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knowledge of these matters,‖ and imparts something of the hope
and glory related to the life hereafter. 98 Taffin was driven to this
contemplation by the loss, a year before, of the southern provinces
of the Low Countries (present-day Belgium) to the Protestant cause
and by the demise of his own congregation in Antwerp. His book
was written for the consolation and encouragement of believers
who had been ravaged by the persecution of the Counter-
Reformation. In his context, contemplation of the life to come,
future blessedness, brought reassurance and healing. With Calvin,
perhaps better than Calvin, Taffin understood existentially the pain
and disappointment of twenty years of prayer and work devastated.
But it is Bernard of Clairvaux, not Calvin, whom Taffin quotes in
his first chapter. Blessedness consists of loving God to the depth
and extent that we contemplate him. In mystical fashion, he
anticipates boundless, limitless blessedness of the future life,
guaranteed by unending contemplation of God in Christ.
How can we be assured that we are on the road to this future
blessedness, Taffin asks in the second chapter? First, by belonging
to the true church, where the Word is purely preached, the
sacraments faithfully administered, and God is invoked only in the
name of Jesus, he responds. These external sources of assurance
are fortified by the internal witness of the Spirit, who opens the
eyes and ears of our understanding and certifies our adoption as
God‘s children. The faith he works in the believer is ―a pledge‖
that we belong to God and share in Christ‘s benefits. 99 A number
of internal marks fortify assurance as does obedient service. So,
faith and obedience are major contributors to assurance that we
belong to God and are heirs of future blessedness.
How can one internalize or appropriate the marks that
produce assurance, Taffin asks? By faith, he answers. ―Now, faith
is both the knowledge and the confidence that it is God‘s will to
98 Jean Taffin, The Marks of God‘s Children, translated by Peter Y. De Jong and
edited by James A. De Jong; ―Classics of Reformed Spirituality,‖ [volume 1]
(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003), p.26.
99 Ibid., p.38.