Wednesday, December 30, 2009

January 10, 2010

“Wounded pride excites revenge, and this always burns hottest in the weakest minds.”

(Thomas McCrie; 1772-1835)

January 9, 2010

“Is there anything in the world that can shew you the misery, ugliness, and damning nature of sin, as the death of Christ?” (William Bridge; 1649)

January 8, 2010

To present the bait and hide the hook; to present the golden cup, and hide the poison; to present the sweet, the pleasure, and the profit that may flow in upon the soul by wrath and misery that will certainly follow the committing of sin. By this device he took our first parents: ‘And the serpent said until the woman, Ye shall not surely die.’ (Thomas Brooks, 1608-1680)

January 7, 2010

“No man or devil is as bad to us as our evil self is to us.” (Augustine; 354-430)

January 6, 2010

“Heresy admits enough of Christ to calm the conscience, but it retains enough of self to slay the soul.” (Henry Law; 1797-1884)

January 5, 2010

“Lean not unto thine own understanding; think not to accomplish thy designs by the strength of thine own without God’s blessing.” (Matthew Poole; 1624-1679)

January 4, 2010

A defect in the intellectual or spiritual man is at the root of all this error. The defect is not in the pages of inspiration, but in the human heart. (George Burrows, First Published 1853)

January 3, 2010

“We are creatures of extremes. When our self-confidence and self-sufficiency are subdued, we are prone to become occupied with our weakness and insufficiency instead of keeping our eyes steadily on the One who began a good work in us.” (Arthur W. 1886-1952)

January 2, 2010

“The omniscience of God is subservient to no one. God is never surpassed by the deeds of man. His knowledge is perfect regarding all the ways of all created beings or things. It has been well stated , ‘If God ever increased in knowledge, or had be to acquainted with any new intention of the creature, He would no longer be perfect in omniscience, and therefore could not be God.” (Author Unknown)

January 1, 2010

“It is never easy for our robust and haughty flesh to accept, but the Scriptures clearly teach that it is not in man to direct his steps. If it is not in man to command his way, then it quite reasonably must be assigned to another. Faith receives this blessed truth and bows the head in humble adoration.” (Author not known)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

December 31, 2009

“For “nothing defiles a man but what comes from within’ (Matt. 15,) that is, that which the heart has conceived within it—as thoughts of uncleanness—in which, although Satan himself be the father of them, the heart is the mother and womb.” Thomas Goodwin (1600-1679)

December 30, 2009

“Those who come to him he needs them not to receive from them, but to give unto them; he needs not their fullness, but their emptiness, that his fullness may overflow to the supply thereof.” (George Hutcheson, 1615–1674)

December 29, 2009

“You never did a single thing in your whole life which in God’s sight was not full of sin.” Brownlow North (1741–1820)

December 28, 2009

“Satan hath cast such sinful seed into our souls, that now he can no sooner tempt, but we are ready to assent; he can no sooner have a plot upon us, but he makes a conquest of us….Whatever sin the heart of man is most prone to, that the devil will help forward.”

(Thomas Brooks, 1608–1680)

December 27, 2009

“Every providence hath a voice, though sometimes it be so still and low that it requireth some skill to hear it. Our spirits are most satisfied when we discern God’s aim in everything.”

(Thomas Manton; 1620-1677)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

December 26, 2009

Christians ought to be particularly on their guard against tampering in any degree with the word of God. We should never forget that, when we are explaining any expression of Scripture, we are treating of what are the very words of the Holy Ghost, as much as if they had been spoken to us by a voice from heaven. (Robert Haldane; 1772–1854)

December 25, 2009

“Nothing that a man does in this life is without consequences. Every effect has a cause, and every cause produces an effect. So many of our troubles arise from the fact that we forget that causes lead to effects, and that these effects in turn lead to certain inevitable consequences.” D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981)

December 24, 2009

Faithful waiting that looks only to God is like the willow tree, “often shaken and whipped in the wind, but firm at the root.” (Unknown)

December 23, 2009

God’s Providence: “This is an important branch of practical religion; and to the neglect of its due cultivation may be imputed much of that darkness and distress of mind which is felt under afflictive dispensations. The possession of this knowledge is a mark of wisdom, and a means of safety: “Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.” Thomas McCrie (1797–1875)

December 22, 2009

“All experience teaches that, the holier men become, the more convinced they are of their own sinfulness.” (Alfred Plummer; 1841-1926)

December 21, 2009

“But what does it help if man is on your side, if God is against you?” Frans Bakker (1919-1965)

December 20, 2009

“In a word, trust in God is that high act or exercise of faith whereby the soul, looking upon God and casting itself on his goodness, power, promises, faithfulness, and providence, is lifted up above carnal fears and discouragements; above perplexing doubts and disquietments; either for the obtaining and continuance of that which is good, or for the preventing or removing of that which is evil.” Thomas Lye (1621-1684)

December 19, 2009

“The Lord our God, who bids us believe, also enables us to believe,” Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

December 18, 2009

Never a word of merit should be in the mouth of a true believer; for have mercy on me, O Lord, is David’s only plea; any good in us, is but a sandy ground to build on. (David Dickson; 1583-1663)

December 17, 2009

The wicked blasphemer desires to infiltrate the believer’s heart with suspicions and doubts concerning the power of God, His promises, and His willingness to perform on behalf of the spiritually exhausted child. If he can diminish his faith and cast a shadow upon the excellency of God, or the validity of divine redemption, he has won the day. This he seeks to do only and always. (Anonymous)

December 16, 2009

“It is not by one great sacrifice on our part that the hearts of others are made stout for the journey and strong for the task, but by the constant performance of the petty kindnesses, no one of which might be worth recording, but which, in the aggregate, constitute a sublime record.” William Graham Scroggie (1877-1958)

December 15, 2009

“Private self-love seems to be the root of depravity; the grand succedaneum in human affection to the love of God and man. Self-admiration, self-will, and self-righteousness are but different modifications of it. Where this prevails, the creature assumes the place of the Creator, and seek his own gratification, honour, and interest, as the ultimate end of all his actions. Hence, when the apostle describes men under a variety of wicked characters, the first link in the chain is—lovers of their own selves. Hence also the first and grand lesson in the Christian school is—to deny ourselves. " (Note to the reader---succedaneum means SUBSTITUTE)

Andrew Fuller (1754-1815)

December 14, 2009

“There is in true love, a complacency and delight in God; a conformity to his will; a loving what he loves.” Robert Leighton (1611-1684)

Sunday, November 29, 2009

December 13, 2009

“None can hope in vain who believe God.” Ethelbert William Bullinger (1837-1913)

December 12, 2009

The soul is the theatre where moral actions, both good and bad, are performed. 'As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.' What we will, that we morally do. This doctrine suggests, that the world is really worse than it appears. It appears bad enough; its outward features and procedures are most repulsive to the eye of reflective virtue; but not a tithe of the heart’s dispositions does the body represent. The soul has a word of sentiment that neither tongue nor pen expresses; it is conscious of hosts of volitions that the muscles and limbs never carry into effect. We thank God that the body is too frail, fully to work out the latent wishes of a depraved world. (David Thomas; 1813-1894)

December 11, 2009

“The goodness of God is a spiritual sunbeam to melt the heart into tears. Oh, says the soul has God been so good to me? Has He reprieved me so long from hell, and shall I grieve His Spirit any more? Shall I sin against goodness? Thomas Watson (1620-1686)

December 10, 2009

“He is so kind that he cannot deceive us, so true that he cannot break his promise. Faithful is he who hath promised, who also will do it. He was good in making the promise, and therefore will be upright in performing it.” Matthew Henry (1662-1714)

December 9, 2009

“With the growth in goodness grows the sense of sin. One law fulfilled shows a thousand neglected. Moral advancement, as a natural consequence, destroys the sense of merit, and produces that of sin.” (Moztley)

December 8, 2009

“God is a Being, whose will acknowledges no cause, neither is it for us to prescribe rules to His sovereign pleasure, or call Him to account for what He does. He has neither superior nor equal, and His will is the rule of all things.” Jerome Zanchius (1516-1590)

December 7, 2009

Our devotion to a tradition is wholesome only when we recognize in that tradition, not the authority of the fathers, but the authority of God’s Word. (John Murry; 1898-1975)

December 6, 2009

“Vanity is nothing, but there is a condition worse than nothing. Confidence in the things or persons of this world, but most of all a confidence in ourselves, will bring us at last to that state wherein we would fain be nothing, and cannot.” (John Donne; 1572-1631)

December 5, 2009

Confessions force and bind the conscience of the believer, subjecting him to doctrines of men rather than to the Word of God only. (Herman Hoeksema; 1886)

December 4, 2009

“Blessed is the man whom eternal Truth teacheth, not by obscure figures and transient sounds, but by direct and full communication. The perceptions of our senses are narrow and dull, and our reason on those perceptions frequently misleads us. He whom the eternal Word condescendeth to teach is disengaged at once from the labyrinth of human opinions.” Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471)

Sunday, November 22, 2009

December 3, 2009

“For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee;” here is not only a gathering after a forsaking, but great mercies” to make amends for “a small moment.” He who hath engaged to be our God forever, cannot depart forever.” Timothy Cruso (1656-1697)

December 2, 2009

“It should be well established to all believers that at such a time as God blesses and promotes one of His servants, Satan will react with a hostile vengeance and seek to destroy the progress.” (Anonymous)

December 1, 2009

“Nothing perhaps more strongly indicates the tone of a believer’s spirituality, than the light in which the Scriptures are regarded by him.” Octavius Winslow (1808-1878)

November 30, 2009

“Now, soul, thou art molested with many lusts that infest thee, and obstruct thy commerce with heaven; yea, thou hast complained to thy God, what loss thou hast suffered by them; is it now presumption to expect relief from him, that he will rescue thee from them; that thou mayest serve him without fear, who is thy liege Lord? You have the saints for your precedents; who, when they have been in combat with their corruptions, yea, been foiled by them, have even then exercised their faith on God, and expected the ruin of those enemies, which, for the present, have overrun them.” (William Gurnall; 1617-1679)

November 29, 2009

“I was born for nothing but repentance.” (Tertullian; 160-240)

November 28, 2009

“He has prevented us with his goodness, when he saw nothing in us but impatience and unbelief, when we were like Jonas in the belly of hell, his bowels yearned over us, and his power brought us safe to land. What did we to hasten his deliverance, or to obtain his mercy? If he had never come to our relief till he saw something in us to invite him, we had not yet been relived. No more did we contribute to our restoration than we do to the rising of the sun, or the approach of day.” Timothy Rogers

November 27, 2009

“All experience teaches that, the holier men become, the more convinced they are of their own sinfulness.” (Alfred Plummer; 1841-1926)

November 26. 2009

“And so it ever proceeds, between the beginning and the end; there is the constant need to know how to obey, and to suffer, and to use for salvation what God has given.” Rudolf Stier (1800-1862)

Sunday, November 8, 2009

November 25, 2009

When the specific purpose of God is to divorce one from self, God usually leaves one by oneself. (Anonymous)

November 24, 2009

“The Lord alone has authority to impute righteousness, as it is entirely an act of grace to the penitent transgressor.” ( James G. Murphy; 1808-1896)

November 23, 2009

“Make him your counsellor and friend; you cannot please him better than when your hearts rely wholly upon him.” (John Berridge; 1716-1793)

November 22, 2009

The very essence of truth is plainness and brightness; the darkness and crookedness is our own. (Milton; 1608-1674)

November 21, 2009

Believer, stay your soul on the rock of the promises. They are as immovable as He who speaks them. At the set moment you shall march in triumph to your Canaan. (Henry Law; 1797-1844)

November 20, 2009

Our most dangerous foes are within our breasts. (William H. Van Doren; 1810-1882)

November 19, 2009

“The fruit of the Lord’s putting his own in straits, is to make them and all men see, that he hath ways of deliverance, more than they know of; and that he will save his own when men count their case desperate: for, salvation belongeth to the Lord.” David Dickson (1583-1662)

November 18, 2009

What is essential is a daily emptying of self, a crucifying, and a killing of the flesh, which results in the denial of our own ambitions and being completely submissive to the God of heaven and earth. This, to say the least, is a substantial undertaking. (Unknown)

November 17, 2009

“Not that repentance is a cause of remission, but a sign of our hearty reception thereof.”

(John Buyan 1628-1688)

November 16, 2009

“It is the voice of the eternal God we hear in Scripture and his glory is revealed. When the day will dawn and the day star arise in our hearts, we shall find no discrepancy between the witness of Holy Scripture and the glory then manifested.” John Murray (1898-1975)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

November 15, 2009

“To enter the place of a doer before you have occupied that of a listener, is to reverse God’s order, and throw everything into confusion.” Unknown (1859)

November 14, 2009

The great act of sovereignty was God’s decree for making the world; and of doing, or permitting to be done, whatever should be in it, to the folding of it up. The heavens and the earth, and all the hosts of them, as yet had no being; it was at his pleasure whether he would make them or not; and if he would, what being he would give them, to what end, and how that end should be accomplished. And that these were all ascertained by the decree is evident; for “known unto God were all his works,” which he would do in time, 'from the beginning of the world.'"

(Elisha Coles; 1608-1688)

November 13, 2009

“And so with God. To be “Almighty,” He must be able to carry out His own will and purpose to the uttermost.” (Andrew Jukes; 1815-1901)

November 12, 2009

“Is not the reason of our finding so little to praise, to be sought in our having no eyes for his daily miracles?” (Augustus F. Tholuck; 1856)

November 11, 2009

“The believing soul is convinced of its own weakness and helplessness, and inability to resist its enemies, its insufficiency to keep itself, and so commits itself to Christ, that He would be its keeper.” Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

November 10, 2009

“Few can bear great and sudden mercies without pride and wantonness, till they are hampered and humbled to carry it moderately.” Samuel Lee (1677)

November 9, 2009

“Sincere personal conviction, with a life corresponding, is needed to make the faith in the objective sense of any virtue.” Alexander Balmain Bruce (1831-1899)

November 8, 2009

“We want men who have neither the vanity to suppose that they have fully sounded the depths of theological truth, nor the arrogance of pronounce those heretic who neither adopt their notions nor use their nomenclature; but who, on the contrary, have grace to believe in their own fallibility, and, like John, in a teaching higher than their own.” David Thomas (1813-1894)

November 7, 2009

“A rich man, who is able to despise in himself whatever there is in him by which pride can be puffed up, is God’s poor man…Such men “confess their poverty with as great humility of spirit, and pray for grace with as great earnestness, as beggars ask alms of the rich.”

(Augustine; 354–430)

November 6, 2009

“No sooner are the eyes of a sinner’s understanding opened than he begins to see the exceeding sinfulness of sin in his heart and life. He sees his innumerable provocations, and discerns that malignity in sin which he never saw before.” (John Colquhoun 1748-1827)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

November 5, 2009

“God makes use, not only of the imprudence, but of the worst vices of men, to the accomplishment of His own pleasure.” George Lawson (First published 1807)

November 4, 2009

“Never measure the power of God by that shallow conceit of thine.”

(Thomas Hooker; 1586-1647)

November 3, 2009

“The first attempt to render spiritual obedience will quickly convince us of our utter helplessness. We might as soon create a world, as create in our hearts one pulse of spiritual life. And yet our inability does not cancel our obligation. Shall God lose his right, because sin has palsied our ability?" ( Charles Bridges; 1794-1869)

November 2, 2009

“It has been frequently with my hopes and desires, in regard to providence, as with my watch and the sun, which has often been ahead of true time; I have gone faster than providence, and have been forced to stand still and wait, or I have been set back painfully.”

(Author not mentioned)

November 1, 2009

“God takes great pains to inform his people in all ages that all their hope is in his sovereign favor and rich grace, and that it is not the merit or the misery of mortals, that moves him to show them pity, or extend deliverance." Ezek. 36:22, 32; Eph. 2:4-9.”

(William S. Plumer 1802-1880)

October 31, 2009

“Thus may the sheep read us a lesson of patience, the dove of innocence, the ant and bee raise blushes in us for our sluggishness, and the stupid ox and dull ass correct and shame our ungrateful ignorance.” (Stephen Charnock; 1628-1680)

October 30, 2009

"Let not him, therefore, that lacketh anything be ashamed before this throne of grace; let him ask of this giving God! And it shall be given him! that is a positive declaration of a most certain thing.” (James 1:5) (Rudolf Stier; 1800-1862)

October 29, 2009

“The glory that shall be revealed, enraptures my heart. Song Of Solomon 4:9. He wishes us with him there, because our love wrought by the Spirit, is beautiful in his eyes; this is what is especially delightful to him, and in the absence of any other excellence, commends us; and this love is more pleasing to him than wine to our taste.” (George Burrowes 1853)

October 28, 2009

“If all the nations, in comparison to God, be but as the drop of the bucket, or the dust of the balance, as the prophet speaks in Isaiah 40:15, how little then must be the kings of the earth!" (William Dyer 1665)

October 27, 2009

“The Lord’s Church would be free of mountains of heresy if all fleshly dexterity were disengaged.” (Author not named 1946)

Saturday, October 17, 2009

October 26, 2009

“The grace of Christ brings elect sinners down from their high conceit of themselves and lays them low at the footstool of a gracious God.” (John Colouhoun 1748-1827)

October 25, 2009

“Learn, that the means we use to repel one temptation may be made through the subtlety of Satan the groundwork of another and a more dangerous temptation.” (A. Clarke)

October 24, 2009

“Whether we contemplate the maladies of the soul, or those of the body, we are equally compelled to turn to Jehovah as the great Physician.” (Morison)

October 23, 2009

“There is a temptation to be ‘ashamed’ of Him, and to ‘deny’ Him. This arises from two causes—the natural tendency of the individual to bow to the opinions of the multitude, and the fact that the opinions of the multitude are generally against Christ.” (David Thomas 1813-1894)

October 22, 2009

“Nothing so effectually carries off the mind from self-dependence as the atonement,--nothing so exalts and humbles the sinner; and on this account, God appointed that acceptance and forgiveness of sin should not be given without a Mediator, and without a dependence upon His merits.” (George Smeaton; 1814-1889)

Monday, October 12, 2009

October 21, 2009

"Unless gratitude be expressed for mercies already received and thanks be given for granting us the continued favor of petitioning our Father, how can we expect to obtain His ear and receive answers of peace!: (A.W. Pink; 1886-1952)

October 20, 2009

“Even miracles cannot avail to convince despisers of truth.” (William H. Van Doren 1810-1882)

October 19, 2009

“There is nothing which God requires of his people, as to be done by them, but himself helps them in the doing of it.” (Thomas Horton; 1677-1825)

October 18, 2009

“The principal motives to holiness, in general, or to any particular duty, are drawn from some special view of the work of redemption, fitted to excite to the fulfillment of such obligations.” (Robert Haldane 1764-1842)

October 17, 2009

“There is no spot on this round earth, where we can escape the admonition, and the rebuke to our levity and pride.” (John Lillie 1806-1866)

Sunday, October 4, 2009

October 16, 2009

“My God, thou hidest thy treasure to kindle my desire! Thou hidest thy pearl, to inflame the seeker; thou delayest to give, that thou mayest teach me to importune; seemest not to hear, to make me persevere.” John Anselm (1034-1109)

October 15, 2009

“The Lord Christ is the foundation and only meritorious cause of eternal salvation.”

Thieleman J. van Braght (1625-1664)

October 14, 2009

“You cannot distrust God, and not accuse him of a want either of power or of goodness; you cannot repine—no, not even in thought—without virtually telling him that his plans are not the best, nor his dispensations the wisest, which might have been appointed in respect of yourselves. So that your fear, or your despondency, or your anxiety in circumstances of perplexity, or of peril, is nothing less than a call upon God to depart from his fixed course,--a suspicion, or rather an assertion that he might proceed in a manner more worthy of himself, and therefore a challenge to him to alter his dealings, if he would prove that he possesses the attributes which he claims.” (Henry Melvill; 1779-1873)

October 13, 2009

You will find, also, that objections urged against God’s sovereignty and man’s helplessness, are just different manifestations of human pride, - the pride into which Satan tempted Adam, “Ye shall be as gods,” and into which all his offspring have fallen along with him. Man will not consent to be nothing, that God alone may be all. And it is curious to observe that the objections urged against these truths are not passages of Scriptures, but human reasonings – man’s inferences and opinions. (Horatius Bonar; 1808-1889)

October 12, 2009

“That absolute will of God is the original spring and efficient cause of His people’s salvation.” Jerome Zanchius (1516-1590)

October 11, 2009

“Make him your counsellor and friend; you cannot please him better than when your hearts rely wholly upon him.” (John Berridge; 1716-1793)

October 10, 2009

“What the law could not do, not from any deficiency in itself, but owing to the depravity of man, God has fully accomplished. Man has no righteousness of his own which he can plead, but God has provided a righteousness for him. This righteousness, infinitely superior to that which he originally possessed, is provided solely by grace, and received solely by faith. It is placed to the account of the believer for his justification, without the smallest respect either to his previous or subsequent obedience.” Robert Haldane (1764-1842)

October 9, 2009

“The Son of David and Son of God is thus finally described by three well-known titles: “Jesus” which identifies Him as the crucified Saviour, “Christ” the promised Messiah, our Lord” the exalted King, to whom all power is given in heaven and in earth.” E.H. Gifford (1820-1905)

October 8, 2009

“The more we can think upon our Lord, and the less upon ourselves, the better. Looking to him, as he is seated upon the right hand of the throne of God, will keep our heads, and especially our hearts steady when going through the deep waters of affliction.” David Smith (1792-1867)

Thursday, October 1, 2009

October 7, 2009

“It is a comfort to see that God’s power works effectually and irresistibly, the very same power as wrought in Christ to raise Him from the dead.” Thomas Goodwin (1600-1679)

October 6, 2009

“The knowledge of God, therefore, not being acquired, cannot be increased.”

(James Petigru Boyce; 1827-1888)

October 5, 2009

“The Ancient of days,” who “declares the end from the beginning,” is seen to be faithful to His promises; and if He has been thus faithful in the past, he may surely be trusted to be faithful in the future. (William Garden Blaikie; 1820-1899)

October 4, 2009

“No, my brethren; our Lord has told us that ‘a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth.'” (Thomas McCrie; 1772-1835)

Saturday, September 19, 2009

October 3, 2009

"By the immutability of God is meant that he is incapable of change, either in duration of life, or in nature, character, will or happiness. In none of these, nor in any other respect is there any possibility of change. Change must be for the worse or for the better, but God cannot become worse or better. " (James Petigru Boyce; 1827-1888)

October 2, 2009

"For we ourselves are so feeble, that, if the matter was left in our hands, very few, or rather none, would be saved, but Satan would overcome us all.” Jerome Zanchius (1516-1590)

October 1, 2009

“Men are prone to be deluded by externals, and to suppose that the absence of outward splendor is indicative of the absence of God’s blessing, forgetting that God often chooses the weak things of the earth to confound the mighty, that no flesh may glory in his presence.” Thomas v. Moore (1856)

Saturday, September 12, 2009

September 30, 2009

When God, by His Word, gives us reason to expect any extraordinary events, it would be a mark of stupidity to be inattentive to the voice of the great Ruler of heaven and earth. His works and His words reflect light upon one another; and whoso is wise, and will observe their harmony, shall understand the loving-kindness, and see the glory of the Lord. (George Lawson, First Published 1807)

September 29, 2009

“The sense of sin is perhaps as general as the sense of bodily need, but it is not as frequently felt.” (Alfred Plummer, 1841-1926)

September 28, 2009

“The darkest hours of the Church’s night are those which precede the break of day. Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. Jesus will come to deliver just when his needy ones shall sigh, as if all hope and gone for ever. O Lord, set the now near at hand at hand, and rise up speedily to our help.” Charles H.Spurgeon (1843-1892)

September 27, 2009

“If Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God, equal with God, having the same nature with the Father, the only begotten of the Father, then he is fit to be our Lord, the absolute proprietor of our persons, worthy to receive all the homage and service we can possibly offer. The word here rendered Lord has a long history and interesting. It is the word used in the Septuagint to translate the words Jehovah and Adonai; the former denoting the self-existent, independent, eternal and unchangeable I AM; the latter expressing his authority and sovereignty over us.” (William S. Plumer, 1802-1880)

September 26, 2009

Believer, stay your soul on the rock of the promises. They are as immovable as He who speaks them. At the set moment you shall march in triumph to your Canaan. (Henry Law; 1797-1884)

September 25, 2009

“He took indeed sin’s form, that He might bear sin’s due: but He never knew sin’s stain.” Henry Law (1797-1884)

September 24, 2009

“The heart is ever prone to divide its confidence between God and the creature. This will never do. We must ‘wait only upon God.’ ‘He only’ must be our ‘rock,’ our ‘salvation,’ and our ‘defence.’ Then we are frequently tempted to look to an arm of flesh first, and when that fails us, we look to God. This will never do either.” (Charles Mackintosh, 1766-1843)

September 23, 2009

“Wicked men will sooner believe the most uncertain and ridiculous things, than own the visible demonstrations of God’s power and providence.” (Matthew Poole 1624-1679)

September 22, 2009

“Grace in Christ, and grace in us, are of the same nature, though not of the same degree: grace in us is as in its streams, but grace in Christ is as in its fountain; it is but a small measure we have ,but it is an infinite, and inexhaustible fullness that is in Him.” (John Gill; 1697-1771)

September 21, 2009

Our love is not the cause of His, but His is the cause of ours; and it is not merely His loving us, but the shedding it abroad in our hearts by His Spirit, which draws out our love to Him; for though He loved us, yet if He had not some way or other manifested it to us, and overcome our hearts with it, we should still have remained enemies to Him; but His giving us the sense and perception of it in our hearts, is what has drawn us to Himself, and will keep us there. (John Gill; 1697-1771)

Septemer 20, 2009

“But as soon as ever a believer has Christ’s righteousness imputed to him, he has virtually finished the righteousness of the law. It is evident the saints shall persevere, because they are already justified.” (Jonathan Edwards; 1703-1758)

September 19, 2009

“Pre-eminently He was the Lamb of God, and He was sacrificed for us. Let us reckon ourselves judged in Him. The Judgment which has befallen Him has settled the great question of sin. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.” (Frederick Brotherton Meyer; 1847-1929)

Monday, September 7, 2009

September 18, 2009

“Far easier to level hills, than subdue the proud will.” (William Howard Van Doren; 1810-1882)

September 17, 2009

“If we open our mouths to God in prayer, he will fill them more and more with suitable petitions and arguments. When we attempt to open the mouth, God will open it still wider.” (Benjamin Beddome; 1717-1795)

September 16, 2009

"The greatest honor to which any man can attain on earth is to be a servant of Jesus Christ." (William S. Plumer; 1802-1880)

September 15, 2009

“Those who are ordained unto eternal life were not so ordained on account of any worthiness foreseen in them, or of any good works to be wrought by them, nor yet for their future faith, but purely and solely of free, sovereign grace, and according to the mere pleasure of God.” (Jerome Zanchius; 1516-1590)

September 14, 2009

“What is said on the spur of the moment is sometimes better evidence of a man’s disposition than what he says deliberately, for the latter may be calculated hypocrisy.” (Alfred Plummer; 1841-1926)

September 13, 2009

“Grace flows unrestrained and unreserved upon those who have no goodness to plead and no claim to advance." (Arthur W. Pink; 1886-1952)

September 12, 2009

“The fall of our first parents did not begin with the overt act of disobedience; it was preceded by a process of defection that culminated in it.” (John Murray; 1898-1975)

September 11, 2009

“Receive me, then, O Eternal Father, for the sake of our Lord’s merits and words; for he, by his obedience and his death, hath now merited from thee everything which I do not merit of myself.” (Fra Thome de Jesu; 1869)

September 10, 2009

“The same Lord who sends the afflictions will also recall them when his design is accomplished.” Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1898)

Saturday, August 29, 2009

September 9, 2009

“Should the whole frame of nature be unhinged, and all outward friends and supporters prove false and deceitful, our worldly hopes and schemes be disappointed, and possessions torn from us, and the floods of sickness, poverty and disgrace overwhelm our soul with an impetuous tide of trouble; the sincere lover of God, finding that none of these affects his portion and the object of his panting desires, retires from them all to God his refuge and hiding place, and there feels his Saviour incomparably better, and more than equivalent to what the whole of the universe can ever offer, or rob him of; and his tender mercies, unexhausted fullness, and great faithfulness, yield him consolation and rest; and enable him what time he is afraid, to put his trust in him.” (William Dunlop, 1654-1700)

September 8, 2009

“Be our troubles many in number, strange in nature, heavy in measure; Yet God’s mercies are more numerous, his wisdom more wondrous, his power more miraculous; he will deliver us out of all." (Thomas Adams)

September 7, 2009

"The loss of spiritual enjoyment . . . shall be the symptom that betrays the true condition of the soul. The judgment shall lose none of its light, but the heart much of its fervor; the truths of revelation, especially the doctrines of grace, shall occupy the same prominent position as to their value and beauty, and yet the influence of these truths may be scarcely felt."

(Octavius Winslow; 1808-1878)

September 6, 2009

“Behold,’ He said in effect, “here is what I understand by Christianity: an unselfish and uncalculating devotion to me as the Saviour of sinners, and as the Sovereign of the kingdom of truth and righteousness.” (Alexander Balmain Bruce, 1831-1899)

September 5, 2009

“God in the exercise of His infinite wisdom and power, so personally directs and controls the free actions of men as to determine all things in accordance with His eternal purpose.”

(E.H. Bancroft)

September 4, 2009

“The death of Christ does not benefit the man who lives and dies without faith in it.” Claude Duval Cole (First published 1944)

September 3, 2009

“We may suppose, without a doubt, that the sins of Adam after his fall affected his posterity no more than the sins of another man.” (James Madison Pendleton; 1811-1891)

September 2, 2009

“Thus when God reckons with the believer, and asks the fulfillment of the law, behold! There appears on his behalf, deposited by the hand of Christ, an obedience extensive with the very uttermost demand. God neither desires nor can receive more.” (Henry Law, 1797-1884)

September 1, 2009

“Men sit down groaning under their discouragements because they do not look further than themselves.” (Thomas Manton; 1620-1677)

Sunday, August 9, 2009

August 31, 2009

“Superstition is not worshipping a false God, but worshipping the true God falsely, in a way not commanded by God. It teaches and practices for doctrines the devices and commandments of men; that is to say, it worships, not according to the will of God, but to the will of man.” Ralph Venning (1622-1674)

August 30, 2009

“An infirmity is this -when the purpose and inclination of the heart is upright, but a man wants strength to perform that purpose; when “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak’ (Matt. xvi. 41); when a man can say with the apostle, “To will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not,” (Rom. vii. 18); When the bent and inclination of the soul is right, but either through some violence of corruption or strength of temptation, a man is diverted and turned out of the way. As the needle in the seaman’s compass, you know if it be right it will stand always northwards, the bent of it will be toward the North Pole, but being jogged and troubled, it may sometimes be put out of frame and order, yet the bent and inclination of it is still northward; this is an infirmity.” James Nalton (1600-1662)

August 29, 2009

“What comfort ought this to afford under every condition! for the Lord Jesus goes before us through the desert. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” Ridley H. Herschell (1807-1864)

August 28, 2009

“And we live beneath our privilege and fail to make the required use of the great expiation which has been wrought, and want in proper appreciation of our Saviour’s work, if we do not rise up from our prostration under the law, and cast from us forever the whole burden of its condemnation.” Joseph Augustus Seiss (1823-1904)

Saturday, August 8, 2009

August 27, 2009

"To desire ease, therefore, is to embrace a deadly enemy. Who that knows his own heart will not feel it a matter, not of congratulation, but of deep and anxious prayer – ‘In all time of our wealth-Good Lord, deliver us?" (Charles Bridges, 1794-1869)

August 26, 2009

For to deny a man’s self, is to know he hath no power in himself to do any spiritual duty. (Thomas Hooker; 1586-1647)

August 25, 2009

“Thou holdest mine eyes waking.” “Oh, how wearisome a thing it is to spend the long night in tossing up and down in a restless bed, in the chase of sleep; which the more eagerly it is followed, flies so much the farther from us!” (Joseph Hall ; 1574-1656)

August 24, 2009

“Though the revelation of God in his works is sufficient to render men inexcusable, it does not follow that it is sufficient to lead men, blinded by sin, to a saving knowledge of himself. As Paul says of the law, that it was weak through the flesh, that is, insufficient on account of our corruption, so it may be said of the light of nature, that, although sufficient in itself as a revelation, it is not sufficient, considering the indisposition and inattention of men to divine things.” Charles Hodge (1797-1878)

August 23, 2009

“For never was any sinner qualified to come to Christ. He is well qualified to come to us; but a sinner out of Christ has no qualifications for Christ but sin and misery.”

Horatius Bonar (1808-1890)

August 22, 2009

“Watcheth for his heart. The Lord identifies Himself with the cause of those who trust in Him.” (James G. Murphy; 1808-1896)

August 21, 2009

“ANTIPAS, THE FAITHFUL WITNESS OF JESUS CHRIST BURNED AT PERGAMOS IN A RED HOT BRAZEN OX. A.D. 95. (Rev. 2:12-14). Touching the time and manner of his death, there is nothing stated in Holy Writ; but some of the ancient writers maintain that he was enclosed in a red hot brazen ox, and thus burned alive with great pain, yet in steadfastness.” Thieleman J. van Braght (1625-1664)

August 20, 2009

“Perhaps God withholds what thou wouldest have, that it may be the more prized by thee when it comes: ‘Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.’" Prov. xiii. 12.” (John Bunyan; 1628 - 1688)

August 19, 2009

“For with the Lord is mercy…In myself I perceive nothing but wrath, in the devil nothing but hatred, in the world nothing but extreme fury and madness. But the Holy Ghost cannot lie, which willeth me to trust because there is mercy with the Lord, and with Him is plenteous redemption.” (J.J. Stewart Perowne; 1823–1904)

August 18, 2009

“Simple childlike faith in prayer consists not in high devotion and warm feeling; it is nothing but believing and not doubting from the bottom of the heart.” Rudolf E. Stier (1816-1862)

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

August 17, 2009

“We have no righteousness of our own to plead, and therefore must plead God’s righteousness, the word of promise, which he has freely given us, and caused us to hope in.” (Matthew Henry, 1662-1714)

August 16, 2009

“All things turn out according to divine predestination; not only the works we do outwardly, but even the thoughts we think inwardly. There is no such thing as chance, or fortune; nor is there a readier way to gain the fear of God, and to put our whole trust in Him, than to be thoroughly versed in the doctrine of Predestination.” (Phillip Melanchthon, 1497-1560)

August 15, 2009

“In the infinite wisdom of the Lord of all the earth, each event falls with exact precision into its proper place in this unfolding of His eternal plan; nothing, however small, however strange, occurs without His ordering, or without its peculiar fitness for its place in the working out of His purpose; and the end of all shall be the manifestation of His glory, and accumulation of His praise.” (Benjamin B. Warfield, 1851 - 1921)

August 14, 2009

“As well might man attempt to swim the ocean as to fathom the judgments of God. Man knows far too little to justify him in attempting to explain the mysteries of God’s rule.” Loraine Beottner (1901-1990)

August 13, 2009

“And one may have confessed and sincerely repented of that sin, which yet shall make him go halting to the grave. ‘You were a God that forgave them, though you took vengeance on their inventions.'” (Thomas Boston, 1677-1732)

August 12, 2009

“If God reduces you to necessities, he therein deals no otherwise with you than he has done with some of the holiest men that ever lived.” (John Flavel; 1627-1691)

August 11, 2009

“Holy hearts will be humble under the afflicting hand of God. When God’s rod is upon their backs, their mouths shall be in the dust. A good heart will lie lowest, when the hand of God is lifted highest." (Job 42:1-7; Acts 1:8); (Thomas Brooks; 1608-1680)

August 10, 2009

"I offer the following description: Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition." (Jeremiah Burroughs; 1600-1646)

August 9, 2009

“Brethren, there is much lacking to us all; and what we receive, how speedily do we lack again!” Rudolf Stier (1800-1862)

August 8, 2009

"We must learn to draw a distinction between being tempted and sinning. Thoughts will come to you and the devil may try to press you to think that because thoughts have entered your mind you have sinned. Temptation, in and of itself, is not sin. " (D. Martin Lloyd-Jones; 1899-1981)

August 7, 2009

“For his sake, not for our own, are we chosen; in him, not in ourselves, are we received by God, being accepted in the Beloved; and, therefore, in him are we blessed: he is our blessing.” Unknown (1859)

August 6, 2009

"Without a sincere attachment to the Author of eternal salvation, whatever works of morality we may perform, our obedience will be materially and essentially defective, as not flowing from a proper principle." (John Fawcett; 1740-1817)

Sunday, July 26, 2009

August 5, 2009

“During a past eternity God was alone—self-contained, self-sufficient, in need of nothing. Had a universe, or angels, or humans been necessary to Him in any way, they also would have been called into existence from all eternity. Creating them when He did added nothing to God essentially. He changes not (Mal 3:6), therefore, His essential glory can neither be augmented nor diminished.” (Arthur W. Pink; 1886-1952)

August 4, 2009

“Multitude of thy mercy.”--“Seen in many forbearances before conversion, countless pardons, innumerable gifts, many promises, frequent visits, and abundant deliverances. Of all these, who can count the thousandth part?” (Unknown)

August 3, 2009

“We ordinarily and naturally lack the ability to raise and extract holy and useful considerations and thoughts from all ordinary occurrences and occasions. But a heart which is sanctified, in whose affections true grace is enkindled, will out of all God’s dealings with him, out of the things he sees and hears, will distil holy and sweet, useful meditations from them.”

(Thomas Goodwin; 1600-1679)

August 2, 2009

“It is the common experience of mankind that times of special spiritual endowment of exaltation are followed by occasions of special temptation.” (Alfred Plummer; 1841-1926)

August 1, 2009

“A truly wise man is one, not who has attained, but who knows that he “has not attained,” and is pressing onward to perfection.” (Charles Bridges; 1794-1869)

July 31, 2009

“The appearance and activity of Jesus on earth is the central and most important event of all time. Everything that had gone before had led up to it. And everything that has followed upon it is connected therewith.” (Norval Geldenhuys)

July 30, 2009

“Let us ever seek to do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, from the right motive, and then what we do will certainly be right.” (William Graham Scroggie; 1877-1958)

July 29, 2009

“There are no crises with God, no perplexing problems to ponder, no forces beyond His control. (Claude Duval Cole)

July 28, 2009

“For the fallen creature begins nothing, continues nothing, perfects nothing. Each stage of the restoration is the direct result of the unsought word and work of 'Elohim.'"

(Andrew Jukes; 1815-1901)

Sunday, July 12, 2009

July 27, 2009

“Let no appearing impossibilities make you question God’s accomplishment of any of his gracious words. Though you cannot see how the thing can be done, ‘tis enough, if God has said that he will do it…Though the valleys be so deep that we cannot see the bottom, and the mountains so high that we cannot see the tops of them, yet God knows how to raise the one and level the other.” (Timothy Cruso; 1656-1697)

July 26, 2009

“It was for the trial of their faith that these things happened to the Israelites, as do the trials of all Christians in all ages: and it is “after we have suffered awhile” that we may expect to be established, strengthened, settled.” (Brownlow North; 1741-1820)

July 25, 2009

"Answers to prayers are sweet cordials for the soul. We need not fear a frowning world while we rejoice in a prayer-hearing God." (C.H. Spurgeon; 1834-1892)

July 24, 2009

“The weakest creature can quell the mightiest man, if God bid, go.” (Richard Clerke; 1634)

July 23, 2009

“The mighty God, without ceasing to be God, becomes man to redeem us. Wonder of wonders! The like of this never has been -- never could be. Let the greatest king become the meanest beggar:--let the richest prince leave his palace for the vilest cell of a loathsome prison; it is as nothing to the act of Jesus, when He left heaven to put on Him the rags of our mortality.”


(Henry Law; 1797-1844)

July 22, 2009

“When matters are raveled and disordered, he can find out the right end of the thread, and how to disentangle us again; and when we have spoiled a business, he can dispose it for good, and make an advantage of those things which seem to obscure the glory of his name."


(Thomas Manton; 1620-1677)

July 21, 2009

"Proved by the Father and having faith rigorously exercised is not pleasant. It will always expose what is erroneous and lacking, while purging and strengthening what is genuine and acceptable with God. The word appears gloriously precious until we are tried by its promise. " (Psalms 105:19) (Unknown)

July 20, 2009

“Now, from this hour, will you not begin to cherish the anticipation of complete deliverance, not hereafter in old age and in heaven, but now and here? Not because of your resolutions, or strivings, or agonies, but because you will stand still and see the salvation of God, because the Lord shall fight for you, and you will hold your peace.”


(Frederick Brotherton Meyer; 1847-1929)

July 19, 2009

"You may offer an excuse for unfaithfulness, but you can never give a reason for it." (Unknown)

July 18, 2009

"He shows mercy, not because we deserve mercy, but because He delights in mercy.”

(Thomas Watson; 1620-1686)

July 17, 2009

"Humility consists in being dependent on grace alone." (Frans Bakker; 1919-1965)

July 16, 2009

“Whatever comes to pass, comes to pass by virtue of this absolute omnipotent will of God, which is the primary and supreme cause of all things. “Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Rev. 4:11)


(Jerome Zanchius; 1516-1590)

July 15, 2009

“All that we spiritually know of ourselves, all that we know of God, and of Jesus; and His Word, we owe to the teaching of the Holy Spirit; and all the real light, sanctification, strength and comfort we are made to possess on our way to glory, we must ascribe to Him.”

(Octavius Winslow; 1808-1878)

July 14, 2009

“All wonderful! Wonderful that the Spirit should strive with man; wonderful that God should bear with his backslidings; wonderful that God should love him not withstanding his pollutions; wonderful that God should persist in saving him in spite, as it were, of himself.”

(Henry Melvill’ 1709-1871)

Saturday, July 11, 2009

July 13, 2009

“Lord, thou art my righteousness, and I am thy sin: thou hast taken from me what was mine, and given me what was thine.” “Oh, sweet exchange! Oh, unsearchable device! Oh, benefits beyond all expectation!”

(A. A.Bonar; 1810-1892)

July 12,2009

"How foolish and vain for men to leave God out of their calculations! On man’s side every detail may be carefully attended to, everything may be done that is necessary to secure the desired result, and yet without God it will utterly fail.”

(Philip Mauro; 1859-1952)

July 11, 2009

"But men think, and resolve, and act for themselves; yet they fulfill the plans of Jehovah as much as the sun, moon, and stars. His very enemies in opposing him are made the instruments of serving him. How consoling to the believer is this view of Providence!"
(Alexander Carson; 1776-1844)