Comfort is, of course, used here in the old, strong sense of that which encourages and nerves, not in the modern sense of that which tranquilizes and enervates. The quest for “comfort” in the modern sense is self-indulgent, sentimental and unreal, and the modern “I-go-to-church-for-comfort” religion is not Christianity; but Elton is talking of Christian assurance, which is a different thing.
