The Narrated Puritan

Though the law now be above the strength of man, yet is not the holiness of God blemished by keeping it up. It is true, God hath been graciously pleased to mitigate the severity and rigour of the law by the entrance of the gospel; yet, where men refuse the terms of the gospel, they continue themselves under the condemnation of the law, and are justly guilty of the breach of it, though they have no strength to observe it.

Most of the actions of our faculties, as they are actions, might have been in the state of innocency. Eating is an act Adam would have used if he had stood firm, but not eating to excess. Worship was an act that should have been performed to God in innocence, but not hypocritically. Every action is good by a physical goodness, as it is an act of the mind or hand, which have a natural goodness by creation, but every action is not morally good. The physical goodness of the action depends on God, the moral evil on the creature.

God is not the cause of sin in this, because his operation about this is negative; it is not an action, but a denial of action, and therefore cannot be the cause of the evil actions of men. God acts nothing, but withholds his power; he doth not enlighten their minds, nor incline their wills so powerfully as to expel their darkness, and root out those evil habits which possess them by nature. God could, if he would, savingly enlighten the minds of all men in the world, and quicken their hearts with a new life by an invincible grace, but in not doing it there is no positive act of God, but a cessation of action.

Answering the most material pleas for slavish fear, and dissolving the common objections against courage and constancy in times of danger.

The various uses of fear, both natural, sinful, and religious, in the government of the world by providence.

Thinking through with this audience about how to best use an audio-book ministry and podcast how to make it more useful for the hearers going forward.

When we look at the pace of our modern world, with its relentless noise and constant distractions, it is easy for our spiritual lives to become shallow and reactive. But if we turn to the Puritans—masters of the soul like John Owen, Richard Baxter, and William Gurnall—we discover a timeless truth: the mind is the primary battleground of the faith. They understood that whatever captures our thoughts will ultimately capture our desires, shape our character, and govern our worship. Far from being a passive space, the mind must be actively guarded against the subtle intrusions of worldliness, the sluggishness of mental ease, and the intrusive noise of unwanted distractions. Tonight, we are going to explore this rich Puritan tradition of spiritual psychology, discovering how taking control of our inner thought-life is the essential key to cultivating a heart that truly loves God and finds lasting peace.

This study explores the delicate balance between solemn warning and ultimate triumph in Reformed theology by contrasting John Bunyan's scene at the Delectable Mountains—where the Shepherds soberly observe that "few show their face on these mountains"—with the historic debate over the total number of the redeemed. By examining the rigorous pastoral warnings of Puritans like John Owen, Thomas Shepard, and Jonathan Edwards alongside the expansive, victorious vision of B. B. Warfield, R. L. Dabney, and C. H. Spurgeon, this investigation harmonizes the local, searching reality of Matthew 7 ("narrow is the gate") with the global, eschatological promise of Revelation 7 ("an innumerable multitude"). Ultimately, it demonstrates how classic Reformed theology maintains both a rigorous call to self-examination against false assurance—as embodied in Bunyan's tragic character Ignorance—and an unshakeable confidence in the cosmic, vast scope of Christ's saving victory.