Isaac Ambrose Part 2

Puritan contemplative

In a “contemplative biography” Schwanda helpfully examines extant diary entries. He quotes a stand out experience

May 20, 1641. (pm) The Lord in his mercy poured into my soul the ravishing joy of his blessed Spirit. O how sweet was the Lord unto me? I never felt such a lovely taste of heaven before: I believed this was the joyful sound, the kisses of his mouth, the sweetnesses of Christ, the joy of his Spirit, the new wine of his kingdom; it continued with me about two days.

Schwanda notes “a number of significant themes from this two day encounter” - specific mention of experiencing each member of the Trinity; joy (mentioned three times) as the dominant affection and sweetness (mentioned twice). Ambrose traced the experience to the time in which he “began to see spiritual things … upon which followed more desire and endeavours after grace.”(1)

Another example

May 17, 1648. At several times I ran through the duties of watchfulness, self-examination, experiences, meditation, the life of faith; and many a time I felt many sweet stirrings of Christ's Spirit; the Lord Jesus appeared to my soul, gave me the kisses of his mouth, especially in my prayers to, and praises of his Majesty. Surely thou art my Lord, and I will praise thee; Thou art my God, and I will exalt thee. Hallelujah! (2)

Two days later, he writes, summing up the variety of experience he knew,

One felt many strivings, and contrary workings in his spirit; sometimes in prayer ravished, and sometimes heavy; sometimes full of comfort and sometimes exceedingly dejected; sometimes patient and other whiles impatient. O the fickleness and uncertainty of the heart in the course of piety.

Spiritual warfare is a big theme in Puritan writing and it comes out in Ambrose

May 25, 1646. The Lord opened a poor creature's eye, to see in some measure the depths of Satan, and deceitfulness of his own heart: he acted in things doubtful, against the reluctancy of his own conscience before; no question this is sin, because it is not faith.

He also reports how Satan tempted his troubled soul, while sleeping, but

March 6, 1647. The Lord stood by him, put prayers into him though asleep, whereby he overcame the temptation; then awaking, he deeply apprehended Satan's approach and busy temptations: it struck him into fears but praising God for his assistance, he received boldness, and then slept again. (3)

There was plenty of opposition from world and flesh too. On Monday, January 24, 1648, he “had a grieved and troubled heart, by reason of some opposition of wicked people.” Elsewhere he says

many and many a time I have been on the wing, yea, sometimes the opposition has been so strong, that I have wished with David, Oh that I had the wings of a dove, for then I would flee and be at rest. (5)

The Media refers to “our special sins, our Dalilah sins”. Schwanda suggests Ambrose's was pride. “His primary conflict appears to have been his desire to create a better public image than was justified”. In support, two May 1646 entries.

13. One performed indeed a good action, but he exceedingly over prized it; which he found afterwards.

15. This day a poor soul, upon strict examination of his heart, found that formerly he had judged many sinful actions lawful and good and had excused many actions though in themselves sinful. He felt not such a powerful operation of his corruptions before and so through pride and ignorance thought better of himself than he had cause. (6)

Doubt was another temptation.

May 20, 1651. (am) I fell on reading the word, perused the directions and then searched into the common places and uses of my corruptions in nature and practice; of my comforts against the burthens of my daily infirmities; of establishing my heart against the fear of falling away; of directions in my calling; of comforts against outward crosses; of my privileges in Christ above all the wicked in the world: in every of these Christ appeared in some measure suitably to my soul. (pm) I proceeded in the common places and uses of sweet passages that melted my heart; of sensible comforts, and of places hard to be understood: in the first my heart was sweetly melted, in the second cheered; in the conclusion the Lord struck me with a reverence of his majesty and presence, filled my soul with spiritual refreshings, enlarged my heart with praises of him and desires to live unto him who hath given me in this time of love so many visits and kisses of his mouth. Hallelujah! (7)

The day before he had written

19. (am) I exercised the life of faith, when the Lord strengthened me to act faith on several promises, both temporal, spiritual, and eternal; I had then sweet, refreshing, and encouraging impressions on my soul against all the fearful, sinful, and doubtful dreams I had the night or two before dreamed. (pm) I considered the duty of prayer, observed some workings of God's Spirit in my perusing the rules, and afterwards in the practice of this duty. Blessed be God! (8)

Anger was a sin he fell into. He records how one Saturday evening (January 23, 1647) he “fell into exorbitancy of passion”. He was so angry he had heart palpitations. We do not know who he was angry with. His wife? Thankfully, the next day he is able to report that his conscience was troubled “for his rash anger” and that he “reconciled himself to his adversary, and immediately God spake peace to his conscience.”

He also guarded his heart against covetousness. On February 27, 1645, he had a pay rise and prayed “incline my heart unto thy testimonies and not to covetousness.” On March 27, 1647, he confesses himself “a poor soul being mightily ensnared with the world and finding by experience its vanity and vexation, he resolved against it.” He also speaks of being “exceedingly troubled by the cares of this life.” Later that same year, December 11, he writes positively

This day one observed God's goodness, in supplying fully all his temporal wants. This he construed as earnest both of spiritual and eternal favours and mercies in Christ. (9)

Footnotes                                                                          

1. Schwanda 236, 237

2. Schwanda 114 Again the Media pattern

3. Schwanda 121

4. Schwanda 126

5. Fishwick 166

6. Schwanda 128

7. Schwanda 162

8. Ambrose, Media (1657) 89

9. Schwanda 128, 129

Isaac Ambrose Part 1

This is the opening of my paper given at thet Westminster Conference, in 2013. The papers were published under the title Clairty and Confusion.

We begin back in May, 1651. The Wars of the three kingdoms are drawing to a close and Cromwell is heading back to London, his Scottish campaign completed.

We focus on a small wooden hut in an extensive wood somewhere in the north of England. (1) In the hut is the man we want to consider, Isaac Ambrose. At this time he is about 46. He wears the dark clothing typical of a Christian minister of the time. Fairly slight in build, he is a little taller perhaps than the average for the day (5' 6”). His hair touches his collar and on his head he wears a dark skull cap. His greying beard is small and neat, occupying his chin with a thin line above his upper lip. His look is sober and serious but a kindliness in his eyes suggests he is an approachable man. (2)

Sometimes he speaks aloud, sometimes not. He has a book with him and a means of writing. What is he doing? He is praying and meditating according to a method he share in his work Media. We know some of the things that he wrote at such times because, while his “register of God's dealing towards him and of his dealings towards God” (3) has not survived, he preserved sample extracts in Media (4)

Ambrose felt that personal experiences with God can be shared with others to encourage them.

The Christian that hath collected experiences, or found out methods, for the advancement of holiness, must not deny such knowledge to the body; Christians must drive an open and free trade, they must teach one another the mystery of godliness … would Christians thus meet and exchange words and notions, they might build up one another, they might heat and inflame one another, they might strengthen and encourage one another, as the brethren did Paul: and have we not an express command for this duty of conference? (5)

In a subsequent edition he varied and reduced the extracts but if we use all editions, there are a significant number of entries to consider. (6)

In 1842 Joseph Hunter wrote of “a pathos and beauty in some of the passages ... which make one wish for more”. (7) Ambrose made much of Canticles 2:11, 12 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field, etc, there will I give thee my loves and quotes a favourite writer, Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), “The bridegroom of our souls is bashful, and more frequently visits his bride in the solitary places.” (8)

Writing of Christ tempted in the wilderness, he says

In this respect, I know not but the wilderness might be an advantage to Christ’s design. In this solitary place he could not but breathe out more pure inspiration; heaven usually is more open and God usually more familiar and frequent in his visits in such places. I know not what others’ experiences may be but if I have found anything of God, or of his grace, I may thank a wood, a wilderness, a desert, a solitary place, for its accommodation and have I not a blessed pattern here before me? (9)

Wheaton academic Tom Schwanda has studied Ambrose extensively and wonders if he began “by following the practice of his biblical namesake” (Genesis 24:63). (10)

Over several days he makes these entries

14. In a pleasant wood and sweet walks in it, the Lord moved and enabled me to begin the exercise of secret duties and after the prolegomena, or duties in general, I fell on that duty of watchfulness. The Lord then gave me to observe my former negligence and to make some resolutions. I found the Lord sweet to me in the conclusion of the duty. Hallelujah!

15. (am) I fell on the duty of self-trial and ... confessed my sins before and since conversion, wherein the Lord sweetly melted my heart. (pm) I perused my diary for the last year, wherein are many passages of mercies from God, and troubles for sin, etc.

16. (am) I went through the duty of experiences, and felt some stirrings of God's Spirit in my soul. (pm) I fell on the duty of evidences, when I acted faith, and found my evidences clear. Oh how sweet was my God!

17. (am) I meditated on the love of Christ, wherein Christ appeared, and melted my heart in many sweet passages. (pm) I meditated on eternity of hell and on eternity of heaven, wherein the Lord both melted and cheered and warmed and refreshed my soul. Surely the touches of God's Spirit are as sensible as any outward touches. Hallelujah!

We have no record for some days but other entries follow

22. Occasionally, though not in course, I fell on some parts of the duty of self-denial: the Lord in mercy wrought in my soul some suitableness to that spiritual gospel-duty; Lord, keep this fire up in a flame still. Oh it is a sweet, but a very hard lesson.

31. I practised (as the Lord enabled) the duty of saints' sufferings; into which condition as I was cast, so the Lord gave me to see my sin and to bewail it and to pray for the contrary, grace and God's favour. The Lord was sweet to me in the preparations to, but especially in the improving of, sufferings. Now the Spirit left in my soul a sweet scent and savour behind ... (11)

Edmund Calamy tells us it was Ambrose's “usual custom once in a year, for the space of a month to retire into a little hut in a wood, and avoiding all human converse to devote himself to contemplation.”(12) Every May he would retire to woods near Hoghton Tower and the River Darwen near Preston or to Weddicre (Wood acre) Woods near Garstang and spend the month praying, meditating and seeking God.

The first retreat it appears was in May, 1641. A May 20, 1646 entry gives an example of the sort of framework followed and tells how he experienced God.

I came to Weddicre, which I did upon mature resolution, every year about that pleasant Spring time (if the Lord pleased) to retire myself and in some solitary and silent place to practice especially the secret duties of a Christian. In this place are sweet silent woods and therein this month, and part of the next, the Lord by his Spirit wrought in me evangelical repentance for sin, gave me sweet comforts and spiritual refreshings in my commerce and intercourse with him, by prayer and meditation and self examination, and discovered to me the causes of my many troubles and discouragements in my ministry, whereupon I prayed more fervently, pressed the Lord with his promises, set his power and wisdom and mercy on work; and so waited and believed, till the Lord answered every petition and I could not but observe his hand in it. This was a comfortable time to my soul. (13)

Schwanda says his practice was unusual, especially for a married man with children though it was perhaps more common then for men to be away from home for long periods. (14)

Footnotes                                                                          

1 Preston Chronicle July 23, 1836 “on the very spot (as nearly as can be ascertained) in Woodacre Wood on which” the “hut was built, and in which, during his ministry in Garstang for the space of one month in a year [Ambrose] spent the life of a recluse in fasting and in prayer, Mr Thomas Smith, of Scorton, the Duke of Hamilton's gamekeeper, has built another, and on Saturday last, at Mr Smith's expense, 49 children, besides ladies and gentlemen, took tea in this newly-erected cabin.” Cf Anthony Hewitson, Northward, historic, topographic and residential gleaning 68 kindly supplied with other articles by Mr Roy Middleton.

2 See National Portrait Gallery anonymous line engraving (1674) and an earlier engraving.

3 Henry Fishwick, History of the Parish of Garstang, etc 164

4 Puritans often had their diaries destroyed at death.

5 Prima, Media & Ultima 1737 ed 200. All spellings and punctuation updated.

6 Tom Schwanda, PhD Soul Recreation: Spiritual Marriage and Ravishment in the Contemplative-Mystical Piety of Isaac Ambrose (published as Soul Recreation: the Contemplative-Mystical Piety of Puritanism) 135. Entries vary over the editions with 1650 containing the most; the last two identical. The May 1651 entries are replaced by shorter, alternatives. He also greatly reduced examples in his experiences section as not all previous material was edifying.

7 Joseph Hunter, Rise of the old dissent, exemplified in ... Oliver Heywood, preface

8 1648. Cf Canticles Sermon XXXI. Schwanda 181 “Ambrose in particular, and the Puritans in general, were often indebted to Bernard”. Joseph Hall was an influence (Schwanda). Ambrose lists Angier, Ash, Ball, Baxter, Bolton, Burgess, Burroughs, Byfield, Downham, Dyke, Goodwin, Gouge, Hooker, Leigh, Mason, Rogers, Torshell, White.

9 Looking Unto Jesus: A View of the Everlasting Gospel, etc 1832 ed 235

10 KJV And Isaac went out to meditate in the field .... Schwanda 135

11 Prima, Media, etc 49, 50 He follows the order in Media - watchfulness, self-trial, self-denial, experiences, evidences, meditation, etc though he has self-denial after meditation. In 1651 May 14 was the Lord's Day.

12 Edmund Calamy, An account of the ministers, etc who were ejected or silenced, etc Vol 2, 1713 ed 409

13 Ambrose, Media (1650) 74

14 In May, 1641 his daughter was six. Schwanda says Joseph Alleine (1634-68) did something similar for shorter periods, Mary Rich (1625-78) spent much time contemplating in her garden or “wilderness”, Thomas Shepard (1605-49) used his garden for meditation and Theodorus A Brakel (1608-69) had eight hour devotions.