Puritans on Assurance (2)

It is the very drift and design of the whole Scripture, to bring souls first to an acquaintance with Christ, and then to an acceptance of Christ, and then to build them in sweet assurance of their actual interest in Christ

— Thomas Brooks

To make sense and feeling the judges of our spiritual conditions, what is it but to make ourselves happy and miserable, righteous and unrighteous, saved and damned in one day, ay, in one hour…. What is this but to toss the soul to and fro, and to expose it to a labyrinth of fears and scruples? What is this but to cast a reproach upon Christ, to gratify Satan, and to keep yourselves upon the rack [i.e., an instrument of torture]? Well, doubting souls, the counsel that I shall give you is this, be much in believing, and make only the Scripture the judge of your condition-, maintain the judgment of the Word against the judgment of sense and feeling ….If you resolve to make sense and feeling the judge of your conditions, you must resolve to live in fears, and lie down in tears.

—Thomas Brooks

Whenever God pardons sin, He subdues it (Micah 7:19). Then is the condemning power of sin taken away, when the commanding power of it is taken away. If a malefactor be in prison, how shall he know that his prince hath pardoned him? If a jailer come and knock off his chains and fetters, and lets him out of prison, then he may know he is pardoned; so, how shall we know God hath pardoned us? If the fetters of sin be broken off, and we walk at liberty in the ways of God, this is a blessed sign we are pardoned.

—Thomas Watson

A soul under assurance is unwilling to go to heaven without company.

— Thomas Brooks

Motion is the most perfect discoverer of life. He that can stir his limbs, is surely not dead. The feet of the soul are the affections. Hast thou not found in thyself a hate and detestation of that sin whereinto thou hast been miscarried? Hast thou not found in thyself a true grief of heart, for thy wretched indisposition to all good things? Without a true life of grace, these things could never have been.

— Joseph Hall

The being in a state of grace will yield a man a heaven hereafter, but the seeing of himself in this estate will yield him both a heaven here and a heaven hereafter; it will render him doubly blest, blest in heaven, and blest in his own conscience.

—Thomas Brooks

Assurance and comforts are desirable, but fruitfulness is absolutely necessary…. The end why the Lord offers us comfort and assurance of His love, is to make us cheerful in His service, and to encourage us in His work, and engage our hearts in it thoroughly

— David Clarkson

It may be you have been more earnest and vehement for assurance, and the effects of it, viz., joy, comfort, and peace, than you have been for grace and holiness, for communion with God, and conformity to God. It may be your requests for assurance have been full of life and spirits, when your requests for grace and holiness, for communion with God, and conformity to God, have been lifeless and spiritless. If so, no wonder that assurance is denied you. Assurance makes most for your comfort, but holiness makes most for God’s honor. Man’s holiness is now his greatest happiness, and in heaven man’s greatest happiness will be his perfect holiness.

— Thomas Brooks

If a loving heart is without fear of the day of judgment, he is without fear of falling away

—John Cotton

There is a reward not only in keeping, but also for keeping of His commands (Psalm 19:11). Joseph, for his thirteen years’ imprisonment, had the honor to reign fourscore years like a king-, David, for his seven years’ banishment, had a glorious reign of forty years’ continuance-, Daniel, for his lying a few hours among the lions, is made chief president over a hundred and twenty princes….Ah! doubting souls, pray hard, work hard for assurance-, the pay will answer the pains.

—Thomas Brooks

Assurance will assist us in all duties-, it will arm us against all temptations-, it will answer all objections-, it will sustain us in all conditions….

— Edward Reynolds

The assured Christian is more motion than notion, more work than word, more life than lip, more hand than tongue.

— Thomas Brooks

Assurance of better things makes the soul sing care away, as that martyr said, “My soul is turned to her rest-, I have taken a sweet nap in Christ’s lap, and therefore I will now sing care away, and will be careless according to my name.”

—Thomas Brooks

The greatest thing that we can desire, next to the glory of God, is our own salvation; and the sweetest thing we can desire is the assurance of our salvation ….All saints shall enjoy a heaven when they leave this earth; some saints enjoy a heaven while they are here on earth.

— Joseph Caryl

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