Jeremy B. Strang

Means of Grace

Means of grace for the believer seeking to authentically grow in Christ.

The links below are just a few of the means that my precious Lord has used in my life, sanctification, maturing, and growing in the love of God. Although I have a long way to go, I am so very thankful for such men and means in my life.

Perhaps the Rev. Samuel Annesley, LLD, in his sermon from the late 1600’s, “How May We Attain to Love God with All Our Hearts, Souls, and Minds?“, helps us to better understand means. This is take from Richard Owen Roberts work, “Puritan Sermons 1659-1689 In Six Volumes“, Vol. 1, pages 589-97. (*Quote below the links.)

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From Rev. Samuel Annesley, LLD, from his sermon from the late 1600’s, “How May We Attain to Love God with All Our Hearts, Souls, and Minds?“

Means to attain love to God: The means are either directing, promoting, or conserving.
1. Directing. And that is a spiritual knowledge: this is beyond what can be spoken in its commendation : a clear and distinct knowledge of the love and loveliness of God in the amazing, yet ravishing, methods of its manifestations, and the clear understanding of the heavenly privilege of having our hearts inflamed with love to God, this will do, – I would fain persuade you to try, – I am not able to say how much, to direct you in this case. Plainly, get and exercise this twofold knowledge: – (1.) The knowledge of spiritual things. (2.) The knowledge of ordinary things in a spiritual manner, so as to make the knowledge of natural things serve heavenly designs.

* Directing. – The only directing means is the word of God ; but seeing you shall in the following sermons have particular directions about both hearing and reading in the word, I shall only hint these few things: – (1.) Prize the word. (2.) Set immediately upon the practice of those things which you shall be convinced to be your duty.
* Exemplary means. – And here I shall give you as short a touch as may be of men, angels, and Christ himself. We are much drawn by examples. Examples, – they are not only arguments, but wings. They give us a demonstration that precepts are practicable. (1.) Men. (2.) Angels that unweariedly behold the face of God. (3.) Christ.

2. Promoting means are various. – Not but that spiritual knowledge doth singularly promote the love of God, but its proper work lies in directing. The several things I shall name for inward means, your way of managing must make them so. (1.) Self-denial. (2.) Contempt of the world. (3.) Observation of God’s benefits to us. (4.) Watchfulness over our own hearts. (5.) Prayer. [Read quote.] (6.) Meditation. (7.) Choice of friends. (8.) Thanksgiving.

3. Sustaining and conserving means. – Here several graces are singularly useful. I shall name only three. (1.) Faith, whereby we are persuaded that what God hath spoken is true and good. (2.) Hope, whereby we expect a future good. (3.) Patience.

Read the entirety of the quoted above in Richard Owen Roberts work, “Puritan Sermons 1659-1689 In Six Volumes“, Vol. 1, pages 589-97.