The Life of God in the Soul of Man was written as a letter of spiritual counsel to a friend, and it succeeded far beyond the author's expectations. It passed from hand to hand until it was brought to Gilbert Burnet, the future bishop of Salisbury, with the suggestion that it be made available to the world. It is considered a classic book of Christian devotion. It is timeless in its appeal. Its thought is clear and comprehensible; its language possesses a quiet beauty and poignancy that does not lose its charm with the passing of the years; and its style is not distorted by the artificialities of temporal literary fashions.