearing that Thou dost not despise the poor sinner. Thou hast not despised the penitent thief on the cross, neither hast thou rejected the weeping woman who was a sin­ner, the beseeching Canaanite woman, the woman caught in adultery, neither the praying publican, the denying disciple, nor the persecutor of the disciples and in the scent of this sweet smelling ointment we will follow Thee and trust that Thou shalt not despise us.

Brakel knows the objections man can come up with. One objection which is frequently raised is, "I wish I had as much contrition and sorrow as the people in the Bible had. I wish I could be as humble and meek as they were and that I could accept that by faith. But my heart is so cold and so unmovable." Brakel refers such people to former days, when they did weep with a heart which was moved and did plead with humility. He writes: "The Lord helped you then. He was gra­cious to you. Why would He not do so again? God has given you grace so that you would now seek His grace. That is proof He is willing to be gracious to you. God's mercies endure forever."

Brakel even suggests the following weekly meditation schedule. On Mondays you may meditate on the ascension of Christ and His sitting at the right hand of His Father. On Tuesdays meditate upon His holy, pure conception and birth. On Wednesdays, consider the life of the Lord Jesus — how friendly, caring and loving He was. On Thursdays meditate upon the institution of the Lord's Supper as a sign and seal of His love. On Fridays dwell on His sufferings and death. On Saturdays think about Christ lying in the grave and that we too are mortal and will have to be laid in the grave. On Sundays we may meditate upon the glorious resurrection of Christ and the fruits thereof.

Sunday always was a special day for Brakel. He strongly advises not to get up later than on other days. There is a tendency to sleep in because we don't have work to do. Brakel, however, says that the work which we have to do on Sunday is more necessary than the work which we do during the week. We are called to meditate upon three things: the work of creation, the work of redemption and eternal glory. That is why the Lord instituted the Lord's Day. (For Scripture references see Genesis 2; Exodus 20; John 20; Acts 20; Revelation 1; and also Isaiah 66, Hebrews 4:9 and Revelation 21.) Besides meditating, the Sabbath is meant to be spent in praising the Lord and seeking God with joy and gladness (cf. Psalm 92).

Brakel warns us to be careful not to get involved with listening to all kinds of gossip in our daily life and not to get entangled with unnecessary work for this life.

Brakel also emphasizes fasting. He says that the aim of fasting is not to earn any merit from God, but it is a means by which we are able to serve God better. Fasting humbles man. Fasting sharpens the mind and makes it is easier for the mind to be lifted up in prayer to God. Fasting is also a silent confession of our sins. Those who fast and pray and in this way humble themselves before God, will experience the joy of God in their heart (Psalm 4).

Being pastoral and practical, Brakel comments that those who think that their body is too weak for fasting should eat and drink a bit less. On his deathbed Brakel said that one can also lay too heavy a burden upon one's body. When someone is weak, Brakel says, a person doesn't have to get out of bed. He can do his spiritual exercises in bed. It is not even necessary to strictly keep the same time every day. It is possible that we are very busy and are engaged in many activities, but this must never be a reason for carnal laziness.

Brakel also describes how a person can receive spiritual joy. On the one hand a person must consider his own unworthiness, sinfulness and insignificance, even after being born again. On the other hand, he must view the great compassion, love, kindness and undeserved goodness ex­tended to him by God. The result is that the soul can be so deeply moved by God's inexplicable love, that tears begin to flow. Deep comfort is tasted when we realize that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ. We will then cry out with Jacob: "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast showed unto Thy servant" (Gen.32:10).

Brakel uses various quotations from Bernard of Clairvaux, a medieval mystic, who lived from 1090-1153. They both showed affinity for the art of meditating upon the person of Christ and in particular upon the human life and sufferings of Christ on earth. Brakel differs from Bernard in that he places his meditations in a trinitarian perspective. He meditates upon the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, particularly in connection with the work of the Mediator. Brakel emphasizes faith above feelings, something that Bernard, to my knowledge, would not have done. Brakel urges that if your feelings do not comfort you, then you must fall back upon faith. Brakel also differs from Bernard in that Bernard was a devout Roman Catholic who was devoted to Mary, something that Brakel obviously would not agree with.

Some refer to Brakel as a mystic because of his desire to experience great heights in spiritual life and to feel close to God. If it is true that Brakel was a mystic, this would mean that he would be opposed to what his son Wilhelmus a Brakel later called, "living by faith on the promises of God." The truth was that both father and son put the emphasis upon faith.

The mystic feels, whereas the child of God believes. Brakel emphasized the preeminence of faith, but he wanted to give spiritual guidance to those who struggled with questions regarding assurance of faith and had a desire to experience the love and goodness of the Lord. The work of Brakel is within the setting of pastoral care. His emphasis was to deal pastorally with his people. Brakel was not a mystic as commonly found in the medieval period. A mystic withdraws himself from the world, but Brakel was not like that. He was married, he experienced great sorrow because of the death of his four daughters, and he laboured in busy con­gregations. He was so occupied with his pastorate, that his complaint was that for years and years he had no time to write. Is this to retreat from the world and seek seclusion in a monastery like Bernard, or to seek seclusion in the woods, like the mystics did?

Some think that Brakel spiritualized the Bible. If that was the case, Brakel would have taught that only spiritual things really count. It is typical of mystics to despise the body. That is not true of Brakel You will remember from the first article that I mentioned that during his work in Makkum he wrote a book refuting the Anabaptist heresy of believing that Jesus had only a spiritual body. Brakel was a spiritual man, but he did not spiritualize.

There is also the allegation against Brakel that he sought assurance of faith in various kinds of emotions and feelings in­stead of in God's Word. Again, we say that Brakel emphasized faith. Even when the soul feels nothing and can do nothing, the only refuge is to lean by faith upon the sure promises of God.

Was Brakel a mystic? We must answer "no." All religion has an element of mysticism or emotionalism. The Greek philosophy of neo-platonism influenced Christian thinking, wherein man was urged to try to climb up to God. A line can be drawn from neo-platonism to Origin through the medieval mystics, such as Eckhart, Ruusbroec and Tauler, to present-day emotionalism. In mysticism the expression is used: ascend to God to be immersed into the will of God.

Even Luther spoke of becoming one with God: "ein kuchen werden mit Gott." Was Luther then also a mystic? No. Luther explained that to be one "kuchen," — one bread with God — means to be one with the Word of God. That is not mysticism, because mysticism does not want the Word but the feeling.

Calvin also emphasized secret communion with Christ, whereby the soul is united to Christ, finding its climax in the Lord's Supper. With Calvin you also see that union with Christ is regulated by means of God's written Word and God's visible Word, the sacrament.

The mark of a mystic is to despise the Word. To them the outward Word is not important. That is why Brakel was no mystic. He very much emphasized the daily study of the Word of God. He underlined the promises of God's Word. Brakel dealt with people who struggled with assurance of faith. His recommendation to them was to seek the Lord daily in the way of spiritual exercises. This takes place in the way of faith.

The important question is: do we abide in that faith? Are we living by faith that looks away from self and looks to Christ and His Word alone, even when I do not feel His presence, yet I hope in Him? The mystic feels; the Christian believes. The mystic waits for better moments; the believer says: "I shall not let Thee go unless Thou bless me."

We all need to have personal, secret devotions. This often presents us with great difficulties. We live in an entertainment culture. We are kept so very busy. The whole philosophy of our age is to be entertained. Life in our society is based on entertainment and that mentality is affecting us too. Perhaps TV does not have a great influence among us, although perhaps I should not be too quick in stating this. Nevertheless, the whole mentality of our age is heavily influenced by it.

Neil Postman, a professor of communication arts and sciences at New York University, wrote a book on this subject about eight years ago. He gave it the title: Amusing Ourselves to Death. He states that the things this society likes and loves will ruin us. Politics, education, religion and journalism are all handed over to show business. The result is that man doesn't think anymore. He just watches. He is continually being entertained by laughter, humour and sensation. The worst part is not even that man is laughing instead of thinking, but that many people do not know what they are laughing about and why they stopped thinking. People must think.

We could translate that into Christian terms by saying, people must think about the Word of God, that is, meditate upon it. We live in the midst of a worldly society. We feel the temptation to stop thinking, do as everyone does and to let others think for us and set their agenda for us.

We must meditate independently of man and very dependently upon God. That is what Brakel teaches us. The emphasis of Brakel is to daily learn to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. God is willing to give us so much, but we don't believe Him. That is our greatest problem. God give that we all be students of Christ who daily sit at His feet.