Let others be ambitious for honor,
knowledge, wealth, pleasure, but you are to be covetous, ambitious,
and zealous for holiness. Daniel Cawdry. Sanctified heart is better than
a silver tongue. Simeon Ashe. Grace is the only way to glory. No holiness, no heaven. Andrew
Gray. The end of study is knowledge,
but the end of meditation is holiness. Thomas White. Believers are wise to admire
nothing in this world. Jesus did not care for it when
Satan offered him all the kingdoms of the world. Nathanael Vincent Holiness is spiritual beauty.
Sin is spiritual deformity. Peter Starry Two things make the saints maligned
by the men of the world. Saints hate what the world loves
and vilify what the world adores. —Nathaniel Vincent A pure conscience can bear a
mountain of misery better than a molehill of sin. —Francis Whidden You may not be outwardly bad,
and yet not inwardly good. Thomas Watson. Stage plays are for the most
part representations of men's villainy and wickedness, and
hence they are unlawful. Christopher Love. Godly men are very moderate in
the use of the creatures, lest they should be brought under
the power of them. —William Strong Now what is hope but the expectation
of those things which God has promised? —Daniel Cawdery Hope is a faculty of the soul
that looks for mercy and waits for the same. Isaac Ambrose If all the graces of God are
precious pearls, then humility is the string that ties them
all together. Daniel Cawdry Humility is the robe of all the
sons of God and the distinguishing character of a true Christian.
Humility is the only way to glory. True humility never desires to
show itself because it intends to hide, not only other virtues,
but above all, itself. Daniel Cawdery Hypocrisy is the ape of all virtues. Even pride itself puts on the
cloak of humility. Daniel Cawdry Hypocrisy mostly ends in apostasy. John Green He who prays without faith and
grace is a hypocrite. He who does not pray at all is
an atheist. Thomas Ford You may be a hypocrite and may
not know it. Cuthbert Sydenham True forgiveness is never too
late, but late forgiveness is seldom true. John Aerosmith. God hates that religion which
costs men nothing. William Strong. Happiness is the common object
of every man's desire. John Phillips. The foundation of a man's eternal
happiness or misery is laid in this life. William Strong By the law we see our misery
and by the gospel we see our remedy. Edmund Calame Godly man must not impose on
his conscience the necessity of observing such rules of practice
which God has not prescribed. —Nicholas Byfield Law properly is a commandment
with a penalty. —William Bridge God's love does not spring from
delight in our beauty, but from pity to our deformity. —William
Spurstow Christ's love is written in characters
of blood, and his grace is stamped on every line and blessing of
the gospel. —Richard Rolland God presently gives an everlasting
assurance of salvation to all who love Christ sincerely. William
Pink Would you love Christ? Use him
much, and then the more you will prize him, and the more you will
love him. William Bridge If the wicked love God, it is
only for his benefits. Henry Smith If a man does not love the Lord
Jesus, it is because he loves something better than him. John
Preston We should love Christ's person
more entirely than his benefits. William Pink. Mercies are designed to be as
cords to draw you and afflictions as rods to drive you nearer to
God. Let both attain their end. Nathaniel
Vincent. Look on your own secret sins,
your relapses, and then on Christ's coming with His mercies and favors,
and you cannot but love Him. John Preston Love is a holy disposition rising
from faith, where we cleave to Christ with full purpose of heart,
to serve and please Him in all things. John Preston Men may have knowledge of God
by the hearing of the ear and yet have no heart acquaintance
with God. Matthew Newcomer Meditation is a serious, earnest,
and purposeful musing upon some point of Christian instruction.
John Ball Meditation tends to lead us forward
toward the kingdom of heaven and serves for our daily strengthening
against the world, the flesh, and the devil. John Ball. By meditation, the Christian
improves his knowledge, quickens his affections, and excites practice. Thomas White. Meditation and prayer are like
two turtle doves. If you separate one, the other
dies. Illumination makes us shining
lamps. Meditation makes us burning lamps.
Meditation imprints and fastens a truth in the mind. A Christian
without meditation is like a soldier without weapons or a workman
without tools. Meditation is like the watering
of the seed. It makes the fruits of grace
to flourish. Meditation is the chewing on
the truths we have heard. Let us go into hell by contemplation,
that we may not go into hell by condemnation. Thomas Watson It is a great peace of happiness
upon earth, not to long after that which the Lord is pleased
to deny. Simeon Ashe God is not otherwise to be enjoyed
than as he is obeyed. John Howe No man can die in the Lord who
does not live to the Lord. William Spurstow. A Christian soul is content that
God should rule everything, not only the eye or hand or tongue,
but the whole man. Isaac Ambrose. Good works do not make a good
man, but a good man does make works good. Martin Luther An ignorant person cannot please
God. Thomas Case A man may as well go to hell
for not doing good, as for doing evil. Thomas Watson Good works are rewardable, though
they are not meritorious. Nathaniel Vincent What way your hearts go, that
way your thoughts go. William Strong When a baby is born, it cries. When a sinner is born again,
he prays. Nathanael Vincent. Those are the strongest Christians
who are the mightiest in prayer. Nathanael Vincent. Praying Christian is a useful
Christian in the world. Jeremiah Burroughs. Prayer does not make a change
in God, but makes a change in us. Nathaniel Vincent. Without prayer, adversity will
be intolerable and prosperity will be a snare. Nathaniel Vincent Prayer is tying a knot at the
end of meditation. Daniel Burgess If once a man ceases to pray
against sin, he is in danger to commit it. William Strong Prayer is the spiritual leech
which sucks the poison of sin out of the soul. Thomas Watson It is not a small work to break
the pride and stoniness of your heart. It needs power from above. Nicholas Byfield. The spirit
takes away the fig leafs of excuses and presents sin naked and bare.
Nathaniel Vincent. Conversion is a nail which the
prophets of old were hammering on perpetually. —Nathaniel Vincent Regeneration does not work on
our understanding only to show us what we are to do, but on
our will as well to alter and reform it. —Francis Taylor Pray to God to give you the same
Spirit who wrote the Word, to enable you to delight in it.
Edmund Calame. Sorrow and tears for sin are
never right, until they are like floods of water to drive us to
Christ. Christopher Love. All of us put up broken duties,
but few of us have broken hearts. Thomas Doolittle. No man ever miscarried for being
a great sinner, but only for being an impenitent sinner. William
Spurstow. The more the wicked are called
to holiness, the further they run into all sin and wickedness. Andrew Gray Every heart that is not a Holy
Spirit temple is nothing more than Satan's hideous dunghill.
Daniel Burgess There is the curse of God on
all that a wicked man enjoys. Christopher Love. I had rather be a preacher in
a pulpit than a prince on a throne. Christopher Love. Since the love of the world is
so common in the church, it is a plain demonstration that salvation
is not a common thing. Nathaniel Vincent Christianity is no jesting matter. It is the most serious business
in the world. William Pink By the key of faith, we fetch
daily new grace out of Christ's treasury to sanctify us more
and more. Edmund Calame. Desire to know the meaning of
the rod and to hear God's voice speaking in it. Richard Byfield. The love of some corruption keeps
many from the sweet fruition of God's favorable countenance.
Francis Taylor He who does not care to be like
Christ certainly has no love to him nor any saving interest
in his love. Nathaniel Vincent Saints are afflicted that they
may be more thoroughly sanctified. Nathanael Vincent. Sin is worse than hell because
it made hell to be hell. Christopher Love. Do you complain of a hard heart?
The sight of a broken Christ will break your heart, or nothing
will. —William Bridge Sin is infinite because it is
against an infinite God, bringing an infinite punishment because
it cannot be atoned for by finite creatures. —John Burt It is dangerous to be the world's
favorite. Simeon Ash. Wicked thoughts are deadly evils.
William Perkins. In a moment, sin is committed
on earth. Then it comes before God in heaven
and is condemned to hell. Henry Smith. There is in sin these two things,
a debt to God and a bondage to Satan. William Strong For as sins of commission poison
the soul, so sins of omission starve the soul. Thomas White As the violence of winds and
waves sink a ship, so gluttony and drunkenness sink our souls
and bodies into the depth of hell. Andrew Gray Great sins require great lamentations. Henry Greenwood Strange that believers should
be abhorred, because they are beautified with grace, and be
hated because they are lovely. Nathaniel Vincent Let courage animated by faith
dwell in you, and you will readily overcome both the frowns and
flatteries of the world. William Spurstow The healing of the Church's breaches
should be the desire of every Christian. John Brintley All who would walk worthy of
the gospel must endeavor a sweet, close, holy, lasting union among
themselves. Matthew Newcomen No one thing either deforms or
weakens the church more than division. John Brinsley Every true and acceptable service
to God has a precept, a promise, and a pattern. John Phillips It is as the filthiness of whoredom,
to the Lord to have human inventions erected or interposed as parts
or props of worship.