The Narrated Puritan

There is an exact description of many who are on the road to Heaven. They are thoroughly sincere, nobody can doubt that; but they are "so nervous." I think that is how they describe themselves. "So doubtful, so mistrustful, so suspicious, so over-loaded with doubts and fears," would, perhaps, be a truer verdict.

The human nature of Christ was capable of having new objects proposed to its mind and understanding, whereof before it had a simple nescience. And this is an inseparable adjunct of human nature as such, as it is to be weary or hungry, and no vice or blamable defect.

So presumptuous are they that they are firmly convinced heaven is theirs, yea, they are here represented as complaining to their Judge when He closes the door against them, putting in a plea for their claim at the bar of justice and arguing as though it were unfair that they should be excluded from the everlasting bliss of the righteous. Thus it is clearly implied that they lived and died in the full assurance that they were the objects of God's approbation, that they were completely secured from the wrath to come.

John Owen - The Holy Spirit and Sanctification Collected Works Volume 3 The Holy Spirit He is promised and received as a Spirit of sanctification unto and by them that are regenerate,—that is, unto believers,—and only to them.

Recently I made a trip up to Grand Rapids MI, to hold for the first time my new grandson. While I was there I took notice of the continuing apostasy of the churches in an area once noted for Dutch Calvinism, Reformed Theology, Christian book publishing. This is the story of what this city once was.

If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

Much of this story depends on a book titled, A Personal Narrative of 2 Years Imprisonment in the Burman Prison, 1860 - Henry Gouger.

Do you not see your neighbor suffer, and pinched with want, and you, although sensible of it, harden your hearts against him, and are careless about it? Do you not in such a case, neglect to inquire into his necessities, and to do something for his relief? Is it not your manner to hide your eyes in such cases, and to be so far from devising liberal things, and endeavoring to find out the proper objects and occasions of charity, that you rather contrive to avoid the knowledge of them? Are you not apt to make objections to such duties, and to excuse yourselves?

Inquire whether you do not from time to time injure and defraud those with whom you deal. Are your ways with your neighbor altogether just, such as will bear a trial by the strict rules of the Word of God, or such as you can justify before God? Are you a faithful person? May your neighbors depend on your word? Are you strictly and firmly true to your trust, or anything with which you are betrusted, and which you undertake? Or do you not by your conduct plainly show, that you are not conscientious in such things?

"In the week past I had divers turns of inward refreshing; though my body was inexpressibly weak, followed continually with agues and fevers. Sometimes my soul centred in God, as my only portion; and I felt that I should be for ever unhappy if he did not reign. I saw the sweetness and happiness of being his subject, at his disposal. This made all my difficulties quickly vanish.

We should be strict to inquire whether or no we have not hitherto allowed ourselves in some or other sinful way, through wrong principles and mistaken notions of our duty. Whether we have not lived in the practice of some things offensive to God, through want of care and watchfulness, and observation of ourselves. We should be concerned to know whether we live not in some way which doth not become the profession we make. And whether our practice in some things be not unbecoming Christians, contrary to Christian rules, not suitable for the disciples and followers of the holy Jesus, the Lamb of God.

There must be an explanation which will not merely vindicate the character of God, in the sense of showing that this process or prosecution which the divine "determinate counsel" carried on, is no impeachment of the divine justice, but that it involves an illustrious instance and forthgoing of this divine justice. There must be an explanation which will even swallow up the scandal in glory and make the very offence of the cross a fountain and a revelation of high moral excellence and triumph – not only not the eclipse, but the victory of righteousness.

Though the power of sin be weakened by inherent grace in them that have it, that sin shall not have dominion over them as it hath over others, yet the guilt of sin that doth yet abide and remain is aggravated and heightened by it:

About the latter end of August, I again fell under great darkness; it seemed as if the presence of God was clean gone for ever; though I was not so much distressed about my spiritual state, as I was at my being shut out from God's presence, as I then sensibly was. But it pleased the Lord to return graciously to me, not long after.

As a minister of the gospel, he was called to unusual services in that work; and his ministry was attended with very remarkable and unusual events. His course of religion began before the late times of extraordinary religious commotion; yet he was not an idle spectator, but had a near concern in many things that passed at that time.

"Some time in the beginning of winter, 1738, it pleased God, on one sabbath-day morning, as I was walking out for some secret duties, to give me on a sudden such a sense of my danger, and the wrath of God, that I stood amazed, and my former good frames, that I had pleased myself with, all presently vanished. From the view I had of my sin and vileness, I was much distressed all that day, fearing the vengeance of God would soon overtake me.

If you are fully come to a determination concerning the things of religion, that they are true, they will be of weight with you above all things in the world. If you be really convinced that these things are no fable, but reality, it is impossible but that you must be influenced by them above all things in the world; for these things are so great, and so infinitely exceed all temporal things, that it cannot be otherwise. He that really is convinced that there is a heaven and hell, and an eternal judgment; that the soul, as soon as parted from the body, appears before the judgment-seat of God; and that the happiness and misery of a future state is as great as the Scripture represents it; or that God is as holy, just, and jealous, as he hath declared concerning himself in his word.

What is "sympathy?" what are its adverse effects that was guarded against in genuine revival?

Sometimes one sinful desire hits a man harder than another man, or harder than a different sinful desire does. This might be due to natural tendencies in him, frequent opportunities to be tempted, or simply because Satan has a grip on the man with which to manipulate him. When this happens, even though he still knows the truth, the sinful desire darkens his mind as with a mist, and his corrupt affections and passions are thus set free to wreak havoc.

We should travel on in this way in a laborious manner. — Long journeys are attended with toil and fatigue, especially if through a wilderness. Persons in such a case expect no other than to suffer hardships and weariness. — So we should travel in this way of holiness, improving our time and strength, to surmount the difficulties and obstacles that are in the way. The land we have to travel through, is a wilderness. There are many mountains, rocks, and rough places that we must go over, and therefore there is a necessity that we should lay out our strength. Our whole lives ought to be spent in traveling this road. — We ought to begin early. This should be the first concern, when persons become capable of acting. When they first set out in the world, they should set out on this journey. — And we ought to travel on with assiduity. It ought to be the work of every day. We should often think of our journey's end; and make it our daily work to travel on in the way that leads to it. — He who is on a journey is often thinking of the destined place, and it is his daily care and business to get along and to improve his time to get towards his journey's end. Thus should heaven be continually in our thoughts, and the immediate entrance or passage to it, viz. death, should be present with us. — We ought to persevere in this way as long as we live.

All manner of hurrying just to get members into the church is most harmful, both to the church and to the supposed converts. I remember very well several young men who were of good moral character and religiously promising. Instead of searching their hearts and aiming at their real conversion, the pastor never gave them any time to think about their spiritual condition. Instead, he pestered until he persuaded them (not the Spirit) to make a profession.

A study of the evangelistic method of Jonathan Edwards in such sermons as Pressing Into Kingdom, God Makes Men Sensible of Their Misery, Tne Manner in which Salvation is to be Sought. Why was there an appeal to mercenary motives? Were the applications what is sometimes labeled "preparationism" in fact so? Was Edwards alone in his instructions to the unconverted sinner, or did this in fact follow the Puritan Tradition? Why has modern evangelism shunned the type of awakening illustrated in Christian in his awakening detailed in the allegory Pilgrim's Progress?