Beeke in describing the doctrine of Assurance, describes Puritan piety as in coram Deo (in the face of God), "the smiles and frowns of God are of a greater value than the smiles and frowns of men."
Joel Beeke, 'Assurance of Faith: promises, inward evidences and the Spirit's witness' Free Reformed Student Journal, (1994).
Compare to the Reformers and the post-Reformers, the church is seriously impoverished in her spiritual exercises. The desire to fellowship with God, the sense of the reality of heaven, and the relish for God's glory, appear to fall short of a former day. Whenever the church's emphasis on earthly good dominates the conviction that she is travelling through this world on her way to God and glory, assurance is at a low ebb (Heb 11).
Joel Beeke, 'Assurance of Faith: promises, inward evidences and the Spirit's witness' Free Reformed Student Journal, (1994).