Preface.

neighbor / who is the beloved God’s wonderful, precious image. Whoever possesses this great treasure—that he feels some love within himself toward GOD—let him thank Him most humbly for it; for without His grace he would not have it. Let him also pray with heartfelt earnestness for the increase of this love in himself and in other people; which is now greatly necessary, as the aged body of the Christian Church has grown almost completely cold, so that some may encourage themselves toward fervent prayer for their brothers, and alongside me, a man of weak faith, call out day and night to our Father in heaven with the following or similar humble sighs:

O glorious, most blessed Creator, dearest Abbaoriginal: Abba; an Aramaic word for "Father," used here to express an intimate, familial relationship with the Divine., JehovahA Latinization of the Hebrew name for God, YHWH., Zebaothoriginal: Zebaoth; Hebrew for "Hosts" or "Armies," referring to God as the Lord of the heavenly hosts.! I, your unworthy worm and poor maggot, am not worthy even to think of Your almighty, awesome original: schröcklichen; in this 17th-century context, this implies a name that inspires holy dread or profound awe rather than modern "terror." name, much less to call upon the same with my unclean lips; because You have let it be witnessed through Your wise servant that the entire world before You, O Father! is like the pointer of a scale A reference to the biblical book of the Wisdom of Solomon 11:22, describing the insignificance of the world compared to God's magnitude. and like a tiny drop of dew;