When we enjoy God, we enjoy Him in His eternity without any flux… Time is fluid, but eternity is stable; and after many ages, the joys will be as savory and satisfying as if they had been but that moment first tasted by our hungry appetites. When the glory of the Lord shall rise upon you, it shall be so far from ever setting, that after millions of years are expired, as numerous as the sands on the seashore, the sun, in the light of whose countenance you shall live, shall be as bright as at the first appearance; He will be so far from ceasing to flow, that He will flow as strong, as full, as at the first communication of Himself in glory to the creature. God is always vigorous and flourishing; a pure act of life, sparkling new and fresh rays of life and light to the creature, flourishing with a perpetual spring, and contenting the most capacious desire; forming your interest, pleasure, and satisfaction; with an infinite variety, without any change or succession; He will have variety to increase delights, and eternity to perpetuate them; this will be the fruit of the enjoyment of an infinite and eternal God.
— Stephen Charnock (1628–1680), Puritanischer Theologe
Topics: Eternity & Hope Beyond Death, Joy & Gratitude, God, Jesus & the Holy Spirit
Occasions: For Reflection
Stephen Charnock
Stephen Charnock (1628–1680) war ein englischer puritanischer Geistlicher und Theologe, der nach dem Verlust seiner Kanzelberechtigung in der Restaurationszeit als nonkonformistischer Pastor in London wirkte. Bekannt wurde er vor allem durch seine posthum veröffentlichten Abhandlungen über das Wesen und die Eigenschaften Gottes, die den reformierten Gottesbegriff mit hoher analytischer Genauigkeit entfalten. Bibellesern vermitteln seine Texte eine systematische Auslegung zentraler göttlicher Attribute wie Souveränität, Weisheit und Vorsehung, die theologische Präzision mit persönlicher Frömmigkeit verbindet.
All quotes by Stephen Charnock (29)
I ask myself: what does hell mean? I maintain: it is the inability to love.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
God has put eternity into our hearts and filled it with longing.
John Piper
C.S. Lewis
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Jim Elliot
Martin Luther King Jr.
Whoever knows Easter cannot despair.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Helmut Thielicke
Charles Haddon Spurgeon