The Soul’s Looking Glass – by William Fenner (1600–1640)

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The Soul’s Looking Glass by William Fenner (1600–1640)

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eISBN: 978-1-62663-544-9

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ISBN: 978-1-62663-545-6

William Fenner (1600–1640) was a renowned Puritan preacher, Fellow of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, and pastor of Rochford in Essex, remembered for his piercing preaching and rare skill in dealing with the conscience of men.

In “The Soul’s Looking-Glass”, Fenner takes as his springboard Romans 2:15—“Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness”—and from that text (among others) unfolds one of the most searching and pastorally useful treatments of conscience in Puritan literature.

With penetrating biblical precision, Fenner explains what conscience is, how it functions, what binds it, how it accuses and excuses, why men mistake their spiritual estate, and how true peace of conscience is obtained only through Christ. He distinguishes between natural and renewed conscience, good and evil conscience, weak and strong conscience, troubled and quiet conscience, while carefully resolving practical cases that arise in the Christian life.

This work is invaluable for pastors, counselors, and thoughtful Christians alike. It exposes false assurance, comforts wounded believers, sharpens self-examination, clarifies the relation of God’s law to conscience, and teaches how the soul may walk before God with holy tenderness and peace. Few books diagnose the inner man with such exactness while also directing the reader so carefully to the balm of Christ.

For any seeking a deeper understanding of the soul before God, the nature of spiritual assurance, or the biblical doctrine of conscience, “The Soul’s Looking-Glass” remains a timeless and searching guide.

Table of Contents
Introduction by C. Matthew McMahon
Meet William Fenner by C. Matthew McMahon
To the Christian Reader
An Outline of the Book
PART 1: An Inquiry into a Man’s Condition Before God
~~What is the Condition of the Soul?
~~Threefold Use
~~Conditions Can Be Known
~~Man’s Fallen Condition
~~First Use
~~Second Use
~~Third Use
~~Last Use
PART 2: A Treatise of Conscience
~~The First Proposition
~~The Second Proposition
~~The Third Proposition
~~Parts of Bearing Witness
~~Judicial Bearing Witness
~~Conditions of Conscience
~~An Erring Conscience
~~A Doubting Conscience
~~A Scrupulous Conscience
~~A Faithful Conscience
~~An Unfaithful Conscience
~~Why are Consciences Unfaithful?
~~4 Types of Conscience in Duties
~~Affections of Conscience
~~A Quiet and Unquiet Conscience
~~Peace of Conscience
~~Lacking Peace of Conscience
~~A Troubled Conscience
~~The Degrees of a Troubled Conscience
~~Answering Several Questions
~~Conscience Bears Witness of Our Person
~~Good and Bad Conscience
~~The Bond of Conscience