# Solitude Improved by Divine Meditation -- Nathanael Ranew



## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 2, 2007)

_Solitude Improved by Divine Meditation_ by Nathanael Ranew is available online here.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 5, 2007)

From Joel Beeke & Randall Pederson, _Meet the Puritans_, p. 495:



> Ranew's book is a typical Puritan work on meditation, though it is longer than most. He says that meditation exercises both the mind and the heart, for he who meditates approaches a subject with his intellect as well as his affections. Meditation is a daily duty that enhances every other duty of the Christian life. As oil lubricates an engine, meditation facilitates the means of grace, such as reading Scripture, listening to sermons, praying, and other ordinances of Christ. It deepens the marks of grace, such as repentance, faith, and humility; and it strengthens relationships with God, fellow Christians, and neighbors at large.
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> According to Ranew, there are two kinds of meditation: occasional and deliberate. Occasional meditation takes what one observes with the senses and raises up thoughts to heavenly meditation. It may be practiced at any time and any place. A spiritually minded man can quickly learn how to spiritualize natural things, for his desires run counter to the worldly minded who carnalize even spiritual things. The believer must be careful, however, to rein in his imagination by Scripture when engaged in occasional meditation, so as to avoid mysticism.
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> ...


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