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

By Henry Scougal and Joel Beeke

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

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crossway Books
• Release date: Apr 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781433580505

Henry Scougal

Henry Scougal (1650–1678) was a Scottish theologian and minister. His distinguished life included a celebrated academic career and 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.

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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 Crossway

1300 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

Reviews for The Life of God in the Soul of Man (Foreword by Joel Beeke)

[dandelionsmith-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent read. Practical and step by step theology. Whitfield kept it next to his Bible