Puritans on Assurance
Assurance is like a new conversion; it will make a man differ from himself in what he was before in that manner almost as conversion doth before he was converted. There is a new edition of all a man’s graces.
—Thomas Goodwin
Assurance is the fruit that grows out of the root of faith.
— Stephen Charnock
Assurance is glory in the bud, it is the suburbs of paradise.
— Thomas Brooks
Faith is our seal, assurance of faith is God’s seal.
— Christopher Nesse
I am wholly His, I am peculiarly His; I am universally His; I am eternally His.
— Thomas Brooks
A child of God may have the kingdom of grace in his heart, yet not know it. The cup was in Benjamin’s sack, though he did not know it was there.
— Thomas Watson
As an infant hath life before he knoweth it; and as he hath misapprehensions of himself, and most other things for certain years together; yet it will not follow that, therefore, he hath no life or reason.
— Richard Baxter
He that wants assurance of the truth of his grace, and the comfort of assurance, must not stand still and say, “I am so doubtful and uncomfortable that I have no mind to duty,” but ply his duty, and exercise his grace, till he find his doubts and discomforts to vanish.
— Richard Baxter
Assurance is a fruit that grows out of the root of faith; the fruits in winter appear not upon the tree. Because I see not a flourishing top, shall I deny the existence and sappiness of the root? Mary, when she wept at Christ’s feet, had no assurance of His love, yet Christ sends her away with the encomium of her faith, acted before the comfort dropped from His lips.
— Stephen Charnock
We have peace with God as soon as we believe, but not always with ourselves. The pardon may be past the prince’s hand and seal, and yet not put into the prisoner’s
—William Gurnall
Assurance is not of the essence of a Christian. It is required to the bene esse (the well-being), to the comfortable and joyful being of a Christian; but it is not required to the esse, to the being of a Christian. A man may be a true believer, and yet would give all the world, were it in his power, to know that he is a believer. To have grace, and to be sure that we have grace, is glory upon the throne, it is heaven on this side of heaven.
— Thomas Brooks
None have assurance at all times. As in a walk that is shaded with trees and chequered with light and shadow, some tracks and paths in it are dark and others are sunshine. Such is usually the life of the most assured Christian.
— Ezekiel Hopkins
Sense of sin may be often great, and more felt than grace; yet not be more than grace. A man feels the ache of his finger more sensibly than the health of his whole body-, yet he knows that the ache of a finger is nothing compared to the health of the whole body.
— Thomas Adams
God dwells as glorious in a saint when he is in the dark, as when he is in light, for darkness is His secret place, and His pavilion round about Him are dark waters.
—William Erbery
Great comforts do, indeed, bear witness to the truth of thy grace, but not to the degree of it; the weak child is oftener in the lap than the strong one.
—William Gurnall
It is natural to the soul to rest upon everything below Christ; to rest upon creatures, to rest upon graces, to rest upon duties, to rest upon divine manifestations, to rest upon celestial consolations, to rest upon gracious evidences, and to rest upon sweet assurances. Now the Lord, to cure His people of this weakness, and to bring them to live wholly and solely upon ]esus Christ, denies comfort, and denies assurance, etc., and for a time leaves His children of light to walk in darkness. Christians, this you are always to remember, that though’the enjoyment of assurance makes most for your consolation, yet the living purely upon Christ in the absense of assurance, makes most for Christ’s exaltation. He is happy that believes upon seeing, upon feeling, but thrice happy are those souls that believe when they do not see-, that love when they do not know that they are beloved; and that in the want (lack) of all comfort and assurance, can live upon Christ as their only all. He that hath learned this holy art, cannot be miserable; he that is ignorant of this art cannot be happy.
—Thomas Brooks
The Christian must trust in a withdrawing God.
—William Gurnall
Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt
voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen,
vragen, informatie: contact.
Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing.
Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this
database. Terms of use.
Bekijk de hele uitgave van zondag 1 november 1987
The Banner of Truth | 26 Pagina's
Bekijk de hele uitgave van zondag 1 november 1987
The Banner of Truth | 26 Pagina's