LODENSTEIN, lo'den-stain,
JODOCUS VAN:
Reformed preacher and ascetic; b. at Delft Feb.
6, 1620; d. at Utrecht Aug. 6, 1677. He studied
theology at Utrecht under Voetius, Schotanus and
De Maets, and in 1642 went to Franeker in order
to devote himself to the study of Oriental languages under the direction of Coccejus. In 1644 he became preacher at Zoetermeer near Delft, in
1650 at Sluis in Flanders, and in 1653 at Utrecht,
where he labored until his death. He was the
originator of a reformation of life and morals in
the Netherlands, and was thus for the Dutch and
German Reformed Church what Spener soon after
became in the German Evangelical-Lutheran
Church, and by the same analogy he was followed
by a party of " Lodensteinians," who kept aloof
from the external life of the Church without formally separating themselves, unlike the adherents
of Labadie, who were outspoken dissenters. He
was a reformer of practical life, not of doctrine.
The Netherlands were at that time exceedingly
prosperous, and the popular mind seemed to be
entirely absorbed by secular pursuits. Lodenstein, however, made a wide-spread impression by his preaching, by his writings, and by his spiritual songs. Of his sermons many were published and
often reprinted in various collections, such as
Geestelyke Opwekker (Amsterdam, 1701);
Vervalle Christendom (Utrecht, 1711);
Heerlijkheid van een waar Christelijk leven (Amsterdam, 1711);
Boetpredikatien over Jerem. xlv (Utrecht, 1779). Of
his important ascetic works must be mentioned especially
Weegschale der onvolmaacktheden (Utrecht, 1664) and
Beschouwinge van Zion (ib. 1674-76). A collection of his spiritual songs is in
Uytspanningen en andere Gedigten
(ib. 1676).
(S. D. VAN VEEN.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY: P. I. Proost, Jodocus van Lodenstein, Amsterdam, 1880; M. Goebel, Geschichte des christlichen Lebens in der rheinisch-westfalischen evangelischen Kirche,
ii. 160-180, Coblentz, 1852; H. L. J. Heppe, Geschichte
des Pietismus und der Mystik in der reformirten Kirshe,
Leyden, 1879; A. Ritschl, Geschichte des Pietismus, i. 152
sqq., Bonn, 1880.
