Summary
The Christian life is not sustained by vague optimism, but by clear hope in Christ.
In this short work, Thomas Boston sets eternity before the reader in a way that is both sobering and strengthening.
Why Should We Read This Resource?
Boston shows how heavenly mindedness is not escapism, it is fuel for obedience and contentment. When glory is real, temptation loses some of its shine, and suffering is seen in proportion.
The writing has a plainness that suits ordinary Christians, yet it is never thin. He presses the privileges of Christ’s people, the certainty of the promised rest, and the call to walk as those who belong to another country.
It can serve preaching on perseverance, and it also serves as a helpful gift book for believers facing uncertainty.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend it as a brief but bracing read that lifts the eyes and steadies the feet.
Thomas Boston
Thomas Boston was a Scottish Presbyterian pastor of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, a deeply Reformed teacher with a shepherd’s heart.
Serving in rural parish ministry, he wrote with rare clarity about sin, grace, assurance, and the believer’s walk with God. Boston’s best work opens the human condition honestly, then sets Christ’s sufficiency plainly before weary consciences, showing how the gospel answers both guilt and weakness without lowering God’s demands.
He is still read because he keeps doctrine close to lived experience, with careful distinction and steady warmth. Recommended titles include Human Nature in Its Fourfold State, The Crook in the Lot, and Memoirs of Thomas Boston.
Theological Perspective: Reformed