Works by William Law

Search works by William Law

• AN APPEAL To all that Doubt
• COLLECTION OF LETTERS
• DEMONSTRATION of the Gross and Fundamental Errors
• Grounds and Reasons of Christian Regeneration.
• Humble, Affectionate, and Earnest Address to the Clergy
• Of Justification by Faith and Works
• Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life
  Description: "...Devotion signifies a life given, or devoted, to God." So begins William Law's Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life. Originally published in 1729, Law's book stands as a powerful challenge to Christians. Law teaches that if God is "our greatest good," then the wisest way to live is to please God through a life of worship, adoration, and devotion. Since many fail to live this way, Law diagnoses why and suggests certain concrete practices as a remedy. Thus, no one interested in becoming more devout can ignore this dynamic book. Law's call has encouraged several generations, and does not fail to encourage believers even today with a serious call to a devout and holy life.
  
  Tim Perrine
  CCEL Staff Writer
• Spirit of Love
  Description: "...Devotion signifies a life given, or devoted, to God." So begins William Law's Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life. Originally published in 1729, Law's book stands as a powerful challenge to Christians. Law teaches that if God is "our greatest good," then the wisest way to live is to please God through a life of worship, adoration, and devotion. Since many fail to live this way, Law diagnoses why and suggests certain concrete practices as a remedy. Thus, no one interested in becoming more devout can ignore this dynamic book. Law's call has encouraged several generations, and does not fail to encourage believers even today with a serious call to a devout and holy life.
  
  Tim Perrine
  CCEL Staff Writer
• Spirit of Prayer
  Description: Influenced by the writings of German mystic, Jacob Boehme, William Law wrote two related works of mysticism: The Spirit of Love and The Spirit of Prayer.  Written by Law in the 1750’s, these books emphasize Law’s own creative interpretation of mysticism, which relies heavily on the indwelling of Christ in the believer’s soul. The Spirit of Prayer contains a series of prayers and dialogues which focus on the profound love of God. Law intended his writings to help readers renew their understanding of the holy life. He encourages his readers to follow God’s calling in this poetic passage:  “When therefore the first spark of a desire after God arises in thy soul, cherish it with all thy care, give all thy Heart into it, it is nothing less than a touch of the Divine. Get up therefore and follow it as gladly, as the Wise Men of the East followed the Star from Heaven that appeared to them. It will do for thee, as the Star did for them, it will lead thee to the birth of Jesus, not in a stable at Bethlehem in Judea, but to the Birth of Jesus in the dark centre of thy own fallen Soul.”  Law is sensitive and wise in his words.  Readers find themselves at first convicted and then comforted by Law’s The Spirit of Prayer. 
  Emmalon Davis
  CCEL Staff Writer
• Way to Divine Knowledge
  Description: William Law's career was one of many changes. He wore many hats: teacher, religious guide, dissenter, and mystic writer. This last shift from traditional, evangelical treatise and doctrine writer to student and scholar of mysticism is perhaps the most curious. After almost a decade of silence from his pen, Law published several volumes of Christian mystical study, one of which was Way to Divine Knowledge. The piece is a dialogue among speakers Academicus, Rusticus, Humanus, and Theophilus. They discuss the spiritual yearning that humans have deep within, and the importance of divine union. "Your business is now to give Way to this heavenly Working of the Spirit of God in your Soul, and turn from every things either within you, or without you, that may hinder the farther Awakening," says Theophilus in the first dialogue. This literature from Law's later work is a creative and readable discussion of Christian mystic union, and will be instructive for readers interested in the more intangible side of union with God.
  
  Abby Zwart
  CCEL Staff Writer