The Lord reveal himself more and more to us in the face of his Son Jesus Christ and magnify the power of his grace in cherishing those beginnings of grace in the midst of our corruptions, and sanctify the consideration of our own infirmities to humble us, and of his tender mercy to encourage us.
And may he persuade us that, since he has taken us into the covenant of grace, he will not cast us off for those corruptions which, as they grieve his Spirit, so they make us vile in our own eyes.
And because Satan labors to obscure the glory of his mercy and hinder our comfort by discouragements, the Lord add this to the rest of his mercies, that we may not lose any portion of comfort that is laid up for us in Christ.
And, may he grant that the prevailing power of his Spirit in us should be an evidence of the truth of grace begun, and a pledge of final victory, at that time when he will be all in all, in all his, for all eternity. Amen.
—Richard Sibbes
I like this. 🙂
I'm glad. I love the Puritan writers.
I've never read them. Do you have a suggested book?
They wrote an immense amount; I'll have to think about that. One good introductory piece is the introduction J. I. Packer wrote (perhaps a quarter-century ago now) to John Owen's The Death of Death in the Death of Christ; it's included in his book A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life, which is a good overview of the Puritans and their teachings. For a good place to start on the works of the Puritans themselves–I'll have to think about that a bit. Owen's probably my favorite, especially writing on Romans (such as Spiritual-Mindedness, on Romans 8:6, or On the Mortification of Sin in Believers, on Romans 8:13), but he's not exactly an easy read, especially if you aren't used to the 17th-century language. So I'll have to mull that a bit and get back to you.
I can start with Packer's book which hopefully will give me an idea if I want to take it further. 🙂
Thanks for your kindness.
You're very welcome.