Certainty Quote by Mark Hopkins
“The moral government of God is a movement in a line onwards towards some grand consummation, in which the principles, indeed, are ever the same, but the developments are always new - in which, therefore, no experience of the past can indicate with certainty what new openings of truth, what hew manifestations of goodness, what new phases of the moral heaven may appear.”
About This Quote
Source Lecture: Yale Divinity School, 1865
Divine governance progresses steadily toward a ultimate purpose, with unchanging principles but ever‑new expressions.
In simple terms: God’s plan moves forward, principles stay same, details change.
Key Takeaway
Embrace continuity while expecting new developments.
Themes
theology
progress
principles
change
Mood
contemplative
hopeful
Type
philosophical
theological
When to use this quote
- ministry
- education
- social reform
- mission work
Key Concepts
spirituality
philosophy
history
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you discern new divine directions?
- What constants guide you amid change?
A Different Perspective
Predicting future outcomes remains uncertain.
![“[I]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge in mathematics, in so far as disposed through it we are able to reach certainty in other sciences and truth by the exclusion of error.” quote by Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d13/roger-bacon-15067_able_i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-a_24209.jpg)