Obedience

Sacrifice without obedience is sacrilege. [William Gurnall]

Faith-A Gift of God

This is the terror of mercy: God requires of a man that he should believe; now mercy doth help to perform the duty commanded. The Lord, as He requires the condition of thee, so He worketh the condition in thee. [Thomas Hooker]

The good things of this short nightdream

When this race is ended, and the play is either won or lost, and ye are in the utmost circle and border of time, and shall put your foot within the march of eternity, all the good things of your short nightdream shall seem to you like ashes of a blaze of thorns or straw. [Samuel Rutherford]

Why Meditate?

Meditation will keep your hearts and souls from sinful thought. When the vessel is full, you can put in no more…if the heart be full of sinful thoughts, there is no room for holy and heavenly thoughts: if the heart be full of holy and heavenly thoughts by meditation, there is no room for evil and sinful thoughts. [William Bridge]

Bear with patience

Our physician makes the outward blisters in our bodies, to draw out the poisonous corruption that is in our souls: and therefore let us endure what He imposes with patience, and never murmur against Him for effecting his cure; knowing that it is but childish folly to abhor the medicine more than the disease…[George Downame]

The Word is God's voice not mans

It seems that there were some among the Thessalonians, as there must be amongst us, which did forsake all religion because the preachers did not agree, or because the lives of professors gave some offense; therefore Paul sheweth, that there is no cause why they should mislike the word for the preacher, or why they should despise religion for the professor, because the word and the religion are not theirs which teach it, and profess it, but God’s. [Henry Smith]

The Word is God's voice not mans

It seems that there were some among the Thessalonians, as there must be amongst us, which did forsake all religion because the preachers did not agree, or because the lives of professors gave some offense; therefore Paul sheweth, that there is no cause why they should mislike the word for the preacher, or why they should despise religion for the professor, because the word and the religion are not theirs which teach it, and profess it, but God’s. [Henry Smith]

everlasting mercy and goodness

My brethren, God’s mercies are from everlasting; and it is a treasure that can never be spent, never exhausted, unto eternity. In Isaiah 64:5 we read, "In Thy mercy is continuance." If God will but continue to be merciful to me, will a poor soul say, I have enough…Hath God pardoned thee hitherto? but hast thou sinned again? Can He stretch His goodness and mercy a little further? Why, He will stretch them out unto eternity, unto everlasting: and if one everlasting be not enough, there are twenty six everlastings in this one psalm. (Psalm 136). [Thomas Goodwin]

The Looking-glass of the Law

As a looking-glass doth neither wash nor make him fair, that looketh therein, but giveth him occasion to either seek for water or else for some other thing that may make him fair and clean; even so the Law showeth unto us our sins, and maketh known unto us our miserable estate and wretchedness, and how that there is nothing good in us, and that we are far off from all manner of righteousness, and so driveth us of necessity to seek righteousness in Christ. [Daniel Cawdray]

Asleep in Church

Take heed of drowsiness in hearing; drowsiness shows much irreverence. How lively are many when they are about the world, but in the worship of God how drowsy… In the preaching of the Word, is not the bread of life broken to you; and will a  man fall asleep at his food? Which is worse, to stay from a sermon, or sleep at a sermon?  [Thomas Watson]

Thanklessness

Thankless men are like swine feeding on acorns, which, though they fall upon their heads, never make them look up to the tree from which they come. [Jean Daille]

The high and low

They that are so wise as to fall in humiliation under the mighty hand, be they ever so low the same hand will raise them up again (Jas 4:10). In a word, be the proud ever so high, God will bring them down; be the humble ever so low, God will raise them up.  [Thomas Boston]

His ways are higher than our ways

It would much support thy heart under adversity, to consider that God by such humbling providences may be accomplishing that for which you have long prayed and waited. And should you be troubled at that? Say, Christian, hast thou not many prayers depending before God upon such accounts as these; that he would keep thee from sin; discover to thee the emptiness of the creature; that he would mortify and kill thy lusts; that thy heart may never find rest in any enjoyment but Christ? By such humbling and impoverishing strokes God may be fulfilling thy desire.  [John Flavel]

The blood of the martyrs

These things which I set before you are not those which I have meditated with myself and my shady nook. But those which the invincible martyrs of God realized amid gibbets and flames and ravenous beasts. Had not their courage been not sweated, they would in an instant have been perfidiously abjured the eternal truth which they intrepidly sealed with their blood. They did not set us an example of constancy in asserting the truth, that we should now dessert it when handed down to us so signed and sealed, but they taught us the art by which, trusting in the Divine protection we stand invincible by all powers of death, hell, the world, and Satan. [John Calvin]

Christ-freely offered

Faith is a grace that comes to get, and not to give; or if it gave anything, it is the ills of the soul, but nothing of good does it pretend to give. The sinner, in believing, upon the matter, says, ‘Lord, I give thee my folly, and take thee for my only wisdom; I give thee my guilt, that thou may be Lord of my righteousness; I give thee my defilements, and take thee for sanctification; I give thee my chains and fetters, that I may be indebted to thee for redemption and liberty; I give thee my poverty, and take thee for my only riches; I give thee my wicked, wandering, hard, and deceitful heart, that thou mayst give me the new heart and new spirit promised in thy covenant.’ Thus, I say, Christ is freely offered and must be freely recived." [Ebenezer Erskine]

On the company we keep

We should take heed with whom we join in league and amity. Before we plant our affections, consider the persons what they are; if we see any signs of grace, then it is good; but if not there will be a rent. Throughout our whole life this ought to be our rule; we should labour in all company either to do good or receive good; and where we can neither do nor receive good we should avoid such acquaintance. Let men therefore consider and take heed how they stand in combination with any wicked persons. [Richard Sibbes]

Setting good examples

If parents would have their children blessed at church and at school, let them beware they give their children no corrupt examples at home by any carelessness, profaneness, or ungodliness. Otherwise, parents will do them more harm at home than both pastors and schoolmasters can do them good abroad. For the corrupt example of the one fighteth with the good instruction of the other, which is so much the more dangerous because that corrupt walking is armed with nature, and therefore more forcibly inclineth the affections of the children to that side. [Richard Greenham]

A clean heart

Some will obey partially, obey some commandments, not others: like a plough which, when it comes to a still place of earth, makes a baulk. But God that spake all the words of the moral law, will have all obeyed. [Thomas Watson]

The Efficacy of Prayer

The Lord will regard the prayers of his people; the efficacy of their prayers depends upon this, because it is God’s own work. That which is the work of God is not in vain. Now all the calling upon God, it is from God; it is God’s own work and a most glorious piece of the work of God. Every prayer that comes from the poorest Saints of God; every gracious, and faithful prayer, it is a glorious piece of God’s work; it is a work of the holy Ghost, and therefore it is not in vain. [Jeremiah Burroughs]

If not for fruit, tis for the fire

It is better for a bramble to be in the wilderness than in an orchard; for a weed to be abroad, than in a garden, where it is sure to be weeded out, as the other to be cut down. If a man will be unprofitable, let him be unprofitable out of the church. But to be so where he has the dew of grace falling on him, in the means of salvation, where are all God’s sweet favours…will God, the great Husbandman, endure this? Whatsoever is not for fruit, is for the fire. [Richard Sibbes]

Plying our duty

He that wants assurance of the truth of his grace and the comfort of assurance, must not stand still and say "I am so doubtful and uncomfortable that I have no  mind to duty" but ply his duty, and exercise his grace till he finds his doubts and discomforts to vanish. [Richard Baxter]

Put off anger

It is the great duty of all Christians to put off anger. It unfits for duty…A man cannot wrestle with God and wrangle with his neighbour at the same time. Short sins often cost us long and sad sorrows. [Philip Henry]

A little can be better than a lot

It is better to get a little of the world, than to get much of the world; it is better to get a little of the world justly and honestly, than to get much of the world unjustly and dishonestly. A little of the world blessed, is better than much of the world cursed. Solomon’s dinner of green herbs, Daniel’s pulse, barley loaves, and a few fishes, and John’s rough garment blessed, are better and greater mercies than Dives his riches, purple robes, and dainty fair cursed, Gen. Xxii.; Prov. Iii. 33, and xv. 17; Dani i.[Thomas Brooks]

The Nature of faith

It is the nature of faith to believe God upon His bare word…It will not be, saith sense; it cannot be, saith reason; it both can and will be, saith faith, for I have a promise for it. [David Dickson]

The Lord takes care of His own

I had also this consideration, that I if I should now venture all for God, I engaged God to take care of my concernments; but if I forsook Him and His ways for fear of any trouble that should come to me or  mine, then I should not only falsify my profession but should count also that my concernments were not so sure…This was a smarting consideration, and was as spurs unto my flesh. {John Bunyan]