Archive for the ‘Quotes’ Category
The Bride
Filed under: Christology, Gospel, Quotes | Tags: Christology, Gospel, Quotes
Leave a Comment A Poem by Ralph Erskine
The bride with open eyes, that once were dim,
Sees now her whole salvation lies in him;
The Prince, who is not in dispensing nice,
But freely gives without her pains or price.
This magnifies the wonder in her eye,
Who not a farthing has wherewith to buy;
For now her humbled mind can disavow,
Her boasted beauty and assuming brow;
With conscious eye discern her emptiness,
With candid lips her poverty confess.
O glory to the Lord that grace is free,
Else never would it light on guilty me.
I nothing have with me to be its price,
But hellish blackness, enmity and vice.
In former times she durst presuming come.
To grace’s market with a pretty sum
Of duties, prayers, tears, a boasted set,
Expecting heav’n would thus be in her debt.
These were the price, at least she did suppose,
She’d be the welcomer because of those:
But now she sees the vileness of her vogue,
The dung that close to ev’ry duty clog,
The sin that doth her holiness reprove,
The enmity that close attends her love,
The great heart-hardness of her penitence,
The stupid dullness of her vaunted sense,
The unbelief of former blazed faith,
The utter nothingness of all she hath.
The blackness of her beauty she can see,
The pompous pride of strain’d humility,
The naughtiness of all her tears and pray’rs:
And now renounces all her worthless wares:
And finding nothing to commend herself,
But what might damn her, embezzled pelf;
At sov’reign grace’s feet doth prostrate fall,
Content to be in Jesus’ debt for all.
Her noised virtues vanish out of sight,
As starry tapers at meridian light;
While sweetly, humbly, she beholds at length
Christ, as her only righteousness and strength.
He with the view throws down his loving dart,
Imprest with pow’r into her tender heart.
The deeper that the law’s fierce dart was thrown,
The deeper now the dart of love goes down:
Hence, sweetly pain’d, her cries to heav’n do flee;
O none but Jesus, none but Christ for me!
O glorious Christ! O beauty, beauty rare!
Ten thousand thousand heav’ns are not so fair,
In him at once all beauties meet and shine,
The white and ruddy, human and divine.
As in his low, he’s in his high abode,
The brightest image of the unseen God.
How justly do the harpers sing above,
His doing, dying, rising, reigning love?
How justly does he when his work is done,
Possess the centre of his Father’s throne?
How justly do his awful throne before
Seraphic armies prostrate, him adore;
That’s both by nature and donation crown’d,
With all the grandeur of the Godhead round?
But wilt thou, Lord, in every deed come dwell
With me, that was a burning brand of hell?
With me, so justly reckon’d worse and less
Than insect, mite, or atom can express?
Wilt thou debase thy high imperial form,
To match with such a mortal, crawling worm?
Yea, sure thine errand to our earthly coast,
Was in deep love to seek and save the lost:
And since thou deign’st the like of me to wed,
O come and make my heart thy marriage-bed,
Fair Jesus, wilt thou marry filthy me!
Amen, Amen, Amen ; so let it be.
The Fullness of Christ
Filed under: Christology, Quotes | Tags: Christology, Quotes
Leave a Comment “In Him, this Divine, this wonderful Being, ALL FULLNESS dwells. In whom could all the fullness of the Godhead—all the mediatorial fullness of the Church dwell, but in the Son of God! But take the “fullness” particularly spoken of in this passage, the mediatorial fullness of Christ; and in whom, other than a being essentially God, could all fullness of merit, all fullness of righteousness, all fullness of grace, all fullness of pardon, all fullness of sanctification, all fullness of wisdom, all fullness of love, all fullness of sympathy, all fullness of compassion, in a word, all fullness of all supply, possibly dwell? …And in what does this fullness consist? A fullness of dignity to atone, a fullness of life to quicken, a fullness of righteousness to justify, a fullness of virtue to pardon, a fullness of grace to sanctify, a fullness of power to preserve, a fullness of compassion and sympathy to comfort, and a fullness of salvation to save poor sinners to the uttermost; in a word, ALL fullness; a fullness commensurate with need of every kind, with trial of every form, with sorrow of every depth, with sin of every name, with guilt of every hue, yes, with every conceivable and possible necessity in which the children of God may be placed; fullness of grace here, and fullness of glory hereafter; a fullness which the Church on earth will live upon; and boast of until time be no more; a fullness which will be the delight and glory of the Church in heaven to behold, until eternity shall end. In whom could all this fullness be enthroned?” ~ Octavius Winslow
Words of Comfort on the Loss of a Child
Filed under: Encouragement, Quotes | Tags: Comfort, Quotes
Leave a Comment “You have lost a child: nay she is not lost to you who is found to Christ. She is not sent away, but only sent before, like unto a star, which going out of our sight doth not die and vanish, but shineth in another hemisphere. We see her not, yet she doth shine in another country. If her glass was but a short hour, what she wanteth of time that she hath gotten of eternity; and you have to rejoice that you have now some plenishing up in heaven. Build your nest upon no tree here; for you see God hath sold the forest to death; and every tree whereupon we would rest is ready to be cut down, to the end we may fly and mount up, and build upon the Rock, and dwell in the holes of the Rock.” ~ From a Letter of Samuel Rutherford to Lady Kenmure on the Death of Her Infant Daughter
Encouraging Words from Spurgeon
Filed under: Encouragement, Quotes | Tags: Encouragement, Quotes
Leave a Comment Brother or sister, are you discouraged at this time? Do you have a great trouble upon you? Are you alone in the world? Do others misjudge you, or does the sword of scandal pierce your very soul? Do fierce coals of juniper (see Psalm 120:4) await those vicious tongues that wrong you? Do you feel “bowed down to the dust” (Ps. 44:25)? Yet, what position are you in to be despairing? Child of God, and heir of all things, “why art thou cast down” (Ps. 42:5)? Joint heir with Christ, why do you abase yourself? Why do you lie among the pots (see Psalm 68:13) when you already have angels’ wings upon you?
Get up! Your heritage is not here among the dragons and the owls. (See Job 30:29.) Up! You are one of God’s eagles, born for brighter light than earth could bear—light that would blind the bleary-eyed sons of men if they were once to get a veiled glimpse of it. You, a twice-born man, one of the imperial family, one who will sit upon a throne with Christ as surely as Christ sits there (see Revelation 3:21), what position are you in, that you are moaning and groaning?
Wipe your eyes and smooth your brow, and in the strength of the Eternal, go to your life battle. It will not be long. The trumpet of victory almost sounds in your ears. Will you now retreat? No, for you can win the day. “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed” (Ps. 37:3), until He comes to catch you away. There you will see what Jesus did for you when He made His body once for all a sacrifice, that He might fulfill the will of the eternal Father, and sanctify you and all His people unto God forever and ever.
Children Quote from Samuel Rutherford
Filed under: Children, Quotes | Tags: Children, Quotes, Rutherford
Comments(1) I’ve been thinking about children lately, for good reason I suspect. Here is a quote I read that spoke about children and should be a great reminder to you as it was for me:
“Take no heavier lift of your children, than your Lord alloweth; give them room beside your heart, but not in the yolk of your heart, where Christ should be; for then they are your idols, not your bairns. If your Lord take any of them home to his house before the storm come on, take it well, the owner of the orchard may take down two or three apples off his own trees, before midsummer, and ere they get the harvest sun; and it would not be seemly that his servant, the gardener, should chide him for it. Let our Lord pluck his own fruit at any season he pleaseth; they are not lost to you, they are laid up so well, as that they are coffered in heaven, where our Lord’s best jewels lie.” – Samuel Rutherford
Random Quotes
Filed under: Quotes, Sin, Worship | Tags: Glory, Judgment, Quotes, Worship, Wrath
Leave a Comment “There are three things that earthly riches can never do; they can never satisfy divine justice, they can never pacify divine wrath, nor can they ever quiet a guilty conscience. And till these things are done, man is undone.” – Thomas Brooks
“Men think all things would be very glorious, it they might be done according to their mind. Perhaps, indeed, they would — but with their glory, not the glory of God.” – John Owen
“All worship is shot wrong that is not directed to, and conducted by, the thoughts of the power of God, whose assistance we need.” – Stephen Charnock
“The more we grow in grace, the more shall we flourish in glory. Though every vessel of glory shall be full, yet some vessels hold more.” – Thomas Watson
To JOHN CLARK, a parishioner
Filed under: Quotes | Tags: Quotes, Rutherford
Leave a Comment XXXIII. To JOHN CLARK, a parishioner
LOVING BROTHER, – Hold fast Christ without wavering and contend for
the faith, because Christ is not easily gotten nor kept. The lazy
professor has put heaven as it were at the next door, and thinketh to
fly up to heaven in his bed and in a night-dream; but, truly, that is
not so easy a thing as most men believe. Christ Himself did sweat ere
He wan this city, howbeit He was the freeborn heir. It is
Christianity, my heart, to be sincere, unfeigned, honest and upright
hearted before God, and to live and serve God, suppose there was not
one man nor woman in all the world dwelling beside you, to eye you.
Any little grace that ye have, see that it be sound and true.
Ye may put a difference betwixt you and reprobates, if ye have these
marks. -
1. If ye prize Christ and His truth so as ye will sell all and buy Him; and suffer for it.
2. If the love of Christ keepeth youback from sinning, more than the law, or fear of hell.
3. If ye be humble, and deny your own will, wit, credit, ease, honor, the world, and the vanity and glory of it.
4. Your profession must not be barren and void of good works.
5. Ye must in all things aim at God’s honor; ye must eat, drink, sleep, buy, sell, sit, stand, speak, pray, read,
and hear the word, with a heart-purpose that God may be honored.
6. Ye must show yourself an enemy to sin, and reprove the works of darkness, such as drunkenness, swearing, and lying, albeit the company should
hate you for so doing.
7. Keep in mind the truth of God, that ye heard me teach, and have nothing to do with the corruptions and new guises
entered into the house of God.
8. Make conscience of your calling, in covenants, in buying and selling.
9. Acquaint yourself with daily praying; commit all your ways and actions to God, by prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving; and count not much of being mocked; for Christ Jesus was mocked before you.
Persuade yourself, that this is the way of peace and comfort which I
now suffer for. I dare go to death and into eternity with it, though
men may possibly see another way. Remember me in your prayers, and the
state of this oppressed church. Grace be with you.
Your soul’s well-wisher.
From The Letters of Samuel Rutherford.
Bare Knowledge
Filed under: Quotes, Salvation | Tags: Knowledge, Salvation
Leave a Comment “The bare knowledge of God’s will is inefficacious, it doth not better the heart. Knowledge alone is like a winter sun, which hath no heat or influence; it doth not warm the affections, or purify the conscience. Judas was a great luminary, he knew God’s will, but he was a traitor.” – Thomas Watson
Samuel Rutherford’s Sin
Filed under: Quotes | Tags: Quotes, Rutherford
Leave a Comment This is taken from the Dictionary of National Biography of Samuel Rutherford, which should remind us of how great our God is and maybe even Psalm 51:
“He entered the university of Edinburgh in 1617, graduated in 1621, and in 1623 was appointed regent of humanity, having been recommended by the professors for ‘his eminent abilities of mind and virtuous disposition.’ The records of the two council of Edinburgh under 3 Feb. 1626 contain the following: ‘Forasmuch as it being declared by the principal of the college that Mr. Samuel Rutherford, regent of humanity, has fallen in fornication with Eupham Hamilton, and has committed a great scandal in the college and…has since demitted his charge therein, therefore elects and nominates…commissioners…with power…to insist for depriving of the said Mr. Samuel, and being deprived for filling of the said place with a sufficient person.’ Rutherford married the said Eupham, and his whole subsequent life was a reparation for the wrong he had done. According to his own statement, he had ’suffered the sun to be high in heaven’ before he became seriously religious.”
Quotes on the Lord’s Day
Filed under: Poetry, Quotes, Sabbath | Tags: Poetry, Quotes, Sabbath
Leave a Comment “I am no admirer of a gloomy religion. Let no one suppose that I want Sunday to be a day of sadness and unhappiness. I want every Christian to be a happy man: I wish him to have ‘joy and peace in believing,’ and to ‘rejoice in hope of the glory of God.’ I want everyone to regard Sunday as the brightest, cheerfulest day of all the seven; and I tell everyone who finds such a Sunday as I advocate a wearisome day, that there is something sadly wrong in the state of his heart. I tell him plainly that if he cannot enjoy a ‘holy’ Sunday, the fault is not in the day, but in his own soul.” – J.C. Ryle
“A well-spent Sabbath we feel to be a day of heaven upon earth. For this reason we wish our Sabbaths to he wholly given to God. We love to spend the whole time in the public and private exercises of God’s worship, except so much as is taken up in the works of necessity and mercy. We love to rise early on that morning, and to sit up late, that we may have a long day with God.” – Robert Murray M’Cheyne
O day of rest and gladness, O day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness, most beautiful, most bright:
On Thee, the high and lowly, through ages joined in tune,
Sing holy, holy, holy, to the great God Triune.
On Thee, at the creation, the light first had its birth;
On Thee, for our salvation, Christ rose from depths of earth;
On Thee, our Lord, victorious, the Spirit sent from heaven,
And thus on Thee, most glorious, a triple light was given.
Thou art a port, protected from storms that round us rise;
A garden, intersected with streams of paradise;
Thou art a cooling fountain in life’s dry, dreary sand;
From thee, like Pisgah’s mountain, we view our promised land.
Today on weary nations the heavenly manna falls;
To holy convocations the silver trumpet calls,
Where Gospel light is glowing with pure and radiant beams,
And living water flowing, with soul refreshing streams.
New graces ever gaining from this our day of rest,
We reach the rest remaining to spirits of the blessed.
To Holy Ghost be praises, to Father, and to Son;
The church her voice upraises to Thee, blessed Three in One.
