Lifting Up of the Downcast During Spiritual Desertion – Puritan William Bridge Christian Audio Books – 1648 Psalms 42:11 11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, `Who is' the help of my countenance, and my God. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. "I do not only want the assurance of God’s love, and of mine own salvation; but I have wanted assurance this two, this four, this six, this eight, this ten years: and I have continued so long doubting in unbelief, and my heart is so hardened with it, that I am afraid I shall never be healed or saved. Oh, I have sat under such and such precious gospel means, and if ever I should have had assurance of God’s love, I should have had it before this. I have sat under many a comfortable sermon, and under the gospel preached many years, and yet have no assurance of my salvation; surely if the Lord would ever have bestowed assurance upon me, I should have had it ere this: but still unbelieving, and still do I want assurance, and my heart hardened under unbelief, and therefore I am thus discouraged. Have I not cause and reason now?" Answered in this reading. http://www.puritanaudiobooks.net/ SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/stack45ny SUPPORT MINISTRY: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5022374 Puritan Reformed Audiobooks playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzOwqed_gET1LMZlDNOqxx58LREHCiLsD https://www.facebook.com/ChristianDevotionalReadings/ William Bridge was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and served for several years as a fellow there as well. He served a five-year pastorate in Essex before accepting a call to Norwich. As a non-conformist, in 1637 he was officially silenced by Archbishop Wren, a noted enemy of the Puritans. Bridge was eventually excommunicated by the Church of England and moved to Rotterdam in Holland, where we was chosen pastor of the same Congregational church where the famous Jeremiah Burroughs was the teacher. Bridge returned to England in 1642, and was chosen as one of the dissenters in the Westminster Assembly. He later pastored in Yarmouth, until the Great Ejection of 1662. William Bridge died in 1670. Soli Deo Gloria reprinted the 1845 five-volume edition of his Works in 1989, but the print run has sold out. Prior to that printing, that set was arguably the scarcest of the 19th century Puritan reprinted sets to find. -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Please watch: "What Do You Want? - Oswald Chambers / Christian Devotional / My Utmost for His Highest" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DDzA9Ymtck -~-~~-~~~-~~-~-